This presentation was recorded at the 2025 Field Advisor Forum on January 16th in Champaign, IL.

Dr. Fred Below leads the UIUC Crop Physiology Laboratory, where his team of more than 12 researchers conducts studies on management practices to boost corn and soybean productivity. Their findings from field studies are shared on the lab’s website. Below teaches an advanced crop production course to graduate students and is a sought-after speaker at local, national, and international conferences. A Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, he has received multiple awards for teaching and extension excellence. He developed the “Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World” and “Six Secrets of Soybean Success” to help farmers and professionals maximize crop management decisions and is advancing systems for sustainable high yields. Below and his wife live on a small farm near Champaign, Illinois, and have three daughters.