Now that the 2019 corn and soybean harvest is in full swing, it is not too early to start thinking about and planning for the 2020 growing season as well. For soybean farmers in Iowa, a critically important fall activity that can pay large dividends is soil sampling to determine soybean cyst nematode (SCN) population densities in fields in which soybeans will be grown in 2020.

Measurable snow has already fallen across a good part of the Corn Belt, Lake States and Northern Plains and with colder than usual temperatures setting in, many farmers are facing as much difficulty getting crops out of their fields as they did getting them planted this past spring.

No-tiller David Groff from Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Pa., shares how his family is raising no-tilled squash in previously seeded cover crops, including triticale and hairy vetch.

Lebanon, Pa., no-tiller Darren Grumbine discusses some of the nutritional challenges he’s faced no-tilling corn and the new approach he took this year feeding nutrients to the crop when they’re needed using tissue tests and on-farm trials.

In case you missed them, here are the items that have garnered the most interest from farmers in the month of October.

No-tiller David Groff from Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Pa., talks about the farm’s experience this year no-tilling hemp and the cover-crop mix and fertility plan they followed during the growing season. He also talks about the effect weeds and vegetation had on insect pests targeting their crop.

At the 2019 Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance Field Day, veteran no-tillers Jim Hershey, Brian Zimmerman, Ben Peckman and Frank Stoltzfus share how they’ve set up their planters and fertilizer application systems to no-till cash crops into living cover crops.

It doesn’t happen every year, but it does occur – snow accumulation before harvest is complete. Here are some considerations and tips from Iowa State University for dealing with this unfortunate situation.

After much anticipation, the USDA announced their interim ruling and federal guidelines for U.S. hemp farmers, including guidelines for how hemp will be sampled and tested for THC content. This new ruling will come into effect once it is published in the federal register on Oct. 31 and will sunset after 2 years, when a final ruling will be put into place.