Strategic Farming: Field Notes

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Alright welcome to Today's Strategic farming field notes program I'm Dr.

Anthony Hansen Extension educator and integrated pest management.

So I’m glad you could join us for today's session. we're talking about today, delayed planting, and possibly dealing with flooding after planting depending on where you are in the state just basically it's

been a late spring. Now, what So these sessions are brought to you by University of Minnesota extension, and with very generous support from Minnesota Soybean Research Council as well as the Minnesota Corn Growers Research in Promotion Council, and we would like to welcome 3 speakers today.

One is Dr. Jochum Wiersma, what’s going on up north with all rains, Extension.

Specialist, Seth Naeve (Soybean Extension Agronomist), and then also Dr.

Jeff Colter for the corn side of things. We also have moderating today.

Dave Nicolai, extension, educator, and crops as well.

I think with that I'd like to turn it over to Jochum Wiersma and ask what's going up north around crooks in there with the small grains?

How are things going for planting I know we don't in Central Minnesota?

But also Northern Minnesota sounds like it's been pretty wet, you know, around here, where I'm Brut, near.

We got closer to 8 inches of rain we had quite a bullseye here, and you've been seeing a lot of similar weather up there, too.

Haven't you Yep, we're wet bottom line and so planning is delayed.

People are planting corn beans; we saw sugar beach all at the same time picking off fields.

I didn't look at the planting progress report from USADA, because, like many of you are trying to be in the field as well.

We're late. So the question that's okay I comes to me most often is, Should I still plant wheat or oats, and it's probably one of the worst years to make that decision because of the commodity

prices, you know, crop insurance and losing full coverage.

Southern men lost full coverage, making south to highway to

Right now, I believe, is the end of this month, and then June fifth is our June tenth.

I believe, is the Canadian border. The third basically section of the State.

And so, but crop insurance is only part of it.

Given the very high commodity prices. you crossed that against switching to other crops. and some people are still thinking corn this far north, even.

And you're looking at drying costs so a grower just as an example.

Yesterday is still planting oats and southern men because they're worried that they're corn, and Jeff can answer those questions better as he has better odds he things with oats than he had with corn at this

point given the prices where the commodities are.

Obviously you lose full coverage. Yup: potential. very much depends on the rest of the summer.

If we stay wet and humid, our yield potentials are greatly reduced.

The real thumb is half a bushel to a bushel per day.

Delay. So we're looking at probably half to 2 thirds of a Max crop in the case of post. The big risk, because most of the os is being used in the food market.

Is loss of test weight that's less of a concern in the case of wheat.

We generally don't lose as much test rate. and we the can handle the heat a little bit better, but we are looking at probably 2 thirds of a crop at this point in time.

For the rest, you know rotations matter. I know that anybody that has Sugar beach will plant wheat in front of the sugar beat acres next year.

Basically come Helen, high water that's about it as far as what to do or not to do.

So you'll come especially thinking about wet conditions and small grains.

We talk about disease a lot in that realm of things so what's your outlook for diseases, so far at least that you can take a stab at.

Obviously you got some time till we have a better

These are the years where fisherium headlight has a greater risk.

Simply because if we have indeed a wetter summer, and we're later, that seems to synchronize the development of the sport production with heading dates time will tell we have the risk models to help with

that, and, as you know, a lot of acres receive a fund.

Your site at that time, anyway. it's just a matter of then becoming what product?

You know you go to a more a little bit higher efficacy product the premium products, as we call them versus the more generic i'll cure up propaganda.

So i'm sorry

So Jochum, one of the things that we sometimes run into.

And Jeff will talk about this in corn is adopting of a shorter season.

Maturity hybrid. But, in a case of oats and spring week, is there such a thing as a recommendation?

If you are really going to go out there and plant and take a chance here, would you pick on a specific variety?

That is more fast paced early maturity. that we'd be better suited for a really late planting like this or anything on the ultra spring weight side.

So most of the spring weeds okay doc don't eat the cord.

Most of the spring weeks are daylight insensitive which means that their development is completely run by heat units, and so there isn't much incentive to switch there all the varieties.

The development of it are going to get compressed. I put a crop news out a week or a week and a half ago.

What that looks like for the growing season. Eventually, even if you go into late, you know, middle to late June, the crop will make it. Whether or not it will dry down in time is the biggest question.

After that. because if you get to the Canadian border you know you have a lot fewer days that will allowed to crop to dry down in the case of odes, it's a little bit different in that oats is more daylight

sensitive if you can find it. I would go to an earlier maturing oats.

An old seat was hard to get by. Come by, anyway, this season.

