8/4/2019 CQ Perspectives Mar 2010

1/4

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF CROP QUEST AGRONOMIC SERVICES, INC

C r o p Q u e s t P e r s p e c t i v e s

Volume 20 Issue 2 March 201

Continued on P

Most producers in Crop Quest territoryare in the same boat as spring plantingnears, and that boat is full of uncertainty.

An urgency of wanting to get into theelds has been caused by the followingfactors:

Wetandcoldfallwithlateharvestsandlittlefallfertilizingcompleted

Notallacresscheduledtobeplant-edtowheatwereactuallyplanted

Wetandcoldwinterwithverylittle(if any) fertilizing and eld workcompleted

What effect all this wet, cold weatherwill have on cropping plans in 2010remains to be seen. It will, however, havea signicant impact on virtually all cropsplanted throughout the High Plains.

The exception is in the Colorado FrontRange where Crop Quest AgronomistKyleHagerty says January and Februaryhave been fairly dry in the mountains,creating some concern about havingenough spring runoff for irrigat-ed farmers in Northeast Coloradoand Western Nebraska.

Im a skier and went up in themountains over the recent Holi-day (Presidents Day) and thesnow pack just isnt there. Wecould make that up with 2-3 feet

of snow in March, but right nowits just not there, Hagerty says.

Hagerty, who works mostlywith corn growers, says thewindow of opportunity for get-ting fall soil samples done was very smallthis year. That will push sampling backuntil March, but the data is critical forgrowers to know how much fertilizer andin what form of fertilizer to apply to eachparticular eld. We emphasized pre-pur-chasing fertilizer last fall to take advan-tage of better pricing, and not having soilsamples completed on time may impact

early fertilizer purchases.The biggest problem for growers i

his region last year was mold in corn

primarily due to lack of maturity befan early frost and freeze in late Septeber and early October. Getting those samples done and getting corn plantetime to avoid disease problems that hproduction last year will be a high prity in our region,Hagerty stresses.

For the CropQuest areas thathave seen abundantmoisture through-out the fall andwinter months,much uncertaintysurrounds springplanting plans.

In SouthwestKansas, Crop Quest Agronomist JasReimer says some wheat didnt getplanted last fall due to unusually wet

ditions in addition to sowheat that was plantedlate behind corn. This lplanting has resulted inor two leaf wheat whicreally small for this parthe country. In other some of the wheat has

to emerge.Some of the circles th

were never planted towheat will more likely

to dryland crops, probably corn. In mcases growers wont have enough wato fully irrigate two pivot circles or cfrom one well, so they will need to gto a semi-irrigation (or dryland) stratwhich can be tricky.

As of mid-February Reimer notes little fertilizer has been applied nor hthere been much cultivation due toextremely wet and cold conditions.

KyleHagerty

JasonRei

SPRINGING UNCERTAINTY

ON PLANTING OPTIONS

Mother Nature

8/4/2019 CQ Perspectives Mar 2010

2/4C r o p Q u e s t P e r s p e c t i v e s w w w . c r o p q u e s t . c o

MotherNature... Continued from Page 1

Typically, in January and February, growers will fertilize astrip every 30 inches with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).Since this is yet to be completed, growers will have to decidethe proper amount and the best form of fertilizer to use. Keepit simple and ensure your anhydrous is a timely application,Reimer notes. Dry N, liquid N, pre-fertilizing up-front or ap-plying half now and side-dressing the other half after plantingare important management decisions to discuss with your

Crop Quest Agronomist.In addition to fertilizer decisions, farmers may also have to alter

their tillage practices. Because of the wet weather and late harvest, alot of this ground is rutted and will have to have some tillage to pre-pare the seedbed, Reimer stresses. Growers dont like to run strip tillrigs late in the planting season because of the risk of anhydrous burn.

Those kinds of problems will cause some realchallenges to get our crops planted this spring, headds. Making the right management decisions willbe critical and the reduced time window will makethese decisions more difcult, states Reimer.

Also in Southwest Kansas, Crop Quest Agrono-mist HarlanBartel says about 30% of the irrigat-ed wheat he works didnt get planted because of

the wet fall weather. A big unknown is what kindof quality growers will get with the wheat they didplant because of the combination of late plant-ing and cold, wet weather, he adds. Most dryland

wheat, he says, did get planted and is in pretty good shape.With little fertilizing completed, a lot of growers may be in a bind

this spring. There are several options available to growers to get fertil-izer down in a narrow window of time. Bartel says he encourages hisgrowers to pick one of ve application methods to insure timelyfertilizer application. These include:

FertigateNthroughtheirirrigationsysteminseason.Thecostisalittlehigherthananhydrousammonia,butiftheyhavetheequipment,thisisaneffectiveoption.

Applying anhydrous with a coulter rig can work out well, espe-

ciallyinthewetconditionsthatareexpectedthisspring.Applyingliquidnitrogenwithacoulterrigisanotheroption.

Kning-in anhydrous may also be an option. Whether with acoulterrigorananhydrousrig,itshouldbeputonbetweenrowssocornisntplantedintothezonethatcontainstheanhydrous.

Striptillinanhydrous.Gettingthefertilizerdeepenoughtoavoiddamagetocornseedlingsisaconcern.

