It is starting to warm up!  All winter we've been walking by some pots we planted with cereal rye last fall for demonstration purposes, and we noticed that they are starting to green up.  These pots have sat out all winter in this frigid weather with essentially exposed soils.  Says a lot about the hardiness of cereal rye.  We'll keep an eye on these this Spring.

I get a lot of questions about the best way to fertilize soybeans.  In my opinion, the best way is by foliar feeding.  Soybeans seem to feed better from the top down then from the bottom up.   You can tell if a field has been foliar fed by just driving by it.  They look healthy and consistent and have a great color.

To ask about this, I called and talked to Agro-Liquid’s Research Manager at one of the country’s largest fertilizer research farms. I really like doing this because you get insights into matters that you don't normally get. They’re not salespeople so you get what they really see in the fields.  A big question I get is about applying your soybean fertilizers in the row.  They have found no advantage to this over soybean foliar. By putting it in the row you get very inconsistent results. It seems like it would be better but does not yield as well.   If you do put the soybean fertilizer in the row, don't use over three gallons to be seed safe.  I asked about a split application some in the row and some by foliar.  They have found no advantage to this; in fact it probably doesn't pay. Through all their 20 years of research, they haven't found anything that gets better yields then foliar feeding soybeans.  

-Dan Moffitt

Boron is small but mighty.  One of the micronutrients necessary for plant growth, Boron has been frequently overlooked because of the relatively small quantities needed by the plant.  Important to plant development and especially important to the reproduction process because of its role in pollination and holding blooms, boron deficiency affects the growing points of the plant and reproductive organs.  In crops such as soybeans, boron is also important in nitrogen fixation and nodulation.  Without enough boron in the soils, crops can suffer from severe deficiencies resulting in stunted growth and affecting yields. 

Why is this relevant?  The soil tests we've pulled over the years have been showing a repeating trend of decreasing or deficient levels of boron in the soils from all over our trade area.  How to combat this?  Test for boron deficiencies in your soils and include boron in your soybean foliar program, your corn row starter, and in your alfalfa hay programs.
 
-Brenna Cross

Vomitoxin in corn has reared its ugly head this fall. Across the country it has been found at levels from 4 to 40 ppm. The highest I've found in my Southwestern Ohio area has been 7.9 ppm.  At 5 ppm hogs will get sick and small pigs can be affected by levels as low as 1.3 ppm.  Other livestock, such as cattle and chickens, usually don't see any effect until 10 ppm. Humans can be affected also, but usually after the 10 ppm level.  Most mills will reject the tainted corn at 4 ppm. The corn I found at 7.9 ppm was rejected at one mill but accepted at another. He had 10,000 bushel of the contaminated product.  Not every year or every corn type will have this problem, but if you have this in a bin be sure to clean it out completely.

-Dan Moffitt