Syngenta Thrive

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College senior Johanna Hooten has two goals: be the first in her family to receive a college degree and earn that degree without taking on student loan debt. A Syngenta Accelerating a Generation Scholarship — one of six awards given annually to students seeking agriculture degrees — is helping her achieve just that.

Hooten calls the Accelerating a Generation Scholarship “a true blessing.” The scholarship is helping her remain debt-free while finishing her degree at Murray State University in southwest Kentucky.

Hooten was fascinated by pumpkins and watermelons as a child. That fascination grew into a passion for agriculture. She finds joy in teaching others about agriculture, and this is what drove her to pursue a degree in horticulture.

“I know that the only way to give others reliable information is to learn it first myself,” Hooten says.

Luke Heupel of Kalispell, Montana, another scholarship recipient, believes that agriculture improves the planet and its people.

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The world’s population is increasing, and the amount of usable farmland is decreasing. I believe that a degree in agriculture will allow me to do my part in helping to feed the world.

Luke Heupel Student at Montana State University

“The world’s population is increasing, and the amount of usable farmland is decreasing,” says Heupel, a sophomore at Montana State University. “I believe that a degree in agriculture will allow me to do my part in helping to feed the world.”

As part of the scholarship, students can designate a $500 donation to an agricultural charity or civic group. Heupel selected Field of Hope, a Christian nonprofit that provides agricultural training programs in developing countries. Hooten’s donation is earmarked for her university’s arboretum.

Regan Draeger, another scholarship recipient and a senior at Ohio State University, selected her local 4-H chapter for the donation.

“These 4-H members are invested in their community, and this donation will allow them to continue serving their community to the best of their ability,” Draeger says. She knows because she joined the chapter when she was 11 years old.

The three other scholarship winners and their designated charities are:

  • Taylor Baggett from Jay, Florida, a sophomore at the University of Florida, designated Farm Aid.
  • Deziree Lee from Coffeyville, Kansas, a freshman at Kansas State University, designated Montgomery County 4-H Fair.
  • Ashlyn Persyn from Hondo, Texas, a freshman at Texas A&M University, designated Medina Valley FFA Boosters.

Syngenta awarded the $2,500 scholarships in partnership with the National FFA Organization (FFA).

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Cover image: Headshots courtesy of students. 

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Imagine a high school where classrooms connect to a barn with goats, students care for alpacas, and cows graze in the distance. You’re probably picturing a rural community, but this school is in one of the most populous cities in the country: Chicago.

“What we’re learning here is so important for the agriculture industry,” says senior Zachary Gonzalez-Murillo. “Not a lot of kids know what agriculture is.”

The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences is a magnet high school within the Chicago Public Schools system. In addition to typical high school curricula, students graduate from this high school with technological skills and agricultural knowledge. This gives them a major step up in college and beyond, says Robin Thomas, early talent and university relations manager with Syngenta.

An Urban Oasis

Despite the urban setting, the school sits on 73 acres of land — 32 of which are filled with livestock, beehives and a market garden that produces a variety of crops, including sweet corn, peppers, squash and pumpkins. As part of their curriculum, students tend to the animals, manage crops, and take that harvest to the school’s farmstand — where they sell it to the community.

“In their last two years, students have mini majors where they’re placed into one of seven agricultural pathways,” says Noelle Coronado, lead agriculture teacher and FFA chapter advisor at the ag sciences school. “Everything they’re doing in these ag classes has an instructional portion and a hands-on project. And all their projects benefit the school, its animals and crops, and the local community.”

Following their sophomore year, students rank their top pathway choices, which include animal science, agricultural mechanics and technology, biotechnology in agriculture, agricultural finance and economics, horticulture and landscape design, food science, and natural resources and environmental management.

Connecting the Dots

As a senior in the animal science pathway, one of Kaili Norwood’s biggest responsibilities is caring for the school’s three alpacas. Norwood arrives each morning to check the animals’ food and water and ensure their home is clean. Alpacas Mikey, Gunner and Tina each have distinct personalities and play a key role in the agricultural environment of the school.

“Right now, some of the students are working to turn the alpacas’ stool into fertilizer that is then used in the market garden to help the soil, because it has great nutrients for the crops,” says Norwood. “I’d never thought about how animal science is agriculture before, but now I definitely get to see how it’s all tied together.”

Many of the pathways overlap in ways the students didn’t consider before attending the school.

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Everything they’re doing in these ag classes has an instructional portion and a hands-on project. And all their projects benefit the school, its animals and crops, and the local community.

Noelle Coronado Lead Agriculture Teacher and FFA Chapter Advisor at The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences

“Our agricultural finance students are in charge of managing many aspects of the farmstand,” says Coronado. “The stand opens after the school day ends and, on most Saturdays, our students are the ones helping in the shop, selling the products and learning how to successfully manage a real business.”

The farmstand, connected to the barn, serves as a place for students to sell the products they’ve been creating in the hands-on portion of their classes. Beyond food, the nearby community visits the farmstand for its farm-to-market products that include soy candles, zucchini bread, goat milk lotion and yarn spun from the alpacas’ wool.

