Agronomist Notes

Déjà vieu! Like last year, it’s almost October and most producers are only 60 to 70% done harvest in our area. Only a few producers have actually taken off all of their wheat as most have been switching between wheat and canola, whatever is driest that day. The furthest area behind seems to be closest to Calgary and south with only 30 to 50% done so far. We are 70% complete at home with just the tail end of wheat left to be munched by the Gleaner. Yes, that’s our fierce unit in the photo—a shinning example of how a little tlc and enormous skill mixed with determination and a hint of desperation can make anything purr.

The upside to harvest this year is the high yields and quality coming off. The areas around Drumheller west to Highway 21 have averaged 50 to 55 bushels per acre wheat and 40 to 45 bushel canola. West of Highway 21 and approaching Beiseker, the wheat yields are in the 60’s and the canola yields are in the high 40’s to mid 50 bushel range. Moving further west towards Highway 2, wheat yields are averaging over 70 bushels with highs into the 90’s. I’ve heard of some canola running 55 bushels and over.

After two weeks of my brain being in dusty operator mode, I’ve got plenty of writing pent up inside so sit down and strap on your helmet. In this week’s newsletter we’ll discuss a wild oat control strategy, cheap urea, variety comparisons, my ammonium sulphate experiment, insects in grain storage bags and controlling dandelions. Lastly, we’ll have a read at what the weather is doing to crops around the world. Have a great week.

Agronomy

Share your harvest success stories

Would you like to share your results from trials or experiments you’ve done on your farm? Feats big and small are welcome, don’t be shy. Feel free to email me and I’ll be happy to share your results with our readers. E-mail me at steve@beyondagronomy.com

$500 a tonne urea coming to a siding near you, or me possibly

I’ve been in contact with a gentleman from Eco-Ag for several weeks and am waiting to see the final contract for $500 a tonne urea delivered to the Calgary area via CN rail. They say they are in the final stages and will have two delivery periods, the first in November and the second in early-March 2009. Being skeptical, I’ll have a lawyer review the contract to assess its legitimacy. So far, Eco-Ag seems to be transparent in our conversations and more than willing to show me the details of the final contract when it’s completed. Stay tuned for further details. SL

AC Harvest vs. CDC Go

Since it was registered in 2003, I’ve been watching the variety CDC Go in provincial variety trials as well as at home and on client’s farms. I finally had a side by side trial near Three Hills with AC Harvest and CDC Go. It turns out the CDC Go yielded 20% higher, was drier at harvest indicating earlier maturity and had 0.7% higher protein. Very impressive! However, the provincial variety trials show AC Harvest as having 0.2% higher protein on average, so the jury’s still out on that one. Nonetheless, I do like Go’s potential in the Three Hills and western areas of my territory out to Highway 2.   

One side benefit of CDC Go is that it’s a bearded wheat, which several producers have mentioned withstands hail damage better than non-bearded wheat like AC Harvest.  Although AC Harvest is high yielding, has great sprouting tolerance and excellent lodging resistance, I think I may add CDC Go to my varietal portfolio. SL

I tried ammonium sulphate fines as a nitrogen source

At this early stage in my farming career, I do not yet have the capital to invest in fertilizer bins, even though I would have given anything to buy my blend last September. After watching the price climb over the winter I decided to broadcast my fertilizer and use my field as fertilizer storage. I know that banding fertilizer is better and has less risk, but I saw this as my best option towards minimizing costs.

I had Viterra broadcast 315 lbs of ammonium sulphate fines (21-0-0-24) last February. In the spring we seed placed 20 lbs/ac of phosphorus with the wheat and canola on 270 acres. The total nutrients applied worked out to a 70 lbs/N, 20 lbs/P and 75 lbs/S. The risk of nitrogen leaching or volatilization was minimal because the nitrogen was still in the ammonium form (which is positively charged so it will bind to organic matter and clay immediately) and being -10oC the risk of volatilization was minimal.

