Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Laurie Bedord Because plant breeding and seed product development is a long, expensive process, crop breeders want to find any problem a variety might have as soon as possible to get it out of the pipeline. In the past, measuring traits like plant height meant relying on humans to assess plants. Armed with a […]

By: Natalina Sents Celebrating the holidays with a live Christmas tree is one way to support local farmers and make memories with your family this time of year. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says, “Taking your family to a tree farm to select the perfect centerpiece for your holiday celebration is a great way to […]

By: Jodi Henke If you have liquid pesticides that need storing over the winter, make sure they don’t freeze. Jan Hygnstrom works with pesticide safety at University of Nebraska Extension. She says the freezing point of many liquid pesticides is lower than 32-degrees due to the hydrocarbon solvents or inert ingredients. However, if they do freeze, this can happen. […]

By: Jodi Henke Our family loves going out to get a live Christmas tree. The tree farm we go to has a mechanical shaker, and there’s always something that falls out. Dead needles, bird nests, and especially bugs are all things I’m happy to leave behind. Keith Jarvi is an extension educator at the University […]

By Mike McGinnis Within a week, the U.S. corn and soybean harvests could be all over, according to the USDA. Meanwhile, winter wheat crops are over three-quarters emerged.As of Sunday, 91% of the U.S. corn was picked vs. a 80% five-year average. In Illinois, 95% of the crop has been harvested. The USDA rated the […]

By Bob Linneman In a typical year, the November and December USDA Supply and Demand reports do not warrant high levels of uncertainty. That is, traders have a good idea of what will be said regarding U.S production estimates up to that point. However, 2019 could easily be an exception. Traders are generally expecting to […]

By Megan Schilling “Farmland is all we do every day, all day,” says Carter Malloy, CEO of AcreTrader. Malloy founded the company in 2018 after he and a neighbor realized there was no easy way to invest in farmland online. Not only does AcreTrader fill the gap between investment capital looking for a home, it […]

By Steve Bruere As fall begins and the bustle of farmland auctions grip the Midwest, the farmland market seems to have moved toward an advantage for sellers. The year of 2020 depicts many similarities to the combination of economic factors observed in 2012 after experiencing several years of diminishing commodity prices. Strong grain prices, increased […]

By Jodi Henke Cover crops are one way to control weeds after harvest and into early spring prior to planting. The physical barrier of cover crop residue on the soil surface helps suppress weed growth by changing the soil dynamics, growing quicker than weeds, and smothering weed seedlings. Bob Hartzler is an extension weed specialist […]

By Mitch Kezar Lance Vilhauer pops open a fence gate and strides through dew-laden grass into a pasture. He checks his cows and calves as the sun crests over a slough filled with cattails and raucous ducks. He examines grazed grass stalks, rolling them through his fingers. “What really turned me onto rotational grazing was […]