Boots In The Field Report

Ken Ferrie talks frost damage on beans and planting windows for corn in this Boots In The Field Report

Ken was in Lindsay Ontario giving a presentation for the Durham Soil and Crop Improvement Association and got the chance to talk to a couple of Canadian farmers about what 2025 looked like for them and what they are planning for the 2026 crop year.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report, Ken Ferrie talks about how in the early planted beans, growers need to be watchful for a need to replant the ponds and to keep a close eye on conventional tillage fields for crusting. He encourages growers to hoe before they know, check on their seed quality, and to use the rain delay to finish up last minute items so they can be ready to go once we dry up.

We need warm temperatures, moisture, and time for decomposition of last year’s crop. Due to the dry fall and cold winter temperatures, we will be facing a heavier carbon penalty this spring since we didn’t get much decomposed last fall. In this episode of Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie walks through making sure you are taking care of the corn crop and avoiding being caught in the “ugly corn phase” for long.

Ken talks about what to consider in several areas due to drought conditions; tillage, anhydrous applications, topdressing wheat, population and hybrid selection and more in this week’s Boots In The Field Report!

Ken continues to answer questions that came in during our CTC Winter Virtual College and answers the following questions: “Where would you rank the closing wheel system when it comes to planter attachment updates in comparison to all the other updates you can buy?”, “ How can I evaluate my stand to identify if my closing system is an issue?”, and “Can you put too much downforce on a cast iron wheel?”

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie walks through some of the questions that come in during the Virtual College about tillage tools and how to evaluate which is the right one for your situation. 

In this week’s Boots in the Field Report Ken Ferrie walks through some important aspects of doing a good year end review session as you look forward to the coming growing season. “What worked, what didn’t, and why?”  He also gives his thoughts on growers asking about cutting out insecticide on the planter to try to reduce costs. 

Ken does a round robin crop recap with some of our northern growers who came to Osage, IA to help with the hand shelling day.

Ken recaps the IL edition of the hand shelling day and talks about things to consider when picking up new ground in this week’s episode of Boots In the Field Report

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie talks all things fall tillage including adjustments for dry soil and warnings about anhydrous applications in these drought conditions.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken talks on streaks from aerial fungicide applications can skew plot data if not accounted for, tough tillage situations, why spreading out your planting window is so crucial, checking stalk quality of standing fields and keeping an eye on harvest loss till the last field is harvested.

 Beans are disappearing fast, but make sure to keep an eye on stalk quality while waiting for corn to dry down, especially in fields that didn’t get sprayed. Everyone at the field be on the lookout for signs of a field fire and of team burnout in these long dry stretches. These reminders and more in this week’s Boots In The Field Report.

Drier areas showing some crazy swings in bean yields within a field.  Ken shares that corn that dies before black layer will dry down slower, reminds growers to recalibrate yield monitors as need with moisture swings between fields, and for operations to have a fire plan for these dry conditions.

“Don’t ignore your gas gauge” Ken Ferrie talks initial yields coming in from early April corn and breaks down why a statement taken out of context can be very dangerous for approaching phosphorus applications this fall in this week’s Boots In The Field Report.

In this Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie recaps his Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois farm visits comparing disease and insect pressure, pollination progress, moisture status, and yield estimates across the different territories.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie reports high variability from field to field in pollination issues and disease pressure for corn in central IL. Between tip pull back, tar spot, and southern rust some of the top end yield has been reduced in comparison to last year’s crop. He also talks with Matt Duesterhaus about weather conditions and yield potential in western IL. Ken stresses scouting now to be able to make more accurate yield estimates for this season.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers how heavy fog delayed pollination and what problems that caused. He advises scouting the fields and noting the issues with pollination now when the cause is evident instead of being mystified by the lack of yield at harvest.  With all this wet weather Ken also warns growers to watch for ear molds, especially in corn on corn fields. He also points out that Physoderma Brown Spot and Southern Rust can look similar.

 In this week’s Boots In The Field Report, Ken Ferrie covers how current weather patterns are setting the stage in Tar Spot Alley and shares an update on three new counties where tar spot has been confirmed. Ken also dives into pollination concerns showing up in hybrids planted around April 14th and warns how upcoming weather could further hinder pollination success. With sightings of winged aphids on the rise, Ken urges growers to stay alert for disease pressure and pest activity—scouting now could make all the difference. 

Ken covers how pollination uniformity can change the amount of silk clipping pressure a field can take, wide spread potassium deficiencies, how bean stage needs to be evaluated before doing rescue applications, and the elephant in the room - Tar Spot. He covers reports coming in, next steps, and reminders of what we learned from past tar spot outbreaks.