But if you could, if you're still thinking of it I would maybe switch to range, or one of the early maturing South Dakota varieties.

Dave, I think i'll turn it over to you for heading maybe a little further south, , what's going on there culture down mute himself here and talk a little bit about where we are we're at now, the

20 fifth of May. Jeff. in in terms of that.

I know that we off the air earlier we're talking about a lot of Southern Minnesota has planted, but not necessarily everybody.

And in in some locations. but I read to the point where we definitely wanna be able to change that relative maturity.

Is there anything else about planting management, population, depth, anything else that you can tell us about?

What we should be thinking about. we're gonna close in here close to this Memorial Day weekend.

Sure. Thanks, Dave. Yeah. So at this point planting through May, 25, we still have 94 to 96% of maximum yield based on all the planting day trials that we've

done in Minnesota, and if planting is delayed until May the 20 sixth, through may the 30.

We're probably looking at about 91 to 93% of the maximum yield.

So those numbers are not terrible in terms of yield potential.

And I just like to stress again that for corn the big determinant on corn yield are is what are the weather conditions like?

You know, Soil, moisture, level key, those kinds of things.

During, like the 12 days before tassels come out.

And then, about 2 weeks after those tassels come out that's really the critical period.

With regards to relative maturities. well, I guess I should back up and talk about latest recommended planting dates.

So typically latest recommended planning dates for corn.

So, for corn grain would be June, 10 in Southern Minnesota and June 5 in Central and northern Minnesota.

The next thing we want to think about is, what relative maturity should we be using with this slate planting?

So. So right now from now through May 28. We want to be thinking about hybrids that are 5 to 7.

Relative maturity units shorter than what is considered full season for your area and for May 29 to June 4.

We want to be looking at hybrids that are 8 to 15.

Relative maturity units shorter than full season, and for June 5 to June 10.

Then we wanna be choosing hybrids that are 15 or more relative maturity units shorter than full season.

And then, when we think about that, we also need to think about what is full season for our area, and we're our initial hybrids, that we ordered really full season in many cases what farmers order may be a couple relative maturity,

units earlier than what is really considered full season for their area.

So that gives you a little cushion. anything about if you're looking at a recommendation.

Let's just pick on South Central or Central Minnesota.

Maybe if they're a little bit farther behind so what kind of a maturity range with that translate to for that section of the State, and in terms of that, are we looking at you know say for example, a a 90 or

95 to 100, or what where where's your comfort range, perhaps for that South central or central part of the State. Yeah.

So you know Again, the up the full season. relative maturity differs a lot based on, you know.

Micro environment where you are within a region but you know if I said, You know, if you're in an area like, say Hutchinson, where the season maturity hybrid is like 99 relative maturity, you know then you'd want to be

backing down to something like 92 to 94, relative maturity. Anything else about management.

Yeah, whatever you could get in at this point in time.

In terms of that. Some people like to make some changes on planting depth.

We've got a lot of these high speed planners out there?

Any any other thing that comes to mind there. Yeah. great questions, Dave.

So 2 inches is kind of the standard planting depth.

I would not suggest recommending planting, any shallower then than that, and there's no need to plan deeper that corn should come up fairly quickly after planting, since we have relatively warm temperatures.

Now the optimum final plant population also does not change with delayed planting.

So. no real need to be modifying any of your

Yeah. so, Jeff, my question for you is back. when we had that duration come through, and all that rain, especially that bullseye around Central Minnesota, a lot of folks were just getting their corn planted right before

that came so like in the case in our farm, coincident, you get about 8 inches of rain.

Later we had flooding even on sand ground which we don't see out here normally.

So it's something that's I think a lot of farmers minds is wondering what's gonna happen with their corn.

They planted where there is flooding occurring. So you know, at this point, what can they be doing, or what should they be keeping an eye out for during the call that actually is merging?

Yeah, well first you know wanna make sure that it's still alive, and that it didn't die, so you know.

Go out there. be digging up seedlings and looking for signs of death, you know.

Orange to brown, discolored tissue. Those kinds of things.

You know there may be some soil crusting that may be going on.

So if it's dry enough where you can get out there now and user rotary ho that may be beneficial.

On the other hand, you know, if one is picking up kind of intermittent rainfall afterwards, that can help to soften that crust and not make it such an issue, So those are some things to think about another

thing with all this rain is that sometimes that can influence the actual planting depth on the corn.

Say you're on a side hill and you got a lot of rain, and that washes some soil off.

You know you planted that corn say 2 inches deep.

Well, you lose an inch of top, soil it moves downhill Now, all of a sudden, you're out at one inch deep, planting depth. and that corn there can be at risk of you.

