The conversation spans a range of timely topics, including:

Current spring challenges: Wet and cool weather, delayed fieldwork, and management of early-season weeds like purple dead nettle and henbit dead nettle.

Pigweed pressure: Insights on Palmer amaranth and waterhemp control, stressing the importance of residual herbicides and overlapping applications.

Technology and weed control: Evaluation of drone and robotics use for herbicide applications, from current capabilities to regulatory considerations and five-to-ten-year outlooks.

Site-specific approaches: Variable-rate herbicide management, precision sprayers, and the foundational work needed to make those systems viable in the future.

Alternative application opportunities: Use of drones in non-traditional ag settings such as power lines, solar farms, and rights-of-way.

Dr. Butts also shares his background in weed science across multiple states and cropping systems, and offers resources for growers to stay up to date with Purdue’s weed science research and recommendations.

Resources:
https://ipm.missouri.edu/croppest/2024/6/drones_and_herbicides-kb/ 

https://ag.purdue.edu/btny/purdueweedscience/

1. Planting is the most important pass we make with any of our equipment. Position the right seed, on the right acre, at the right rate, at the right depth, at the right time.

2. Consider applying non-limiting nitrogen reference strips in every corn field.

3. Scout for pests, and apply timely treatments.

4. Monitor for misapplications and costly mistakes. (A tank contamination or mistake mix can cause bleaching, striping and other issues.)

5. Trust but verify new products. There are so many products from biologicals to stabilizers, but it's really important to run tests and verify that the products work. Leave check strips, and verify ROI.

During the conversation with hosts Carl Joern and Brian Shrader, Regg mentions a couple of Pioneer resources including a scouting calendar and a corn disease tracker: 

Corteva Corn Disease Tracker: https://www.corteva.us/press-releases/Pioneer-Launches-New-Mobile-Tool-to-Identify-Pests-Diseases-and-Deficiencies-in-Crops.html

Pioneer Scouting Calendar: https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/scouting-calendar.html

The first year Nick Hedden started helping growers manage water hemp was 2016. It hasn’t taken long for a variety of products to lose their effectiveness.

“It’s definitely been a challenge,” says Hedden, who is an agronomist with Pioneer in Western Indiana. “Water hemp has between 6-8 chemical class resistances. We’ve got to be thorough, and have a good action plan for 20205 water hemp management.” 

During this episode of the Pioneer Indiana Agronomy Podcast, Hedden talks with hosts Carl Joern and Brian Shrader. 

Hededen’s advice is to have multiple, very strong modes of action. There is no silver bullet, but there are some new options.  He recommends starting with an excellent pre-emergence product to control water hemp before it breaks through the ground.

“After emergence, we are seeing effectiveness with Enlist and Liberty mixed,” Hedden says. “This is what I’d recommend if you’ve got some really heavy water hemp pressure.”

Corteva also has a new product called Kyber® Pro that could be effective.

More about Kyber® Pro: https://www.corteva.us/products-and-solutions/crop-protection/kyber-pro.html  

During this episode of the Pioneer Agronomy Podcast Ben Jacob talks with Brian Shrader about the rabbit hole he's gone down this winter. He's been reading a lot about the relationship between sulfur and nitrogen. We know we need to apply some, but when and how much?

"There's not a lot of research on sulfur in corn. But I did find some in Europe to do with small grains," Jacob says. "There's probably a lot of nutrient interaction that we don't give it [sulfur] credit for."

Listen to the full podcast for more takeaways from all they've learned and what research is in the works to give farmers better answers on questions to do with sulfur and soil fertility programs.

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Follow Brian Shrader on Instagram at @B_K_Shrader.

Follow Ben Jacob on X at @thebenjacob and on Facebook at Ben Jacob Agronomy.

Don't forget to like and subscribe for more real time updates from the Pioneer Agronomy team!

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The Draft includes data from 11 participants across Illinois and Indiana with more than 300 plots represented. The highest performing corn seed hybrids in 2024 were: 

1472, 10811, 14830, 13777 and P1222

During this episode of the Indiana Agronomy podcast, hosts Carl Joern and Ben Jacob discuss wheat, the weather, and whether an extreme cold snap can kill tar spot. "I'm not under the impression that cold temperatures have any impact on tar spot. It's a fungus, and I'm not aware of any published research that shows that extreme cold kills off those spores," says Joern.  

