By Brian Hefty Last summer, I met virtually (thanks to the pandemic) with pretty much all the major ag chem companies. I went through how tough times were for farmers, with COVID crushing ethanol demand, trade issues with China, poor crop prices, flooding [...]
By Brian Hefty Foo foo dust... Snake oil... Baloney... These were all terms Dad used to describe products sold to farmers when he flat out didn’t believe they did anything. You may feel biological products – or Natural [...]
By Darren Hefty Whenever market prices go up and the competition between crops to earn their way onto your acre takes place, it’s a great day to be a crop farmer! Depending on where you farm and what the economics are in your [...]
Like most of us who grew up on the farm, Aiden Allen got his first taste of work at a young age, when he experienced the thrill of riding along in the combine with his dad. From that moment on, he was hooked, wanting [...]
By Brian Hefty Before we talk about the best corn fungicides based on your situation, let me hit you with some good news. First, fungicide prices on average are down again in 2021. Second, there are rebate programs to lower [...]
The worst insect you can have in corn is the corn rootworm. You can’t scout for it, then spray and achieve control. Your only two options to stop it in corn are Bt-rootworm corn or planting-time insecticide. The question we will talk about [...]
Yes, dicamba is once again approved for over-the-top use in Xtend crops. When the new dicambas got pulled from the market last spring, there was a big question of whether or not they would be back again for 2021, but they are. Plus, the dicamba [...]
“Don’t plant THAT soybean trait! There’s yield drag!” I can’t believe how many times I’ve heard that during the 2020 growing season. Once the yield data came out in October and November, the discussion should have been over . . . but [...]
I ran into a farmer in the dairy section of the grocery store the other night. He talked about his favorite hybrid and how well it performed in 2020. He also told me about the hybrid that used to be his favorite. [...]
Diversification is the cornerstone of success for many operations, and throughout much of the history of U.S. agriculture, it was commonplace for crop farmers to also raise livestock as a way to bring in more income. Over the past several decades, however, many [...]