“Give me Swedes, snuff and whiskey, and I'll build a railroad through hell!” — James J. Hill
It’s amazing what a business can do when
there is confidence in the labor force.
Just like in years past, the folks who comprise our business teams today
are very valuable to the overall success of getting the seasonal duties
accomplished in an efficient, timely, and cost-effective manner. On this Labor Day week, if you haven’t done
so already, reach-out to personally thank your employee staff and tell them how
important they are to your farm team and business. Also, if you’re not familiar with James J.
Hill, I’d take a bit of time and give him some internet research to see how he
impacted the northern plains and the railroad industry from Minnesota west –
fascinating stories!
Weather and
Corn Development
Very
cool to start the week… We had 33F here in Grand Forks at my residence on
Tuesday morning and colder on Wednesday morning. There was some white frost on the rooftops, so
I’m sure more than just a few low-lying areas received a freeze. With the cool start to the week, we’ll only
accumulate 40-50 GDD’s over the 7-days – even with a killing frost, heat unit
accumulation is needed to aid in the grain dry-down rate.
The
growing degree day accumulation map for our region through Sept. 7th
has placed our corn crop in a very favorable position regarding maturity. Most locations in the Red River valley should
be seeing black layer form (or at least close) in hybrids under 78-80 RM for
corn physiological maturity designation or black layer RM – which is slightly
different than grain RM (more on RM’s later).
Locations outside the valley should be at early to half starch line
depending on RM of the hybrid and planting date.
The rainfall map for our region from August 15th
onward reveals that many locations had a dry finish to the season – especially
in the northern half of North Dakota.
However, most areas had plenty of moisture leading-up to this point so
the dry finish did not significantly hamper crop conditions (unless under sandy soil conditions).
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
For the mid-September timeframe,
the forecast is to have equal chances of above or below average temperatures,
while the precipitation forecast is for greater chances of being drier than
average.
The NOAA group
also provides three month outlooks. If
we would like to get a general forecast for the upcoming early winter
time-frame of Nov-Dec-Jan, it can be seen here: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/...
This forecast
currently predicts equal chances for above and below average temperatures, while
also calling for greater chances of above average precipitation as well. Hopefully, harvest can progress fairly
smoothly from here on out to put us in a favorable position for harvest
progress and fall’s field work before November comes around.
US Crop Progress
The big derecho storm across the heart of the
Midwest a month ago and a dry finish to the growing season, continue to nick
away at the U.S. crop condition estimates.
The USDA states that corn dent is occurring
across 79% of the US acreage, while mature corn is at 25% of the acreage (52%
and 1% respectively for North Dakota).
The prior 5-year average for corn denting across the US is 71% (55% for
ND) and 19% for full maturity (8% for ND) making this season’s corn crop
slightly ahead of schedule across the nation according to the USDA. The corn crop condition report comes in at 61%
of acreage in the good to excellent category (last week – 62%), and the North
Dakota crop rates a tad stronger than the US crop at 63% in the good to excellent
category.
For soybeans, USDA predicts that 20% of the acres
are dropping leaves, while 65% of acres rate in the good to excellent category
for crop condition (prior week of 66%).
North Dakota’s soybeans would rate at 64% good to excellent and 34% are in
the dropping leaves stage.
The USDA estimates the spring wheat harvest
at 82% complete (76% for N.Dakota) which is behind the national 5-year average
of 87% complete for harvest at this date (86% for N.Dakota).
https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/8336h188j?locale=en
Dicamba and 2,4-D Resistance Update
Weed
scientists from the University of Tennessee earlier this summer have confirmed
Palmer Amaranth resistance to dicamba in their state. There are also reports that 2,4-D tolerance
is most likely building in the same weed populations and cross-resistance will
be detected in the near future. The
concern is growing in the south and Midwest regions of the U.S. as not only
Palmer Amaranth is resistant to growth regulator herbicides (dicamba and 2,4-D),
but also waterhemp.
