Pivotal Issues Blog

By High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal Imagine an agriculture field. Most are planted with row upon row of tidy cash crops. Now imagine that same field with rows of trees between the rows of crops. This forested field concept is called alley cropping. Alley cropping helps famers diversify by growing long-term tree crops alongside short-term cash […]

By Farm Journal Guest Editor Thinking Beyond Farming to Optimize Soil Moisture Using these tools can help maximize the benefits of every raindrop and help preserve our water supply. By the year 2030, global demand for water is projected to outstrip supply by as much as 40 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global […]

By Tom Bechman Row spacing is still a big deal if you’re after maximum corn yields. Most modern planters do a very good job achieving accurate spacing. With equipment like 20/20 SeedSense from Precision Planting, you can monitor performance and make adjustments to get excellent accuracy. However, even planters that perform well are rarely perfect. Sooner […]

By Ben Potter Water – no crop can live without it. Even so, there’s still much to learn about proper management of this resource, according to officials at Beck’s. That has prompted the seed company to launch a new water manager study at its Practical Farm Research (PFR) site in Effingham, Ill. “We hope that the […]

By K-State Research and Extension A new type of farm has been established in Kansas with a primary focus on water conservation in addition to crops and livestock. Three Water Technology Farms have been created recently in response to public input and identified in the Long-Term Vision for the Future of Water Supply in Kansas (Water […]

By John Otte Making field operations more efficient can help farmers maintain margins as crop prices soften. Understanding how odd-shaped fields impact machine costs per acre can help farmers fine-tune cash rent bids. Kansas State University’s spreadsheet, KSU-GPS guidance, examines machine operation costs relative to field size and shape. It also evaluates economics of guidance […]

By: Lon Tonneson A grain dryer and grain handling upgrade made a big difference in how smoothly corn harvest goes for Todd, Wade and Wayne Heinrich. Brothers Wade and Todd farm with their father, Wayne, near Dickey in south-central North Dakota. They raise corn and soybeans. They usually haul soybeans to town at harvest and dry […]

By Erick Larson As much of the Mississippi corn crop reaches tassel stage, it is apparent some fields are noticeably shorter than normal. What caused the corn to be short and will it reduce yield potential? Corn height can be influenced by both environmental and management factors. The most common management variable which influences corn height, […]

By Jessie Scott Recent research by the University of Illinois and Illinois Farm Business Farm Management indicate that soybeans will continue to generate higher returns than corn in 2017. The report, Revenues and Costs for Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, and Double-crop Soybeans, showed that in Illinois returns were higher for soybeans than corn from 2013 to […]

By Jennifer M. Latzke A central Kansas wheat field, two combines roar to life and start to make the rounds, slowly bringing in the harvest. Now, this in itself is not an unusual sight for Kansas in mid-June. But what is unusual is the models of combines that are moving through that field. They don’t gleam […]