Agronomy Articles
Seed and Chemical Options
By Matt Pechholt, Agronomist, Lyons
Wow, what a great start to November. The forecast looks great for the rest of this month. Fertilizer spreading and fall work are steady. Now is a good time to lock in seed orders. The earlier you have a conversation with your local CFC agronomist, the better the odds are of getting the right hybrid and seed size you would like. Placement of the right hybrid on the right acre is the foundation of growing a bountiful crop, if Mother Nature decides to cooperate. CFC has many options of trait packages and herbicide traits to fill all your needs.
Along with getting seed booked, the next major thing we need to have in the back of our mind is chemical planning for next year. We all saw some pros and cons in each chemical program this year so be sure to bring those up to your local agronomist so changes can be made if needed. There are a lot of chemical options out there and we are here to help you sort through them and find what will work best in your fields. I hope everyone is in good spirits and has a wonderful holiday season with family.
11/10/2023
Continuous Corn Managment
By Allen Johansen, Seed Lead
Research has indicated that maximizing corn yield potential in a continuous corn production system is challenging compared to systems with crop rotation. A six-year study by the University of Illinois identified a continuous corn yield reduction of 9 to 42 bushels per acre when compared to corn following soybeans. Below are a few things to take into consideration.
Management - Fields selected for continuous corn should have soils with good drainage, high water holding capacity, high fertility, little to no compaction problems, and low insect and disease pressure.
Residue - High-yielding corn can leave residue that can reduce emergence, seedling establishment, standability, and even yield potential of the next crop. High levels of corn residues can reduce soil temperatures, N availability, and favor the survival of some insects and diseases. To help control the residue farmers may need to use tillage or strip-till to breakdown the residue. Also adding attachments such as stalk chopping corn heads, straw choppers, or post-harvest shredding can be helpful.
Product Selection - Hybrids should be selected with strong ratings in emergence, seedling vigor, disease resistance, and root and stalk strength. Hybrids with higher emergence and seedling vigor ratings have a better chance of pushing through cool, wet, heavy residue. Prior year residue can contain pathogens for diseases such as northern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot, Goss’s wilt, and Diplodia stalk rot; therefore, higher tolerance or resistance to these is beneficial for continuous corn production. The chances of feeding by corn rootworm and other pests during the growing season is higher with continuous corn. To help protect against these insects, products with multiple modes of insect trait protection for above and below ground insects may be an option.
Seed Treatments – When planting the seed, seedling pathogens and soil insects, such as wireworms, seed corn maggots and grubs can be a threat, especially when heavy residue is present. Seed treatments with fungicide and insecticide protection can help protect seedlings during emergence and early establishment. Another consideration is planting corn on corn acres last because residue is likely to keep the soil wetter and cooler.
Now is the best time to start looking at your 2024 seed selections to make sure we can receive the products that best fit your acres and to maximize discounts. Please reach out to one of our agronomists who would be happy to help you with your next seed decision!
10/27/2023
CropMax Technology
By Andrew Stapleton, Precision Ag Manager
CMT is a program that offers several features to benefit the grower and their return on investment.
- Grid Soil Sampling
- Yield Analysis
- Variable Rate Fertilizer
- Variable Rate Seeding
- Scouting
- Tissue Sample Analysis
- Data Collection/Analysis
- Drone Imagery/Stand Counts
The 2023 soil sampling season is here and is a great start to being more precise with placement of your fertilizer to address problem areas as well as maintaining those high production areas of your field. Combining soil results with as much yield data that you can provide is important for analyzing and ground truthing variable rate fertilizer maps. We offer 5-acre or the more robust 2.5-acre grid sampling. If interested in signing up a few fields or the whole farm, please reach out to your local CFC sales agronomist.
10/20/2023
Agronomy Staff
 Jeff Schmiesing
Agronomy Dept. Manager
Cell: 605-940-7665
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 Allen Johansen
Seed Lead
Cell: 605-661-4882
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 Jeff Schaefer
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 Cody Plamp
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