Sept. 30, 2022 Edition
“If you’re looking to modify a fertility program to achieve higher yield output, just realize that it takes the soil 3-4 years to fully adapt to those nutrient changes.” – David Sass, Pioneer Field Agronomist in the Pacific Northwest
To help
emphasize this point, we could iterate that crop yields three to four years in
the future will be influenced by our management practices being employed
today. If you have conducted some tissue
tests and/or expanded soil testing in some higher production fields to push
productivity, understand that it takes time for significant fertilizer
applications to be absorbed by the soil.
The patience we must display in agriculture can be frustrating at times,
but usually the long-term rewards for enhanced management are well worth the wait.
Weather
Well, the weather to date has been tolerable with many above
average days lately and most operations finding a steady rhythm to this season’s
harvest. We’ve had the usual array of
weather events, and just when we were getting a little too dry for comfort,
most areas have received some needed rainfall over the past several weeks. The below NDAWN rainfall map from mid-August
to the end of September reveals a strong pattern to the north and east in our
region as receiving more rainfall.
Our corn GDDs were above average from June 1st to the end of September (see map), and it was much needed with a cool and wet spring which prevented completion of planting/sowing until early to mid-June. With an average corn planting date for our region of May 24th, our full GDD accumulation for the season places most areas with at least 2000 GDDs and traditionally cooler geographies to the north and outside the Red River valley in the 1750-1900 range which is within a couple days of average. Overall, at the end of September, most operations feel fortunate with the season’s weather to date and are optimistic in both crop yields and finishing the needed field activities for the year.
Crop
Progress
Most of the corn is in the final stages of development with
a starch line of at least ¾ths of the way down the kernel. Many fields have reached a natural black-layer
and I’ve heard reports of 27-28% grain moisture. If you did happen to receive a killing frost on
the corn and the starch line was at the half-way point, the research data
indicates anywhere from a 5-10% yield impact.
This decrease in yield would come from lighter kernel weight and thus
taking more kernels to fill a 56 lb bushel basket.
With the late season moisture in most areas, abundant
sunshine during grain fill, and minimal acres impacted by a killing frost, I am
seeing good late season plant health in the corn and soybeans which will lead
to good harvest standability. Kernel
size in soybeans and test weight in corn should be above average as well.
For the soybeans, most fields have already reached full
maturity and are dropping leaves quickly.
Soybean harvest is just getting underway with initial yield reports above
average significantly – 10 bu/ac or more.
It could be a record soybean crop for production in our region if those
trends hold.
The weblinks provided below will provide some additional
information on managing a frost damaged soybean and/or corn.
https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/managing_delayed_or_frostdamaged_soybeans.html
https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/Managing_for_DelayedCorn_Crop.html
Genetically
Engineered for SCN?
When you have a pest that is as significant as the soybean
cyst nematode (SCN), it’ll take all the tools in the toolbox and more to assist
in keeping populations manageable. Back
in June, the EPA granted registration of a genetically engineered Bt soybean
from BASF that will target SCN.
Currently, “the trait is only registered for use as breeding material”
and is forecasted to become commercially available in 5-6 years. The Bt trait is providing “moderate
suppression” of SCN and will not be promoted as “control”. To further enhance SCN effectiveness, BASF
plans on combining the Bt trait with resistant genetics like PI88788, Peking,
or future cyst resistant genes to improve upon effectiveness against the
pest.
The Bt protein (Cry14Ab-1) attacks the gut of the cyst
nematodes in a similar fashion that corn Bt traits like YieldGuard and
Herculex1 control European Corn Borer.
Cyst resistance to the Bt gene is forecasted to be minimal due to low
mobility of the nematodes in the soil and the combination of resistant genes in
conjunction with the Bt genetically engineered trait.
Corteva and BASF have agreements in place to bring the next
generation of herbicide tolerant soybeans (Enlist-3 with PPO herbicide tolerance)
and the SCN Bt trait together for germplasm in the 2030 decade.
