From the Week of June 19, 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:
Chris Soltau – Goodhue
Tanner Borgschatz – Kenyon
Kjersten Veiseth – Elgin
Kirsten Bauer – Ellsworth
Scroll down to hear from your local agronomist, and click for contact info!
EAST
Pine Island – Cannon Falls – Goodhue – Lake City
Chris Soltau
Excellent Job Applicators!
At the Goodhue location, we have a total of fifteen primary applicators. We have four individuals who changed positions from primary applicator to working for Ag Partners in a logistic and/or a management role. We had six employees leave Ag Partners for different opportunities, making room for eight employees who were not on our team last year. The seven experienced applicators from last year, along with the personnel who took other positions within Ag Partners, did a tremendous job helping train the new team members. We can now call it impossible to hire only “farm” kids, since less than 2% of our population is from the farm. Our assembly of applicators are a mix of being raised on farms, loving to work for neighbors or friends on farms, mechanics, driving big equipment, or maintaining a rural lifestyle.
All the new Ag Partners applicator team members have exceeded expectations by wanting to learn how to do an excellent job on all of our customers farms. We all make mistakes. This group of 2023 applicators have done a tremendous job of learning, calling immediately when a mistake is made so it can be remedied, and asking questions to the customer and fellow employees. The next time an applicator arrives on the farm, tell them thank you for being there to help you grow a tremendous crop. The Ag Partners applicator is the most important employee we can send to your farm. Without them, none of what we do would be possible. Thanks Again!
CENTRAL
Morristown – Wanamingo – Kenyon
Tanner Borgschatz
The spotty rain showers continued again this last week with some areas receiving no rain while other areas getting 1-2 inches. Sidedress applications are mostly finished and soybean post spraying is going on. With the warm temperatures these last couple weeks, our GDU accumulation so far this year is above average and pushing this crop along. It might seem early but it’s about time to start thinking about the next phase of the growing season – fungicide. Some of the earlier planted corn will likely be ready for a VT fungicide application in about another month. Some of you may be wondering if later planted corn still pays to apply a fungicide. Shown below is some average yield responses to fungicide applications by planting date in our AYS database from 2015 through 2022. Corn planted in the last half of May can still respond well to fungicide. Reasons to apply fungicide, especially in drier conditions:
- Suppression of Tar Spot and other diseases. Tar Spot showed large yield decreases without fungicide last year in areas with severe infestation.
- Increased standability during harvest.
- Increased water efficiency and retention within the plant.
Talk with your agronomist to discuss if your crop could benefit from a fungicide application.
SOUTH
Elgin – Lewiston – Stewartville
Kjersten Veiseth
Fungicide season is right around the corner and with tar spot pressure known in this area many growers should be planning on at least one fungicide application this season. Max-In K and Max-In Boron are two products that should be considered to be added to the tank this season.
According to our AYS data, 52% of the acres enrolled are in a Low to Very Low category for K soil levels. Potassium is a key macronutrient that will help with late season plant standability and health, and helps with nutrient transport throughout the plant. Max-In K is a foliar applied liquid nutrient product that can be added to your fungicide application to increase the K levels in the plant. This could be increasingly important if we continue to see dry weather as our AYS data shows crop response to higher K levels on dry years.
Max-In Boron is another foliar applied product that can be added to your fungicide application. Boron plays an important role in getting nutrients from the leaf to the stalk to feed the plant or getting stored in the kernels. Boron is essential for the germination of pollen grains and the formation of seed. Applying Max-In Boron with your fungicide application can give your crop the additional boost it needs to produce high yields this growing season.
Talk to your local agronomist about using Max-In K or Max-In Boron with your fungicide application this season!
Click on the links to learn more about each product:
→ Max-In K
→ Max-In Boron
WISCONSIN
Ellsworth
Kirsten Bauer
The 2023 season is flying by and just like that we are in the final stretch of side dress. We now wait and hope for rain as the majority of Western Wisconsin moves into the moderate drought range on the US Drought Monitor. That being said, this is no time to sit idle, it’s time to get to the fields and do some scouting.
Insects have been persistent pests this spring. Weevils are on their way out the door, but we should still be monitoring any fields that have gone untreated thus far. Armyworms seem to be crawling into the spotlight in some areas, and undoubtedly other pests will follow suit as the season goes on.
Soybean post spray is also upon us, so it is important to keep an eye on those pesky weeds that survived pre applications. Many soybeans in our region are coming in late to the party due to poor original planting conditions and replanting. Despite this fact, when it comes to post herbicide applications, it is important to keep in mind that it’s truly never too early to pull the trigger. This is especially when it comes to problem weeds like waterhemp, which is a season long germinator. Fields that appear to be clean today may be tomorrow’s waterhemp wonderland. Be sure to talk to your Ag Partners agronomist for control options.
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