Northcentral

Dry weather has been dominant in the Northcentral Region. Dry areas this year include most of Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, western Iowa, northern and central Wisconsin, southern and eastern Indiana, and southern Illinois. In some areas, like northwest Indiana, dry weather combined with soil compaction problems has limited K uptake, leading to widespread K deficiencies in corn, even on soils with levels considered adequate. Historically, P soil test levels tend to be lower in the western reaches of the Northcentral Region and may need to be built to higher levels for optimum production. Information has also come in that soil pH levels in many fields in the past few years are lower than optimum for corn and soybean. Any time soil acidity and nutrient levels drop to low levels, the efficiency of N is reduced. Farmers and their advisers are urged to test their soils this fall to make informed decisions about nutrient applications for the following season.

Drought has been a factor for many farmers from Michigan to the mid-Atlantic. Rainfall and growing conditions appear to have been good in eastern Ontario and Quebec, and in some parts of southern Ontario, but the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia region has been hit hard by lack of moisture. Nova Scotia has received excess rains.

Last year a number of areas were reminded that excess rain and soil moisture in June can hamper plans for side-dressing corn. In contrast, this year dry soil in some areas limited the availability of side-dressed N (even injected side-dress) to plants. The importance of an adequate amount of N in starter fertilizers is underscored. Best management practices for fertilizer include choosing practices that are effective over a range of possible weather conditions. A PowerPoint presentation with information on fertilizer BMPs can be found at IPNI’s Northeast Web Site.

Soon forage plants will enter the critical fall growth period, during which they store the carbohydrates they need to survive the winter. Adequate K is essential for this carbohydrate storage. August is an excellent time to apply K fertilizers. Potassium is particularly likely to run short if previous harvests have been heavy. The amount to apply is an important decision. Make sure it's based on a recent soil test. It’s also helpful to look at the analysis results for K if you’ve sent forage from earlier cuts this year to the lab. Calculating a nutrient budget – nutrients removed by previous harvests minus the amounts supplied in manures and fertilizers – can also help determine the right amount to replace. For harvested cereals underseeded to forage, K should have been supplied at planting, but if it wasn't, applying as soon as possible after cereal harvest will ensure the seedlings develop into winter-hardy plants.

Manure applications following harvests of cereals and silage corn should be guided by soil tests and manure nutrient analysis. Rates should be appropriate to supply the soil's needs for P, K, and organic matter. Avoid wasting N by ensuring a cover crop grows to absorb what is released from the manure. Michigan State University ag engineer Tim Harrigan reports excellent results establishing a wide variety of cover crops species by mixing the seeds into the liquid manure tank.

What Do You Consider As Conventional Tillage?

It wasn’t that many years ago that conventional tillage meant multiple tillage operations and usually included inversion of the soil with most of the previous crop residues being mixed and buried into the soil. Today, in many portions of the Northern Great Plains (NGP) the most common tillage system used is a type of conservation tillage (no-till or low-disturbance direct seeding). A conservation tillage system is defined as leaving 35% or more residue cover on the soil surface. In a low-disturbance no-till system, more than 75% of the previous crop residue can be retained on the soil surface. The shift of the type of tillage systems used in the NGP over the past 25 years has been dramatic. In the early 1980s, less than one percent of growers used no-till cropping. Now in many of the small grain growing areas of North Dakota, Montana, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba the rate of adoption of no-till is well over 75%. If today’s rural youth were asked what the conventional way to grow field crops is in their area, they are most likely to describe a cropping system using a form of conservation tillage, often no-till, compared to youth 25 years ago who would have described intense tillage as conventional.

