From the Week of July 17, 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:
Adam Steffel– Belle Plaine
Casey Carlson – Goodhue
Garrett Johnson – Morristown
Pete Collins – Stewartville
Chace Kinneman – Ellsworth
Scroll down to hear from your local agronomist, and click for contact info!
WEST
Belle Plaine – Le Center – Le Sueur
Adam Steffel
In the past week corn has started to tassel so the helicopters and Hagies have been hard at the corn fungicide. While walking fields we have been seeing a lot of corn that is 16 to 18 rows around and 35 to 45 kernels long. If we get a good pollination, we still have a lot of potential to see some good yields. That is why it’s important to not give up on this crop with the drought stress we’ve been seeing and stick with the fungicide we have planned.
The soybeans on the other hand are right on the edge of R3 and also getting that fungicide application. The R3 stage of a soybean plant starts when there is a pod on one of the four uppermost nodes that is at least 3/16 of an inch. A fungicide application on the soybeans will help the plant mitigate the stress of the drought and heat we are seeing in the forecast. Before spraying the fungicide make sure to scout for aphids too. We are seeing some in the area but nothing that warrants an insecticide application as of now.
EAST
Pine Island – Cannon Falls – Goodhue – Lake City
Casey Carlson
Ag Partners has a few plot bags of Preceon Smart Corn (AKA Short Corn) planted in the Goodhue trade area.
Preceon Smart Corn Advantages and Local Observations
- Short stature will provide better stability during extreme weather events.
- Flexibility in nitrogen and fungicide timings
- Higher plant populations due to short stature and better standability
- Noticeable upright leave posture
- Stalks are about 30% larger than regular corn
- Root size at this site was similar to SSTX corn in the field
- About 1.5 ft to 3.5 ft shorter than regular corn, depending on variety
- No noticeable difference in plant height until about V8 crop stage
 Preceon short corn photo taken July 18th. Our AYS intern Carter is 6’2” for reference. |
 Preceon Corn on the left at 42,000 plant population vs SSTX at 36,000 on the right |
CENTRAL
Morristown – Wanamingo – Kenyon
Garrett Johnson
This week in the central region tassel fungicide on corn is in full speed. There have been some wind delays which I’m sure many of us would gladly trade for rain delays. Much of our area is extremely dry and there is not a favorable forecast for moisture. This is all the more reason to protect your crop with fungicide! We are about halfway through spraying corn fungicide and there are a few fields of soybeans trickling in for fungicide. The ideal timing for soybean fungicide is R3, which on some of the early planted beans, we are seeing that now. There are many great reasons to invest in fungicide in your soybeans including reducing drought stress. Ascend SL is another great product that can be added to the application this year that will help develop larger trifoliates and retain more pods and flowers. We will be on the lookout in the coming weeks for when the best timing is for soybean fungicide!
Photo Credit to Cody Schmeling, Syngenta
SOUTH
Elgin – Lewiston – Stewartville
Pete Collins
Stick With The Plan
More times than not, we wished we had stuck with the original plan in most stuff we do in Agronomy. This year has been a very challenging year to stick with our original plans. Should we plant early? Should we plant before the cold rain coming? Should we use starter, zinc, boron, sulfur, fungicide, insecticide, side dress/top dress, etc….? The list goes on and on!
These look to be paying dividends even in a drought. There are a lot of fields that look awesome and should be rewarded with whatever your plan called for going into this crop year. With the grain price increasing for new crop corn, it has changed the conversations for growers about collecting crop insurance. We still have a good crop out there….STICK WITH THE PLAN!
WISCONSIN
Ellsworth
Chase Kinneman
Fungicide is in full swing this week!!! Whether it’s corn or beans, most are at the perfect timing. The guys are out working long hours to make sure we get it done in a timely fashion. The weather forecast for the short term looks to be hot with less rain. It is crucial to keep the crop as healthy as possible so it can maximize yield and fill that combine up fast this fall. Please reach out to an Ag Partners Agronomist if you have any questions and have a wonderful week!
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