“We’re getting to see what problems farmers face and where the money they spend on their farm goes, including to crop protection and general management of their farms,” says Gonzalez-Murillo, who is in the agricultural finance and economics pathway.

A Lasting Impact

Teachers at the school believe the students will apply what they’re learning to life after graduation, and many do continue on to higher education programs and careers in ag.

“We’re grooming the next generation of farmers,” says Brittney Kee, horticulture science teacher. “We have budding agronomists, soil scientists and greenhouse producers. I have a lot of kids that are really into urban farming, so they like vertical gardening. We’re getting more and more students excited and passionate about agriculture.”

Alumni contributions demonstrate the lasting impact the high school has on students. A former student donated the school’s most recent addition to its alpaca family, and many of the teachers remain in contact with former students who work in the industry. Additionally, seven of the 10 staff in the agriculture department are alumni themselves. They wanted to give back to a place that was so formative in their youth.

“My life-long mentor still works at the school and is a huge reason for my career change that led me back here as an educator after graduating over 10 years earlier,” says Coronado. “I don’t think I would ever want to leave this position. I love watching students have these light bulb moments about how much agriculture plays a key role in their day-to-day lives, and I see them learning how to speak articulately about the industry.”

Moving Forward

Schools like this one help students prepare for careers by providing them with networking and internship opportunities that many high school students typically don’t receive. All the school’s students are members of their FFA chapter, attend a two-week summer education program after their sophomore year, and can apply for a paid summer internship prior to their junior and senior years.

When it comes to applying for college-level internships or an entry-level position at a company like Syngenta, these activities help them stand out from their competition.

“When I’m talking to college students about their resumes, I always recommend they leave high school activities like their FFA and 4-H leadership positions on there until they graduate,” Thomas says. “That kind of experience, especially at a unique school with a diverse background, shows us that they’ve already acquired a lot of the skills that will help them in their career.”

Their agricultural involvement goes above and beyond the extracurricular activities of FFA. Students participate in agricultural activities during all four years of high school through their curriculum, annual career fairs with ag professionals and internships that provide an outlet to apply what they’re learning to real situations. They also bring an urban voice to a traditionally rural field, which brings new perspectives and ideas to the industry.

Not all students who attend the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences end up with a career in agriculture, says Coronado, but all gain understanding of its importance and how they can be better stewards of the land, their food and the industry that keeps the world moving.

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Modern ag science continues improving the efficacy of crop inputs. Growers today have more options for plant nutrition, managing pest resistance, controlling weeds and increasing profit potential. But variables still exist that compromise product efficacy. Experts say year-round attention to best practices is the path to optimum performance.

Input Performance is Elemental

Awareness of soil characteristics is fundamental to crop protection product performance, says Kelly Morgan, Ph.D., professor of soil fertility and water management at the University of Florida’s Southwest Research and Education Center.

“You typically have to put more product on soils with higher organic matter than you would in a sandy soil,” says Morgan, who specializes in soil ecosystems for agriculture. “That’s because the organic matter is going to tie-up some of the chemical you’ve put out.”

Another factor is the “soil solution,” which impacts plants’ nutrient uptake. “There are three elements that affect nutrient and chemical availability to a plant,” Morgan explains. “If the soil solution is on the acidic side — a pH below seven — you have iron and aluminum, which bind nutrients and chemical products to the soil so they’re not as available to the plant.”

And the more acidic the solution is, he says, the tighter it binds. On the other hand, in the alkaline range — above a pH of seven — calcium is the culprit, keeping the crop from taking up the nourishment it needs, as well as the herbicides that would give it a jump on competing weeds.

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There are three elements that affect nutrient and chemical availability to a plant. If the soil solution is on the acidic side — a pH below seven — you have iron and aluminum, which bind nutrients and chemical products to the soil so they’re not as available to the plant.

Kelly Morgan, Ph.D. Professor of Soil Fertility and Water Management
University of Florida’s Southwest Research and Education Center

Morgan recommends growers test the soil for each field annually. In the case of shorter-season crops, the interval should be increased to testing before each planting.

“A lot of growers have gotten away from regular testing. But we’re trying to get them to go back to it, because if they just make the same applications they did last year, they may get different results,” Morgan says, noting that applying only what the soil needs is better for the environment and improves a grower’s bottom line.

Leon Hunter, agronomy service manager for Syngenta’s east Heartland region, says in his experience, growers do run soil tests regularly, as part of field planning.

“If a soil analysis indicates there are nutritional differences, be it micronutrients or macronutrients, growers can correct the soil pH,” he says. “Fertility and lime is one way to do that.”

Those corrections have a positive impact on herbicide use, Hunter adds, helping growers increase bushels overall.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Some common shortcuts to crop protection plans often adversely impact product performance. Using incompatible products, adding generics to name brands, and not following recommended mixing orders can all lead to problems. In some cases, those problems decrease yield and increase costs.

“If you mix something in the wrong order, it can waste a whole tanker load of product,” Matt Geiger, Syngenta agronomy service representative for south-central Illinois, says. He strongly recommends that growers who plan to mix new products do a jar test before going all-in on a full tank. Using a 2-liter bottle or a mason jar, Geiger measures out the products in the tank-mix in smaller amounts at the same ratio in the planned tank-mix to test compatibility.

