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If the old saying that rain on Easter means that it will rain on the next seven Sundays applies to snow, we’re in trouble – it snowed across a wide swath of Illinois on Easter Sunday (April 1) and also on April 8.
We had enough dry weather in March to allow some ammonia to go on early, but there has been little opportunity for field work over the last six weeks. Rainfall over the past month has been below normal for the northern third of Illinois and above-normal in the southern half of the state,…

I wrote a short article here about a month ago asking for everyone’s cooperation on a project in which we (Corn Belt states) are gathering field-level information on soybean fields to feed into a study, funded (with soybean checkoff dollars) by the North Central Soybean Research Program, looking at weather, soil, and management effects soybean yield over the Corn Belt.
While we got some response to that article, we have so far gathered information on less than half the fields in Illinois that we,…

Registration is open for the 2018 Crop Management Conferences. These regional conferences provide a forum for discussion and interaction between participants and university researchers. We are looking forward to introducing new specialists from the University of Illinois, and have adjoining state specialists joining us at Mt. Vernon and Malta. We will also be offering dicamba training at the conclusion of each conference.
Certified Crop Advisers can earn up to 8 hours of continuing education credit. Advance registration,…

The substantial rain that fell over central and northern Illinois between October 5 and 15 mostly soaked into the soil that was dried out by crop water use, and harvest has moved back to full speed in most areas. With harvest, thoughts turn to application of fall ammonia in central and northern Illinois. Almost everyone is on board with waiting until soil temperatures are at or below 50 degrees before applying ammonia. Cool soil (along with use of nitrification inhibitor) lowers the rate of nitrification,…

A group of people who work on nitrogen fertilizer met in 2004 to talk about an alternative to the yield-goal-based N recommendation system that had been in widespread use for some three decades. The main concern with the yield-goal-based system was that, as corn yields increased over time, N rate trials were showing that the amount of fertilizer N needed to maximize yields was not going up as fast as yields. On the other hand, the amount of fertilizer N needed on lighter soils,…

Corn and soybean take up relatively large amounts of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), and much of this P and K ends up in the grain that is taken off the field during harvest. In order to keep soil nutrient levels from dropping over time, the amounts removed need to be replaced by applying fertilizer or manure.
In order to know how much nutrient a crop removes, we need to know how much there is in a bushel of harvested grain.…

The program is set for the 36th annual University of Illinois’ Northwestern Agricultural Research Center Field Day. The program will begin at 8 am on Wednesday, July 26th.
Topics and speakers will include:

• Lessons from 35+ Years of Research at the Northwestern Illinois Ag Research Center – Emerson Nafziger – Extension Specialist, Crop Production, University of Illinois

• Reducing Tile Drainage Nitrate Loss: Chippin’ Away with Woodchip Bioreactors – Laura Christianson –

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The weather has turned from cool and wet to warm and dry, with thoughts now turning to when it might rain next. The US Drought Monitor at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ shows no drought in the Corn Belt, and water use is still low, but some plants whose roots are not growing well or are in compacted soil are starting to show afternoon leaf curling, and water demand is increasing as plant growth rates increase. We hope rainfall returns soon.…