In
Arkansas, weed extension specialists are elevating concerns to growers that
glufosinate (Liberty™) is also losing efficacy against key weed species
(assuming Palmer Amaranth and waterhemp).
If these concerns are eventually tested as true, there will be some
Palmer and waterhemp populations multi-resistant to several key common mode of
action herbicides. The herbicide tool
box is getting thin for some of these growers and soon, IWM strategies will
begin to look cost effective.
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/article/2020/07/27/dicamba-palmer...
https://www.agriculture.com/crops/pesticides/palmer-amaranth...
https://www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/harvest-equipment/combines/...
Dicamba
Formulations
I’ve
conversed with a few of you about the use of Tavium® by Syngenta® as a dicamba
formulation for use in RR2Xtend® soybeans in 2021. Tavium® is a premix of dicamba (with
VaproGrip Technology) along with S-metolachlor (common name of Dual™, Cinch™,
EverpreX™, etc.) for extended residual weed control in dicamba tolerant
soybeans.
Although
Tavium® was not a part of San Francisco’s Ninth Circuit Court decision back in
early June of this season, the Tavium® label does expire this December just
like the labels for XtendiMax™, Fexepan™, and Engenia™. Therefore, Tavium™ will be subject to any and
all regulations set forth by the EPA and any subsequent state regulations
moving forward. Sorry for the
confusion. You can see the registration
timeframe on the first page of the Tavium™ and any other pesticide label.
Product
Spotlight – Indigo Ag™
Do the low ag-commodity prices have your business cash flow a bit pinched? Many farm producers are in a similar spot with heaps of grain in storage, but with the markets finally starting to move upward and harvest underway, the desire to sell and haul to market a bunch of grain isn’t high.
https://www.indigoag.com/for-growers/pricing
Frost Affected Corn, Soybeans, and
Sunflowers
Yep, there is plenty
of concern in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota region regarding frost
affected corn, soybeans and sunflowers.
Many farmers and agronomists were checking-in to get my take on the
developing situation this week.
For soybeans, they
have some cold tolerance, but even temps as low as 32F can damage leaves and temps
below 30F for 4-6 hours can damage stems, pods and seed.
I’d say most of the soybeans in the area were around R6.5 to R7 for development stage. The corresponding chart says that we’d have yield loss ranging from 0-15% in this maturity range if a killing frost occurred. Soybean seed count will not vary much due to an early frost, but seed size will be smaller and thus it will take more kernels to produce a bushel. This soybean maturity chart estimates yield loss from a killing frost at each maturity designation.
https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/managing_delayed_or_frostdamaged_soybeans.html
Being a C4 metabolic
plant, corn is very sensitive to frost at this time of year. Temps of 32F can damage leaves, but
typically, a frost has to penetrate the entire canopy to kill the corn
plant. Often times, we see frosted tops
of the corn canopy while leaves in the middle part of the canopy have survived
the frost event. As long as there is one
green leaf surviving on the corn plant, the plant is able to transfer photosynthetic
energy to the grain ear – although not as efficiently and effectively as a
plant with several leaves contributing.
As stated earlier, the corn crop has a lot of variability in maturity across the region due to planting dates, hybrid RM, and local corn heat unit accumulation. Corn in the ½ starch line maturity zone that has received a killing frost will take about a 10-15% yield hit due to smaller kernel size – resulting in lower test weight. The following chart is a great resource for estimating your local crop development as well as providing an estimated yield loss from a killing frost. It has been researched and documented that different environments before and after a frost event will cause some variability around corn grain yield loss due to premature death such as
a killing frost event.
https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/Yield-Impact-of-Premature...
Sunflowers have some
natural tolerances to frost and it takes about a 25-28F or lower temperature
for a few hours to harm sunflowers at the R7 stage or later (ray pedals have
dropped and back of the sunflower heads have started to turn yellow). Losses from an early autumn frost in
sunflower include lower test weight, lower oil content, and discolored seed
coats.
https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/crop-management/pubs/frost-sunflowers.pdf
Corn Relative Maturity
There can be a lot of
confusion when it comes to corn maturity and published day length numbers. Typically, most folks in the industry
converse about “days”. I often hear from
a customer, “I have Pioneer 83 day planted in the Home Half”. Or, “79 day” or “82 day”, etc. Well, that “83” number is actually the company’s
published designated Corn Relative Maturity (CRM) for a stated hybrid. The grain CRM for a hybrid is defined within
Pioneer® as the maturity it takes for a hybrid to progress from planting
through to a “harvestable moisture” content under average conditions.
