Pioneer

On his way back to farm full time, Eric Ebersole is making a stop at Prairie State Tractor. “My end goal is to farm full time some day," said Ebersole, who graduated from Milledgeville High School.

A series of Shop Talks are on the calendar with the goal of setting farm policy priorities. Indiana Corn Growers Association and Indiana Soybean Alliance’s Membership and Policy Committee host the Shop Talks.

The smoke from Canadian wildfires reached levels across the Corn Belt this summer that impacted air quality and filtering sunlight with particulate matter, raising the question of its impact on crop productivity.

Red crown rot, a common southern U.S. fungal disease, made its way into Illinois soybean fields over the past few years.

With the recent emergence of red crown rot on soybeans, management options are limited and no rescue treatments are available to mitigate the plant damage once infection has been detected.

Chris Gould planted soybeans this year on some of the acres where he grew soybeans last year.

Black cutworms have been observed in traps in Illinois, primarily in counties across the center of the state.

Farmers should keep an eye out for black cutworm — an aggressive pest that arrives in the Corn Belt in late spring, feasting on many plants including corn.

Early droughts can have a lingering impact on corn plants, according to Pioneer agronomists.

Heat and drought stress on corn is not just a function of temperature, but also depends on the duration and timing of high temperatures, as well as the rate of temperature change.

Winter wheat acreage is up in Illinois and Indiana and farmers are checking their fields for yield-robbing diseases.

Wide temperature swings are a given each spring in the Midwest and often occur as those young corn and soybean plants are just getting established.

The ILSoyAdvisor Soy Envoys are a critical component to the Illinois Soybean Association’s agronomic advantage. These expert individuals are literally in the trenches and in the fields, studying soils, crop growth and pests and making recommendations to growers.

Emergence is a critical time to be scouting and evaluating soybean stands to ensure the crop is set up for success.

Whether to plant early or wait is a choice every farmer faces, and it’s not always an easy one. Planting into wet fields can cause soil compaction, which can sometimes lead to yield loss.