“For example, if you want to spray 3 quarts/A of Acuron1 corn herbicide, you’ll need 200 milliliters in the jar to equal the 3-quart spray rate,” he says. “Then you add products at equivalent rates of what they’d be in the field.”

Geiger calls it the mini spray tank and it gives growers a visual on whether the mix is uniform, also referred to as homogeneous, or needs to be adjusted.

“You’re using that to see if you get any sort of what we call flocculation — chunks, basically,” he says. “If the mixture stays clear and doesn’t get cloudy or get these flocculation-type pieces in there, you’re good to go.”

However, if you mix something in the wrong order, “it can go to what we call ‘cottage cheese,’ and sometimes you can’t get it back,” Geiger adds.

More Agitation, Less Aggravation

Insufficient agitation can undermine even a good mixture, especially if it includes fertilizer, which has a higher bulk density than the herbicide. Geiger says products can separate in the tank if you’re not agitating.

For example, he says if a grower mixes up an entire tanker load of herbicide plus liquid fertilizer and does not agitate it, there is a chance of nonuniform application of the product across the field, or fields. The first part of the field may get a higher rate of fertilizer and a lower rate of herbicide, and the opposite toward the end. Agitation, especially in complicated mixtures, is very important to get a uniform application of product.

In fact, it’s such a big deal that Syngenta has a group of scientists with diverse specialties dedicated to the successful application of products for every kind of crop. Their focus is dose transfer: ensuring active ingredients reach the plants with minimal off-target movement or unintended damage. Scientists also thoroughly assess which application tools growers need for the job.

The head of the application technology group, Ram Ramalingam, Ph.D., says product familiarity, equipment calibration, and nozzles set for proper flow rate and spray pattern are key to make the best possible applications.

“We want to minimize the amount of active ingredients left in the tank and the frequency that clogged filters or nozzles affect a grower’s ability to complete the process. We also look at whether products are compatible in the tank or have sedimentation issues,” Ramalingam says. The group does extensive testing to ensure various common products are compatible. If the group finds products are not compatible, they notify commercial colleagues right away to get the word out to growers.

Time and Temperature Work Against Efficacy

Water also matters with application, Ramalingam says, and it’s not just its quality or pH that impacts products.

“Temperature plays a huge role,” he says. “As it gets hot, the rate of hydrolysis increases, and if you leave a mix in the tank for extended periods of time in broad daylight, it could also get really hot inside. In terms of losing efficacy, both time and temperature play a major role.”

Timing is perhaps the most important factor in product efficacy.

“One of the biggest mistakes I see is folks trying to wait until the weeds come up to do their weed control programs,” Geiger says. “They call it row-and-go. They want to make sure they’ve got rows of corn before they spray their herbicides, but weeds are much easier to control if they aren’t out of the ground yet.”

It’s a risky choice because weeds can emerge and surpass 4 inches in height rather quickly, which is over the labeled size for species like waterhemp on many herbicide labels.

And then it rains.

“If you’re out of the field for three days, that could result in 3 to 4 inches of weed growth and then your weeds are off-label,” Geiger says. “It’s a lot more challenging to control weeds after they emerge.”

Ultimately, these experts agree, growers can implement a few simple management steps to help mitigate potential crop management issues. Testing soil, careful product selection, and timely and accurate applications provide crops with the conditions they need to thrive.

A tool is only as good as the way it is used, Geiger says, and even the most efficacious products must be used properly to maximize performance.

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1Always consult the product label for complete use and application information.

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Lindie Huffman, 2022 winner of the Syngenta #RootedInAg contest, grew up surrounded by tobacco fields and beef cattle while most children were playing with tablets or riding bikes. She moved to the sixth-generation operation when she was just five years old. Her agrarian playhouse, otherwise known as the family farm, sits in northern Kentucky.

“It’s hot, time consuming and labor-intensive work,” Huffman says. “Our farm was very much about quality over quantity.”

At the center of the operation is the home of Huffman’s grandparents, where she spent countless hours. She worked the land and bonded with her Grandfather Kenny, whom she coined Papaw. He became the most influential person in her life.

An Influential Bond

The #RootedinAg contest from Syngenta asks growers and ag professionals to share the story of their ag mentor. In her essay, Huffman honors her grandfather, who worked as a roadside agronomist for the state of Kentucky while managing the family farm. “His level of commitment is what I saw,” says Huffman. “And that showed me the opportunity within agriculture.”

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He passed that on to Huffman, who is passionate about lending a helping hand to all involved in the ag industry. Her desire to serve others is driven by lessons learned from her grandfather. “I realized that I have a servant’s heart and I want to be able to help other farmers,” she says.

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His level of commitment is what I saw, says Huffman. And that showed me the opportunity within agriculture.

Lindie Huffman Accounting Extension Agent for Agricultural National Resources, University of Kentucky

Huffman says her grandfather taught her critical ag lessons from a young age that propelled her towards an agricultural career. He taught her about different plants by showing her how to identify blades of grass and picking up leaves around the tobacco fields.

