Good afternoon,
It’s been a couple of weeks since I sent out the previous issue of the Hardin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Update. Field-wise, nothing much has changed as we have been in the same weather pattern with the rain storms and not much opportunity for conditions to improve. The USDA Ohio Crop Weather Report that came out yesterday has Ohio at 22% corn planted and 11% soybeans planted. Some forages have been cut around the state. For more details, see the attached reports for May 20 and 28. I have seen both wheat and cereal rye that has headed and in some fields has flowered. In Hardin County, our progress levels are much lower as I have only seen some burndowns and very little corn or soybeans planted. Weed growth is progressing in fields so you may need to rethink your burndown if you haven’t already. See the attached article about delayed weed control for options to consider as weeds get harder to manage and the window between spraying and planting changes.
Delayed Weed Control News Release
I am expecting about 40 people tomorrow (5/30) evening at 7:00 pm for the fertilizer recertification training. If you have a fertilizer card that expires on May 31, 2019, this is your last opportunity to recertify. Call the Extension office at 419-674-2297 tomorrow or show up by 6:45 pm if you still need to do this. There is a $10 class fee payable to OSU Extension that you can take care of when you arrive. If you are unsure of your recertification date, you can call the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 614-728-6987. See the attached news article for more information about the May 30 Fertilizer Recertification meeting.
Fertilizer Recertification News Release
OSU Extension will hold a Prevented Plant meeting on Friday, May 31, 8-10 am. Location: Auditorium in Champaign County Community Center, 1512 South US Hwy 68, Urbana. Ohio State University and Crop Insurance Providers will provide information on the details of prevented plant insurance as well as decision making strategies regarding government payments, agronomy and more. Please email Amanda at douridas.9@osu.edu or fill in the survey at http://go.osu.edu/preventedplant if you plan to attend so we can arrange accordingly. There are a lot of questions about this topic, so see the articles I have included below for more information as the June 5 corn date is coming up soon for crop insurance in Ohio.
Mark
Prevented Planting…What’s That Again? – Eric Richer, Chris Bruynis
Wet conditions in Ohio and the Eastern Corn Belt has slowed (halted?) planting progress for Ohio producers. According to the May 20th Crop Progress Report by USDA National Ag Statistics Service, Ohio had only 9% corn planted. Surprisingly that was ‘double’ what was planted the week before and well behind the 5-year average of 62% planted. In 2018, Ohio was 69% planted by this report date. Certainly, the Prevented Planting (PP) crop insurance tool has become a hot topic this year. Many of you have had the chance to attend PP meetings or speak with your crop insurance agent. If not, we will try to briefly summarize your options and strongly suggest you talk to your agent or utilize one of the calculators (see associated “Decision Tools” article by Sam Custer) to determine which option best suits your farm operation. Read more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-15/prevented-plantingwhats-again.
Prevented Planning Decision Tools – Sam Custer
We have reviewed two prevented planting decision tools that can serve as a resource in your decision making process with your crop insurance agent. Both tools also provide resources for determining replant decisions. In a recent Farmdocdaily article Schnitkey, G., C. Zulauf, K. Swanson and R. Batts. “Prevented Planting Decision for Corn in the Midwest.” farmdoc daily (9):88, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, May 14, 2019 they highlighted their decision tool. The farmdoc tool can be used to make calculations for expected returns from three options: 1. Take a prevented planting payment and not plant a crop to be harvested or grazed. 2. Plant corn. 3. Plant another crop. The farmdoc Prevented Planting Module is used to aid in making calculations for each alternative. The Prevented Planting Module is part of the Planting Decision Model, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet within the FAST series available for download. Click on https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-15/prevented-planning-decision-tools to get more details and the links to use these decision tools.
Corn vs. Soybeans in a Delayed Planting Scenario – Profit Scenarios – Barry Ward
Wet weather and planting delays throughout much of Ohio and the eastern Cornbelt have many producers thinking about switching corn acres to soybeans or the taking the prevented planting option of their Multiple Peril Crop Insurance policy. Ohio had 9% of intended corn acres planted by May 19th which is far behind the 5 year average of 62%. Farms with pre-plant nitrogen or herbicides applied for corn production may have no option to switch to soybeans. Seed availability may also limit choice for some. Other factors, such as strict adherence to a crop rotation or landlord considerations may limit farmer choice when it comes to switching from corn to soybean plantings in a given year. Finish reading this article at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-15/corn-vs-soybeans-delayed-planting-scenario-%E2%80%93-profit-scenarios.
Forage Options for Prevented Planting Corn and Soybean Acres – Stan Smith
Today, as we sit here on May 28, we know three things for certain: Ohio has the lowest inventory of hay since the 2012 drought and the 4th lowest in 70 years; Ohio’s row crops will not get planted in a timely fashion this year; Despite improvement in the grain markets over the past week or two, for those with coverage, Prevented Planting Crop Insurance payments may still yield more income than growing a late planted corn or soybean crop this year. Prevented planting provisions in the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) crop insurance policies can provide valuable coverage when extreme weather conditions prevent expected plantings. On their website, RMA also says “producers should make planting decisions based on agronomically sound and well documented crop management practices.” Today, insured corn and soybean growers throughout Ohio find themselves at the crossroads of a decision that pits the overwhelming desire to want to plant and grow a crop against the reality that financially and agronomically it might be a more sound alternative to accept a Prevented Planting insurance payment. Continue reading this article at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-15/forage-options-prevented-planting-corn-and-soybean-acres.
Current Weed Issues I: Controlling Weeds in Prevented Planting Areas – Mark Loux
As we get closer to decisions about cropping versus prevented planting, weed control may be one of the factors to consider. The season-long weediness of bare areas that occur in some crop fields from flooding and crop loss give a good idea of what can be in store on prevented planting acres. Some observations follow on all of this. The goals for unplanted acres are really to: 1) prevent annual weeds from going to seed and increasing the soil seedbank – anything that goes to seed will have to be dealt with in the future; and 2) treat any perennial weeds in the appropriate growth stage to reduce their population. Winter annual weeds have already gone to seed or are in the process of doing so. Summer annuals will keep emerging in a bare ground area for much of the summer, depending upon rain. At some point later in the season, though, newly emerging summer annuals will run out of time to mature and develop much seed before frost, and the overall goal is to control them from now until then. Finish reading this article at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-15/current-weed-issues-i-controlling-weeds-prevented-planting-areas.
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
hardin.osu.edu
