Given the recent weather pattern........

I thought I would copy and paste an article from the May 23rd NDSU Crop and Pest Report.  This article was written by Joel Ransom, NDSU's Extension Agronomist for Cereal Crops, and addressed the issue of waterlogged soils and plant establishment/development.

Joel writes; "The recent rainfall has curtailed planting at a critical time as the last planting date approaches for many crops and regions of the state. In many areas, excessive rainfall has caused localized flooding, ponding and saturated soils. For fields previously planted, excessive moisture can be damaging to the germination process and to plant development. Waterlogging (flooded/ponded/saturated soils) affects a number of biological and chemical processes in plants and soils that can impact crop growth in both the short and long term. Waterlogging deprives plants of oxygen. Plants need oxygen for cell division, growth and the uptake and transport of nutrients. Since oxygen diffuses through undisturbed water much more slowly than a well-drained soil, oxygen requirements rapidly exceed that which is available when soils are saturated. The rate of oxygen depletion in a saturated soil is impacted by temperature and the rate of biological activity in the soil. Moisture is required for germination. Once the seed has absorbed enough water to start germination, however, excessive water in the soil can deprive the emerging seedling of oxygen and kill it before it can emerge from the soil. Germinating seeds/emerging seedlings are very sensitive to waterlogging as their level of metabolism is high.
The cooler temperatures that have been associated with the recent wet weather will help delay the adverse effects of waterlogging on any emerged crops. Generally, the oxygen level in a saturated soil reaches the point that is harmful to plant growth after about 48-96 hours (longer when temperatures are cooler). In an effort to survive, tissues growing under reduced oxygen levels use alternate metabolic pathways that produce by-products, some of which are toxic at elevated levels. Crops like small grains and corn tend to be more sensitive to waterlogging when their growing point is still below the surface of the soil (before the 5-6 leaf stage). With the exception of winter wheat, all of the small grain and corn crops in the state are still in these sensitive stages (if planted at all) and can be killed if soils are saturated beyond 48 hours when soil temperatures exceed 65 degrees.
Crops can differ in their tolerance to waterlogging. Data from differing sources suggest a possible ranking of waterlogging tolerance as follows (most tolerant to most susceptible): rice, soybean, oats, wheat, corn, barley, canola, peas, dry beans and lentils.
Waterlogged conditions also reduce root growth and can predispose the plant to root rots, so the ultimate effect of excess moisture may not be known until late in the season. It is common to observe plants that have experienced waterlogging to be especially sensitive to hot temperatures and display nitrogen and phosphorus deficiencies later in the season due to restricted root development. Yield losses can occur even if these obvious visible symptoms are not observed.
Waterlogging can also indirectly impact cereal growth by affecting the availability of nitrogen in the soil. Excessive water can leach nitrate nitrogen beyond the rooting zone of the developing plant, particularly in well-drained lighter textured soils. In heavier soils, nitrate nitrogen can be lost through denitrification. The amount of loss depends on the amount of nitrate in the soil, soil temperature, and the length of time that the soil is saturated. Losses of up to 75% of the soil applied N have been reported when soils are saturated for 5 days and soil temperatures are 75 to 80 F."

Need help balancing your ration(s)

Recently, many Extension Agents across Montana received training on the Beef Ration and Nutrition Decisions Software (BRANDS), developed by the Iowa Beef Center.  The BRANDS software allows cattle producers to enter information into a database specific to his or her operation and receive a printout of his or her total ration.  This fairly intensive program will help balance rations for cows, heifers, breeding bulls, growing bulls, feedyards and stockers.  Many Extension Offices around the state have purchased the software and Agents are ready to help assist you in learning more about where there might be holes in your rations or where you might save money and time by cutting back.  For more information, contact your local Extension Agent.

Field work/planting in full swing in Richland County

Just some observations from the road as I traveled around various regions of the county this week.

• It appears as though the Western edge of the county received a little more moisture than other parts.  Ditches and creeks between Lambert and Richey seemed to have a little more water in them than did other areas.
• Winter wheat looks to be coming along alright for the most part.  Granted this was observed through the window of a pickup (going the speed limit, of course) but the fields of winter wheat that I saw looked pretty good.
• Spring tillage and seeding is definitely in full swing.  Such has been the case for the past two weeks now but I did not see too many fields that weren't at least tilled.
• Rangeland in the area is progressing nicely as well.  Pastures and CRP ground is really starting to green up.

These are just a few of the observations that I made.  I would love to hear from others as to what they are seeing/doing and whether or not they agree with what I've seen.

Once crops begin to sprout, monitoring for cutworms may be a necessity

A recent post on the Montana Ag Alert website referenced the increase in activity of cutworms in Yellowstone County.  This may be something to be on the lookout for.  Here is what the Ag Alert had to say;

"Cutworms have been active in cropland in Yellowstone County and infested acreage is significantly higher compared to 2012.  The adult moth stage of the two common species in Montana, army cutworm (AC) and pale western cutworm (PWC), are monitored every August by collaborating county agents and producers. Catches of both species were low during August of 2012, suggesting region-wide risk from cutworms should remain low for the spring of 2013. However,early cutworm activity in Yellowstone County suggests that last fall’s mild temperatures may have enabled high survival rates of the caterpillars over the winter. MSU extension entomology recommends scouting for cutworm activity and damage as spring temperatures continue to warm up.

