Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Ron Smith Cover crops will pay for themselves, according to speakers at the annual Milan No-Till Field Day — but maybe not every year and probably not the first year. Several factors affect how well crops planted into a cover perform, including the cover crop mix, weather, and planting date.   Brian Kozlowski, research associate […]

By: Ron Smith “Erosion,” says Mike Hubbs, “is a symptom of poor soil health, the soil’s ability to function.” Hubbs and Greg Brann, specialists with the Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts, discussed and demonstrated how cover crops and crop rotation improve water infiltration, reduce erosion and runoff, and improve or maintain soil health at the recent […]

By: Ron Smith The day after Thanksgiving, I typically sit and regret the overindulgence of the previous day, abetted in my lethargy by hours of college football games in which I have little interest. This year I made a different plan. Jeff Aiken, Tennessee Farm Bureau president, farms just a few miles from where we live. […]

By: Forrest Laws Most university recommendations call for terminating cover crops three to four weeks before planting the commercial crop. That’s to encourage pests like the pea leaf weevil and the Southern corn rootworm to leave the area before seeding, according to Dr. Scott Stewart, professor at the University of Tennessee. See also: Threecornered alfalfa hopper […]

By: Forrest Laws “We let the cover crop get as tall as it can,” says Adam Chappell, a no-till corn, cotton, rice, and soybean farmer at Cotton Plant, Ark. “We’ve learned that the bigger the cover crop gets, the more biomass we get, and the more diverse the cover crop the bigger the benefits.” He plants […]

By: Anna McConnell In areas where rain doesn’t come regularly or when growing water-hungry crops, farmers are forced to get creative when deciding how to keep fields green and lush. Irrigation uses groundwater, surface water, and water delivered directly to farms to hydrate thirsty plants. Evapotranspiration and wind are issues farmers face when trying to get […]

By: Willie Vogt What if a seed developer could divide the time it takes to develop an improved plant by three and the cost by 10? That’s the goal of Inari, an innovative startup that has recently opened a new on-the-ground breeding facility at Purdue Research Park as part of a major Midwest expansion. During a […]

By: John Hart For farmers to maximize their soybean yields, they need to do the math. Speaking at the recent Piedmont Soybean Field Day at the Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury, N.C., Dr. Ron Heiniger, North Carolina State University Extension cropping systems specialist, said four components make up the mathematics of soybean yield: Nodes per acre, […]

By: Rod Swoboda 1 With rain delays and a slow start for harvest this fall, a number of cornfields in Iowa developed ear rots and kernel molds. In addition to too much rain, moderately warm temperatures encouraged mold growth. Also, while waiting to be harvested, many soybean fields developed quality problems. “It’s important to scout each […]

By: Larry Stalcup 1 Whether it’s corn, soybeans, cotton, or other crops, good weed management is often the determining factor in being able to meet yield projections. By not attacking Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, and other weeds early and often with proper herbicide applications, a good crop can go south in a hurry. With new technologies available […]