Rain delays mean a lot of farmers who may have applied nitrogen at planting are now turning to sidedress applications to get those nutrients on the ground before it's too late. When doing so, it's important to keep a few things in mind.

7/02/2009, 10:02 AM CDT

Do you have all of your fertilizer purchased for the near future? If not, now may not be a bad time to think about it.

7/02/2009, 9:10 AM CDT

Soybean aphids continue to pop up -- though in low numbers so far -- in early-planted soybean fields in the eastern Corn Belt. But, their presence at this point in the growing season indicates the pest will reach the treatment threshold fairly soon.

7/01/2009, 12:57 AM CDT

It's like a broken record. For months, everybody's said the weather will be the main factor in the direction of the grain trade. On Tuesday, after the dust from the morning's big USDA Acreage and Grain Stocks reports had settled, the broken record skipped again.

6/30/2009, 2:18 PM CDT

Survey results published in the quarterly journal Weed Technology indicate U.S. farmers in general do not feel a sense of urgency when it comes to developing a deeper understanding of the herbicide glyphosate and its relationship to weed resistance. That's spawned a multi-state study on glyphosate resistance and whether today's means for weed control are sustainable.

6/30/2009, 12:34 AM CDT

A fairly large corn acreage guess combined with a higher stocks number could knock the stuffing out of the corn trade, but ought to lend support to soybeans, one analyst says.

6/30/2009, 8:03 AM CDT

The last week was a big one for the development of the '09 corn crop, with hot, muggy conditions in much of the Corn Belt. But, some farmers who have chest-high corn fields now still have bare-dirt soybean fields yet to be planted.

6/29/2009, 3:32 PM CDT

Almost 2 months ago, crop specialists in Ohio predicted 2009 to be a big year for soybean aphids in the eastern Corn Belt. This week, specialists confirmed aphid numbers that indicate the pest overwintered.

6/17/2009, 3:38 PM CDT

A quick glance at this week's USDA-NASS Crop Progress report shows farmers have finally reached a crucial point in the season: The "corn planting" progress chart is gone, meaning the finish line for corn planting has come and gone.

6/15/2009, 4:09 PM CDT

A bioreactor consists of a trench filled with a carbon source, in this case wood chips. As tile line water flows through the bioreactor, microorganisms break down the nitrate and expel the substance as a gas.

6/11/2009, 3:28 PM CDT