“He was the only person in my family who had gone to university, and he made sure I had that opportunity,” says Huffman. “I went to the University of Kentucky, where he attended.”

Huffman’s story made an impression on both the online voters and the #RootedinAg contest judges, who named her the 2022 grand prizewinner.

“Lindie’s roots in ag run deep,” says Wendell Calhoun, Syngenta strategic marketing and operations manager. “We thank her and everyone who shared their stories. Those stories inspire us to stay innovative for the future generations of the ag community.”

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Making an Impact in Ag

Huffman is now an accounting extension agent for agricultural national resources at the University of Kentucky. On top of her work in educational programing and community development, she helps local farmers adopt new management practices and find new marketing opportunities.

One of Huffman’s largest projects was growing the Pendleton County Farmer’s Market from three vendors in 2012 to 34 in 2022. “Farmers’ markets are a catalyst for community,” says Huffman.” The market is now a center where the community connects with food and local growers’ profit and provide the public with fresh produce.

The farmer’s market is also home to Sprout’s Kids’ Club, a farmers’ market-based children’s program that teaches about produce, local food systems and more. Here children engage directly with farmers by spending tokens as regular market shoppers would.

As part of Huffman’s prize, Syngenta made a $1,000 donation in her grandfather’s name to the Sprouts Kids’ Club at the Pendleton County Farmer’s Market. The club educates children about agriculture as Huffman’s grandfather did for her, which is why she chose it as the donation’s recipient. The donation will provide the children with access to more opportunities to learn and connect with agriculture.

“I think that there’s power in storytelling and opportunity in letting people know where their food comes from,” says Huffman. “It builds relationships with the consumer. My mission is to keep farmers farming and to keep families fed through access to local foods.”

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Knowing when to plant feels more akin to roulette than science in the face of unpredictable climate patterns.

When farmers decide to plant profoundly affects the rest of their growing season. Everything — from fertilizer applications to pest and disease pressures, from irrigation schedules to harvest, all the way into storage and sale — depends on planting date.

One crop’s schedule can affect those of other crops. Delayed planting dates for a particular crop can put growers who produce multiple commodities behind the 8-Ball for the rest of the season. If an Idaho grower, for example, is forced to delay planting winter wheat, harvesting that wheat may bump up against his scheduled start to potato harvest, stretching thin such fundamental resources as equipment, manpower and, perhaps most crucially, time.

Those variables are on the mind of growers of every crop as planting time nears. Do you plant early to achieve higher yields? Do you hold off to avoid potential disaster like freeze or flood? It’s tough to find that sweet spot, but collecting information helps.

“The best way to determine your planting date is to look at historic weather data and to take into consideration hybrid and variety selection,” says Jami Loecker, a Manhattan, Kansas-based agronomy service manager for Syngenta. Loecker works with producers growing a variety of crops, including corn, soybean, sorghum, wheat, potatoes and sugarbeets — giving her regular firsthand looks at the consequences of myriad planting decisions.

After considering that data, Loecker says that growers need to take an honest look at their operations and determine which worst-case scenarios they can accept as consequences of planting either too early or too late.

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The best way to determine your planting date is to look at historic weather data and to take into consideration hybrid and variety selection.

Jami Loecker Agronomy Service Manager at Syngenta

Planting Cotton in the Southeast

Planting considerations vary by crop and geographic area. Take cotton in North Carolina, where planting typically takes place throughout the month of May.

Guy Collins, an extension cotton specialist with North Carolina State University, advises growers across the state. He says that for cotton, there is no more important indicator in most years than air temperature. Collins’ rule of thumb is that growers need to see a total of 50 “heat units” in the five days leading up to planting. Growers calculate a day’s heat unit measurement by adding the daily high temperature in degrees Fahrenheit to the daily low, dividing that number by two, and then subtracting 60. For example, a day with a high of 70 and a low of 50 would have zero heat units; a high of 80 and a low of 60 has 10 heat units.

“Five days in a row with an average of 10 heat units a day is the ideal planting condition for cotton,” Collins says. “But there are many, many times where conditions aren’t ideal. Those first couple days, you’re at the highest risk of chilling the cotton and killing the seed, so growers need to be aware and cautious.”

To aid growers, NC State Extension developed a planting conditions calculator for cotton (available at products.climate.ncsu.edu/ag/cotton-planting). The site uses Google Earth and National Weather Service forecasts to calculate planting conditions on a particular day in a location as precise as a specific field. While the calculator is specifically designed for cotton, Collins says the data can be used to calculate for multiple crops.

Corn Belt Considerations

Throughout most of the Corn Belt, conventional wisdom states that the best window for planting corn appears for about a month, from mid-April to mid-May. The perfect date, of course, depends on several factors, including latitude, soil moisture, soil temperature, air temperature, and final market. These circumstances sometimes contradict one another, further complicating the decision-making process.

