Northcentral

Past Northcentral regional updates have highlighted weather extremes, and this one continues the trend. Across the Northcentral region, precipitation has been extremely variable. In the western areas, precipitation is well below normal, and soil moisture reserves are very low. In the eastern Corn Belt, conditions are very wet in many areas. The only constant across the region is higher than normal temperatures. These conditions will cause many farmers and advisers who applied N in the fall to ask how much N they have left. There is no magic model to answer this question. The best way of getting an indication of how much N is present is with a soil test. Since the primary limitation to these tests is logistical, the winter time can be spent selecting a few representative fields and areas within those fields that should be tested. If you don't have experience with soil N tests, now is the time to call a reputable soil testing lab to get some instructions and realistic turn around times. Planning ahead can save valuable time this spring when samples need to be taken.

Corn and soybeans produced good yields across most of the Northeast in 2006. They also removed large amounts of nutrients — N, P, and K.

The table below shows the yields, acreages, and the amounts of N, P, and K removed by corn and soybeans in 2006 from several key states and provinces of the Northeast region.

Sound management of nutrients replaces the amounts removed by crops, in order to maintain soil fertility at an optimum level.

Soil organic matter releases N as it mineralizes. To maintain soil organic matter, it is necessary to balance the N removed by returning it in organic forms as crop residue.

When soils are low in P and K, rates applied may need to exceed removal. When they are higher than necessary, rates applied may be less than removal.

Nutrient stratification in no-till – is it a problem?
The wide scale adoption of no-till on the northern Great Plains has been a major factor in reducing soil erosion by wind, and increasing seeding efficiency on many farms. However, one of the questions often asked related to the use of no-till is whether the absence of tillage actually results in stratification of nutrients in the soil, and if this stratification influences the uptake of nutrients? This question was addressed in a number of studies reported in 2006, with the novel approach that two of the studies also considered nutrient uptake. What was found in all three studies was that yes, immobile nutrients like P and K do become stratified in the soil of no-till fields to a greater degree than tilled fields. Some of the stratification was at the surface of the soil (top 2 in.) where the crop residue is deposited, and some was at depth, corresponding to where the fertilizer was banded as part of the seeding operation. However, in the two studies that considered how this stratified nutrient was taken up by the next crop in rotation, both found either no difference, or an improvement in uptake with the no-till. It appears that the abundance of roots in the surface of the soil was more than capable of taking up these immobile nutrients for crop growth and development. Some good news to go along with the great advancements we have seen in no-till seeding systems.

Soil moisture conditions in the region have improved dramatically since the last report. In August, most of the region was in moderate to extreme drought; however, the latest Palmer Drought Severity Index (Jan. 6) shows the entire region in near normal to above normal moisture conditions. Although winter wheat condition is variable, it is for the most part in fair or better condition. Wheat prices remain relatively high, so producers should be diligent about making sure wheat yield is not limited by N deficiency. Coincidentally, it’s the time of year when we should start considering N topdressing of winter wheat. Topdress applications should be considered where inadequate N was applied preplant to meet full season requirements, or where significant leaching and /or volatilization has occurred. In determining topdress rates remember that w inter wheat requires about 2.4 lb of available N per bushel of yield goal and, where grazing it takes approximately 1 lb N to produce 3 lb of animal gain. One of the critical factors in topdressing wheat is timing. Specific topdress guidelines may differ according to region, soils, and other factors, nevertheless one should make sure that topdress applied N is available for uptake before jointing. Nitrogen sources generally perform similarly in topdressing winter wheat, so source is usually not a point of concern. Application to ground that is deeply frozen should be avoided to prevent potential runoff losses.

We are going into the spring season with a fair amount of optimism. Grain, especially corn, prices are higher than in the recent past. If you haven’t already done so, it’s a good time to plan fertilizer programs for spring planted crops. Any good fertility plan should include soil test results, yield history, a reasonable yield goal, and experience. Avoid potential yield and profit loss from inadequate nutrition by planning ahead.

The summer drought of 2006 took a toll on many crops in the southeast and midsouth, especially on nonirrigated farms in Alabama and Mississippi. The drought was also severe in much of Arkansas. However, recent excessive rains (more than 6 in. in two days) in parts of Arkansas have caused flooding. In fact, crops on some heavy clay soils in northeast Arkansas could not be harvested because of excessively wet fields at the end of the year.

