Beck’s Hybrids announced it will expand into two crop-reporting districts in Iowa and three such districts in Missouri. The company also purchased a seed facility near Marshalltown, Iowa, to initially serve as a research station for Beck’s corn breeding and testing program. The National Corn Growers Association formed the “Soil Health Partnership” with Monsanto Co. to develop enhanced agricultural sustainability and productivity by demonstrating and communicating the economic and environmental benefits of improved soil health. The Climate Corp. acquired Solum’s soil-analysis business, which includes the Solum’s brand, soil-testing intellectual property, soil-test lab in Ames, Iowa, and “No-Wait Nitrate” testing platform. The Ames lab will continue to provide its mail-in sample service. John Deere introduced its Exact-Emerge row-unit system for accurate planting at speeds up to 10 mph, and a 10% improvement in seed spacing at traditional speeds. Deere also introduced its MaxEmerge 5 row units, replacing the MaxEmerge XP and Pro-Series XP units. Raven Industries introduced AccuFlow Vortex, an anhydrous ammonia application system with increased capacity within a single cooler, maximizing applicator time and creating a smaller footprint on the toolbar. Arysta LifeScience added ASTERA Fungicide with aßpro Yield Enhancer to its crop-protection line for corn that offers plant-health benefits without contributing to the risk of strobilurin resistance. DuPont Pioneer, the University of Missouri and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service announced a 3-year collaboration to pool soil-mapping resources, predictive technology and expertise. The goal is to help growers sustainably improve crop yields through better nitrogen application management and other field-input planning. Northern Seed, a distributor of certified wheat seed and other small grains, acquired the assets of Montana Seed and Chemical. The company is now comprised of six seed-conditioning facilities. Woods End Laboratories and the U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced the Soil Health Nutrient Toolbox, which provides a soil-health score based on five independent measurements of the soil’s biological properties, including microbial active carbon and water-soluble carbon. The toolbox is currently available at three U.S. labs. DuPont launched Breakfree NXT herbicides, reformulated from its Breakfree herbicides line. The company says the new product provides the same benefits as their predecessors, but application rates have changed slightly.