It’s NBA Finals Championship time in the sporting world, and it’ll be interesting to see how entertainment may change as our country begins to recover and rebuild from the forced economic shutdown. Life has been challenging and different the past several months on several fronts for ourselves, our employee teams, and our families. However, if a person remains committed to the tasks, communicates openly and honestly with their partners, while continuing to refine their skills… things will typically work out in the end!
Weather and
Corn Development
We’ll
start off this week with hot temperatures, for northeast North Dakota and
northwest Minnesota. Temperatures will
cool-off for the latter half of the week, but warm nights will drive our GDD
output. If temps hold close to the
forecast, we should accumulate around 150 corn GDD’s over the 7-day span or
about two V-stages of corn development for the week. https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn... /VStagePrediction.html
I’ll estimate most of the corn in the region was planted around May 15th. Therefore, I’ll provide NDAWN corn GDD maps starting at that point moving forward for the growing season. Most of the region sits between 375 to 450 GDD’s for the season to date. It typically takes an 80-85 RM hybrid about 1000 to 1100 GDD’s to reach the pollination growth stage, so we should hit the half way mark through the vegetative stages at some point in the next week.
The rainfall map for the month of
June for our region primarily highlights a lot of variability. There are several places without a 1.0 inch
total of precipitation in the first half of the month and with the wind we’ve
had over the past several days, we could be developing drought conditions soon
in these locations.
I’ll count on your weather app
for the best guidance through the 7-8 day forecast, but looking beyond that,
I’ve found this site from NOAA to be fairly reliable for a general 8-14 day
outlook (next week). https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/...
During this time frame the
forecast is to have greater chances of being above average for temperatures,
while the precipitation forecast is for above average chances of being drier
than average.
The NOAA group
also provides three month outlooks. If
we would like to get a bit of insight for the harvest weather outlook for the Sept-Oct-Nov
time frame, it can be seen here: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/.../long_range/seasonal.php?lead=4
This timeframe forecast from NOAA reveals equal chances for both above and below average precipitation, but for temperatures, there is a slightly greater chance that we should experience warmer than average conditions. Overall, an optimistic outlook for the autumn harvest weather.
Nationally, the crops are progressing very well, but there are some drought concerns starting to creep into a few areas – western N.Dakota, western Kansas, and southwest through the High Plains – SE Colorado, western Texas, Oklahoma panhandle, and eastern New Mexico. There is a lot of irrigation through the High Plains, so the overall drought impact should be minor.
https://www.drought.gov/drought/data-maps-tools/current-conditions
Nationwide, the crop condition for corn has declined while soybeans and spring wheat has held steady. This week, the corn crop is rated at 59% good to excellent (75% last week), while the soybeans rate at 72% good to excellent (72% last week). Spring wheat remains above average with an 82% crop condition report in the good or excellent category (81% last week).
USDA’s Crop Progress updates are at this website: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/8336h188j
Many
large farm operations have placed dollars into a Corteva TruChoice crop
protection account. At this time of the season,
many options still remain to use those resources:
·
Aproach™ and AproachPrima™ – strobularin
fungicide for white mold in soybeans, cercospera leaf spot in sugarbeets, and
plant health in corn, soybeans and sunflower.
AproachPrima™ is labeled in spring wheat
·
Durango™ - 5.4 lb/gal DMA glyphosate
formulation
·
Abundit Edge™ - 5.5 lb/gal K-salt
glyphosate formulation (ideal for tank mixing with Enlist One™)
·
EnlistOne™ and EnlistDuo™ – 2,4-D choline
for post applications in E3 soybeans.
EnlistDuo™ is pre-mixed with glyphosate, EnlistOne™ is straight 2,4-D
choline for tank-mix with glufosinate (Liberty™) or your choice for rate and
product of glyphosate
·
Fexepan™ - Dicamba formulation with
VaporGrip™ for use in Xtend® soybeans
·
ResolveQ™ - rimsulfuron (Basis™) +
thifensulfuron-methyl (Harmony SG™) for volunteer canola control and added
broadleaf weed control in corn through V6 growth stage or 20” tall (very
rotation friendly)
·
RealmQ™ - mesotrione + rimsulfuron for
broadleaf weed control in corn through V6 growth stage. 18 mo to dry beans and sugarbeets
·
WideMatch™ - Starane™ + Stinger™ for
broadleaf weed control in corn through the V5 growth stage
·
EverpreX™ - (metolachlor) applied as a
tank-mix partner with the glyphosate and/or dicamba/2,4-D choline for residual
activity on pigweeds (including waterhemp), lambsquarter, other small
seeded broadleaf weeds as well as grass weeds – labeled for corn, soybeans, and
sugarbeets.
