Details

January 6th, 2016

Details

January 6th, 2016

Details

November 12th, 2015

As seen in Illinois AgriNews on October 23th 2015

With all the work that growers have to tackle this time of year, it may seem premature to think about 2016 spring planting. Yet, shifting from a linear, “one season at a time” approach to a more 365-day yield strategy can pay measurable dividends—especially in increasing actual production-harvest numbers. 

The fact of the matter is growers can proactively affect 2016-yield potential right now by making a few postharvest decisions to promote an ideal seedbed for next season.

Optimize Fall Tillage Opportunities

Fall tillage

Details

October 1st, 2015

As seen in Illinois AgriNews on September 18th 2015

The dry, warm weather in August has quickly matured crops, and it won’t be long before combines start rolling. For optimum yield potential and labor efficiency, growers can use five factors to evaluate their fields and establish a smart harvest-sequence schedule.

1. Overall plant health

Developing a harvest strategy starts with looking broadly at each field’s overall plant health. Some trouble-free fields can withstand a little drydown, depending on prior nitrogen management and drainage. More likely, however, given the wet spring and

Details

August 13th, 2015

Join us for a great meal
 and new product information.

Tuesday, August 18

4:00-8:00 p.m.

Plot tours throughout the evening for corn, soybeans, and cover crops.

PLUS:

Drone demonstration over fields. See how this innovative technology can benefit your business.

Yield 365 Strategy: What Growers Can Expect This Fall? -presented by Sean Jordal, Agronomist.

How To Produce High-Yielding Soybeans? -presented

by Doug Goodman, Peterson Genetics.

Join Us!

Details

July 22nd, 2015

As we wind ourselves through the dog days of summer, I thought a summary of agronomic opportunities in corn would be good to review.

1.) Pollination:  The most critical 5 - 8 days of your corn plants life.  At this point the corn plant stops developing more leaves and root mass has primarily established.  Stresses endured during this time period and beyond directly impact final yield.

a.) Most corn pollination takes place mid-morning to early afternoon, when conditions are dry and before the hottest portion of the day.

b.) An average ear has between 750-1000 silks.  Each

Details

July 1st, 2015

The delays this spring and early summer attributable to heavy rainfall, many of the corn and especially soybean fields that didn't get a foundation herbicide are starting to get a little, well for lack of a better term, UGLY.  With this in mind I thought a quick reminder of usage rates and tank-mix partners might be helpful this week.  I just hope we get a chance to use them.

Glyphosate can be applied over the top of Roundup Ready soybeans up to 1.5 lb ae/acre.  This is equivalent to 44 fl oz of Roundup PowerMax/WeatherMax, 48 fl oz of Touchdown Total or Durango DMA/Duramax, or

Details

June 25th, 2015

In an effort to avoid sounding like a broken record, I am going to avoid dwelling on the abundant blessings we have received over the past several weeks in the form of liquid sunshine.

This past week Emerson Nafziger put out a nice article focused on Nitrogen availability and the current rainfall totals we have accumulated.  Please take a minute to read through his article.  Here is the link, click here.

Some other issues that are starting to pop up across the corn fields would be the potential for Gray Leaf Spot (GLS).  With all the surface moisture on the corn

Details

June 17th, 2015

If rain makes grain then there sure should be lots of yield, or so you would think.  The challenge is too much of any weather pattern can turn out to be counterproductive.  With all of the moisture, we also need clear skies and direct sunshine so photosynthesis can convert the available water into energy for the plant.

Plants are only able to utilize a portion of the solar radiation spectrum.  This portion is known as "Photosynthetically Active Radiation" or PAR which is estimated to be only 40-50% of the total radiation available from the sun.  PAR is generally reduced by

Details

June 15th, 2015

Performance, ROI Come Down to Timing, Testing

As seen in Illinois Agrinews on June 12th, 2015

ASHKUM, Ill.—As crops are emerging across the Midwest, growers who hold different nitrogen-management views and techniques all generally share the same question: “Do I have enough nitrogen to maximize my yield?”

The good news is, even after emergence and faced with the typical unknowns about the weather ahead, growers still have options.

Application Rates and Methodology

Multiple studies and on-farm reports point to a sound rule that says for every bushel of yield, a corn plant demands approximately

Details

June 10th, 2015

Well, another week has come and gone.  Not a bad week overall.  Planting percentages have added a couple more points in both corn and soybeans and, grain markets have improved.  It appears that most of the corn is planted.  There are scattered fields of soybeans to get in yet.  Fields need to dry following a rainy weekend.  Area growers reported rainfall totals ranging from .5 to nearly 4 inches.  There were some reports of minimal hail damage.  Nitrogen applications and post herbicide treatments have been made where soils are dry enough for

Details

May 19th, 2015

The 2015 crop is off and running at what some may feel is at a snail’s pace, but when compared to recent history we are ahead of last year and far beyond the five year history.  In the May 10^th USDA report Illinois reported corn planting at 88% completed and soybeans at 33%, which are both 10% higher than 2014 and over 20% higher than the average since 2010.  This would mimic what I have been hearing across our sales territories from our Seed Specialists.  The recent rains and cool weather has slowed recent progress on those numbers but we are in very good shape none the

Details

April 24th, 2015

A review of Corn+Soybean Digest’s “9 Basics for Top Soybean Yields” article published on December 8, 2014. In the article, Susan Winsor of the Digest talks with three rising stars in soybean production—graduate students Adam Gaspar, Ethan Smidt and David Marburger, who collectively make up the Bean Team at the University of Wisconsin. Their super mission was topping 87 bushels per acre by using nine basic agriculture techniques. In this article, we’ll explore my take on the accomplishment of these young men.

