Thursday, November 20, 2014
Farm Bill Decision Tool
With the passing of the new Farm Bill, there are now new programs for agricultural producers to become acquainted with. Trying to determine which program(s) to enroll in can be a daunting task. The Montana State University Farm Bill website (http://www.montana.edu/farmbill/) has several resources available to help in the decision-making process and even includes a link to a tool that allows you to run various scenarios for your own operation.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Harvesting forages and frost
As was predicted, temperatures dropped below freezing and much of Richland County (and probably much of Eastern Montana) did receive frost last night (9-11). While it definitely did frost, it probably should not be labeled as a killing frost as I don't believe it got cold and stayed cold for an extended period of time.
NITRATES
With that being said however, it definitely did frost and any time that happens and there is still forages to be cut, there is always some justified concern in regards to the threat of elevated levels of nitrates in forages that are cut after a frost. So I did some searching and found an excellent paper on the very subject, that can be found by following this link (http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=1bd24bc2-167e-4b02-9f21-2b7f9217312e).
The take home message from this document is that, forage quality should be a bigger concern right now than nitrate levels. Once the forage is hayed, test can be done on it to determine the nitrate levels and if the levels are high, then steps can be taken (such as blending) to mitigate the nitrate issue. However, if quality starts to deteriorate, there is nothing that can be done to re-gain the loss.
WHAT ABOUT PRUSSIC ACID POISONING?
Another concern with forages and an early frost is prussic acid poisoning. For those with pastures containing sorghums and/or sorghum-sudangrass species, prussic acid poisoning of livestock is a legitimate concern. When animals feed on these grass species after a frost, or if they are very young or stunted, the prussic acid concentration can potentially kill them.
For more information about prussic acid and considerations to take before feeding these grasses, visit this site (http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forages/publications/ay196.htm)
The take home message here is that it is generally safe to allow animals to pasture these grasses 5 to 6 days after a killing frost. If the frost was sever enough (which I don't believe last night's was) that it actually killed plants and new shoots are emerging from the rootstock, these shoots should not be grazed until the new growth is at least 2 ft. high. In regards to hay, according to the site listed above from Purdue University, "the prussic acid content of sorghum hay decreases as much as 75 percent while curing and is rarely hazardous when fed to livestock."
NITRATES
With that being said however, it definitely did frost and any time that happens and there is still forages to be cut, there is always some justified concern in regards to the threat of elevated levels of nitrates in forages that are cut after a frost. So I did some searching and found an excellent paper on the very subject, that can be found by following this link (http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=1bd24bc2-167e-4b02-9f21-2b7f9217312e).
The take home message from this document is that, forage quality should be a bigger concern right now than nitrate levels. Once the forage is hayed, test can be done on it to determine the nitrate levels and if the levels are high, then steps can be taken (such as blending) to mitigate the nitrate issue. However, if quality starts to deteriorate, there is nothing that can be done to re-gain the loss.
WHAT ABOUT PRUSSIC ACID POISONING?
Another concern with forages and an early frost is prussic acid poisoning. For those with pastures containing sorghums and/or sorghum-sudangrass species, prussic acid poisoning of livestock is a legitimate concern. When animals feed on these grass species after a frost, or if they are very young or stunted, the prussic acid concentration can potentially kill them.
For more information about prussic acid and considerations to take before feeding these grasses, visit this site (http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forages/publications/ay196.htm)
The take home message here is that it is generally safe to allow animals to pasture these grasses 5 to 6 days after a killing frost. If the frost was sever enough (which I don't believe last night's was) that it actually killed plants and new shoots are emerging from the rootstock, these shoots should not be grazed until the new growth is at least 2 ft. high. In regards to hay, according to the site listed above from Purdue University, "the prussic acid content of sorghum hay decreases as much as 75 percent while curing and is rarely hazardous when fed to livestock."
Friday, September 5, 2014
Recent rains have delayed harvest....but most people are back in the fields now
The last couple of weeks have been wet, really wet; and although it is hard to get mad about having moisture to re-charge our soils, it didn't necessarily come at the most opportune time.