9th Circuit Court and Enlist Duo™
The same plaintiffs
that brought the dicamba lawsuit to the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals, has also brought a pending lawsuit in the same court against Corteva®
and the 2,4-D choline product of Enlist Duo™.
If you remember correctly, Enlist Duo™ is the pre-mix of 2,4-D choline
and glyphosate. Even though the lawsuit
is in the same court, it is under review in front of a different panel of
judges so the outcome could be different.
Enlist
One™ (2,4-D choline only) is not targeted by the lawsuit to my understanding
and will be available for use in Enlist-3® soybeans this season if an
unfavorable ruling should come from the court on Enlist Duo™.
Both the
dicamba and now the 2,4-D choline lawsuits are more about EPA’s scrutiny (or
lack thereof) around the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA) – which analyses crop safety, buffers, drift, volatility, overall
environmental safety, etc. – and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) then against
Bayer, BASF and Corteva individually for any kind of registration failures.
The EPA
is being thrown into the spotlight for whatever reason and if the courts and
media continue this pressure on the EPA, the EPA will become very thorough in
approving any new pesticide products. In
the short-term, it’s probably safe to advise that we should all be extra
cautious around any and all pesticides this season and into the future with our
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and in regards to extra caution around
minimizing drift and/or volatility. In
the long-term, we may see some very effective products not make the market due
to human and/or environmental health concerns… an interesting scenario in times
of increasing pesticide resistance.
Soybean Exports Increase
Karen
Braun is an excellent follow for those of you on Twitter®. She has great insight and updates on what is
happening with US commodity exports.
Last week, she provided the insight that US net export sales for the
week of June 4th hit above trade expectations. A total of 2.22 mil MT for old crop + new
crop is the largest since December 2018.
Braun says that 39% of the total was to China and another 39% went to
“unknown” (mostly China I would presume).
Corn Nitrogen Management
Now that
we’ve had some big rains in certain geographies across the region, many growers
should be concerned about nitrogen loss and considering ideas on replenishing
those supplies for the corn (and maybe even wheat).
The corn
crop will most likely remain a healthy color for the next couple weeks
(depending on pre-plant applied N amounts) as overall corn nitrogen uptake is
fairly minimal during early to mid-June in the Far Northern Plains. Once the corn hits about 6-7 Leaf (V6-V7)
growth stage, the corn plant will begin its rapid growth cycle and nitrogen
uptake will be very significant (up to 7 lbs/N per day) leading into the
reproductive stages. We must also remind
ourselves that corn will uptake approximately 37% of its total nitrogen needs
from tassel (VT) to black layer (R6) – Aug/Sept.
The
sulfur nutrient can also move very easily in our environment, and I always like
to see a bit of sulfur with any side-dress nitrogen applications.
Some
naysayers may point out the fact that even though corn nitrogen use is large,
there is very little correlation to applied nitrogen availability and corn
yield for our Far Northern Plains region.
Research over a 12-year time-frame at the beginning of the century by
NDSU highlighted the fact that only 18.5% of the time corn yield can be
predicted by nitrogen availability. https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/crops/soil-fertility-recommendations-for-corn#section-0
Well,
2020 is shaping-up to be one of those 81.5% of the years where a big weather
event or two (or three) will greatly impact the maize crop. We can manage around a big rain in early June
much easier than we can a brittle-snap wind event (July), late season drought
stress (Aug), hail (anytime), etc.
Nitrogen Management Through Satellite Imagery
To
further highlight the fact that nitrogen can leach, here are a couple satellite
imagery photos only 6-7 days apart from a field this spring in Iowa. This particular field had all the nitrogen
for the season applied pre-plant. After
the farm manager was able to spot this change in plant health (Vegetation
Index) across the field, it was determined that a side-dress application would
be implemented to offset the leaching caused by some big rains over the past
week.
As I
often say, what happens in Iowa, eventually happens in North Dakota. It wouldn’t surprise me if we see some late
season nitrogen deficiency in the corn where we have had some 3-5” plus rains
earlier this June.
"Granular
Insights” is a great tool/app from Pioneer where your sales agent (or myself)
can assist you in receiving satellite imagery with weekly e-mail notifications
on which fields have changed the greatest from a “Vegetative Index”
perspective. For operations that have
numerous fields, this maybe one of the best and easiest tools to help make
field by field nitrogen decisions.
NDSU Crop and Pest Report – Soybean Herbicide Options
If
soybean fields are still un-sprayed and we’re after the June 20th
application date in Minnesota for dicamba, then the supplemental edition of the
NDSU Crop and Pest Report is a great source.
This supplemental edition covers alternative herbicide use for tough to
control broadleaf weeds if dicamba is unavailable to a grower.