Know poor nodal root establishment later on. If it dries out so, those may be some things to consider as well.

Jeff, if we are to a point where, say, for example, somebody gets a little late, has livestock.

Is there a point where you want to go if from a grain to us? a silage? you know variety here, or that type of But there's a point obviously in June where it's not really profitable or economical to

grow a grain crop. sure. Yeah. we can plant corn silage up through about June 12 in Central and northern Minnesota, and up through about June the twentieth in southern Minnesota so there's still

some opportunities here, and even though our grain might not be the situation with that, Okay, i'd have I just wanna mention, if folks have a question there's a Q. A.

Box on the bottom of the zoom screen. You can drop the questions in there, Anthony.

Were there anything else that came in question wise, That would be appropriate, I guess, before we jump to.

Seth, that Jochum or Jeff could talk about from the viewers from previously.

Yeah, I do have a couple that would work well, and for people listening right now.

At the very end. During your survey there is an option to snick questions for the next week, so keep that mind, too.

But yeah, I think Jeff, the main one he kind of got into a little bit.

We talked about what's going on with the soil de nitrification and flooded fields was one of the questions that came up.

This monitor for now, or folks who are dealing with her fertilizer decisions too kind of what's the course of action for flooding like that?

Sure. Yeah, if you had your nitrogen applied.

And we had ponding out there there's definitely gonna be Denise.

And I guess the good news is is the temperatures. have kind of cooled off a little bit, since we've got a lot of this rain, so that may have helped to reduce some of the denitrification compared to if we were in

the eighties and nineties for temperatures. but yeah, if you put nitrogen down and you had head ponding. you're gonna lose some nitrogen. you'll probably have enough to get the

crop going, you know, but you may want to think about if you need to put a a side address application on you know 40 to £70 of nitrogen per acre with that side dress.

Application, and there's at the University of Minnesota extension website for crop production.

There's a decision tool on the nutrient management corner of the web page, and where you can kind of walk through the scenario of you know what's the crop look like what were the weather.

Conditions this spring, and I helps you kind of determine if you need a supplemental address and application, so that can be helpful.

But if you do need extra and it's probably gonna be in the range of 40 to £70 event per acre. if you have an applied fertilizer, and you had ponding then I don't

think there's much to worry about and jeff that was there's a follow up question in there to ask about adjusting and nitrogen rates per corn based on planting date too.

Yeah, So my understanding the information that I’ve seen is there's no need to adjust your nitrogen rates based on based on the delayed planting.

However, I would say that you know if you are planting late, you know we're all almost into June here, and you have an applied nitrogen.

Well, you know, I I would think, you would get better nitrogen use efficiency here, because that that crop is gonna grow rapidly and is going to be able to take up the end more quickly.

So you're gonna have greater synchrony between when that end was applied, and when the crop takes it up compared to.

If you planted on April the twentieth and that that crap was very slow to get off and growing, and you had a lot of rainfall during that time, and chance to lose end So I don't think

there's a need to adjust in rates but I would say that if you haven't applied your end, yet you can probably get better efficiency than normal out of it with delayed planting.

I think we put a supplement supplemental and worksheet in the chat box.

Anthony as well, so people can click on that and download what Jeff was just talking about.

In in terms of that. Any other questions Anthony that are percolating right there now before we jump over to talk to Seth. I think we have our corn covered. pretty well Dave all right we're privileged to

have with us just fresh out of the field planting.

Late last night Dr. Seth Knave down in Southern Minnesota.

So, Seth. what's going on down south what do you see?

Are there's everybody done obviously you weren't done. But you're getting a lot of plots in How are things going?

Well, things are things like pretty good in Southern Minnesota, definitely delayed, especially on swabbing side.

I would say, though, that you know I’ve got plots all over the State, and I've never had a year where we've struggled so much, and it's part of it is locations of my particular sites

But things are really behind and we've got I’ve got a couple farmers that are really talking about prevent plan already, because it just looks so bad in West Central Minnesota.

So I know I know. There's a lot of struggles out there. I think Jochum captured it pretty well as I.

This is what I hear. as people been moving back and forth between crops, especially in western Minnesota, where we have a variety of crops.

People have been planting, getting sugar beats were done where they can, getting some small grains in, and then bouncing around corn and soybeans from field to field, based on what's ready you know the that tiled

ground. farmers are getting in and getting it done and whether that was gonna be in corner soybeans. I've got it.

You gotta put in in Southern Minnesota look like mostly.

What I saw was corn went in in a pretty good shape Maybe a little bit of delayed in a lot of areas, and then we get held up a little bit before some of the soybeans.

