Contact your local Latham RSM with any questions you might have about how to protect your crops and maximize yield potential: northdakotarsm@lathamseeds.com
September 14, 2011
Crop conditions are variable but most corn and soybean fields are really showing stress due to lack of adequate rainfall the last few weeks. At the Big Iron Farm Show this week in West Fargo, ND, the talk is how much the weather has cooled. Last week highs were in the 90s and low 80s, and this week highs have only been in the 50s and 60s with a chance of frost in the forecast. An early frost would take some yield away if the top pods have not adequately filled yet. As this busy harvest continues, be safe!
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September 7, 2o11
Signs of fall are evident: schools are starting and GDU’s are accumulating slower. The NDAWN Network site located in Lisbon, ND, shows that we have crawled over 2,000 GDU’s since the 15th of May. The next few weeks will be critical for the corn fields that have not quite made maturity. There have already been frost warnings in northern Minnesota, however, the 10-day forecast calls for 80-degree highs with lows in the 50s. Most of the corn in the fields I’ve walked is well dented; 40-50% of the corn is dented statewide. With temps above average for the next 10 days, the corn crop should be in pretty good shape. The Big Iron Farm Show will be Sept. 13-15 in West Fargo, ND. Come and visit Latham Hi-Tech Seeds in Booth L-33.
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August 31, 2o11
Another nice week of good growing conditions is moving the crop closer to harvest. Heat units are very close to average, however, plant growth is behind due to later planting dates. According to the North Dakota’s crop progress report released Aug. 30 by NASS, corn statewide is about 13% dented. The five-year average is 32% for this same time and last year we were 45% dented. Some areas are drying out a bit and could use rain. Corn is showing some stress and there is tip back in areas; soybeans are having issues with wilting and drying out. In a few areas, the crop could be 25 to 30% reduced. There is a chance of rain this week, so keep your fingers crossed!
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August 24, 2o11
Warm weather and adequate rainfall provides good growing conditions, and the crop growth is reflecting it. A few small pockets received too much rain recently (5-6″) but most areas are sitting good for moisture. According to the Aug. 22nd North Dakota crop report filed by NASS corn, has finished silking and 28% is in the dough stage. 80% of the soybeans are setting pods and 10% are Now fully Podded. Stay safe!
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August 17, 2o11
Warm weather and adequate rainfall brings good growing conditions, and crop growth is reflecting it. A few small pockets received too much rain (5 to 6 inches), but most areas are sitting good for moisture. According to the North Dakota crop report filed August 14, 2011 by NASS, corn has finished silking and 28% is in the dough stage. Eighty percent of the soybeans are setting pods and 10% are now fully podded.
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August 10, 2o11
We’ve had another week of pretty decent growing conditions with a few areas receiving a little more rain than needed. Crop conditions for both soybeans and corn are about 80% fair to good and only 14 to 17% in the excellent category. About 80% of the corn has or is now silking as compared to 95% of the crop last year. Most of the soybeans are entering the reproductive stages.
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August 3, 2o11
All but the latest planted corn has finished silking, and I expect that after this week there won’t be much left. ND-NASS reports 60% of corn at silking as compared 83% last year. The five-year average is 67%, so if we look at that, we seem to be a lot closer to normal.
Wind and hail is trying everyone’s patience! One bright spot to all the weather we’ve received, however, is the wind and rains may have washed some aphids off plants. Aphid levels are low to moderate in the acres that I’ve observed. Our soybean seed was all treated with Cruiser Maxx, but given the warm weather we’ve had, I thought aphid numbers would be higher. Some applicators are applying insecticide with the last herbicide application, but I have not heard of many acres being sprayed only with insecticide yet.
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July 27, 2011
Warm and stormy conditions were the norm last week. Weather events with excessive winds left some corn acres with green snap damage, and there was also significant damage to trees and buildings.
NDAWN network in the Lisbon location shows that we are now 6 units ahead of the 5-year average, yet the crop condition is still behind. Ag statistics from the USDA ND Crop, Livestock, and Weather Report on July 25 shows that we were at 23% tassel on Friday. The 5-year average is 42% tassel by now. Last year we were at 61% tassel, so we have some catching up to do!
Crop ratings are good with corn showing 70% good to excellent and soybeans are at 69%.
At this point I have not heard of treatments being applied for aphid control.
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July 20, 2011
WOW… heat and humidity is really pushing the crops along! We have, for all practical purposes, caught up on heat units as compared to the five-year average. Some early planted corn is beginning to tassel, and the later planted crop is really trying to catch up. There has been a significant amount of severe weather over the past couple of weeks. For those fortunate enough to miss the extreme events, crops look good with plenty of moisture at this point. There hasn’t been much activity from spray equipment lately, but scouting for aphids is an ongoing process.
