From the Week of May 29, 2023
The one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about what’s happening this week in your fields.
This week’s featured agronomists are:
Courtney Wolf – Belle Plaine
Justin Schaefer – Wanamingo
Casey Carlson – Goodhue
Matt Kimm – Stewartville
Brady Kinneman – Ellsworth
Scroll down to hear from your local agronomist, and click for contact info!
WEST
Belle Plaine – Le Center – Le Sueur
Courtney Wolf
As we get to the beginning of June most of the crops have been planted and we are working on getting the last of the pre-emerge herbicide on the corn & soybeans. Even if your crops have emerged it is still important to get a layer of residual on the field to prevent weeds from emerging. There are many different options but two common herbicide programs Ag Partners has to offer are TripleFlex on the corn and Prefix on the soybeans. Both of these herbicides are primarily used for pre-emerge application but they can also be sprayed if the crop is emerged. Weather you use these herbicides or something else, just remember to get a residual herbicide down on your field- the easiest weed to kill is a weed that does not emerge. For more information on these herbicides or any other agronomic needs contact your local Ag Partners Agronomist. Have a safe and successful spray season.
CENTRAL
Morristown – Wanamingo – Kenyon
Justin Schaefer
Thanks to the long stretch of dry days recently we have been able to finish up planting in the Wanamingo area. A few of the earlier planted corn and beans fields in the area are being touched up with replant seed, due to some areas receiving heavy downpours right after planting a few weeks back.
Applicators have turned in the spreaders for sprayers. They did a great job getting soybean pre-emerge down and have now turned to spraying corn. Corn plants are growing very rapidly which will lead to top/side dressing firing up in no time as well. With all these applications taking place make sure to remind those you work with of any sensitive crops/areas near fields you run. It is important for us to select correct wind directions when applicating near sensitive crops/areas and to leave buffers where need be. After a very busy spring at the fertilizer plants your local agronomists are anxious to get out into the country more, so please reach out with any questions or concerns. Stay Safe!!!
EAST
Pine Island – Cannon Falls – Goodhue – Lake City
Casey Carlson
The unexpected heat wave is pushing the corn crop along across Goodhue and Dakota counties. Corn growth stages vary widely across the region. Early planted corn is in the V4 stage with some on the sand approaching V5. While corn planted around May 20th is just emerging from the field. Weeds have also taken off with the heat. Early planted corn without any herbicide down is weedy and needs to get sprayed. Early planted corn with a 2 pass corn herbicide programs will be ready for the post pass next week with some ready this week. Any crops planted into a cover crop need the cover crop terminated immediately. A standing covercrop will cause yield loss in a growing crop. V4 corn also means its ready to start sidedressing. A widespread rain would be welcome to help with soybean emergence.
 Corn planted in late April on the right vs late May on the left. Corn stages vary widely this year. |
 Cover crop past due for termination |
SOUTH
Elgin – Lewiston – Stewartville
Matt Kimm
Time to Spray
As we look around the countryside the weeds are coming and have been coming, in many cases. There are a lot of instances this year where maybe guys planted corn only 2-3 weeks ago but the pre had been put there for much longer than that. If that happens to be the case, it is more than time to start spraying. 28 days is a pretty good rule to follow when it comes to timing between 1st pass and 2nd pass, on both corn and soybeans. Be sure to contact your Ag Partners agronomist and discuss the spectrum of weeds that are present when getting ready to spray. We have many options to include additional chemistry in the tank to help knock down some of the tougher-to-kill weeds.
The last thing I would like to mention is residual. Layering residuals on both corn and beans is a key to having clean fields come fall. With the dry spell we are in right now I understand the thought of keeping them out of the tank, however that is not the right thing to do. We have to get the residual laid out there so they can activate and do their job once we receive moisture. Overall crops look very good in our territory and growth has really started to take off. Have a great summer!
Wisconsin
Ellsworth Area
Brady Kinneman
Just as we think planting has come to a completion in the Cheesehead state, we face increasing replant soybean acres. Short planting windows this May pushed some fields to be planted in wet conditions. When you combine that with a two week stretch of near perfect weather it sets up a textbook sidewall surface compaction layer that our soybeans cannot push through. It seems that acres planted May 15th-May 20th are in desperate need of rain to loosen that crust and let the soybeans emerge. Remember we can still achieve very high yielding soybeans with subpar final stand counts. In AYS we have lowered learning blocks to around 80K and reach 70 plus bushels per acre. More of a concern would be the uneven stand. I’m afraid if we do catch a rain, we may have plants come up very late which would serve as more of a weed throughout the rest of our season. I have been evaluating corn stands and I will say the Exact Emerge planters can leave you with a picture-perfect picket fence stand (pictured below). First crop hay is 90% in the books, and we are actively spreading hay fertilizer at the moment. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Side dressing corn coming next week!
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 Example of soybean population learning block yield data |
