Category Archives: Harvest

Changing Seasons, Changing Times

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Mark Lawson (Indiana)

Falling temperatures and falling leaves, it’s not hard to figure out how this season came to be known as “fall”. Turning back clocks and getting some field work done. We don’t see much fall plowing anymore but we do see spray rigs and fertilizer trucks in the fields. Fall weed control programs are now a part of the cropping system. It used to be plow, disc, plant, cultivate, harvest and fall tillage if you had heavy black ground. It was … Continue reading →

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Good Ear, Bad Ear – Part 2

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Rich Lee (Iowa)

Once again, here are the same two ears from my last posting. Both ears came from the same field. So why did the ear on the right not fill out as well as the one on the left? The simple answer is compaction, but that simple answer is only where the story begins. As with most field problems, there will usually be more than one thing at the cause. In this case the compacted part of the field caught a … Continue reading →

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Good Corn, Bad Corn. That Tale of the Tip

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Rich Lee (Iowa)

Harvest is an excellent time to look at your ears, your corn ears that is. Bits and pieces of the entire growing season can be seen on the ears that are now heavy in the husk and waiting for harvest. One of the easiest stories to read is the stress that came during grain fill. Below are two ears from different hybrids from the same field. The ear on the left is a “good” ear for a flex type hybrid. … Continue reading →

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New Diagnostic Tool Provides Quick Goss’s Wilt Confirmation

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Bob Kacvinsky (Nebraska)

There is a new diagnostic field test available that can identify Goss’s Wilt in corn. Goss’s Wilt is a bacterial infection caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis. The field diagnostic test, an ImmunoStrip® test from Agdia, can identify Goss’s Wilt within the leaf tissue. Goss’s Wilt, a past problem in the western plains, has dramatically increased its foot print throughout the plains and into the central Corn Belt. Factors that can increase severity include: Corn on corn rotations Surface crop … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 Harvest, Disease, Goss's Wilt, Harvest, Nebraska, Syngenta, Uncategorized | View Comments

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

The Many Faces of Goss’s Wilt in 2011

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Gary Prescher (Minnesota)

When a new disease like Goss’s wilt moved into the area in 2009 and 2010, I did my homework to get ready for this year’s episode!  I discovered that Goss’s wilt is unlike any other corn disease when it comes to a “traditional or normal look” to lesions or affected plants, so I started my library of pictures. Notable quotes include: “It’s like a flesh eating disease” said Mark Bernard, Crop Consultant, New Richland, Minnesota, commenting while on the Pro … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease, Goss's Wilt, Harvest, Hybrid selection, Minnesota, Scouting, Syngenta | View Comments

Managing Stalk Lodging and Assessing Yield Performance

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Mark Lawson (Indiana)

September brought the rains we wanted in July and August, a bit over 5 inches at this writing and it’s raining now. The early yield reports reflect the truism that “rain makes grain”. One farmer from the southern part of our county reported a corn yield of some 90 bushels. At the other extreme, I rode with a customer while the yield monitor was bouncing between 220 and 250 bushels per acre. The extremely dry weather caused hybrids to die … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 Harvest, Harvest, Hybrid selection, Indiana, Stalk lodging, Syngenta | View Comments

Storm Damaged Crops in the Northeast

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Dervin Druist (Pennsylvania)

Another year of extremes! We started the growing season in the Northeast with a very wet month of May, followed by a hot and dry summer. As we move into early September, we are getting more than enough rain. Over the past few weeks, we have had heavy rainfall in many parts of the Northeast, and it looks like it will continue. The weather forecast for central Pennsylvania is calling for 7-10 inches of rainfall this week. Many of you … Continue reading →

Posted in Corn, Harvest, Pennsylvania, Soybeans | View Comments

When is it Time to Say “Enough is Enough”?

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Josh Erwin (Nebraska)

I just got back from shutting off my east pivot, one of two that we operate on our family farm. It has definitely been a drier summer here in northeast Nebraska, thus the pivots have had a higher-than-normal workout. For those of you with all the rain, you could send a little my way every once in a while! As I was driving home I was thinking to myself, “I wonder how many more passes I am going to need … Continue reading →

Posted in Corn, Harvest, Irrigation, Nebraska, Profitability, Syngenta, Water Optimization | View Comments

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Rich Lee (Iowa)

Why roll soybean fields? This is a new practice in Iowa that has raised a lot of questions and has groups on both sides of the debate. Here are some observations I have seen: Don’t roll soybeans before they emerge, they don’t need that kind of “help.” If rolling is used to firm up the seed to soil contact, then I would suggest looking at a new planter, not a roller. Rolling will push down rocks. Those two-cent rocks that … Continue reading →

Posted in Harvest, Heartland, Iowa, Profitability, Soil Conservation | View Comments