Boots In The Field Report

In this week’s Boots in The Field Report podcast Ken Ferrie takes some time to answer questions that have been coming in: “Switching to corn on corn or beans on beans due to market and yields, what should be considered?” and “If growers find urea priced right can they use it as their N source?” He covers what concerns or questions growers need to think about to help make the right choice for their operation.

Ken takes a little more time this week to catch up with the Matt Duesterhaus in Quincy, Il to see how their harvest finished up and then speaks with Isaac Ferrie on what they saw on the plot side this year during this week’s Boots In The Field Report. Matt commented on higher-than-average corn yields, surprising a lot of growers for how dry they got in August. He also covers some wind events, wildlife damage and fungicide results that he saw in his area. Isaac touches on the plot program results and what the research department is working on to prepare for the winter meetings. Ken reminds growers of the upcoming educational opportunities of Beyond the Basics, Hand Harvest, and Virtual Winter College.

In this week’s Boots in The Field Report Ken Ferrie recaps the last of the plots coming out, highlighting a fungicide plot out of this year’s tar spot alley, NE Iowa. He also goes over some of the yield data coming out of the ear flex plots and why some areas that experienced a flash drought in the rapid growth stage may be disappointed in the yields of their L1 hybrids. Ken reminds growers to mitigate risk with their hybrid selection and know the weaknesses of the chosen hybrids so they can farm around them.

In this week’s Boots in The Field Report Ken covers harvest progress throughout the state and reports most areas pleased with corn yields and ended up with average bean yields. Several reports coming in have shown a reduced yield coming out of the April planted corn this year and Ken reminds growers that we plant by soil conditions and not the calendar.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken recaps harvest progress and reminds growers to be patient and wait for the correct conditions before applying anhydrous. Reports from Iowa are showing yields getting dinged by the September frost causing test weights to be off and some field edge scalding in the dry area. Ken also recaps some initial reports of yield data off plots that got harvested this week from deer repellent products to planting date, maturity groups, and row spacing plots. He also advises growers to take advantage of the dry fall and lack of wheel tracks to try no-tilling next spring to help get into fields quicker for early planted beans.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken talks bigger than expected swings in bean yields and attributes that to the maturity of the bean planted and the weather it received. He is getting a lot more reports of white mold showing up and recommends combine operators make a note for pest team for yield map review if they are seeing that show up in the grain tank. Ken also recaps yield results from the Corn College Campus teaching plots and discusses why L1 and L2 hybrids have seemed to stumble more with this year’s weather pattern.

Ken talks about the gift and the curse of the dry fall: easier harvesting without getting equipment stuck/wheel tracks, don’t have to go as deep with fall tillage to get full width shatter, and good conditions to build fall strips, but without moisture it may make fall anhydrous applications impossible to seal. He also reminds growers that they will need to have notes of weed escapes because it will take 3 years of staying on top of it to get them back under control. Ken advises harvest scouts to keep track of ear counts and locations so at yield mapping time, they can calculate bushels per ear and when finding ear mold issues moving them up the harvest list and not storing that grain at home.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken gives a harvest report of yields coming in across the state and comments that combine operators are saying the big swings in yield in a field are coming from the swings in stand throughout the field. Yields are expected to improve in corn fields as growers move to later planted corn that had less weather obstacles at the beginning of the season. The good September weather is helping gain depth of kernel which helps offset some of the tip abortion loss from earlier in the season. Ken calls combine operators to have two main things on their to-do list: calibrate their yield monitor and check for harvest loss.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers the harvest reports coming in and the highlights from his recent Iowa / Minnesota crop tour. He reports Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota seem to be the heaviest of Tar Spot Alley this year. Several areas had a challenging July and August but a favorable September. If plants could stay healthy long enough to take advantage of September, growers might be presently surprised at harvest. Ken also encourages pest teams to watch how fields are drying down to help inform harvest order.