One of my first observations is that the young farmers focus on costs, but not

Details

March 3rd, 2015

"In order to increase our chances at profitability, cattle producers must reduce feed costs and this can be done most effectively through aggressive management of our forages. The best returns from pasture fertilization will depend on effective utilization through well-managed livestock and forage programs"

- Doug Hanson, Seed Specialist/Forage Seeds Lead

Click here to read the full article on fertilizing forages from the Jan./Feb. 2014 IL Beef Magazine.

Details

March 2nd, 2015

Recommendations for Frost Seeding

Evergraze White Clover is a high yielding, easy to establish ladino white clover.  This variety works great in close grazing situations and is very persistent in dry conditions.  Click here for the Evergraze tech sheet.  Ladino white clover is seeded at approximately 4 to 6 pounds per acre.

Freedom Red Clover is an excellent companion to most cool season grasses for both grazing and haying. Freedom has reduced stem pubescence and large leaves that make it ideal for grazing and hay production. Click here for the Freedom Red Clover tech

Details

February 25th, 2015

Big argument for growers as the 2015 growing season begins to unfold. An article from the University of Wisconsin, "Do we Grow Another Bushel or Save A Buck?" outlines some of the most important management decisions that growers face in the 2015 season.  The big problem for 2015 is the expected decreased price of corn commodities. Because 2014 was a huge crop year, growers face either growing more corn to earn the same amount of money or cutting costs to help raise the ROI on growing less corn.

In a candid interview with Sean Jordal, we look at what is happening within the industry and

Details

January 9th, 2015

Winter Meetings - 2015

Details

December 2nd, 2014

Details

November 12th, 2014

Anhydrous Ammonia Effects on Soil Properties

By: John Woerner

Anhydrous ammonia is sometimes portrayed as being "bad for the soil."  A common accusation is that NH3 makes the soil hard or "burns" up the organic matter.  A long-term (10 year) study was conducted in Kansas to determine the effects of various nitrogen sources on several soil properties.  Results from the study showed that there were no significant differences in soil bulk density (a measure of soil compaction) among N sources or between N sources and untreated plots.  This was true whether bulk density

Details

October 23rd, 2014

Field Observations

by: John Woerner

Fungicide makes a difference even in 70 bushel soybeans. Applications of a fungicide plus an insecticide added over 5 bushels to already 70 bushel beans. If you made a fungicide application this year, pay attention to each variety’s response. Some varieties do respond differently.

SDS reared its ugly head in a few fields this year with dramatic affects. Several reports of SDS affecting either entire fields or wide swaths in a field with yields being dragged as low as 35 bpa. Again, pay attention to the varieties being affected and those that weren’t. Also,

Details

September 25th, 2014

Weekly Scouting Report - September 23, 2014

Hello everyone! For the most part we have finished scouting for 2014. The main issue I’ve seen during this pre-harvest pass is stalk quality. Anthracnose came in late and has done a lot of damage across the region. Nitrogen deficiencies from elevation or nitrogen management are other causes of poor plant health. So again, I must reiterate the importance of keeping an eye on stalk strength and health when making harvest timing decisions.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that moisture from plant to plant can change by 3-4 points. Plants that have

Details

September 23rd, 2014

KEEP AN EYE ON THOSE STALKS

Thought you were done scouting fields? Generally, as your corn reaches black layer the risks from pests and diseases diminishes dramatically, but not when it comes to stalk rots. I’m sure some of you have noticed fields that have prematurely died. Those are the fields you should take a walk in.

Harvest losses can be avoided by early harvest if stalk rot is detected at a 15-20% level. Fields should be scouted every 7-10 days until harvest or a 20% stalk rot level is observed. Harvest these fields with weakened stalks as soon as it is practical. Yes, it is a difficult

Details

September 18th, 2014

Weekly Scouting Report - September, 16, 2014

Hello everyone. I hope everyone survived the wet season we witnessed last week. With that said there was not much scouting that went on, but there was a lot of discussion throughout my network about the amount of Anthracnose that is being found in the corn fields. I looked at fields yesterday and saw how it is affecting stalk and general plant health. There may be three out of ten plants that have prematurely died because of the disease. When I pushed plants to check stalk strength, these are the ones that break. With the conditions we are

Details

September 10th, 2014

Weekly Scouting Report - September 10, 2014

Hello! We are starting our 3^rd trip through corn this week. I have noticed two things in the corn I have scouted. One is the presence of ear molds, the other is anthracnose in the upper part of the plant. The yield checks we are very good. Ear consistency is very good with size differences occurring in different soil types. Low areas and low CEC areas are showing nitrogen deficiencies and that’s where I am seeing stalk issues. Below are examples of anthracnose and different ear molds.

Anthracnose

Ear Mold

Gibberella ear rot is caused by the

Details

September 8th, 2014

Let ProHarvest Seeds help you with your 365-day yield strategy.