The connection most people will make is to the sprinkler of sprinkler system in a front yard. And while it’s conceptually similar, the precision with which water used is amazing. The knowledge of the water source is also impressive.

For instance, the pivot in this photo was running and when I saw a Deltapine cotton variety sign at the highway, I figured, I may as well stop & shoot a really short clip of video.

Since I had been driving through the Mississippi Delta the night before, my car was in a bad state – windshield was NASTY from my car’s attempt to make it through the buggy mess. I did a rather common thing, stopped under the pivot’s spray trying to clear the windshield.

That done, I pulled back far enough to shoot some video. In typical farm fashion, a pickup emerged from nowhere and pulled alongside me. He asked if I had seen a pivot before and I introduced myself and explained. He said I should make myself at home; he needed to get going to check another pivot.

Before he pulled away though, he pointed out that with the close proximity of the Mississippi River, I should be sure to wash the car later. Such a shallow well has a high iron content that could play games with a paint job in the long term. I hit a huge storm 30 minutes down the highway that washed the pivot away.

Such hospitality and I didn’t even catch his name.

An upclose look at corn earworm at work, harming a farmer's corn crop.

If you ask many corn farmers, aside from weather, pests are at the top of the list of factors that hurt their yields. Corn Earworm, Fall Armyworm, and Western Bean Cutworm can all impact yields due to destruction of corn kernels. Lucky for these corn farmers, scientists like the ones at Monsanto are working hard to develop traits and technology to combat these yield inhibitors.

This summer, Monsanto agronomists and farmers are taking a good look at our Genuity corn traits for corn and comparing how they stack up (pun intended) against insect pressure. A couple of weeks ago a Monsanto agronomist was comparing different corn varieties and technologies on one customer’s farm and discovered some great ear comparisons between Monsanto’s SmartStax and a competing corn technology. As you can see below, SmartStax had virtually no damage.

Did you know that three damaged kernels to one ear of corn means one bushel per acre of yield loss for a farmer? It is amazing how three little kernels can add up. According to the USDA, in 2009 86.5 million acres of corn were planted. If you do the math, that is the potential for a LOT of lost corn due to these pests. Take a close look at the photo in this post, there are a lot more than three damaged kernels on this ear. In fact, farmers are reporting high levels of corn earworm insect pressure this season.

Through new developments in biotechnology, Monsanto products like Genuity VT Triple Pro and Genuity SmartStax can lessen risk of pests and ear rot infections.

Farmers, what is your favorite technology benefit you get from seed?

Field days are part of the rural landscape. There are various sorts throughout the summer and for me, they are just getting started. A field day is an opportunity to get a number of people together in one place to see how things are done on a research plot or farm. My first field day of 2010 wasn’t one hosted by the company, it was a University of Arkansas field day at Sid Fogg’s farm in Widener, Arkansas.

The photos contrasting weed issues in 2009 to the control successes in 2010 grabbed people’s attention when the extension service developed a flier for the event. With the focus on glyphosate resistant pigweed, a crowd came in by pickup trucks, cars and bus.

The University of Arkansas flyer for the event included these images & text.

Mr. Fogg opened the program talking about the problem he had controlling pigweed last year. And from there the conversation went to what could be done to manage the problem whether a farmer wanted to use Roundup Ready soybeans or something else.

The University of Arkansas team has options across the board and wanted to be sure farmers facing the issue knew timing and residual herbicides were a key component. The plots Dr. Bob Scott showed the crowd showed a number of program approaches that resulted in clean fields and left him confident that resistant pigweed is manageable. He said that because pigweed is so tough, farmers need to be sure they have it controlled by the 6-8 leaf stage no matter the program.

Mr. Fogg was the one who really brought the message home. He told fellow farmers of a lesson learned the hard way – he lost hundreds of dollars by not getting in front of the problem in 2009 but this year spent a few dollars early to get and keep control of a tough weed and protect his yields. Sounds like he already knows what he will be doing in 2011.

