Research Is More Than Spending Time in a Lab
From the road, the Jerseyville research farm looks like any other Southwest Illinois farm: corn and soybeans dominate the landscape and a couple sheds rise above the green. Once I entered the center of the 240-acre site, I discovered how special the farm is—where nearly every row of plants receives special care. Jerseyville is one [...]
Video: Planting Drags Out, Moisture Issues at Every Turn
It seems like forever since we had an update on what was happening on Bob Walker’s cotton, corn and soybean farm. Planting that started back in mid-April faced torrential rains in early May. Planting started so long ago and the blog about it was written so long ago, that people have likely forgotten about it. [...]
Video: Youth Getting Back to the Farm
Did you know that about forty percent of the farmers in this country are 55 years old or older? I first heard this statistic from Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, at a 2010 Commodity Classic session and it really stuck with me. It got me thinking…you often hear parents talk about their childrens’ professions, “Oh, well they’re a [teacher, engineer, computer programmer…]” but it’s extremely rare, I believe, to hear someone say “my child is a farmer.”
Muscatine Ag Students Take Hands On Learning to the Extreme
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. [...]
The Race Against Mother Nature
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 [...]
Flash Flooding in the U.S.: The Challenges Farmers are Facing
The first weekend in May is always a big one in the Memphis area. It is the start of the month-long Memphis in May festival, and for those of us in the cotton business, it generally signals the start of planting in small communities all around. But this year, the stormy weather threw us a [...]
When It Comes to Planting, Mother Nature Holds the Cards
Monday began with a rain shower in the St. Louis area. No planting at the Jerseyville farm for the next two days, I thought. After getting settled in at work, I sent an email to the crew at the farm, asking, “Do you think you’ll get in the fields later this week?” To my surprise, [...]
Thinking Through Planting, One Task at a Time
Until I worked in agriculture, I really didn’t know what kind of work went into planting the fields that I’d drive by everyday. Man, have I learned a lot and yet there are so many things I’m still learning. Farmers like Bob Walker of Somerville, Tenn. have a lot to consider when planting. For quite [...]
Video: Farming – An 8 to 5 Job? Not Quite.
By Tyne With the introduction of so many different types of new technology in agriculture and farming, one might think farming has become easier. All farmers have to do is plant the seed, watch it grow and then harvest when the time comes, right? Well, not exactly. Farming may be more advanced, but farmers still [...]
Video: Excitement for Planting Spans Across Farmers and Researchers
For the 2010 crop season, Monsanto is trying something a little different with its planting and harvest reports. We thought it’d be fun, insightful and worthwhile to follow a few people through the entire year, instead of hopping around the country only at planting and harvest. We hope this approach will allow our online audiences [...]
