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Top-5 Early Season Corn-Planting
Tips
Last week, very few farmers in Iowa were able to start
planting, due to cool, wet soils, says Roger Elmore, Iowa State
University (ISU) Extension corn specialist. This week, conditions may
change enough in some parts of the state to allow field work and
planting to go forward.
“The winds that blew last Wednesday were very beneficial to drying
soils,” says Elmore. “If farmers can dodge the rains that are
currently in the forecast, planting will start in earnest.”
There is no secret recipe for when to plant corn, notes Elmore. “Every
field will be different, and you plant when the soil conditions are
ready,” he says. “However, soil temperatures and the weather
forecast are also important considerations.”
The following are Elmore’s top-5 early season corn-planting tips:
- Be prepared. In particular, make sure the planter is cleaned,
inspected, calibrated, adjusted and tested. “Get the planter out and
make sure it’s ready to go,” he says. “Try it out on a dry patch
of soil to test it out, and then put it away until your first field is
ready.”
- Monitor soil temperatures closely. “If soil temperatures
are about 50°, there’s promise for warmer temperatures ahead and
soils aren’t too wet to risk sidewall compaction, then I’d plant,”
advises Elmore. “On the other hand, if soil conditions and
temperatures are good, but the near-term forecast is for rain and
temperatures in the 40s, then I’d be very cautious about planting.
This time of year, that type of scenario could be a recipe for
disaster.”
- Be patient. “Remember that compaction will live with you
and reduce yields all summer, so don’t push planting too fast,” he
cautions. “It’s not until after May 10 when corn growers in Iowa
start losing yield potential.”
- Plant cold-tolerant hybrids first. “Make sure your first
field is planted to a good, cold-tolerant hybrid,” says Elmore. “In
Iowa, we also recommend planting rootworm-resistant hybrids first and
conventional hybrids later.”
Rootworms tend to hatch early in the season, and rootworm-resistant
hybrids are better able to protect roots than conventional hybrids, he
explains. However, refuge acres need to be planted at the same time as
rootworm-resistant hybrids, reminds Elmore.
- Consider planting before applying fertilizer. “Post-plant
application of nitrogen (N) will work to speed up planting for some
folks who didn’t apply N in the fall,” says Elmore. “However,
manure applications need to go on before planting.”
In addition, postemergence applications of herbicides will also speed up
planting, compared to a reliance on preplant applications, he adds.
Tillage practices can also make a difference.
“Farmers who were able to strip-till in the fall will likely be able
to enter fields earlier than others,” says Elmore. “On certain
soils, that works wonderfully. If the strips can be made in the fall,
then the strip can be drying out and warming up in the spring, which in
some soils will give you a good head start on the season and should
allow you to plant earlier.”
To read more early season corn-planting tips from ISU, click here: www.agronext.iastate.edu/corn.
To view the latest National Weather Service temperature and
precipitation predictions, click here: www.cpc.noaa.gov/index.php.
To read more about strip-till, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/corn.
By John Pocock
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Three Grain Pricing Alternatives To Consider
This Spring
Grain buyers and elevators, like producers, can't
afford to take all the risk. As a result, some have stopped offering
cash-forward contracts to price new-crop corn, soybeans and wheat, says
Chris Hurt, a Purdue University agricultural economist.
However, because wet spring weather is delaying the start of Midwest
corn planting, Hurt says he expects to see some good pricing
opportunities early this spring for corn and recommends farmers think
about new-crop pricing alternatives. There are three primary pricing
strategies that a broker may outline when pricing 2008 crops, says Hurt.
To continue reading this article about potential grain contract
strategies for this spring, click here: www.agriculture.purdue.edu/aganswers.
To read Hurt’s most recent outlook on corn markets, click here: www.agecon.purdue.edu/extension/prices.
By Julie Douglas, Purdue University
Extension
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After
Weather Delays: Plant Corn Or Soybeans First?
In Nebraska the optimum planting dates for field corn,
where water is not the limiting factor for yield, are April 20 to May
10, depending on your location. You would like to have about two-thirds
of your crop planted by the optimum date in your area to maximize yields
and reduce potential yield losses.
We suggest starting to plant soybeans about five days after the date you
normally would like to start planting corn, if possible. Typically, most
producers will finish planting all of their corn before planting their
soybeans and may risk soybean yield losses because of late planting.
Some producers in the Corn Belt plant their corn and drill their
soybeans at the same time to avoid these losses.
In Nebraska, corn yields decrease about 0.75% for each day planting is
delayed after May 10.
To continue reading this article about what to consider if weather
delays corn planting, click here: cropwatch.unl.edu/archives/2008/crop6.