If you’re not, this video courtesy of reporter Mike Brooks at WICS in Springfield, Ill., gives you a good background on detasseling and why seed companies like Monsanto do it.

Detasseling Corn Alive and Well – Fox 55/27 Springfield, ILL

This Twitter search stream gives you a bit more, um, color, about what detasselers are saying this summer.

I was at the corn field while Mike was interviewing Monsanto employees and the workers. The detasseling is quite impressive. I’m not certain I could handle a whole month of detasseling, let alone a week.

A machine trimmed the tassels the previous day. Then, the next day a group of 20 or so workers walk down a half-mile row of corn and picks out the tassels missed by the machine. Then the crews turn down the next row and do it again. They cover the mile in about 45-50 minutes.

And as you may have noticed in the video, the crew is wearing long-sleeve shirts, pants, gloves, glasses and hats with safety nets on the front. In 90-degree heat. And 80 percent humidity. Water breaks are frequent.

The attire is necessary for safety reasons. Corn leaves have sharp edges and can give you a paper-cut-like scrape. Monsanto has a nurse at each of our facilities to provide training and support Monsanto’s personnel that are on site at each detasseling field, in case there is an emergency.

Thanks to all of the crews across the Corn Belt that are helping seed companies like Monsanto produce the best seed for the 2011 crop year!

Do you have a detasseling memory or story to share?

Recent Detassling Stories:

Summer Jobs: A lesson in Corn Detasseling – NPR

Iowa’s Corn Crop Too Tall for Some Teens to Detassel – Des Moines Register

“We replanted some yesterday (June 30) but we’re doing alright. It has been a tough year for us on moisture,” Bob Walker says. “We had several rain events early with flooding and all but we haven’t gotten much rain to speak of since Memorial Day. A few farms have caught a shower once or twice, but it’s turned dry enough that we are hurting.”

Walker explains he has both dry land and irrigated acres. Soybeans were the last crop planted and those go on dry land fields. “We have had to replant some beans. Some never came up and we had some fields which had enough moisture to emerge, but then they dried up. We planted again just yesterday and these beans aren’t behind wheat. It’s the latest I remember planting. We’ve got a lot of soybeans up. They aren’t blooming yet so a good rain and our crop could quickly make up for the drought stress.”

Walker’s corn is feeling the heat too. “Our irrigated corn looks okay but the ears are not filling out like we’d like. Some corn has gotten twisted where it’s not irrigated. It got hot so early that this is really a cotton year. Cotton is putting down a great tap root and we have some that is just beginning to bloom. It looks really good.”

How does moisture look on your farm? A video shot in early June points to some of the crop then.

Peanuts in Jackson County Florida right after they have been plowed.

My favorite thing to do on a summer morning is to take a walk down my dirt road. Most summer days I sleep in but there are a few when I get up right after sunrise. The air is always moist with the sweet smell of earth, the birds are singing and the cows are milling around the water trough. It’s perfect.

I was raised on a peanut and cattle farm in Northwest Florida, it was a great place to grow up—I was surrounded by row-crop farms and cattle, and the beach was just a short drive away.

Today though, I find myself in a very different place.

Currently, I am on a 3 month adventure in the Bread Basket of the U.S. And though I’m going to miss boiled peanuts this summer—so far it has been totally worth it.

When I first moved to St. Louis, Missouri for my internship I found that agriculture in the South and agriculture in the Midwest were very different. For one, farms here in the Midwest seem MUCH bigger. However, when I compared average acreage on NASS, farms in Missouri and Illinois are only about 100 acres larger than the average farm back home. I guess it has to do with all the flat land and the minimal amounts of trees… the rows just seem to go on and on! I also noticed the negative effect that this very wet season was having on the crop, the soil and the farmer. Too much rain back home is hardly ever a problem, our sandy soil lets the water, and often vital nutrients, leach right out. In fact, back home you often see fields with pivot after pivot to provide extra water to the crop. After discovering these differences I decided to take regular weekend adventures—I was tired of staying in my lovely suburban town—it was time to find some farms and learn more about Midwest agriculture

Corn, near Jerseyville, IL, that is starting to tassel.

