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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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Tag Archives: Planting

TyVaughnStill

Looking Ahead to the 2012 Corn Planting Season

As winter quickly passes, we recognize that many growers are gearing up for spring planting and may have questions about our recommendations for corn rootworm (CRW) traited hybrids due to recent discussions and headlines about corn rootworm populations.

Whether you are one of the few who experienced unexpected damage or one of the majority who experienced excellent performance on more than 99.8% of the acres planted with our corn rootworm traits in 2011, our recommendations for CRW control are the same.

  • We recommend you limit corn rootworm damage by using dual mode-of-action (pyramided) Bt-trait products, rotating your crop to

    • … Full Article »

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Originally published
January 27, 2012 by Monsantoco

Innovation Conserves Water in Hawaii

Water is a limited resource. According to FAO, agriculture is the world’s largest consumer of water. Between now and 2050 the world’s water supply will have to feed and create livelihoods for an additional 2.7 billion people. It is essential to identify ways to preserve this precious resource.

By making key changes in irrigation and fertigation practices, Monsanto Hawaii’s production research and manufacturing teams have saved more than 11 million gallons of water or enough water for more than 150 households for a year.

The research team undertook a series of studies at the Molokai and Kunia locations in … Full Article »

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Originally published
August 1, 2011 by Monsantoco

Producing More Vegetables in Peru

By Sara Duncan

Imagine increasing productivity by 1,000 percent without adding hours to the day. In just two production cycles, Monsanto employees in Peru increased the yield of cucumbers by 985 percent at their Homefarm Ica vegetable seed production site. The team also more than doubled the yield of melons, watermelons and tomatoes, tripled the yield of lettuce, and increased the yield of seedless watermelon by almost 700 percent. How did they do it? They looked at their farm and made production changes to make it more efficient.

“When I became Ica’s site manager, I realized–based on my previous De … Full Article »

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Originally published
July 26, 2011 by Monsantoco

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

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

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. What a luxury that would be for the Walkers. It’s a luxury they do not have for sure. That’s because planters were still rolling at Walker farms throughout the month of June.

“We replanted some yesterday (June 30) but we’re doing alright. It has been … Full Article »

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Originally published
July 15, 2010 by Janice Person

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. 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 … Full Article »

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Originally published
May 24, 2010 by Monsantoco

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 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. … Full Article »

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Originally published
May 21, 2010 by Monsantoco

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

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 curve that undid months of planning.

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 … Full Article »

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Originally published
May 10, 2010 by Janice Person