Purdue Crop Chat

Fertilizer costs continue to rise, in many cases double last year’s cost. Purdue Extension Corn Specialist Dan Quinn is joined by Extension Soil Fertility Specialist Jim Camberato in the latest Purdue Crop Chat Podcast. Camberato says he’s hearing of more people moving back to anhydrous given that it’s going to be a bit cheaper and more available this fall.

Purdue Extension Soybean Specialist Dr. Shaun Casteel and Extension Corn Specialist Dr. Dan Quinn discuss potential record yields for the Hoosier state in the latest Purdue Crop Chat Podcast. They also discuss what they’re hearing regarding fertilizer prices and availability. 

On this Purdue Crop Chat Podcast, Purdue Extension Soybean Specialist Shaun Casteel and Corn Specialist Dan Quinn review last week’s USDA Crop Production Report numbers. Both believe that Indiana corn and soybean numbers might be a bit lofty for a statewide average.

They also discuss harvest and some potential issues that could pop up.

Last week, USDA put out their national yield projections and their Indiana projections. If realized, both would be a record crop for Indiana. Listen to Purdue Extension soybean specialist Shaun Casteel and corn specialist Dan Quinn discuss the numbers and if they believe we can get there in the Hoosier state.

Quinn and Casteel also give an update on disease conditions around the state.

On this Purdue Crop Chat Podcast, Purdue Extension Soybean Specialist Shaun Casteel and Corn Specialist Dan Quinn are joined by Darcy Telenko, Purdue Field Crop Extension Plant Pathologist, to discuss diseases that are popping up around the state in both corn and soybeans.

The guys pepper Telenko with many questions like how many fungicide applications should farmers make and what timing is best for those applications.

In the podcast, Telenko references specific tools that farmers can use. Those tools are listed below:

Tarspotter App and Sporecaster App both available on Android and Apple

Telenko’s website with the maps: https://extension.purdue.edu/fieldcroppathology/

Efficacy charts for corn and soybeans: https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/resources/publications/fungicide-efficacy-for-control-of-corn-diseases

https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/resources/publications/fungicide-efficacy-for-control-of-soybean-foliar-diseases

Purdue Extension Soybean Specialist Shaun Casteel and Corn Specialist Dan Quinn are back for another episode of the Purdue Crop Chat Podcast. On this episode, the guys discuss the most recent crop condition ratings and compare that to what they’re seeing around the state.

Casteel also discusses the advantages to having a drone to scout your field at this point in the season.

Purdue Extension Soybean Specialist Shaun Casteel and Corn Specialist Dan Quinn are back for another Purdue Crop Chat podcast. On this episode, they discuss where the Indiana crops are developmentally and what you should be scouting for.

They also compare how our crops are faring against those in other states like The Dakotas and Michigan.

Purdue Extension Soybean Specialist Shaun Casteel and Extension Corn Specialist Bob Nielsen are back with another edition of the Purdue Crop Chat Podcast.

On this Crop Chat, we meet new Purdue Extension Corn Specialist Dan Quinn. Quinn is a Michigan native who graduated from Michigan State University before getting his PhD from the University of Kentucky.

Casteel, Nielsen, and Quinn discuss current crop conditions around the state. They say issues they were worried about a couple of weeks ago are no longer concerns now.

Purdue Extension Corn Specialist Bob Nielsen and Extension Soybean Specialist Shaun Casteel are back with another Purdue Crop Chat! On this episode, they discuss last weekend’s heavy rains and the impact it might have on corn and soybeans, when you might start thinking about replant, and how the amount of growing degree days has been lacking to start the season.

Planting season is here and there has been some of that activity in Indiana, but is it the right time, or maybe too early? In the new Purdue Crop Chat podcast, Dr. Bob Nielsen and a special guest discuss fit soils.

Across Indiana much of the state’s topsoil is dry, according to Nielsen.

“The percentage of the subsoil and topsoil that is short or shorter is much higher this year than it was a year ago, so I think it remains to be, maybe a fear monger kind of thing as to whether we’re going to move on into a real drought,” he said. “But nevertheless, we can’t seem to really get rid of those nagging areas of areas that are in the drought categories.”

The latest U.S. drought monitor has parts of the northern third of Indiana abnormally dry, with some pockets of moderate drought.

Dr. Tony Vyn, Purdue professor of agronomy, is surprised just how dry the topsoil is for this point in April. But are soils fit for first tillage operations or planting in no-till and strip till fields?

On the podcast Vyn explains the determination of whether soils are fit for those operations “is what is the status of the soil moisture one inch below the intended depth of that mechanical operation, whether that’s tillage to its 3-inch depth or whether it’s planting to its 2-inch depth.”

Vyn describes his non-scientific, but practical method of assessing soils.

“Remove that drier solid at the top, dig down with a flat spade to one inch below the intended depth of that spring tillage pass or that planting pass,” Vyn explained. “So let’s say you’re going down from 3 to 4 inches. Take an inch of soil at that layer and attempt to squeeze it and to roll it between the palms of your hands. How likely is it that I can form a one quarter inch cigar or one quarter inch worm that is 4 to 5 inches long between my hands?”

If you can form that soil cigar or worm, then the soil is too wet for operations without running the risk of compaction.