Tag Archives: planting soybeans

From the FieldMonitor Updates Key to VR Planting

Posted on by

Peter Bixel, Seed2Soil Team Leader

There’s nothing quite like sunshine and the 70-degree temperatures we experienced last weekend to get a farmer thinking about planting! As you prepare for the upcoming planting season, remember to also update your monitors. Monitor updates are especially important for Variable Rate Planting.

Through Latham’s hallmark Seed2Soil® program, we can write prescriptions for your planter and seed variety, on an individual field basis. We can write population prescriptions using information about past yield history from a yield monitor, soil types within the field, hybrid variety selection, tillage practices, fertility levels and more, with special consideration.

Even if you’re not interested in or your current equipment isn’t capable of planting variable rates, it’s still important to keep up-to-date on planter technology. Below is a brief summary of updates available to some of the more popular models. Also included are links that will direct you to the Internet sites where you can either download the upgrades yourself or have your dealer assist you.

Ag Leader
In February, Ag Leader Technology released Advanced Seed Monitoring through the SeedCommand™ system. Available on the INTEGRA™ display, Advanced Seed Monitoring provides planter performance monitoring of seed meter singulation, skips/doubles and spacing quality, along with population and spacing information for all rows when planting corn. All of these features are available while the display is simultaneously performing guidance, mapping and autosteer functions.

Case
Case IH on March 17 announced the release of Version 26 (v26) software for the Advanced Farming System (AFS) Pro 600 and new AFS Pro 700 color touchscreen displays. A few changes and new features available in v26 include: autoguidance optimizations for Case IH Patriot self-propelled sprayers; improved user-interface for adjusting overlap control settings; and support for up to 3 clutch ECUs, allowing single-row AFS AccuRow clutch control even on 36-row planters

John Deere
Updates are available for the 1800 Displays and GS2. The new GS3monitor will be shipped with the right display, but there are controller and receiver updates. For additional information, contact a John Deere dealer or visit http://stellarsupport.deere.com/en_US_new/ where you’ll get product information and can participate in on-line forums and discussions.

Combating Goss’s Wilt and SDS

Posted on by

Last year Goss’s Wilt and Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) both reared their ugly heads for many growers throughout the Midwest. Unfortunately for those farmers who had to deal with the effects first-hand, Nick Benson, corn product specialist, and Mark Grundmeier, soybean specialist, say likelihood is they will present challenges for Midwest growers again this year. As we head into planting season, below are some tips to keep top of mind to help battle these diseases.

Tips to Manage Goss’s Wilt

  • Hybrid selection. One of the best ways to protect against Goss’s Wilt is hybrid selection. If you battled Goss last year, Nick recommends either rotating to beans, or planting only highly resistant hybrids to help avoid significant yield loss.
  • Bacteria versus fungus. Nick says oftentimes farmers will spray fungicide and believe they’re taking care of diseases like Goss’s Wilt, but because Goss’s is bacterial, the fungicide has no effect. To help farmers identify corn diseases, Iowa State University Extension has compiled a helpful Scouting Guide available here.
  • Tillage. Because Goss’s overwinters in the previous year’s crop residue, tillage will help prevent spread. If a field was affected by Goss last year, aggressive tillage Nick recommends aggressive tillage to help suppress the susceptibility for the coming year.

Tips to Manage SDS

When SDS spread last year, Mark compiled a video series with tips from variety selection to SDS management to help farmers in the field. Below is a video about how to prevent SDS prevention. If time allows, take just a few minutes to read Mark’s previous blog posts that offer tips to help you identify and manage SDS.

YouTube Preview Image