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2020/08/19/basf-develop-bt-soybean-targeting
PowerCore
Enlist Corn - Next Generation of Technology
Corteva has received all domestic and international
regulatory approvals for the next generation of Bt and herbicide tolerant corn
for our region. “PowerCore Enlist” will
contain three distinct above ground Bt proteins to control European Corn Borer,
Fall Armyworm, and other potential insects as well as herbicide tolerances of
glyphosate, glufosinate, 2,4-D choline, and FOPs. Common FOP chemistry includes the Group 1
herbicides like Assure II® (quizalofop), Fusilade® (fluazifop), Discover®
(clodinafop), etc. The FOP chemistries
will primarily provide an option for volunteer corn control in corn-on-corn
rotations (presuming a non PowerCore hybrid was planted the prior year). Secondarily, in fields where glyphosate
resistant grass weeds are of concern, FOP genetic tolerance will provide
another technology option.
Volunteer corn from PowerCore hybrids in a succeeding
soybean (or other broadleaf) crop can be controlled by Group 1 DIM herbicides
like clethodim (Select Max®), sethoxydim (Poast®), etc.
PowerCore Enlist hybrids will be tolerant to 2,4-D
choline at 1 lb a.i./ac rate up to 30” corn height. This would equate to a full quart or 32 oz/ac
of LV4 2,4-D and be equivalent to Enlist soybeans at 2 pts/ac of Enlist One
herbicide. Yes, 2,4-D has been labelled
on corn for many decades, but PowerCore Enlist corn will bring a much larger
window of application, and significantly higher use rates without the added
risk of fused brace roots that cause lodging or increased susceptibility to
green brittle-snap. With the new choline
formulation, we’ll continue to see near zero volatility/drift onto neighboring
susceptible crops (as we’ve witnessed with Enlist One and Enlist Duo applications
in E-3 soybeans). Overall, just another
tool in the box for our quickly evolving weed spectrum.
PowerCore Enlist corn will begin to slowly appear in the
70-75-80 and 85 RM zones within the next couple years from Pioneer and Corteva.
https://www.pioneer.com/us/news-and-events/news/media-release/powercore-enlist-corn.html
Corteva
Purchases Symborg
Corteva Agri-sciences has made the move and reached
agreement to purchase Symborg, a microbiological technologies business. Corteva and Symborg have a history of working
together to bring Utrisha-N to the marketplace as a nitrogen efficiency
optimizer in corn, soybeans, and wheat over the past couple growing seasons. This transaction by Corteva is another step
in the proper direction to continue to bring leading technological solutions to
crop producers across the world.
Combine
Harvest Solutions
Mr. John Aubin has been running his
business of “Combine Harvesting Solutions” since 2010 and relishes in
opportunities to engage with farms while assisting with dialing-in the combine
for maximizing efficiency in the field.
John has knowledge of all brands and models of combines while diagnosing
and solving thrashing issues in the field.
Below are a couple of
key harvesting tips from Mr. Aubin:
- Closely monitor the consistency of the crop flow across
the header and into the feeder housing.
The more consistent this flow is, the better the crop will thrash
internally as the grain will naturally begin to separate as it rubs
against itself (material on material thrashing). As the need for machine thrashing decreases
due to this rubbing, the more efficient (greater speed/less grain loss) the
combine will become
- Insure the cross-auger in the header (if so equipped)
is square from left to right in its height above the platform as well as
in its depth from the back of the header – obviously a square header auger
is essential to create consistent crop flow
- For corn, measure the diameter of a thrashed cob
(millimeters) and then set the combine rotor clearance to that exact
measurement as a starting point. In
this example (pic), the measurement is about 23 mm
- It’s a good practice to double check and potentially
re-calibrate electronic measurement displays in the cab regarding combine
settings. It is not uncommon for an
electronic display to be off by a significant percentage and therefore could
be the actual cause of excess grain loss despite the operator thinking the
particular setting is spot-on or should/cannot be adjusted any further
- Also for corn, make sure the deck plates are slightly wider apart at the rear (top) of the deck plates versus the bottom (front). This will ensure the rollers will more efficiently pull the stalk through and therefore more effectively allow the residue to flow properly with less stalk material having to move through the combine.
If you have a machine (or two or more) that isn’t gathering or thrashing grain as effectively as you’d like, or is having issues with excess grain loss or a dirty grain tank sample, I’d recommend giving Mr. Aubin a call. He is excellent at walking through concerns over the phone or in the field and assisting growers in solving problems. He is an independent consultant so he will charge for his time, but these charges are minimal when considering the value of today’s commodity output and the number of acres a machine will harvest in a crop. John Aubin’s contact info is within his website:
http://www.combineharvestingsolutions.com/about-us/
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