Harvest has been delayed for a few weeks now as fields have just been too wet to get equipment into. To add insult, to injury, a fair amount of the wheat crop that has yet to be harvested is now starting to sprout in the field. Many producers around the state of Montana are concerned about what the quality of our small grains will be once harvest resumes (which is slowly starting to occur). Here are some terrific resources in regards to the effects of wet weather on small grain quality and what to consider if you are contemplating using grain that has started to sprout as livestock feed.
On the Montana Ag Alerts site (http://www.mtagalert.org/) you will find four articles related to the recent rains, the harvest of grains and hay, and the disease issues associated with late-season showers. The articles found here include;
Hopefully the rains have subsided now and not too much of the crop has been lost. We are also at a point where seeding winter wheat should begin and, if the rain holds off long enough for fields to dry out, there should be ample moisture to allow the winter wheat crop to get off to a good start.
Harvest has been delayed for a few weeks now as fields have just been too wet to get equipment into. To add insult, to injury, a fair amount of the wheat crop that has yet to be harvested is now starting to sprout in the field. Many producers around the state of Montana are concerned about what the quality of our small grains will be once harvest resumes (which is slowly starting to occur). Here are some terrific resources in regards to the effects of wet weather on small grain quality and what to consider if you are contemplating using grain that has started to sprout as livestock feed.
On the Montana Ag Alerts site (http://www.mtagalert.org/) you will find four articles related to the recent rains, the harvest of grains and hay, and the disease issues associated with late-season showers. The articles found here include;
- What should I be concerned about with these late-season rains in grain crops?
- Rain causing issues in Montana hay
- Risk of mycotoxins in grain and hay
- What to do about wheat streak management this fall?
Hopefully the rains have subsided now and not too much of the crop has been lost. We are also at a point where seeding winter wheat should begin and, if the rain holds off long enough for fields to dry out, there should be ample moisture to allow the winter wheat crop to get off to a good start.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Determining when to harvest corn for silage
The old "stand-by" method when it came time to determine whether corn had dried down enough to be harvested for silage was to look at the milk line on a few ears in a field and make a determination that way. However, due to hybrid variations and various other factors, this method is no longer a good predictor of the corn crop's overall dry matter percentage. Instead a better way to determine the crop's dry matter percentage is to actually pull some samples, dry them down and see just what exactly the dry matter percentage is. Methods to do this are below and are taken from a recent article of the Crop Observation and Recommendation Network (CORN) Newsletter published by Ohio State University Extension professionals.
"How to Sample Fields
Collect about 5 representative plants from the entire field, from areas with representative plant population and not from edge rows. Collect separate samples from areas that may have different dry down rates, such as swales, knolls. The moisture concentrations of plants can vary within a field (plants will be wetter in low lying area and drier on knolls) and this should be considered when collecting your sample plants.
As soon as the plants are collected, chop them uniformly (using a cleaver, machete, chipper shredder, or silage chopper) and mix thoroughly to obtain a sample with representative grain to stover ratios for dry matter determination. Put representative sample in a plastic bag and keep it cool (refrigerate if possible). Some farmers prefer sampling only 2 or 3 plants without any additional sub-sampling to reduce the chances of a non-representative grain to stover ratio that can affect the results. In this case, choosing representative plants is even more critical.
Determine the dry matter content by drying the plant material using a Koster oven tester, microwave, convection oven, a vortex dryer, or taking to a lab. For more details on these and other methods, see the following links:
http://www.extension.org/pages/Dry_Matter_Determination
http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0004.html
http://abe.psu.edu/vortex-dryer
Make sure the sample does not dry down and keep it cool until the dry matter determination is performed. The accuracy of the dry matter value is largely affected by the care taken in sampling, drying, and weighing the samples. Whole kernels and cob pieces can be difficult to dry completely without burning the leaf tissue.
