Agronomy News

EPA Opens Public Comment Period On Draft Fungicide Strategy

Mon, 04 May 2026 22:17:01 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering the U.S. public an opportunity to help shape the future of agricultural safety, unveiling a draft Fungicide Strategy designed to balance the needs of American farmers with the protection of the nation’s most vulnerable wildlife.

The proposal marks a significant step in the agency’s effort to meet its dual mandates under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). By creating a more efficient and transparent framework for pesticide registration, the EPA says it aims to “safeguard more than 1,000 federally endangered and threatened species” while ensuring growers maintain the tools necessary to protect the nation’s food supply.

A New Framework for Modern Farming

The draft strategy focuses on conventional agricultural fungicides across the lower 48 states — an area covering approximately 41 million treated acres annually. Rather than a one-size-fits-all mandate, the proposal introduces a three-step framework:

Identify Impacts: Assessing potential population-level effects on listed species.
Mitigation Planning: Pinpointing specific measures to reduce those risks.
Targeted Application: Determining exactly where these protections are most needed based on where endangered and threatened species live and how fungicides move through the environment.

The agency emphasizes that while this strategy guides future regulatory actions, it does not impose immediate requirements. Instead, the strategy serves as a roadmap for upcoming registration reviews, with the EPA promising public input on every specific action before it is finalized.

Balancing Innovation and Conservation

Saying that it recognizes farmers are the backbone of the U.S. economy, the EPA’s draft includes several updates to provide greater flexibility. Notably, the plan expands options for reducing spray drift buffer distances and introduces new mitigation tools, such as the use of “guar gum” as a spray adjuvant.

"[American farmers] need a diverse toolbox of innovative agricultural technologies to manage crop disease, prevent resistance, and produce the affordable, nutritious food that feeds our country,” the EPA says, in a press release. “The draft Fungicide Strategy is designed to ensure those innovative tools remain available and that they are used in ways that protect the environment and endangered species.

How to Get Involved

In a push for transparency, the EPA has opened a 60-day public comment period to gather feedback from scientists, conservationists, Tribal partners and the agricultural community.

Public Comment: Stakeholders can review the strategy and submit formal feedback via (Docket: EPA-HQ-OPP-2026-2973) through June 29, 2026.
Informational Webinar: The agency will host a public webinar on May 20, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET to walk through the proposal and answer questions. Register here .

The EPA expects to review all public input and finalize the Fungicide Strategy by November 2026.

Corteva's Bold Move: What Splitting Crop Protection and Seed Businesses Means for the Future

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 18:27:19 GMT

Global agriculture technology company Corteva announced plans on Wednesday to separate into two independent, publicly traded entities: “new” Corteva, which will continue to sell crop protection products – herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and biologicals – and SpinCo, which will focus on the seed genetics business.

SpinCo will include Pioneer, the company’s legacy seed brand established in 1926, as well as Brevant and regional seed brands, including Dairyland Seed.

Upon separation of the companies, Greg Page, current Corteva chairman, will lead new Corteva, while Chuck Magro, current Corteva CEO, will become CEO of SpinCo.

In announcing the decision by Corteva, Magro said the farmer-centric organization appreciates that its customers want and need choice across their input decisions.

“The best way, maybe I can even say, the only way for this company to preserve and expand that choice and keep putting innovative, effective, sustainable solutions into the hands of farmers around the world is to give both businesses the freedom to operate without having to look out for the other,” said Magro, during an online presentation primarily focused on company investors.

He added that the separation of the company into two entities will allow both businesses to maximize long-term value for farmers, customers, employees and shareholders.

Magro described SpinCo – with expected net sales of $9.9 billion in 2025 (56% of current Corteva sales) – as “a classic growth compounder” that will pursue opportunities in out-licensing, hybrid wheat, biofuels and gene editing.

“The continued success of our SpinCo business will be predicated upon sustained investment in advanced genetics and further capitalizing on our unique route to market,” Magro said.

As a pure-play crop genetics company, Magro predicts SpinCo could go beyond its corn and soybean core into other row crops, even expanding into other areas like fruits and vegetables.

“Spinco will also look to expand on new opportunities in wheat, cotton, rice and other products, where genetics can play a transformative role,” he said. “In other words, we could see SpinCo playing in a vastly expanded addressable market.”

Corteva Crop Protection Business Is Future-Focused

For new Corteva, Magro characterized the crop protection industry as competitive and tough, but that company leaders anticipate the market will return to growth in the near future.

“At new Corteva, success will be built upon an optimized supply chain, a new level of operational excellence and the ability to invest in the next generation of sustainable, differentiated innovation, including biologicals and other nature-based products,” he said.

Magro said as company leaders weighed the pros and cons of separating the two companies, they made the decision with the future in mind.

“This is not about today, and it’s not certainly about the last six years. This is about what we see coming,” he said. “We’re in a market that we need to look out 10-years plus. That’s just the research and development and the timeline it takes to bring technology into the marketplace. So this is a long-term decision that we are making.”

Corteva’s 2025 net sales for its crop protection business are estimated to be $7.8 billion (44% of the current company’s total).

During Magro’s remarks, he gave no indication of where the two companies will be based. Corteva’s global headquarters is currently based in Indianapolis, Ind., while Johnston, Iowa, is home to its seed business.

The transaction separating Corteva and SpinCo is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.

Corteva was formed in 2018 as the agriculture-focused subsidiary of DowDuPont, following the merger of the two companies. Corteva was spun-off as its own entity in 2019.

Your next read: Fertilizer Decisions: Balance Costs, Yields and Sustainability

Artificial Intelligence Joins The Fight Against Weeds, Insects And Disease

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 13:53:42 GMT

The crop protection industry needs a reboot, according to Tony Klemm.

As CEO of Enko, a crop-protection startup, he says the company is taking a different approach to solving one of agriculture’s biggest problems – developing safe, effective and sustainable crop protection products that can be brought to the marketplace faster and more economically.

Traditional discovery pipelines for herbicides, fungicides, insecticides are not keeping pace with real challenges farmers face, such as resistance issues, he told Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk on Thursday.

A 2024 study funded by Crop Life International reports the costs associated with bringing a new active ingredient to major U.S. and European markets now top $300 million. In addition, the survey says the average lead time between the first synthesis of a new crop protection molecule and its subsequent commercial introduction is now over 12 years.

Part of the long development time required is related to regulatory hurdles. “There’s just increasing demand for meeting environmental safety needs, rightfully so,” Klemm says.

A Paradigm Shift
Enko, based in Mystic, Conn., is using artificial intelligence (AI) and a machine learning discovery platform to guide the company’s research and development efforts. Klemm describes the strategy as a paradigm shift from the current industry practices for how small molecule crop protection discovery has been done.

“We use DNA-encoded libraries, and these libraries allow our scientists to explore this massive, diverse chemical space in a very targeted, automated and expansive way,” he says.

The technology allows Enko scientists to look at billions of molecules and screen them for safety and efficacy and, in the process, develop them faster and more economically.

“We still have to take the regulatory journey that, right now, no one’s figured out a way to expedite,” he notes. “But getting to that regulatory queue faster and better on the front side is really what’s bringing us that cost savings, that efficacy and is going to allow for more products to be put into the regulatory queue in a faster manner.”

Progress To Date
So far, Klemm says Enko has delivered about 50 active programs that cover all facets of weeds, insects and disease. Many use novel or new modes of action that Klemm believes will help farmers fight resistance issues, such as herbicide resistance in Palmer amaranth and pigweed.

“We’re really working on how we can bring new modes of action to farmers, give them fresh tools to win that fight. And our chemistries work using fewer active ingredients, from perspective of the load on the acre, so we’re designing safer chemistry for the future,” he says.

Specifically, Klemm says Enko recently announced a new grass herbicide is in the pipeline for the European cereals market for control of black grass. The company also has conducted field trials for corn and soybean products in the U.S. that he anticipates are five to 10 years away from market launch, depending on how long they take to move through regulatory channels.

Your next read: Bayer Affirms Support of Glyphosate, Optimistic for a Future with Over the Top Dicamba Labels

John Deere-Sentera Tie Up: Here’s What We Know So Far

Tue, 27 May 2025 15:40:37 GMT

John Deere has announced its acquisition of Minnesota-based aerial optics innovator Sentera. Although specific details are few and far between this early in the process, here’s what we know so far:

The two companies have a long history. John Deere was the first enterprise customer Sentera signed onto its system over a decade ago, and the two companies have had an API link in place between Sentera’s drone management software and John Deere’s Operations Center since 2016.
Financial details are not being disclosed. We do know the deal is not subject to any further regulatory or shareholder approvals.
In a similar fashion to the Blue River Technologies and Bear Flag Robotics acquisitions, Sentera will maintain its independence as a free-standing business unit. Once fully integrated into the Deere family, Sentera will operate under the John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group (ISG) framework. Sentera leadership will remain at its St. Paul, Minn., headquarters.
For the time being, no major changes are planned for either company as we head into the heart of the summer crop scouting and spraying season. The two companies anticipate having more details to share about the nuts and bolts of the acquisition this fall.
The two groups are a natural fit. Sentera is aggressively marketing its SmartScripts drone weed mapping program, and the technology is complimentary to John Deere’s Operations Center and its See & Spray and ExactApply application technologies. One driving force behind this deal, Farm Journal is told, is Deere’s motivation to integrate more real-time agronomic data into its Operations Center platform, and Sentera’s aerial data capture capabilities can help make that happen.

(John Deere)

A deal to lift both boats. John Deere has built up a deep bench of artificial intelligence, machine learning and autonomous technology expertise within ISG, and Sentera has a long track record of aerial sensing and camera payload innovation. Considering how many cameras and sensors are included from the factory on new John Deere machines and within its Precision Upgrades retrofit kits, there should be a healthy cross pollination of sensor and camera innovation between Urbandale, Iowa, (where ISG is based) and St. Paul, Minn.
Sentera can help make See & Spray even better. SmartScripts uses drone-based imaging to scan a field and build a weed pressure map which is then loaded onto the sprayer’s in-cab computer. Now the sprayer operator can see exactly where weeds are in the field and focus their spraying efforts there first. There’s also a logistical and planning aspect to SmartScripts: by knowing exactly how many weeds are present in the field, and even what type of weeds are there, an adept operator can have the right active ingredients premixed and the exact amount needed loaded into the tank or staged nearby in a tender truck to keep that sprayer running all day long.

“Farming is becoming a very sensor and data-centric business, and in our opinion, there isn’t anyone doing it at broad scale today better than John Deere,” says Eric Taipale, chief technology officer, Sentera. “The way we can bring these data-driven insights and improve grower outcomes — it’s just what we’ve always been about. It’s what John Deere is all about. There’s such a great mesh between the two cultures, the objectives and the mission of the two organizations.”