I didn't see a lot of soybeans up, but the corn looks really good.

So I think we're in really good shape the beans are planted for the most part across most of Southern Minnesota.

Except some pockets. And those farmers really know what those pockets are.

They deal with this every year in a lot of the nearly every year in those fields that are really low and and poorly drained.

And so farmers are very accustomed to replanting or delayed planting in those fields.

So talk a little bit about what is our applied research?

Tell us in terms of how late can we go before we're too late in terms of changing our maturity group in soybeans.

From what we intended to plant, probably early to to mid-May.

When do growers, whether Southern or Central or for that matter even up in Jochum's territory in northwestern Minnesota?

When do we need to be switching maturity groups or Can we stay with what we have, and how long can we do that? No, let's back up a little bit. So the old penalty?

So far, I think, Soybean is not dissimilar from what Jeff mentioned in terms of yield penalty.

We're still in a situation where we can plan soybeans and be at a at 90% of our yield potential.

At this point when we look at the figures it shows us that we haven't had any years when we plant this late, and we maximize yields across the range of planting gates, so in other words, we're

not taken ourselves out of this kind of bin Buster category for record.

Yields but on the other hand, as Jeff mentioned with corn we have the right in Soybean. it's. it's a little bit later in the year, but we have that right kind of August in the

September weather, and we could have very very good yields this year.

So we didn't we're not gonna have the ideal planting date. but for the year but we've got we're well positioned for very good yields Okay, the other piece that Jeff mentioned is really important

with soybean as well as the maturity rating maturity.

Groups and soybeans, and this is a little bit of a nuance.

I think that's changed a little bit over previous years.

Basically We've said, there's no yield penalty through most of the month of May up until the last week, and in the end to early June, when we see things tick down on the other hand, farmers have been really

pushing towards long season varieties and early planting and So that's changed this equation or calibration our thought process a little bit.

We for those farmers that have really pushed long for long maturities? and have tried to aggressively plan.

In late April early May. there has been a yield.

Dip that we can see in these in these studies up until now.

So. if farmers are planting a very conservative maturity group planned on planning this maturity, group a conservative maturity group, they can still continue to plant that all the way through mid-June no problem

on the other hand, farmer, or is that really pushed for long season varieties and tried to plant those early, and were we're held out they probably need to be considering pushing changing maturity groups a little

bit earlier. but frankly, the yield penalty for too long Soybean varieties is very little, and so there isn't really any urgency to make any wholesale changes until June 10 for

anybody, even if they've got a longer season variety they're just those long season long maturity varieties of farmers have just aren't gonna have that yield potential that we saw with a with a potential

early planting. Anthony. Was there any questions that are pertinent to?

So I mean that came in earlier I don't have it beyond the list.

But I do have one for you so I’m thinking about Oh, just all the things we're planting each year.

Soybeans pretty much always are the last thing and Now, there's a lot of fatigue tired planting what are some good things to keep in mind that you make sure this either mistakes that can easily be made anything

that kind of comes at the end of the season, especially for sweeping that you think would be good to have as a reminder to people.

Well, a good reminder from my standpoint is just continue to use best management practices There's

There's always an interest in especially when we get held up by rain.

Farmers start thinking about stuff and trying to change things up and Maybe maybe i'm gonna get the drill out, so I can get very narrow row soybeans instead of my 30 intros or 20 twos to

try to capture a little bit of yield advantage the reality is there's reduced row spacing increases yields throughout the season in the additional yield captured during late planting is marginal the way I

interpret that is, for farmers is Say you know use what you've got. use your best management practices that you would do for early planting.

Do the same thing late. Don't switch things up you have an opportunity to maybe increase seating rates slightly.

But on the other hand if you've got good soil conditions and really warm temperatures, as Jeff mentioned these things, Really, you're gonna pop out of the ground.

If we get a 100% of the seed germinate in emerge, we do not need to increase our seating rates for late planting, either.

So again. I think the most important thing for farmers to do is just maintain what they've figured out works well on their farm for normal planting, and continue that as we get a little bit delayed and don't

try to undo some good management practices that You've that you've you fine tuned over the years for delayed planning. Alright, thank you Seth, Dave, I think you're

chomping at the bit to talk about a certain question about herbicides, and they planting what's and going on lighter in terms of thoughts.

I wanted to. just bring up this point Dr. Aaron Hager, who is a weed scientist down in Illinois with the University of Illinois, put together a list of probably of products that you do not want to apply over

the top of emerged corn and soybeans, and they oftentimes deal with this a little bit ahead of us, given, you know, their geography.

And so he actually pulled this together for back in on May the sixteenth.

