Greg Labarge

Nov 13, 2024 | ocj.com | Greg Labarge |Stephanie Karhoff |Luke Schulte

By Greg LaBarge“Net incomes on many Midwest grain farms will be negative in 2024, some of the lowest in the past 30 years.”This statement opened the 10/8/2024 article from the University of Illinois, farmdocdaily staff is sobering and compounded in Ohio by the 2024 drought. The article titled Perspectives and Strategies for Dealing with Low Farm Incomes in 2024 and Beyond is worth a read to start the conversation on your farm about strategies to meet the challenges ahead.

Sep 19, 2024 | ocj.com | Stephanie Karhoff |Elizabeth Hawkins |Greg Labarge

By Stephanie Karhoff and Elizabeth HawkinsCover crops can help slow erosion, suppress weeds, retain nitrogen, and increase organic matter. However, barriers to cover crop use remain. These include seed costs and timely fall establishment, but, if growers lower seeding rates to capture cost savings or if weather conditions delay establishment, do we still realize the environmental benefits of cover crops?

Sep 2, 2024 | ocj.com | Greg Labarge |Joel Penhorwood

By Greg LaBargeI have conducted corn nitrogen rate trials at our Northwest Agricultural Research Center since 1996. The rate range used is 0-240 pounds of N. I was curious about residual N left after corn and started taking total N samples after corn grain harvest beginning in 2016. In those trials, residual N from the zero N plot was around 20 pounds for all years. At the 240-pound rate, the residual N ranged from 40 to 200 pounds, depending on the year.

Jul 23, 2024 | ocj.com | Stephanie Karhoff |Greg Labarge

By  Stephanie KarhoffAs you scout soybean fields this August, you will likely come across plants with holes in the leaves or along the leaf margin. The culprit(s) behind this damage are mid-season defoliators like bean leaf beetles, Japanese beetles, grasshopper nymphs, and caterpillars. Defoliation in soybean is typically observed twice during the growing season. First, following plant emergence, and then during early reproductive stages in July and continuing through August and early September.

Jul 4, 2024 | ocj.com | Greg Labarge |Stephanie Karhoff

By Greg LaBargeLast month, I discussed best sampling practices for collecting leaf tissue for nutrient analysis: https://ocj.com/2024/06/plant-tissue-testing-part-1-best-sampling-practices/. This month, we will cover using the results to make nutrient decisions. The lab results you receive typically report nutrients in two different ways.