Joseph Liefer, global technology marketing lead at John Deere, adds, “We’re excited about how this complements our existing portfolio with See & Spray, and then not just that (product). Now a farmer with an individual nozzle-controlled sprayer from any manufacturer can also leverage this technology. A drone can fly their field, generate a weed map, turn it into a prescription in Operations Center and the machine can go execute the plan. From an ag retailer standpoint, that might have a mixed fleet, and this gives them more tools in the toolbox to do targeted application for growers and help them save on herbicide. We view this deal as complementary to our overall tech strategy.”

Your Next Read: MAHA Report’s Surprising Stance on Glyphosate, Atrazine Explained

Lawsuits May Complicate the Future of Glyphosate

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 13:11:26 GMT

Glyphosate is keeping several California courtrooms busy. It’s premature to start digging through your farm’s records to see how things were done in the pre-Roundup Ready days, but litigation could impact the future of glyphosate in farming operations.

Although there is a strong body of scientific evidence indicating glyphosate used in accordance with labeling requirements does not result in negative impacts for human health or the environment, the threat of litigation losses has already resulted in business decisions to pull back access to the herbicide.

Bayer Pulls Residential Sales

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have brought numerous class action lawsuits alleging glyphosate caused cancer, specifically, non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The plaintiffs allege Monsanto (later acquired by Bayer in 2018) failed to notify users the World Health Organization’s cancer research arm stated glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Most of the plaintiffs in these cases have been residential users and groundskeepers who used the product for landscaping purposes. The first jury trials resulted in decisions for the plaintiffs accompanied by astronomical damages. Despite the body of evidence and EPA’s continued approval of glyphosate as a safe pesticide, Bayer decided to settle the litigation to manage its costs.

In June 2020, Bayer and the plaintiffs counsel announced a $10 billion settlement to resolve the claims of 125,000 plaintiffs. Of those plaintiffs, 95,000 accepted the terms of the settlement whereas 30,000 have chosen to continue to litigate the case. Although this settlement resolved much of the existing litigation, Bayer still faces exposure from future claims that have not been filed. This means as long as glyphosate is on the market, there will be a potential for new claims to continue to rise.

Bayer attempted to resolve this matter by offering $2 billion to resolve a future class action to compensate future claimants, a common practice in class action litigation. However, the federal judge overseeing the case rejected this settlement on the basis that it would limit the recovery of punitive damages for plaintiffs that were not yet parties in the case. Without the option to limit future losses, Bayer made the decision to remove glyphosate from its Roundup products marketed for residential use.

Science Versus Economics

Although residential applications of glyphosate account for a small fraction of the glyphosate used in the U.S., most of the plaintiffs in the class action cases were residential users and groundskeepers. Taking these products off the residential market helps to control financial losses.

Bayer has committed to continuing to sell glyphosate for agricultural purposes. However, it’s important to understand that even with science on their side, businesses are subject to the constraints of math.

Learn more on why Bayer is removing glyphosate from the U.S. residential lawn and garden marketplace .

Dirty Boots Advocacy: Farm Journal Announces Carbon Council

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 19:05:28 GMT

Farm Journal announces the formation of The Carbon Council, comprised of eight farmers and ranchers who actively participate in and advocate for carbon-related programs.

Recognizing the need for thought leadership in the carbon market, Farm Journal stepped up to help the industry navigate the carbon space by assembling this group of diverse leaders in agriculture. These charter members bring a range of expertise and the drive to share the financial and ecological benefits of carbon programs.

Members of The Carbon Council include:

Rick Clark, Williamsport, Ind.
Meredith Ellis, Rosston, Texas
Lukas Fricke, Ulysses, Neb.
P.J. Haynie, Reedville, Va.
Trey Hill, Rock Hall, Md.
Mitchell Hora, Washington, Iowa
Kyle Mehmen, Plainfield, Iowa
Ben Riensche, Jessup, Iowa

“Farm Journal is committed to being an advocate for producers from grassroots efforts to top-down efforts in national and state policies,” said Charlene Finck, president of Farm Journal. “We’re proud to form this prestigious council that will provide knowledge in the carbon arena, practical and factual advocacy and a valuable sounding board.”

The group, which will include additional members, meets regularly to discuss the latest development in the carbon space, upcoming innovations and trends/policy developments to watch. Their thought leadership will be valuable for policy makers, carbon market participants and fellow producers.

Farm Journal will leverage the knowledge and experience of The Carbon Council to guide its coverage of carbon-related issues on its more than 20 media platforms including print, digital and broadcast, as well as its work with industry partners to drive conservation and sustainability across all of agriculture.

Farm Journal’s commitment to informing agriculture audiences about carbon-related issues began in 2020 with the launch of the Carbon Innovation Center , which is hosted on AgWeb.com. Farmers, ranchers and industry stakeholders from all segments of agriculture rely on this resource for the latest news and information about carbon initiatives.

For more information go to agweb.com/carbon .

Take Our Poll: How Frequently Do You Soil Test?

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 14:11:49 GMT

With sky-high fertilizer prices, you want to take a Goldilocks approach for applications — not too much, not too little but just right. How can you perfectly sync your rates to each field’s needs?

Soil sampling can be a great play to start. The results can help you understand your nutrient needs and track changes over time.

How often do you soil test each of your fields?

Take our poll below.

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Set the Stage for Soil Health with These Best Practices

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 18:38:48 GMT

Apply best management practices for long-term success

If you are adding a new farm for next season, take a hard look at soil health amid the backdrop of higher fertility and input costs. Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, says start with the canvas rather than the paint, as focusing on the soil setup can pay big dividends toward long-term success. She suggests these strategies.

(Farm Journal)

1. SOIL SAMPLE BY ZONE

“When we think about flipping the soil or trying to get it in good shape, the first thing we always look at is soil fertility,” Bauer explains. “That starts with making sure soil samples are taken at the right depth and pulled by management zones or soil types.”
Always ask what soil sample depth your soil lab is calibrated to, as that can vary by lab.

2. EVALUATE AND REDUCE PH

“Once we get data from the lab we must check and manage pH because we cannot do well agronomically if we have acidic soils for raising corn and soybeans,” Bauer says. “In much of the Midwest, we need to add lime to stay in that range of 6.5 to 6.8 pH.”

3. REMOVE COMPACTION LAYERS

“A lot of fields that struggle have soil density issues or layers that impede root growth and water infiltration,” Bauer says.
For example, she says corn roots should grow down through the soil at a 35-to-40-degree angle. A simple root dig can shed light on whether those roots are being impacted by changes in density.

“In the spring, some fields will just stay saturated longer after a rain,” Bauer explains. “What happens is that water hits those density layers, and it can’t push through until it builds up enough head pressure.”

(Farm Journal)

4. FIX IT, DON’T FORGET IT

While your plan might be no-till or reduced tillage, a rescue pass might be needed to fix soil density.

“Even some of our best no-tillers own vertical tillage equipment because they might have to go in and fix a field,” Bauer says. “Deep shanks with uniform spacing and shatter across the machine can take out those layers. A vertical tillage leveling tool can level it out before converting the field back to no-till.”

5. RESPECT WORKING CONDITIONS

Always aim to avoid putting stress on soil, Bauer adds. This often means respecting field conditions and the weather forecast.

“If we have a wet fall, consider the size of loads you are pulling across fields with your grain cart,” she says. “If we get a wet spring and we make those ‘dry out’ tillage passes, then we tend to have more soil compaction problems.”

6. DON’T COVER MISTAKES

When rehabilitating a field, Bauer advises to focus on the big issues first — soil pH, fertility and uniform soil density. “Then we can consider adding cover crops into the program to help improve soil aggregate stability,” she says.

Financial Support for Soil Health

USDA is investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 projects under the first Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding pool. The projects, which seek funds ranging from $5 million to $100 million, include everything from flood control to building carbon markets.
According to Tom Vilsack, USDA secretary, these efforts will “increase the competitive advantage of U.S. agriculture both domestically and internationally.”

USDA says farmers can expect:

Technical and financial assistance to implement voluntary climate-smart practices.
Methods to quantify, monitor, report and verify greenhouse gas benefits.
New markets and promotion in climate-smart commodities.

After sifting through 450 proposals, USDA’s funding recipients include groups such as government entities, farmer co-ops, university and conservation groups. Trust In Food, Farm Journal‘s sustainability division, is one of the recipients.

Clinton Griffiths is a TV newsman, turned magazine editor, with a passion for good stories. He believes the best life lessons can be found down a dirt road.

One Nebraska Farmer Says Improving Soil Health Helped Keep Her on the Land

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 22:12:19 GMT

In a moisture deficit area, such as southwest Nebraska, conservation and regenerative practices have long been a staple for farmers. These methods boost soil health and help make their farms more productive and economically stable. That’s important especially in drought years such as 2022.

“Conservation is farming in southwest Nebraska.” That mindset is a necessity for Tracy Zink. Moisture is typically scarce where she farms near Indianola, Neb., so it’s essential she preserve every drop. She accomplishes that by disturbing the soil as little as possible, even for weed control.

“For the most part all of our dryland we try very hard to be no-till. If weeds get away from us or they’re resistant we try to only do the spot where the resistance is,” she says.

No-till practices have improved organic matter and soil health, which keeps even heavy rains from running off and eroding the soil. Plus they leave as much crop residue intact after harvest as possible.

“We try to always have residue on top to help protect soil from blowing,” Zink explains. “When I think about soil quality it’s also that it stays put.”

Crop rotation is also important. On irrigated acres that includes two seasons of corn followed by soybeans. Zink says the dryland rotations are more diverse but depend on moisture levels. We always do wheat, hard red winter wheat is our base for the next crop. Following that, half the acres go to milo and half of our wheat acres go to corn. Then the following year they become corn or milo. The year following is typically summer fallow.

Zink does annual soil testing to set a baseline for fertility, and with the arid environment, she says she has to strike a balance between yield and conservation.

“I don’t look for home runs in yield because I don’t have the water for it. I already have to have that conservation mindset for my yield goals,” she says.

Every practice Zink incorporates on her farm must fit into her holistic approach to conservation because she wants to continue the work her grandparents started. “As you look out and around, none of this would be possible if we weren’t incredibly mindful about proper stewardship, soil conservation and managing wind and water erosion.”

By improving soil health she knows her farm will be sustainable for years to come.

Flip Your Soil: Climate Smart Agriculture New Name for Conservation Practices Designed to Promote Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 19:46:34 GMT

Soli health practices can help Flip Your Soil from good to great. These practices are also part of the new Climate Smart Agriculture push to sequester carbon and lower greenhouse gases.

