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Beyond the Rows is a Monsanto Company blog focused on one of the world’s most important industries, agriculture. Monsanto employees write about Monsanto’s business, the agriculture industry, and the farmer.avatar Monsantoco Posts

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From the Farm

weed free soybean field

What's a Farmer to Do When Weed Resistance Threatens the Farm?

In a previous post, we learned a bit about Johnny Dodson and his Halls, Tennessee farm. In that post, things at the farm may have seemed idyllic. As he talked, the birds chirped and all seemed right with the world. But reality is, Johnny is in the epicenter of weed resistance. Having grown 30 crops (2011 is his thirty-first and he’s working to make it a success), Johnny says he has seen various weed shifts and challenges presented to him.

Johnny says he’s seen discussion of glyphosate-resistant weeds in the media and he certainly realizes resistance is a significant … Full Article »

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Originally published
August 12, 2011 by Janice Person

Tennessee Johnny Dodson

On the Farm with Tennessee Farmer Johnny Dodson

This trip was long overdue. I’ve been lucky enough to talk to Halls, Tennessee farmer Johnny Dodson several times before – I vividly remember some Midwestern soybean farmers borrowing a cotton boll to show Johnny he wasn’t the only cotton person in Kansas City for a meeting and other chances to talk with him about how things were going on the farm or his ideas on topics of current interest.

Each time, Johnny said I should visit the farm sometime. I meant to do it for years so when someone was headed out on vacation & I heard there was … Full Article »

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Originally published
August 11, 2011 by Janice Person

Indian Farmers Producing More, Conserving More and Improving Lives with Better Technology

By Sara Duncan

Indian farmer Jamuna Lal had always planted his corn crop the same way: he mixed the corn seed with the fertilizer and spread it out over the field. Like many farmers in his village, he also used a traditional method of a bullock-drawn indigenous plough based system. Using this method results in the random spacing of seeds and direct contact with fertilizer—both factors decrease yield.

After seeing farmers experiment with mechanization, Lal decided to join a project that introduced him to a new sowing and fertilizing drill that would revolutionize his farming practice.

The seed cum fertilizer … Full Article »

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Originally published
July 14, 2011 by Monsantoco

Golden Tower Pepper Improves the Lives of 30,000 Chinese Growers

By Sara Duncan

Hongge Cai is a 49-year-old Chinese grower who used to feed his family by working on a two-hectare parcel of land growing corn. He, his wife, and two sons barely survived on $2,000 a year. Recently, Cai and his wife experienced one of the many joys of parenthood: their eldest son was accepted into college.

They were proud, but concerned about how to pay for tuition when they could barely get through day-to-day life.

Until, Cai happened to see a field demonstration about growing a certain type of pepper with potential. He borrowed money from his relatives, … Full Article »

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Originally published
July 8, 2011 by Monsantoco

Impacts Flooding and Levee Breaks Have on Farms

Last May, Tennessee had flash-flooding conditions which caused some levees to break (see post and video here). We had a chance to visit Bob Walker in Somerville at the time to see how his cotton, corn and soybean farm would recuperate. Yesterday, Bob and I talked about some of the issues farmers will be facing with throughout the Mississippi River basin. Listen to interview with TN Farmer Bob_Walker_on flooding & levee breaks.

Some of the highlights Bob covers include:

  • The impacts are further reaching than 2011 and 2012. He feels the recovery will be several years and the implications

    • … Full Article »

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Originally published
May 5, 2011 by Janice Person

wet field

Rain Delay Provides Weed Management Training Time

With the wet weather that’s crossing much of the middle of the country, farmers may be finding themselves in the field less than they would like. The progress that was underway has been stopped much like a rain delay in a favorite team’s baseball game. So, time normally spent on field work and planting is being spent indoors. I’ve talked to farmers who are spending time working on their websites, and others who are working on equipment in their shops. One other thing people may want to give additional attention to, is the farm’s weed management plan.

As we discussed … Full Article »

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Originally published
May 2, 2011 by Janice Person

Biotech and Weed Resistance Learnings

This time of year is when farmers are making final decisions on cropping, seed varieties/hybrids, crop marketing and other things. With such important decisions in the balance, now is the time when farmers are making sure they have all the information available to make good decisions. Recently I had the chance to talk to the extension cotton specialist for the state of Mississippi – Darrin Dodds – after a presentation he gave on some of the hottest topics of discussion biotechnology and weed resistance.

Dodds kept the farmers in the room focused on what he was saying as he went … Full Article »

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Originally published
April 4, 2011 by Janice Person

What Does a Family Farmer Know?

The following blog post was submitted to us by Glen Groth, a family farmer in Ridgeway, Minnesota who has dairy cows and raises corn & soybeans. Glen has become active on social media (@GrothFarms on Twitter) and has seen various conversations that make him want to speak up about the things he knows to be true.

When I think of ways to improve my family farm, the first things that come to my mind are based on what I know. I know planting corn at the right time will give me the highest yields. I know changing the oil … Full Article »

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Originally published
March 14, 2011 by Janice Person

The 2010 ISAAA Report on Biotech Crops

“Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2010.”

It’s a rather calm-sounding official title for an important compilation of data on what’s happening with agricultural biotechnology around the world.

On Tuesday, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) released its annual report. This one also provides a 15-year overview, with the first biotech crop haveing been introduced in 1996.

Highlights of the report include:

• Biotech crops are now grown on more than one billion acres, about 10 percent of the total cropland in the world.
• The rate of adoption of biotech crops in the last … Full Article »

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Originally published
February 22, 2011 by Glynn Young

Purdue Study Finds Benefit to No-Till Farming

Researchers at Purdue University reported last month the results of a study on no-till farming and crop rotation – that using these practices in farm fields can significantly reduce field emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.

Specifically, no-till farming – leaving crop residue on the soil and not using a tractor to turn it up – reduce nitrous oxide emissions by more than 57 percent over chisel plowing, the most common tillage practice.

Long known for benefits to water quality and soil conservation, the study suggests that there is a significant air quality benefit as well, according to Tony … Full Article »

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Originally published
January 10, 2011 by Glynn Young