Each new hybrid
coming along through a corn breeding program is measured against some very
well-known benchmark hybrids to determine the relative maturity (RM) rating. Researchers typically gain 6-7 seasons of
data accumulation on a hybrid before it reaches commercial designation so the
database is a robust set of observations at various locations to accurately
designate a RM value. “Harvestable
moisture” obviously will vary from year to year based on weather, but more
important is to remember an individual hybrid will vary in its grain drydown
rate as well and this is factored into the CRM rating.
For grain RM
designation, each individual RM score reflects about a 0.5 point moisture
advantage. Therefore, if you are
comparing two hybrids from Pioneer® (planted and harvested on the same day),
and one is designated at 79 RM and the other at 83 RM, there should be
approximately 2 full points of grain moisture difference at harvest for
maturity.
Many seed companies
will publish a “physiological RM” (or black layer RM) which designates the
maturity from planting to full physiological maturity. Black layer will typically occur around
30-35% grain moisture content and thus this designation cannot take drydown
into account.
If you are a corn
silage producer, you need to inquire with your seed representative about “Corn
Silage RM”. This silage RM is defined
within Pioneer® as the maturity from planting to 65% whole plant moisture, or
the timing needed for optimum silage harvest to occur for ideal conditions
around storage, feed quality, etc. For
silage RM, each one day difference between two hybrids planted on the same day
will result in about a ¾ point moisture difference at harvest time. It is very common to have a 3-6 RM difference
between grain CRM and silage RM.
Also in the Pioneer
seed brochure, you will also notice a corn “Silking RM”, which is a rating of
maturity from planting to first silk formation (may also be referenced as
“Flower RM” from other companies but is slightly different as “flower” in corn
means the tassel). For those of you that
may like to push maturity in your local environment, you should evaluate this
number as hybrids that silk earlier compared to their stated grain RM tend to
move north in our geography more effectively.
Lastly, please
remember these definitions are for the Pioneer® brand and are not industry
standard. Each of the various seed
companies in the industry could and does rate their products differently and I
wouldn’t be surprised if you have experienced unexpected variability in this
regard.
Random Agricultural Facts
Earlier in this newsletter, we conversed a bit about dicamba
and 2,4-D resistance. Do you know which
of these two herbicides hit the market first?
What year did it occur? How about
glyphosate?
I’ll include my favorite “old time” herbicide applicator
photo for a timeline reference…
Introduced to farmers in 1945, 2,4-D was one of the first modern herbicides developed, and obviously still used today. It’s hard to believe, but 2,4-D has been on the market for over 75 years!
Dicamba meanwhile first hit the ag market in 1962 and
was part of the one-hundred new chemicals synthesized over a 20-year period
starting after WWII (1945-1965). This
time period in the plant science world was known as the “era of the miracle
weed killers”.
As for glyphosate… it wasn’t available for commercial
agricultural use until 1974 and after originally being used as a pipe cleaning
agent in boiler heating systems in the 1960’s.
It’s interesting to note that our big ag companies like
Corteva® and Bayer® have placed valuable R&D dollars into two herbicides
that are over 60 years old! You would
think that better options would exist today, but unfortunately, that must not
be the case. It’s time for another “era
of the miracle weed killers” revolution to start in the agriculture industry
and hopefully government will reduce the regulatory red-tape for it to occur in
a robust fashion over the next decade or two.
Sources: https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/blog/bob-hartzler/historical-perspective-dicamba
https://sustainablepulse.com/2017/09/06/a-short-history-of-glyphosate/#.X1e4Z9xKhhE
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