Our area received above average rainfall in May which changed a once parched wheat crop into one with great potential. According to the Colorado Mesonet, May rainfall in our area ranged from 2.2 inches at the Burlington south weather station to 4.4...

Topdressing nitrogen on wheat allows for improved nitrogen use efficiency over a single nitrogen application at the beginning of the season. Last year’s drought left wheat with a slow start and the question of whether germination occurred in time f...

Several organisms help protect aboveground growth of plants. Among them are predators of pests, parasitoids, lichens and pollinators. Predators can be birds, spiders or insects. Parasitoids are wasps. Lichens are symbiosis between algae or...

One limitation of our irrigation capacity is the potential to create saline, sodic or saline-sodic soil conditions. A saline soil has excessive water-soluble salts in the soil solution. This inhibits the plant’s ability to uptake water. A sodic s...

Overuse of a crop leads to long term promotion of its pests and diseases. While disaster is frequently averted with breeding efforts and good IPM. A national scale failure of a crop is always a possibility. In the United States, the corn leaf blight...

Crop production management can mean any aspect of farming from the rotation order to the investment level within a year. Corn is often referred to as management sensitive. Implying that corn yields are highly correlated with what you put into the...

Crop production management can mean any aspect of farming from the rotation order to the investment level within a year. Corn is often referred to as management sensitive. Implying that corn yields are highly correlated with what you put into the...

Safety is always a major concern on farms. In high school, my power mechanics teacher asked the class one day “what is the most dangerous profession in the U.S?” His answer was farming. I don’t know if he had data to back up his statement, but the i...

Alternative crops bring both benefits and challenges that are not present in the major crops of our region. Growing an uncommon crop means pest pressure will likely be lower. It also means finding a market can be unreliable. Several alternative...

The biggest hurdle to implementing innovation is people stuck in their ways. Scientific research finds improvements using methodical efforts to test the validity of potential changes. For these improvements to be effective, people who practice in the...

Integrated pest management is a commonly used term in agronomy. IPM implies the use of multiple tools to control pests in your fields. While the name lends itself to control of unwanted animals, IPM is used as a strategy to control any unwanted...