Boots In The Field Report

Ken Ferrie talks frost damage on beans and planting windows for corn in this Boots In The Field Report

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report, Ken Ferrie talks about how in the early planted beans, growers need to be watchful for a need to replant the ponds and to keep a close eye on conventional tillage fields for crusting. He encourages growers to hoe before they know, check on their seed quality, and to use the rain delay to finish up last minute items so they can be ready to go once we dry up.

Ken talks about what to consider in several areas due to drought conditions; tillage, anhydrous applications, topdressing wheat, population and hybrid selection and more in this week’s Boots In The Field Report!

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie walks through some of the questions that come in during the Virtual College about tillage tools and how to evaluate which is the right one for your situation.

Ken does a round robin crop recap with some of our northern growers who came to Osage, IA to help with the hand shelling day.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie talks all things fall tillage including adjustments for dry soil and warnings about anhydrous applications in these drought conditions.

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.

“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 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 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.

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 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.