Monsanto Farm Progress Show Preview 2007

Farm Progress and Husker Harvest 2008!

2008-07-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out our blogs for 2008:

Farm Progress Show 2008 blog

Husker Harvest Show 2008 blog

Farm Progress Show Preview & Press Kit

It's a wrap!

2007-09-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

Shane posts Sept. 6:

I guess this about wraps it up. Final tent removal will take place over the weekend and early next week. Next we'll till, seed and monitor the plot unti next year when we start all over again.

All plots were sprayed with insecticides immediately following the Farm Progress show. To fulfill compliance requirements we cannot plant that area back into corn or soybeans until next spring, so to conserve soil through the winter months and gain organic volume next year, wheat is our best option. After wheat is killed next June or July we will then plant winter rye to set up the plots for the 2009 show.

See you next year -- in Boone, Iowa!

2007-08-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug 31:

Well, folks, that's a wrap -- until next year. Right now we're so busy with take down, I don't have a lot of time to say much, but I heard that over 8,000 farmers from the U.S. and other 20 countries visited our technology showcase tour. That's just amazing. Here are a few shots that capture some of the activity:

This says it all.

Cotton in Illinois

Farmers on the tour

Robb Fraley leads the media tour

DEKALB WingWear fashion show

Flex fuels truck

Asgrow booth

Inside the tent

Roundup RReady2Yield booth

Vistive booth

Pre-tour Aug 22

2007-08-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 22

Today some dealers were taken on a pre-tour of the Technology Showcase plot. Now it's looking pretty much like we want it to look for the show next week.

Inside the air-conditioned tent, visitors will get to see some of the technology we use at our labs, such as the soy chipper and soy seed sorter. Monsanto uses these machines to sort and analyze millions of seeds per year, looking for key traits.

Prepping for the Show

2007-08-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

Shane posts Aug 17:

These pictures are showing the removal of all fill rows. These fill rows were left in the field until today to allow for proper development of the highlighted technology plots. We shredded and buried the plant material from fill rows. Since this is all regulated material it must be destroyed and buried within the plot area.

The Big Tent

2007-08-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 16:

Larry took these pictures of the big tent being constructed.

Bird's Eye View

2007-08-15T06:27:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 15:

These pictures were taken from the media platform located in the SW corner of the plot area. We are currently working on the installation of the white exterior fence. This Friday we will remove the remaining fill rows from all corn and soybean plots and make final insecticide/herbicide applications.

Susceptible Soy Plants Final Days

2007-08-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

Larry observes on Aug. 13:
Crispy critters.

Dicamba Tolerant Soy Doing Well

2007-08-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 10:

Here you can see that the tolerant soybeans continue to grow and stay green. This photo was taken today, Aug. 10.

High-pressure Insect Tent

2007-08-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 8:

The crew in front of the high-pressure insect tent is from the Monmouth Agronomy Center. After the tent was erected we infested all treatments with: western corn rootworm, european corn borer, western bean cutworm, fall armyworm, and corn earworm.

Corn Insect Infestation

2007-08-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

Larry posts on Aug. 8:

Here are a couple images of Aaron infesting corn with fall armyworms. This corn was later placed under the insect stress screen.

Cotton in Illinios

2007-08-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 7:

Cotton growing in Illinios is not something you see everyday. Here you see Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex Cotton in the forefront with the high-pressure insect tent and drought tent in the background.

Dicamba Die Down Continues

2007-08-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 6:

Here are a couple of nice pictures of the dicamba tolerant soybeans and susceptible soybeans which were sprayed with 3 pints per acre of Dicamba. This is 3 times the recommended rate (for corn -- there is no recommended rate yet for soybeans), but we do it this way at the plot so that the tolerance shows up a little quicker and more dramatically.

Whereas a couple days ago the susceptible beans had started to wilt, by now they are turning yellow and looking pretty bad compared to the tolerant beans.

Pre-show Tour Run Thru

2007-08-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 3:

Earlier in the week we got a chance to bring over 100 local farmers through the plot, as it is officialy called, the "Road to Success" Technology Showcase. It was a big deal to see all the work come together and generate some excitment among the growers here in Illinois. Not to mention the excitement among those of us who've put in so much work over the last few months. The run-thru is also a good chance for us to hear what growers thought of the way we presented our new technologies so we can make the tour as interesting and worthwhile as we can for all the people coming from all over the world.

