Extension Update

Extension Update is a weekly summary of news from Extension, government, and other attributable sources, focused on marketing, farm management, and other issues that are of interest to Midwestern farm owners and operators.

The producer surveys the USDA used to develop its Prospective Plantings Report, were conducted about two weeks ago says Mike Woolverton at Kansas State. “At that time, the relative prices of corn and soybeans favored soybeans, especially when the input costs of planting the two crops were compared. Since then, the price relationship has shifted to favor corn and rumors have been circulating about the availability and germination viability of soybean seed. Some producers are rethinking their planting plans. If the survey were to be administered now, the results might show producer intentions to plant more than 86 million acres of corn and less than 74.8 million acres of soybeans.”

Since the Prospective Plantings Report the market is refining its message to farmers to plant more beans than corn. But marketing specialist Steve Johnson at Iowa State says over the past 4 years, the March acreage number for corn was less than the final planted acreage estimate each year. For soybeans since 2004, the March acreage number was greater than the final soybean planted acreage estimate. Thus, farmers respond to the March Report by planting more corn acres and fewer soybean acres. Read more.

Corn is more profitable than soybeans, say IL farm economists, who looked at 2000 to 2007 and projected profits for 2008. Gary Schnitkey and Dale Lattz report the historical differences have widened to $98 and $90 the past 2 years, compared to the $27 difference for 2000 to 2005. They project corn being $289 more profitable than beans in 2008. Read more.

Wheat prices will be lower by harvest believes Woolverton at Kansas State, and he’s advising to forward contract wheat that is covered by crop insurance. He does not believe that it will drop as low as the USDA forecast of $6 and has concerns about crop quality. But he says with high input costs, good wheat prices should be locked in.

Fuel costs can be reduced by farming smart, says IL Extension’s Bob Frazee:
1) 1 trip over the field should be sufficient to level the soil and prepare the seedbed.
2) Reduce the depth of your tillage, or change to a no-till planting system.
3) Combine field trips by blending 28% UAN with pre-plant or pre-emerge herbicides.
4) Consider custom applied fertilizer or herbicides if the application cost is less than fuel.
5) Use post emerge herbicides for annual grass and broadleaf weed control.
6) Avoid unnecessary use of the cultivator, if weeds can be controlled with herbicides
7) Match field equipment to the appropriate size tractor to avoid excess horsepower.
8) Properly maintain tractors and reconsider all trips to town in the pickup truck.

While deciding on your target population, IL Extension specialist Emerson Nafziger suggests, “It might be good to raise seed drop rates slightly when planting early to compensate for lower expected emergence, but if soil conditions are good, this may not be necessary. It is normal to drop 5% to 10% more seed than the desired final stand, with the lower end of this range appropriate if seed quality and soil conditions are good.”

So how do you decide planting rates? Production specialist Emerson Nafziger says, (With) “modern hybrids: yields tend to level off, not drop off, at populations above the point of maximum yield. From a risk management standpoint, this means that it tends to be prudent to plant higher populations to take advantage of good conditions, since the only loss under average or poor conditions is the additional seed cost.”

Balancing population with seed cost, Nafziger advises, “When corn is bringing $5 a bushel, the economically optimum population drops by about 1,200 plants per acre when the seed cost doubles from $120 to $240 per unit. In practice, such changes should be moderated somewhat by the point that the economic risk of having populations too low for good conditions tend to be greater than the risk of having them too high, even when seed is expensive.” Read more.

When soils dry out, plant corn as early as possible says IL Extension’s Bob Frazee.
1) Yield potential increases when vegetative development occurs in cool, moist weather.
2) Early planting puts pollination ahead of heat and drought stress.
3) Early planting allows deeper root growth ahead of potentially dry periods.
4) Kernels fill better during periods of the greatest solar energy.
5) Early planted corn is usually shorter, with lower ear height, and less lodging.
6) Early maturity will mean less drying cost.

If you’re hesitant to plant corn, “University agronomists feel that with typical spring weather, preparation for corn planting can begin sometime in the first half of April. Delays due to soil temperature below 50 degrees F. should be considered only if the weather outlook is for continued cold air temperatures. After April 20, soil temperature should be ignored, and corn should be planted as soon as soil conditions allow,” advises Bob Frazee, who also says plant very full season hybrids first when planting in April.

If you purchase Optimum AcreMax1 Insect Protection seed corn from Pioneer, IL bug guru Kevin Steffey reminds you that EPA approval is still pending, and that product is not yet a legal replacement for the refuge requirement for Bt corn borer and Bt corn root worm technology. Steffey says it still has to pass EPA testing and review from experts.

If you had not noticed, soybean seed coats are more thin than usual, making them more susceptible to mechanical damage, both during conditioning and during planting. Carl Bradley of IL Extension says the result is lower germination, and he also says fungicides will not solve that problem, but could prevent disease if seed sits in cool wet soil for long.

Two on-farm fungicide treatments are available if you have concerns about soybeans sitting in cold soil. Ohio State specialists say Enhance is a hopper box treatment containing Vitavax and Captan, which will protect seed against Fusarium, Pythium and some Rihzoctonia but not Phytophthora. For those growers with heavy pressure from Phytophthora additional Apron XL will help. They caution to be gentle to the seed.

Early spring bugs #1. Soil insects are waiting for the soil to dry out and warm up, along with every corn grower, but a lot of the seed purchased has already been treated with Cruiser or Poncho. It is too early to predict the infestation of grubs, wireworms, grape colaspis, and black cutworms, but even heavy infestations can overcome seed treatments.

Early spring bugs #2. Aphids will be the first out of the gate on wheat fields, but there is usually little damage unless populations reach Biblical proportions. The threshold for treatment is 50 per head during grain fill. The other potential problem is armyworms, which will arrive in moth form, but none have been reported or documented this early.

Early spring bugs #3. Alfalfa is currently susceptible to alfalfa weevil, and while it has not been a widespread problem, it is always wise to scout for them. They will soon start to hatch, and the population will indicate their success in surviving the harsh winter.

You’ll be in a pickle, if you allow an invasion by the burcucumber. Extension specialist Dawn Refsell warns of its relatively late emergence, escaping most herbicide programs. It can cut soybean yields nearly in half and its vines in cornfields can interfere with harvest. Its range is being extended from creeks into fields and Refsell says prevention is easier than management. Learn how.

As the cost of glyphosate doubled, the cost of pre-emergent herbicides became more cost competitive says MO weed specialist Kevin Bradley. He says that shifts producers to controlling weeds before they become competitive with soybeans. Bradley says most glyphosate is not applied until weeds are 7-10 inches and yield loss has already begun.

April 22 is the date for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to explore grain market issues of concern. Steve Johnson at Iowa State says questions will be asked about the lack of convergence between the futures and cash prices, higher margin requirements and the impact on market participants, and the role of speculators and commodity index traders. He says index funds currently have upwards of $225 billion invested in commodity markets.

What is the cost of feeding distillers’ dried grains to swine? That is a good question says IL swine specialist Hans Stein, who says the answer differs for every producer. But to help each pork producer find the answer, Stein has developed a spreadsheet that calculates the value of including DDGS in swine rations. Use the spreadsheet.

Finally, some good news. Ohio state specialists who have been looking for evidence of soybean aphids say “We are predicting few if any soybean aphid problems this coming summer. Although there are really no preventive treatments available for aphid anyway, we still think growers can benefit by NOT having to plan on worrying about the aphid.”