USDA recently announced nearly $3 billion in funding for climate smart agriculture projects, but this isn’t a new concept for many farmers, they’ve been climate smart for years. Nebraska Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Robert Lawson says it’s just a new name for the many conservation practices growers are utilizing on their farms. “So, when we talk about climate smart ag, we talk about the practices we are implementing day in an day out. So whether that’s no-till, cover crops, crop rotation, nutrient management, those are some of the specific practices.”

The goal, he says, is to improve soil health and promote carbon sequestration. “Using no-till, cover crops that’s helping to build the organic matter over time and that is only helping improve the soil, reducing erosion and also improving water quality as well.”

Farmers are also using technology such as precision agriculture to better manage inputs and nutrients, which also improves soil health. “Whether that’s irrigation water management and nutrient management and variable rate technology,” according to Lawson.

These conservation practices also help farmers reduce the ever-rising cost of inputs on their farm. He says, “Oh absolutely it can help with the ledger sheet by reducing tillage practices over the field, by going no-till, reducing the amount of diesel that you need to buy for the year using cover crops to help with weed suppression so its not another pass over the operation.”

Lawson says many farmers integrated these practices into their operations, even before there was government or other incentives because they want their farms to be sustainable. “They’re the stewards of this land and the reason they are is because they know they want to, they need to keep it for future generations.”

And they want to leave the land better than they found it.

Manage Nutrients to Turn the Tide on Encroaching Regulations

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:04:46 GMT

If you think environmental regulation is not a real possibility, think again. The wheels leading to regulation turn slowly, says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie, but they’re moving.

“The Clean Water Act has been on the books since 1972,” Ferrie says. “It has passed through various rewrites and revisions.”

As of now, EPA has charged states with reducing nitrogen (N) losses by 25% and phosphorus (P) losses by 15% in troubled watersheds by 2025. The end goal is to reduce the losses of both nutrients by 45%. For farmers in most states, the emphasis still is on voluntary measures.

“If farmers fail to achieve this goal, it’s possible regulations on fertilizer use could be the next step,” Ferrie says. “Municipalities are already regulated as to how much pollution they can discharge. So farmers are not being singled out—it’s a joint effort to reduce pollution and, if anything, farmers are being given more opportunity than cities to accomplish their goal voluntarily.”

Farmers needs to use the 4Rs—right nutrient, right time, right rate and right place—to prevent fertilizer from leaving their fields and protect water resources. In the process, they’ll lower production cost while increasing yield and profit.

The 4Rs include a range of practices, some of which require more management than others. “But some of them are easy to adapt and should be common practices by everyone,” Ferrie says. “I call this shooting the slow rabbits first.”

When it comes to protecting water quality, N and P are two of the biggest concerns. The first step to keeping fertilizer in your fields and out of water supplies is to understand how nutrients are lost.

“Surface runoff and soil erosion account for the highest level of phosphorus loss from farm fields,” Ferrie says. “With nitrogen, loss occurs from volatility and denitrification, which release nitrogen into the atmosphere, and from leaching, in which nitrate is carried out of soil by water. When we reduce those losses, we increase nutrient availability to plants.”

With phosphorus, first steps involve controlling gully, sheet and rill erosion because phosphorus leaves fields attached to soil particles. “Erosion management is just another name for soil stewardship—preserving the health of soil so your kids and grandkids can farm it,” Ferrie says.

Preventing erosion might not require eliminating tillage. “However, we must be smarter about how we till,” Ferrie says. “Understand what tillage, if any, is best when and where to avoid creating erosion. In some fields, you may need to protect the tilled soil with a cover crop.

“Most farmers already have adopted systems that reduce erosion,” Ferrie adds. “But if you find yourself filling in gullies and ruts every season before you plant, that’s a sign you might be part of an environmental problem. Although abnormal rain at the wrong time can cause erosion, you should not have to address gullies and ruts every year.

“Another practice, or again a slow rabbit, as I like to call them, that should be common on all farms is basing all fertilizer applications, whether commercial fertilizer or manure, on a sound soil test,” Ferrie advises. “If you apply phosphorus to a soil that already tests high in P, you increase the risk of P leaving the field. And do not apply fertilizer or manure on
frozen ground.”

While some N might be lost through soil erosion, most losses are associated with water leaching down through the soil profile or leaving the field through tile lines. “Water moves faster through coarse soils, such as sand and sandy loam, than it does through heavier soil, such as clay loam,” Ferrie explains. “The faster it flows, the easier it is to flush out the nutrients.
“So the first step to more efficient nitrogen use is to assess the risk of loss for every soil type you farm. On high-risk soils, adjust your application practices to reduce the risk.”

In today’s N planning, timing is as critical as equipment. “Think about when you are applying nitrogen and how much the weather influences nitrogen loss before plants have a chance to take it up,” Ferrie says.

Whether natural or man-caused, the climate seems to be changing. “South of Interstate 64 in Illinois and Indiana, most farmers don’t apply nitrogen in the fall because the soil stays warm too long,” Ferrie says. “Based on the past decade’s weather, these farmers fertilizer practices might need to move a tier or two north.

“We can’t base nitrogen applications on the calendar anymore. We have to look at soil temperature and not apply until it stays below 50°F. Besides the environmental risk, applying nitrogen in the fall so plants can use it in June is a financial gamble. If weather conditions are perfect, you might not lose much; but if they aren’t, you can lose a lot. Often the loss occurs in the spring because of rain.

“All those factors make moving away from fall-applied nitrogen, in areas where fall weather stays warm, a slow rabbit,” Ferrie concludes.

While no-till, strip-till and vertical tillage prevent soil erosion, they can promote N loss if you fail to understand the effect on pH and residue. “Years ago, farmers would apply several tons of lime per acre and incorporate it through the soil profile with tillage,” Ferrie says. “But when you no longer incorporate, all that lime remaining on the surface creates a high-pH layer. That ties up available phosphorus and, more important, creates a risk of urea nitrogen volatility. With a high soil pH, nitrogen can volatilize in three hours.”

Even without high soil pH, residue on the soil surface increases the risk of N loss. “The urease enzyme, which drives volatility, is much higher in the crop residue than in the soil beneath it,” Ferrie says.

The solution is to apply less lime more frequently and use the correct stabilizer—a urease inhibitor to prevent volatilization. “And understand your nitrogen source,” Ferrie adds. “The more urea in your nitrogen fertilizer, the more risk of loss.”

Apply nutrients close to the time the crop will take them up to reduce the risk of loss. “We can no longer apply nitrogen in the fall and check the job off our list,” Ferrie says. “You need to know when plants take up nitrogen. You can find computer models on the internet that predict nitrogen uptake and use.”

Another way to think about N timing is that the closer to uptake you can apply N, the less chance plants will ever run short. “The key to high corn yield is to make sure plants never have a bad day,” Ferrie says.

The changes occurring in nutrient management symbolize a new era, when past practices no longer work. “To raise enough crops to feed nine billion people, we must consider the environmental aspect as well as the agronomic and economic,” Ferrie says. “If we don’t, there will be no way to avoid fertilizer regulations down the road.”

Survey Reveals Yield Benefits of Cover Crops

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:57:10 GMT

As more and more farmers turn to cover crops, they want to know if there are benefits beyond improved soil health and conservation. Are improved yields also in store?

Recent surveys from the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) certainly suggest so. More than 1,200 farmers participated in the 2015 survey, and results showed a mean increase of 3.66 bu. per acre in corn (2.1%) and 2.19 bu. per acre in soybeans (4.2%).

Chad Watts, CTIC program director, says he is encouraged to see farmers looking into the potential short-term and longer-term benefits of cover crops.

“It’s great to see the immediate benefits of yield increases from cover crops, and very exciting to see that the use of cover crops continues to expand,” he says. “What’s particularly interesting is that while seeing an immediate benefit like a yield bump from cover crops is great, the large majority of farmers who plant cover crops told us they actually rate improvements in soil health, increases in soil organic matter, reduced soil erosion and improved weed control far higher than yield increases when they list the benefits they enjoy from the practice. That shows a strong appreciation for the wide range of long-term benefits cover crops deliver.”

Once again for 2016, CTIC is calling for farmers to participate in its annual survey. Watts says it continues to inform others on farmer intentions, expectations and concerns surrounding cover crops.

“Results from the survey help guide policy, research and education on cover crops. In recent years, data from cover crop surveys has been used in testimony on Capitol Hill, featured in the New York Times, and cited in academic journals,” he says. “People are very eager to hear how farmers view cover crops.”

Take the survey at http://tinyurl.com/ccsurvey2016 .

Farmers who want to take a smarter approach to cover crop considerations can access a new tool from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that measures

seed/establishment costs, erosion reductions, grazing opportunities, soil fertility levels, nutrient credits and more. Users enter “what-if” scenarios into the tool to compare various short- and long-term benefits of adding cover crops .

“Our hope is that answers to some of the big economic questions will help more farmers give this conservation option a try,” according to NRCS state conservationist Ivan Dozier. “Cover crops are a good trend, and one that can actually pay off.”

To get started, visit http://1.usa.gov/225TjyR .

U.S. Pumpkin Growers Scared They'll Buck Big Production Trend

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:02:27 GMT

The trend is clear – U.S. consumers want pumpkins in their lattes, beers, pies and on their front porches. During the past 15 years, pumpkin production from all categories (fresh, processed, etc.) rose 31%. Pumpkin production was at 1.46 billion pounds in 2000 and rocketed to 1.91 billion pounds last year.

The USDA Economic Research Service attributes the rise to several factors, including popularity of urban pumpkin patches, fall festivals, new ornamental uses and seasonal cuisine. Per-capita use statistics show the average U.S. citizen uses 5.39 pounds of pumpkins each year for food and ornamental purposes.

This year could buck that trend, however, by no fault of consumer demand. Libby’s, the largest U.S. pumpkin producer, told Bloomberg earlier in October that yields in Illinois, the nation’s largest pumpkin-producing state, will be down big due to heavy summer rains. All told, they will only can around half of what the company initially forecasted, according to spokeswoman Roz O’Hearn.

“We think we’ll have enough pumpkins to get consumers through the important Thanksgiving holiday,” O’Hearn told Bloomberg . “[But after that, there’s going to be a shortage] until you get to the next harvest.”

Consumers will be waiting. According to Forbes , pumpkin beverages have soared 130% since 2006, and using pumpkins in restaurant dishes has increased tenfold over the past decade.

Give Your Soil a Physical Exam

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:05:06 GMT

New tools and tests provide benchmarks to measure progress as you improve the health of your soil

It’s a good idea to pay a visit to your doctor every year—even if you’re feeling fine. A complete physical exam can give you the piece of mind to keep doing what you’re doing, or it could uncover areas of concern.

