Plant and Soil Blog

Seasonal migration isn’t just for the birds. Or the snowbirds heading to Arizona. Some of nature’s most majestic and essential creatures are now making their way southward: butterflies. These winged beauties are prolific pollinators of crops, landscapes, wildflowers and gardens. Three-quarters of...

Yesterday was #WorldCottonDay. That’s a fitting title, considering how creating the world’s most popular fabric is truly a world endeavor. Cotton is a crop mostly grown in Asia and the Americas, whose end products are mostly designed in Europe and...

“They haven’t been farming it as long,” was the response my western Illinois-based Grandpa would offer when confronted with news of success stories coming from the west (a region he defined as across the Mississippi River, less than 50-miles from his...

Memories awoke recently when I added a Versatile 4WD to my toy tractor collection. It’s a relic of a by-gone era, when thick clouds of smoke bellowed across the Prairies and Plains as steel blades turned the soil. In the...

Seeing is believing. And I’m convinced the recent WASDE reports on crop production aren’t lying. Over the weekend we took my son to college. Our scenic journey through farm country – beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all – took...

Imagine your boss walks into your office, says your productivity is tops in the company, but he’s reducing your salary by 25%. That’s what it’s like being a farmer in 2024. We’re expecting to see the largest year-over-year drop in farm...

Farmers waiting on a summer market rally must feel like teenagers waiting by the phone to be asked to the dance. Only their prospects are much dimmer. Capitalizing on summer rallies is how many farmers base their marketing plans. When...

Corn is made in July, soybeans are made in August.” That’s long been the belief of many farmers in the Midwest and much of the South. This is based on the reproductive stages of the various crops. For corn, pollination...

Farmers are not fast forgetters. They have long memories. Past weather events, cultural practices, product usage, and marketing decisions often drive future decisions. With that, I’m guilty as charged. Last season, a straight-line wind caused major greensnap to a new corn...

“Plants sure know the difference between rainwater and hose water.” That was my wife’s observation Saturday morning, after seeing the rapid overnight growth, beautiful green color, and new blooms from our garden plants, following a thunderstorm that brought a half-inch...

December 8th is #NationalChristmasTreeDay. This of course sets up the great debate, real or fake? While every family weighs the pros and cons of choosing the Tannenbaum they rock around, a popular nation is that fake trees are more eco-friendly....