“It is possible for early-planted corn in one year to yield more than, less than or equal to later-planted corn in another year, depending on the exact combination of yield-influencing factors for each year,” says Bob Nielsen, a corn specialist and professor of agronomy with Purdue University Extension. “Farmers know this to be true because many have had late-planted crops in recent years yield better than any crop they have ever had because the remainder of the growing season was extremely favorable for crop growth and development.”

In an April 2022 article titled “The Planting Date Conundrum for Corn,” Nielsen notes that most corn agronomists will preach the importance of timely planting, even if data strongly suggest that planting date accounts for a mere 10% of the variability in year-to-year yields. With his state’s (Indiana) corn planting largely delayed by about two weeks in 2022 due to unusually wet weather, Nielsen cautioned growers not to panic:

“Let’s not succumb quite yet to fearmongering triggered by the delayed start of planting the 2022 corn crop,” he wrote. “‘Mudding in a crop early to avoid planting late will almost always end up being an unwise decision.”

Shifting Schedules

So, what are some best practices growers should follow when planting in less-than-ideal conditions? According to Loecker:

  • “Growers should not panic and make drastic changes due to slight delays.”
  • “They should consult trusted agronomists to verify whether any changes in their plan based on planting date are necessary.”
  • “Always plan for a successful crop regardless of planting date — even if you don’t get what you think is a perfect start, provide the crop with the best chance to perform under whatever circumstances it’s placed under.”

Most producers agree with Loecker’s point that no growing season is ever perfect. But when things start going south, a lot of folks’ first instinct is to rush to fix the problem — a human tendency that lends itself to overcorrection.

That’s exactly why having a plan B (and plans C, D and E) long beforehand is so important. A changed planting schedule alters other factors throughout the growing season, and the most successful growers are ready for any eventuality. “If initial schedules significantly shift, growers may consider altering their hybrid or variety maturity. In the worst cases, it might even be necessary to switch to a different crop altogether,” Loecker says. “They should also consider how pest pressures will change with a later-planted crop.”

Loecker also recommends utilizing available digital tools like Syngenta’s Cropwise™ Financials. “As we implement more precision technology — achieving more accuracy regarding planting depth, plant spacing and nutritional needs — the less issues we will see compounded by planting date,” she says. “Additionally, Cropwise Financials makes it simple for a grower to create and modify a plan as needed once the season gets into motion.”

Collins adds that while everyone expects a normal year, there is no such thing.

“But if growers are timely on management of disease and pest threats throughout the rest of the year, they will usually come out of it okay after a late planting,” he says.

In a nutshell, experienced agronomists encourage growers and their consultants to trust themselves and each other to do their own due diligence and make the right call. You may not be right every single time, Collins says, but no one is better equipped to make decisions about your crops and land than you.

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With less than 2% of the U.S. population involved in farming and ranching, many people are largely unaware of their food’s backstory. Chad and Jeana Steiner noticed that gap and wanted to make a difference, so they decided to launch their own agritourism destination in Washington.

“You can go to the grocery store and get any type of produce without really understanding what it took to produce it,” says Jeana Steiner.

When the Steiners purchased an empty lot a couple hours east of Seattle in Chelan, they saw an opportunity to realize their dream of providing agricultural education. Eight years later, the land hosts a flourishing farm where visitors learn how food goes from farm to fork and wine flows from grape to glass.

The Seed of an Idea

Love for agriculture is central to the Steiners’ relationship; They met in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program. Between undergraduate and graduate school, Chad worked for Ste. Michelle winery. “That’s what planted the seed to start a vineyard for him,” says Jeana Steiner. “And I just love being outside.” Additionally, Chad grew his agricultural knowledge during a 12-year tenure with Syngenta.

In 2014, the Steiners, who were living in Sacramento, California, bought property in order to open their own vineyard.

“With Chad traveling for Syngenta, touring apple orchards and seeing every farm culture on a mass and small scale, we began to understand how disconnected people are from farming,” Jeana Steiner says. With that in mind, the Steiners looked beyond a traditional vineyard toward creating a space where people can reconnect to farming.

Fruitful Expansion

The Steiners’ three young boys inspired the farm’s next expansion. After relocating to Chelan, the couple looked for family fun as Halloween approached. When they discovered the nearest pumpkin patch was over an hour away, they saw an opportunity.

“I talked to the local principal, Erin Moran, and did an experiment with the fourth graders,” Jeana Steiner says. “They helped us plant the pumpkin seeds, and the following fall, they all came back to pick out a pumpkin.”

The pumpkin patch is now in its fourth year and the Steiners added U-Pick apples and U-Pick flowers to the farm activities. “There was a grandma with her family last season who was so excited to pick an apple for her first time. It was amazing to see a memory they will be able to share forever,” Jeana Steiner says.

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There have been days where we wonder how we are going to do this. It’s just Chad and me. We don’t have outside investors. We hope to carry this forward and make a difference in people’s lives.

Jeana Steiner Owner of Chelan Valley Farms

As business on the farm increased, visitors expressed an interest in learning what happens behind the scenes. With a focus on education, the Steiners began free public farm tours. The tours normally include about 30 people.

