Monthly Archives: May 2010

Crop Report

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Central Iowa

Bob Collins reports that corn around the Ames-Colo area is looking really good. With weeds coming up now, farmers are starting to spray Roundup® on corn and beans.

Kevin Meyer reports that corn in his northern territory has really shaped up since the frost a couple of weeks ago. Most corn made it through those brittle temperatures without severe injury. Corn in his area is at the V4 stage; overall stands are good and are in line for optimal yield. Some farmers have started spraying. Soybean emergence looks great; 95% of the soybean acres are planted.

Wisconsin

Steve Bailie reports that corn in the southern part of his territory is up and looking good. Soybeans in the southern part need moisture and heat to break up the crust and help with emergence. Some farmers got out their rotary hoes to break the soil crust. In the northern part of the state, around Green Bay, farmers are getting back in their fields to finish planting corn and starting on soybeans. 

Northern Missouri

Rick Foster reports it is still extremely wet in his area! There will be some replanting but not as much as originally thought. Some corn is at the V3-V4 stage, while other corn has not yet emerged. Soybeans in the flat ground will have to be replanted. Some soybeans have their second trifoliolate leaves.

Northeastern Iowa

Nick Benson reports a 20 to 25% stand reduction due to imbibitional chilling damage (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2010/0505elmoreabendroth.htm). About 90% of the corn is up in his area. About 90% of the beans have been planted and about 20% of the beans have emerged. After digging up some seedlings, he doesn’t think the seeds left in the ground have much energy left to emerge due to the cold temperatures experienced a couple weeks ago. Please note we’ll include a post in the next few days providing additional information about this area and the effects of imbibitional chilling.

Minnesota

Jason Obermeyer states “mother nature did its job.” The warm weather got the crops in his state to grow out of what they thought was going to be frost damage. There is a lot of spraying being done now. Corn is anywhere from V1-V6, and soybeans are anywhere from just being planted to the second leaf stage. Farmers are cutting alfalfa this week.

South Dakota

Bill Eichacker says farmers are hitting the fields hard in his area this week after weather slowed them down last week. His customers have 80% of their corn acres planted with 20% emerging. Tillage wasn’t able to get completed in the fall, so that has slowed soybean planting this spring. Only 25% of the soybean acres have been planted in his area. Corn emergence was a problem for many area farmers with early planting; many are scalping in areas or totally replanting. First crop alfalfa is also being cut this week.

East Central Iowa

Brad Beatty reports that corn planting is done and soybeans are nearly finished. His area had their first hay cutting, but with all of the recent humidity, the hay isn’t drying down properly. This is the time of the year to scout for cutworms, especially in areas where manure is being hauled and soft ground is being worked. Latham® hybrids in his region are four to eight inches tall and soybeans beans have reached first cotyledon or first trifoliate. 

Southeast Iowa

Wayde McNeil reports the corn in his region is around the V4 stage. With the recent rain and warm temperatures, it will quickly reach V6. Soybeans were all emerging well and he hasn’t spotted any bean leaf beetles yet. However, he has noticed some minor cutworm in corn. Crops on acres that were planted later have caught up to the earlier planted seeds. His area has received 6/10 of an inch so far this week. Root systems for both corn and soybeans are developing very well; deeper roots will be good during the drier weather. Although he hasn’t seen any leaf hoppers yet in the alfalfa, Wayde is expecting to see some next week.

South Central Iowa

Travis Slusher says the warmer, drier weather recently has helped spark growing in his area after they experienced 10 to 14 days of damp, cool and less than ideal growing conditions. His region hasn’t seen any significant rainfall in the last few days, so farmers have begun cutting and baling hay along with spraying row crops. Producers in the southern part of his area have finally gotten back in their fields to finish planting.

Northwest Iowa

Bruce Anderson reports that Northwest Iowa is in the final stages of soybean planting. Very few acres of corn had to be replanted due to frost damage. The later planted corn is rapidly catching up to the same stage as the corn planted a few weeks ago. After the recent warm weather and sunny days, the Latham® corn in his region has regained it’s a nice, green color. There is a decent amount of sub-soil moisture, which will be needed during the hot July days. All in all, it’s been a decent spring for growers in Northwest Iowa.

Central Iowa

Bart Peterson reports that his customers have planted 100% of their corn acres and about 99% of their soybeans. Corn is at the V2 to V3 stage and is growing quite well because of the heat. Also due to the heat, soybeans have been emerging quickly and are at VE to V1 stage. He just planted his last Latham Super Strip plot in West Central Iowa and noticed there is still adequate moisture in the ground.

North Central Iowa

Tom Larson reports that crops in north central Iowa have rebounded nicely from the frost and are really starting to grow and green up. The corn has added three leaves and the soybeans range from just in the ground to first trifoliate. Heavy rains Tuesday night, along with the recent heat, will push the crops along greatly by this weekend.

