OCTOBER 27TH AGRONOMIC INSIGHTS

The one-stop-shop to hearing everything you need to know this week about what is happening in your fields.

 

This week’s featured agronomists are:
Tanner Borgschatz – AYS Kenyon
Austin Schultz – Le Center
John Goossens – Goodhue
Darryl Quast – Morristown
Hailey Dykes – Stewartville

Chace Kinneman – Ellsworth

Scroll down to hear from your local agronomist.


AYS
Your Advanced Yield Systems Weekly Spotlight: 

Tanner Borgshatz

Tanner Borgschatz

Corn and soybean yields this year have been super variable throughout the territory, largely depending on what areas got rain and when. In areas that had significantly less rainfall than normal, the 2021 yield maps are giving us another layer to look at to help redefine our management zones.

Below are yield maps of the same field from 2018-2021 showing the variability from differences in total rainfall in July and August, the critical water uptake time.

 

The differences between soil types/subsoils are more exaggerated this year which helps show which acres are A Zones and which acres may need to move from an A Zone to a B Zone or from a B Zone to C Zone. This winter will be interesting to see what correlations and trends come out of this year’s data.


West 
Belle Plaine – LeCenter – LeSueur

Austin Schultz

As fall harvest starts to wind down here at Ag Partners, I always have a few recommendations our growers should consider while fall is still fresh in your memory:

1.) Write down in a notebook what hybrids stood well and what ones did not. No one likes combining down corn, so make a mental note of which hybrids were better than others

 

2. Determine the benefit from your fungicide application. We are seeing quite a few 15-20 bushel yield bumps this year in corn and 5-8 in beans. Also take note of the plant health in those fields. Did those hybrids stand better? Were those beans larger?

Down corn from late season winds were seen in areas.  Many of these areas had corn that died early due to droughty conditions through the growing season.

3. How did my fertility program look? Did I have enough Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium out there? What about Sulfur? We have been finding larger and larger correlations to yield with additional sulfur applications.

4. Did you experience any insect pressure this summer in your corn? Is it time to change traits in corn to add additional protection by maybe switching from VT2P to SS? Or do we need to look at other modes of action to help with control?

Talk with your local agronomist today to see if they noticed any issues over the summer that may have effected your yield. Once we answer some of these questions, it can help us in the decision making process for 2022.


East  
Pine Island – Cannon Falls -Goodhue -Lake City

John Goossens

Falling temps overnight are bringing our soil temps in range for NH3 application. We have long been told to wait until soil temps reach 50˚ before making an NH3 application.

Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) and water react after application to create ammonium NH4+.  In soils above 50˚, the soil microbes are still active and will convert the ammonium NH4+ to a leachable nitrate nitrogen (NO3-) through nitrification.

 

Historical soil temperatures in Waseca, MN reach 50˚ by October 28th and by November 4th they reach 40˚. Sticking a soil probe in the ground in Goodhue shows we are below that threshold

Soil depth 2” and temp of 46˚

Soil depth 6” and a temp of 47˚

 

Another great way to help protect the nitrogen is to use N-Serve which slows down the microbe bacteria activity in the soil. Even blow 50˚ there is a small amount of microbe activity until we hit freezing. N-serve not only helps in the fall, but will also give your nitrogen an assist in the spring as the soil warms back up


Central  
Owatonna – Morristown – Wanamingo – Kenyon

Darryl Quast

Harvest is wrapping up, fall fertilizer is going strong, and anhydrous ammonia is starting up.  Some growers are asking about the dry conditions- is it too dry for ammonia to stay in the soil?  It does not take a lot of moisture for the ammonia to attach to the soil.  Also, do not forget to add N-Serve with your anhydrous applications.  Now is a good time to make sure you are current on your grid samples. With some of the best yields we have ever seen, we need to know what this crop has taken out of the soil and we need to replenish it back for the future crops.

 

Now is a good time to evaluate your seed for next year and get orders placed, to help ensure you get the hybrids and seed size you want.  We are again offering multiple trait platforms in our bulk soybean bins for 2022, which we are currently starting to fill.  Enlist and Xtend varieties are goin in now, to help ensure supply for you.

We are getting yields reports back from corn & bean plots, along with downloading data into AYS.  This will allow us to look at hybrids on how they performed this year, what conditions they performed best or worst in, and how they performed specifically on your farm.


South
Elgin – Lewiston – Stewartville

Hailey Dykes

With October drawing to an end, we are also starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for the 2021 harvest season. Every year brings its challenges and this year has been no exception, with higher fertilizer pricing and the unknown of what the chemical market is going to do. With that being said we have had exceptional yields for both corn and soybeans in our area, which has left a lot of good moods in the countryside. Soybeans are wrapped up, with many farm yields being well above average.  A good percentage of the corn acres are harvested or are tracking to be finished fairly quickly within the next week or so.

 

The ending of this season leads to preparing for next year’s farm plans. A lot of our soybean and corn plots for Ag Partners wrapping up and we are currently compiling the data for all of our seed brands. Reach out to your agronomist if you are interested in receiving data and are wanting to make seed plans for this coming year! Have a safe rest of the harvest season and thanks for your continued support of Ag Partners Coop.


WWAS
Ellsworth

Chace Kinneman

It finally feels like fall!!!  With the cold temperatures this week, a pretty popular question has been can I cut my hay? It’s kind of a loaded question but here are some pros and cons:

 

PROS:

  • Bonus cutting
  • More feed

CONS:

  • Does not ferment well
  • No stubble to catch snow for insulation
  • Risk of winter kill is higher

It has been cold enough the past few mornings where the carbohydrates should be in the roots.  Therefore, if I were to cut right now – I would either cut high or leave strips and get it fed up right away.

Harvest is done for some and getting close for others in our area. Yields for the most part have been above expectations.