Boots In The Field Report

This weeks question is about reducing seed expenses.

70° in February, to till or not to till, that is the question answered in this week's Boots In The Field Report!

In this week's Boots In The Field Report, Ken dissects the strengths and weaknesses of the FurrowJet.

In this week's podcast, Ken discusses if it is too late for tillage and fall burn down?

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers what to do if you didn’t get your fall anhydrous on and what to consider when making spring anhydrous decisions. He also comments on the war on weeds and what we need to start planning for this winter to win the battle next growing season. Ken reminds growers that we will be having our Basic and Advanced Basic meetings next Wednesday and Thursday.

This week in the Boots In The Field Report Ken covers several topics. He touches on plot wrap up, when you can harrow after fall burndown, what we learned from August weather, and the major no-no of fall stripping 28%.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers his thoughts on fall burn down. He also shares the responses he has received from last week’s #AnhydrousWatch2016 and what the guidelines are for when is the right time to apply anhydrous. He also shares the date for this year’s Hand Harvest date. We need all hands on deck to help us count, weigh, and handshell all the ears for the Fix vs Flex data on different hybrids. If you are interested, please contact the office.

In this week’s Boots in the Field report Ken gives a report as areas are finishing up harvest 2016. He reminders farmers of a couple of things to think about before making plans to move lime applications up a year. Ken also issues a challenge that we are all in this together and we need to apply a little peer pressure if you notice neighbors and retailers failing to follow best management practices where anhydrous is concerned. Ken shares that a good portion of new acres coming in to test are showing pretty poor on their soil test results and reiterates looking at past soil test and yield maps before negotiating rent prices.

Listen this week to the Boots in the Field Report as Ken covers what he found from the inquiry into the sudden drop in bean yields and what to do about it next year. He reminds anyone dealing with ruts that we want to get those taken care of this year and not wait until next spring. He also reiterates his warning about waiting for the right temperature for anhydrous applications.

Ken gives a harvest update, breaks down what he thinks is the cause for the drop in bean yields and taking a harvest by the hour approach, and reminds farmers to wait until soil temps have dropped before applying anhydrous ammonia.

In this week’s harvest report Ken covers that tough cutting beans seem to be the story everywhere. He also shares information on what green stem syndrome is and what it looks like in the field. Ken also reminds farmers to continually check for header loss and as they move into tillage make sure they are getting full shatter.

Ken touches on the flooding up north in this week’s harvest report as well as the pattern his is seeing with April planted beans. Harvest numbers coming in are showing the importance of knowing if a hybrid is a fix or flex when making replant decisions and that bigger beans and more pods don’t always mean more yield. Ken mentions the high disease pressure showing up in beans fields and what that means for decisions on crop rotation and asks farmers who are seeing a lot of ear droppage to email into the office with the field and hybrid so we can try to track down any patterns. Ken also reminds farmers that with an increase in yield comes an increase in nutrient uptake, something to keep in mind when considering fertilizer decisions.

Ken gives an updated harvest report and touches on: stalk quality and how it is holding up, watching header loss, a charcoal rot look alike, and some of the data coming out of plots harvested.

Ken gives an update on what has been called in for yield reports in our testing area. Strong yields in both corn and beans coming in, but for most areas still 10-20 bushel less for farm averages than they saw in 2014. Also getting some reports of 4-16% damage on corn, mainly from diplodia. Ken also reminds farmers that along with this nice warm weather we have had his week, it brings along some concerns: Make sure you’re calibrating every time you drop 5 points or more in moisture in yield monitors that use multi point calibration. Also watching for shatter loss, adjusting to each field’s environment, shooting for 2% or less loss in corn and 3% or less in beans. Ken also gives some advice on storing hot beans and making a harvest storage plan. He reports some plot yields coming in and reminds everyone to communicate with the office about fields ready to test and plots that need to come out.

Ken gives a harvest update for central IL and explains the barren stalk occurrence he has been seeing. He advises farmers to take note of final ear counts and shoot for only a 6% drop from planted population and to pay attention to stalk quality as it is falling apart rapidly. He also reminds everyone to call into the office with a heads up on plots ready to harvest and fields ready to test.

In this week’s Boots in The Field Report Ken gives a harvest report of yield and moisture as they are being called in. Ken warns about your diplodia ear rot fields, mixing or drying them before going to town could cause more of a dock. He has also had reports of quarries starting to run out of lime or long lines, so make sure you have inquired about your fall lime needs. And he reminds everyone to communicate with the office if you need to order a field for fall testing or schedule a plot to be harvested.

Ken gives some tips for prioritizing your fields for harvest order. A lot of growers are planning on starting harvest this week to get some of the fields that have started falling apart and have standability issues. Ken also recommends checking to see if corn borers have started to weaken the shanks causing ears to fall on the ground. He also talks about taking the time to ground truth aerial images to help understand what is going on in the field and what that will mean for next year’s hybrid selection. Hit a yield checking high in a field in IA, 299 is the number to beat.

In this week’s Boots in The Field report Ken gives a crop report from Iowa and Northern Illinois. Ken also covers how crucial sunshine is to finish out this season, how important timing will be for harvest aids used to help harvest bean fields with heavy waterhemp pressure, and gives an update on aphid pressure. He also reminds those doing fix/flex plotS to stop by the office for supplies and those needing fields testing this fall to send in their orders.

Ken covers a lot in this week’s Boots In The Field Report. He starts off with a crop report from his recent travels and then moves on to the biggest concerns for finishing off the 2016 crop. The recent weather pattern has raised some serious disease concerns along with insect concerns. Ken’s assessment is that a big crop could be out there but it needs to be reality checked with boots in the field scouting and the right weather to finish it off.

This week’s Boots in The Field Report is done by Isaac Ferrie. He starts the podcast giving an update on the bean growth stages and what to be scouting. He also mentions to be on the lookout for SDS and White Mold spots in the field, to avoid surprises later in the season. Isaac also gives some tips on what to be scouting for in both weeds and insects. Isaac also gives a warning about tip back in corn, as well as some application advice.