·
Waterhemp: PPO herbicides (Group 14) – Flexstar (fomesafen),
Cobra or Ultra Blazer – target small weed size (1-2”)
·
Kochia: PPO herbicides (Group 14) – Flexstar (fomesafen),
Cobra or Ultra Blazer – target small weed size (1-2”)
·
Common Lambsquarter: Harmony (thifensulfuron)
·
Common Ragweed – FirstRate (cloransulam – Group 2) and
Flexstar
·
Horseweed/Maristail – FirstRate
Many of
these weed species can be multi-resistant to glyphosate, ALS and/or PPO
herbicides, so be diligent in choosing tank-mix partners with glyphosate under
the circumstances. I would consider the
use of a layby herbicide (i.e. metolachlor) in conjunction with a post-emerge
herbicide mix to aid in further weed control.
Herbicides for V5 or larger corn
Acuron Flexi™ corn herbicide has three different molecules (two different Mode of Actions (MOA)) to provide a broad-spectrum of weed control. The three-way pre-mix is metolachlor, mesotrione, and bicyclopyrone. The mesotrione (Callisto™) and bicyclopyrone are both HPPD inhibitors (Group 27, while the metolachlor is in the Group 15 class (seedling shoot growth inhibitor). Mix with glyphosate and/or atrazine for best results. Labeled to V8 or 30” tall corn for crop stage. Crop rotation restrictions of 18 months to sugarbeets, canola and most likely dry edible beans in our region. Apply at 2.0 to 2.25 qts/ac depending on soil organic matter levels.
For the
full Acuron Flexi™ label: https://www.syngenta-us.com/current-label/acuron_flexi
BASF’s Armezon Pro™ contains both topramezone (IMPACT™) and dimethenamid (Outlook™) for a broadleaf knockdown plus residual pre-mix. These molecules are products of the HPPD chemistry class (Group 27 for tropremezone) and the seedling shoot inhibitor class (Group 15 for the dimethenamid). Highly recommended to mix with glyphosate for grass weed knockdown and/or atrazine for best results.
BASF’s Armezon Pro™ contains both topramezone (IMPACT™) and dimethenamid (Outlook™) for a broadleaf knockdown plus residual pre-mix. These molecules are products of the HPPD chemistry class (Group 27 for tropremezone) and the seedling shoot inhibitor class (Group 15 for the dimethenamid). Highly recommended to mix with glyphosate for grass weed knockdown and/or atrazine for best results.
Use rate of 16-24 fl. oz/ac depending on soil organic matter. Crop rotation restrictions are 18 months to
dry edible beans, canola and sugarbeets. The product is labeled to V8 or 30” tall corn
for crop stage with the recommendation of drop-nozzles above 12” tall corn.
Random
Agricultural Facts – Summer Solstice
A
solstice occurs twice a year when the sun is at its furthest distance
away from the equator (June and December).
An equinox also occurs twice a year, but it happens when the sun
physically crosses the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator
(March and September). This year, our
northern hemisphere summer solstice for the USA will occur on June 20th.
Here
are some interesting facts about the June solstice:
·
A solstice (or equinox) will occur at the exact
same moment of time for every location on the earth. For a June solstice, it will be the moment
the sun reaches its highest point in the northern sky, (Tropic of Cancer)
·
For June 2020, the summer solstice moment will
occur at 4:43 pm CDT on Saturday, June 20th
·
The exact date and time of the solstice will
vary from year to year, but will occur between June 20th and 22nd
depending on the various time zones across the planet. A June 22nd solstice is quite rare
as the last one occurred in 1975 and the next one is not forecasted until the
year 2203
·
If you live on the Arctic Circle, you will
experience the one day a year without a sunset, and conversely, if you live on
the Antarctic Circle, you will experience the one day a year without a sunrise
·
The daily daylight length will continue to get
shorter between the June solstice and the December solstice
·
The Earth does not move at a constant speed in
its elliptical orbit, therefore the seasons are not of equal length. Roughly speaking for the northern hemisphere,
the spring season is 92.8 days in length, summer is 93.6 days, autumn is 89.8
days, and thankfully, the winter season is the shortest at 89.0 days
·
The inconsistent speed of the elliptical orbit
also creates variability in the amount of daily daylight loss or gain throughout the year
·
The direction of tilt, or amount of tilt in the
earth in relation to the sun does not alter over the course of the year. The seasons change because of a hemisphere’s
relation to the sun as the earth orbits.
In June, the northern hemisphere points towards the sun, in December,
the southern hemisphere points towards the sun
·
The Summer Solstice date will provide 16 hours 2
minutes of daylength for Grand Forks, ND
·
Conversely, the shortest day of the year (Winter
Solstice) for Grand Forks, ND will result in only 8 hours and 23 minutes of
daylight
·
It’s interesting to note that the daylight hours
on the longest day of the year (16 hrs 2 min), do not match the darkness hours
on the shortest day of the year (15 hrs 37 min) for Grand Forks, ND. If you know why, let me know!
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