Agronomist Note

Last week finally brought us some hot and dry weather to help spur crop and weed development. I’d say most producers in the area are 75% finished seeding, with some finished altogether. We completed our own seeding last Saturday, after some excitement and a heated last minute search for a tractor to rent.    

In this week’s newsletter we’ll discuss controlling volunteer canola in one leaf wheat or barley. We’ll look at the success of late fall glyphosate applications. We’ll also discuss how seeding into heavy residue, although not pretty, may pay dividends this summer. Finally, we’ll look at current global weather conditions in Market News. 

Agronomy

This Week in Scouting

Check fields targeted for post-herbicide applications. Crop and weed growth progressing quickly.
Begin scouting for newly emerged flea beetles. Watch for damage in late-April and early-May seeded canola.
Continue gopher control program, especially in canola fields adjacent to pastures.
Document fields with significant winter annual and perennial weed pressure (flixweed, cleavers, stinkweed, dandelion). Slate these fields for a late fall glyphosate application.
Keep track of rainfall.

Crop Stages (Calgary to Drumheller to Three Hills)

Date Seeded:	April 23-31	May 1-7	May 8-15
Wheat	Early 2-leaf	1-leaf
Canola	Cotyledon	Emerging
Barley	Early 2-leaf	1-leaf
Peas	1st node	Emerging

Pre-Pass Success Story

When you pay the extra money for a pre-burn herbicide like Pre-Pass you sometimes wonder if it’s worth it, especially when you’re seeding early and there’s nothing growing. Well, I had roughly 15 bushels of canola dumped on the ground last fall after a hail storm hit on September 8th. I automatically reached for Pre-Pass and had it applied on May 2nd and then seeded wheat on May 3rd. Walking through the field yesterday, I couldn’t find a healthy canola plant anywhere. In fact, I didn’t see any canola! For those who typically have volunteer canola issues, I’m convinced you won’t find a better solution than Pre-Pass when seeding in early spring before weeds emerge. SL

Heavy Residue An Eye Sore But May Be A Saving Grace

I’ve seen many a producer trying to deal with residue problems both in heavy harrowed fields and untouched fields. Most producers simply ran out of time to manage residue last year because the straw stayed tough for so long. If you remember last September, we waited a long time for wheat to dry down below 15%. That tough straw has left its mark this spring; however, I’m not too troubled by it. I feel the heavy residue could serve us well come the hot and drier June-July period that’s predicted.

The picture to the right shows InVigor canola seeded May 13th into 100 bushel barley residue. Straw swaths were left for the cows but never touched and never harrowed! The field was seeded with a 58 foot Flexi-coil 5000 with 3 inch Stealth double shoot, paired row openers and 3 ½ inch steel packers. I’d say the drill did a fantastic job in spite of the heavy residue.

I know some fields look ugly right now but changing your perspective on how things “look” may be the first step towards our growing relationship with residue. In fact, you won’t even see those lovely little clumps and lumps 30 days from now. I realize that under cold conditions, heavy residue will tend to hold frosts for longer periods of time and cause more damage. Yes, that is a risk with heavy residues and of course there are emergence issues as well. However, the benefit of having higher residue cover will soon come!

One of the top findings to come out of the long term direct seeding trials at Three Hills was the benefit of reduced heat stress on plant roots. In fact, soil temperatures were twice as hot under black soil regimes underpinning the importance of leaving residue. Under drier years between 2000 and 2002, yields were 47% to 147% higher in direct seeded fields. So, as you crawl over your fields at 5mph, keep thinking about how you can better improve residue management on your farm. SL

Reference: http://www.reducedtillage.ca/article252.aspx

Post-Harvest Application Success

I had a client spray a 1-litre application of glyphosate to some of his fields in late October last year. After four or five heavy frosts we made the call to park the sprayer and leave the rest for spring. This spring you could see the dividing line where the bottom of the tank was cleaned out before winter. There is a straight line where the weeds were green and growing on one side and nothing on the other. The fields that were sprayed last fall didn’t require a pre-seed herbicide application again this spring, even in the second week of May.

This is the second year we’ve applied glyphosate in late fall with substantial success. If weather permits this season, we’ll apply another late fall application in 25 to 50% of the fields slated to be seeded first in 2009. This strategy will reduce the risk of early weed pressure and allow us to seed directly into fields without a pre-seed herbicide application.

TIP: Consider late fall applications of glyphosate on fields slated to be seeded first. Document fields you see this spring with heavy winter annual pressure like stinkweed, narrow-leaved hawk’s beard, flixweed, cleavers and dandelions. Those fields could be a prime target for a late fall herbicide application this year.  

Controlling Volunteer Canola in One Leaf Wheat or Barley

Many producers who didn’t apply a pre-seed herbicide application are facing the challenge of controlling volunteer canola in an emerging cereal crop. The same problem occurs each year and unfortunately, there are few products registered for controlling volunteer canola in wheat or barley at the one-leaf stage. In fact, the only herbicide registered at this growth stage is the new broadleaf herbicide Infinity by Bayer CropScience.

