Production Blog

Tale of Two Seasons

The picture on the left, taken on July 8, 2012, shows a crop far along in the stages of dry down due to a combination of early planting and extreme drought. A year later (right) the field photographed on July 10, 2013, tells a drastically different tale. (DTN photos by Pamela Smith)

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (DTN) -- Paul Winkler replanted a few soybeans this week. The Owensboro, Ky., farmer knows the crop will be lucky to make it to frost. "It is rented ground and landlords like to see something growing," he said. "It's the only reason I did it. If it were my place, I'd probably left the spots and kept the weeds controlled.

"Will all the variation in planting date, we'll likely be harvesting clear into December," Winkler added. "An early frost could be devastating this year."

I met Winkler at a Mana Herbicide Expo plot tour held at Southern Illinois University's Belleville research station on Wednesday. He and his traveling partner, Philip Anderson, a certified crop adviser with Stanley Crop Service, like to take in weed and agronomy field days in neighboring states. Beyond learning what weeds might be coming and ideas on control, they get a chance to size up crop conditions as they roll down the road.

Like Winkler and Anderson, I prefer to bypass or detour from Interstate highways going to and fro from these events. "We never go back the same way we came," Winkler told me. Ditto.

Driving through southern Illinois on my return trip on July 11, I can attest that Winkler wasn't the last to plant. Planters and drills were rolling near New Baden, Greenville and Vandalia, Ill. Most of them were putting in double-crop soybeans.

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Winkler said he saw the same coming through Indiana and southeastern Illinois. Shaun Casteel, Purdue University extension soybean specialist, issued a bulletin noting USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service figures that show only 32% of the winter wheat acreage in Indiana had been harvested as of the week ending July 7, compared with 98% last year and a five-year average of 69%.

Because double-crop soybeans need about 90 days to reach the first harvestable stage of development, Casteel recommended that farmers target July 15-25 as estimated planting deadlines, depending on their location in the state. Read a detailed report of his double-cropping recommendations here: http://bit.ly/…

Farmers in southern Indiana usually have more time because that part of the state typically does not have a first freeze until late October. But a first freeze by mid-October is possible anywhere in Indiana depending on weather conditions at the time, Casteel noted.

In addition, the timeline of 90 days to maturity is more accurate from the time plants emerge rather than the planting date, Casteel said. Although double-crop soybeans should emerge in 5-7 days, they could take several weeks should soil be dry after planting.

Weed problems in soybeans, herbicide burn from post-emergence sprays and corn needing an extra shot of nitrogen were also evident as I meandered back to my home base in Decatur, Ill.

However, nothing was quite as profound to me as the variability in the crop and the contrast to how different it is from last year. When I traveled these same roads one year ago, corn had already died or been chopped for silage due to drought conditions.

In several locations this year, I saw corn tasseling in fields next to fields that were barely old enough to be considered V-1 in growth stage. My best guess on the latter is the corn is a last-gasp hope to achieve a silage crop. Most of the fields were in proximity to a livestock operation.

DTN Managing Editor Cheri Zagurski expended a lot of effort this week trying to get definitive answers from RMA regarding the use of corn as a cover crop on prevented plant acres. After several differing opinions, a voicemail from the St. Paul, Minn., office leads us to believe corn could be harvested as silage without sacrificing the prevented planting indemnity, just like any other crop that is hayed, grazed or chopped, as long as it is done after Nov. 1. Better check with your agent to be sure, and keep in mind Nov. 1 will be pushing the envelope with regard to frost.

Winkler and Anderson, who also attended the University of Missouri's weed field day on Thursday, found rolling areas of Missouri flourishing and benefiting from a much needed rain. On the way home, they were dismayed to see fully tasseled corn in Illinois' Wabash River valley flattened from flooding. "That just makes me hurt for those guys," Winkler said. "It's one thing to lose a crop when it's little, but it's something else when all the inputs were on and you'd already seen the promise of what it was going to make," he said.

Pamela Smith can be reached at Pamela.smith@telventdtn.com

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