Researchers highlight latest finds at field days

Jul 20, 2023

This time of year, a visit to the test plots at the University of Illinois is as much fun for farmers as a county fair is for kids.

It’s a season for field days highlighting a year’s worth of crop research at university farms.

Nick Seiter, University of Illinois entomologist and Extension specialist, offered a preview of some of the research that will be highlighted at various field days this summer.

Any Urbana-Champaign crop research tour must include an update from a team member of corn and soybean high-yield guru Fred Below, a professor well known for his “Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World.”

“This is his 39th crop,” Connor Sible, a member of Below’s team, says of Below’s long research career.

The team routinely gets corn yields with 300 bu./acre averages.

Click here to see more...

Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.