Providing Insight

Each year the same issues appear across the country. Whether an issue is seen at emergence or while inspecting the success of a foliar program later in the season, many of these problems can be [...]

Cold germination tests are performed on all seed lots as a part of quality control, but these results are rarely publicly available. When they are provided, comparisons across companies lack [...]

Timing of nutrition for winter wheat can make or break a crop.   In this interview, Ag Spectrum Farm Manager Consultant Pat Tomlinson and Research & Teaching Agronomist Dr. Jim Smart discuss [...]

Even though nutrients are labeled as micronutrients, secondary nutrients, and macronutrients, they are all subcategories within the group of recognized essential elements for plant growth. [...]

Soil test values are important indicators of soil chemistry. When properly sampled, soil test values will naturally vary by up to 10% from the “true” value. When greater year to year variation is [...]

Managing residue cover is critical to maintaining soil biology over winter and preparing the soil for timely planting next spring. Farmers have a significant impact on how quickly residues [...]

Basic science reveals that soils provide the foundation of crop nutrition. Crops provide the chemical energy required through photosynthesis to feed soils with residues and root exudates. Diverse [...]

The Maximum Farming System® is built on key insights about crops and soils that have been revealed through basic science research. Farmers who appreciate this foundation can achieve better [...]

Spring planting sometimes has to be done more than once. Replanting can happen for different reasons. Dr. Jim Smart, Research & Teaching Agronomist for Ag Spectrum talks about some common [...]

One of the most challenging springtime decisions: when to start planting. Correctly judging when conditions are right to plant can be difficult as farmers evaluate day-to-day soil temperatures, [...]