Indiana AgriNews_022820

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We’re dedicated to doing what’s right for farmers. At our core, it’s who we are. Farmers At Heart. TM

February 28, 2020

www.agrinews-pubs.com

USDA projects lower corn prices By Tom C. Doran

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

ARLINGTON, Va. — A first glimpse of the prospects for the 2020 growing season was revealed to kick off the 96th Agricultural Outlook Forum. U.S. Department of Agriculture Chief Economist Robert Johansson opened the forum with the agency’s outlook for

Signs of distress

commodity markets, trade and farm income for 2020. “We know that 2019 was a year filled with uncertainty for the agricultural sector. While the U.S. economy continued to grow, producers were faced with one challenging uncertainty after another,” Johansson said. “Weather conditions were terrible for planned production — it was the wettest year on re-

cord and it was also the hottest year on record for many areas; it was the coldest, slowest planting season resulting in the most prevent plant recorded; we went into 2019 with record soybean stocks and uncertain demand for animal proteins globally; and underlying it all was extraordinary uncertainty about trading relationships with our primary customers.

“Those conditions characterized the 2019 season, and some of those conditions persist today. However, driven by expectations of more normal conditions and finalization of several trade deals, 2020 is shaping up to be a year with less uncertainty, giving producers a better chance to plan and innovate.” The Grains and Oilseeds Out-

Fallow syndrome reduces soil health

By Jeannine Otto

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

See DISTRESS, Page A4

By Tom C. Doran

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

AGRINEWS PHOTO/ASHLEY LANGRECK

Don Cummings of Jackson County, Indiana, stands next to his 1977 John Deere 4430 at the National Farm Machinery Show. He lent his tractor to John Deere to allow the company to showcase it with its newest planter — the John Deere 1745 Planter. The planter was designed for the farmer who wants a simpler planter without all the bells and whistles, but also has the capability to pivot fold and fit down a narrow 12-foot roadway. John Deere used Cummings’ tractor to show farmers that the new planter doesn’t need a lot of hydraulic power to pull it.

Ag innovation Corn hybrids FarmServer maps continue to evolve farming’s future By Ashley Langreck

By Ashley Langreck

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Over the last century, countless changes have taken place in the agriculture industry for the better, largely thanks to the advancements in technology. One of those changes is the evolution of corn hybrids, which are still evolving today. Austin Scott, a field agronomist with Beck’s Hybrids, said in 1955 the average corn yield was 42 bushel per acre, but thanks to scientific advancements, the average Scott corn yield in 2017 rose to 177 bushels per acre. “We have come a long way in a short period of time, and we have come a long way in advancing hybrids,” Scott said. Scott said that one of the biggest changes to corn hybrids over the years has been their breeding process and changing their architecture which affects color, tassel and other characteristics of the corn plant. “There have been a lot of changes from 1955 to modern farming,” Scott said. Scott said that besides the evolution in corn something else that has recently been updated is the “How a Corn Plant Develops,” which is a compilation of charts showing the basis for nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus accumulation. Scott said the guideline was written in 1966 and was in great need of an update. “The hybrids we are planting today are nothing like the old ones. We needed new removal and accumulation rates,” Scott said. Scott said the agronomists fathered modern hybrids and replicated the old tests that were performed in the original guideline, and the outcome was a huge difference, but for the better. “New hybrids use less nutrients per bushels than older hybrids,” Scott said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A big part of agriculture today is the use of technology, as well as finding ways to continue to implement it into the future of the industry. Nate Rottero, a precision farming field adviser with Beck’s Hybrids, said that the topic of why precision agriculture matters and how can one implement it on their own farm operation is a hot one amongst farmers. “Common questions I get are: What do I do with yield maps? How can I make money with them?” Rottero Rottero said. Rottero said that farmers can use the yield maps to find the fastest ways to increase return on investment on their farm by locating the red areas on the map, because they are a waste of time and money to farm. “Stop farming acres that don’t make the grade,” Rottero said, adding that farmers will lose more money to plant those acres than they would get back in revenue. Rottero said one way farmers can better utilize a field map is through Beck’s FarmServer program, which is a scouting tool that takes pictures, notes, drops pins and does stand counts. FarmServer allows farmers to look at where they are plus or minus dollars in a field and where red areas are, so they can identify why they are that color and try to find a solution. Rottero said farms can take data from a low-yielding field and figure out how to prevent another low yield in the future.

