In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken talks on streaks from aerial fungicide applications can skew plot data if not accounted for, tough tillage situations, why spreading out your planting window is so crucial, checking stalk quality of standing fields and keeping an eye on harvest loss till the last field is harvested.
Beans are disappearing fast, but make sure to keep an eye on stalk quality while waiting for corn to dry down, especially in fields that didn’t get sprayed. Everyone at the field be on the lookout for signs of a field fire and of team burnout in these long dry stretches. These reminders and more in this week’s Boots In The Field Report.
Drier areas showing some crazy swings in bean yields within a field. Ken shares that corn that dies before black layer will dry down slower, reminds growers to recalibrate yield monitors as need with moisture swings between fields, and for operations to have a fire plan for these dry conditions.
“Don’t ignore your gas gauge” Ken Ferrie talks initial yields coming in from early April corn and breaks down why a statement taken out of context can be very dangerous for approaching phosphorus applications this fall in this week’s Boots In The Field Report.
In this Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie recaps his Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois farm visits comparing disease and insect pressure, pollination progress, moisture status, and yield estimates across the different territories.
In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie reports high variability from field to field in pollination issues and disease pressure for corn in central IL. Between tip pull back, tar spot, and southern rust some of the top end yield has been reduced in comparison to last year’s crop. He also talks with Matt Duesterhaus about weather conditions and yield potential in western IL. Ken stresses scouting now to be able to make more accurate yield estimates for this season.
In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers how heavy fog delayed pollination and what problems that caused. He advises scouting the fields and noting the issues with pollination now when the cause is evident instead of being mystified by the lack of yield at harvest. With all this wet weather Ken also warns growers to watch for ear molds, especially in corn on corn fields. He also points out that Physoderma Brown Spot and Southern Rust can look similar.
In this week’s Boots In The Field Report, Ken Ferrie covers how current weather patterns are setting the stage in Tar Spot Alley and shares an update on three new counties where tar spot has been confirmed. Ken also dives into pollination concerns showing up in hybrids planted around April 14th and warns how upcoming weather could further hinder pollination success. With sightings of winged aphids on the rise, Ken urges growers to stay alert for disease pressure and pest activity—scouting now could make all the difference.
Ken covers how pollination uniformity can change the amount of silk clipping pressure a field can take, wide spread potassium deficiencies, how bean stage needs to be evaluated before doing rescue applications, and the elephant in the room - Tar Spot. He covers reports coming in, next steps, and reminders of what we learned from past tar spot outbreaks.
In this week "Boots In The Field Report" Ken Ferrie dives deep into the "carbon penalty." He explains what this is, what specific conditions trigger it, and why growers are seeing a significantly worse impact this year compared to previous seasons.Additionally, Ken warns growers that current weather patterns are creating ideal conditions for tar spot to emerge later in the season. He stresses the urgency for growers to begin scouting their fields now and to start making proactive management decisions to mitigate this potential issue.
In this week’s Boots In The Field Report, Ken Ferrie catches up with Matt Duesterhaus in the western part of the state and they talk about beans caught in the carbon penalty, herbicide carryover, sulfur deficiency, in season look at plot fields, insect pressure, and how the clock starts now for how much tar spot pressure we might see late season.
In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken talks evaluating stands and diagnosing causes of non-uniformity. He covers why growers may have seen even emergence initially but now are seeing uneven plants. Ken stresses the importance of knowing if the difference is a height difference or a collar difference. Plants can be the same collar but different heights if there is an interruption in the transition from seed roots to crown roots creating slower growth. He also reports more issues showing up for growers that used a spoke closing wheel in tilled soil creating more moisture issues with this dry spring. Ken also says that now is a great time to evaluate how your early season fertility program and residue management program are working based on how much your corn crop suffers during the carbon penalty phase.
This week on the "Boots in the Field Report," Ken discusses the recent weather and dust storms, highlighting concerns about residue, sandblasting, and replant decisions. He also addresses nutrient and herbicide loss due to the lack of rain after application, and issues like rootless corn, sidewall smearing, and down pressure, noting how recent rain should help. Plus, get an exciting update on a bean plot that was flowering by May 21st!
In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie covers why timeliness is important when it comes to making replant decisions and how accurate stand counts and ear counts are crucial in making the right call. For beans, the count is more for weed control concerns in most fields, but for corn a grower needs to look not only at emergence but uniform emergence to get an accurate ear count. If it is 1 collar behind it counts as a half ear and if more than 2 collars behind doesn’t get counted in your ear count at all. It can be helpful to determine now what lead to the subpar emergence to make adjustment notes for next season. He also warns that he has seen cutting in central IL and reminders pest scouts to be on the lookout for cutworm.
In this week’s Boots In The Field Report, Ken Ferrie covers the good coming from this rain delay for spreading out our crop stages and reducing risks. He also reminders growers to switch up planting order for beans now that we are back in the normal planting window and gives a heads up on bugs the pest team should be scouting for.
With a green light for planting corn in central IL this week, Ken advises growers to spend a lot of time on the ground checking planter settings to make sure it is set correctly before going full out. He covers setting down pressure, checking row cleaners, and maturity planting order. But he also reminders growers not to forget about early planted fields that might be fighting crusting with this past weekend’s heavy rain.
In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie talks about thinking through conserving water with your tillage decisions, reminds growers to hoe before they know and recaps what the seed results that are back are indicating about this year’s seed.
The first podcast on what to consider when changing to corn on corn produced a flurry of questions coming in, so this week Ken dives into questions like: Which fields do I choose for going corn on corn? What hybrids do I pick? Why does my residue level and placement matter more in corn on corn situations? Is 100 pounds of Urea broadcast enough to combat the carbon penalty? Ken answers these questions and more in this week’s episode of Boots In The Field Report.
This week in the Boots In The Field Podcast, Ken Ferrie talks spring anhydrous warnings, compaction from 1st pass reminder and tips to think about with early beans
With current commodity prices, several growers are looking at switching some fields to corn on corn for a better ROI. In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie issues some reminders of things to think about or plan for when switching to corn on corn for the first time in a field.