“When you think
about the potential weed spectrum across the field, a guy should have 100% weed
control with the Enlist-3® soybean technology package -- Liberty® for kochia,
glyphosate for wild oats, and 2,4-D for volunteer canola.” – North Dakota farmer
My
conversation with this particular farm continued to move forward to note the
wide application window and fewer regulatory restrictions compared to alternative
soybean weed control strategies. Many
farms are naturally reviewing their weed control success across the farm and
coming to the realization the changes that need to be implemented for continued
improvement.
Corteva®
remains committed to providing growers with weed control options for today and
the future. Not only are we looking to
bring the Enlist® weed control platform to corn (with fop tolerance), but we
also are looking at additional technologies to further build upon the Enlist®
system in soybean. For canola, we
continue to work towards our own Optimum Gly® for next generation glyphosate
tolerances. Lastly, for sunflower, our
organization looks to bring a potential Clearfield and ExpressSun non-GMO
herbicide stack.
Weather and
Corn Development
The
good conditions for row crops continue – abundant sunshine, moderate to warm
temps, minimal wind, with some chances of precipitation. We’ll have cooler temperatures to start the
week, but warmer conditions afterward starting on Thursday or Friday. The week should bring another 140 GDD’s.
The heat unit accumulation map
for our region through Aug 2nd continues to have our corn crop in a
very favorable position regarding maturity as we finish-up pollination and head
to the blister and milk stages. Corn
hybrids in the 80-90 RM range will require about 1950 to 2100 GDU’s to reach
full physiological maturity (i.e. black layer). With most locations around 100 to 200 GDD’s above
normal (1981-2010 for a 30-year average is the defined normal for NDAWN), we
are seeing this season’s corn crop about 5-10 days ahead of average in general
with regards to maturity.
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/index.php
During this time frame the
forecast is to have greater chances of being above average for temperatures,
while the precipitation forecast is for equal chances of both below and above
average conditions to develop.
The NOAA group
also provides three month outlooks. If
we would like to get an early look at the forecast for the winter season of Dec-Jan-Feb,
it can be seen here: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/...
The winter forecast
at this time reveals equal chances of either above or below average
temperatures, and calls for slightly greater chances of having above average
precipitation – should be good for the folks who like snowmobiles or have a
snow removal business!
The USDA estimates corn silking is occurring
across 92% of the US acreage, and at 80% for North Dakota. The prior 5-year average for corn silking
across the US is 87% (77% for ND), making the corn crop slightly ahead of
schedule across the nation. The corn
crop condition report remains at 72% of acreage in the good to excellent
category (same as last week), and the North Dakota crop rates at the same level
of the US crop – 72% in the good to excellent category (also same as last week).
For soybeans, USDA predicts that 85% of the
acres are blooming, while 73% rate in the good to excellent category for crop
condition. North Dakota’s soybeans would
rate at 65% good to excellent and 81% are at least in the bloom stage.
Spring wheat has a 73% good to excellent
rating across the US for crop condition (up 3% points over last week) with
N.Dakota’s spring wheat condition rated below the national average at 68% good
to excellent.
Overall, individual reports from the folks I
converse with across the country continue to reveal a good to excellent crop
coming in many/most locations. The US
Drought Monitor for late July only has some minor acreage of “Moderate Drought”
throughout the major grain producing regions.
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
What’s Happening in my Corn Field?
How
significant is that ear leaf for corn grain fill? Well, let’s just say that the yield
difference between treatment one and three was very significant – 94 bu/ac in a
275 bu/ac yield environ-ment (or a 34% yield reduction)!
https://twitter.com/phhermans/status/1276497382486749184/photo/3
What’s
Happening in my Soybean Field?
Many
soybeans are in the R3-R4 growth stage across the region or beginning to full
pod reproductive stage. The below chart
is a great reference for growth stage descriptions and estimating the numbers
of days between each reproductive stage.
Group 0 and 00 soybeans varieties will be on the quicker side of the
stated estimated “Rage of Days Between Stages”.
It
should come as no surprise that August is the primary month when soybeans
determine yield through dry matter accumulation in the seed. Sixty-seven
percent of the yield comes from the number of seeds and 33% comes from the seed
size.
I
have been receiving a few questions on foliar applications of micro-nutrients
and fungicides to protect yields. My
first thought around fertility is to ensure we are doing everything possible to
obtain full uptake of the macro nutrients (N, P and K). The soybean plant requires 5.5 lbs of N, 1.2
lbs of P and 2.4 lbs of K per bu. It is estimated that 70-75% of N-P-K is
taken up by the soybean crop from the R3-R7 growth stages, revealing the
importance of having adequate levels of macro-nutrients available during grain
fill.
