Good morning,
Another week has passed and for the most part, corn harvest is nearly done in Hardin county. There have been applications of manure and fertilizer along with fall tillage operations taking place in the area. This past Monday we were able to harvest our Kenton Nitrogen Timing plot. This plot is unique because it is comparing application of nitrogen using normal sidedress alongside a combined sidedress and late season Y-drop application. This particular plot had 45 gallons 28% UAN sidedressed side-by-side in strips with 35 gallons sidedressed + 10 gallons 28% UAN late season applied with Y-drops in the row. Our goal was to end up with the same amount of nitrogen on all strips, but this needed to be adjusted as we were unable to get the sprayer with Y-drop attachments down to 10 gallons, so the actual rate ended up being 12 gallons late season N applied. For the purpose of the study, these treatments were replicated three times across the plot. However, the practice was continued for a total of 12 replications across the field for yield data. In 2 of the 3 replications in this study, yields were slightly higher with a 6-9 bushel increase with the split applications. A big thanks goes to Jan Layman for cooperating with this field trial. Once all the data is summarized, it will be made available with other on-farm research reports at agcrops.osu.edu.
Are you a snow bird who goes south and needs to renew your pesticide license early? Delaware County is having an early bird pesticide and fertilizer training this week on Wednesday, November 16. See the attached flyer for registration details if you would prefer to attend this pesticide recertification and fertilizer certification meeting instead of the one being held in Hardin County on March 14. A standalone fertilizer certification meeting is also scheduled for Hardin County on March 6. It is important to note that applicators applying fertilizer to 50 or more acres of crops for sale will need to be certified by September 30, 2017. Tomorrow I will be traveling to Columbus to get training for our OSU Extension fertilizer programs that we will be providing this winter throughout west central Ohio.
Corn harvest has been receiving mixed reviews depending on where the fields are located in the county. Some areas were more drought stressed than others, causing problems with ear development and kernel fill. Late summer brought about rains which started the spread of fungal pathogens. These fungus’ led to mold issues that created corn grain quality issues in some fields. Some diseases produce mycotoxins that are harmful to livestock. Mold present in corn can spread in grain bins if it has not been dried properly, depending on the outside temperature and temperature of the grain. Therefore, questionable grain should be moved out of bins as soon as possible and marketed. See the attached article for more information on this topic. Do you have an agribusiness that you promote on Facebook or other social media? If so, you might want to check out this Thursday’s OSU Direct Marketing webinar listed on the attached flyer. These webinars begin at noon and are free to watch live or later as a recording.
Upcoming local events include a Men’s Garden Club meeting tonight (11/14) at Jim Chandler’s home near Ridgeway, starting at 6:30 pm. The Sheep Improvement Association will be meeting Tuesday (11/15) at the Extension office, starting at 7:30 pm. The Soil and Water Conservation District will be meeting Thursday (11/17) at the SWCD office, starting at 7:30 am. There will be an Extension Advisory Committee meeting Thursday (11/17) at the Extension office, starting at 7:00 pm. I have included Agronomy articles below if you are interested in reading them.
Mark
Corn Testing Positive for Vomitoxin: How Reliable was The Sampling? – Pierce Paul
More and more reports are coming in of corn testing positive for vomitoxin, with levels as high as 6-10 ppm in some cases. Some of these numbers are taking producers by surprise. Although the weather has been favorable for ear rot development, and consequently, grain contamination with vomitoxin, test results could be misleading in some cases, and may even be incorrect. Since there is not a lot you can do about grain contaminated with mycotoxins, you should at least check to make sure that you got a fair test. Get a second opinion if you have to. There are several things about the mycotoxin testing process that could lead to inaccurate results, including how samples are drawn and handled. For more information about sampling grain for vomitoxin, go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2016-36/corn-testing-positive-vomitoxin-how-reliable-was-sampling.
2016 Ohio Soybean Performance Trial – Yield Data Available – Laura Lindsey, JD Bethel
The 2016 Ohio Soybean Performance Trial yield data is now available online as a pdf: http://stepupsoy.osu.edu/sites/hcs-soy/files/2016%20OCJ_0.pdf Sortable yield data and seed characteristics (seed size, protein, fiber, and oil) will be available in approximately two weeks. In 2016, over 200 soybean varieties from 21 seed companies were tested at six locations (Henry County, Sandusky County, Mercer County, Marion County, Preble County, and Clinton County. Types of soybeans tested include: conventional (non-GMO), Roundup Ready, Liberty Link, and Xtend. Yield ranged from 38.1 to 82.0 bu/acre. In the pdf, a double asterisk (**) is used to denote the variety with the highest yield within a region and maturity grouping. A single asterisk (*) is used to denote varieties with yield not statistically different than the highest yielding variety.
Developing a Strategy for Precision Soil Sampling – Elizabeth Hawkins, Greg LaBarge, Harold D. Watters, John Fulton, Steve Culman
There are many different tools and approaches available that, if used correctly, can help to improve your nutrient management (variable rate application, precision placement, crop sensing via NDVI, late-season application, nutrient BMPs, etc). However, selecting the correct tools and using them to your advantage is not always an easy process, since the best tool and the best approach can vary by farmer and field. The key to a successful soil fertility program is to identify your goals and develop a plan to meet those goals each season. Identifying both short and long term goals make it possible to develop a strategy to use precision technologies to systematically improve your soil fertility program. Go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2016-37/developing-strategy-precision-soil-sampling to read more about soil sampling strategies.
Stinkhorns in Corn and Soybean Fields – Jason Slot
If you have noticed a proliferation of foul-smelling, obscene-looking mushrooms popping up in fields this season, there is no cause for alarm. These aptly named “stinkhorn” fungi tend to produce their mushrooms in fertile soil when conditions are wet. Stinkhorn species prefer soils enriched with manure, wood chips, and other organic debris. As decomposers, they help with composting soil, and they pose no threat to healthy plants. Their obnoxious dung and rotten-meat smells attract flies that feed on their gelatinous masses of spores and disperse them to other locations that flies frequent. The stinkhorns are members of the fungus family Phallaceae, which includes a number of phallic-shaped mushroom species as well as other bizarre mushrooms that mycologists tend to find charming (google “devil’s fingers” or “veiled lady stinkhorn”, for example). If you don’t find them attractive, you’ll just have to wait for them to go away as soil conditions change; there is no reasonable method to get rid of them.
Grain Marketing: Turning On-Farm Storage into Profit – Mary Griffith, Sarah Noggle, Jeff Stachler
With corn and soybean prices trading at values near or below breakeven points, it’s important to develop a marketing plan that allows farmers the ability to try and capture potential profits while minimizing risk. OSU Extension is offering three meetings this December for farmers to learn about marketing grain in a tight economy. Farmers have the option of attending one of three meetings, featuring Jon Scheve of Superior Feed Ingredients as a guest speaker. Meeting dates and locations will be in Auglaize, Paulding, and Madison counties. Go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2016-37/grain-marketing-turning-farm-storage-profit to find out more details and plan to attend a meeting this winter to improve your grain marketing skills.
Mark A. Badertscher
Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator
OSU Extension Hardin County
1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326
419-674-2297 Office