Pam Smith

Decatur

Crops Technology Editor at The Progressive Farmer

Wordsmith for DTN and Progressive Farmer magazine. Tweets about agriculture, writing, crops, bees, therapy dogs, sheep, kid-lit, baking, bicycling are all mine.

Featured in: Favicon

dtnpf.com

theguardian.com Favicon

wiley.com

allrecipes.com Favicon

sagepub.com (+1) Favicon

biomedcentral.com Favicon

pressherald.com Favicon

tasteofhome.com Favicon

wfla.com

djournal.com + 40 more

Articles

Farmers Report Planting Progress by Mother's Day

4 days ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Farmers Report Planting Progress by Mother's Day 5/11/2025 | 4:57 AM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- Mother's Day is a benchmark that determines an early or late crop for many farmers. It also means celebrations for "Mom" can get crushed in the rush to complete field operations that need to be accomplished around the second week of May.
4 Things to Know About Black Cutworm Control

5 days ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

4 Things to Know About Black Cutworm Control 5/9/2025 | 3:26 PM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- Black cutworm (BCW) moths don't need a Real ID to gain entry to crop fields. They catch a free ride on spring storms coming out of Southern states to arrive in the northerly corn and soybean fields with the purpose of starting a large and very hungry family that dines on young plants.
Nebraska Farmer Focuses on Kids, Crops and Community

1 week ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Nebraska Farmer Focuses on Kids, Crops and Community 5/4/2025 | 8:58 AM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- Ethan Zoerb was only 14 years old when he rented his first farm acreage and raised his first crop. Now, with children of his own, farming is both a way to sustain a family and build a legacy.
Avoid Plant Date Panic

2 weeks ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Avoid Plant Date Panic 5/1/2025 | 11:14 AM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor It's a white rabbit spring. Remember the rabbit in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland who had a preoccupation with time and being "late?" That's a common panic for farmers as April exits and May emerges.
Avoid Plant Date Panic

2 weeks ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Avoid Plant Date Panic 4/30/2025 | 7:17 AM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor It's a white rabbit spring. Remember the rabbit in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland who had a preoccupation with time and being "late?" That's a common panic for farmers as April exits and May emerges. This year, the angst seems a little more pronounced agreed Stephanie Porter, outreach agronomist with the Illinois Soybean Association.
Where Red Dirt Grows Big Bushels

2 weeks ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Where Red Dirt Grows Big Bushels 4/27/2025 | 11:22 AM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- A Mason jar of northern Alabama red dirt is Stuart Sanderson's favorite prop when he speaks to farming audiences. "Imagine a landscape picture of Mars, and there's a remarkable resemblance to our fields in the winter," said Sanderson.
Farmer Views From Alabama and Nebraska

3 weeks ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Farmer Views From Alabama and Nebraska 4/20/2025 | 4:57 AM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor DECATUR, ILL. (DTN) -- It's easy to take an agricultural road trip this summer. Just follow along as this year DTN's View From the Cab series heads to Alabama and Nebraska to provide perspectives from these very different growing regions.
Farmer's Daughter Movie Tells Story of Resilience

1 month ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Farmer's Daughter Movie Tells Story of Resilience 4/6/2025 | 2:27 PM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor DECATUR, Illinois (DTN) -- Tara Barrett-Duzan used to report the news. Making news by becoming a full-time farmer and having a documentary made about her decision to do so wasn't exactly in the career plan. But there's a lot about Barrett-Duzan's life that has deviated from the script during the past few years.
Nutrien Expands Innovation Farm Network to Illinois

1 month ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Nutrien Expands Innovation Farm Network to Illinois 3/28/2025 | 10:00 AM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor There's a strip of county highway south of Champaign, Illinois, locals refer to as "Research Alley." Many of the major crop companies have established research centers along this corridor with an eye toward putting crop inputs, seed and all manner of agriculture technology to the test.
Take Anhydrous Safety Seriously

1 month ago | dtnpf.com | Pamela Smith |Pam Smith

Take Anhydrous Safety Seriously 3/24/2025 | 4:26 PM CDT By Pamela Smith , Crops Technology Editor Anhydrous ammonia tanks have started to move. The call to be safe while moving and handling this important crop nutrient is personal for this writer. I experienced a much too close call several years ago while photographing anhydrous being applied. Accidents happen fast and it doesn't take much exposure to cause a problem.