Harnessing Nature's Science™
By Mojtaba Zaifnejad, Ph.D.
Sr. Director of Field Research and Technical Services,
Huma, Inc.
In my previous article on nematodes, I described the general topic of nonparasitic and parasitic nematodes. In this segment the focus will be on a specific plant parasitic nematode – Reniform nematodes (Rotylenchulus reniformis). We will delve into the intriguing world of reniform nematodes, exploring their feeding behavior, impact on crops, and effective management strategies. [Read more…]
By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Huma®, Inc.
Twenty years ago, I found myself in the position of operating a farm all by myself. My father, who I was farming with, passed away suddenly that January. So in addition to my full-time ag marketing job, I was flying solo across my family farm in western Illinois. [Read more…]
By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Huma®, Inc.
You’ve all heard the saying “knee-high by the fourth of July” to describe the progress of a corn crop. It’s a phrase many folks still refer to today. But as the photo below shows, that saying is now laughable. In fact, if you’re a Midwest farmer and your corn is now knee high, it’s probably in big trouble. So where did the adage come from? It likely started before hybrid seed corn was invented, when planting dates occurred in late May/early June and when mature corn plants were much shorter. With the advent of hybrid seed corn, and adoption of synthetic nitrogen, there was a meteoric rise in yields and corn growth. My corn was planted on May 4th, and on July 4th it was tasseled and twice as high as my son’s girlfriend!
By Jonathan Plehn
President,
Huma®, Inc.
I am extremely proud to officially unveil our company’s new branding and name. We are now Huma®– a 50-year-old legacy ready to be reintroduced to the world! It is a strategic decision to shorten our name from Bio Huma Netics® (BHN) to Huma®, and we are confident that this progressive move is in our company and our customers’ best interests. [Read more…]
By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics®, Inc.
“Your rows sure are straight.” Those may have been the most pride-filling words I ever heard. They were first spoken to me by one of my landlords, Orville Larson, the spring after my dad passed away and all farming operations fell entirely on me. Orville made a habit of driving out to his farm to see how things looked. He stopped in to see me the day he checked on his crops, and those were the first words he spoke. That same day, I received the same compliment from my dad’s best friend, who was regarded statewide as one of the top farmers in Illinois. That’s when I knew I was a farmer. [Read more…]
By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics®, Inc.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That popular saying could just as easily apply to planting corn. It’s impossible to recover from planting time mishaps. Don’t believe it? Try this. Walk into a cornfield where plants have recently emerged. Identify a plant that’s shorter than the rest (some call these runt plants). Tie a ribbon to the small plant and watch it all season. That plant will likely never catch up to the size of its peers. It may not even produce a harvestable ear. But it will drain water and nutrients. My friend Steven Abracht – 11-time NCGA national yield contest winner – famously called these plants weeds. [Read more…]
By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.
#Plant23 is well underway. From the time seeds are sown, how many days should it take for crops to emerge? That can vary greatly, from days to weeks. But for many crops, it’s not really about calendar days, but Growing Degree Days (GDD). [Read more…]
By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.
Football may be a game of inches, but farming is a business of fractional inches. Take planting. Seed placement is paramount to the success of a crop. Farmers spend lots of time calculating the optimum rate and depth to plant their seeds based on genetics, soil type, soil conditions, weather, management practices and the desired output of their crop. [Read more…]
By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.
Regenerative agriculture is not some passing fad. It’s now a movement. And it’s here to stay. How can we be sure? Just look at who’s driving it. Unlike well-intentioned predecessors, such as LISA (Low Input Sustainable Agriculture), regen ag has a financial benefactor: food companies. From lofty goals articulated by their CEOs to multi-million-dollar investments, consumer brands are rushing to attach their name to nature-based growing practices. [Read more…]
By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.
Farmers love to grow corn. Only twice in modern history has corn not held the title of the most-grown crop in the USA. That was in 2018 and (if you count it) 1983, when the government’s PIK program artificially swayed planting practices. Spurred by record fertilizer prices, many projected soybeans would overtake corn last year in their annual acreage tug-of-war. But the allure of maize once again prevailed. [Read more…]