Due to the cool and wet conditions, soybeans harvested late at this time will need to be dried either on the farm or at the elevator. Some elevators will accept soybeans up to 20 percent moisture while others will reject loads that are above 16 percent moisture. Contact your elevator prior to delivery.

Unlike corn, wheat and most other row crops grown in North America, soybean is able to obtain its own nitrogen (N) through the process of N fixation. N fixation is achieved through an intricate biological relationship between soybean and a particular species of soil bacteria, Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The bacteria obtain sugars from soybean to use as their energy source, and soybean obtains N from the bacteria.

There were multiple reports of Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans this past year. The cooler, wet season helped promote the disease in susceptible varieties, but the presence of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) can also increase the effect of SDS.

The increase number of acres planted to cover crops has raised questions on nitrogen (N) crediting for the 2014 cropping year.

Corn and soybean harvest continues to move along in Illinois, and as the 2013 crops come off, thoughts turn to fall fertilization.

As corn harvest is concluding, many farmers are turning their thoughts to preparing for next year’s crop. One thought is on how to best apply nitrogen (N) fertilizers to maximize N use efficiency and corn yields. Nitrogen fertilizers can be applied at many times throughout the year including: fall, spring, preplant, at planting, sidedress, or through fertigation. When deciding when and how to apply N fertilizers, consider the 4Rs of nutrient management

In the chemical age of agriculture that began in the 1960s, potassium chloride (KCl), the common salt often referred to as potash, is widely used as a major fertilizer in the Corn Belt without regard to the huge soil reserves that were once recognized for their fundamental importance to soil fertility.

A Purdue University study shows that high-yielding, modern corn hybrids take up not only more nitrogen from soil but more micronutrients such as zinc, iron, manganese and copper. Nitrogen fertilizer rates also influence how much of these nutrients are stored in the grain at harvest.

For wheat growers, it's a truism: Plant varieties that are resistant to prevalent diseases. But what if the wheat plant has to pay a price for resistance, possibly reducing its yield? Is the resistance worth it?

We have been receiving numerous phone calls about Dectes stem borer in soybean this year. We began seeing large numbers of adults in soybean fields as early as mid-June this year and populations appeared to peak in early- to mid-July. Now we are beginning to receive reports of severe infestations in maturing Group IV and early V soybean fields.