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

SEE SECTION B

INSIDE

INFB honors young farmers, ag professionals A3 Drier forecast for planting season A6 FFA members meet lawmakers at Statehouse B14 AgriTrucker B16 Antiques B5 Auction Calendar B1

Farms For Sale B6 Health B5 Lifestyle B4

Business B13

Livestock B10

Calendar B3

Opinion B12

Classifieds B7

Weather A6

Vol. 42 No. 22

CONTACT AGRINEWS: 800-426-9438

See USDA, Page A4

Idle acres at risk

NATIONAL FARM MACHINERY SHOW

Concerns about farm mental health aired at conference MALTA, Ill. — How are you feeling, really? I’m worried about you. You haven’t been yourself lately. Are you depressed? I’ve noticed you’ve been unhappy lately. Have you thought about suicide? “The start of the conversation is of ten the hardest part, but it’s really the most Rudolphi i m p o r t a n t ,” said Dr. Josie Rudolphi, speaking on the topic she presented at the 2020 Illinois Crop Management Conference sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension in Malta. Along with the farm management topics presented by her U of I Extension colleagues — soybean cyst nematodes, weather and the 2019 and 2020 planting seasons, corn hybrids and herbicide resistance — Rudolphi discussed how to recognize stress and manage stress and mental health in the farm sector. “We see mental health concerns across all farm commodity sectors right now. It’s been a tough couple of years for almost every commodity in the U.S.,” she said.

look was prepared by members of the wheat, feed grains, rice and oilseeds interagency commodity estimates committees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 2020 projections assume normal weather conditions for spring planting and summer crop development.

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

Ashley Langreck can be reached at 800-4269438, ext. 192, or alangreck@agrinews-pubs. com. Follow her on Twitter at: @AgNews_ Langreck.

PLANO, Texas — A record 19.4 million acres nationwide were without row crops last growing season due to poor planting conditions and those left fallow are at risk in 2020 w ithout the proper management practices. Brian Cornelious, Agricen Cornelious director of applied sciences, said unplanted acres are susceptible to fallow syndrome — primarily defined as a phosphorous deficiency — that reduces an important fungi in the soil. “Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi are very important to the row crop system and basically act as an extension of the plant root systems. The fungi are able to capture water and nutrients and funnel that back to the plants,” Cornelious said. “The mycorrhizaes also depend on plant roots in that system to provide nutrition for the mycorrhizae to survive. Mycorrhizae are dependent on having some type of plant in that system for them to support their life cycles. See RISK, Page A4

Soil test key for pasture rejuvenation By Martha Blum

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — Taking a soil test is the first step for establishing or rejuvenating a pasture. “A soil test is so important because if you don’t know your fertility or pH, you don’t know which direction to go or how to start,” said Richard Hungerford, grazing consultant, during a Sheep and Goat Workshop hosted by the University of Illinois Extension in Kankakee County. “The pH runs from 0 to 14 with 7 being neutral,” he said. “Most forage plants love the range from 6.5 to 7.5.” One way to remedy soil that is acidic is to apply lime. “Ideally you put the lime on up to one year before planting, so there’s some planning involved,” Hungerford said. Graziers should select plants that are suitable and adapted to their fields. One tool that is available is the Web Soil Survey found online at: websoilsurvey. sc.egov.usda.gov/App/Home page.htm. See PASTURE, Page A4


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