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Showing posts from December, 2021

Reminder: Strategic Farming: Let's talk crops! starts January 5. Register now!

by Liz Stahl, Extension educator - crops, and Phyllis Bongard, Content development and communications specialist If you haven’t done so yet, take a moment and register for the U of MN Extension “Strategic Farming: Let’s Talk Crops” webinar series! This live, online program will provide up-to-date, research-based information to help optimize crop management strategies for 2022. Sessions will be held over Zoom, which can be accessed via your computer, phone, or other mobile device, from 9:00 to 10:00 am Wednesdays, January 5 through March 30, 2022. Sessions will be very informal and open to all interested. Each session will start with a brief presentation by the topic leaders for the day, followed by discussion framed around farmer/participant questions on the topic. Topics and speakers Speakers include researchers and educators from the University of MN and North Central region. January 5: 2022 Crop fertility adjustments  Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist, and Bra

Reminder: Register now for Research Updates

Join us for the 2022 Research Updates for Ag Professionals when University of Minnesota faculty members will share their latest, research-based strategies to deal with today's crop production challenges.  This year, the Research Updates will be held in person during the first two weeks of January at the following locations: Tuesday, January 4  - Southern Research & Outreach Center, Waseca Wednesday, January 5  - Rochester International Event Center, Rochester Thursday, January 6  - Southwest Research & Outreach Center, Lamberton Tuesday, January 11  - West Central Research & Outreach Center, Morris Wednesday, January 12  - Willmar Conference Center, Willmar Thursday, January 13  - Northwest Research & Outreach Center, Crookston The program starts each day at 12:30 p.m. and ends at 4:40 p.m. You will be able to earn CEU's for every topic presented that day to maintain your Certified Crop Advisor accreditation. In all locations except Crookston, CCAs can earn up t

Gopher Coffee Shop podcast: Ag drainage and nutrient management

In this installment of the Gopher Coffee Shop podcast, Extension educators Ryan Miller and Brad Carlson sit down with Jeff Strock, a professor and soil scientist with the Department of Soil Water and Climate at the University of Minnesota. Jeff is stationed at the Southwest Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton Minnesota and his research has largely been focused on the intersect of nutrient management and agricultural drainage. We sit down with Jeff and chat about what he has been working on. Listen to the podcast There are many articles related to what we've discussed on the Crop News blog linked below.  Minnesota Crop News blog: https://z.umn.edu/cropnews Sign up to receive Minnesota Crop News: https://z.umn.edu/CropNewsSignup The Gopher Coffee Shop Podcast is available on Stitcher and iTunes . Enjoy! For more information, visit University of Minnesota Extension Crop Production at http://z.umn.edu/crops .

Does source of sulfur fertilizer matter for alfalfa?

By: Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist Earlier this year, I wrote about recent research showing that alfalfa benefits from sulfur fertilizer application. Those studies seem to confirm the current U of M alfalfa fertilizer guidelines for sulfur application, which suggest applying 10 to 25 pounds of sulfur fertilizer per acre, depending on overall production and soil organic matter concentration in the top six inches of soil. But what source of sulfur fertilizer is best for alfalfa? That’s the current focus of two studies funded by Minnesota’s fertilizer check-off dollars through the Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council (AFREC) . Sulfur fertilizer sources In these two new studies, we compare specific classes of sulfur fertilizer sources at three different rates. One area of interest is whether different elemental sulfur sources can oxidize enough sulfur in a given year. There are two main options for growers if they wish to apply elemental sulfur. The

2022 Research Updates for Ag Professionals

Join us for the 2022 Research Updates for Ag Professionals where University of Minnesota faculty members will share their latest, research-based strategies to deal with today's crop production challenges.   This year, the Research Updates will be held in person during the first two weeks of January at the following locations: Tuesday, January 4 - Southern Research & Outreach Center, Waseca Wednesday, January 5 - Rochester International Event Center, Rochester Thursday, January 6 - Southwest Research & Outreach Center, Lamberton Tuesday, January 11 - West Central Research & Outreach Center, Morris Wednesday, January 12 - Willmar Conference Center, Willmar Thursday, January 13 - Northwest Research & Outreach Center, Crookston The program starts each day at 12:30 p.m. and ends at 4:40 p.m. You will be able to earn CEU's for every topic presented that day to maintain your Certified Crop Advisor accreditation. Topics and speakers Waseca, Rochester, Lamberton

Is it a good idea to apply urea in late fall?

By: Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist While much of the field work around Minnesota has slowed, the rising cost of fertilizer and uncertainty surrounding fertilizer availability for spring 2022 may have some still thinking about late fall application options. Urea can be a tempting option for fall application because it is easy to apply with a floater, but is this a good practice? Urea is a dry source of nitrogen that can be lost to the atmosphere via ammonia volatilization and to water via nitrate leaching. Risk of volatilization is more immediate and can occur regardless of soil temperature. If urea is applied on the soil surface, or even with shallow incorporation, it is at risk of loss via volatilization as it dissolves. Many people think that as long as it is 50 degrees or colder, urea cannot be lost to water. While products containing NBPT, such as Agrotain, can help delay this process, there still can be risk of loss if urea is not incorporated into the soil m

2021 University of Minnesota variety crop trial results available now

The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) have published the 2021 Minnesota Field Crop Trials. Visit varietytrials.umn.edu/2021 to see variety trials for 10 different Minnesota crops Follow these links to find the alfalfa , barley , canola , corn grain , corn silage , oat , soybean , spring wheat , winter rye , and winter wheat trials directly. About the Crop Variety Trials When farmers are ready to make seed choices, the University of Minnesota field crop trials offer unbiased and trustworthy information. The annual Field Crop Trials are one of the keyways MAES works to bring valuable research into the hands of farmers and ultimately help improve farm profitability, improve the economy and overall quality of life in Minnesota. Since the late 1880s, MAES has published reports of crop variety trials but it wasn’t until 1948 that the trials were combined into a single annual publication.

Save the dates: Nitrogen and nutrient management conferences are back, February 2022

The 14th annual Nutrient Management Conference and the 8th annual Nitrogen Conference will be available in-person and online February 2022. The Nutrient Management Conference will be on February 8th in Mankato while the Nitrogen Conference will take place on February 15th in St. Cloud . Learn more and register below. In-person attendance will be limited to 100 people for each conference, with a fee of $20 payable at the time of registration. Lunch is provided for in-person attendees. Virtual attendance is unlimited and free but registration is required. Both conferences offer continuing education credits (CEUs) in soil and water and nutrient management for Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs).  Nutrient Management Conference February 8, 2022 in Mankato, Minn. Register now: In-person event or online version (Zoom) In-person event location: Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Mankato, Minn. Presentations: Timing of phosphorus application for corn and soybean - Da