Author Archives: Barry Soliday (Illinois)

Do Your Ears Hang Low?

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you get them off the ground? Can you make out the row? Yep, it has been one of those years for many of us. If you think you are alone harvesting down corn, let me assure you that you are not. The real question is how did we get here? Well, it all started this spring… We started off the season with a very wet spring. Some of … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 Harvest, Corn, Harvest, Illinois, Profitability, Syngenta | View Comments

Time for a visit? Come to the 2011 Farm Progress Show!

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

The 2011 Farm Progress Show is right around the corner, and so is harvest. What looked like a really promising crop just a few short weeks ago ran into some extreme heat and virtually no rainfall. To be honest, it wasn’t just the day time temps that got us but all those hot nights. Corn really likes or should I say needs some cool nights as “down time” to recoup from all of the heat and moisture stress during the … Continue reading →

Posted in Farm Progress Show, Illinois, Syngenta | View Comments

Goss’s Wilt in……Illinois?!

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

Goss’s What? Why Goss’s Wilt of course….you mean to say you have never heard of it? Well to be honest, I usually checked out of the conversation when it turned to Goss’s Wilt. It was always an issue for the guys to the left of the Mississippi River, but now it has become a real issue for us on this side of the river too.  For most of us, Goss’s Wilt did come in last summer. But it came late … Continue reading →

Posted in Corn, Disease, Fungicides, Genetic diversity, Goss's Wilt, Illinois, Nebraska, Profitability, Syngenta | View Comments

Let Your Crops Grow and Come to the Farm Progress Show

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

News Flash… It’s hot out there! That’s right, it has been a hot summer and for most of us, the worst of the heat came at a pretty inopportune time, pollination. Despite the heat, late planting, shallow rooting and less than ideal planting conditions, corn is looking pretty good in Illinois. I am once again impressed with just how much stress these hybrids can take. And although I am a corn guy at heart, I have to admit the soybeans … Continue reading →

Posted in Farm Progress Show, Illinois, Syngenta | View Comments

2011 Farm Progress Show Preview

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

The crops are growing and fellow Illinois agronomist, Bob Lawless, is gearing up for the 2011 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois on August 30-September 1. Watch as Bob takes you through the experience plots and previews what Syngenta will be featuring at the largest farm show in the world. This year, you can take interactive tours, watch live demonstrations, and speak one-on-one with Syngenta agronomic experts. Stay tuned for Syngenta and Farm Progress Show Updates via these social media … Continue reading →

Posted in Farm Progress Show, Illinois, Syngenta | View Comments

Planning for Planting

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

One of the many reasons I enjoy working with growers is their eternal optimism for having the best growing season ever. With that being said, part of having a great growing season is to plan for it. With current fall corn commodity prices around $6.20, producers should be asking themselves “How can I extract more bushels per acre?”  One area to examine is corn population. The table below is a great tool for growers to use to determine the optimum … Continue reading →

Posted in Corn, Hybrid selection, Illinois, Planting, Planting Population | View Comments

Tillage: What Keeps Me Awake at Night

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

I keep replaying last fall in my mind over and over again, until one night it became obvious to me why I was feeling so uneasy about how slick the crops came out and tillage was done. Last summer was a three spade year (a record for me), meaning I broke off three wooden spade handles digging corn roots. Following the combine last year, the ground was hard, compacted and dry. Then came the chisel plows to work out multiple … Continue reading →

Posted in Corn, Planting, Tri-State | View Comments

The Big Three Culprits: Residue, Compaction and Moisture

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

It’s hard to write an accurate story about the 2010 corn crop without going back to the fall of 2009, the one all of us in Illinois have tried to forget. That year we saw the harsh effects of a very late, very wet harvest season. It was common for corn on corn fields to be off by 50 bushels or more than rotated corn fields. Blame the disappointing corn yield results on the big three culprits: Residue, Compaction and … Continue reading →

Posted in Genetic diversity, Harvest, Nitrogen Efficiency, Soil Conservation, Yield | View Comments

Three Tips for Picking Next Year’s Soybean Seed

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

With soybean yields through the roof in 2010, pesky sales reps are flaunting yield data shamelessly. Yet, nearly all soybean yields were good in 2010. Why? Most areas saw low disease pressure and great bean growing weather. Yield data is important, but disease tolerance is equally important. An extremely high-yielding soybean that has a major Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) issue would have yielded very well this year in Illinois, but could be a train wreck next year if conditions are … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease, Hybrid selection, Illinois, Infestations, NK Soybeans, Planting, Soybeans, Tri-State, Uncategorized, Yield | View Comments

Illinois Harvest Enters the 4th Quarter

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Barry Soliday (Illinois)

Fall is my favorite time of year for two reasons: football and harvest time. Growers look forward to these few weeks all year, and it makes my job as an agronomist even more rewarding to see them succeed.  So I’m pleased to say, for the most part, it’s shaping up to be a great 2010 harvest in Illinois. Things are rolling along at a very quick pace with corn nearing 100 percent complete here in the east central part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Harvest, Illinois, NK Soybeans, Soybeans, Tri-State | View Comments