Kassie’s Plot Blog

Kassie Billerbeck is a senior agriculture science major with an emphasis in agronomy at Iowa State University. As an agronomy intern for Dow AgroSciences, Kassie is working with Mycogen Agronomist John Long to monitor and manage the company’s field plots at the Farm Progress Show site in Boone, Iowa. Keep up with Kassie and her preparations for the Ultimate Yield Tour by checking this page from now until the show opens.

August 11, 2008
One of the most fascinating parts of preparing for the Farm Progress Show has been working with some of the exciting new products from Dow AgroSciences and Mycogen Seeds. Since many of these products have yet to be released into the marketplace, it's like I'm getting a sneak peek into how these products perform.

By the middle of July, we had finished planting
SmartStax™, the industry's first-ever eight-gene trait combination in corn, along with the new
Dow AgroSciences Herbicide Tolerance Traits in corn and soybeans.

With Dow AgroSciences Herbicide Tolerance Traits we are demonstrating the crops' resistance to 2‑4 D and other "fop" herbicides. One trial will demonstrate brace root injury in corn with and without the herbicide tolerance trait, and additional trials will test for brittle snap and leaning after an application of 2‑4 D.

Another section of the plot is dedicated to testing a new encapsulated nitrogen stabilizer for UAN and manure designed to give growers maximum flexibility in safeguarding plant health and increasing yield. It is currently in trials this year in Iowa under a 24(c) local use permit, awaiting federal registration.

The Ultimate Yield Tour wouldn't be complete without taking advantage of the opportunity to see how these new products perform where it matters most - in the farmers' field. I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon at the Farm Progress Show!

July 31, 2008
As for many of you, the weather remains the main issue here in Boone, Iowa. Thanks to a protective wind fence, the Ultimate Yield Tour plot survived nearly 100 mph winds during the most recent bout of storms, but our agronomists are reporting hail damage west of Boone.

The heat is providing the growing degree days needed for crop development and preparations for the Farm Progress Show are picking up. Dow AgroSciences is preparing for visitors to the Ultimate Yield Tour, and construction crews are hard at work to build this new permanent site for the Farm Progress Show.

From my vantage point in the Dow AgroSciences and Mycogen Seeds plot, I can see a lot of development. Several buildings, including the administration building and restrooms, have recently gone up, and construction workers are making their final touches inside the buildings. The roads around the Farm Progress Show site are being paved, but with so many to finish, the road leading to the Dow AgroSciences plot is still gravel.

As the crops begin to grow, fencing is going up to separate the exhibits. At the Dow AgroSciences plot, some of our trials have started on the new corn and soybean hybrids.

There is a lot still to be done, but watching the bare site come to life is building my anticipation for the show to start!

July 18, 2008
I have been involved with production agriculture my entire life. As I was growing up, my family grew corn, soybeans and alfalfa, and raised cattle. But the way we work the half-acre plot at the Farm Progress Show is much different than my family's 800-acre farm.

Back home we use a 24-row planter, pour entire bags of seed into the planter boxes and it usually takes a couple of weeks to get an entire crop into the ground. Here at the plot, we use a four-row planter for a 20-foot long row and count the seeds by hand. It typically takes just a couple of hours to plant a section.

With 140-by-140 plot of land to plant and manage, we use a five-gallon hand sprayer for herbicide and pesticide applications, and apply fertilizer by walking a drop-spreader between the rows. When we applied nitrogen, we used a small tractor to pull a five-gallon tank that inserted the nitrogen about 4 inches into the ground. It wasn't too time-consuming, either.

Preparing the plot for the Farm Progress Show does take a lot of patience, though. With nearly everything planted, sprayed and fertilized, we are starting to track the progress of the crop while continually maintaining the site so it's ready for the Ultimate Yield Tour in August.

July 3, 2008

Hi, everyone! Thanks for coming back to my blog for the Farm Progress Show test plot. One of my goals during my internship is to learn more about new products from Dow AgroSciences, and I recently got that chance.

As most of you know, the early development stages of crop growth can be a really sensitive time. As the crops compete with other plants for water, sunlight and nutrients, keeping weed pressure at a minimum has been our top priority.

We have applied SureStart™ herbicde mixed with Durango® DMA® herbicide to one of the corn test strips in an early post-application to control both grasses and broadleaf weeds. After replanting some of the soybeans, we quickly applied Sonic™ herbicide to prevent the crop from facing early season weed competition.

Now it’s a waiting game. We’ll be measuring the weed density in the test strips closely to compare it with our check strips. With the weather as unpredictable as it has been, there is always more work to be done before the show. I’ll keep you posted!

June 20, 2008

School is out and the real work is beginning. I am very excited about the opportunity to work with Dow AgroSciences and Mycogen Seeds and am happy to welcome you to the Ultimate Yield Tour! This is my first progress report from the Dow AgroSciences and Mycogen test plots at the Farm Progress Show site. From now until Farm Progress Show Aug. 26 through 28, come to my blog to see pictures and read about the activity going on at the plots as we prepare for the Midwest’s largest farm show.

As the growing season gets underway, our agronomy team’s expectations for the site are really high. We have about one-half acre to showcase some of the latest crop technologies from Dow AgroSciences – double the space the company had in 2007. Planting of corn and soybeans began on May 22, and like everyone else in Iowa we have been battling back the water. Early plantings have been completed and the second round is scheduled for early July. Hopefully by then we will not be looking for more rain but just in case we have an irrigation system in place at the plot.

I’m really excited to be a part of the Ultimate Yield Tour and look forward to meeting growers at the show in August. More to come soon!