Soil is no different. “By evaluating the health of soil, we can get an idea of what’s good; what’s bad; learn where to start making improvements; and set benchmarks to measure progress,” explains Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. “The process can tell you whether a piece of land you’re thinking about renting or purchasing will be a sound investment.”

There’s no time like the present to add a soil physical exam to your arsenal of management tools. “The sicker soil gets, the harder it is to bring it back to health,” Ferrie says. “New tools and laboratories offering soil quality analysis enable us to give soil a physical exam.”

You can’t expect all soils to attain the same level of health, Ferrie points out. “That would be like expecting an 83-year-old person to perform like a 17-year-old,” he says. “When you
understand your soil, you can make the most of what you have.”

A penetrometer measures soil resistance to penetration in pounds per square inch.

What to assess. A soil health evaluation involves assessing chemical, biological and physical aspects. You’re already familiar with the chemical aspect, which is your soil test. The biological aspect includes soil microorganisms that break down old crop residue and make nutrients available to plants.

Physical aspects include soil texture, aggregate stability, available water capacity, surface and subsurface hardness and infiltration rate. Texture and aggregate stability are key factors
that influence the other three traits.

“Soil texture—the amount of sand, silt and clay particles—affects nutrient- and water-holding capacity,” Ferrie says. “Farmers know water percolates easily into sand because of its large particles and pore spaces, but it tends to move right on through. It’s harder for water to infiltrate into a silt loam soil, but it tends to stay there after it enters. So the silt loam has more water-holding capacity.”

Think of aggregate stability as how well the soil maintains a crumb-like structure, in which sand, silt and clay particles are held together by organic matter and glues given off by mycorrhizal fungi.

“A healthy, crumb-like structure provides a stable structure for infiltrating and storing water,” says Robert Schindelbeck, Cornell University soil scientist. “The large macropores
between crumbs allow for rapid water intake and air exchange.”

A crumb-like structure allows better water infiltration, and downward and upward movement through the soil profile (via capillary action). “If we destroy that crumb-like structure (with abrasive tillage, for example), the soil surface will seal up, and water will run off,” Ferrie continues. “The surface will crust over and plants will have a tough time emerging.”

How to test. You can determine the percentage of sand, silt or clay by squeezing moist soil in your hand and trying to make a ribbon. “If it won’t make a ribbon, it’s sand,” Ferrie says. “How long a ribbon you can make determines whether it is silt loam, clay loam or some other texture.”

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers an online soil survey to help determine soil texture. You can also have it analyzed in a commercial laboratory.

“The online soil survey is an excellent resource,” Ferrie says. “Just choose your state and location, and it will tell you your soil types. From that, you can figure out the physical properties, such as organic matter content, bulk density, percent sand, silt, clay and water-holding capacity.”

Using GPS technology, an app called SoilWeb lets you stand in a field and pull up information about the field’s soil type and associated properties.

Aggregate stability can be determined by a lab, or you can figure it out yourself in the field using a slake test or a rainfall simulator, such as the Cornell University Sprinkle Infiltrometer.

“Degraded soil melts into a gooey mess after water is applied,” Schindelbeck says. “This can dry into a sealed surface crust. Well-aggregated, healthy soils have more crumbs, which retain
their structure and functionality after water is applied.”

To measure soil hardness, or compaction, you or your consultant will need to go to the field with a soil penetrometer. “Measurements must be taken when the soil moisture is at field capacity because dry soil might show resistance without being compacted,” Ferrie says. “Look for resistance above 300 psi because that’s the amount of hardness that roots have difficulty penetrating.”

There are an array of soil penetrometers on the market, with varying degrees of sophistication.

A logging penetrometer made by Spectrum Technologies measures resistance for every inch of soil. Connected to a GPS unit, it creates a map that identifies density layers in the field. Several years later, the farmer can return to the same spot to see if he has made progress in removing dense layers.

A simple infiltration rate test involves driving a 6" ring into the soil, pouring in a known volume of water and recording how long it takes to soak in the ground.

You can also measure the amount of organic matter in soil by comparing it to a simple color chart—but Ferrie recommends a laboratory analysis for repeatable results. “You need a laboratory to measure the amount of active carbon,” he says. “This is the fraction of organic matter that breaks down fastest and makes nutrients available for plants.”

“Different labs may use different organic matter tests,” points out consultant Dan Towery of Ag Conservation Solutions, West Lafayette, Ind. “It’s important to use the same lab each time, for repeatable results. Sampling depth also is important. Soil within 2" of the surface will show changes in organic matter content much faster than soil at 7".”

Another important component of soil health is mineralizable nitrogen. That is ammonium nitrogen, a form that can be used by plants and microbes, which might be provided by soil organic matter during the growing season. “If you know the soil’s potential to mineralize nitrogen, temperature and moisture conditions during the growing season, it will give you an indication of how much ammonium nitrogen will become available,” Ferrie says. “That will help you decide whether to make a late-season application of nitrogen fertilizer.”

Mineralizable nitrogen can be measured using the Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test or the Cornell University Mineralizable Nitrogen Test.

Take a deep breath. Ultimately, soil health boils down to the health of soil organisms, Ferrie says—healthy soil contains more life. “It’s no exaggeration to say the “livestock” in your soil are as important as the livestock in your feedlot or dairy, and just as sensitive to their environment,” Ferrie says.

“An experienced agronomist actually can estimate the amount of life in soil by smelling it,” Ferrie notes. “It’s the scent you detect when soil is tilled. But this is subjective and difficult to document. So you need to run a soil respiration test and establish a numerical value that you can work with.”

Because microbial organisms breathe (sort of like humans), the soil respiration test reflects how many creatures are present, doing their jobs by decomposing plant residue and releasing nutrients for your crop.

The necessary equipment to measure soil respiration is included in some commercially available soil health kits. “Results will vary, depending on soil temperature and moisture levels,” Towery adds.

“The soil respiration test can be done in the field or in a lab,” Ferrie says. “For repeatability of results, always use the same type of test.”

On the road to better health. Studying your soil health analysis report along with your own yield zone map will show you where to start making improvements, Ferrie says.

Like every aspect of management, soil health requires a long-term strategy. “Take your soil samples and measurements in the spring, when soil moisture is close to capacity,” Ferrie advises. “Record locations using GPS, so you can return every three to six years and measure your progress.”

Some aspects of improved soil health—such as balancing nutrients and pH, removing compaction layers (and keeping them out), installing drainage to manage the water table and applying manure to increase organic matter—probably will boost yield and profitability quicker. Other improvements will take longer.

“Soil health is somewhat like human health,” Ferrie says. “The immediate consequences of being overweight and out of shape may not be a big deal when you’re young. But they can shorten your life, or reduce the quality of your life, many years later.”

“Improving soil health takes time, maybe several years,” Towery says. “Soil improvements you make now may or may not show an immediate benefit to your bottom line. Over time, they will result in a farming system that is profitable and sustainable for you, your kids and your grandkids.”

Soil Health Tests and Tools

The following four tests can analyze the state of your soil’s health. Most of the tools are included in commercially manufactured test kits.

In many cases, the tests can also be done by commercial laboratories. When tests can be done both ways, it’s a good idea to compare the results of both to make sure they are similar.

Soil hardness, or compaction, can be measured with a penetrometer. An Internet search will reveal several penetrometer manufacturers.

Soil respiration is measured with carbon dioxide meters or infiltration rings and Draeger tubes. In the latter technique, air is drawn through the Draeger tube and comes in contact with carbon dioxide-sensitive paper. The test measures the carbon dioxide given off by the microorganisms as they breathe.

Sprinkle Infiltrometer With Accessory Kit

The Cornell University Sprinkle Infiltrometer simulates rainfall onto the soil surface. Apply a given amount of rainfall, and measure how much soil falls through a screen. The more soil remaining on the screen, the better the crumb-like structure and the healthier the soil. You can also use an accessory kit with the Sprinkle Infiltrometer to measure the infiltration rate of water. Drive a ring equipped with a hose that captures runoff into the ground. Use the Infiltrometer to apply a given number of inches of water per hour. Subtract what runs off from what was applied to get the infiltration rate for a given period of time. Or, you can simply drive the ring into the ground and record how long it takes for each inch of water to soak into the soil.

Slake Test

“The slake test involves scraping soil off the surface, dropping it on a screen inside a cylinder and immersing the cylinder in water several times,” explains Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. “If the soil is poorly aggregated, the onrush of water as you immerse the cylinder will blow the structure apart. Then smaller silt and clay particles will fall through the screen.” The cylinder on the left in the photo shows properly aggregated soil, and the one on the right shows poorly aggregated soil.

Air Dry Clods

One way to evaluate soil structure is to air dry clods from the same soil type but with different management systems in a jar of water, says Dan Towery of Ag Conservation Solutions, West Lafayette, Ind. With healthy, crumb-like structure (right), soil particles will hold together, bonded by organic matter and by glues produced by mychorrizal fungi, which are found around plant roots. With poor structure (left), the soil falls apart, or “melts away” when immersed in water.

Cornell University Takes Lead on Soil Health

Soil health is on its way to becoming a new buzzword in agriculture, and Cornell University is leading the charge.

The Cornell University Soil Health Team was formed in 2001. The primary goal of the soil and plant researchers was to learn why plants perform poorly in degraded soil conditions, explains Cornell University soil scientist Robert Schindelbeck.

“They concluded soil degradation had reduced the functioning of multiple soil processes,” Schindelbeck says. “They realized that soil physical and biological processes, which were not represented in standard soil nutrient analyses, needed to be routinely evaluated.”

The researchers set out to develop rapid, reliable and low-cost techniques to measure indicators of essential soil processes. Their efforts resulted in a soil health test that identifies constraints on the functions of healthy soil.

The university’s soil health testing service assigns a numerical value to four physical, four biological and four chemical components of soil. The color coded Cornell Soil Health Report report flags a grower’s attention to components that are constraining soil health and crop yield.

“I’m not aware of any other soil health test that provides the holistic assessment of soil constraints that ours does,” Schindelbeck says.

The university’s Soil Health website ( http://soilhealth.cals.cornell.edu ) describes the test and provides sampling and shipping instructions. A downloadable Soil Health Manual provides more information about the tests. There are links to management strategies farmers can consider to address soil health constraints. For farmers who wish to conduct their own tests of aggregate stability and infiltration, the university offers the Sprinkle Infiltrometer.

You can e-mail Darrell Smith at dsmith@farmjournal.com .