“We tailor the tour to what’s going on with the farm at the time,” Chad Steiner says. “I like to wrap these discussions into the big picture of why growers do certain things, such as apple thinning.” Apple thinning, he explains, helps produce a certain size of apple.

Through Airbnb and VBRO®, the Steiners made their guest house available to visitors who want to experience staying on a working farm. Tourists from California to England have visited the property. “I was honestly blown away with the interest of people that wanted to come and stay,” Jeana Steiner says.

The couple fulfilled their other agricultural dream by opening Lagriōth Winery on-site, which is named after the words lake, agritourism and growth. “Chad is really well-versed in wine making,” says Connor Flanagan, a visitor at Chelan Valley Farms. “The knowledge he brings to the table is invaluable, and it’s super interesting to hear the story behind the grapes.”

Harvesting Guidance

For growers interested in agritourism, the Steiners say a crucial first step is deciding whether it will be a hobby or a main income source. Chad Steiner says important considerations include input costs, time involved, and which crops and agritourism operations can drive revenue.

Chad Steiner says growing the customer base through promotional efforts is key to the farm’s success. Social media, local media, and Chamber of Commerce weekly bulletins are important marketing tools for the Steiners.

Jeana Steiner adds that having an experienced mentor was helpful. Niki Allision, a local farmer who sells flowers, helped mentor the Steiners when they were getting started. The Steiners now mentor others. “I had someone call a few days ago who has property, and he just doesn’t know how to get started,” says Jeana Steiner. “He asked if he could come on the farm tour and see behind the scenes with our animals.”

Like all growers, the Steiners experience times of hardship. “There have been days where we wonder how we are going to do this,” says Jeana Steiner. “It’s just Chad and me. We don’t have outside investors. We hope to carry this forward and make a difference in people’s lives.”

To learn more about Chelan Valley Farms please visit: Chelan Valley Farms

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Tight grain stocks, high commodity prices and strong farm income direct much attention to soaring farmland values and the rising production cost. At the intersection of farmland and production expenses are cash rental rates. For farmland owners, higher rents result in more income. For farmland renters, higher cash rents are yet another expense trending higher.

Dollars Per Acre

Figure 1 shows the cash rental rates for average-quality farmland in Indiana. While the level of cash rent paid varies greatly across the country, the general trend in recent years is similar. After rising to about $230 per acre between 2013 and 2015, cash rents fell to $205 per acre by 2016 because of lower commodity prices and farm incomes. In 2020, rental rates began increasing and again approached $230 per acre by 2021.

In 2022, rates peaked at $252 per acre. While it took nearly a decade for cash rental rates to exceed the previous high, these data alone don’t provide a complete summary of the situation.

A bar chart showing Cash Rental Rate for Average Quality Indiana Farmland, 2010-2022.
Figure 1. Cash Rental Rate for Average Quality Indiana Farmland, 2010-2022.

Dollars Per Bushel

As we’ve written in previous columns, considering only dollars per acre distorts our thinking, especially when productivity changes are a factor. Corn yields, for example, nationally trend toward increasing by 2.1 bushels per acre per year. While the management implications may be negligible on a year-to-year basis, the effects are significant over a decade. So how do 2022 rental rates compare with rates from a decade ago, when budgeted yields were roughly 20 bushels lower?

Figure 2 shows the Indiana cash rent data per bushel of yield. On a dollars-per-bushel basis, cash rental rates remain lower than they were a decade ago. More specifically, 2022 rental rates were equal to $1.32 per bushel in 2022, compared to the high of $1.43 per bushel in 2013. Furthermore, per-bushel rents were higher than 2022 levels between 2013 and 2015.

A line graph showing Cash Rent Per Bushel of Yield, Average Quality Indiana Farmland, 1990-2022.
Figure 2. Cash Rent Per Bushel of Yield, Average Quality Indiana Farmland, 1990-2022.

Wrapping It Up

While it’s hard to say how much higher cash rental rates will be in 2023 and beyond, these data highlight two important management implications.

First, producers should avoid using just one measurement – corn per acre, cost per bushel, etc. – when considering how expensive or burdensome production expenses have become. While per-acre cash rental rates are at all-time highs, productivity gains have chipped away at the cost per unit of output sold. In other words, yield increases have offset some of the price sting.

Second, these data suggest the possibility of additional upward pressure on cash rents. Producers were paying more per bushel of anticipated yield the last time commodity prices were this high. In today’s terms, 2013 cash rents at $1.43 per bushel – $0.10 per bushel higher than current levels – equate to $273 per acre, more than $20 per acre (+8.5%) higher than current cash rents. This is some context surrounding the current situation, not a forecast of future cash rents.

Finally, rental rates and trends vary across commodities and geographies, but management lessons remain the same. During significant, rapid changes in revenue and expenses, insights from cost-per-acre and cost-per-bushel provide considerable value.

David and Brent are the co-founders of Ag Economic Insights (AEI.ag). Founded in 2014, AEI.ag helps improve producers, lenders, and agribusiness decision-making through 1) the free Weekly Insights blog, 2) the award-winning AEI.ag Presents podcast – featuring Escaping 1980 and Corn Saves America, and 3) the AEI Premium platform, which includes the Ag Forecast Network decision tool. Visit AEI.ag or email David (david@aei.ag) to learn more. Stay curious.