While several of my adventures have taken place in Missouri, most have led me to the great state of Illinois. (That and the fact I’m trying to visit all 50 states—part of my bucket list) I had the privilege to spend the weekend with an awesome farm family in Central Illinois and learn about their corn and soybean operation. We talked about planting dates, which are much later in the Midwest than in the South, the true meaning to “knee-high by the Fourth of July” and the wind turbines near their farm. Their hospitality and the kindness of those in the town they lived in reminded me of home.

That’s when it hit me: Agriculture may be different everywhere you go, as different as corn harvest in the Midwest and peanut picking time in the Deep South, but it’s the character of the people who are involved in agriculture, the integrity of the farmer who desires to feed a growing world, it’s their passion for the land and it’s resources—that is the common seed.

So when I ‘m feeling a little homesick and missing my morning walks, I just hop in my truck, ignore my GPS’ frantic voice attempting to direct me to a major highway and I just drive—it’s the surest way to discover not only the differences between the agriculture life I grew up with and life in the Midwest but to discover friendly faces working to feed this hungry world.

Jillian is a summer intern within Public Affairs. Raised on a peanut and cattle operation, she developed a passion for the land, livestock and old tractors. She is a senior at Auburn University pursing a degree in Agriculture Communications and a minor in Agronomy and Soils. In her free time she enjoys writing poetry, playing basketball and exploring the rural areas outside of St. Louis.

Dave Tometich shows a student how to load a planter on the Muscatine Ag Learning center farm.

By Kate

Most farmers don’t have to worry about getting the crops in and making time for their algebra homework but at the Muscatine Ag Learning center in Muscatine, IA, the students face that very time crunch.

The Muscatine Agriculture Learning Center is a unique center that serves Muscatine High School and the community college. High school students in the agriculture program, the majority of which live in an urban environment, get hands on experience running the farm and in some cases, college credit. At the center the students are the backbone of the farming operations.

I was at the learning center at the end of April and while they had their oats in the ground, they were just starting to plant their corn and beans. Michael Jenkins, a junior at Muscatine High School, was the student primarily responsible for getting the fields planted. For Michael, who never grew up on a farm, the program has taught him a lot about how to run a farm.

“I’ve learned a lot about seed populations, and how to plant correctly and make sure my rows are straight,” said Jenkins as he sat in the cab of the planter. I watched as Jenkins skillfully planted the soybean field while Dave Tometich, ag teacher at the high school, followed along with a group of students, showing them how to check seed depth.

At the Muscatine ag center the students put in about 27 acres, 12 acres of soybean plants and 15 acres of corn. While that amount of land may seem small in comparison to other farming operations this center has a bigger concentration on education than making a profit. Dave Tometich laughed when I asked him how they balance the day to day farm needs with education – how do you run efficiently and still give the kids the opportunity to do it themselves?

“The fun part is finding the balance between the agriculture center, the greenhouse, and the classroom. We are unique in Muscatine and our program; we have a more project based education. And yes, we make more mistakes due to the influx and turnover in students but it’s a learning experience. The most important thing for us is safety. We want the student to learn and stay safe. There is no magic formula for us, it’s a juggling act.”

So how do the students balance running a farm, school, and outside activities? When I was in high school I just had to worry about getting to track practice and a couple pages of homework – I didn’t have the added stress of planting crops, choosing the right chemicals, and monitoring soil moisture.

“It’s a tough job but the kids make it a priority. I think they are more willing to put the effort in because they know it’s not something they can do other places.” explained Tometich “Luckily, with planting, it’s a chunk of time but not everyday. We try to be upfront and tell the students when we’ll need them and they just get the job done.”

