Setting up Web Cam

Shane posts on June 12:

Today Chris and Tony came up from St. Louis to set up a web cam in hopes that we can have some nice pictures for our website. As with everything here, it was a challenge to get it all up and running in this environment


Cameras had to be positioned so we could see something interesting on film while at the same time being out of the way of the tractors and planting activity as well as the crowds that will eventually walk through here for two solid days in August. Protecting the cameras and computers from the elements was also a big concern.

Rootworm Infestation

Shane posts on May 31:

Today the team infested some rows with rootworm eggs. We infested the eggs at a rate of 800 eggs per row foot.


According to Larry, one of our agronomists, those under the tent were very difficult, due to having to drive around posts and bracing cables. You get a pretty bad stiff neck from having to drive while looking backwards all the time.


This photo shows how tightly the rows are planted in this one-acre test plot. Driving the tractor here is a real bear, as if you make one mistake and put a tire mark into a row, the soil will become compacted, or worse, you might damage the plants, and they won’t perform as well as they should.

Stress Mitigation Tents

Shane posts on May 30:

Here are some photos of the tents. The large tent covers the stress mitigation plots while the smaller one is for the drought plots. The tents, which have clear vinyl tops, allow sunlight to enter but no rain, thus stimulating harsh drought conditions.



A few days after these went in, we had some problems with wind, but the tents are now staked properly and seem to be doing fine.


Stress mitigation plots involve planting four rows each of corn seed all from the same genetic makeup but with different sets of traits side by side to track progress. We are starting with conventional crops and adding a trait every four rows to show the differences as we near harvest time. Plants are stressed by lack of water, insect infestation and so on. Conventional plants should show some stress, while the plants with more traits in the seed should clearly show the benefits that the traits bring to the plants’ roots and stalks. Here is a typical photo showing corn that was protected from the stress through a trait (left), and corn that lacked the trait and suffered from environmental stresses (right).