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Hoorman Soil Health Services

For most farmers, the weather has turned dry with corn and soybeans leaves drying down. A good August rain can add bushels to soybeans and help fill out the corn. While some farmers have received adequate rain this year, the weather patterns have been fickle. Most areas are in a drought now. It seems like the same areas get rain, perhaps too much at times while other areas get missed. A good explanation for this is that good growing crops that got early rain are transpiring more water into the atmosphere, generating more moisture in those areas. Whatever the reason, it can be exasperating for those lacking rain. This year, there has been more sun activity than normal. The northern lights and magnetic fields have dipped into Southern Michigan and Northern Ohio and Indiana. While the light shows may be fun to watch, it also has an affect on our weather. The sun is still the major generator of weather. A prediction was that we could either have a drought early or late thi

  Solving murder mysteries is a popular game but when it affects your crops, it is serious business! Soybean yields have been stagnating for years. Some farmers get great yields (70-90 bushel/acre), but many farmers average 50-65 bushel/acre. Soybean yields may be 20-30 bushel below optimum, even with good genetics. With depressed crop prices, good soybean yields are essential to making a profit and staying in business. The Allen County SWCD (Decatur, Indiana) held a field day two weeks ago. A local farmer (Nate) approached me after I gave a presentation on how a lack of plant available nutrients increases crop disease. Nate, a trained agronomist, says he noticed a “soybean mystery disease” starting in 2014. It occurs around August 1-10th almost every year but is worse some years. Symptoms: Usually, low areas or compacted areas show up first but also hill tops. It starts on lower leaves which turn pale, yellow, then brown and fall off. Usually, bean pods start aborting from the bottom