From our work, on-farm measurement of dry matter is probably only accurate to +/- 2 units. So if you measure a DM of 30% it could easily be 28-32%. Keep this in mind as you plan harvest timing.”
The selection above is only a piece of the entire article. To read the rest, go to http://corn.osu.edu/c.o.r.n.-newsletter#3.
"How to Sample Fields
Collect about 5 representative plants from the entire field, from areas with representative plant population and not from edge rows. Collect separate samples from areas that may have different dry down rates, such as swales, knolls. The moisture concentrations of plants can vary within a field (plants will be wetter in low lying area and drier on knolls) and this should be considered when collecting your sample plants.
As soon as the plants are collected, chop them uniformly (using a cleaver, machete, chipper shredder, or silage chopper) and mix thoroughly to obtain a sample with representative grain to stover ratios for dry matter determination. Put representative sample in a plastic bag and keep it cool (refrigerate if possible). Some farmers prefer sampling only 2 or 3 plants without any additional sub-sampling to reduce the chances of a non-representative grain to stover ratio that can affect the results. In this case, choosing representative plants is even more critical.
Determine the dry matter content by drying the plant material using a Koster oven tester, microwave, convection oven, a vortex dryer, or taking to a lab. For more details on these and other methods, see the following links:
http://www.extension.org/pages/Dry_Matter_Determination
http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0004.html
http://abe.psu.edu/vortex-dryer
Make sure the sample does not dry down and keep it cool until the dry matter determination is performed. The accuracy of the dry matter value is largely affected by the care taken in sampling, drying, and weighing the samples. Whole kernels and cob pieces can be difficult to dry completely without burning the leaf tissue.
From our work, on-farm measurement of dry matter is probably only accurate to +/- 2 units. So if you measure a DM of 30% it could easily be 28-32%. Keep this in mind as you plan harvest timing.”
The selection above is only a piece of the entire article. To read the rest, go to http://corn.osu.edu/c.o.r.n.-newsletter#3.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Pulse, Barley, and Winter Wheat Harvest in full swing
It's been a little more than a month since the last post about crop progress in Richland County and quite a bit has happened in a month.
Our irrigated barley growers are now out in force trying to get the crop out of the field. While no confirmed reports are available, to the casual observer it looks like a great crop. One producer who is taking advantage of the Montana weed seed free forage program scaled back the number of acres being certified simply because there will be so much straw coming from the crop.
Peas and lentils are being harvested as well without much reported problems. Some pea fields did get a little on the weedy side but it seems appears as though both crops will yield fairly well.
Winter wheat is being harvested now and some have started spring wheat as well. Again, no confirmed reports in regards to yield or protein but it should be a good crop as well.
The beets, corn, and soybeans all seem to be progressing quite nicely for the most part. At the EARC field day it was noted that the beet crop is doing very well and both irrigated corn and soybeans seem to be following pace. Aerial sprayers have been active around the valley for the better part of last week and again this week more than likely making one last fungicide application to the beet crop to ward off potential disease issues.
Our irrigated barley growers are now out in force trying to get the crop out of the field. While no confirmed reports are available, to the casual observer it looks like a great crop. One producer who is taking advantage of the Montana weed seed free forage program scaled back the number of acres being certified simply because there will be so much straw coming from the crop.
Peas and lentils are being harvested as well without much reported problems. Some pea fields did get a little on the weedy side but it seems appears as though both crops will yield fairly well.
Winter wheat is being harvested now and some have started spring wheat as well. Again, no confirmed reports in regards to yield or protein but it should be a good crop as well.