 

Evaluating Corn Replanting Options

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Cool temperatures and wet conditions have put stress on corn germination and emerging seedlings. Before deciding to replant, some important steps should be taken:

  1. Evaluate the stand for population and uniformity.
  2. Compare yield potential of the existing stand with yield potential of the replant (consider insurance or government program restrictions).
  3. If the decision is made to replant, consider various management practices discussed below to optimize yield potential.

Evaluating Existing Stands

When evaluating corn stands, only count plants that have a good chance of survival. Observe the uniformity of the stand across the field to determine whether the entire field will need replanting or if you can replant portions of the field.

There are a couple of options you can use when evaluating corn stands. (Please note the second option is a more accurate method).

  1. Count the number of plants in a length of row equal to 1/1000th of an acre based on row width (Table 1). Multiply the number of plants by 1,000 to get the plants per acre. Repeat the process in several field locations.
  2. Count 150 plants and measure the distance from start to finish with a measuring wheel. Divide the number of feet traveled into the appropriate factor in Table 2 to determine plant population. For example, if you walked 94 feet while counting 150 plants in 30-inch rows, the population is 2,613,600÷94=27,804. Because a longer row length is counted, the samples are more representative and fewer locations are required.

Should I Replant?

After taking stand counts, consider yield potential of the current stand and planting date, compared to the yield potential of the target replanting stand and date, and the costs associated with replanting.

 

If you decide to replant …

The first step in deciding to replant is removing the existing stand. Tillage is an option in most cases, however, depending on the growth stage of the original stand, two passes may be necessary.

Second, determine which relative maturity (RM) to use when replanting. As planting occurs after May 1, corn requires approximately 1.6 fewer growing degree days (GDDs) per day of delayed planting to reach flowering.

Third, decide on a management practice to protect against corn rootworm and other soil insects, including European Corn Borer (ECB).

Finally, corn planted later in the season has a greater chance of exposure to heat and drought stress during pollination. Manage this risk by selecting a hybrid with heat and drought tolerance and early flowering.

If you have any questions about whether or not you should consider replanting, please don’t hesitate to let us know by commenting on this post, or by contacting us at 1-877-GO-LATHAM.

Source: Monsanto’s Agronomic Alert

Puppy Preschool Begins

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“Training is actually more for the pet parent than for the dog,” said our dog trainer during our first Puppy Preschool class last week.

I couldn’t agree more!

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t really have a clue about taking care of a puppy. I tried tactics that had served me well while breaking show lambs to lead and training kittens to use the litter box. During our first training session, however, I learned that training a puppy requires a much different approach.

Below is a recap of what we learned Week 1:

1. The Name Game: When your puppy is not looking at you, call her name with a happy, excited voice. When she looks at you, immediately praise and reward her with a treat.

2. Loose Leash: With your puppy on the leash, hold a treat at the puppy’s eye level – about six inches in front of her. Then say, “Let’s go,” and begin walking slowly. If your puppy walks to the treat, immediately give it to her. The idea is to play “Follow the Leader” and have your puppy follow you wherever you go.

3. Look: Hold a treat in front of your puppy to gain her attention. Then say, “Look,” in a positive tone. Hold the treat a little higher toward your face to motivate you puppy to look in your direction. Once your puppy begins to associate the word, “Look,” with a treat, hold treat a little longer before rewarding her with it. By the end of the week, you should be able to hold your puppy’s attention for 10 seconds.

We’re still working on “Look,” yet we were given more homework at yesterday’s second training session. Our hour-long session for Week 2 covered:

1. Sit and Stay: Place a treat just above your puppy’s nose. Tell your puppy to “Sit” and bring the treat back over your puppy’s head, so she is looking up at the treat. As your puppy looks up, their backside should naturally go down into the sit position.

2. Off: When your puppy jumps, say, “Off,” as you turn or step away. Once they are sitting, reward and praise them for having all four paws on the floor.

3. Leave It: Say, “Leave it,” as your puppy approaches a forbidden object. Once your puppy begins to reliably ignore or look away from the forbidden object, reward her with a treat.

The tips above are likely not newsworthy – and perhaps not even interesting – for those of you who have experience with training dogs. But I have to admit that I’m enjoying spending more time with Bailey now that I have a better idea of how to manage her behavior. What I like even more is that our weekly Sunday afternoon Puppy Preschool class is becoming a family activity, which will help all of us be consistent with her training.

Bailey is a smart puppy, and I want to do everything possible to help her reach her full potential. Thank goodness there are people there who are passionate about teaching people like me how to have a personal relationship with “man’s best friend.”