To read a related article on soybean planting date research, click here:
cropwatch.unl.edu/archives/2008.
By Robert Klein and Paul Jasa, University of
Nebraska
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Tips To Get Corn Off To A Good
Start
Planting mismanagement can put a ceiling on yield
potential, even before the plant emerges from the soil. Farmers should
keep this in mind as they prepare for this year's corn production.
Spring started off much like last year: cool and wet. Meteorologists are
forecasting warmer, drier weather for the remainder of the month, which
should make for ideal planting conditions.
"For some, this year seems like a repeat of 2007, with wet weather in
some areas and some cool days," says Peter Thomison, an Ohio State
University Extension agronomist. "But there is still plenty of time to
get the corn crop established. We don't want farmers to cut corners and
push to get the corn in the ground before the field is ready. Mistakes
made during the planting operation, like 'mudding seed in,' are usually
irreversible when it comes to impacts on yields."
But agronomists don't want growers to wait too long. The longer a grower
waits to plant, the more a ceiling is put on yields. To continue reading
this article about planting tips for Ohio farmers, click here: www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~news/story.php?id=4576.
To read a related article on adjustments to make if corn planting is
delayed, click here: corn.osu.edu/story.php?setissueID=224&storyID=1383.
By Candace Pollock, Ohio State University
Extension
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Maturity Selection Important When Planting Is
Delayed
When rainfall significantly delays field and planting
operations, switching to early maturity hybrids is sometimes needed to
ensure timely crop maturation. To help guide these decisions, Pioneer
researchers conducted planting-date studies over 18 years (1987-2004).
Studies included a range of hybrid maturities across planting dates
extending from April through June.
The latest Crop Insights publication reports on the results of
those studies and explains how to use the data to make profitable
hybrid-maturity-switching decisions. To download a PDF copy of this
newsletter, click here: www.mccormickcompany.net/pioneer.
By Jerry Harrington, Pioneer Hi-Bred
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Multistate Ratings For Burndown Herbicide
Efficacy
Elimination of tillage in agronomic cropping systems
places heavy reliance on herbicides to control both existing weeds
before planting and weeds that emerge after planting. Cool and wet soils
have delayed the development of winter annual weed species somewhat (at
least relative to recent years), but a return to warm temperatures will
quickly spur these weeds to rapid growth. Whatever your plans for
cropping practices in 2008, it is best to control existing weed
vegetation before planting corn or soybeans.
Many Illinois farmers and custom applicators know that some Illinois
populations of horseweed (Conyza canadensis, commonly known as
marestail) are resistant to glyphosate. Following treatment with
glyphosate, resistant plants are frequently stunted and display
yellowing in the meristem area. Often, the top of the plant dies back,
but this is usually followed by profuse branching along the lower stem.
Because glyphosate use is pervasive both before planting (burndown) and
following crop emergence (in glyphosate-resistant varieties/hybrids),
the presence of glyphosate-resistant horseweed in Illinois requires
farmers to consider options other than sole reliance on glyphosate for
control. Ideally, all horseweed should be controlled before planting,
especially before planting soybeans.
However, because horseweed may emerge in spring (especially in
southern Illinois) as well as in fall, it is likely that some horseweed
will emerge after crop planting. Farmers thus need to consider how to
manage glyphosate-resistant horseweed both before planting and after
crop emergence.
To continue reading this article about herbicide applications for
difficult weeds, click here: www.ipm.uiuc.edu/bulletin/article.php?id=904.
By Aaron Hager, University of Illinois
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Pre-Emergence
Herbicides Become Cost Competitive
Rising input costs have crop farmers looking for
price-competitive alternatives, says Kevin Bradley, a University of
Missouri Extension weed scientist.
With a doubling in price for glyphosate -- a postemergence herbicide
that is most popular with soybean producers -- pre-emergence herbicides
became price competitive, says Bradley.
“In the past, the cost of two applications of glyphosate on a Roundup
Ready soybean field has been unbeatable from an economic standpoint,”
Bradley says. “Now at chemical cost of $11-12/acre for brand-name
glyphosate treatment, many pre-emergence soybean herbicides will cost
about the same or less than glyphosate.
“Although generic glyphosate products will likely remain slightly
lower in cost than many pre-emergence treatments," he adds, "I still
think there is a strong case to be made for the use of pre-emergence
soybean herbicides.”
To continue reading this article about cost comparisons between
glyphosate and pre-emergence herbicides, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/inputs/news/0408-higher-price-herbicide-preemergence-chemicals/.
Source: University of Missouri
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Nitrate
Neutralizer
As a county ditch inspector, Eric Schrader has worked
hard to promote conservation drainage measures, such as grass buffer
strips. Now, the Rice County, MN, farmer is trying out a new type of
“drain cleaner.” It's a buried trench filled with wood chips.