Looking
ahead to fall fertilizer applications, it’s important to understand these soybean
fertility requirements. I like to see a soil test showing at least 10 ppm
for phosphorus on the Olsen scale and a minimum of 150-180 ppm for potassium to
reach optimum yield levels. For top level yields, increase these levels
to 20 ppm on a P Olsen test and 200+ ppm for K. As for nitrogen,
nodulation and bacterial fixation require well drained soils with plenty of
oxygen.
Foliar
micro-nutrient application at the R3 stage can be beneficial, but I’ll always
recommend sound on-farm testing of any product on both a yield response and
financial perspective, before wide-spread implementation. Very few farms have successfully evaluated
and found a soybean foliar micro-nutrient package that works consistently and
economically. I’d say this space
continues to evolve in the ag industry and our efforts to conduct on-farm trials
needs to remain high. We will most
likely see a response in low organic matter soils, or fields with a long
history of productive cropping, minimal micronutrient use in the past, and
frequently below average soil test results.
Regarding
soybean fungicide application at R3 for plant health reasons primarily… Well again, I always like to see some treated
versus untreated side-by-sides implemented to warrant widespread future use. I know each year is different for
environmental conditions and thus the results can vary year to year. However, the data I’ve seen doesn’t warrant this
type of application in our Group 0 and 00 RM zones (too short of growing season
could be the primary reason) unless we are going after white mold management in
field conditions that favor mold development.
If
you have interest in on-farm testing, please converse with myself or your
Pioneer sales professional. Your Pioneer
salesman can recruit other farms in the area or region that have similar
interest to help generate additional data.
The statisticians document that two corn hybrids in one side-by-side yield
evaluation location need about a 30 bu/ac difference to clearly define a winner
by a 90-95% confidence level. If you increase
the location number to around 20-25 sites, then the yield difference is reduced
to an average of 3.5-5.0 bu/ac at the same confidence range.
Sunflower
Management
Cash
sunflower commodity price is reflecting fall harvest prices, but at the same
time sunflower processors are running low on supplies for their local oil crush
and are looking for replenishing stocks.
If our warm weather continues to hold throughout August and early
September, there may be a chance for some early to mid-September desiccation
and sunflower harvesting to thus occur before the month of October hits. As the summer begins to wind down, I’d
recommend sunflower producers stay in touch with their sunflower buyers for
potential to capture any September sales and potential premiums.
After
a harvest like 2019, it’s hard to believe that sunflowers can be ready to
combine 10 days after application of a desiccant, but that is how it’s supposed
to work with cooperation from Mother Nature!
I like to recommend a mix of glyphosate with Sharpen™ for sunflower
desiccation. A paraquat with Sharpen™
tank-mix can also be very effective if the forecast calls for heat, sunshine
and dry weather from the time of desiccation through harvest. If we do encounter some rain after
application the glyphosate treated sunflower plants tend to shed the water more
easily, while the paraquat as a cell membrane disruptor, will act more like a
sponge and subsequent slow drying. The
pre-harvest interval (PHI) is 7 days for either herbicide combination regarding
sunflower desiccation.
Product
Spotlight – VoloDrone®
A drone based start-up company Volocopter® is teaming with
John Deere® to bring a drone based aerial crop-dusting applicator to the ag market. In the age of heightened human health
concerns from pesticides, skilled labor shortages, and technology innovation,
it does make sense for the industry to explore options in this aspect of the ag
business.
The VoloDrone prototype (pic above) has 18 rotors, about a 30 ft wide spray-boom, can take-off and land vertically, and can be programmed with a fully autonomous path for an easy user experience. Only a couple concerns come to mind… Can we spray a 160-acre field with one machine in under an hour? And, what do we do with pesticide products that need 15 gpa water carrier volume? I’m sure we could fill-up more often and get more drone applicators to achieve the desired efficiency, but we’ll have to keep the pencil sharp to calculate ROI on the technology.
I could potentially see added
technology like weed ID and/or some type of “green seeker” mechanism to
specifically target individual weed species to maximize the use and increase
the efficiencies of ownership and implementation.
https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/07/volocopter-and-john-deere...
https://www.futurefarming.com/Machinery/Articles/2020/3/Drone...
Enlist Duo® wins 9th Circuit Court
Case
Back in early June, the US 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco made a very dramatic statement that
grabbed a heap of attention at the time with their ruling to vacate labels of
three dicamba formulations. Thankfully,
the EPA stepped in and asserted their congressional authority in granting
regulatory approval for all pesticides (while taking into consideration court
rulings), by allowing a short-term window for use of dicamba with approved
soybean technology for the 2020 weed control season through July 31st.