A Tale of Two Soils

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:59:23 GMT

On-farm tests help restore healthy soil characteristics

Imagine two farms less than a mile apart with the same silty clay loam and silt loam soil composition. During the past three years, corn yields on Farm A have averaged 200 bu. per acre on the silty clay loam soil and 187 bu. per acre on the silt loam. Farm B, on the other hand, has averaged only 130 bu. per acre on its silty clay loam portion and 123 bu. per acre on its silt loam.

The farmers of the two tracts use similar practices—no-till and a mostly corn/soybean rotation. The primary difference is that Farm A has been no-tilled for 30 years, and Farm B for only two years. Prior to that, it was farmed using horizontal tillage.

The massive structure of Farm B’s unhealthy soil shows why water fails to infiltrate and crop roots don’t penetrate.

Leaves, husks and silks were still evident on Farm B two years after a corn crop. Their presence indicates an absence of soil organisms, which indicates poor soil.

Perhaps you’ve seen similar yield differences in your own fields and wondered why one area yields more corn than another. Modern testing tools can help you pinpoint the culprit. On Farm B, the lower yields can be linked to poor soil health.

Farm A and Farm B are real. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie has been working with Farm B for four years, helping the farmer restore soil health in order to boost yields.

In the beginning, Ferrie used soil pits and visual observation to evaluate soil health. But now, simple on-farm tests let him and any farm operator give the soil a “physical exam.” The tests provide numerical soil health ratings, which serve as benchmarks for evaluating soil health improvements.

Ferrie gave both farms a physical exam this past spring. “Because of the difference in soil health, the best soil on Farm B still can’t yield as well as the poorest soil on Farm A,” he says.

“Improving soil health means sustaining productivity and profitability,” Ferrie explains. “It requires a systems approach because healthy soil involves many components. The components fall into three categories—physical, chemical and biological.

“In some cases, it might be possible to fix physical and chemical problems fairly quickly. Often, improvements take many years, especially when the biological component is involved. Even so, the 70-bu. yield difference between the two farms shows that improving soil health is worth the effort.”

A physical exam—just like the one your doctor gives you—begins by assessing the farm’s appearance. Even after four years of effort on Farm B, the visual differences were still striking.

“In spring 2012, despite some heavy rains, all of the old crop residue remained in place on Farm A, which even has some slopes.” Ferrie describes. “On Farm B, with much less slope, the old crop residue and the soil eroded away, carried off by water.”

A glance at the soil surface revealed part of the reason why water is infiltrating into the soil on Farm A but running off the surface on Farm B. There were thousands of night crawler burrows visible beneath the residue on Farm A but almost none on Farm B. “Among the benefits of night crawlers, their burrows allow water to infiltrate the soil,” Ferrie says. “They also help remove excess water, functioning like part of your drainage system.”

Part of the reason water couldn’t infiltrate the soil of Farm B was its degraded structure. Digging revealed impenetrable blocks of soil, compared with Farm A’s healthy crumb-like soil structure containing macropores for water and air.

Another symptom of poor health, visible on the surface of Farm B, was two years’ worth of old crop residue. Not only was 2012’s soybean residue present, but even the fine leaves, husks and silks, which should be among the first and easiest to decompose, were present from a corn crop grown two years ago.

“That indicates a biological problem because residue is decomposed by soil organisms,” Ferrie says. “The absence of night crawlers is one of the indicators that confirms it.”

Simple tests conducted by Ferrie’s assistant, Thomas Zerebny, placed the degree of Farm B’s problems on a numerical scale. He used equipment from a Gempler’s Soil Test Kit.

A slake test, which involves immersing surface soil in water and seeing whether it holds its structure, produced scores of 2.7 for Farm B’s silt loam and 5.0 for its silty clay loam, compared to 3.7 and 5.7, respectively, for the same two soils on Farm A. The higher the score, the healthier the soil structure and the less chance it will seal over during a rainstorm and restrict infiltration.

Zerebny used a rainfall simulator, available from Cornell University’s Soil Health website, to analyze aggregate stability or structure in the top 6" of soil. It revealed that structural problems on Farm B are not limited to the surface of the soil.

The rainfall simulator also documented the difference in water infiltration caused by poor soil structure. Farm A’s silty clay loam took in 8.6" of water per hour, compared with 2.8" per hour for Farm B’s silty clay loam. Farm A’s silt loam soil took in 3.6" of water per hour, compared with only ½" per hour on Farm B’s silt loam.

Gas detection tubes (also called Draeger tubes) were used to measure the amount of carbon dioxide being released by soil organisms. The beneficial organisms breathe oxygen and release carbon dioxide, just like people, which is why soil needs pore spaces—to provide oxygen for the microbes. The amount of carbon dioxide is an indication of microbial activity. The results showed about 50% more microbial activity in the healthy soils of Farm A.

Health quest. Ferrie’s examination of the results showed that the operator of Farm B needs to continue to focus on physical and chemical issues to improve soil health. The operator is using vertical tillage tools to remove hardpans, compaction and tillage layers.

Vertical tillage and liming work together to fix structural problems. “When a field gets extremely acid, acidity destroys structure and stops water infiltration,” Ferrie says. “When we apply lime, we are attempting to flush out the acidity. If we have poor infiltration, we can’t get water into the soil to make the lime work.

“Applying lime, (calcium carbonate) helps fix structural problems and keeps pH in the 6.3 to 6.5 range, which is optimal for soil microbial activity. The carbonate bonds with hydrogen (acidity) and helps flush it out of the soil.”

Calcium improves structure by helping to flocculate clay particles. Flocculation means the particles are held together, yet somewhat apart. “It’s the first step in creating better aggregate stability or structure,” Ferrie says. “A healthy crumb-like structure lets water infiltrate and contains macropores. The macropores hold air and usable water, which is accessible to crop roots.

“Together, vertical tillage and lime applications will let us gradually build up soil pH from the 5.0 range, where it was when the operator took over the farm,” Ferrie says. “Eventually, after soil health improves, he will no-till Farm B just like his other farms.”

Cover crops are also part of Farm B’s recovery plan. Deep rooting crops can penetrate some hardpans and compacted layers. The roots of grass crops aid in the process of producing a glue-like substance that helps bind soil particles together.

In fall 2012, the farmer’s initial attempt to aerial seed a cover crop of annual ryegrass and tillage radishes failed, apparently because of environmental conditions. That illustrates how resuscitating abused soil takes a long time—probably decades for Farm B.

Regardless, gradual improvements in soil health will lead to gradual improvements in yield, Ferrie concludes. They will also lead to healthier water sources because of fewer nutrients washing away and a more sustainable farm for future generations.

Building on the Systems Approach, the Soil Health series will detail the chemical, physical and biological components of soil and how to give your crop a fighting chance. www.FarmJournal.com/soil_health

You can e-mail Darrell Smith at dsmith@farmjournal.com .

There's a 75% Chance Your Pumpkin Pie Started Here

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:00:45 GMT

Picture an Illinois farm. Most people imagine a corn or soybean field. But Mark Schleusener, a NASS statistician, has another crop on his mind.

“Most people think of corn and soybeans when they imagine Illinois agriculture,” he says. “That’s not surprising, considering that The Prairie State ranked second in the nation when it comes to harvested acres for both of these crops in 2012. However, Illinois agriculture achievements expand way beyond just corn and soybeans. With more than 12,500 acres, Illinois growers account for more than three-fourths of all pumpkins harvested for processing in the United States.”

So chances are, the next pumpkin pie you eat will have originated in Illinois.

But to see the biggest pumpkins on display, you’ll have to head west to Half Moon Bay, Calif. That’s the home of the 41st annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. This year’s contest saw a new North American record when Napa, Calif., grower John Hawkley hauled in a 2,058-lb leviathan.

“I still can’t believe it,” he says. “Competition growers all ofver the world understand the stature and historical significance of Half Moon Bay, and to win here is incredible.”

Hawley received a $12,348 prize ($6 per pound) for his efforts, plus a $1,000 bonus.

Wheat Breeder Wins World Food Prize

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:00:41 GMT

One hundred years ago, Dr. Norman Borlaug was born. His semi-dwarf, disease-resistant wheat spurred the Green Revolution and saved more than a billion lives from starvation. It is fitting that the 2014 World Food Prize, which Borlaug created, was awarded on October 16 to a wheat researcher for the first time. And Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram is not just any wheat breeder--he was Borlaug’s successor.

Rajaram amplified Borlaug’s legacy of innovation at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico. His 480 wheat varieties have been released in 51 countries on six continents, planted on more than 140 million acres, increased yield potential by 20 to 25 percent and resulted in 200 million more tons of grain delivered to global markets each year.

Rajaram’s childhood on a small farm in Uttar Pradesh, a state in northeastern India, inspirited him with the desire to improve world food production. His parents enabled his education by sending him to primary and secondary school in a village five kilometers (3.1 miles) away at a time when roughly 96 percent of rural India had no formal education.

Rajaram repeatedly earned top honors and scholarships as well as a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Gorakhpur and a master’s degree in genetics and plant breeding from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. But, his doctorate mentor would introduce Rajaram to Borlaug.

At the University of Sydney, Rajaram earned his doctorate degree in plant breeding, studying under Dr. I.A. Watson. Watson referred his new student to his old classmate at the University of Minnesota, and Rajaram began his work at CIMMYT in 1969.

Rajaram and Borlaug worked side-by-side in the fields of El Batán, Toluca and Ciudad Obregón. Just three years later, in 1972, Borlaug asked Rajaram to be his successor as the head of CIMMYT’s wheat breeding program.

Rajaram extended Borlaug’s great work. According to the World Food Prize website, Rajaram’s focus was on “wide adaptation of new plants to differing climate and soil conditions; superior grain quality; and increasing the resistance to diseases and pests that had devastated farmers’ crops.”

Rajaram utilized Borlaug’s shuttle-breeding approach, under which two generations of wheat are produced each year by planting a crop in both the northern and southern hemisphere. This cut breeding times for new varieties in half.

He also crossed winter and spring varieties, resulting in lines that had higher, more reliable yields under a multitude of climatic conditions and geographic locations. Rajaram’s new varieties could be grown in marginal areas, including small mountain plots in Pakistan, remote regions of China and acidic soils in Brazil.

His concept of “slow rusting” incorporated multiple genes that each have minor effects on rust’s development. Working together, the genes minimized the devastating disease’s effect on wheat yields without causing the pathogen to mutate.

In addition to his own work, Rajaram helped establish a worldwide exchange of information and resources between researchers, which did not exist in the global scientific wheat network. His work continues, although he now operates his own seed company, Resource Seeds International.

Borlaug’s own words in a 2007 letter described Rajaram’s legacy best: “You have developed into the greatest present-day wheat scientist in the world...have made and continue to make many important contributions to further improve world wheat production...have learned to work effectively in many different countries with political leaders of different ideologies...and are a scientist of great vision.”

