The first day of Corn College is done and 250 plus growers left the Heyworth, Illinois site a little more knowledgeable and a lot more exhausted! More farmers from Iowa were there than any other state - followed by Illinois and Ohio.  One farmer flew into the site on his own plane.  And another rode [...]

There has been variable progress in corn planting across the U.S.  Some farmers have reached or surpassed their previous five-year averages, while others remain behind while they wait out recent wet weather.
According to Successful Farming’s, Agriculture Online, that’s the verdict in Monday’s weekly USDA Crop Weather report. Overall, 33% of the nation’s corn was in [...]

An Iowa farmer in 2006 had the wrong sprocket on his corn planter and accidentally planted 20 acres at 41,000 plants per acre, which exceeded his normal 30,000-ppa rate.  This farmer reported his yield monitor swinging up to 35 to 40 bushels more when he went over that part of the field! Sometimes, accidents spur [...]

It’s the second day of the largest trade show in Commodity Classic history - more than 940 booths representing over 230 companies featuring equipment, technology, products and services of today’s leading agricultural businesses and organizations.
Yesterday the StollerUSA booth was filled with excitement and interest as conference attendees stopped by to learn more about Stoller’s line-up [...]

Many ethanol plants contracted corn in the summer when prices were up around $7 a bushel.   But as corn went down, these plants took a huge loss and some have declared bankruptcy.   According to USDA Secretary, Ed Schafer, programs are in place that could be used to lend federal money to existing ethanol operations.   The [...]

No one could have predicted the roller coaster ride that corn farmers in America’s Heartland are currently experiencing. High commodity prices are offset by skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer costs. Top that off with a dose of chaos from Mother Nature that has littered the Corn Belt with flooded corn crops and these factors combined have [...]

High corn yields can only be obtained if plant population is increased up to 31,000 plants per acre or higher and every plant has even sized ears.
 
High population corn plants require more cell division and must keep cells alive longer, increasing root mass, stalk diameter, and leaf size to increase the ear size and the [...]