Ken Ferrie

Boots In The Field Report

Business EN ↓ 391 episodes

One of the founding pillars of Crop-Tech Consulting is integrating a systems approach to farming. Crop-Tech is continually adding to their expertise and services. To aid in this process, CTC conducts over 150 test plots every year and works in conjunction with Farm Journal to gather research data on the industry’s equipment, practices, and technology. The Boots in the Field Report features Crop-Tech Consulting agronomist Ken Ferrie. He will keep you up-to-date by describing what he is seeing while in the field. 

Author

Ken Ferrie

Category

Business

Podcast website

www.podomatic.com

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

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Episodes

Boots In The Field Report for March 17th 17.03.2017

Which is better ESN or Sidedressing? Listen to this week's Boots In The Field Report for Ken's answer.

Boots In The Field Report for March 10th 10.03.2017

Is your seed passing the grade? Ken talks the importance of seed grading in this week’s Boots In The Field Report.

Boots In The Field Report for March 3rd 03.03.2017

This weeks question is about reducing seed expenses.

Boots In The Field Report for February 17th 17.02.2017

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

Boots In The Field Report for February 10th 10.02.2017

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

Boots In The Field Report February 3rd 03.02.2017

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

Boots In The Field Report December 9th 09.12.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report for November 18th 18.11.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report for November 11th 11.11.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report for November 3rd 03.11.2016

In this week’s Boots in the Field report Ken gives a report as areas are finishing up harvest 2016. He reminders farmers of a couple of things to think about before making plans to move lime applications up a year. Ken also issues a challenge that we are all in this together and we need to apply a little peer pressure if you notice neighbors and retailers failing to follow best management practice...

Boots In The Field Report October 28th 28.10.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report October 21st 21.10.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report October14th 15.10.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report October 7th 07.10.2016

Ken touches on the flooding up north in this week’s harvest report as well as the pattern his is seeing with April planted beans. Harvest numbers coming in are showing the importance of knowing if a hybrid is a fix or flex when making replant decisions and that bigger beans and more pods don’t always mean more yield. Ken mentions the high disease pressure showing up in beans fields and what that m...

Boots In The Field Report September 30th 30.09.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report September 23rd 23.09.2016

Ken gives an update on what has been called in for yield reports in our testing area. Strong yields in both corn and beans coming in, but for most areas still 10-20 bushel less for farm averages than they saw in 2014. Also getting some reports of 4-16% damage on corn, mainly from diplodia. Ken also reminds farmers that along with this nice warm weather we have had his week, it brings along some co...

Boots In The Field Report September 19th 16.09.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report for September 9th 09.09.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report September 6th 06.09.2016

Ken gives some tips for prioritizing your fields for harvest order. A lot of growers are planning on starting harvest this week to get some of the fields that have started falling apart and have standability issues. Ken also recommends checking to see if corn borers have started to weaken the shanks causing ears to fall on the ground. He also talks about taking the time to ground truth aerial imag...

Boots In The Field for August 29th 29.08.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report August 19th 19.08.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report August 5th 09.08.2016

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

Boots In The Field Report, July 29th 29.07.2016

Ken starts this week with a crop update from around the Midwest. He discusses the ear fill damage that will accompany the green snap he is seeing in some fields. Ken also gives an update on corn and soybean aphids and explains the reduced risk for spider mites. Finally, Ken discusses the sudden death and gray leaf that he is finding in fields.

Boots In The Field Report for July 11th 11.07.2016

Ken got a bird’s eye view this week to make his crop report and the crop is looking better than expected. The sins of spring are definitely evident, but the July 4th rain was a grain maker. Ken talks spider mites, western bean cutworm, bean leaf beetle, aphids, disease pressure, northern leaf blight, and getting a handle on waterhemp.

Boots In The Field Report June 29th 29.06.2016

Spider Mite Update: Ken has officially seen Spider Mites in fields around Tazewell, Mclean, and Springfield areas. The dry and hot temperatures have led to a decrease in the Spider Mite’s natural predators and fungi. Ken covers how to scout, and gives an approach to treat the Spider Mites. Ken also gives a pollination and disease update.

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