Army and pale western cutworms lay their eggs during the fall season. AC hatch and begin feeding in the fall while most PWC hatch in the spring. AC feeds above ground on the leaves at night or on overcast days–watch for damaged leaves. PWC feeds below ground on the crown and stem–watch for dead or wilted plants that appear to be cut resulting in stand reduction.  Both cutworms are nocturnal. Look for the caterpillars by lightly scraping the soil surface during the day in areas where rows have been thinned.

Cutworms can damage a variety of crops in addition to small grains. For more information please refer to the MontGuide titled “Pale Western and Army Cutworms in Montana”.  Also see pest notes posted on the High Plains IPM Guide:http://wiki.bugwood.org/HPIPM.

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SPCC Deadline Looming

I have made posts referencing this in the past, but we are now coming down to the wire.  If your farm needs an SPCC plan, you only have until May 10 of this year to get that accomplished.  Hopefully, if your farm does need a plan, you have already taken care of this but it is understandable if this is not the case. 

So....if you know your farm needs to have a plan written or if you are not sure whether or not you even need one, I would encourage you to visit this website (http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/spcc/spcc_ag.htm).  Hopefully, all of your questions will be answered by visiting the aforementioned web address, if not, feel free to contact your local Extension Agent.

Growing Degree Days

I realize it's been a month since something has been posted to this blog, but with the winter that we've had and are continuing to have, there has not been much, agronomically speaking, happening in the past month.  I don't know why I didn't think about this before, but there is no better way to demonstrate this than by using Growing Degree Days (GDD).

Understanding that some of you know what GDD's are and some do not, I will not bore those that do know with a lengthy explanation of what GDD's are and how to calculate them.  I will, however, provide a link to a website that explains it much better than I could anyway.  If you do not know what GDD's are or how to calculate them, Iowa State has a great website that explains it fairly well.  This can be found at http://agron-www.agron.iastate.edu/Courses/agron212/Calculations/GDD.htm.  There is also an app that you can get for your smart phone that will figure it out for you.  I have not used this app so I will not provide a link to it but if you search for it, it should be fairly easy to find.

So anyway, back to my main point, at this website (http://uspest.org/wea/) you can click on the state you are looking for and find GDD's for various locations around the state.  So I went and clicked on one of the stations in Sidney and set the parameters for the minimum and maximum temperatures for corn growth and development (50 F and 86 F, respectively) to see how many GDD's were accumulated as of today.  So far this year, we have accumulated a whopping 10.1 GDD's as opposed to 191.9 accumulated by this date last year.

Of course GDD's are just one way to show why nothing is happening agronomically yet this spring.  Even if we had accumulated more GDD's plants cannot grow if they are not in the ground and field conditions so far this spring have not allowed for much of any tillage or planting.

Happy National Ag Day-Thank you Farmers and Ranchers for all that you do

Another year has passed and it is time to once again recognize our farmers and ranchers for all of the hard work and effort that they put into making sure that we have a wide selection of foods to choose from when we’re sitting at a table and wondering what’s for dinner.  So, first and foremost, let me just say thank you to those of you who are reading this and are directly responsible for making sure that we are all getting fed.

In case you were not already aware, this week is Ag Week and specifically, March 19 is Ag Day.  Ag Week and Ag Day are dates specifically set aside to recognize our dwindling agricultural population for all that they do for the rest of the world.  We all like to eat and have clothes to wear and these tasks just would not be possible were it not for their efforts.  Personally, I think there should more than a week set aside to recognize these hard-working individuals but most of them probably wouldn’t care to be recognized at all because that is just the kind of humble, hard-working people that they are.
 

The problem with humble, hard-working people is that they just go about their jobs tending to their work and for the most part, let the problems of the rest of the world fall off of their backs while they are out trying to make a living.  While this practice was fine before the age of 24/7 news media and attention paid to anyone who is willing to speak up about anything (factual or not), that just is not the case in our society today.  Unfortunately, if you just go about your work and choose not to get involved in the back and forth debates about your craft, you are seen as having something to hide or someone who simply does not care.

So someone must speak up for our hard-working, humble folks and I guess that is the reason that the national Ag Day and Ag Week were created, so that hopefully factual information about how our food is produced and the people who produce it can be proclaimed.  So I want to take this opportunity to do my part and hopefully try and dispel some myths about our current  agricultural production practices.

Probably the most mis-leading “facts” that are constantly being thrown around about agriculture production in the United States is that it is not a system built on sustainability.  Opponents of the way we grow our food and textiles would tell you that we use way too many natural resources, we are not good stewards of the land, and that we’re not “green” enough.  To those people, I would offer these facts.

1.       If our farmers were using the same production practices to produce corn in 2008 as they used in 1931, we would need an additional 490 million more acres to produce the same amount.  That is 120 million MORE acres than what is included in our largest state, Alaska.
 

2.       In 1997, it took a beef animal 606 days to grow from birth to slaughter and in 2007 that number was down to 482 days, a savings of 124 days per animal.  This means that each animal is eating 124 days less of feedstuffs, drinking 124 days less water, and taking 124 less days of waste off of the poop pile.

3.       In 1960, one farmer fed about 26 people.  Today, that same farmer will feed 155.

And these are just a few of the more interesting tidbits that I could find. 
So be sure that you say thank you to your local, humble, hard-working, sustainable food producer today.  And really, you don’t have to wait until Ag Day or Ag Week to do so, I’m sure he or she would appreciate the recognition any day or week of the year.