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Insects such as soybean aphids and stink bugs are a common problem for soybean growers, and without proper management, they can quickly eat up yields. Now that chlorpyrifos-based products can no longer be used due to updated Environmental Protection Agency guidance, some growers may find themselves without a solution.

Endigo® ZCX insecticide offers soybean growers another tool to help them control these pests. It contains thiamethoxam and lambda-cyhalothrin. These complementary modes of action provide broad-spectrum control of key Northern and Southern soybean pests, including pyrethroid-resistant pests and invasive species. The enhanced formulation contains 30% more active ingredient per acre versus previous Endigo formulations, providing fast knockdown and longer residual activity.

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  • Vascular-clogging toxins cause yellow flecking associated with Sudden Death Syndrome.
  • Ideal soybean growing conditions lend themselves to SDS.
  • Soybean cyst nematodes can exacerbate SDS.

 

Q. What is Sudden Death Syndrome, and how do you identify it?

A. Abigail Peterson, director of agronomy, Illinois Soybean Association: Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) is a disease caused by a soilborne fungus, Fusarium virguliforme, that can survive in both corn and soybean residue systems. This fungal infection starts at soybean germination and is more prevalent in cool, wet growing conditions. The disease usually forms during the early reproductive stages. Growers sometimes misdiagnose SDS due to its resemblance to brown stem rot or stem canker. When scouting during the later vegetative stages, also known as the early reproductive stages, you’ll first notice leaf discoloration, which can range from yellow to brown. To eliminate the overlap of brown stem rot’s similar foliar symptoms, check the plant’s root. At the base of the plant, occasionally you will see a blue mold on the outside of the taproot – a sign of SDS. A final scouting step is to split the stem and evaluate if the internal tissue is discolored.

A. Dale Ireland, technical product lead, Syngenta: SDS is a “top five” soybean yield destructor – and has been for many years. It is an environmentally driven disease caused by Fusarium virguliforme, a commonly found soil fungus. Soy growers know the classic foliar yellow flecking is actually not the disease itself, but it is caused by F. virguliforme toxins produced in the root, plugging the vascular system within the soy plant. These toxins don’t allow proper nutrient flow between the root system and leaf canopy. The yellow flecks in the leaves coalesce and destroy much-needed leaf area during pod fill – often significantly impacting final yield.

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Select soybean varieties with high-yield potential and with strong SDS scores.

Dale Ireland Technical Product Lead, Syngenta

Q. Do certain environmental conditions increase the likelihood of this disease?

A. Ireland: Environmental conditions highly impact SDS. An ideal SDS season begins with early planting in cooler, wetter conditions followed by a high-yield environment through much of the growing season. Some stress during early pod fill can create a load on the plant roots to deliver moisture and nutrients to the leaves, and this in turn increases the Fusarium virguliforme root infection toxins. Yellow flecks begin showing and coalescing and destroying leaf area, which is vital as it acts as a photosynthetic factory – producing what a plant needs to develop young soybeans in pods.

A. Peterson: Cool, wet soil conditions are usually a prime environment for SDS. The slowed germination from these conditions allows the fungus to infect the soybean roots. Wet conditions are a conduit for many soybean fungal diseases. SDS is unique in that its impact to a given area can be varied and unpredictable. Fields with a history of soybean cyst nematode usually have a correlation to SDS presence.

Q. When should growers be on the lookout for SDS?

A. Ireland: SDS typically begins showing up in spots – often field headlands or field entrances or compacted soil areas – in August. The earlier these symptoms show, often the greater the yield impact.

A. Peterson: It’s hard to predict or know the chance you’ll have the disease because SDS sometimes occurs later in the season. Know your field disease history and take good records of specific disease problems. Scout fields to accurately diagnose the problem. Detection from aerial plant health images can be a source of notification, although leaf tissue may be further intensified at that time than if you spotted it earlier during routine ground visuals. Also, contact your agronomist to check how products affect the health of your leaf tissue.

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Q. What can growers do to mitigate this disease?

A. Peterson: SDS-infected fields can result in flower and/or pod abortion. Planting during warm, dry conditions isn’t always easy, but can help reduce SDS infection. It may help to plant historically SDS-prone fields later. Management practices that increase soil aggregation, reduce compaction, increase residue breakdown, and minimize soil loss can all reduce the risk of SDS. When reviewing varieties, choose soybeans that score well for both SDS tolerance and soybean cyst nematode resistance. Although SDS is associated with leaf tissue symptoms, a foliar fungicide will not affect a disease that infects the root system. To help reduce yield loss, evaluate seed treatments that have data provided from trials shown to protect yield in SDS conditions.

A. Ireland: Select soybean varieties with high-yield potential and with strong SDS scores. Managing your plant parasitic nematodes will help protect against SDS, too. Nematodes open the root system for Fusarium virguliforme infection and stress plants, leading to worse SDS infections. Another option is adopting a seed- and plant-safe seed treatment, like Saltro®, that protects against SDS and nematodes. Rotating away from continuous soybeans also helps. Not managing SDS leads to more SDS. Because Fusarium virguliforme can establish itself in soils, if you choose to ignore SDS, the longer you grow soybeans, the greater the chances of SDS becoming established and turning into a perennial problem.

