Corn

“Cover crops help suppress weed growth by making weeds smaller and weaker, although they may not reduce the total number of weeds. Fast-growing grass cover crops, such as cereal rye, provide better weed control than most mixed or broadleaf cover crops because they produce more biomass and form a thick mulch. Farmers should aim for a dense cover crop stand, use timely sowing and termination, and combine cover crops with herbicides or cultivation as part of an integrated weed management strategy for the best long-term results.”

“Across 26 on-farm Nebraska trials, foliar micronutrients rarely raised corn yield because soils were already sufficient — helping growers avoid unnecessary micronutrient spending.”

“Open imaging datasets of widely-grown corn lines give breeders and data scientists a shared benchmark for building faster, cheaper crop-improvement tools.”

“Mapping subsurface water pathways with ground-penetrating radar plus surface elevation explained corn and soybean yield variation far better than topography alone (error dropped from 23.7% to 15.3%, and to 10.0% when remote sensing was added). Even without costly subsurface surveys, adding surface flow accumulation cut error to 18.4%, making hydro-topographic zoning a practical basis for site-specific management.”

“A two-stage stochastic planning model for western Kansas irrigators under self-imposed 5-year pumping caps beat both actual farmer decisions (2013–2022) and average-rainfall deterministic planning, especially in dry years. Tighter pumping limits favor shifting from corn to sorghum and saving water in early years to spend later; stretching the allocation window past about 7 years adds little extra profit.”

“Sensor-based N management cut nitrogen application by ~40 kg N/ha in corn with no yield loss across 57 Nebraska on-farm site-years (2015–2023). Benefits are greatest in moderate-to-high yield variability fields with coarser soils. Sensors showed no statistically significant gains in winter wheat. Profit probability exceeded 60% for corn across most price scenarios. Despite consistent evidence, only 11% of Nebraska producers currently use sensor-based approaches — indicating a technology transfer gap.”

“The LTAR Integrated Common Experiment at Upper Mississippi River BasinPlatteville.”

“Closing wheel type and row unit down force can affect corn germination in notill production systems.”

“Nitrate leaching into groundwater as a result of high N fertilizer rates to annual crops presents human health risks and high costs associated with water treatment. Intermediate wheatgrass is a low-input crop has the potential to produce profitable grain and biomass yields while reducing nitrate.”

“Classical and genomic prediction of synthetic openpollinated sweet corn performance in organic environments.”

“Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ground Level Area Sources in Dairy and Cattle Feedyard Operations.”

“Collection of all USATODAY.com coverage of Biologging technologies: new tools for conservation.”

“Lactobionate, a byproduct of cheese production, can be used as a soil amendment in winter wheat and corn production.”

“Across 15 North Dakota nitrogen-rate sites, red and red edge NDVI predicted corn yield equally well at V6, but at the later V12 stage red edge NDVI outperformed red NDVI because red readings saturate once the canopy closes. For growers using GreenSeeker or Crop Circle sensors to guide in-season N, red edge is the better choice for late-season sidedress decisions.”

“A COI DNA barcoding survey of Pratylenchus species in the Great Plains Region of North America.”

“Are American black bears in an agricultural landscape being sustained by crops?.”

“Boosting soil health and crop nutrients with locally sourced biochar and compost in Sacramento urban agriculture.”

“Field-evolved resistance by western corn rootworm to multiple Bt toxins in transgenic maize.”

“Land-use change in the Northern Great Plains is altering the landscape in ways that are seemingly less conducive to beekeeping.”

“Prevalence of thermoduric bacteria and spores on 10 Midwest dairy farms.”

“Study on Nitrogen Concentration of Corn Hybrids in South Dakota.”

“A modified surface energy balance algorithm for land (MSEBAL) based on a trapezoidal framework.”

“The collapse of the home mortgage system has left working- and middle-class Americans buried alive in the wreckage, but there may yet be a silver lining.”

“Soiltest biological activity with the flush of CO 2: VI. Economics of optimized nitrogen inputs for corn.”

“Prairie strips improve biodiversity and delivery of multiple ecosystem services from corn–soybean croplands.”

“Predicting crop yields and soil N dynamics in the US Corn Belt.”

“Relationship of inseason soil nitrogen concentration with corn yield and potential nitrogen losses.”

“Linking economic and social factors to peak flows in an agricultural watershed using socio-hydrologic modeling.”

“Phosphorus availability and leaching losses in annual and perennial cropping systems in an upper US Midwest landscape.”

“Springtime bird use of agricultural landscapes examined by using autonomous recording units.”

“Surface Resistance Controls Differences in Evapotranspiration Between Croplands and Prairies in U.S. Corn Belt Sites.”

“A pilot study quantified environmental contamination in nearby houses from residual pesticides by measuring dust and air (indoor/outdoor) concentrations of neonicotinoids and fungicides.”

“Bird community response to field-level integration of prairie strips.”

“Farmer identities influence wildlife habitat management practices in the US Corn Belt.”

“Wheat cover can impose a corn yield penalty (−12.6% in 2018). N timing matters under wet springs: in 2019, delayed/sidedress N improved NUE and yield vs more at-plant N. MRTN tools should account for cereal cover crops via N credit/adjustment.”

“Cropland soil nitrogen oxide emissions vary with dairy manure incorporation methods.”

“Ammonia emissions and corn yield response from injected versus surfaceapplied liquidseparated anaerobic digestate.”

“The economics of anaerobic digestion systems in Iowa.”

“Manure injection may offer greater agri-environmental benefits on the whole over surface application.”

“Long-term biosolids applications improve key soil health functions for semi-arid dryland systems.”

“Field experiments were conducted at three locations in Indiana to assess weed suppression by cereal rye and residual herbicide premixes in no-till corn.”

“Longterm impacts of drain spacing, crop management, and weather on nitrate leaching to subsurface drains.”

“Ammonia volatilization, nitrous oxide emissions, and corn yields as influenced by nitrogen placement and enhanced efficiency fertilizers.”

“An experiment conducted at the University of Wisconsin's Arlington Agricultural Research Station from 2021 to 2022 examined both pre and postcorn planting management strategies of a red clover living mulch on clover growth, weed biomass, corn plant population, and grain yield.”

“The effect of a white clover living mulch on nutrient cycling in a cotton production system in the Georgia Piedmont.”

“Modeling of tile-drained corn–soybean fields in Iowa (validated to within 6% for corn and 13% for soybean yields) showed drainage boosts soil oxygen in wet springs, which spurs deeper rooting that later buffers summer drought, raising yields about 6% — but it also increases subsurface flow and inorganic nitrogen leaching.”

“Applying coal combustion residue as a carbon amendment (3.3–19.7 Mg C/ha) in a western Nebraska dry bean–maize–sugarbeet rotation gave no consistent yield benefit over three years, with only weak yield trends (p = 0.07–0.22) in some crop-years. It did not reduce herbicide effectiveness on weeds, though one mid-rate treatment cut maize yield where saflufenacil + dimethenamid-p was applied.”