The total cost of fertilizer including application was $79.58 per acre versus the $85 per acre had I purchased in the spring. In the end I saved $5.42 an acre, received 75 lbs of sulphur per acre and only had to fill the drill three times to seed 270 acres.

Results:

• Mid- to late-June, knolls had turned yellow and chlorotic in the wheat. After completing tissue tests on the knolls, the results showed both nitrogen and sulphur deficiencies and recommended 30 lbs of N and 10 lbs of S.
• I applied 10-10-10 plus  micros at 1,000 ml/ac with a product called BEST at 100 ml/ac at herbicide timing. The application of the liquid fertilizer and the BEST did not correct the deficiency or show any signs of improving crop growth. Plants on the knolls eventually recovered once their roots found the nitrogen at depth but yield potential was lost.  
• The wheat yield totaled 60 bushels an acre by volume and graded No.1, 12.2 protein.
• The canola yield totaled 40 bushels an acre by volume and graded No.1 as well.

I am somewhat satisfied with results from broadcasting ammonium sulphate fines as a nitrogen source. The risk of nitrogen moving off target is high even on gently rolling topography as I experienced this year. I think this strategy worked in a pinch, like where I found myself in last winter, but I still prefer to band my nitrogen below the seed in the spring. SL

Managing fields with heavy wild oat pressure

With the risk of developing herbicide resistance in some of the heavier wild oat fields, I’ve decided to apply Avadex this fall, then follow up with a Group 1 or 2 wild oat herbicide like Axial or Everest next spring. There were a few fields we had to spray an in-crop wild oat herbicide twice just to control the wild oats. The selection pressure in these fields are very high, meaning the probability of having a wild oat grow through the herbicide treatment is high. Ergo, herbicide resistance is just around the corner if we don’t change our ways and we’re losing money!

If you look at yield loss data from wild oat pressure, the greatest yield robbers are those which germinate ahead of the crop. By applying a soil active herbicide like Avadex, we can control or suppress the wild oats that germinate in the first 4 to 6 weeks and finish the job with an in-crop foliar herbicide thereby minimizing yield loss for the same cost. The cost is of applying granular Avadex is roughly $15 an acre on soils with 4% or greater OM, and liquid is around $13.50 an acre.

The key to the successful use of liquid or granular Avadex is residue management. Avadex is soil active just like the florasulam component of Pre-Pass or Everest, so it must be absorbed into the soil via rain, snow or mechanical incorporation. I am hoping to combine the liquid Avadex with our fall application of glyphosate to eliminate one pass if we can. 

Keys to successful use of Avadex, liquid and granular:

1. Soil temperatures must be below 5°C to avoid premature activation. You want activation to occur in spring only. 
2. If excessive crop residue exists at application, a heavy harrowing should be done to ensure soil contact.
3. If spraying a liquid Avadex, you don’t want more than 25% of the field covered in residue. Perhaps pea or canola stubble may be an option or a baled cereal crop.  

Do grain storage bags really prevent insect outbreaks?

Harvest bags have been promoted as a non-chemical solution to grain insect control. The bags are said to be sealed enough to achieve gas-tightness for the duration of the storage. The tightness in the seal is said to create a hermetic atmosphere. A hermetic atmosphere refers to an atmosphere with raised carbon dioxide and low oxygen concentrations relative to natural air. Insects cannot survive when the ratio of gases and the temperature reaches a certain level. Research has shown that atmospheres containing 2 % oxygen and 15 % carbon dioxide at 26oC were far more effective against adults and eggs of certain grain storage pests, than atmospheres with 5 % O2 and 15 % CO2.

The change in atmospheric compositions within a sealed harvest bag can be generated by the pests themselves. As the pests respire they will use up O2 and expire CO2, altering the balance of the gases, but only if the bag is air tight. Unfortunately, in order to for insects to create a hermetic atmosphere inside a harvest bag, an unacceptably high number of insects have to be present.  

So, although the concept of insect control using grain bags is true, the results are often inconsistent and grain storage insects are still a risk. The research was conducted in Australia and Argentina. Argentina stores over 20 million tonnes of grain annually using grain bags.

