Ag Partners Agronomic Insights
 Erin StackhouseLe Sueur |
 Todd AndersonGoodhue |
 Hailey HausladenStewartville-Elgin |
Noa Lansing |
WEST
Wow, what a crazy year it has been and to think sooner than later we will be turning our focus to the 2025 growing season. It always seems once the 4th of July hits, summer is gone and fall is here. As you start to budget and figure out rotation you should start thinking about Fall Fertilizer. I have spent the last month deep diving into a lot of grid sample results to figure out if we are properly feeding our AYS Management Zones (A, B, C)
As shown in these charts, I have broke this field down into each zone. I then looked at what the levels were back in 2020, when we soil sampled it vs the new soils samples that were taken this spring. Overall, this particular field is sitting very well on Potassium levels. There are various areas that we probably pulled bigger yields out than what we were expecting. On the Phosphorus side we used a little bit of the reserves. We didn’t go backwards much but it is something we will be addressing the next time we spread this field. – Erin
2024 has certainly had its fair share of challenges. Bugs and disease have been a lot more prevalent in all the crops. Soybean Aphids have been around for a couple weeks, but just recently started to explode in numbers. Therefore, if you haven’t sprayed your soybeans for them yet, make sure you are checking them. U of MN says threshold is 250 aphids/plant, but we have had many trials through the years with 10+bu/A response from 50-100/plant.
Tar spot is a newer challenge that we are currently facing. We are in a high risk area as shown on the chart below.
Below is a Leaf with significant Tar Spot. It looks like fly excrement but can’t be rubbed off and has a slightly raised bumpy feel to it.
Tar Spot will thrive when conditions have : constant leaf wetness from wet weather, foggy overnights, into late mornings and heavy dew, combined with moderate air temperatures, and >75% humidity
When the plant is near maturity, the disease expresses themselves and shuts down the vascular system- allowing Tar Spot to take over, spreading rapidly by covering leaf tissue and stopping the photosynthetic process. This causes shallow kernels and the rest of the ear to look normal.
2022 AYS South data showed in high tar spot pressure an average of 43.6bu/A from 1 pass of MiravisNeo at VT and an average of 20.6 bu/A from a 2nd pass of fungicide approximately 3 weeks later.
Tar Spot is completely dependent on environmental conditions
– Todd
SOUTH
Another summer is flying by and as we are heading into August we are starting to slow down. Soybean fungicide is in full swing as well as corn fungicide, which is going to be wrapping up soon. We have been seeing some aphids in the soybeans, as well as some other insect pressures with this hot humid and dry weather. In some soybean fields, our not-so-good friend white mold is starting to show up and we will continue to monitor the disease pressure and progress. Prior to corn fungicide applications, we were mainly seeing rust, Northern Corn Leaf Blight, and Grey Leaf Spot. We have also been finding a sprinkling touch of tar spot throughout the southeastern portion of the state. Fungicides will play a very good role in yield preservation in this wetter than normal year, for both beans and corn.
With August upon us, be mindful of cutting dates for alfalfa going into the fall. We have been very lucky with sneaking in later cuttings into September the past few years, but early frost and late cutting of your alfalfa can have detrimental effects for next year’s yields and stands. We also will be rolling into silage season here soon so be on the lookout for silage burndown days!
Have a great rest of your summer and a safe fall! – Hailey
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WISCONSIN
It’s finally drying out here in Wisconsin to get our second pass bean spraying done. We are also just wrapping up our fungicide spraying with the helicopter. Tar Spot has been found but has not been spreading, so we have definitely been lucky there. The corn started out very uneven across our area with the wet conditions, but is starting to even out with the dryer conditions. – Noa