Good wheat prices caused increases in wheat plantings. This is likely to offset some of the soybean acreage, and possibly some of the cotton acreage. Corn planting intentions are expected to increase as much as 20% in parts of the southeast region, countered by reductions in soybean and cotton acres.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service provided the following report on orange production: “ Florida's all orange forecast, at 140 million boxes (6.30 million tons), is unchanged from December but down 5 percent from the 2005-06 hurricane-reduced crop. Most of Florida's citrus growing areas experienced warmer than average temperatures during December but also received significant precipitation. Early, midseason, and navel varieties in Florida are forecast at 75.0 million boxes (3.38 million tons), unchanged from both the previous forecast and last season's final utilization. The row count survey conducted December 26-27 indicates that 34 percent of the early-midseason orange rows have been harvested.”

SOYBEAN - In the fall, Asian soybean rust had been found infecting soybeans in 98 different counties in 10 states: AL, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, and TX. Including reports on kudzu, there were a total of 120 counties in 10 states with rust, 13 in Alabama; 18 in Florida and South Carolina; 24 in Louisiana; 15 in Georgia; 3 in Texas and Mississippi; 17 in North Carolina; 8 in Kentucky, and one in Illinois. Fortunately, the spore flight was late enough that little damage was done to soybean yields. If drought had not been severe in much of Arkansas, Mississippi, and surrounding states, the rust infection may have been more damaging. Farmers and crop advisers are somewhat nervous about the potential for earlier spore flights and severe infection with a return to a more normal, humid summer. Reasonably good soybean yields were a bit of a surprise across much of the region, and particularly in the midsouth area. Irrigation helped to compensate for the drought. There was some speculation that a less humid, drier summer environment reduced disease pressures.

COTTON- Acreage was similar to recent years and yields were better than expected, in spite of the summer drought. Irrigated yields offset yield losses in many nonirrigated fields. However, yields in Mississippi were down by about a half a bale/A, compared to normal. Yields in Louisiana and Tennessee were better than in the prior 2 years.

CORN - Corn yields in 2006 were down 25-50 bu/A in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida. Although better than 2005, the corn yields in Missouri were still 28 bu/A lower than in 2004. Yields in North Carolina and South Carolina were similar to previous years

RICE – Rice yields in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the bootheel of Missouri were similar to the previous 2 years, but expenses were higher because of higher fertilizer costs and increased irrigation because for the prolonged summer drought. There was undue reaction by the public, farmers, and others about the trace amounts of a GMO found in the U.S. rice supply. The market reaction resulted in a reduction in rice price by more than $1.00 per hundredweight. European over-reaction to the trace amounts of the GMO (Liberty Link 601 or LL601) found in the rice supply and the mandatory testing of all U.S. rice imported to Europe perplexed U.S producers.

PEANUT – Acreage was down in several southeastern states – especially in Georgia and because of drought- the harvested acreage was also reduced considerably, but yields were similar to those in recent years.

While 2006 was a pretty good year overall, a recently released USDA report showed that net farm income was down about $15 billion compared with 2005… and was near the 10-year average. The major factors behind the drop in income from farming were declining milk prices, government payments, and an increase in production costs.

While there is little that can be done to control fluctuations in milk prices, there is good reason to carefully examine all of the production inputs that are purchased for the farm. The rapid run-up of oil and energy costs caused the prices of many inputs to also increase last year. Transportation, fuel, pest-control chemicals, and fertilizer prices also took a jump as a result of higher energy costs.

With the higher prices for inputs, this is a good time to evaluate all of the purchases and decide which ones are essential for maintaining profitability. There is sometimes an urge to cut back on fertilization rates when budgets are tight, but this is frequently a short-sighted decision that cuts yields and profitability at the expense of a short-term temporary savings. Prices of several farm commodities have increased during the past year… and cutting back on fertilizer application may reduce total income far more than the savings from less than adequate fertilization.

Have an up-to-date soil analysis done in your fields to know the nutrient status of your land before making final crop fertilization decisions. Having this information lets you use no more fertilizer than what you need, but also lets you reach the profitable zone of high yields.