Minnesota Crop News

Welcome to the 1st IPM Podcast for Field Crops – 2019 The purpose of the IPM podcasts is to alert Growers, Ag Professionals and Educators about emerging pest concerns on Minnesota Field Crops - including corn, soybean, small grains and alfalfa. We also review recent pest trends and research updates. Our guest this week was Bruce Potter, Extension IPM Specialist, with the UMN Extension IPM Program. Bruce is located at the Southwest Research & Outreach Center (SWROC), and has >25 years’ experience developing IPM recommendations for field crops. We met with Bruce on May 30th to provide an update on Black Cutworm infestations, as well as other early-season insect populations potentially affecting corn, soybean and small grains. This podcast was held at the KGLB Radio Station in Glencoe, and hosted by Bill Hutchison, Coordinator of the IPM Program and Dave Nicolai, Crops Extension Educator & Coordinator for the Extension Institute for Ag Professionals. Special thanks

Dave Bau, Phyllis Bongard and Liz Stahl “To plant or not to plant” is a challenging question for farmers this year who have faced an extremely wet spring. For crop insurance purposes, May 31 is the final planting date for corn and June 10 for soybean in southern Minnesota. The final planting date has already passed for northern Minnesota corn producers (May 25). Growers are allowed to plant a crop within 25 days of the final planting date for reduced insurance coverage. The following examples show how different decisions could play out. Scenario 1: Choose not to plant and take prevented plant If you choose to take prevented plant for corn, there is a simple payment rate of $4.00 per bushel multiplied by your APH and your insurance coverage percentage. This equals your revenue guarantee per acre. To calculate your prevented planting payment for corn, the guarantee is multiplied by 55% (unless you paid a higher premium for a more coverage). For soybean, the payment rate is $

Nathan Drewitz, Extension educator After a long Memorial Day weekend, labs and growers were back in business sending samples for the Alfalfa Harvest Alert Project/ Scissor Cut project. The goal of this project is not to try to name the day that you should harvest. Rather the goal is to encourage growers who are busy with management of other crops to be more strategic with hay crop harvest as it relates to their needs. Here is the information for May 28th: Alfalfa Harvest Alert/ Scissor Cut Information Harvest alert - May 28  - Individual farm results

Nathan Drewitz , Extension educator Despite frequent rain showers this week, samples continued to flow in for the Alfalfa Harvest Alert Project/ Scissor Cut project. The goal of this project is not to try to name the day that you should harvest. Rather the goal is to encourage growers who are busy with management of other crops to be more strategic with hay crop harvest as it relates to their needs. Here is the information from May 22nd and May 23rd: 2019 Alfalfa Harvest Alert / Scissors Cut information Harvest Alert May 24  - Individual farms results

By: Extension specialists Fabian Fernandez and Dan Kaiser Over the last several years, we have noticed that wet springs are becoming the norm. In addition to keeping us out of the field at a critical time, these wet conditions also create anxiety about nitrogen loss. Wet conditions in the spring are normally bad news for nitrogen management. However, wet conditions accompanied by cooler temperatures reduce the potential for nitrogen loss. Nitrogen loss pathways are driven by water and are dependent on nitrogen being in the nitrate form. Nitrate is formed in the soil from ammonium by bacteria through the nitrification process. Nitrification slows when soils are cold, keeping much of applied fertilizer N in the ammonium form. Since ammonium is a positively charged molecule, it is held by the soil and will not readily leach with excess water. On the other hand, nitrate has a negative charge and is repelled by soil particles, so it moves freely with water. In general terms, mos

In this installment of the Gopher Coffee Shop podcast, Extension Educators Ryan Miller and Brad Carlson sit down with Dave Nicolai, Crops Extension Educator, to chat about the delay in the planting season. We discuss calendar date, wet/cool conditions, stand assessments, nitrogen loss concerns, soybean RM’s and planting population, and decisions to be made with regards to the later than normal planting. As mentioned in the podcast, you can: Read our Minnesota Crop News blog:  https://z.umn.edu/cropnews Sign up to receive the Minnesota Crop News:  https://z.umn.edu/CropNewsSignup Enjoy! Listen to the podcast The Gopher Coffee Shop Podcast is available on Stitcher and iTunes . For more information, visit University of Minnesota Extension Crop Production .

