In April 2008, I first heard about the original surfactant which we transformed into today’s WakeUP. Three companies in Florida and one in Ohio advertised a “plant-based” cleaner/surfactant that supposedly stimulated crop growth. I tested one of these products on raspberries and garden veggies. Result: A profusion of sweet raspberries — and a vast oversupply of Blue Lake green beans.  March 28, 2022: By Jerry […]

March 19, 2022: By Jerry Carlson  More than 40 years ago, I freelanced a booklet for Amchem titled, Farming With Tomorrow’s Wild Weather. It became a collectors’ item on Amazon’s used book market, and is now out of print. But like a lot of journalistic forecasts, it’s finally relevant this season.  Today you have more weatherproofing strategies than 30 years ago: Cover

The National Cover Crop Summit organized by No-Till Farmer concludes today, but you can still tap into the excellent video presentations by following instructions at this link. March 16, 2022 By Jerry Carlson  The summit’s leadoff speaker, Loran Steinlage, is well-known here in Northeast Iowa. I’ve visited his farm near the town of West Union. He’s recognized as

Those 4-color full-page ads that used to fatten farm magazines a few years ago are so yesterday. In their place — campaigns urging farmers to try the latest bugs-in-a-jug, biostimulants or other biologically benign yield boosters. Most “bio” products cost $6 to $10 an acre. (We’ve observed that sales resistance to an unknown product rises sharply after $9 per

Bob Streit’s latest report to consulting clients covers a wide range — and ends with a dozen specific recommendations for weathering the 2022 crop season. March 8, 2022: By Iowa Crop Consultant Bob Streit March has arrived and it came in like a lamb. What will the lion of late March look like? (Has anyone ever tracked

For years, Renewable Farming has urged transitioning your farm toward resilience against high fertilizer, fuel and chemical costs, regulatory shocks and wild commodity prices. Well, they’re all here. Now. March 7, 2022: Fortunately, farming is a unique enterprise: You can substitute keen management and natural biology for NPK, GMO and Roundup. You can do it on large operations or small ones. Example: Every