8
May
2017
Many areas of Ohio turned dry towards the end of April and farmers were able to get their corn and soybeans into the ground at a good pace. In fact, the USDA projected that 42 percent of all corn and 14 percent of soybeans had been planted by April 30, 2017. Then…everything came to a screeching halt as frequent rainstorms have resulted in several inches of rain covering most of the state.
Categories: Agronomy, Ohio
Tags: corn planting, Agronomy, Emergence, Ohio Agronomy, growing degree days, soybean planting, GDD, yield potential
1
Many parts of Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky have received over 4 in. of rain in a very short amount of time which has caused severe flooding in some areas. Because of this, I have received a number of questions from farmers wondering how long corn can survive under water and how much of their nitrogen (N) will still be there when the water finally recedes.
Categories: Agronomy, Kentucky, Tennessee
Tags:
28
Apr
Scouting your wheat now is critical to preventing Fusarium head scab in your fields. Get to know and understand the wheat growth stages and timing and be prepared to apply fungicide when necessary.
Categories: Agronomy, S Indiana
Tags: Agronomy, Agronomy Update, Scouting, Steve Gauck, Wheat, Head Scab, Fusarium Head Scab
19
With the nice weather we are currently experiencing, many farmers find themselves asking the question, “should I be planting?” Here are a few factors to consider when answering that question.
12
With planting just days away, now is a great time to look over your final planting details to ensure you are setting yourself up for maximum yield potential with the upcoming crop. Becks Practical Farm Research (PFR)® continues to provide us with unbiased guidelines and insights to help maximize yield and return on investment (ROI) on every acre.
Categories: Agronomy, N Illinois, S. Wisconsin
Tags: planting, Practical Farm Research, Agronomy, Planting Depth, Illinois Agronomy, PFR, Wisconsin Agronomy, Jon Skinner, Planting Date, AgChat
Much of the wheat throughout my territory is now between Feekes 10 (head in boot) and Feekes 10.1 (grain head visible). This means that within the next two weeks, it will be time to start making fungicide applications to protect our wheat against Fusarium head blight (head scab).
Tags: Agronomy, Wheat, Austin Scott, Kentucky Agronomy, Tennessee Agronomy, Head Scab, fungicide on wheat
As we prepare for planting, there are a number of things to keep in mind. From burndown to weed and pest control, there are factors to consider that will ultimately affect the season ahead.
Tags: corn, Agronomy, Marestail, Ohio Agronomy, burndown, herbicides, LUKE SCHULTE, Winter Annual Weeds, AgChat, Anhydrous Ammonia, Weed Pressure, black cut worm
5
Over the past few weeks, many farmers have called me jokily asking, “is it too early to plant?”
My answers always seem to be long, with a lot of details and factors, as I try to help them determine if it is or isn’t too early. With that said, let’s look at our ideal planting dates and things you need to consider before planting.
Tags: planting, Practical Farm Research, Agronomy Update, Steve Gauck, indiana agronomy, PFR, Early Planting, Planting Dates, Seed Treatments
3
Do you know what the most abundant element in the air is? It’s not oxygen. It’s not hydrogen. It’s actually nitrogen (N). That’s right, one of the biggest input costs on your farm is actually floating around in the air you’re breathing. But since it’s a diatomic molecule (N2=gas), your corn crop can’t access it. Therefore, you have to buy and apply it to your crop. Soybeans, on the other hand, are legumes which means they can capture that free-floating N gas and, with the help of some soil microbes, convert it to a usable form of N.
As planting gets underway, we need to remember the importance of seeding depth. Planting too deep or too shallow can have an impact on stand establishment and uniformity. Uneven plant emergence can result in plant-to-plant variation and, in certain instances, can impact final grain yield. Soil conditions should be watched closely as these changes will dictate how seeding depth should be adjusted.
Categories: Agronomy Talk
It is the dawn of a new season and new opportunity! Before heading to the fields this spring, be sure to have your corn meters calibrated to the seed size you are planting to maximize seed placement. Take time the first day of planting to go over the planter, check its depth, and look at plant spacing, fertilizer rates, closing wheels, talc, and graphite. Mistakes made with the planter will haunt you all season, so don’t worry about how many acres you plant the first day, just get the planter set right! If you are looking at some of our PFR Proven™ products and practices, leave some check strips, as we all want to know what works to increase profits this year.
Spring is once again upon us! As with every year, it’s a great idea to review your field plans one last time before the rush begins. This year, I’m excited to work with farmers in our PFR Partners program. This will be a great tool that farmers can use to test studies from the Practical Farm Research (PFR)® book on their own farm, and to help prove the value of these products and practices out in the field.
Over the past few decades, we have continued to see a trend toward earlier corn planting to maximize yields. While there is a yield benefit, early planting comes with the additional risk of unpredictable weather.
As we enter this spring season, many of us are wondering…what will the repercussions be of this past winter’s mild temperatures? While no one really knows definitively if we’ll experience increased insect or disease pressure, we do know we’ll likely have increased winter annual weed pressure in our fields. Last fall’s extended season, along with the warm soil temperatures this spring, have resulted in an increase in marestail population as well as size of marestail rosettes.
Every year when the calendar flips to April, I sit back and think about how awesome it would be if I could tell you the exact crop plan and weather to obtain maximum yields in the season ahead. Sadly, I can’t do that, but I can at least pass on a few reminders that will set the foundation for a high-yielding crop. In my opinion, the planter pass is the most important pass of the season, and should be treated as such.
With spring, comes a flurry of activity. There are a million things to get done to raise a successful crop. In all the commotion of planting season, I recommend keeping a watchful eye on plant nutrition. You may say, “no sweat I already have my N, P and K applied so I checked that off the list weeks ago”. Applications of the big three nutrients are vital, and while I don’t want to minimize their importance, we shouldn’t assume that since we made our annual fertilizer applications that providing all the nutrition our crops need is complete.
This unusual, warm and dry winter has many corn producers thinking that early season insects or disease may be of greater concern than normal. Even if that happens, our seed-applied fungicides in Escalate™, are selected to offer broad spectrum control, regardless of the weather conditions that may encourage early season corn diseases.
I want to share a few reminders about the impact our management decisions and environmental factors can have on successful stand establishment. Key factors impacting corn emergence are soil moisture, availability of oxygen, soil temperature, seed quality and protection with seed treatment, variety selection, planting depth, seed-to-soil contact, uniform spacing, and singulation.
Record temperatures throughout winter and spring have made outdoor activity pleasant for people and crop pests alike. Winter annual weeds in particular have flourished, reaching sizes and ground cover densities never seen before.
One of the most common questions this year has been what effects will the warm winter have on crop production for 2017? Will we see increased insect pressure, weeds, diseases, and crop stres? Only time will tell, but the lack of frozen soils usually means more issues with insects and diseases that can overwinter.