Boots In The Field Report

In this week’s Boots in The Field Report Ken covers the prognosis for the corn that got blown down and beans that got hailed on in last weekend’s weather and what things to consider with the wet front moving in. While the rain should help stalled out beans and is a better option than tasseling in a drought, he warns about keeping an eye out for increased disease pressure and nitrogen loss as a res...

Ken gives a crop report from Minnesota and back, and while he might be a little biased, he indicates the best-looking crop is right here in central IL. Ken advocates for growers to take a Farm Mental Health Week and covers why some growers are seeing rootless corn at this point in the season and what will help correct it. He reminds, that while disease pressure is low, pest scouts should be doing...

Ken Ferrie recaps the reports from the north on frost damage from the past weekend and a planting update from the Quincy area. The beans at the Corn College Campus are starting to flower and Ken warns growers with early planted beans to make sure they aren’t knocking off these early flowers with miss-timed sprays that burn back the beans. He reports on calls concerning strong reactions from post s...

Ken talks with CTC agronomist Matt Duesterhaus in Quincy, Il to see how they are dealing with the 15 inches of rain they have received since planting, replant issues they have both been seeing, and how hybrid characteristics can help inform your plan for dealing with the ugly corn syndrome. They also recap what insects to be on lookout for and what the damage will look like when scouting.

Ken recaps the outcome of the service calls looking at frosted beans this week, considerations for those who replanted and those who left it, and gives a heads up to the pest teams to be scouting fields and making ear count notes now.

Ken waves the caution flag on planting after noon today (5/6) in areas that are forecasted to get lower temperatures, warning that it is setting up the perfect storm for another Mother’s Day Massacre. He also talks with Matt Duesterhaus in Quincy, Il about replant decisions they are facing and how to use the replant worksheet on the website. This week they also warn growers with cover or high weed...

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken gives a planting progress update and warns pest teams to stay on top of the bean leaf beetle pressure. He also states the rain delay was a welcome break to take care of moisture concerns and to help diversify risk by widening the planting window. Ken also talks a little about new technology that he got to see run this week that might solve the planting...

Ken advises to keep an eye out on corn following the April snow to make sure it does not leaf out under ground and to check wheat for frost damage. He also warns growers to make sure they are checking on their prepaid glyphosate order to see if the shortage will cause farmers to readjust their plans.

To plant or not to plant that is the question! Ken lays out the risks of planting next week for both corn and beans. Farmers must know the risks involved for their own farms and weight it against the advantages. Many farmers will be coming to different decisions based on their own farm situations. What is right for you may not be right for your neighbor. Finally, Ken mentions that landlords and fa...

Ken gives a report on how many growers got something planted during the shot of good weather. He also catches up with CTC Agronomist Matt Duesterhaus to see how field conditions are progressing in the western part of the state. Ken stated some growers couldn’t take advantage of the nice weather to get beans in the ground because they had to wait on a herbicide application. He advised that planning...

Ken walks through what to think about when considering putting early beans in the ground. He reminds growers that when making a pass in the field you only want to create a density change not a compaction layer. And he warns that while you may get away with putting in a compaction layer to plant early beans, you must assign the cost and design a plan to fix it before the next year’s corn crop.

Ken answers the question “If 2021 is a drought, do I move all my nitrogen up front?” and other concerns for mitigating weather risk in the season ahead. He also sends out a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped put in, collect, and shell the ears for the Hybrid study.

The Sins of Spring presentation has caused a lot of questions about how a tillage system with TWO compaction layers (shallow and deep) was beating one with only one deep layer and how a vertical format was beating them both by quite a margin. In this in-depth Boots In The Field Report, Ken takes time to detail which elements caused the reduction and why yield response was so strong.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers considerations when trying to pay the carbon penalty of cover crops with manure, how carbon penalties affect beans, and who should push planting windows and who can wait.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers who needs to do seed test, which lots to test and what tests to run.

Ken loves it when a plan comes together. In this week’s Boots In The Field Report he covers what operations should think through and document as part of their crop plan to have it all come together for 2021.

Ken loves it when a plan comes together. In this week’s Boots In The Field Report he covers what operations should think through and document as part of their crop plan to have it all come together for 2021.

Ken covers switching crop rotations and herbicide carry over in this week's Boots In The Field Report.

In this week’s Boots in The Field report Ken covers conversation points for a landlord and a farmer to cover before signing a lease with a fertility clause.

Making adjustments in your crop rotation due to the market? In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers things to think about when making the switch and advises to have a goal in mind when making equipment upgrades.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken shares plot data to help illustrate major factors in choosing the right nitrogen program for a field and a hybrid. He demonstrates how interconnected population and N rate should be and how hybrid characteristics play into timing and placement.

Think of reviewing your yield maps like reviewing game day footage. You have to know what went right and what went wrong in the last game if you hope to improve for the next one. Check out this week’s Boots In The Field report as Ken breaks down how to do a yield map review.

Ken warns that blanket populations across an entire farm is not how you mitigate risk. He walks through how to pick the right population per farm and per zone in this week’s Boots In The Field Report. Ken recommends starting with the usable water holding capacity of the soil under your current management practices to help set a realistic yield goal. Then he recommends looking at the hybrid flex an...

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers an opportunity the dry winter is offering growers to set themself up for success next season. Current abnormally dry conditions are allowing growers to get some of next spring’s leveling done this winter. Getting level this winter has the added benefit of helping to maintain uniform waterfronts to plant into, minimizes putting in wheel tracks, an...

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken talks about how to evaluate if you need to treat your beans, why early season scouting reports have value now, and he warns growers not to throw hybrids out of their line-up for next year just because of a disappointing yield in 2020.