Getting these BASF Headline harvest reports done this fall (yes, it is still fall) has been a challenge, to put it mildly. We’ve been trying desperately to get interviews set up with farmers since late October – in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. We did okay in Missouri, but when the harvest kept getting later and the rain kept falling, it just continued to get postponed. We had to cancel a trip to Iowa last week when the blizzard came through, but we went up this week even with below zero temperatures

Our second day in the frigid state brought us to the home of Brent Schipper of Conrad, where we had to record in the office to avoid becoming popsicles. Despite the weather challenges and a late harvest, Brent is very pleased with his crop this year, which was helped by Headline fungicide. “With the late harvest, the corn did stand very well,” Brent said. “The yield increase helped because Headline eliminated some of the disease pressure we had from the cool, wet weather.”

Brent saw a yield advantage of 4-5 bushels on soybeans and 10-20 on corn because of Headline, which he has been using for about six years now. There were some acres he did not spray with Headline, but because he saw such a definite yield difference this year, everything will be sprayed next year. “It showed one year of not spraying everything cost us in the end,” he said. “It’s a good insurance policy.”

Watch the video interview and listen to or download the audio of my interview with Brent below.