Scouting tips from Beck’s: Agronomist shares early-season advice

WATERVILLE, Ohio — Early-season scouting is about more than checking a box — it’s about understanding what your field is telling you.

In the latest episode of The Dig, Beck’s field agronomist Mike Hannewald shared practical advice for farmers as they start scouting.

Wait Until The Time Is Right

“The first thing we need to make sure is, have we really allowed enough time for the crop to get up out of the ground?” Hannewald asked.

“A lot of times I’ll get a call that plants are coming up uneven. But we need 100 to 130 GDUs to get corn or beans emerged. If we have a cooler spring, sometimes takes a little bit little bit longer.”

Bring A Shovel

His next piece of advice: always carry your shovel.

“What’s going on below the ground is just as important as what’s going on up above the ground,” he said. “How does that soil react to your shovel? That can tell you a lot, as well.”

Corn Tips

Uniformity as the plants emerge is important within the row.

“The corn plant doesn’t care about what’s happening 100 feet away from it,” Hannewald said. “It cares about what’s going on right next to it. So, inconsistency across the field, no big deal. Inconsistency within a row is a problem.

“Nothing we’re going to do at that point, but things to learn about our planter for next year.”

After evaluating root health and planting depth, he advised observing the overall condition of the plant.

Yellow striping can be a clue that there is sulfur deficiency.

“You might see some purpling in the corn that can tend to happen when you have warm sunny days and cool nights,” Hannewald said. “That’s kind of a defensive mechanism to slow the growth of that plant as we get through that cold period.”

As the plant continues to grow, farmers may find clues that point to disease development.

Farmers should evaluate the corn crown — located at the base of the stalk where the roots meet the stem.

“We are looking for a nice yellow to cream color, or white,” Hannewald said. “From V2 to V7 is our time of susceptibility to crown rot. If we get excessive rainfall in saturated soils for an extended period of time, we might start to see this turning brown and start to rot in there. That can potentially be problematic and we’d want to hit it with an early fungicide in that case.”

To view the complete episode, visit youtube.com/@BecksHybrids.