Out in local fields, this week. If you are growing wheat this year and applied foliar fungicides to protect the flag leaf, then you did the right thing. The cool, wet start to May was a great environment for leaf diseases and the diseases are evident in local wheat fields.  In the attached...

Today, I learned about the recent Supreme Court decision to uphold the USEPA plan to reduce nonpoint source pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Over the past year, I have heard numerous speakers tell me that Illinois agriculture needs to follow the voluntary Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (...

Annual rye grass (ARG) is a popular choice by some for an over wintering cover crop. ARG is very good at scavenging excess soil nitrogen and it is excellent for breaking up deep soil compaction. However, its adaptability, quick establishment, and aggressive growth are also considered to be...

Have you noticed that your field is not draining as fast as it did a decade ago? Do your yields vary greatly between a "dry" year and a "normal" one? Have you checked your soil for deep soil compaction or subsoil compaction? Compaction that is deeper than 8 inches. The use of heavier equipment,...

From my recent visits to local corn fields, I have been surprised by the rapid decline in this year's crop quality. In a sampling of corn fields in an area that has not received the flooding rains that others have. 20-100 percent of the stalks FAILED the "push" strength test. As you might expect,...

I was out in area corn and soybean fields recently and the crops look good considering the growing season so far in 2015.Every corn field shows some signs of nitrogen deficiency and varying levels of foliar diseases. The yield estimates from these fields look to be be good, but there is a lot of...

This is the title of an article written by Darrell Good, Dept of Ag and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois. In the article, Dr. Good points out that corn prices rose 90 cents for mid-...

Two recent articles on the subject of farmland prices and rental rates showed the effect that lower grain prices can have on farmland values. In a recent farmdoc DAILY article, University of...

In the past ten days, the number of Avian Influenza infected flocks in the Midwest has increased dramatically. No Avian Influenza has been confirmed in Illinois, but it has been confirmed in the bordering states of Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin. This disease does not affect human health but can be...

Have you surveyed your pastures? Do any areas need to be renovated? It is too late, this year, to do any frost seeding in those area. However, there is still time to use a no-till drill to plant grass or legumes in any “thin” areas needing more forage plants. Remember a legume in a pasture adds...