Rajaram received the World Food Prize on October 16 during the Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa.

Join Farm Journal at Ag Connect Expo 2011

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 21:31:57 GMT

Here’s the full list of Farm Journal Media co-located education programs and events at Ag Connect Expo 2011. The second Ag Connect Expo will take place Jan. 8 to 10 (with special preview day on Jan. 7) in Atlanta, Ga. http://www.agconnectexpo.com/

The Farm Journal events include a Pro Farmer Profit Briefing Seminar; Corn College for the South; Corn College Short Course; Leave a Legacy Workshop; Dairy Today Forum: Meeting Dairy Challenges: In the Parlor, In the Field, In the World; and Beef Today Forum: Keys to Forage Profitability.

Pro Farmer Profit Briefing Seminar

Thursday, January 6, 1-5 p.m. and Friday, January 7, 7-11 a.m. (includes breakfast starting at 7 am)

Cost: $129

Tap into the extensive expertise of the Pro Farmer team at the Profit Briefing Seminar. You’ll hear an up-to-the-minute commodity market outlook, a farm policy update and analysis of the economy and land values. Click here to learn more

Agenda

Thursday, January 6

11 a.m. Registration Desk Opens

1 p.m. Welcome

1:15 p.m. Habits of Highly Successful Farmers - Danny Klinefelter

3 p.m. Break

3:30 p.m. 2011 Economic Outlook - Vince Malanga

5 p.m. Networking Reception

Friday, January 7

7 a.m. Breakfast speaker TBD

8 a.m. Policy Update - Roger Bernard

9:15 a.m. Technology Update - speaker TBD

10 a.m. Break

10:15 a.m. Commodity Market Outlook - Chip Flory

Corn College for the South

Friday, January 7, 1-4 p.m. and Saturday, January 8, 8-11 a.m.

Cost: $129

Corn growers in the South will learn how to meet the agronomic challenges of growing the crop in their geographic area. The practical tips provided will help lay the foundation for high-yield success. Click here to learn more

Corn College Short Course

Saturday, January 8, 12-3 p.m.

Speaker: Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer, Field Agronomists, Farm Journal Media
Cost: $49

Learn the top 10 tips for increasing corn yields from Farm Journal Field Agronomists Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer. You’ll capture knowledge you can take home and implement in your own fields – and boost yields. Click here to learn more

Beef Today Forum: Keys to Forage Profitability

Saturday, January 8, 1:30-4:30 p.m.

Speakers: Garry Lacefield, Extension Forage Specialist, University of Kentucky and Don Ball, Extension Agronomist, Auburn University
Cost: $49

Feed costs are the largest drain on dollars in most cattle operations and an area where small changes can pay dividends. Participants in the forum will learn from expert forage specialists the keys to forage profitability and the importance of forage quality, whether grazing or putting up hay. They will discover how to get the most from inputs, like fertilizer and herbicides, to boost production without breaking the bank. Also they will learn about forages for the future. Click here to learn more

Dairy Today Forum: Meeting Dairy Challenges: In the Parlor, In the Field, In the World

Sunday, January 9, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Cost: $49

BMR Forage Sorghum: Opportunities and Challenges
Speaker: Robert Lemon, Agrithority

Making Milk Quality Simple
Speaker: Dave Sumrall, President and CEO,Dairy Production Systems, High Springs, FL.

Dairy’s Brave New Exporting World
Speaker: Jim Dickrell, Editor, Dairy Today

With the new year dawning, the Dairy Forum will help producers regain their footing after a devastating 24 months. Our top line-up of speakers will help dairy producers’ profit in the field by growing new varieties of high tonnage, high-quality BMR Sorghum. They’ll discover how to better manage their milking parlors by focusing on details most farmers miss. And they’ll learn of new export opportunities as China drives to triple its per capita consumption of dairy products. Click here to learn more

Leave a Legacy Workshop

Monday, January 10, 8-11 a.m.

Speaker: Kevin Spafford, Founder, Legacy by Design, LLC
Cost: $49

Creating a lasting legacy, preparing the operation for generational transfer, developing leaders for long-term growth, or planning for an unanticipated contingency—a comprehensive succession strategy is fundamental to every agribusiness. This workshop, a part of the Farm Journal Legacy Project, offers hands-on training with succession planning expert Kevin Spafford. It covers the step-by-step process for succession planning. The Legacy Project is developed by Farm Journal Media and supported by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. Click here to learn more

Saturday, January 8, 8 - 9 a.m.

Education Breakout: Business track

Farm Land Values, Speaker: Mike Walsten, Editor, Landowner

You won’t want to miss the state-specific analysis of today’s farm land values and cash rent trends provided by Landowner Editor Mike Walsten. His report will help you know what your land is worth – and what you should or shouldn’t be paying. Click here to learn more

Saturday, January 8, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Education Breakout: Business Management track

Grain Systems for Today and How to Expand for the Future, Speaker: Gary Sorgius, Vice President, Ripco Ltd

Focus of the presentation will be on grain system design for the large grain farm operator and covers material handling, storage and drying. Gary will also discuss site selection, various types of handling, applications and different drying methods. This session will apply to existing facilities and conclude with ideas on future expansions. Click here to learn more

Field Compaction Cuts Corn Yields

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:58:31 GMT

Field compaction can cut corn yields by up to 20%

Six-foot-tall corn with stunted ears was a common sight in Luke Huysman’s fields this past season due to extreme drought conditions. In the years prior, Huysman saw the same short corn but for a different reason. The contributing problem then was compaction. Plaguing 600 to 700 corn acres, compaction was evident wherever trucks, heavily laden with manure, had traveled over the gently rolling fields.

Today, the problem is basically nonexistent on his Fabius, N.Y., farm, which includes 4,400 acres of corn and alfalfa-grass hay and a 1,400-head dairy cow operation. Huysman owns the farm with two partners.

The solution to Huysman’s compaction issues was vertical tillage. The practice involves tillage that’s deep enough to break up hardpans and horizontal layers.

Complete, full-bore shatter between the tillage tool shanks and also between passes is needed to make vertical tillage effective.

“The ground upheaval resets the soil profile,” explains Frank Mutz, Empire Tractor territory manager based in Cazenovia, N.Y.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie adds that vertical tillage done in the fall needs to be followed with a vertical tillage leveling pass the next spring before planting in order for the practice to be effective.

Seeing is believing. To show farmers that compaction is present in their fields, Mutz likes to use a soil probe.

“A lot of farmers are in denial and tell me they don’t have compaction. I tell them they’re full of crap,” Mutz says, with a good-natured chuckle.

The soil probe quickly determines who’s right. If a horizontal layer is present, Mutz usually finds it at roughly 8" deep. He often likes to hand off the soil probe to farmers to find and feel the hardpan for themselves.

“Few corn roots are going to penetrate a hardpan,” Mutz contends.

Most of his customers agree, once they see compaction for themselves. Some don’t, he acknowledges, noting: “There are guys out there who won’t believe it exists no matter what.”

Those growers lose out on increased yield potential and, ultimately, more money in their pocket. Yield losses due to compaction in tracked areas can range between 10% and 20%, notes Mark Hanna, Iowa State University Extension agricultural engineer.

Knowing that compaction is an issue and then correcting it can boost yields. “I have one farmer who’s seen a 14% increase in his corn yields,” Mutz reports.

Those kinds of results convinced Mutz to start helping more of his customers implement vertical tillage. In Huysman’s case, he began running a Great Plains Turbo-Chisel between 10" and 14" deep in affected fields in the fall to get below the hardpan that was present and shatter it.

“The ground isn’t superdry with the manure, but we are able to get the shatter effect because the plow has shanks close together with shark-fin points on them,” he explains.

Complete, full-bore shatter between the tillage tool shanks and also between passes is needed to make vertical tillage effective, according to Ferrie. He says farmers might need to make their passes closer together when using vertical tillage, especially in a dry year like this one.

“Stop equipment and dig in the soil between passes from time to time to make sure they aren’t creating a ripple effect,” Ferrie encourages. “If you typically make equipment passes within 24" of each other, you may need to reduce those passes to within 15" instead,” he adds.

Expect to use more fuel when implementing deep tillage because the process creates more pull for the tractor, Huysman cautions.

“It requires 5 gal. more per hour when I’m crossing 12 acres an hour,” he reports. The additional costs are more than offset by the yield gain.

When to wait. Ferrie notes that now is a good time for tillage, especially where compaction already exists.

“Dry soils help you get good fracture,” he says. “We have some pretty good-sized basketballs out there that need to be sized down so Mother Nature can freeze and thaw them this winter and help us out.”

However, Ferrie says, those farmers who have received considerable moisture lately might need to delay deep tillage until their soils dry in order to get the traction they need and the shatter they want.

Tillage in wet soils can quickly create or compound an existing compaction problem, says Randall Reeder, Ohio State University (OSU) Extension agricultural engineer emeritus.

“Compaction in wet soils destroys soil structure,” he explains.

Ferrie adds that not everyone is experiencing compaction in their fields this year as a result of the drought. In Illinois, for example, collapsed soil seems to be more of a problem.

“The more clay in the soil texture, the more likely it is to collapse under drought conditions,” he explains. “Farmers with sandy to sandy silt loam soils in this area, which may not have collapsed, are in pretty decent shape.”

Furthermore, Ferrie says, while vertical tillage is useful to many farmers, not everyone benefits from it.

“We don’t need it in a good no-till or strip-till program that has no horizontal layers,” Ferrie says.

Sidestep compaction. Conservation tillage practices and traffic management need to be the main strategies to avoid soil compaction. Hanna’s advice: Till only to the depth needed to break up compacted layers.

In addition, farmers need to evaluate their field operations that might have caused the compaction and attempt to avoid those practices in the future. Otherwise, soil can be recompacted to the depth of the tillage used.

OSU’s Reeder is a proponent of controlled traffic and no-till practices.

“Firm, no-till soil resists compaction,” he says, noting that “the first trip across loose soil with a heavy axle load usually contributes roughly 75% of the total compaction.”

Regardless of the tillage practices used to eliminate compaction, the first step is to realize and accept a problem exists, says Empire Tractor’s Mutz. His advice: “Invest $49 in a soil probe and take care of compaction before you lose your shorts and your yields.”

Compaction Defined

Soil compaction is a problem for corn growers to varying degrees across the country, says Mark Hanna, Iowa State University Extension agricultural engineer. “The problem occurs in fields when soil aggregates and particles are compressed into a smaller volume,” he explains. “As soil is compacted, the amount of open pore, or void space, decreases and the density, or weight of the soil per unit volume, increases measurably.”