Ken Ferrie recaps 2,700 miles of crop touring over the last week on what he saw on the way up to Canada and coming back.  He also reports April planted corn locally is hitting black layer and causing some growers to think about harvesting soon to cash in on premiums. Ken additionally comments on how corn that is stressed now, is hustling to black layer and that will come at the cost of grain fill.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers tip loss, spider mites, northern leaf blight and diseases increasing later in the season in corn fields. He also covers sightings of SDS and white mold in bean fields. Ken talks with Matt Duesterhaus to see what he has been seeing in Western Illinois. 

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken gives a crop report from his trip to Ohio and back and on conditions he is seeing locally. Due to the late planting and tight water margins a lot of final yield potential is riding on the last 30 days of fill and making it hard to make accurate yield estimates right now. Ken also warns about heavy spider mite pressure due to weather and spraying taking out all its natural predators and tipping the balance in the mite’s favor. As always Ken reminds growers not to walk away from a growing crop, especially this year

Most areas got at least a little rain last week, but some got too much and in some areas it came with heavy winds. While the fields that took heavy wind in June still had growing potential to lessen the effects of the goose-necking and neighboring plants in the green snap areas could adjust ear size or throw a second ear to account for additional sunlight, it is too late in the season for either of those things to do much good for the fields that got wind last week. As Ken was looking at crops that reached R3 and beyond, pollination is showing more uneven than first thought, mostly due to heat stress. In beans, he is seeing waterhemp escapes and both Japanese beetle and the stink bug invade.  All this and more in this week’s Boots In The Field Report.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie tells how water in the next 60 days will tell the rest of the story, how despite being able to pollinate in 5 days the heat wreaked some havoc on even pollination, and warns about checking for spider mites in the corn before spraying a fungicide.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers how quickly pollination is going, the increasing need to spray for silk clippings, why shorter corn might be a good thing come this fall, where tar spot has been reported and why even though it is later in the calendar year than last year, why it would be considered coming in earlier in plant maturity. He advises pest bosses to be scouting low on that plant as most will be home grown and warns that we may be looking at mid to late October for harvest.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers how we are progressing compared to normal, what to look for now before the corn tassels, and reminds growers about staying on top of aphids, spider mites, and rootworm. He also warns about fields showing resistance, which areas need to be on higher alert for tar spot, and advises growers to take care of the waterhemp in beans before the seedbed gets out of control.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken touches on fields recovering from wind and hail damage, explains why L1 hybrids will take the biggest hit, and reminds growers to never walk away from a growing crop, especially this year. He also warns growers in the dry areas to stop mowing ditches and for pest scouts to be on the lookout for corn borer, western bean cutworm, rootworm, and Japanese beetles.

Ken Ferrie starts this week’s Boots In The Field Report with a fishing recap, followed by a crop report of how crops looked on the drive. He talks heat stress and what that means for these rolled up corn plants, and what pests to be on the lookout for. And despite a lot of farmers not getting into the fields to plant beans as early as they would like, he is still seeing pre-solstice flowering in several fields. Ken also puts out the call for those seeing tar spot to call the sightings into the office so we can keep tabs on it.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers nitrate levels, carbon penalty, cutworm, rootworm, and armyworm flights, and crop deficiencies showing up. He breaks down the difference in nitrogen, sulfur, and zinc deficiencies and how they present in the corn plant. Adding nitrogen to a sulfur deficiency can make the problem worse, so it is important to know which one you are facing. He also covers yellowing beans fighting the carbon penalty and why replant beans might be showing it more than older beans.

This year may go down in the books as some of the best corn stands Ken has seen, with the corn coming up in 4 days and even emergence. In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers the nitrate values coming back, indicating we are in the middle of the carbon penalty period. As the soils warm up, doubling the microbe population every 10 degrees, it creates a draw down on nitrogen supply. He warns that growers will possibly see yellow or pale green corn and even bean plants. This is a chance to evaluate your nitrogen plan for timing and see if it is working to not let your corn have a bad day. Cutting has started and with the price of corn Ken recommends moving the threshold from 3% to 1.5% on when to act. He also warns about bean leaf beetle feeding.