The beets, corn, and soybeans all seem to be progressing quite nicely for the most part. At the EARC field day it was noted that the beet crop is doing very well and both irrigated corn and soybeans seem to be following pace. Aerial sprayers have been active around the valley for the better part of last week and again this week more than likely making one last fungicide application to the beet crop to ward off potential disease issues.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Eastern Ag Research Center Field Day July 24
On Thursday, July 24th, the Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) will hold their annual field day. The field day will begin at 8:30 AM with refreshments and a welcome and at 9:15 participants will board the wagons to the various stops that are part of the field day. Topics/stops on the tour include
- MSU Spring Wheat Stay-Green Characteristic Study by Roshan Achary, MSU Graduate Student
- MSU Spring Wheat breeding program by Dr. Luther Talbert, MSU Spring Wheat breeder
- Durum breeding for Montana by Dr. Joyce Eckhoff, EARC Agronomist
- Sugarbeet varietied by Duan Peters of Sidney Sugars
- Sugarbeet phosphorous study by Dr. Bart Stevens, USDA-ARS Agronomist
- Wheat, Barley, and pulse crop diseases by Dr. Mary Burrows, MSU Extension Plant Pathologist
- Integrated control of Beet Cyst Nematodes by Dr. Hans Schneider, director of EARC
- USDA-ARS Soil Microbiology research by Dr. TheCan Caesar, USDA-ARS Soil Microbiologist
- Integrated control of Rhizoctonia Solani by Dr. Hans Schneider, director of EARC
- Integrated control of Ascochyta Blight of Chick Pea by Sherry Turner, EARC Research Associate
- Safflower varieties and management by Dr. Jerry Bergman, NDSU-WREC Director
- The Sidney Community Garden by Tim Fine, Richland County Extension Agent
Friday, May 16, 2014
Is there still hope for your winter wheat??
I realize that most decisions regarding whether or not to
tear up an existing winter wheat stand and start over with spring wheat have
already been made. However, maybe you
are still on the fence or you decided to let your winter wheat stand grow and
are having second thoughts.
I should probably start with some background information
about why these decisions are even being considered. Winter wheat fields across the county are
difficult to judge in regards to their future productivity at this time of year,
especially this year. Typically, by now,
one would have a fairly good estimate of what to expect in regards to the
survival of a field of winter wheat and potential for a successful
harvest. We are not that fortunate this
year. Our cold winter, lack of snow
cover, and slow to warm up spring have combined to give agronomists headaches
when determining the future success of a field of winter wheat. I have received calls from producers looking
to re-seed with spring wheat and crop insurance adjusters trying to determine
whether the winter wheat crop will “come out of it” and still produce a
respectable harvest.
So if you are evaluating a stand of winter wheat and are
still on the fence in regards to what to do next, here are a few options from
Joel Ransom who is an Extension Agronomist for Cereal Crops at NDSU.
1-
A half stand of winter wheat can produce a reasonable crop. If your poorest
areas of the field have 10 or more plants per square foot, the likelihood of a
successful crop is quite good. Given the lateness of the spring and the
likelihood that anything else that is planted will be planted later than
optimum would suggest sticking with your winter wheat crop.2- If your poor areas are patchy and comprise less than a quarter of the field, you might consider keeping stands as low as 5-10 plants per square foot. For these types of fields, adding some spring nitrogen as soon as you can get into the field may be beneficial. Controlling weeds early will be important in these fields so that weeds don’t fill any voids.
3- For fields with a few very large patches with few or no plants, planting something to reduce weed growth and soil erosion is recommended. Some farmers have reported good results from planting spring wheat to fill in such gaps but be prepared for the fact that spring wheat matures later than winter wheat so harvest will be problematic. Furthermore, mixing wheat classes can cause problems at the elevator. Planting winter wheat into large gaps can also be an option. Winter wheat planted in the spring will not vernalize so it will not produce a head (or there will be fewer late heads), but will provide ground cover until harvest.
So maybe it is not too late and if you have taken the “wait and see” approach in regards to your winter wheat fields, you may still be alright. As with most things in the agriculture production world, “time will tell”, and unfortunately that is about as good of a prediction as I can give in regards to what the growing season will be like.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Agronomic crop fertilization links
There was a fairly decent turnout at the soil fertility
workshop that was held here at the Extension Office on Friday, March 21. In case you missed it, the workshop featured
Clain Jones who is the MSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialist, who talked
about the importance of soil testing and the role of micronutrients in crop
development and Bart Stevens from the USDA/ARS who gave a presentation on the
research that he is conducting related to phosphorous and sugarbeet production.