Soil density increases naturally with depth. “Soil below the surface is naturally more dense than the surface layer because it supports the weight of overlying material,” he says. “Excessively compacted soil results in prob-lems such as poor root penetration, reduced internal soil drainage, reduced rainfall infiltration and lack of soil aeration from larger macropores.” Practical information on how to identify and address compaction issues is in Hanna’s recent booklet, Understanding and Managing Soil Compaction.

Learn and Profit from Corn Navigator

The Corn Navigator series will focus on various sources of crop stress and how to manage the situation in order to drive corn yields and profits higher.

www.FarmJournal.com/corn_navigator

Companies Clash Over Technology

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:58:40 GMT

Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company, has prevailed in its motion for summary judgment in a key patent infringement lawsuit involving its Enlist weed control system.

In a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, two affiliates of Dow Agro-Sciences received a $5.3 million award against Bayer Bioscience. The lawsuit pertained to the Bayer Bacillus thuringiensis biotechnology patents. The patents were found in multiple legal proceedings to be unenforceable due to what the court described as Bayer’s “inequitable conduct.”

The lawsuit was originally filed in 1995 by Plant Genetic Systems, a subsidiary of Bayer Bioscience.

Dow AgroSciences says the multimillion-dollar award will be used to cover attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by its affiliates.

Bayer says it strongly disagrees with the decision by the U.S. District Court and has filed an appeal.

Carryover Concerns

Herbicide carryover is something you’ll want to give thought to as you plan for the 2013 crop season, according to Iowa State University weed science Extension specialists Mike Owen and Bob Hartzler. They say drought conditions reduce the ability of corn and soybean herbicides to control weeds. In addition, due to low moisture levels, many weed control products were unable to adequately degrade in the soil. The net effect: there’s potential for crop damage from herbicide carryover in your fields next spring.

Fortunately, only a few of the herbicide active ingredients have characteristics that might lead to carryover problems in 2013, report Owen and Hartzler.

The products listed as “high risk” have the potential to damage rotational crops under normal conditions. “Most farmers have learned what rates can be used on their soils safely, but this year’s drought will result in a high risk even with reduced rates,” say the Extension specialists. “Both chlorimuron and atrazine are more persistent in high-pH soils. Pre-emergence applications of chlorimuron will have a higher risk of problems because these rates are much higher than when chlorimuron is applied postemergence. The best option might be to alter rotation plans to avoid planting a susceptible crop.”

Products listed as “moderate to slight risk” have been known to occasionally cause problems or have half-lives that suggest they might cause problems under abnormal onditions. Risks with these products will vary depending on specific field conditions.

“Keep in mind that if rainfall returns to normal, this rain will have much less effect on herbicide degradation than had it occurred near the time of herbicide application,” the specialists add. “Also, while tillage should dilute herbicide residues in the soil, past experience has shown that this practice does not consistently reduce crop injury from herbicide residues. Using practices that minimize additional stresses to the seedling (planting date, seedbed conditions, etc.) can reduce problems associated with low concentrations of herbicides.”

Factors Determining Risk of Carryover Injury

herbicide half-life
rate of herbicide applied
application date
soil characteristics (texture, organic matter, pH)
rainfall (total amount and distribution throughout year)
sensitivity of rotational crop
growing conditions following planting next spring

Herbicides with Carryover Potential

High Risk

atrazine
chlorimuron (Authority XL, Canopy, Envive, Valor XLT, others)
imazaquin (Scepter)
simazine (Princep, others)

Moderate to Slight Risk

fomesafen (Reflex, Flexstar, Prefix)
clopyralid (Hornet)
cloransulam (FirstRate, Hornet, Gauntlet)
imazethapyr (Pursuit)

Dinitroanilines

pendimethalin (Prowl, others)
trifluralin (Treflan, others)

HPPD Inhibitors

isoxaflutole (Balance Flexx)
mesotrione (Callisto, Lumax, Lexar)
tembotrione (Laudis, Capreno)
topramezone (Impact)

Secrets of the Soil

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:58:22 GMT

Farmers know fertility is critical for success. But beyond the “big three nutrients” of N, P and K, not nearly as much time and resources are invested to learn more about so-called secondary nutrients.

USDA researchers, university scientists, consultants and others met in Indiana Aug. 21 to share their findings and practical insights about two lesser-understood nutrients, calcium and sulfur. More than 150 people were on hand to learn more about gypsum, a mineral that delivers both calcium and sulfur, at the Midwest Soil Improvement Symposium (MSIS), held at the Rulon family farm in Arcadia, Ind. The event was sponsored by Rulon Enterprises, Gypsoil and the Conservation Technology Information Center.

Gypsum is a soft mineral that is composed of calcium sulfate dehydrate, which breaks down into calcium and sulfur over time. Farmers around the world have used it for centuries (Benjamin Franklin was a proponent in colonial times, for example), but gypsum has largely evaded modern research. The researchers presenting at MSIS have championed the efforts to learn more about gypsum, even when it was not popular to do so.

“People used to tell me I was wasting my time,” says Warren Dick, professor at The Ohio State University’s school of environment and natural resources. “But now there’s all sorts of interest in gypsum.”

Dick wrote the book on gypsum – literally. He is the co-author of a leading publication on the topic, Gypsum as an Agricultural Amendment. Dick and other researchers have studied gypsum’s benefits not only to crops like corn and soybeans, but also to the soil itself. Retired USDA soil scientist Darrell Norton, for example, spent several decades studying evaluating how gypsum affected soil and water quality, particularly as a runoff management tool.

Ongoing research confirms that gypsum can improve crusting and erosion by allowing the soil structure to filtrate water better. Recent USDA studies showed adding gypsum could reduce the rate of contaminate phosphorous in water runoff by as much as 34%.

Norton says he is worried that future regulations could create a scenario where “it could be illegal for nutrients to leave your farm.” Still, he says, there is tremendous upside for farmers who invest in improving soil health on their farm through a variety of practices, including gypsum usage, cover crops, conservation tillage practices and more.

“As you increase soil quality, someday the value of those fields is going to increase greatly,” he says.

Joe Nester, an Ohio-based consultant who participated in one of the MSIS panels, agreed that looking into different ways to improve soil health is a smart investment.

“There’s going to come a time when soil health will be measurable and it will affect land values,” he says. “Soils aren’t all created equal.”

In the video below, Dick lays out a quick timeline of agricultural interactions with gypsum through the ages.

Upstream Heroes

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:57:49 GMT

Not long ago, the best crop managers produced 1 bu. of corn for every 1.2 lb. of nitrogen (N) applied as fertilizer or credited to the previous crop. Now farmers, such as Jeff Martin and his son Doug, of Mount Pulaski, Ill., have set their sights on a new goal: 1 bu. of corn for every 3⁄4 lb. of N.

“We’re not there yet,” Doug says. “We’re still at about 1 lb. of nitrogen per bushel of corn. But based on our recent yield trends, we’re going to get it down to 3⁄4 lb. before too long.” It’s a matter of utilizing available technology and management, from more efficient hybrids to timely application, he adds.

The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), an organization that promotes environmentally sound and profitable farming practices, has designated the Martins and other leading-edge nutrient managers as Upstream Heroes.

Why “heroes?” By efficiently managing fertilizer, these farmers apply the amount needed in the correct way, reduce runoff from their fields and protect water supplies, including both local lakes and reservoirs and the distant Gulf of Mexico, explains CTIC executive director Karen Scanlon.

Efficient nutrient managers, such as the Martins, are also heroes to their bottom lines, points out Dan Towery, who spent a career with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and now works as a no-till farming consultant. “Some nutrient best management practices are more effective than others,” he says. “But anything you do to manage fertilizer more effectively will save you money while protecting streams from unwanted nutrients.”

“The purpose of the Upstream Heroes campaign is to showcase farmers doing an excellent job of nutrient management, so other farmers can pick up ideas from them,” Scanlon says. “We also want to show nonfarmers that farmers are doing the right thing in response to issues of
hypoxia and water quality.”

Telling farmers’ stories. Informing the public is especially important. Many, including even rural neighbors, may not know much about modern farming, but they hear plenty about water-quality issues.

For example, an ominous headline in the Jan. 12, 2010, issue of the Christian Science Monitor proclaims: “Earth’s Growing Nitrogen Threat.” The story tells readers that “In the U.S. … as much as 40% of reactive nitrogen [the chemically active form] is wasted—washing off farm fields into rivers, lakes and the ocean, where oxygen-depleted ‘dead zones’ are growing in number and size worldwide.” (In fairness, the article also points out that some farmers are using soil nutrients more efficiently to reduce losses.)

The term “dead zone” refers to hypoxia, a condition in which excess nutrients and physical water conditions lead to blooms of algae or phytoplankton. When those microscopic plants die and decompose, oxygen levels in the water are depleted. That creates a zone in which marine animals with limited mobility cannot live. Exactly how serious hypoxia is, and how great a role agriculture plays in creating it, is still being studied. But almost everyone agrees that nutrients leached or eroded from farm fields are carried down the Mississippi River into the Gulf.

“Hypoxia is a real environmental issue,” says Cliff Snyder, nitrogen program director for the International Plant Nutrition Institute. “I don’t think it’s possible to farm and have no effect on water quality. The key is to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of our farming practices to minimize water-quality impacts.”

There also are local water-quality issues, Snyder adds. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), working with state environmental agencies, has identified 6,826 waters around the U.S. whose quality is impaired by excess nutrients. For these waters, states are required to develop total maximum daily load standards, along with strategies for restoring the water quality.

Farmers are making progress on water-quality issues. “A 2008 report of the EPA Science Advisory Board shows declines in the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus to the Gulf of Mexico,” Snyder says. “Mississippi River data gathered by the U.S. Geological Survey indicates that the loss of total nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen to the Gulf is declining, when comparing 1984 to the present.

“The declines in nitrogen loss are likely related to voluntary management actions of farmers, their advisers and their suppliers, as well as increased nitrogen removal in harvests.”

In today’s economic climate, no one intentionally applies unneeded N or phosphorus (P) fertilizer. “Still,” Snyder says, “good managers are never satisfied with the status quo. Everybody wants to do better for stewardship and profitability.” Hence the Upstream Heroes campaign, to share ideas from some of the country’s best managers of N and P. The first Heroes to be featured in Farm Journal are the Martins and Gibb Steele and his son Gibson of Hollandale, Miss.

Smart application. The Martins farm 5,000 acres in central Illinois, with about 90% of that land planted to continuous corn. “Experience tells us that 220 bu. per acre is a realistic goal,” Doug says. “But we are applying the same amount of nitrogen that we used to apply for 180 bu. per acre.”

