Alfalfa Weevil a real problem this year

Our warmer-than-normal winter and accompanying spring have allowed the alfalfa weevil population to flourish this spring and early summer.  Here are a couple of websites dedicated to providing options for control.

http://www.ipm.montana.edu/Training/PMT/2006/AlfalfaWeevil.pdf

  

http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/entomology/entupdates/ICG_11/10_ForageCropInsects2011.pdf

I wish that I had taken pictures of our alfalfa fields before they were cut but I didn't get it done in time.  Which, in hindsight is kind of a good thing because that means that our producers got their hay cut in a timely manner to try and prevent further damage from this pest. Here are a couple of pictures that I found from various sources that show the damage the weevil does and what the larva and adult look like.

The grayish-white areas in this field are typical of what you would see if driving by an alfalfa field that has been infested.  This picture is courtesy of Iowa State University.  The affected areas show where no treatment was applied.

And here is a picture of the larva courtesy of Oklahoma State University Extension.  This is the growth stage of the pest that does the most damage.

And finally, a picture of the adult beetle, also from Oklahoma State University Extension.

Come to field days, get pesticide points and recycle old pesticide containers

The USDA's Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab (NPARL) in Sidney will be hosting two field days on Thursday, June 28 and Friday, June 29.  On the 28th, the field day will be held in Froid at the Froid Research Farm located just 8 miles north of Culbertson on Highway 16.  The field day on the 29th will be held at the Rasmussen dryland research station just 4 miles north of Sidney off of Highway 16 at the corner of county road 129 and county road 346. 

There is too much going on at the events to post all the topics but there are two things that I want to point out.  First off, private and commercial applicators who have a Montana pesticide applicators license will get two points for attending either field day.  Secondly, if you have old empty plastic pesticide containers please bring them with you as Ron Ahlgren with the Montana Department of Agriculture's pesticide container recycling program will be on hand to talk about the program and to recycle properly prepared containers.  For more information about the recycling program, click here!

New publication available to help identify strategies to increase wheat protein.

A new publication has just been issued by Montana State University that will help farmers in making decisions about fertility related to increasing the protein content of their wheat crop.  The publication, titled Practices to Increase Wheat Grain Protein can be downloaded for free HERE.

Some simple strategies include selecting varieties that are known to produce higher protein wheat but a majority of the focus of this bulletin is on nitrogen management and timing and what effects that can potentially have on protein levels.  This publication was produced by Clain Jones, Extension Soil Fertility Specialist and Kathrin Olson-Rutz, a research associate with the department of land resources and environmental sciences. 

More information related to soil fertility and proper fertilzation techniques can be found at Clain Jones' web site which can be found HERE.

With full cooperation from the weather, planting season is now in the final stages

With a big tip of the hat to mother nature, our farmers are rapidly wrapping up the 2012 spring planting season.  All in all, spring weather conditions have not been too horrible.  We did start of a little on the dry side but timely rains lately should give our crops a good start.

Now we move from planting season to scouting season.  It is imperative to get out into your fields and check on growing conditions, pest problems, etc....

Here is a link to a great site for our small grain growers.  It takes into account the grain's growing stage and weather conditions to predict whether or not we should be concerned with fusarium head blight.

Another invaluable resource is the North Dakota Crop and Pest Report. It is a weekly newsletter offering tips on what producers should be on the lookout for.

Now let's just hope that the rest of the growing season is a good one.

SPCC Regulations

I received a call about this today, so I figured here was as good of a spot as any to relay information as it relates to the EPA's Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) program.  For those who have no idea what I am referring to, the SPCC has been in effect for some time now and is a programmed designed to ensure that if there is a spill of oil and/or products containing oil, those products do not make it to the waters and shorelines of the United States.

Essentially, the program requires that those who store petroleum based products on their farm have plans in place to prevent and/or contain spills.  However, this does not apply to everyone.  There are 3 criteria that must be met in order to determine whether or not you need an SPCC plan.  To determine if you need an SPCC plan, ask yourself these three questions.

1.  Does your farm store, transfer, use or consume oil or oil products such as diesel fuel, gasoline, lube oil, hydraulic oil, adjuvant oil, crop oil, vegetable oil or animal fat and
2. Does your farm store more than 1,320 US Gallons in above-ground containers* or more than 42,000 US gallons in completely buried containers, and
3. Could your farm reasonably be expected to discharge oil to waters of the US or adjoining shorelines such as interstate waters intrastate lakes, rivers and streams (navigable waters only, not groundwater).

*This refers to containers greater than 55 gallons.

Essentially, if you can answer no to any one of the above three questions, you are not required to have an SPCC plan.  But, if you cannot answer no to any of them, then you are required to have a plan.  To learn more about the plan itself, visit http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/index.htm

There are several questions regarding the rules, and I am no expert on the rules, but feel free to email me if you have questions and I would be happy to help with answers.

Finally, the wet stuff has arrived

After a much warmer and drier winter than normal, our spring started out in the same fashion.  However, I am happy to report that much of Richland County is getting some much needed rain today and it is supposed to continue into the weekend.  While the dry conditions have allowed many farmers to get a really good start on seeding, there just was not much in the way of subsoil moisture to get those seeds out of the ground.  For the first time since I've been here (and I realize this is only my 3rd growing season) some irrigated farmers have had to use the resource just to get their crops out of the ground. 

As I said though, we are getting ample amounts of moisture and many of the crops that have been seeded already should be breaking through the ground in no time.  My guess is that we are about 1/4 of the way finished with seeding (that's across the board, not 1 or 2 crops specifically) and our winter wheat crop and the crops that have sprouted are looking pretty good.  Stay tuned!!

Glyphosate resistant Kochia identified in Alberta

Yes I realize that Alberta is not necessarily relatively close to northeastern Montana, but it is close enough that we should pay attention. Recently, researchers identified glyphosate-resistant kochia in Alberta. To see the entire news release, visit http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=11058.