There was way too much information presented during the
workshop to try and cover it all but I thought that I would at least hit some
of the highlights and provide links to where some of the information presented
can be found.
o
This website is basically the main hub for all
of the work that MSU is doing in soil fertility. There are quite a few links on the left-hand
side of this page that will take you to pages where you can find more
information about what research is being conducted at MSU related to fertilizer
and nutrient management. Most of the
rest of the links that I provide, you will notice begin by starting at this
website.
o
This page contains all of the research that is
being done related to nitrogen fertilizer and management.
o
The last three sites are downloadable,
interactive spreadsheets that allow a person to better understand and figure
out the economics of nitrogen fertilization.
These interactive spreadsheets allow you to adjust the price per unit of
nitrogen, soil organic matter, price per commodity, and other factors to try
and determine the optimum amount of nitrogen to apply for the optimum economic
benefit. The first link is for spring
wheat, the second is for winter wheat, and the last is for spring barley.
o
These two links are to two brand new
publications offered by MSU. Both of
these publications deal with fertilization of forages. The first link is a bulletin focusing
strictly on nitrogen fertilization of forages and the second focuses on
phosphorous, potassium, sulfur and micronutrient fertilization of forages. If you are unable to download these or would
just rather have them as hard copies, we do have copies of both of these
documents here in the office.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Farm Bill Webinars
My apologies to anyone who follows this blog. It's amazing how quickly time passes.
With the recent passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, there are many agricultural producers who have many questions. Many of the programs of the old Farm Bill have either been discontinued or changed and replaced with new programs. As a way to help answer some questions and provide general information in regards to the new programs, the Ag in Uncertain Times group of Extension professionals will be hosting webinars related to different pieces of legislation held in the bill.
The webinars will be held at 10:00 AM (MST) on the following days and will cover the following topics:
March 17- Dairy Margin Programs and Livestock Disaster Programs
March 24- Commodity Programs and Crop Insurance
March 31- Conservation Title, Horticulture, Beginning Farmer Programs, and more
April 7- Nutrition Title and Food Policy Programs
All of these webinars will be shown in the meeting room at the Richland County Extension Office or you are welcome to log onto http://www.farmmanagement.org/aginuncertaintimesenglish/ and click on the link provided to view the webinars yourself.
There is also a link on this site to a previous webinar that gave an overview of the new Farm Bill and the new Programs that are contained in it. This webinar is recorded and can be viewed at any time by visiting http://www.farmmanagement.org/aginuncertaintimesenglish/2014/03/03/march-3rd-2014-webinar-recordings-the-2014-farm-bill-an-overview/
With the recent passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, there are many agricultural producers who have many questions. Many of the programs of the old Farm Bill have either been discontinued or changed and replaced with new programs. As a way to help answer some questions and provide general information in regards to the new programs, the Ag in Uncertain Times group of Extension professionals will be hosting webinars related to different pieces of legislation held in the bill.
The webinars will be held at 10:00 AM (MST) on the following days and will cover the following topics:
March 17- Dairy Margin Programs and Livestock Disaster Programs
March 24- Commodity Programs and Crop Insurance
March 31- Conservation Title, Horticulture, Beginning Farmer Programs, and more
April 7- Nutrition Title and Food Policy Programs
All of these webinars will be shown in the meeting room at the Richland County Extension Office or you are welcome to log onto http://www.farmmanagement.org/aginuncertaintimesenglish/ and click on the link provided to view the webinars yourself.
There is also a link on this site to a previous webinar that gave an overview of the new Farm Bill and the new Programs that are contained in it. This webinar is recorded and can be viewed at any time by visiting http://www.farmmanagement.org/aginuncertaintimesenglish/2014/03/03/march-3rd-2014-webinar-recordings-the-2014-farm-bill-an-overview/
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