The Martins’ typical N program (used when weather permits fall strip-tillage) includes 18 lb. of N contained in 100 lb. of diammonium phosphate fertilizer (based on soil tests and crop removal).This is followed by 170 lb. to 190 lb. of N per acre as fall-applied anhydrous ammonia.

“The amount of corn we grow requires us to apply nitrogen in the fall,” Jeff says. “To make sure it isn’t lost, we delay application until soil temperature looks like it’s going to remain below 50°F.”

“We also apply N-Serve to stabilize our fall-applied ammonia,” Doug adds. “It’s cheap insurance against loss.”

Finally, the Martins apply 5 lb. to 10 lb. of N per acre shortly before or after planting, using 28% N solution as a carrier for herbicide.

The Martins guard against nutrient loss by enrolling more than 600 acres in USDA conservation programs, such as filter strips and seasonal wetlands. “Even a small area devoted to filter strips or wetlands really slows the flow of water and allows nutrients to be filtered out before they reach streams,” Doug says.

More efficient hybrids and improved soil health, resulting from 25 years of no-till and strip-till, will help them reach their goal of ¾ lb. of N per bushel of corn, the Martins believe.

Multifaceted tactics. The Steeles use an array of practices to prevent soil or water from leaving their farm while maximizing rice and soybean yields. The practices include precision land leveling, no-till and minimum-till and spoon-feeding of N. They use turn-row levees, overflow pipes and electric timers on well pumps to curtail water use.

In the fall, the Steeles flood parts of fields, gradually releasing the water after nutrients and sediment have been filtered out. That also creates an opportunity for duck habitat and hunting.

Nutrient management is a win-win situation for farmers, Gibb says. “All these practices help protect water quality,” he explains. “But we do them because they make us money.”

Read more about the nutrient management practices of the Martins, the Steeles and other Upstream Heroes in future issues of Farm Journal. Meanwhile, CTIC wants to recognize more outstanding nutrient managers. For a link to the nomination form, go to www.upstreamheroes.org and scroll to the bottom of the page.

You can e-mail Darrell Smith at dsmith@farmjournal.com .

Does Farm Tile Carry Nitrates?

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 02:53:02 GMT

In Episode 1 of “Corn College TV,” Season 2, a farmer asks Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie if farm tile affects the nitrate loss in soils below.

“Where water goes, nitrate goes,” Ferrie explains. “You can look at the tile line, and there will be nitrate. The more water you move out of the field, the more nitrate you move.”
Ferrie says that with proper nutrient management, you can better manage your nitrate loss. He also says tile depth and spacing are factors in nitrate loss.
Listen to his full answer in Episode 1 of “Corn College TV,” Season 2:

New Products in Progress

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:56:44 GMT

On its 148-acre campus in Monheim, Germany, Bayer CropScience’s research centers on insecticides, fungicides and improving crop protection products.

Do you know what you’ll plant on your farm in 10 years? It’s hard to believe, but ag research companies probably have a better idea than you do.

When you walk into the research facilities at Bayer CropScience’s headquarters in Monheim, Germany, the technology you have access to for your fields today seems likes ancient history. The scientists here are looking to the future and finding or creating the active ingredients you could be purchasing five, 10 or 20 years from now.

Leonardo Pitta, Bayer’s global development manager for insecticides, says it normally takes around 10 years from the time a chemistry is discovered to when it’s available for purchase.

“It is very difficult to get a new product to market, but not impossible,” he says. “It costs about 200 million euros [$261 million] to develop a new crop protection agent.”

Located in one of the state-of-the-art facilities on the Monheim campus, the largest agricultural research center in the world is a treasure chest of substances. High-tech robots are used to analyze and test up to 200,000 of these substances a day.

Back in the 1970s, for every 20,000 compounds researched, only one active ingredient made it to market. Today, 100,000 compounds must be tested to find one market-bound product.

These odds could make you think science is retracting instead of advancing, but that’s not really the case.

“We have to recognize that technical standards for products on the shelf are really high,” says Friedrich Berschauer, recently retired chairman of the board of management at Bayer CropScience. “So, logically, it became more and more difficult to find an improvement.”

In addition for looking for new active ingredients, Bayer continues research on current science to phase out older products with newer and better active ingredients.

Each product can be improved in its environmental impact, application rate, user friendliness and so on, Berschauer adds. “Nobody can say the present portfolio is perfect.”

Future chemistry. Berschauer says that if the whole industry discontinued agricultural research tomorrow, it wouldn’t be an issue for the next five to 10 years, because the products available today would still work.

“But in 10 or 15 years, we would have a huge problem because resistance would be there. Therefore, we need to have long-term thinking and responsibility and continually find new modes of action,” he says.

Rüdiger Scheitza, head of global portfolio management, says Bayer is working on a couple of different areas of traits to meet grower demand. In the corn and soybean area, those traits include combating nematodes, insect resistance and herbicide tolerance.

Bayer is also focusing research on cereal grains. “Around the world, some 134 million hectares [about 331 million acres] of land are now being cultivated with genetically modified seed,” Berschauer explains. “Genetic engineering is becoming increasingly established outside Europe, and small farmers in particular are achieving tremendous success.”

Why should the GMO technology stop short of wheat? Scheitza says plans are in the works to boost wheat yields with new varieties, some of which are genetically modified and some of which are not. He says Bayer is looking at stress tolerance and nutrient efficiency (specifically nitrogen and phosphorus) traits. “In all that we are doing, we are looking at providing the world with enough food. Therefore, our priority is to create higher yields for the growers,” he says.

Bayer CropScience plans to release approximately 18 new products in the seeds and traits arena by 2016.

Ken Ferrie Breaks Down the Connection of Fertility, Crop Residue and pH

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:56:48 GMT

Every Corn College TV episode aims to help you maximize yield, minimize inputs and get the most from your fields. In Episode 3 Ken Ferrie starts with the Systems Approach to take your yields to the next level.

One important aspect of the Systems Approach is the connection between crop residue, fertility, and pH.

“We need to account for what the soil will give us, make up for those differences and then also account for the losses, which is difficult because mother nature plays a big role in that,” Ferrie explains. “Rain can be nitrogen’s enemy and helper.”

Part of that management will be understanding the paying the carbon penalty. As microbes process residue, they release the nitrogen held in those materials. Ferrie says, anywhere from 30 to 70% of the N needed to raise a crop could come from the soil.

“Keep the microbes happy, and pH is a big factor. Some of the microbes will be more sensitive to pH, especially if pH is too low. Acid soils tend to have poor nitrogen availability,” he says.

Ferrie’s advice is to keep corn green from start to finish. Try not to let it go yellow and show nitrogen deficiencies. One way to save any loss is intervening with a high clearance application. Ferrie also explains why you don’t want corn to be yellow going into tasseling.

“Of the many components you can focus on, know your soil type. Wherever water goes, the nitrogen goes and you can plan your nitrogen management by knowing more and knowing how much N you think the soil will give us,” Ferrie says.

Learn more in Episode 3 of Corn College TV.

Stop and Rethink Fall Nitrogen Application Timing

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:56:40 GMT

With a fast-pace harvest season across the Corn Belt, more farmers were eager to move forward with fall applications of nitrogen (N.)

Some farmers in our area of central Illinois want to put on up to 200 lb. of N on 70°+ soils,” says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. “This is not a good practice for your fertility program or for the environment.”

Farmers should wait until soil temperatures at 4” are below 50°. Soil temperature dictates N application because it also impacts the activity of the soil micro-organisms that are responsible for the conversion of ammonium to nitrate.

“Farmers need to understand the risk of loss through leaching, denitrificiation, and volatization,” Ferrie says. “Harvest is early, and we are way too warm and have too high of a risk for staying too warm. Even with inhibitors we can’t protect that nitrogen long enough to get the soils cooled down.”

Once soils drop below 50°the risk of N leaching and being lost also drops.

Although it requires some patience this year for soil temperatures to reach the appropriate levels, your waiting will be rewarded as soil microbes continue to be active even below freezing temperatures.

If you are strip-tilling, Ferrie says go ahead and build your strips when conditions are fit. But don’t hook up the anhydrous tanks. Save the N application until this spring.

Learn more about the nitrogen cycle and the risk of applying nitrogen to warm, fall soils in episode 6 of Corn College TV.

A Christmas Weed Story

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:56:56 GMT

I learned about the Santa Claus treatment for weed control during the first interview I did as an agricultural journalist. An editor with an odd sense of humor ordered me to do an article on how to chop weeds out of beans. Unknown to me, the assignment was a practical joke and the boss never dreamed I’d actually come back with a story.

He didn’t know how many rows of beans I’d walked growing up on the farm. He also had no idea how much I wanted to prove myself. Mostly, he underestimated Marshal McGlamery, then the weed specialist at the University of Illinois.

“Don’t you know about the Santa Claus treatment,” McGlamery asked when I showed up in his office. “Hoe. Hoe. Hoe.”

Go ahead and groan, but believe it or not, the hoe has resurfaced as a tool in southern soybean and cotton fields. Larry Steckel, University of Tennessee extension weed specialist, says weed resistance issues are so bad that growers have resorted to hand weeding—to the tune of $50 to $100 per acre. As I recall, the going rate when I was a kid was a nickel for every five rows. Dad kept five children busy doing this most summers.

Roundup Ready made that kind of work ethic obsolete for at least a decade. Now resistance has turned some fields into weed jungles. Dad would have never been able to find us in the Palmer amaranth choked fields I saw this summer.

“Too bad we can’t find a way to extend Palmer’s drought tolerance characteristics to row crops,” says Steckel. “Originally a desert plant, it really goes to town when conditions turn hot and dry.”

Steckel and other weed specialists are working hard to get the message out about integrating burn down and pre emergence programs into herbicide programs. “I don’t worry about glyphosate resistance any more,” Steckel says. “That horse is out of the barn. Our goal now is to keep all the tools we’ve got and use them wisely.”

He says growers in his state are now rushing to the Liberty Link system and Ignite. “I’m afraid many of my growers are falling in love too with this system too fast,” Steckel says. “My guess it will be three years before we see a [resistance] problem with Ignite if we keep using it like this in Tennessee.”

Bayer CropScience has launched a resistance management program called “Respect the Rotation.” Andy Hurst, product manager for Bayer, says the goal of the program is to preserve the utility of glyphosate herbicide and promote proper stewardship of viable technologies. Herbicide mode of action (MOA) rotation and crop rotation is essential to improve weed resistance management.

The message here: rotate, rotate, rotate so you don’t have to hoe, hoe, hoe.

Access University of Tennessee recommendations for controlling Palmer amaranth: http://weeds.utk.edu/WeedTemplate_files/WeedControlManual/%204.pdf

Read more about Bayer CropScience’s Respect the Rotation program: http://www.linkup.bayercropscience.com .