Liz Stahl, Extension educator and Phyllis Bongard, Content development and communications specialist Farmers across parts of Minnesota are dealing with excessively wet conditions that have delayed crop planting. As wet conditions persist and final planting dates for crop insurance in Minnesota for corn (May 31 across southern Minnesota) and soybean (June 10) approach, farmers are faced with the decision of whether or not to plant some of their crop / take prevent plant, plant their planned crop late, or switch to a different crop. There are many factors to consider when making these decisions and each farmer will need to evaluate what options fit best with their operation and situation. Farmers should be in contact with their insurance representative for more details on the rules of prevent plant, eligible acres, options and implications during the late planting period, any follow-up management requirements, and impacts on items such as insurance coverage and actual production

by Seth Naeve and David Nicolai For the third year in a row, soybean planting is being seriously delayed by weather in Minnesota. Like with the previous couple of years, it's a slow-go across most of the state. On Monday, May 20th, the USDA Minnesota Crop Progress Report indicated that 22% of Minnesota’s soybean crop was planted, four days behind 2018 and eleven days behind the five-year average.  Averages being what they are, many parts of the state report that the rate of soybean planting has been highly variable depending on rain patterns and soil conditions. For example, soybean and corn planting are significantly behind in southwestern and western Minnesota, but close to normal for northwestern Minnesota. While south central Minnesota growers have made good progress to date for corn planting, soybean planting has lagged due to spring tillage and fertilizer applications. Many areas of southeastern and eastern Minnesota have received excessive rainfall in May which w

Lisa Behnken, Ryan Miller, Fritz Breitenbach, and Jeffrey Gunsolus The planting season is slowly underway and plans may be in place, but they may need to be adjusted if you haven’t matched the right herbicide to the weeds you have or if the weather makes it impossible to get all your preemergence herbicides on. First, you need to know which weeds are in your fields and whether they are resistant to certain herbicides or not. Then you should make sure you have chosen the right herbicide(s) to do the best job on those weeds. Understanding the effective sites of action (SOA) of herbicides is an important part of this process. In other words, which weeds will they control? Unfortunately, the glyphosate era of weed control made chemical weed control too easy, as glyphosate provided effective broad spectrum control of many weeds in many different crops. Overreliance on glyphosate brought herbicide resistance and the “easy” era came to an end. During this less complicated era, it wa

Nathan Drewitz, UMN Extension Educator for Stearns, Benton, and Morrison Counties. ndrewitz@umn.edu or (320) 968-5077 The Alfalfa Harvest Alert Project/ Scissor Cut project is now underway. The goal of this project is to alert alfalfa growers to start first crop harvest when the crop is at a level of quality and yield potential that meets their specific needs.

Gopher Coffee Shop Podcast #2: Corn planting and the cool, wet spring In this installment of the Gopher Coffee Shop podcast, Extension Educators Ryan Miller and Brad Carlson sit down with Dr. Jeff Coulter, Extension corn systems agronomist, to talk a little bit about the cool wet spring and its impact on corn planting and production. We discuss delayed corn planting, corn relative maturity, GDUs, corn growth and development, and tools for predicting corn growth based on historical climate data. Enjoy! Listen to the podcast The Gopher Coffee Shop Podcast is available on Stitcher and iTunes . New podcasts will be posted approximately every two weeks. For more information, visit University of Minnesota Extension Crop Production .

Bruce Potter, Integrated pest management specialist Significant black cutworm moth pheromone trap capture. This has been an active spring for black cutworm (BCW) flights into MN. Pheromone trap captures indicating that moth flights are large enough to pose risk to crops have occurred through the past few weeks and are continuing. The southern tiers of counties have seen the most activity but traps located in more northern areas have seen issues as well. The NWS precipitation forecast shows conditions likely favorable for more insect migration from the south. Another influx of BCW moths with these systems is likely. Other migrant crop pests including true armyworm, potato leafhopper and cereal aphids may show as well. Unfortunately, these immigration events coincide with a late planting season in much of Minnesota, which increases the risk of economic injury to crop seedlings.  Based on this year's pheromone trap captures, there is an increased risk, but not certainty, fo

Gopher Coffee Shop Podcast #1 Launch of new crop production series University of Minnesota Extension is launching a new podcast series for farmers called “The Gopher Coffee Shop.” The podcast is hosted by Extension Educators Brad Carlson and Ryan Miller, and will cover a wide range of topics related to crop production and related issues. The format of The Gopher Coffee Shop will be less formal and more conversational than many of the other U of M Extension podcast offerings, and will feature a wide range of guests from within and external to the University. Listen to the podcast This podcast will be available on  Stitcher  and iTunes . For more information, visit University of Minnesota Extension Crop Production .

