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By the time you read this article in the Farm News column, Big Soil Health Conference and the Power of Biology Conference will be history. And Christmas will only be sixteen days away. Based on the years of experience, the ability to think, to solve problems and then...
Is anyone else tired of winter already? The cold, the snow and the ice are getting old. A person could head to Florida, but they are still picking up from hurricane Ian. You could move to Texas, but 105 degrees and a 45 mile an hour breeze every day doesn’t sound too...
Here we are in late fall with corn harvest ahead of schedule and the section of the state with the most left in the field is way north central and north east Iowa. Those two sections received the highest moisture totals as inches total and percent of normal rainfall,...
Bushel by bushel, round by round and field by field the harvest of 2022 continues into late October. By the time you read this column many of the growers in the central parts of the state will have finished with both their bean and corn crops. This will actually be...
The harvest of the Midwest corn and bean crop continues and so far, there have been no rain delays. In some ways that may be a blessing as rotted stalks become as strong as wet noodles. There are corn fields where 95% of the stalks fail the push test a few weeks ago....
The college football and NFL seasons have started, the Spencer Fair ended, and the days have gotten shorter and the daytime temperatures have cooled off. Thus, the unofficial fall season has arrived. In a few parts of the state the first corn fields have been...
The summer is now officially over with, as commemorated with the Labor Day Holiday and the end of the Farm Progress Show. It is always a moment to reflect on all the things that we did do or didn’t do, happened or did not happen during the summer. In much of the...
So, our wonderful USDA is forecasting high yields of the major crops for each state. A few things about their forecast is that they are based on models rather than actual field observations, assume normal temperatures and moisture after that date, and never retract...
August is here and what happens weather wise will determine if the upcoming crops meet expectations. Then you will know if you had a bad or good year. It is been one of the weirder seasons where everything seems to be off kilter. Most of the crops got planted 1 to 3+...
The month of July is now over 50% complete. The number of days where the high temps reached or exceeded 90F has likely matched or exceeded any count from the 1930s or 50s. Any temps over 84 F exceeds most peoples’ comfort margin, regardless of the humidity levels....