Cereal rye cover crops added to a corn-soybean rotation seem to have little negative effect on yield, according to a five-year study conducted by Iowa Learning Farms and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

In late January the Nebraska Wheat Board reported declining winter wheat conditions in western and southwestern Nebraska, leading some producers to ask about the potential for reseeding winter wheat. Can areas be seeded or reseeded with winter wheat when field conditions permit? What would be the yield potential?

Many times the differences in attaining higher net income for soybean producers can be directly tied to the timing of planting. Recent research showed yields averaged approximately 1/3 bushel per acre less for every day planting was delayed.

DuPont Pioneer experts suggest growers continue to look for ways to make the application of nutrients particularly nitrogen as efficient as possible. One strategy is to adopt split applications.

A Purdue University study shows that high-yielding, modern corn hybrids take up not only more nitrogen from soil but more micronutrients such as zinc, iron, manganese and copper. Nitrogen fertilizer rates also influence how much of these nutrients are stored in the grain at harvest.