Wood chip biofilters, or bioreactors, remove nitrates from tile drainage
water without removing cropland from production. “They can be used in
areas where wetlands might not be feasible,” says Richard Cooke, an ag
engineer at the University of Illinois and a leading bioreactor
designer.
Biofilters have other advantages for farmers, too, he says. They don't
restrict drainage, require little maintenance and can be installed in a
few hours with a backhoe. And they work with any drainage system.
Biofilters are among several new drainage-management technologies that
are being field-tested by Corn Belt farmers and conservation groups.
“We don't currently manage drainage in modern agriculture,” says Dan
Jaynes, a soil scientist at the USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory
in Ames, IA. “We manage everything else, yet with drainage, we put a
pipe in the ground and leave it.” But now, Jaynes says, there's
growing interest in managing agricultural drainage, both to “improve
yields and reduce the impact on water quality.”
To continue reading this article about new ways to manage agricultural
drainage for better yields and water quality, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/ag-issues/soybean-nitrate-neutralizer-0301/.
By Liz Morrison, Corn & Soybean
Digest
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Points To
Consider For Custom Farming Agreements
An alternative to leasing farmland is a custom farming
agreement. In a typical custom farming agreement, the custom operator
agrees to perform all the machine operations on the owner’s land in
exchange for a set fee or rate. The landowner pays for all seed,
fertilizer, chemicals, crop insurance and other input costs; receives
all grain produced and all eligible farm program payments on the land;
and is responsible to store and market the grain.
Following are the average custom farming costs for 2008, based on the
Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey (includes tillage, planting and harvesting
costs):
- Corn – $94.10/acre (range of $55-130)
- Soybeans – $83/acre (range of $54-110)
- Small grain – $78/acre (range of $68-90)
One obvious advantage to the custom operator is that a custom farming
agreement provides some extra farm income, with little or no additional
operating capital or farm machinery investment. Fuel, lubricants and
repairs are usually the only added costs. In addition, custom farming
offers a fixed return per acre to the custom operator, and although
there is some possibility of higher repair bills, this is minor compared
with the price and yield risks typically faced by a farm operator in a
normal cash-rental contract.
Of course, in a good year, profits from a custom farming agreement
will be less than most cash-rental leases; however, in this era of much
higher land-rental rates, there is much more risk to the farm operator
with a cash lease as compared to a custom agreement with a landowner.
To continue reading this article about points to consider with custom
farming agreements, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/ag-issues/news/0416-custom-farmin-agreements/.
By Kent Thiesse, MinnStar Bank
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U.S. Average Diesel Price Surpasses $4/gal.
For The First Time
“Unlike the previous two weeks when the U.S. average
diesel price and prices in most regions went down, the U.S. average
price and prices in all regions of the country increased,” according
to This Week In Petroleum (TWIP). “The U.S. average
price surged, moving up by 10.4¢ to 405.9¢/gal., surpassing $4/gal.
for the first time in history, and up by 118.2¢ over the price last
year.
“Prices increased sharply in all regions of the country,” reports
TWIP. “The average price for the East Coast jumped up by 11.2¢
to 411.7¢/gal. In the Midwest, the price increased by 9.6¢ to
401.3¢/gal. The price in the Gulf Coast shot up by 10.6¢ to reach $4
even -- the lowest price of any region. The increase in the Rocky
Mountain region of 6.5¢ was the smallest increase of any region. The
price there of 403.9¢/gal. was 105.8¢ higher than a year earlier. On
the West Coast, the average price surged, moving up by 12.4¢ to
417.6¢/gal., 122.0¢ above the price last year. The average price in
California shot up by 11.6¢, to 423.4¢/gal.”
To continue reading this article about prices for diesel fuel and other
petroleum products, click here: tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp.
Source: Energy Information
Administration
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Rising Oil Costs Are Underlying Force In
Increased Food Prices
A study released recently by Texas A&M’s
Agricultural and Food Policy Center illustrates corn prices have had
little to do with rising food costs, the National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) notes. The report, “The Effects of Ethanol on Texas
Food and Fuel,” also determined that relaxing the renewable fuels
standard (RFS) would not result in lower corn prices for livestock and
poultry feeders.
The study shows that prices of household groceries, such as bread, eggs
and milk, are unrelated to ethanol or corn prices. The study points to
higher oil prices as the underlying force impacting consumer prices and
agriculture.
To continue reading this article about oil, rather than ethanol, as the
cause for higher food prices, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/corn/news/0416-oil-costs-food-fuel-argument/.