Angie Peltier and Jared Goplen, University of Minnesota Extension crops educators and Seth Naeve, UMN Extension Soybean Agronomist Please be aware that the University of Minnesota Extension’s 2018 soybean cyst nematode (SCN) sampling and education program sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council has ended. See Farmers sampling for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) surprised by what they find for highlights of program results. Sampling SCN remains an important practice to actively manage SCN populations and maintain soybean yield potential. There are a couple of things that you can do with any left-over red soil sample bags from this program: either discard them or use them to submit a soil sample to the soil laboratory of your choice with the understanding that you will be responsible for paying for sample analysis.

by Jeff Coulter, Extension corn agronomist Early evaluation of corn stands is important for identifying yield-limiting factors and making management decisions to mitigate them. Evaluation of corn stands should begin soon after rows are visible, typically 5 to 7 days after the first plants emerge. Corn emergence occurs when 100 to 120 growing degree days have accumulated since planting. As a guide, 8 growing degree days are accumulated on a day with a maximum air temperature of 66°F and a minimum air temperature of 50°F or lower. When assessing corn stands, evaluate several representative areas in each field while also making note of unusual areas with problems. Documenting emergence problems with GPS and photos tagged with GPS can be useful for future management decisions. Plant population Corn plant population is closely linked to yield and is a key factor when assessing stand establishment. Knowing the plant population relative to the planting rate, soil conditions at planti

In this episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, University of Minnesota Extension specialists and educators discuss agricultural drainage and nutrient management. What happens when we drain soils? How does drainage impact crop production and water quality? How can we minimize nutrient loss through drainage systems? Listen to the podcast Subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode on iTunes or Stitcher ! For the latest nutrient management information, like UMN Extension Nutrient Management on Facebook , follow us on Twitter or visit our website . View the podcast transcript Support for this project was provided in part by the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC).

Nathan Drewitz, Extension Educator, Stearns, Benton, and Morrison Counties Keeping up with current local hay prices is important for livestock producers and growers. The Mid-American Hay Auction in Sauk Centre, MN provides an excellent opportunity to get a glimpse of what current hay prices are for the region. That hay auction information is organized, summarized, and listed below. 

By: Lindsay Pease, Extension specialist in nutrient and water management The weather is warming up in the Red River Basin, and spring is finally here! As planning and prepping for field season continues, here is a quick look at what we at the Northwest Research and Outreach Center have been up to on the research side. Last month, 90 researchers and professionals from agriculture, engineering, and water resources management met at the University of Minnesota Crookston to discuss which agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) work best for reducing nutrient runoff. The Nutrient Reduction BMP Workshop focused exclusively on the Red River Basin region, which begins in the northeast corner of South Dakota, cuts across northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, and ends in the Canadian province of Manitoba at Lake Winnipeg. The diverse soils and cold climate in this region present unique challenges for managing soil, water, and nutrients. The goal of this workshop was to dis

Jared Goplen, Extension educator - crops Figure 1. The long winter and spring flooding have taken a toll on alfalfa fields in parts of the state. There have been reports of alfalfa stands across Minnesota with varying levels of winter injury and winterkill. Areas most-often affected include hilltops where crowns were exposed during the cold winter months and where extended flooding has occurred this spring. There have also been reports of frost heaves uprooting alfalfa crowns. Alfalfa that has successfully made it through the winter should be starting to green up by now in most of the state, making stand evaluation more clear-cut. As you are walking fields, some questions to ask are: Are all plants actively growing or do some look stunted with patchy growth? Are only portions of the crowns growing? Fig. 2. Winter-injured alfalfa root. Photo: Nathan Drewitz Check areas of the field that are greening up as well as the brown and slow-growing areas. It is important to d