Water availability is the most common yield-limiting factor in corn production.

With an earlier spring and lower soil moisture, no-tillers with cover crops that overwintered should consider terminating their cover crops earlier than usual, says Ohio State University Extension.

Ashland, Neb., farmer Jim Kucera discusses the benefits of planting earlier and having soils dry out faster with strip-till, as well as decreased weed pressure and his use of variable-rate seeding.

Just 3 years ago, many strip-tillers in the Corn Belt struggled to harvest crops in wet fields, which limited or even eliminated fall strip-tilling. This fall, it's fields with dry soils that may pose problems for strip-tillers. But following three strategies can help strip-tillers manage dry soils, says , says Jodi DeJong-Hughes, University of Minnesota Extension crops and tillage educator.

Soybean cyst nematodes have the potential to cause devastating yield losses, population densities can increase very rapidly within a single growing season, and dormant eggs can survive for more than a decade in infested soils in the absence of soybeans.