Source: GRDC, Ground Cover Magazine
http://www.csiro.au/resources/HarvestBagReport.html

Your fields may have dandelions, even if they didn’t this spring. 

Driving through the countryside this spring you would have been hard pressed to find a field without dandelions, never mind pastures and roadsides. Dandelion germination is triggered by rains in late August and September making conditions ideal this fall for dandelion outbreaks next spring. Even if you didn’t have dandelions this spring, the mass of seeds that have floated through the air may leave your fields at risk. I’ve seen plenty of small three leaved seedlings in my own fields so far and I didn’t have a dandelion problem this spring. 

Research at the University of Saskatchewan has shown that fall application produces the best yield response of any application timing. Research found that glyphosate applied at 1 L/ac equivalent, glyphosate at ½ L/ac per acre plus Express SG at six grams per acre and PrePass all performed well when applied in late September. SL

Reference: Clark Brenzil, Saskatchewan Provincial Specialist, Weed Control

Market News

Fertilizer prices to remain high say analysts

It looks like tight fertilizer supplies will remain into 2009. Although fertilizer facilities may have weathered Hurricane Ike with only minor damages, the industry continues to struggle with tight supplies and the impact of a collapsing financial market. Fertilizer dealers are now facing unprecedented restricted credit availability through banks, preventing them from pre-purchasing fertilizer before spring like they usually do. This will force more dealers to purchase fertilizer closer to spring, creating a storm for surging fertilizer prices as the demand narrows into one short time period. SL
Reference: http://www.agweb.com/get_article.aspx?pageid=145968

International Crop Weather News

United States: In the West, dry, unusually warm weather is promoting crop maturation and fieldwork, including Northwestern winter wheat planting. On the Plains, winter wheat planting continues to advance under warm, mostly dry conditions, albeit at a slightly slower-than-normal pace in most areas. Harvesting of various summer crops, including corn and sorghum is gradually progressing from south to north. In the Corn Belt, a band of showers and locally severe thunderstorms stretches from Wisconsin to Missouri. Strong thunderstorms winds are a concern with respect to corn stalks, some of which are susceptible to being blown over. Rain is moving into already wet areas of the central Corn Belt, and ending in dry areas of the upper Midwest that have benefited from recent soil moisture improvements.

Europe: Drier weather in central and northern Europe allows small grain harvesting and winter rapeseed planting to resume. Heavy rain eases drought in the Balkans but is too late to aid filling to maturing summer crops.

Former Soviet Union: In western Russia and Ukraine, unseasonably cool, showery weather slows summer crop harvesting but boosts topsoil moisture for winter grain emergence and establishment. Intermittent showers and cold weather in eastern Russia and Kazakhstan slow spring wheat harvesting.

East Asia: Throughout China, periods of warmth and dryness aid summer crop harvesting. Showers in Manchuria slow early harvesting of corn and soybeans, but favor late-filling crops.

Southeast Asia: Monsoon showers benefit corn in Thailand and the Philippines.

South Asia: A late-season monsoon burst brings heavy rain to northern crop areas, favoring reproductive summer crops and boosting moisture reserves for winter wheat planting but causing lowland flooding. Heavy showers in central India provide moisture for reproductive to filling soybeans.

Middle East: Drought limits moisture for winter crop planting and establishment across most major growing areas.

Australia: Scattered showers fall across the wheat belt, but the rainfall is only somewhat beneficial for reproductive winter grains because of the meager amounts and recent dry weather.

South America: Rain falls in Cordoba, Argentina, but much more is needed to significantly improve prospects of drought-stressed winter wheat. In Brazil, showers help to condition fields for planting of soybeans and other summer crops.

Canada: Freezing temperatures are recorded for the first time this year in the eastern Prairies and portions of Quebec and Ontario, ending the season for spring and summer crops.

Mexico: Rain benefits corn and other rain-fed summer crops on the southern plateau and other key growing areas of central and southern Mexico. However, the monsoon appears to be weakening, signaling the approach of the dry season in the northwest.