These small groups got a very personalized tour. The real thing will bring through about 60 people at a time.

After the event, everyone gathered to compare notes about what went well and where we still have work to do.

Dicamba After One Day

2007-08-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on Aug. 2:

Only one day after treatment and you can already begin to see quite easily which plants have the resistant trait.

Dicamba Spray

2007-08-06T14:18:00.001-07:00

Shane posts August 1:
Here is Dan spraying the dicamba-tolerant soybeans with dicamba herbicide. He had to work carefully to ensure that the spray didn't drift to other rows in this tightly planted test plot. Shortly, we should see that the plants with the dicamba-tolerant trait continue to thrive while those without it die off rather dramatically.

SHOWCASE REVIEW

2007-08-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Tyne (Monsanto summer intern) posts on July 30:

Here is a wrap-up of some of the activities that have taken place out at the Technology Showcase plot from early summer until now.

* * * * * * * *

The Monsanto plot is located along Second Progress St. Each street is named on the Farm Progress ground to help give directions to attendees in August.

An outside view of the 2007 “Road to Success” technology showcase.

One of the security officers opens the gates to the plot. The plot is surrounded by security fences to ensure the safety of the crops and plot. Monsanto security officers are on duty at all times on the Farm Progress grounds.

Soybeans, as well as different varieties of corn and cotton, begin to top the ground’s surface at the 2001 Monsanto technology showcase in Illinois.

Larry is one of the agronomists working for Monsanto in monitoring the Farm Progress plot. Weller is a retired agronomist and travels to the site daily to check the crops.

Cotton is one of three crops that will be showcased at this year’s “Road to Success” Technology Showcase. A lot of farmers from the Midwest express surprise to see cotton plants growing here.

Chris Peterson, Monsanto Corn Traits Lead, participates in a pre-show interview with Dave Brown of WAND-TV Decatur. Peterson revealed some highlights of this year’s show in an effort to generate excitement among Illinois residents living around the Decatur area.

This tent is located on the south end of the plot and will be used to create drought-like conditions for the corn crop that has drought-resistant traits.

The stress mitigation tent is located on the north side of the plot and covers several rows of corn showing how Monsanto technology can withstand tough weather conditions.

The Rains Finally Come

2007-08-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on July 21:

Well, we finally got the rain we had been waiting for. Unfortunately the rains were followed by some pretty heavy winds. There was some damage to a few of the corn stalks, but we managed to get them propped up right away and they are all going to be fine. Larry took some beautiful photos just before the storm.

It almost looks like a funnel cloud is trying to form here. Thank goodness it didn't.

Mitigation Plots Update Photos

2007-08-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

The mitigation plots are looking good right now.

Shane posts on June 19:

Terra Com Unit Installation

2007-08-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on June 18:

Here are pictures of Jared and David, our Agrilink rep
installing our Terra Com units in Decatur. The Terra Com units contain the power source and data delivery for the moisture probes. They send moisture data every 15 minutes to our database. This data is mapped on a 5' soil profile to determine where water is being removed from within the plots. This data essentially confirms the depth of rooting and how VT technology better mines for water and nutrients than soil insecticides.

Here are the terra com units all set up and ready to go.

Moisture Probes 2

2007-08-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Shane's post continues . . .
Here I am pouring the “slurry” into the previously dug hole. The slurry is made from the same soil which was dug out of the probe holes. I just sifted it out to make it extremely fine and mixed it with water to the appropriate consistency. This completely removes any air spaces between the sidewalls and the probe and gives it a concrete-like bond.

Now I'm working the soil probe through the slurry to the bottom of the hole to remove air pockets.

Installing Moisture Probes

2007-08-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on June 13:

We have been very busy irrigating the plots this week. This is our primary concern/worry because from planting up until this point we have only received 3/100ths of and inch of rain. Drought stresses are apparent on all of the plots. Larry is working night and day to put water on everything to keep it alive.