At the center it was clear that the students were passionate about the work they did. I saw no idle hands, everyone either had a job or was asking questions. Part of the beauty of the program is the involvement each student has. With the unique dynamics of the classroom and agriculture center students can choose their own comfort level.

“Some students are going to be better in the classroom and others are going to be better doing things and problem solving on the farm.” Tometich explained. “Like a corporation you cater to your clients. It’s about what’s important to the students and giving them the experience in agriculture so they know what’s available to them as a career.”

Monsanto employees will be following the 2010 crop season from beginning to end on the Monsanto.com Crop Season site.

By Tyne

It’s a race against Mother Nature every spring and fall for farmers across the U.S. This season, some may argue Mother Nature has pulled ahead over the past month. What started out to be a great year for planting with above normal temperatures in many areas across the country, has turned into a waiting game for farmers.

Fred Pond farms in northwest Ohio, and for him, this hurry-up-and-wait game is getting old

Pond has all of his corn in the ground, but only 5 percent of his soybeans planted.

“We’re actually slightly ahead of last year,” Pond said. “Part of the problem this spring is that we had such a beautiful late April. The corn was planted in perfect conditions.

“We were all so optimistic — then the rains began and haven’t stopped, which was nearly a month ago.”

That’s right — nearly a month ago. Pond says as of May 20, they haven’t been in the field for an entire month. After two straight years of cool, wet springs, farmers got their hopes up for a planting season where Mother Nature cooperated. Now, they’re just waiting.

The majority of farmers in Ohio – and throughout the Midwest — are in the same boat as Pond. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Crop Progress Report, as of May 16, 2010, 84 percent of Ohio’s corn crop has been planted. That’s a whopping 47 percentage point increase from what farmers had planted this time last year, and 12 percentage points higher than the five-year average.

Nationally, 87 percent of the corn acreage is in the ground – a 26 percentage point increase from last year. The five-year average for May 16 is 78 percentage points, so farmers are still ahead of that mark.

The good news is Pond doesn’t think he’ll have to replant any of his corn.

“The stand counts before the last rain were from 16,000 to 30,000 per acre,” he said.

He’s still not certain if he’ll have to replant any of the soybeans he has in the ground because the effects of too much water and frost damage can’t be determined just yet.

Almost half of Ohio’s soybean crop has been planted so far. The latest USDA Crop Progress Report shows 45 percent of the state’s soybeans are planted, which is a 29 percentage point increase from this time last year and only 3 percentage points higher than average.

When farmers are able to get back in the field, Pond says it will be a planting marathon. And although farmers will be in a rush to get their crops in the ground in a timely fashion, Pond wants to remind farmers to take their time.

“Farmers need to keep their speeds appropriate to do a good job and make adjustments for proper population,” he said. “Above all, be safe and thankful.”

Pond says although there has been a long delay in planting, the genetics in the seed still offer growers across the U.S. great yield potential.

“Let’s not give up the ship yet. I never underestimate the ability of a farmer to make things work out.”

You can actually follow Pond’s planting progress on Twitter or Facebook.

Four generations of the Canary Family (photo courtesy of Indiana Prairie Farmer)

I read a lot of farm publications, mostly online, to see what’s happening in agriculture, follow issues and trends, see what’s happening politically in Washington and the state capitals and generally to understand the news environment of this big complex industry we call agriculture.

Every so often, I’ll find a story that isn’t about any of these “big news” things but nonetheless tells the story of agriculture better than anything else.

Like the story of the FFA Tractor Drive in Indiana. Now, there’s nothing especially newsworthy about a tractor drive. But this story included a photo of four generations of an Indiana family gathered in front of an orange Allis-Chalmers tractor, and I checked to see if they might be Monsanto customers. They are.

