Boots In The Field Report

In the first Boots In The Field Report podcast of 2020, Ken tackles the question of hybrid selection. He lays out a process for selecting the right hybrid for each specific field and advises that even though it takes time and effort, the results show up in ROI. He commends growers that are willing to change their management style to fit the selected hybrid and warns producers using only a hybrid that fits their management style will have a smaller pool of hybrids to select from. No matter the management style, Ken recommends focusing on finding the best performing hybrids first to start your selection pool and then evaluating the hybrid and farms strengths and weaknesses to ensure correct placement.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken covers winners of the hand-shelling day, how to overcome fallow syndrome next year, and reminds growers to check their bins and bags if they put away grain wet.

Its December, do I still need to protect my nitrogen applications? Ken discusses the risk of nitrogen loss and when protection is required.Ken also talks about tillage and strip till conditions, and when to tell if it is too wet to run an inline ripper.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie advises that you can't just dream of planting early beans, you have to put a plan in place to make it a reality. He walks through what conversations and plans need to be happening now. He also covers fall burn down questions and gets insights on how NE Iowa farmers are fighting to finish #harvest19

In this edition of Boots In the Field Report Ken gives the harvest report for this week as growers are dragging their operation across the finish line of #harvest19. He also previews some of the data from plots that came out this week.

In this week's Boots In The Field report Ken covers how much is left to harvest, average yields, and gas shortage concerns from our customer base and also announces the Hand Harvest and Basics Meeting Dates.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken advises, from here on out, field dry down will be "slow as molasses in January" and hopes farmers took him seriously in the June podcast that advised making backup plans for getting this year's crop dried when everyone in the Midwest is harvesting wet.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken takes a deep dive into what our soybean plots have been telling us about where yield comes from. He poses the question of can flowering before the solstice lower soybean yields?

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken talks surprising bean yields, crown rot, and advice on fall tillage as harvest rolls on.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken gives a recap of harvest from across the US and spots throughout IL. He advises to keep a close eye on harvest order and encourages growers to harvest corn while waiting for beans to be ready. To get this crop out before the winter weather, growers will have to make use of every hour they get.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken focuses on harvest loss and how to avoid it. From header loss to threshing loss, he works through suggestions to make sure you are hauling away as much of the grain as you can.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken covers the rainfall and yield reports coming in across the state and also issues the challenge of taking the time to calibrate yield monitors for this abnormal year to get the unique data that only unusual years like this will provide. He also covers the difference in what the recent heavy rainfall will mean for April/early May corn compared to late May/June corn.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers early harvest reports, warns about early planted fields that were not sprayed coming apart and being on the lookout for ear mold due to earworm damage. He also starts the discussion on what needs to be done this fall to reset field conditions after the sins of this past spring so that we start with our full potential for the 2020 crop.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report, Ken covers tough conditions in Ohio, his prediction on which fields won't make black layer, and warns that the size of the yield hit due to Top Kill will be determined by how close the field is to black layer. He also advises the pest team to begin doing "push tests" on stalks for stand-ability to start creating a field harvest order and not to solely rely on planting date or moisture to set that order.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken covers the need for sunshine and encourages pest teams to watch how their soybean fields are turning, indicating that if it is turning unevenly then there is a need to figure out why. He also reports on increased Goss's wilt, Tar Spot and Anthracnose sightings. Ken had a chance to talk with Adam Spelhaug from Peterson Farms Seed in North Dakota to see how crops are shaping up in their area.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken covers tar spot movement, an increase of Northern Leaf Blight and Common Rust showing up, and reports of tip and ear mold present. He shares some positive news on the corn aphid front but warns about keeping an eye out for them in the beans and watching the early planted beans for sudden death. Ken also talks with a grower from North East Iowa to recap the growing season and current crop conditions.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken recaps his farm visits this week from the Blue Mound area all the way up to Canada. Ken covers what the pest bosses need to be on the lookout for and what the crop conditions and outlooks are in Canada.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken covers how this crop is shaping up in comparison to last year, tips for doing your own yield estimates, and a warning about the exploding aphid populations. He also covers the nitrogen deficiencies he is seeing in corn and the stink bugs sightings in beans.

In this week's Boots In The Field Report Ken covers increased aphid pressures in June planted corn, the importance of knowing where your physoderma brown spot fields are for harvest order, if your rootworm pressure is getting around your traits for next year's corn on corn fields and what we need to finish off these bean fields.

Things look better from the road, but we are not out of the woods yet. Ken provides a regional crop report and talks pollination issues and disease levels he has witnessed from the fields he has been in this week, and what to look for in corn and bean fields in the coming weeks. Proper nitrogen management is becoming very evident from the air, don't assume all is well in fields with all nitrogen applied up front, even if it was applied late this spring, scout to ensure there are no surprises come fall.