Spoiler alert: Insects are resilient, and they will overwinter. It takes temperatures of -40 degrees celsius to kill off many insects that affect crop health.  

Further reading: 
What makes winter winter, "winter?" https://extension.sdstate.edu/what-makes-winter-wheat-winter-wheat 

Themes in this episode: 
A "demand plan" is a strategic forecast of how much of a particular crop or livestock product a farmer should produce based on anticipated market demand, taking into account factors like seasonal fluctuations, consumer preferences, and potential market trends, allowing them to optimize production and minimize waste by only growing what is likely to be sold. 

Demand planning is a supply chain management process that enables a company to project future demand and successfully customize company output—be it products or services—according to those projections. It is the linchpin of an effective supply chain, which makes it doubly important to business.

Indiana Strategic Agriculture Plan: https://www.in.gov/isda/programs-and-initiatives/indiana-agriculture-strategic-plan/  

2025 Agronomy Research Summary: https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy-science.html  

Hosts Brian Shrader and Ben Jacob talk about the 2024 harvest during this episode of the Pioneer Indiana podcast offering some advice for determining whether products used during the 2024 growing season made a difference.

Their most important takeaways:

1. It's important to understand how most yield monitors work. Most are just a mass flow sensor, and what they are actually measuring is an impact against a plate. So, a denser sample if going to have more of an impact at the same weight. They are an excellent tool when used properly, but it's still best to have scales on your grain cart.
2. If you're testing new agronomic products - go perpendicular to the rows.
3. One year of data is pretty challenging to make a decision from. Try to use at least a three-year data set from 30 locations or more. 
4. As salespeople are knocking on your door for products to use in 2025, if they can't talk to you about the data, don't buy. 

In Indiana, the entire state is marked by some kind of drought as farmers finish up this year's harvest. If rain doesn't come yet this fall, Indiana farmers are crossing fingers and toes for good snowfall. Lots of problems, but maybe not crops, can erupt when the ground is too dry. 

 Additionally, many farmers are in their first or second season battling the tar spot fungus. Which raises the question: when do you apply fungicide to combat this pesky new disease? The answer goes back to the weather and to moisture levels. 

"Visually it's a really hard disease to scout for, but to some degree you can know it's present," says Indiana agronomist Ben Jacobs. "There is a planting date correlation this year that will match back up with the weather. You can kind of predict or get an idea of how heavy the pressure it going to be if you focus on when you planted and how much moisture you got."

If this is the first season dealing with tar spot, here's the best advice from the Indiana Agronomy podcast: 
🌽 - Try not to plan on doing two fungicide applications. 

🌽 - Plan to try and apply fungicide earlier, not at the silkening stage but at the blister stage when the kernels are clear or just starting to turn yellow. 

🌽 - Push a couple week past when you're used to applying, but not too late.

Learn more about tar spot: 
https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/Tar-Spot-of-Corn.html

Pioneer tar spot tolerant hybrid seed:
https://www.pioneer.com/us/products/corn/tar-spot.html



 

As you start to pivot from 2024 harvest to 2025 planting, it's time to start thinking about soil fertility. During this episode of the Pioneer Agronomy podcast, to soil test or not to soil test in drought conditions?

"I wouldn't delay it. There's the option, but if you're usually sampling after Harvest, do it then. Understand that those results might be skewed a little bit. You could make an argument to wait for more moisture in the ground. But if it's my ground and I have the time to get across the field, I'm going to do it in that weather window. I'm in favor of getting it done," says Pioneer Agronomist Ben Jacob.

It's harder to take soil samples when the ground is dry, and some of the numbers could be skewed slightly due to the lack of moisture. If you're going to sample now, podcast host and agronomist Brian Shrader reminds us that soil samples need to be taken at the same depth, even if it's hard to drive the probe to full depth.

Find more resources on nutrient management in the soil from Pioneer here: https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy-science/topic.nutrientManagement.html