By Brian Hefty
One of the turning points when it comes to yield and profitability on our farm was when we started regularly soil testing. Prior to about 10 or 15 years ago, we rarely tested our soil. The old philosophy was, “If we over-do it on P & K, it will just be there for […]
By Darren Hefty
Think about raising wheat like a business produces a product. At every step in the process, the business considers how to make the product work. It also looks at the profitability of each input along the way and analyzes the potential gain. Taking that same approach to your wheat crop is a great […]
By Brian Hefty
If you visited the Grain PhD tent and Morton Center presentations at the Ag PhD Field Day July 27th, thank you! It was a perfect way to launch the Grain PhD platform.
We realize that you face many different risks but price risk is often top of mind. The notion of selling crops at […]
By Brian Hefty
I have been an agronomist for over 25 years, and I’ve never seen anything like what we’ve experienced this summer in terms of leaf cupping on soybeans. I have cupped beans, too. While this is an emotional issue, it’s always best to take the emotion out and look at it from a business […]
By Darren Hefty
There were so many things going on in fields around the country that will and have had a big impact on yields in 2017. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the bigger ones I saw and what can be done to protect your crops going forward.
Wheat Curl Mite – We saw wheat […]
By Brian Hefty
A couple months ago, I went to Georgia to visit Randy Dowdy’s farm, and that was one of the highlights of my summer. If you are not familiar with Randy, he is the current world-record holder for soybean yield (171 bushels per acre), and he has raised over 500 bushel corn. Yes, you […]
By Darren Hefty
It’s hard to pick up a farm publication and not hear about cover crops these days. Brian and I get asked about cover crops almost every day on Ag PhD Radio (Sirius XM 147 at 2 p.m. CT). Here are the most popular questions we’ve recently received, along with our answers.
Will My Residual […]
By Brian Hefty
When soybeans were over $10 per bushel, I literally had farmers walk into my office and say, “What else can I spend money on in my soybeans?” Recently, I’ve talked to farmers who have said, “Soybeans aren’t worth anything now, so I’m not going to spend any money on them.”
I have been a […]
By Brian Hefty
This summer or this fall, you may need a burndown application (or two) after harvest. What is happening with herbicide pricing, and what are the best burndown options for 2017?
First of all, Roundup has been in tight supply lately. The farmgate price around our area is up more than 25% since last fall, […]