Upcoming Events:
Apr. 14: Youth Virtual Field Tour of US Meat Animal Research Center,Register by clicking on this link: https://unl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J_6pOodQT0Sfr2UyoE1qKg
Apr. 14: Streaming On-Farm Research Webinar on Soybean Yield Benchmarking, 7 p.m., https://cropwatch.unl.edu/streaming-farm-research
Apr. 15: The Deal with Dicamba: An Overview of Dicamba-Related Litigation, 11 a.m. CST, free webinar. Details: https://bit.ly/3e2LvGX
Apr. 16: COVID-19 impacts to Ag free webinar,3 p.m. CST, register: https://go.unl.edu/manage2020
Apr. 17 & 24: Intro to Beekeeping Field Days, https://entomology.unl.edu/bee-lab#tab3
Apr. 20-21:Better Process Control School for Acidified Foods, UNL Food Processing Center
May 2: Intro to Beekeeping Field Day, https://entomology.unl.edu/bee-lab#tab3
May 13: Field Scout Training, ENREC (former ARDC near Mead)
June 24: Weed Management Field Day, SCAL near Clay Center
July 8: Palmer Amaranth Mgmt Field Day, near Carleton
Aug. 11: Soybean Management Field Days, Hildreth
Aug. 12: Soybean Management Field Days, Elgin
Aug. 13: Soybean Management Field Days, Shelby
Aug. 14: Soybean Management Field Days, Arlington
Aug. 20: Midwest Soil Health Clinic, ENREC
Aug. 25: SCAL Field Day, Clay Center
Aug. 26: Midwest Soybean Production Clinic, ENREC
Aug. 27: Midwest Corn Production Clinic, ENREC
Happy Easter! This will truly be one to remember and hope you were able to still connect with family and friends in some way. For fruit trees and freeze temp. thresholds, please check out this resource: https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/files/PictureTableofFruitFreezeDamageThresholds.pdf. With planting having started for some or anticipated in the next few weeks, wanted to share some things I’ve been thinking about and some questions I’ve received.
As much as we have more physical distance in ag, it may be wise to have some plans in place in the event someone becomes sick with COVID-19 in your crop or livestock operation. Things such as disinfecting equipment and a sample 0-2 month plan with contact phone numbers are available in this week’s CropWatch at cropwatch.unl.edu. There’s also information on the CARES Act explaining the numbers. A series of Farm/Ranch COVID-19 free economic webinars are upcoming from UNL AgEcon. The first is this Thurs. April 16th at 3 p.m. CST. and features Nathan Kauffman, with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, presenting on COVID-19 Economic Developments and U.S. Agriculture. Details and recordings will be posted at https://go.unl.edu/manage2020.
Planting Considerations: It was nice to see equipment out in fields this past week! With tight economics, it’s important to make wise decisions with the factors we can control during planting season; it sets the stage for the rest of the year. One factor to consider is planting windows instead of planting dates. While this week is mid-April, it may not provide the best opportunities for planting. Be sure to check soil temps and plant at proper depth, not mudding in seed, and plant as close to 50F soil temps as possible when there’s a warming trend. Avoid planting when there’s potential for a cold rain/cold snap within 48 hours for corn and at least 24 hours for soybean. It’s also best to get seed in the ground 1.5-2” deep. For corn, this is critical in helping with nodal root establishment. For soybean, this aids in buffered soil moisture and temperature and helps delay emergence to aid against potential frost. Numerous research studies have proven the yield benefit to early planted soybean. Outside of the genetics, it’s the top way to improve soybean yields. When we conducted these studies via on-farm research, we also had planting date X planting rate studies. Those studies showed no yield difference when planting 120K vs. 180K in April vs. May beans. All the planting date studies had an insecticide + fungicide seed treatment and I have no data without it. Our soybean planting rate studies did not always have a seed treatment and now 13 years of that data still shows 90-120K planted seeds being the most economical while 120K is what we’d recommend for yield.
In this week’s CropWatch, I wrote an article with Jim Specht on soybean germination. The imbibition phase (water uptake) is the critical phase for potential seed chilling. Once the imbibition phase is complete, the soybean going through the osmotic phase can tolerate 35-40F soil temps as long as soil is not saturated. The reason why we say at least 24 hours for soybean vs. 48 hours for corn (regarding cold snap/cold rain) is because the soybean seed imbibes water much faster than corn. You can prove this to yourself! Put a soybean seed and corn seed in water and watch what happens. When teaching youth ag literacy, I put soybean seeds in water to show them the seed coat, root and first leaves. Granted, we’re not planting soybean into water, but it helps one see the difference in how the seeds imbibe water. Studies from journal articles showed the imbibition phase could complete in as little as 8-12 hours. However, it all depends on the beginning soil moisture, soil temperature, quality of the seed (no nicks in the seed coat, free of wrinkles from wet/dry cycles, higher seed moisture of 13-16%). There have also been experiments to suggest that soybean can be planted in 45F soil temps if soil moisture is stable and no cold rains occur during the imbibition period.
I’ve also received a few questions regarding rye rapidly growing and what to do. I have no research-only observation and talking to others. I’m still a fan of planting green. However, have noticed difficulty with residual herbicides applied to tall rye (above 12”) and getting down to the canopy, thus weed escapes. So, a few thoughts. If you’re concerned about the rye, you can always terminate a few weeks before planting. Otherwise, consider splitting your residual with half on when you kill rye after planting with other half later or putting on your residual in a second pass after killing rye. Would welcome others’ thoughts/experiences of what’s working for you!
Dicamba Webinar: The National Ag Law Center is hosting a free webinar titled ‘The Deal with Dicamba: An Overview of Dicamba-Related Litigation’ on April 15th at 11 a.m. CST. It will discuss various lawsuits filed in response to crop damage allegedly caused by herbicides containing dicamba. Details: https://bit.ly/3e2LvGX.