The family included Bill Canary, his son Charlie, Charlie’s son John, and John’s one-year-old son Charles. Charlie’s wife Becky, John’s wife Amanda and John’s sister Emily completed the picture.

Not pictured was Paul Canary, who died more than 10 years ago. Paul was named a master farmer in 1970, nominated by his farming peers.

All together, the Canary’s have been farming in Indiana for more than half a century.

That article and photo tell a story, possibly the story, of American agriculture.

It’s the story of agriculture past, present and future.

It’s the story of family, and the values of family that have shaped and continue to shape this industry we’re all working in. Bill’s retired, Charlie and John farm together, and there’s the hope that the farm will be there one day when little Charles grows up.

It’s about change and coping with change – and that’s change big and small. Charlie, Becky, John and Amanda all have part-time jobs outside the farm. And that orange color on the Allis-Chalmers is, after several decades of popularity and recognition, being phased out.

The Canarys help feed the rest of us, and a lot of other people outside the United States, too. They do because they love farming

And that photo is a good reminder to those of us who help farmers be more productive who it is we’re working for.

Sure, I was disappointed to miss Alison Krauss–a concert I had looked forward to for a while–but for Bob Walker and hundreds of other farmers, the storm and subsequent flooding meant major setbacks far more serious than a rained-out music festival.

Already knowing Bob’s family was fine, I hesitated calling to ask how things were on the farm knowing it would likely be bad. We all knew the most important things were okay — family and neighbors were healthy. It’s a realization made so much more personal a few years ago when an employee of the farm was killed when a tornado hit.

After flash floods hit hard for 36 hours or so, the sun came out Sunday, and some even went to the music fest for a while, but miles away, Bob was surveying what the water had done to his fields of corn and to the fields he had hoped to plant in the coming days. We agreed I’d check back a little later.

I grabbed my cameras and headed east to Somerville mid-day on Tuesday. I still cannot believe how we spent that afternoon. We went from field to field, looking at the soil, levees around the field, and the debris that washed in during the flooding and more.

Bob told me about water levels they saw Saturday and Sunday. A major road between fields was significantly flooded and already needed grading. There was one field that Bob said had probably ten feet of water rushing across it.

Water rushing across fields, particularly when it comes as a result of a broken levee, can lead to some major challenges. Some of the bigger ones Bob faces are:

Collapsed levee wall from the recent Tennessee flooding. Water caused the levee to collapse creating that huge hole in center of the levee

• Determining how much of his planted crop will survive. With hundreds of acres of corn in the ground, the stand (number of plants) is expected to be reduced. Low -lying areas within a field will likely need to be replanted. The tougher question is whether to try to replant entire fields.
• Removing debris from the fields that were already planted or that were ready to be planted. Natural debris like limbs and twigs or car tires can be problematic for plant growth, equipment use, etc.
• ­Managing changes to the soil caused by the excess water. Sand doesn’t hold water well and can transmit a lot of heat which is hard on corn’s development in July as ears are supposed to fill.. The field that was ready for planting now has a major gulley created by the water and needs field work. Do some fields need tillage? For a no-till farmer, that question is never taken lightly.
• Analyzing what crops to put in. Corn planting was thought to be complete, but there may be reason to replant. If there is much to be replanted, should he change crops? The first week of May is usually when cotton goes in the ground. Should he increase or decrease cotton acres now?
• What changes in crop development should he expect? Late-planted corn can be more susceptible to corn earworms. Are early applications of fertilizer needed and if so how much? What about weed control? Weed seed likely moved with the water and eroding soils. What should he do for pre-plant weed control in fields that aren’t planted yet and how do previous plans need to change in the fields where crops are growing?

Those are just some of the challenges I learned Bob is dealing with. He and other area farmers have lots more to consider in the coming weeks. I’ll keep them in my thoughts. What turns has the weather dealt you, either this year or in the past?

Monsanto employees will be following the 2010 crop season from beginning to end on the Monsanto.com Crop Season site.