The risk of using phenoxy’s like 2,4-D or MCPA before the three-leaf stage is that they may cause kinked heads, which restricts water and nutrient supply, and/or may get stuck in the boot and emerge malformed. The picture on the right shows spring wheat with kinked heads from an early application of 2,4-D in 2006.

So what do we do?
a. Wait until the second-leaf stage to apply and choose from a number of registered products like Frontline, Benchmark, Infinity, Everest and Buctril M, or,

b. I have heard of this strategy but cannot recommend it ethically: Express SG at 5 to 6 grams per acre with a non-ionic surfactant like AgSurf or Agral 90 applied at 2L/1000L. It works well and has shown to be safe on the crop. Again, I am not recommending this strategy but merely passing along what other producers have done. SL  

Flea Beetles

The recent hot weather has triggered flea beetle emergence and should be top of the list of things to do over the next few weeks. Seed treatments provide 14 to 30 day protection from flea beetle damage, however, under heavy pressure a seed treatment may not be enough. I will provide information on scouting and control next week. If you’re curious right now click on http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/insects/fad52s00.html

Market News

Drought in Australia

I’ve had a few conversations with fellow Nuffield Scholars who farm on the eastern side of Australia in New South Wales and South Australia. I was told to tell my clients not to sell wheat yet. There have been small pockets of rain here and there, but the accumulated amounts of 6 to 10 mm are insignificant. The wheat market continues to slide downward with the expectation that all major wheat exporting countries like Canada, US, Australia, Europe and Russia will produce a bumper crop. We may not be in a drought, but we and Australia are a long way from a bumper crop in most regions. SL

Drought Conditions Continue Up in Eastern Australia

Farmers in New South Wales, Australia, are bracing themselves for another horror winter, with almost half of the state now drought declared. Drought figures released by the NSW Government show 48.4 per cent of the State is in drought, up from 42.9 per cent last month, 23.6 per cent is marginal and 28.0 per cent is considered satisfactory. “These figures represent a real fear in the country that our winter crop may yet again be savaged by this merciless drought as the crucial autumn break has not arrived and time is running out,” Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald said.
Full story: http://wellington.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/business/drought-rates-creep-up-during-autumn/770952.aspx

Barley to Climb Above $5?

Analysts say the recent USDA report does not account enough for the current planting problems the US corn crop is experiencing. The USDA lowered the average yield by only 1 bushel per acre to 153 bushels to account for the planting problems. Some analysts feel that any sustained weather problems for the corn crop will send prices over $10 per bushel. Global 2008-09 corn ending stocks were forecasts at only 99mt, down from this year's already tight 110mt. With Canadian barley supplies tight and the US corn situation also very tight, the barley outlook is very strong and prices will remain near current highs. Any weather problems will send barley significantly over the $5 per bushel. I know a producer who’s already locked in $5.00 feed barley off-combine for September. Not a bad start. SL
Reference: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1555867/ 

World Wheat Production

Weather remains the only threat to global production. Last Friday the USDA estimated the 2008 World wheat crop at 656mmt, a record, and some 50mmt higher than this year. EU estimates remain higher with Strategie Grains yesterday forecasting EU-27 soft wheat production at 128mmt, up 15% on last year. Southern hemisphere prospects need watching as Australia has switched back to drier conditions, delaying the planting of the new crop. In Argentina, planting has started, although a reduced acreage is forecast due to export restrictions imposed this year that disrupted exports.
Source: Gleadell Report

NEW Weekly World Weather Highlights

Europe
Dry, warm weather promotes fieldwork and planting of corn, sunflowers and sugar beets across central and northern Europe.

Former Soviet Union
Unseasonably cold weather in Ukraine, western Russia, and Belarus slows winter grain development as well as the emergence and early growth of spring-planted crops.

Drier weather improves conditions for summer crop planting in Ukraine, while a warming trend increases soil temperatures for early spring planting in Siberia, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Middle East
Rain in Turkey provides much-needed moisture for filling winter wheat. Dry weather continues to reduce prospects for heading to filling winter grains in Iran.

Northwest Africa
Rain arrives but it’s too late. Locally heavy showers in Algeria and Tunisia are mostly too late for maturing winter wheat and barley.

East Asia
Showers favour emerging to vegetative summer crops as well as filling winter wheat.

Southeast Asia
The summer monsoon advances into Thailand, bringing beneficial moisture for vegetative corn.

Australia
Dry weather follows recent rain in Western Australia, prompting more winter grain planting. More rain is needed in southeastern Australia, where dry weather limits winter grain sowing. In east-central Australia, dry weather allows uninterrupted cotton and sorghum harvesting.

South America
Dry weather dominates major farming areas. In Argentina, dry weather spurs rapid corn and soybean harvesting. In southern Brazil, dry weather promotes winter wheat planting and late soybean harvesting.

Canada
Prairie spring grain and oilseed planting is well underway, albeit slowly, due to cool and locally dry conditions.

Mexico
Warmth and dryness return to rain-fed winter sorghum areas following last week’s beneficial rain.

Nearby Grain Charts