Source: National Corn Growers Association
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May 31
Deadline To Play Free Grain Marketing Game
Sign up now for MarketMaxx, the free grain marketing
game from Corn & Soybean Digest, at www.marketmaxx.net.
As a MarketMaxx player, you'll have a simulated 100,000 bu. of corn and
50,000 bu. of soybeans to trade using Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT)
futures, options or cash-forward contracts. The eligible farmer with the
highest average selling price of his or her corn and soybeans when the
contest ends Oct. 31, 2008, will take home a grand prize.
The deadline for getting signed up is May 31. Go to www.marketmaxx.net today and start
playing the game that can make you a winner in more ways than one. Grand
prize for the corn contest is a Gleaner R5 or A5 series combine (up to
100 combine separator hours). (A complete list of MarketMaxx rules and
regulations can be viewed at www.marketmaxx.net.)
Source: MarketMaxx
|
Traders Thrive/Dive On
Testosterone
Elevated testosterone levels may play a part in
increased market trader profits, according to a study published recently
by the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of the
United States of America. Long term, however, elevated testosterone
levels may prove debilitating and “affect a trader's ability to engage
in rational choice.”
For more information, click here: www.pnas.org/cgi.
Source: Proceeding of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America
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Readers Respond To Corn Acreage Question -- A
Note From The Corn E-Digest Editor
Several farmers responded to my question last week
about the potential for planting more corn in light of recent record
corn futures prices. Among those who wrote in, only one indicated that
higher corn futures prices would likely prompt planting more acres in
corn.
“I plan to plant about 10% more corn acres than originally planned, if
the weather will allow us,” writes one reader from east-central
Kansas. However, “we still have some strip-tilling to do to get N-P-K
applied, and it is still too wet [as of April 15] – it’s been very
cool, with very low soil temps for corn planting.”
Rotations, rather than futures prices, are more of a factor for other
farmers. “We plan to slightly increase our corn acres, [but] not
because of planting intention reports or price increases,” writes
Charles Howe, Howe Seeds, Inc. “We, like many farmers on the western
fringe of the Corn Belt, are zero till. Because of our type of farming,
rotations are critically important and dictate what we plant.”
Rotations are also a factor for keeping acreage as planned farther east.
“I plan on staying with my intended corn acres, unless planting is
delayed until mid-June,” writes Paul Tempel, Dale, IN. “I am
increasing [corn] acres over last year, due to normal crop rotation and
farming a few more total acres. I locked in most of my input costs early
last fall, before the huge increase in N, P and K prices. Seed and
chemical prices were also locked in.”
Locked-in inputs and prices are also a factor for keeping acreage the
same as planned for this farmer in west-central Minnesota. “Even
though we have several inches of snow on the ground [as of April 14], my
planting intentions remain unchanged for a number of reasons,” writes
Chip Grube, Appleton, MN. “I locked in my fertilizer costs last fall.
I've [also] locked in a price on enough bushels of 2008 corn through
March of 2009 to meet expenses, so a reduction in acres would put me
near or over my crop insurance guarantee. We still have plenty of time
to get the crop in on time. Soybeans don't yield as well or as
consistently on my land as corn does.”
Previous input purchases will also deter an increase in corn
acres for another farmer in southwestern Minnesota. “Our decision on
the amount of corn vs. soybeans was made last fall, and we're sticking
to it mostly because we farm strip-till and the fertilizer is on and
ready for corn,” he writes. “I would like to plant more corn, but we
are working toward a corn, corn, soybean rotation [due to problems with
soybean cyst nematodes] and the field sizes helped set the exact amount
of acres.”
Only one reader wrote that the recent increase in corn futures prices
might have a negative consequence. “Right now, the market has little
influence unless you happen to be sitting on un-priced physical
grain,” writes Chris Harrell, who farms in southern Tennessee. “For
those of us who came through last year’s drought, the checking account
-- or the banker -- is dictating more than what the market is. At the
farm level, it continues to look like the scenario for this year is
going to be [that] we are going to handle a lot more money, but could
very well end up being able to hold onto less of it. The only acreage
that may change is beans going to milo -- if we don't end up getting the
soybean seed that has now been on order since last October.”
If you have a comment about your decision to plant either more or less
corn this spring than you were initially planning to plant, please write
to me (John Pocock) at: jpocock@csdigest.com. Just let me
know your name, where you farm, why you decided to either increase or
decrease your corn acres or keep them as planned and whether or not I
have permission to use your comment in a future Corn E-Digest
newsletter.
As always, you’re welcome to write to me if you have a comment on any
topic related to corn production or if you have concerns or questions
about this issue.
I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for your readership!
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