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July 13, 2011
Another week of above-normal temperatures and high humidity is helping the corn crop catch up with the average crop. North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) at Lisbon shows corn GDD at 968, or only 27 behind for the five-year average. Corn that is not close to wet or saturated soils is looking great. It’s really stretching out and soon tassels will start emerging. Soybeans look good with some growers putting on herbicide in areas that have been too wet to spray before or on beans that require a second application.
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July 6, 2011
Overall crop conditions are good. Corn and soybeans have been responding very well to the sunshine and warmer weather that we’ve received lately. Some of the more advanced corn is in the V8 stage. North Dakota Agriculture Weather Network (NDAWN) readings at Lisbon, ND have the GDD units for corn at 805, which is only 44 units behind normal. Considering how wet and cold the planting season began, things are going pretty good. Reports show about 6.5 million acres – or about 28% of the cropland acres – were not planted this year in North Dakota. Northwest ND was the hardest hit region with up to 80% not planted in some counties.
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June 29, 2011
Most acres of planted corn have emerged and about 75% of the soybeans are poking out of the ground. Some parts of Southeast North Dakota received up to 4 inches of rain, so most of the ground is quite saturated. While taking a tour doing field scouting, you can easily find water standing in almost every field. Saturated soils are going to make it a challenge to apply herbicide with ground applicators in a timely manner. If timing gets delayed for too long, we’ll need to watch weed and crop growth stages for correct application rates and products.
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June 22, 2011
It’s been another good week in North Central Iowa! We finally saw higher temperatures with little or no winds. The first pass of spraying is done in most areas, and weed control has not been an issue for most farmers. Side-dressing continues to move forward as corn nears the V5-V7 ranges in most areas. Northern counties have a little more variance in corn stages due to earlier wet weather, but stands look good and crops have greened up. Root systems are starting to grow down into nutrients, as earlier rains seemed to create a wider and less deep root structure. Some areas of the territory received 2 inches of rain in 12-hour period, causing some ponding and drainage issues.
Soybeans look excellent across the territory, as well. We’ve had good heat and plenty of rain this season. Beans are in the V1-V3 stages. In light of what’s happening in other parts of the Midwest, we’ve been very blessed this growing season.
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June 15, 2011
We’ve experienced two consecutive weeks of favorable weather and good field conditions, which increased planted acres on both beans and corn. Last week planted acres of corn according to NASS-ND were 74%, and I thought that would probably be near the final number since it was the end of May. However, the June 6th reporthad increased planted acres to 87% with 55% of the crop emerged. Planted corn acres increased another 19% between June 6 and theJune 13th crop report.
Soybean planted acres jumped from 29 to 47% with about 10% in the June 6th crop report. And then it made another big jump last week, as the June 13th crop report shows 80% of the soybeans planted and 35% emerged. Some bean acres will need to be replanted because of the Memorial Weekend rains, but there shouldn’t be a significant amount of replanting. I have heard of some cutworm damage Black cutworm on no till planted beans so be on the lookout.
North Dakota Ag Weather Network (NDAWN) at the Lisbon site recorded 403 GDD’s for corn as of June, 11. The normal number would be 451. That does not sound like much but it’s about 11% behind normal.
Unfortunately, there was another grain bin fatality this weekend near here. Remember, stay safe!
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June 8, 2011
The weather has really turned around this last week with six straight days of sunshine and a couple of 80-degree days. We need this drying weather! The Memorial weekend storms left much of the ground in the area under water again. By Thursday, I got the water pumped off our research plot.
The May 31 report by the North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service shows that statewide 74% of the corn has been planted compared to 49% a week ago with 30% of the corn emerged. Compare those numbers to the five year average of 91% planted with 61% emerged and you can see the struggle farmers have been through this year. In the next Monday’s report, I don’t expect to see much more corn but a much higher percentage of the crop should be emerging.
Soybean planting is very similar with 29% of the beans planted and only 1% emerged compared to the five year average of 74% and 28% respectively. With the better field conditions coming later in the week, I would expect planting acres to increase dramatically in the next couple of reports.
Seed treatments look more important than ever with these early season growing conditions and should pay dividends this harvest. Spraying is also underway as weeds never seem to take a vacation. This is a very busy time of year. Remember to work safely!
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June 1, 2011
Corn planting is 60 to 70 percent complete, with seedlings at the V2 stage. Soybeans are still in bags and that’s where they will be staying. It’s just too cold and too wet. Even areas that are traditionally too dry are too wet to plant this spring. If conditions don’t improve soon, we won’t need to spray because bugs will be mowing off weeds in the fields.
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