Ag Partners Agronomic Insights
 Austin SchultzLe Center |
 Hannah HernkeGoodhue |
 Tye AndersonElgin |
Kirsten Bauer |
WEST
Is the end in sight?? Many of us agronomists here in the west are beginning to see the end in sight, with fungicide and insecticide applications coming to a close. Overall, fungicide applications were down this year with many growers making the decisions based on insurance payments and what the potential of the crop may be. I would still argue that we can’t give up hope too early, as many fields have really turned the corner and began to look much better over the last month. Some of the corn I have looked at has been averaging close to 14/16 kernels a round, and 35-40 long with pollination appearing to have happened across the whole ear. Providing stand counts were adequate and crop nutrition was addressed in-season, I do believe a lot of corn will make up the yield loss we may have experienced earlier in the year with the adequate moisture we should have for grain fill. That being said, we still want to continue to look out for diseases and insect pressure as we have seen tremendously more pressure this summer than we have over the last 4 years. I haven’t seen much tar spot in our area but there have been flare-ups east of Interstate 35. We have been seeing an increase in soybean aphid pressure this last week that must continue to be monitored. If you didn’t apply an insecticide already, I encourage you to continue to scout your soybeans. Once we get through R5, the threshold does increase but that doesn’t mean we will be out of the woods. As always, please contact your agronomist with any questions! – Austin
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Where has the summer gone to? June seemed to drag on, but here we are into the second week of August! There has been Tar Spot and soybean aphids to battle in our territory the last few weeks. But what I am thinking about today & want to touch base on is our forages!
Alfalfa
August is a good time to start thinking about how we will manage hay ground going into the 2025 crop year.
Stand Evaluations – Performing alfalfa stand counts and root assessments can help us determine what fields can stay in production. Look at crown health- the roots should be a healthy off-white color throughout.
The alfalfa root pictured above would score low and will lose vigor by spring.
Stand counts are different depending on the year in production of the hay.
- Seeding year : 45+ plants per square foot
- 1st year in production : 25-35+ plants per square foot
- 2nd year in production : 15-20+ plants per square foot
- 3rd year in production : 8-12+ plants per square foot
Fertilizer Applications – Alfalfa plants will start preparing for winter by sending carbohydrates to the roots. Potassium will help reduce the chance of winter kill and enhance the proteins and starch for the alfalfa plant. Applying 200 pounds of potash in August will get the plant prepared for the winter months.
Corn Silage
The end of August will be here before we know it which means we will most likely start chopping corn silage in most of our territory!
There have been parts of our geography effected by hail and wind damage. Damaged leaves and stalks can appear drier than they really are. Harvesting samples and burning them down will be the most effective way to determine moisture content, aiming for that 65-68% moisture. Bring in a sample and have your nutritionist or agronomist burndown samples for you.
We will have official burndown days set on the calendar in the near future, so watch out for those! – Hannah
SOUTH
This year we are seeing how crucial it is to not only use the correct chemistry, but also enough chemistry. Late season escapes are showing up throughout some of the territory in both corn and beans. In some cases, we can tell a major difference in one pass vs. two pass. Getting a solid pre-emerge herbicide applied has shown to be key to keeping corn fields clean in late season. In one pass situations, we have one shot all year to keep things clean. In a very wet year, we can lose the residual just like a vehicle runs out of gas. In a dry year, the residual doesn’t reactivate, and we get escapes. Being able to layer residual with two passes has made a massive difference. Two pass applications by far is more effective in the total suppression of weeds in your fields. Below is a slide showing the number of seeds each weed produces in a year. Below that in the orange shows the viability of these seeds in future years. Best of luck in the rest of the growing season, and I wish everyone a safe harvest – Tye
WISCONSIN
We are rolling into August here in Western Wisconsin and our focus has temporarily been shifted to disease pressure and the dreaded Tar Spot. Which is all well and good as we make difficult decisions for fungicide application to protect that yield potential in such a high-risk environment. However, I would like to pull our attention back to our old pal: Nitrogen. Our views from the road may let us forget about all the loss we have seen this season, but as soon as we get out in the fields we are quickly reminded. A lot of corn out there is exhibiting early firing from relocating nitrogen within the plant. What we haven’t lost from leaching out of the plant available root zone, we have certainly lost through denitrification in these constantly saturated soils. Bacteria in the soil need an oxygen source and in the absence of it in such wet conditions, they will turn to nitrate.
For the current season this means we need to be on the lookout during grain fill for issues with stalk strength and possibly rot, but what about next year? Despite that we have yet to start the 2024 harvest, we need to be thinking about decisions for 2025 when it comes to N application. What can we do differently or how can we prevent as much Nitrogen loss as possible?
- Consider your nitrogen source and timing of application (did we split applications?).
- For those who use manure, consider nitrate/ammonia soil testing to see 2025 availability.
- Did we use a stabilizer? Considering the year we have had, a stabilizer is warranted on all acres – those who use liquid manure, incorporated urea, or UAN.
It’s never too early to start talking to your Ag Partners Agronomist about a plan for 2025! – Kirsten