Renewable Farming

July 2017

Soybeans: Is season-long weed control possible without glyphosate, glufosinate, dicamba?

That’s a logical question because season-long weed control is getting more difficult even with GMO traits and their linked herbicides. Already this season we’re seeing resistant weed “escapes” popping through soybean canopies in soybean fields which were always 100% weed-free a decade ago, before the phrase “resistant weeds” emerged. July 24, 2017 — Weed scientists […]

Soybeans: Is season-long weed control possible without glyphosate, glufosinate, dicamba? Read More »

Update on what to do about Goss’s wilt in corn; interview with Bob Streit

One of the crop consultants who’s closely monitoring corn diseases in Iowa, Bob Streit, now reports that he’s seeing early symptoms of Goss’s wilt in most fields he scouts. The symptoms he describes are variations from the “classic” Goss’s wilt lesions; they are caramel colored lesions on leaves which move from the ground up. July

Update on what to do about Goss’s wilt in corn; interview with Bob Streit Read More »

How to upgrade alfalfa yield and quality with WakeUP Spring — profitably

We’ve found alfalfa is a delightful and very responsive crop to foliar feed with WakeUP Spring, which is formulated to amplify nutrient flow through the phloem systems of crops.  When alfalfa can pump more sugars from photosynthetic chlorophyll cells into roots, stems and storage cells, nutrient quality and density of alfalfa rises sharply. July 20, 2017

How to upgrade alfalfa yield and quality with WakeUP Spring — profitably Read More »

Quick way to monitor drought, other weather stress in your area

Here’s a link to  the online reports of the relatively new “Quick Drought Response Index“, dubbed QuickDRI by the eight government agencies that cooperated to build the software and database. It’s handy to bookmark this site so you can keep an eye on the multiple weather factors which anticipate crop stress. July 16, 2017 — It’s

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“Regulatory Risk” of transgenic technology grows along with bans, warnings, controversy

Missouri’s Department of Agriculture on July 13 lifted a temporary ban on spraying dicamba.  However on the same day, Tennessee restricted its use, and a Reuters report indicated that “Kansas is investigating complaints.”  In Canada, several major farm organizations are demanding a repeal of the Canadian government’s registration for GMO alfalfa.  July 14, 2017 by Jerry

“Regulatory Risk” of transgenic technology grows along with bans, warnings, controversy Read More »

Why solutions flow more easily through your sprayer tips with WakeUP

Computerized field sprayer systems revealed how WakeUP makes spray solutions easier to pump through spray tips and in-furrow system orifices. Farmers occasionally phoned from the field to tell us: “When I added WakeUP Summer to the spray solution, the computer reduced the pressure by three pounds to deliver the same rate of spray per acre.” July

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A major motivation in Renewable Farming: The marvelous friends we meet!

Some entrepreneurs aspire to build a multi-million-dollar company, then sell it for billions. We aspire to meet more wonderful people we’ve gotten to know as friends and clients. Relationships with growers and product developers who are enthused, even passionate, about healthy food and healthy soil contain the real riches in our realm. July 11, 2011

A major motivation in Renewable Farming: The marvelous friends we meet! Read More »

Wall Street Journal weighs in on dicamba damage and bans in Missouri, Arkansas

The “Dicamba damage” story has gotten such broad attention that it’s being picked up by the Wall Street Journal in a feature today. This link takes you to their report, although you’ll need a WSJ subscription to read the full story. July 11, 2017 — So far, most official damage complaints to regulators have shown up

Wall Street Journal weighs in on dicamba damage and bans in Missouri, Arkansas Read More »

For almost 10 years, we’ve seen the benefit of season-long crop nutrition

One of our farmer clients just phoned to order a new WakeUP supply along with some Vitazyme, adding the comment: “What convinced me to keep up a summer foliar nutrition program is based on what I’m seeing in our garden.” July 8, 2017 — He told us, “We’ve sprayed WakeUP alone — no traces, no NPK

For almost 10 years, we’ve seen the benefit of season-long crop nutrition Read More »