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“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Unfortunately, that’s the wrong strategy when facing corn rootworm (CRW). The pest is adaptive and destructive. Now more than ever, monitoring and maneuvering are essential defense strategies.

“Corn rootworm is our No. 1 economic pest. When it’s bad, it’s really bad,” says Erin Hodgson, Ph.D., Iowa State University extension entomologist.

Andrew Nesseth, crop consultant with EXTended Ag Services of Lakefield, Minnesota, says CRW pressure and crop damage is increasing in his area as mild winters and more continuous corn acres create ideal conditions. Dry weather also amplifies yield losses, as damaged roots are less likely to regenerate, leaving fewer roots to take up moisture.

As frustrating as losses can be, Hodgson urges restraint in management. “We do not recommend the ‘kitchen sink’ approach,” she says. “Corn rootworm is a very adaptable pest. If you use every tool all the time, a small population will adapt and overcome.”

Instead, she says, growers should assess CRW pressure and build a strategic battle plan.

Assess the Enemy

The most significant damage from CRW occurs when larvae feed on brace roots in June and July. This is when to start scouting for the pest.

“It’s most accurate to dig corn and look for root injury, but it’s a time-consuming and miserable task in July,” Hodgson says, noting that using sticky traps to capture CRW adults is an easier and still effective option for scouting.

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Most problematic situations occur when the same management practice is used year after year. Changing things up keeps the options we have working better for longer.

Bruce Battles Technical Agronomy Manager at Syngenta

If growers catch two or more beetles per card per day, it indicates pressure will exceed economic thresholds. Some CRW eggs undergo extended diapause, which is a period of suspended development. However, in areas of the Eastern Corn Belt where a variant exists that will lay eggs in soybeans, growers should also consider scouting soybean fields.

“It doesn’t take many larvae to reduce yields by 30 to 40%,” Hodgson says. “Beyond root damage, feeding opens roots to pathogens and other pests. It’s death by 1,000 papercuts.”

Build a Battle Plan

“Most problematic situations occur when the same management practice is used year after year,” says Bruce Battles, Syngenta technical agronomy manager. “Changing things up keeps the options we have working better for longer.”

Some options to mix and match based on crop history, planting date and expected and historical pest pressure include:

  • Low pressure: Use a non-CRW traited hybrid with or without a soil insecticide.
  • High pressure: Use a soil insecticide along with a single CRW trait, multiple CRW traits or a non-CRW traited hybrid.
  • Very high pressure: Rotate to a non-host crop for one or more years.

Traits are the baseline for most growers battling CRW, says Tim O’Brien, Syngenta traits manager. They provide easy, season-long CRW protection. And with stacked traits, growers can use one product to control multiple insects. One option is DuracadeViptera™ trait stack, which protects against 16 above- and below-ground pests.

But traits alone can’t hold the line in very high pressure CRW fields; A four- to five-year rotating strategy is a better option, Battles says. It might look like this: Following soybeans plant a non-CRW traited hybrid. Next season, use a CRW-traited hybrid and monitor CRW pressure. Depending on pressure, use a CRW-traited hybrid again the next year, but rotate or combine modes of action. If CRW pressure increases, use CRW-traited hybrids with soil-applied insecticides. In cases of particularly strong pressure, an in-season insecticide application to reduce adult CRW populations may provide some relief.

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Seed treatment can provide more protection, but isn’t a stand-alone alternative, Battles says. CruiserMaxx® Corn 1250 seed treatment is one effective option. It increases seedling vigor to help overcome root injury and provides short-term systemic protection for early roots. The CRW node injury scale is zero to three nodes, with one node being above economic thresholds. Battles says CruiserMaxx Corn 1250 can reduce damage by 0.25 nodes.

Identify Future Risk

Past and current field management are good indicators of future CRW populations. Scouting for root damage and tracking adult beetle populations are good predictors of expected CRW populations next season. Each corn rootworm adult female can lay 1,500 to 2,000 eggs. When those eggs hatch the following season, their larvae begin to feed on corn roots. When using traits, the larvae must take a bite for the trait to provide control. “If everyone comes to the table for a little nibble, that’s a lot of potential damage,” Battles says.

Planting date is also an important consideration, as CRW beetles tend to concentrate in fresh habitat, Nesseth says.

“They go to the youngest corn,” he says. “Beetles will concentrate in areas with late-planted hybrids or replanted acres.”

Longer-season corn can lead to greater problems, too. “It increases the length of time there’s good habitat for corn rootworm beetles. It’s a complex problem,” Nesseth says.

Rotating to a non-host crop like soybeans is the best way to derail increasingly heavy CRW populations. When scouting shows very high pressure, it’s time to rotate from continuous corn, O’Brien says.

“It is difficult for any CRW technologies to stand up to extreme, high-pressure situations,” he says. “We must rotate to maximize yield potential and protect the CRW management tools we have.”