In the first decade (e.g. years 1980 to 1990) of the transition from intense tillage to conservation tillage there was concern as to how less tillage would affect fertilizer rates and methods of application. For example, it was initially thought that increased N rates would be required because of the slowdown of crop residue breakdown under no-till compared to intense tillage. When studied it was observed that some additional N (e.g. 10 lb N/A) was needed in the first few years of the conversion to no-till, but after about five years N rates for the crops grown were similar regardless of the tillage system used. However, results from early research showed the increased benefit to band-placing compared to surface broadcast applications of fertilizer under no-till compared to intense tillage. For example, the increase in crop yield from using band-placed N compared to surface broadcast was only 3% (64 bu/A from 62 bu/A) for intense tillage while 44% (65 bu/A from 45 bu/A)for no-till (Malhi 1991). Additionally the placement of P and K fertilizers in or near the seed row furrow as starter fertilizer was shown to be most important for no-till cropping. Surface broadcasting P and K without a soil-mixing tillage operation resulted in the less mobile P and K only moving into the surface of the soil (e.g. 0.5 in.) and not reaching crop roots.

The benefits from the transition to conservation tillage compared to the former conventional or intense tillage have been as follows:

• improved moisture conservation resulting in increased crop yields and less need to use summer fallowing in the normally moisture deficit areas of the NGP
• significantly reduced wind and water erosion rates
• reductions in fuel usage to plant crops resulting in energy savings and reduced CO 2 emissions
• improved retention of crop residues and moderate increases in soil organic matter content
• reduction in labor requirements and costs for growing crops

The term conventional tillage may have a different meaning for people today compared to 25 years ago, but the benefits from using conversation tillage techniques are something that growers appreciate.

What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time the first statements in this report read: “Drought conditions over most of the region this season seem to be relentless. Frankly, the general outlook for summer crops is, in a word, dismal.” This year couldn’t be more different… soil moisture continues to be adequate across the region, with the exception of the northern and northwestern reaches. The Palmer Drought Index for August 4 shows all of Texas; most of New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas; and lesser parts of Colorado and Nebraska as unusually moist to extremely moist. Summer crop condition for most states and crops is predominately good to excellent.

Considering the moisture conditions and current wheat prices, the stage seems to be set for a good year for wheat producers. Thus, it is advisable that growers take extra care to remove any factors that might limit yield, including fertility. Following are a few pointers on N, P, and Cl fertility that might be useful.

• Wheat requires 2 to 2.5 lb of N per bushel of grain, or, if grazed, 1 lb/A for each 3 lb/A animal gain.
• Shortages of N may cause reduced tillering, reduction in head size, poor grain fill, and low protein content.
• Adequate N must be available to the wheat plant at all phases of development. Splitting N applications generally improves use efficiency, minimizes risk to investment, and safeguards the environment.
• Topdress N applications should be made early, prior to jointing, to maximize production efficiency. Timing, placement, and N source should be managed to fit climatic conditions, soil type, and tillage system.
• Adequate P fertility is associated with increased tillering and grain head numbers, reduced winter kill, maximum water use efficiency, hastened maturity, and lower grain moisture at harvest.
• Winter wheat requires about 0.6 to 0.7 lb P2O5 per bushel of grain.
• Because P is relatively immobile in soils, banded or pop-up applications are often most effective in soils testing low to medium. Even in high testing soils, starter applications help plants get established more quickly. Broadcast applications should be incorporated to improve positional availability.
• Research has shown that where wheat responds to chloride (Cl) fertilization, the average response is just over 5 bu/A, although yield increases as high as 23 bu/A have been observed.
• Whether or not wheat will respond to Cl usually depends upon soil Cl level, disease pressure, plant Cl, and variety. Response to Cl is likely when soil levels are less than 30 lb Cl/A from 2-foot deep soil samples. The optimum level of soil Cl is at least 60 lb/A-2ft. Tissue testing may also be a useful tool—Cl level below 0.1% at the boot stage is considered very low.
• Chloride is highly mobile in soils so split or topdress application may be beneficial in regions of sufficient precipitation to cause leaching.

"Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous”
. ---Thomas Jefferson, Aug. 23, 1785

Now that we are all feeling more optimistic about agriculture….HOT and DRY are two words that continue to make headlines in the Southeast as we head into the end of the summer. Dryland crops have continued to suffer despite some mid-summer rains in parts of the region. Crop conditions reported at the beginning of the summer haven’t changed much either. However, Georgia is reporting around 20% increases in the percentages of corn and cotton acres rated fair to good. Alabama remains one of the hardest hit states, with over 70% of the counties being declared federal disaster areas by early July.

Even in irrigated crops, extreme temperatures during pollination and grain fill have the potential to reduce yields. Regarding the effect of late-summer heat on rice, Mississippi State University rice extension specialist Nathan Buehring said: “ I think yield potential will still be good, although you have to wonder what kind of impact we might have from the heat pushing grain fill a little too quickly.”

Pasture conditions and hay availability are also major concerns in the southeast. University of Kentucky hay specialist, Tom Keene, was quoted as saying that he expects hay demand to be “higher than I can ever remember.” Keene also said farmers can expect hay prices to remain high and continue to rise throughout the rest of the year.

This situation may lead some growers to consider establishing winter pasture, but only if adequate soil moisture exists in the fall. The time between now and then is a good opportunity to collect soil samples from the fields being considered for winter pasture. Whether the forage planted will be small grain, cool season grass, or clover, a basic soil test is needed to ensure the pH and soil nutrients are at optimum levels. Sampling depth may differ with the tillage system and the target crop, so for the best results, be sure to mark your soil probe at the depth recommended by your soil testing laboratory.

Finally, I hope everyone is making plans to attend the 2007 Southern Plant Nutrient Management Conference to be held in Olive Branch, Mississippi, on October 2-3, 2007. This year, we will begin with an afternoon session focused on nutrient management for biofuel crops and changing weather conditions. Certified Crop Advisers are encouraged to attend all of the sessions on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning for extra CEU’s in soil fertility and plant nutrition. The site of the conference will again be The Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center, which is just south of Memphis in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Their website is http://www.wwconferencecenter.com. The hotel room rate will be $94.00 per night for single or double bed accommodations. Please call 901-521-9349 for reservations prior to September 1, 2007. A block of hotel rooms has been arranged at the hotel, under the name “Southern Plant Nutrient Management Conference”. Conference registration will remain the same as last year ($50), and is payable upon arrival. This charge includes the use of facilities, breaks, and the banquet on Tuesday evening.

Good luck with harvest!

The crop outlook continues to be very positive through most of the Western Region. Although early drought conditions put a negative forecast at the beginning of the summer, the favorable weather, good yields, and record prices all point to a successful growing season. The outlook for agriculture is very rosy these days… as long as we get the water to support it!

The prices of almost all commodities in the region are strong. Almost all farmers have a good opportunity to cover their costs and earn a profit on their investment this year.

Although higher feed costs have impacted operations on dairy, livestock, and poultry farms, higher returns are allowing profitable production in these sectors, too. Dairy prices are at record levels, allowing them to cover the increased costs of hay and feed grain.

Almost all crops are having an excellent growing season and high yield levels are expected as harvest approaches… ranging from grain to vegetables to fruit and nut crops to hay. As elsewhere in the country, there is more corn in the ground this year than has been seen in a long time!

Of course, the key to farminf profitability is net return after the crop is sold. The costs for labor, energy, fertilizer, and chemicals are also higher this year. Higher input costs should cause each grower to examine ways to improve efficiency and get the most out of each dollar invested. The interest in reducing the number of tillage operations keeps growing in the region… as a way to save money and protect the soil.

The 2007 almond crop appears set to produce another record… over 1.3 billion pounds. The outlook for walnut profitability appears especially favorable. General crop maturation appears to be a bit ahead of usual due to timely planting and good weather conditions.

It looks like we can anticipate another successful year. But with water storage now at very low levels and ever-increasing demand for water resources, we’ll hope for a very wet season this coming year in order to build the snowpack and refill the dry reservoirs.