Kick'N Dirt with Mike and The Kevins

Harvest is here, and 2026 has given growers plenty to watch. In this episode of Kick'N Dirt, the team discusses harvest priorities for corn and soybeans following a challenging growing season marked by heat, drought, disease and excess moisture.In the field, the team is seeing tar spot, issues with stalk integrity in corn, and ear rot. Listen for conversation about grain quality and the importance of harvest timing, soybean maturity spreads, moisture management, and ways to reduce harvest losses.Plus, hear why spreading out soybean maturities could help keep harvest moving and about the team's favorite corn seed varieties heading into this year's harvest. Favorite seed varieties heading into harvest 2026: P12517: A "bread and butter" hybrid. It stays super consistent, very healthy, and is holding together extremely well late in the season.P13777: The healthiest hybrid for tar spot in late-season observations, with good standability and less concern about ear mold or rot.P08215: A new early-season hybrid. The team likes how it is holding on the finish side.P18512: A new 118-day Vorceed variety with a heavy ear and great late season agronomics.   Kick'N Dirt is a podcast about Agriculture in the U.S. This show hosts industry professionals to talk about corn and soybean production, including growers, agronomists and researchers. Kick'N Dirt is hosted by Pioneer Agronomists Mike Wardyn, Kevin Keller, and Kevin Kowalaski, who are based in Nebraska. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As Pioneer celebrates its 100th anniversary, Mike Wardyn and field agronomist John Mick take a trip through the history of corn—and the innovations that transformed American agriculture. The conversation follows corn from its early roots and Native American cultivation practices through the development of landraces, hybrid vigor and Pioneer’s early hybrid corn. They explore how mechanization, fertilizer, herbicides, insect control and biotechnology each changed what farmers needed from a corn hybrid. Along the way, Mike and John discuss landmark hybrids including 307, 354, 3780 and 3394, the challenges of the Dust Bowl, and the rapid adoption of hybrid seed. They also look ahead at how changing challenges—from harvest capacity and wind resilience to new diseases and increasing plant populations—will continue to shape the next generation of corn hybrids. Listen for a better understanding of how the past can help agriculture identify the innovations needed for the future. Kick'N Dirt is a podcast about Agriculture in the U.S. This show hosts industry professionals to talk about corn and soybean production, including growers, agronomists and researchers. Kick'N Dirt is hosted by Pioneer Agronomists Mike Wardyn, Kevin Keller, and Kevin Kowalaski, who are based in Nebraska. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tar spot is showing up across parts of the Corn Belt, raising an important question for growers: When is it still worth making a fungicide application? In this episode of Kick'N Dirt, Mike, the Kevins, and Pioneer Agronomist Carl Joern discuss tar spot management as the 2026 crop moves toward grain fill. As Carl explains, the goal isn’t simply to spray on a predetermined calendar date. It’s about understanding disease development, the environment and the crop in front of you — and making an application when it has the best chance of protecting yield and delivering a return.  Listen for a conversation about Pioneer’s Fungicide Timing Solution, disease thresholds, fungicide timing, hybrid selection, late-season plant health, and the role weather plays in disease development.  The group also discusses what growers can learn from this year’s tar spot pressure, including how to scout earlier, document disease development, and make management decisions based on the specific hybrid, environment, and crop stage. Kick'N Dirt is a podcast about Agriculture in the U.S. This show hosts industry professionals to talk about corn and soybean production, including growers, agronomists and researchers. Kick'N Dirt is hosted by Pioneer Agronomists Mike Wardyn, Kevin Keller, and Kevin Kowalaski, who are based in Nebraska. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With tighter margins and increasing disease pressure, every management decision matters. When is the best time to spray fungicide? In this episode of Kick'N Dirt, the team sits down with Corteva research scientist Layton Peddicord to discuss how fungicide timing models are helping growers make more informed, profitable decisions in corn production. Learn how Pioneer and Corteva are using agronomic data, disease tracking, weather patterns, and field-level management information to predict disease risk and optimize fungicide applications. In this episode, you'll hear about: 🌽 How fungicide timing models work 🌽 Managing tar spot, gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight, and southern rust 🌽 Disease tracker tools available through Granular Insights 🌽 The role of weather, hybrid susceptibility, irrigation, and field history 🌽 Six years of ROI trial results and performance data 🌽 How growers can improve fungicide application timing and return on investment 🌽 Future disease modeling tools for soybeans, including white mold Find more information about Granular Insights: https://www.corteva.com/us/products-and-solutions/digital-solutions/granular-insights.html Kick'N Dirt is a podcast about Agriculture in the U.S. This show hosts industry professionals to talk about corn and soybean production, including growers, agronomists and researchers. Kick'N Dirt is hosted by Pioneer Agronomists Mike Wardyn, Kevin Keller, and Kevin Kowalaski, who are based in Nebraska. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Is the much-hyped "Super El Niño" really going to shape the 2026 growing season? In this episode, Nebraska Pioneer agronomists sit down with meteorologist Don Day to discuss the weather patterns that could impact crops across the Corn Belt and beyond. Day forecasts a hotter, wetter-than-normal late summer, followed by a cooler October than farmers have experienced in recent years. He also explains why forecasting is especially challenging this year as a strong El Niño collides with unusual Arctic conditions and lingering atmospheric impacts from the 2022 Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption. "It's not making headlines, but the Arctic is having its coldest spring since 1958," Day says. The conversation explores what a developing El Niño could mean for crop production, disease pressure, rainfall patterns, hurricane activity, and the potential for an early fall cold snap. Tune in for a deeper look at the weather signals farmers should be watching as the season unfolds. LISTEN FOR: ✅ Why Don Day believes El Niño impacts are being overstated—for now ✅ Tar spot, southern rust, and disease pressure outlooks ✅ Why cool Canadian air continues to dominate the Corn Belt ✅ Drought concerns in western Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado ✅ What farmers should expect during July and August - hotter and wetter weather than normal ✅ The possibility of an earlier-than-normal fall frost ✅ How weather extremes could impact crop development and harvest timing   🌽 Have questions about weather, crop conditions, or disease pressure in your area? Leave a comment below, and follow DayWeather Podcast here: https://dayweatherpodcast.com/ 👍 Like this podcast if you found it helpful! 🔔 Subscribe for more agronomy insights, weather outlooks, and crop management discussions throughout the season. Kick'N Dirt is a podcast about Agriculture in the U.S. This show hosts industry professionals to talk about corn and soybean production, including growers, agronomists and researchers. Kick'N Dirt is hosted by Pioneer Agronomists Mike Wardyn, Kevin Keller, and Kevin Kowalaski, who are based in Nebraska. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.