But I think It's still appropriate here. and the products and the labels are going to be the you know going to be the same where they're Illinois.

Here, Minnesota, and so forth. but if you think about it for corn.

I'm going to use mainly trade names here. but products like sharpenand verdict, princip, fierce you know, other states outside of Minnesota in some areas could still use isoxaflutole + rimsulfuron.

here on those are products that either you're applied alone or as a premix that you don't want to apply over the top of merged corn on a soybean side.

There's a number of different products and some of these are generic as well as the traditional trade.

Name. So you'll have to cut me a little slack there and Anthony in terms of that, because there's other products that have come on the line.

But in general, with thorough savings, we talk about the authority based products.

A lot of the valor based products prowl, sharpen, zidual pro, Lorox, canopy, command. for example,

There's a component in boundary called trifor. those are all things that obviously you want to avoid in terms of making sure you understand the label over the top, whether it's a single product or

oftentimes they're in a premix 6 so it situation especially on a crop that is emerged.

Now there is a whole host things that you can do as well.

So if you're not sure talk to your agronomist your crop, consultant your supplier, and so forth.

If you haven't had a chance for a pre emergency control, and the crop is already up or emerging or starting to crack through.

Those are concerns as well. We had a while ago we had a little bit of a crusting.

In some places quite a bit actually around the twin cities area here and so forth.

We've got an upcoming field school in July and so we had a lot of that that we had to deal with, even on.

I mean the same Paul area as well, and replant, and that type of thing.

But I would caution, you know rotary Ho! is a possibility here. but of course, like Seth says you know if we're at that quick stage, and that hypocrites just coming up. you don't want to tear your

you know. Obviously you're an into your Beans back out so I think today is Wednesday.

We're getting a little bit of slight rain but thankfully. We're not getting a heavy rain coming through at this point in time.

I just want to say, is there any last comments? from our panelists here?

Seth, Jochum, or jeff as we close out that we didn't talk about that.

You wanted to bring up here as we conclude today's program. I guess we don't have any other points on that Anthony.

Any other questions, anything else that came through. There is one more question asking about

This from leave Yep with stall just asking it's raining today in some parts of the State more in the forecast.

And now some people still have seat in the bag. Is there any advice for making calculations on planting late?

Great is taking prevented plant acres instead, especially with high crop prices.

High. input obviously a lot going on any quick guidance from anyone on kind of people should be keeping in mind for that.

I think that's a tough one, Anthony you know given the economics, and I think you want to talk to a lot of different people, including you, whether you're scrap insurance or your local Perhaps you know fsa and other people,

on there. There probably are. I think there are some decision aids whether they're the farm management agonomics departments in various States.

I know that Iowa I've referred to in the Vic Code as a Minnesota.

I would search those out as well at this point in time to make those decisions.

I don't think we're quite there yet as a as well.

With that I also wanna mention you know there's a lot of people that sold a lot of crop early.

So you there's gonna be a there's a lot of farmers that are going to be in a real pinch if they can't get a crop in so that's a pretty big hammer on that one I just put up on the screen here.

This is the actually the Illinois farm, Doc, for Dr. Hager.

And it was May the sixteenth. And so if you want to go back to that, as some call emergency crops and delayed Pre herbicide applications.

But you can search for that. But this is basically what you're gonna find.

And then look at it's just some of the things that I talked about.

But through there! But again they were dealing with some of this, you know, prior to where we were dealing with before.

But if you want to go back and because just it's just a one page but they have other things in terms of their production.

But I think they're possibly back into field but they also have to obviously deal with it.

It's a nice opportunity to take advantage of things that happens south of you.

That sometimes end up happening back here in Minnesota.

Anthony, I think that's it do you want to talk a little bit about what's going to be happening next week we'll be back again with a current crops a topic per se.

And then we kind of go from there and anything else about clothing out here and our questions.

Yeah, just that reminder that you know every week we formulate what the next week is going to be.

So it's very much responsive. what field conditions are quick!

30 s thing for me on the insect front for Tess Black Cup, where Bruce Potter has been mentioned that this definitely time to be out scouting.

If you had heavy flight in your area so if you're concerned about that, especially 7 Minnesota had some good flight in some counties.

I'll be out there looking for that I’ll felt legal starting to show up a bit.

Just starting to find bargain and some fields, etc., so you might be seeing it.

Be sure to follow thresholds for that a lot of times. You don't need to spray for it, though. Mo. will take care of it for you for the insect update I think we'll close it out there So again.

Thank you everyone for attending strategic farming field notes again.I want to thank our sponsors, Minnesota corn growers, and the Minnesota soy bean growers.