Next, it was Enlist Duo™’s
(Corteva®’s 2,4-D choline plus glyphosate herbicide formulation for use in
Enlist-3 soybeans) turn in front of the same court (but different judges) for
many of the same reasons as dicamba. If
you have not been following the cases, it’s good to note the legal
ramifications and questioning revolved around stewardship of the herbicide
regarding EPA’s procedure and evaluations to grant approval of the herbicide
package. Basically, the plaintiffs have
alleged in both the dicamba and 2,4-D choline cases that the EPA broke its own
internal protocols and procedures in granting pesticide approval.
Many folks were surprised that
the 9th Circuit Court denied the request to vacate the Enlist Duo™
registration by ruling that the EPA was thorough in it’s evaluation of the
2,4-D choline plus glyphosate herbicide package in regards to stewardship and
the Endangered Species Act. The court
did have concerns regarding Monarch Butterflies and 2,4-D choline use, but will
allow Corteva® and EPA to address the situation while the label remains viable
and open. https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops...butterflies.
Dicamba Court Battle Continues
Corteva®, BASF®, and Bayer®
continue to fight the 9th Circuit Court’s initial ruling to vacate
the three dicamba formulations (Fexepan™, Enginia™, and Extendimax™) for use in
RR2Xtend® soybean production. Earlier
this summer (July 20th) the three companies asked for a re-hearing
of the case in the same 9th Circuit Court. If the court decides against the re-hearing,
the final options for the defendants would be the US Supreme Court.
Besides preventing a poor
precedence, I’m not sure of the strategy around asking for a re-hearing. The federal labels of all three products
(Fexepan™ by Corteva®, Engenia™ by BASF®, and XtendiMax™ by Bayer®) are set to
expire in December of 2020, and most all of the dicamba use in the US from
these three products will be applied by July 31st.
Regardless, the decision has been
made by both Bayer® and BASF® to pursue re-registration of their respected
dicamba formulations for 2021 with completed registration packages submitted
into the EPA already this summer. Bayer®
is also awaiting export approval of their XtendFlex® soybean technology system
(glyphosate, dicamba and glufosinate) for commercial launch in the US planned
for 2021.
Many US growers are evaluating
their weed control options for 2021 as growth regulator resistance to both
dicamba and 2,4-D is appearing in Palmer amaranth and waterhemp in some
locations in the south. The robustness
of the technology has been stellar over the past couple seasons in our region,
but we’ll continue to need advanced tools from industry to stay a step ahead of
the weed evolution.
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/.../companies-ask-ninth-circuit-court-re
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture...dicamba-use-faces-trio-threats-weeds
Fourth US Stimulus Package – may include Ethanol relief
It may be hard for the working US tax payer
to fathom payment of another stimulus package, but many agree that the economy
is having a difficult time getting its feet fully back underneath it after the
forced shut-down. The next round of
stimulus will probably be passed by Congress in the coming weeks for continued assistance
towards families and businesses.
Maybe that feeling for tax payers will be
somewhat squelched with proposed tax relief stimulus. For agriculture, there is a proposed $20 bil
to the USDA for additional funding to producers, growers and processors. The ethanol industry is lobbying hard for
inclusion of direct aid (not aid through the USDA), but opponents say that many
ethanol facilities did access PPP (Payroll Protection Program) funds and the
ethanol industry can be supported through the USDA.
If the ethanol industry does garner aid
(some reports indicate proposals of $0.45/gal subsidy), it should result in greater
corn demand and thus naturally drive some positive corn market price movement.
http://ethanolproducer.com/.../senate-releases-covid-19-relief-bills
Markets
Speaking of corn markets, I came
across this interesting commodity chart last week. It highlights the corn hedger’s position in
the solid blue line and the corn price in the solid black line over the prior 10-year
timeframe with the chart origination date of May 2020. The overall message - despite the large US
corn crop forecasted for 2020 production and the huge amount of corn in
domestic supplies, the corn hedges are saying there is a strong chance for a
rally in the corn market.
Over the past 10-years, usually the
hedgers were rewarded with an increase in corn commodity price when their hedge
positions were high. If you have 2019 or
2020 corn production without a current home, you may see an opportunity in the
coming months. It’s probably a good time
to review and/or adjust your marketing goals to maximize any potential upcoming
corn market movements.
Random Agricultural Facts - World’s Top Ag Producing
Nations
- United
States – 513.7 MMT
- China
– 335.3 MMT
- Brazil
– 230.4 MMT
- Argentina
– 120.6 MMT
- India
– 88.9 MMT
- France
– 76.5 MMT
- Russia
– 53.7 MMT
- Germany
– 47.2 MMT
- Romania
– 29.4 MMT
- United
Kingdom – 27.3 MMT
1 Mil Metric Ton is the equivalent of
36.67 mil bushels of 60 lb/bu grain product.
http://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---35595.htm
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