Finally warm enough - and dry enough - to get into the fields. Some farmers here in Central Illinois are late in spraying the cover crops, due to the incessant rainy conditions, and thus I’ve seen some “heading out” in the fields. Definitely, you want to burn that down before seeds develop. New this year, [...]
Continue reading about Planting Begins in Central Illinois - annual ryegrass burndown a tad late
Two of the common cover crops used with corn and soybean growers are annual ryegrass and cereal rye. Unfortunately, both species share the name “rye,” but most people have found their way through the initial confusion.
One of the big differences between the two cover crops will be evident in the spring. Cereal rye has a [...]
Some Midwest soils, like southern Indiana and Illinois, are noted for layers of compaction. Some were laid down millenia ago - glacial till and so forth. More recently, conventional plowing has created another layer of compaction, just below the deepest plow or ripper.
Neither corn nor soybean roots can penetrate those compacted layers. Rather, the roots [...]
Continue reading about It’s in the Roots, well, it starts there anyway.