We've also been busy installing the moisture probes, which is a lot of work. The first pic is me measuring the proper placement for the probes with a tape measure before Jared drills a pilot hole. Jessica, who you see in earlier posts performing our inspections, is very good at supervising!

We put 3 probes/plot in the stress mitigation area. Within each plot we place a probe in the row, 7.5” from the row, and at 15” from the rows. The probes are 60” long and measure where moisture is being removed within the soil profile so we can detect depth of rooting in each treatment. These soil probes are really important because they show us what's going on with water beneath the surface and give us vital information about how the traits are performing.

These pics show Jared and myself using the bucket augers to accurately dig out the Moisture Probe holes.

This is an extremely taxing job, and you can see the look on Aaron’s face which shows how hard these things are to pull back out of the ground.

Transplanting

2007-08-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on June 12:

Here is Aaron watering some transplanted soybeans. We have been going through all corn and soybean plots thinning and transplanting so everything has an even population.

Audit & Inspection

2007-08-01T11:12:00.001-07:00

Aaron posts on June 12:

The audit was part of Monsanto's Biotechnology Field Inspection program. Jessica was our auditor.

Preparing for the audit is not much different than following the correct procedures and best-practices that Monsanto already has in place. Before planting I double check that I have received the seed boxes in good condition with the proper paperwork, including the material transfer forms and USDA/EPA compliance packets. I check to make sure that I have approval to move and release the material. Before planting I measure isolation distances to make sure we will be planting in accordance to the regulations. At planting I take GPS coordinates and stake the appropriate areas of the plot. Following planting I submit my planting forms to Monsanto's Regulatory Compliance group within 14 days so that they can compile with other plantings in a report to submit to the USDA and EPA.

During the audit, the majority of the time is spent looking through the USDA and EPA compliance packets to ensure that all events planted were approved by the USDA and EPA for release at that particular location in the correct county.

Jessica also checks to make sure that all the movement notifications are in place to move the seed to Monmouth and then to Decatur. Another important part that we review is the Material Transfer Forms that accompany the seed.

The in-field portion of the audit consists of checking the proper staking and labeling of the regulated events, GPS coordinates, and re-measuring the isolation distances to ensure that they meet USDA and EPA requirements.

Setting up Web Cam

2007-06-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

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).

Post Planting

2007-05-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on May 25:

Jared applies pre-emergent herbicides to the plots after planting.

This is a picture of the plots after planting. Some blank areas were left for the late planting applications, while stakes and flags separate treatments within the plot area.

Planting

2007-05-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on May 25:

These photos are of Aaron and myself planting through an area in which straw was incorporated to tie up nitrogen within that plot.

Here we are planting one of the stress mitigation treatments. I’m on the tractor and Aaron is on the planter.

Preplanting

2007-05-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on May 20:

Here is the plot area after it has been field cultivated and laid out. It was taken on 5/18 just prior to us planting.

Here is Tom applying nitrogen to the cotton plots prior to planting.

Applying fertilizer

2007-05-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on May 2:

Here's a shot of the work in progress. A big Thank you is due to Dr. Howard Brown of GROWMARK.

Putting up the fence

2007-05-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on April 26:

Good progress on the fence. All posts in, top rail on, and fencing hung all around. The pedestrian gate is hung, and is in the correct position as to the diagram of plots.

About 1 inch of rain at the site as of noon today, so it is pretty sticky. Some annual weeds are beginning, lambsquarters,and some alfalfa beginning to re-grow in scattered sprigs. Some volunteer wheat has emerged in the areas with the straw treatment.

Fence up, privacy shades going up. Barbed wire not yet hung.

Flags up for no-water area. The long view.

Straw Incorporation

2007-05-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

Shane posts on March 28:

Here is a picture as I was finishing up the straw incorporation yesterday for the plots where we tied up nitrogen. Things went very well and look good out there.

The math we used was based on a formula for a Carbon/Nitrogen ratio of 80:1 and applying 4 tons/Acre of wheat straw we should be able to tie up 113lbs of Nitrogen/Acre. Relating to the pictures, we incorporated 90 pounds of straw per plot for the area. Prior to incorporation we used a very fine shredding silage shipper to increase the straw/soil contact. Then using a 3-point tiller we incorporated the straw into the plots at a depth of 4-5 inches.