In February 2016, Successful Farming launched a feature series with a daring theme for a mainline farm magazine. Title: Meet Your New Boss. It pointed out that future food buyers who are leading the retail food industry will be health-conscious moms who choose natural, non-GMO and organic foods.  July 27, 2018  By Jerry Carlson — This week I […]

A machine shed on the Dave Schwartz farm just west of Guthrie Center, Iowa is the venue for a farmer meeting where we expect to learn a lot about unleashing the yield power of soil biology. This farm is mostly highly erodible ground with corn suitability ratings downward from 60 points.  July 24, 2018 —

Yesterday, July 18, one of our northern Iowa clients counted 60 pods per plant on his thriving soybeans. They’re loaded with blooms. Three weeks ago those beans were yellowing and wilting, with fungus attacking roots in rain-soaked soil. July 19, 2018 — This 114-acre field of beans is an especially valuable variety grown for seed, and the

Yesterday an experienced casualty insurance agent in our farming area told us, “Farmers will soon have to understand that herbicide damage claims could have a huge impact on the cost of their liability policies.” July 17, 2018 — The ag insurance specialist brought up this subject himself. He told us his next appointment was with a farmer

We work closely with crop consultants who’ve tackled challenges like this season’s excess rain, nitrogen loss and crops which look yellow and chlorotic because of saturated soil. Here are some of the consultant’s answers to the questions we’re getting as growers scout corn and soybeans. 1. Question: In this county, there aren’t enough high-clearance sprayers equipped with Y-drops available

Each season, no-till farmers are realizing more fully how to replace costly fertilizers and chemicals by unleashing soil biology. An enthusiastic example: Russell Hedrick, who farms in the rolling hills of Catawba County near Hickory, North Carolina. From our travels in that region, we can appreciate the challenges he faced when he started farming about 10 years ago.