In Central Kansas, Crop Quest Agronomist BradBenson says hecontinues to urge his growers to be patient in dealing with the contin-ued wet conditions. Like most areas of the country, he says late harvestand early winter has shut down on-farm activities and will likely push

back planting dates for corn and soybeans.

We had a few growers who didnt get alltheir wheat planted because of all the wetweather in the fall. Most of that wheat land willprobably go into corn. Basically, the fall-winterweather wont take many growers out of theirrotation corn-soybeans and wheat. We may getover into late May or June for planting, whichmay create some needs to change source of Nor how it is applied, Benson concludes.

In NorthwestOklahoma, CropQuest AgronomistTomStebly saysprice and plentyof weather-relatedproblems with cornwill probably result

in an increase incotton acreage in 2010.

The big thing I stress tothese growers going into cottonis to get the burn down right.We have a major problem withglyphosate resistant marestail,so they are going to have to goto some of the older herbicidesthat require precise timing tokill marestail and other weedsbefore they get too big to man-age, Stebly notes.

Last year, Stebly says many growers in his area were late getting

corn out of the eld getting it dried down to 17% to 18% moisturforced growers to wait as late as November in some cases to get coharvested. Then, it turned very cold and stayed cold. The result is tlittle cultivation has been done and little fertilizer has been applied

Im encouraging growers to look at budgets on a per farm basisSome of our ground has high fertilizer requirements, making it evemore important to go back and look at how much it costs to producspecic crop on a specic piece of land, he adds.

Looking at all these factors including a number of growers whhad a poor corn year because of heat and drought may make cottlook like a good option. I think we will see dryland corn acres droand there is a good chance some of this land will go into cotton eon land on which cotton has never been grown, Stebly contends.

Making the transition from wheat to cotton in particular will beferent for our growers. Where as in wheat their expenses were spre

out over six to seven months, with cotton they will have ongoingexpenses throughout a more compact growing season.

In Northeast Kansas, Crop Quest Agronomist ChrisMcInteerlike most of the country his growers were late getting crops out andearly winter weather has kept them out of the elds.

We had a lot of growers out in the eld late and several of theelds are severely damaged from harvesting in such wet conditionsThese elds will have to be worked to someextent. If producers cant get into the elds in atimely manner this spring, some elds plannedfor corn may actually be planted to soybeans justto give the producer time to get the land back intoshape, McInteer says.

Some of these elds have been in no-till for

10 to 12 years and the growers are seeing thebenets of long term no-till, but many are justgoing to have to go in and work the ground. Afterharvest this past fall, people were looking aroundfor disks and other cultivation equipment becausethey knew they would need some iron to pullthrough these damaged elds, the Crop Quest consultant notes.

In a season like 2010 with new cards on the table, it is even morimportant to work with your Crop Quest agronomist on your imporspring planting management decisions.

TomStelby

HarlanBartel

ChrisMcI

BradBenson

8/4/2019 CQ Perspectives Mar 2010

3/4C r o p Q u e s t P e r s p e c t i v e s

This is a question agronomists get all thetime from their clients. The farmer wants tomaximize the yield but not spend any moremoney than necessary to get that yield. Weall know, of course, that the seeding rate isnot the only thing that helps to maximizeyield, but we also know that without an

excellent corn stand to start with, a farmerdoesnt have a chance of maximizing the yield.

In order to begin to address this question, we real-ize there are management situations that will help to

determine the seeding rate, such as dryland versus irrigation.With irrigation, the amount of water available to pump and the soil condi-

ons that allow water inltration will have an inuence on seeding rate. Nutrientailability will also have an impact. Are we planting a xed ear hybrid, whichesnt allow for more yield with a thinner stand, or does the hybrid have a exr which will take advantage of the more open space and add more kernels perrn ear or increased kernel size? What row spacing is desired? An agronomistd the farmer has to somewhat forecast what environmental conditions will becurring during the growing season. Will there be abundant rainfall or droughtnditions? Will we experience extreme temperature situations onth ends or will growing temperatures be ideal? These are just a

w of the most important questions that have to be addressed.Once we have determined the above, only then can we proceed totermine what (potentially) is the best corn seeding rate.In a recentAgronomy Sciences Research Summary publication byoneer, they summarized inputs used by winners of the Nationalorn Growers Association (NCGA) national corn yield contest. Asu can see from the chart, the 4-year average seeding rate is 41,500r irrigated and 36,600 for non-irrigated, which is signicantlygher than what most farmers are currently planting. I am notvocating these seeding rates, but the data does suggest that highereding rates may offer increased yield potential. In the same publication,oneer also shows what they refer to as optimum economic planting rate.

Based on the individual hybrid performance, the grain price and the price ocorn seed, they determine a number that suggest what would be the optimuplanting rate for that hybrid with a yield level above 130 bushels per acre. not using this data to promote Pioneer Hybrids, as I am sure many other secompanies have similar type publications, but I just happen to have this infotion readily available.

In another leaet from Channel Seeds, they refer to maximizing your yield

potential by rst determining yield per 1,000 plants. The purpose here is to geverything to a common unit for comparison to other hybrids and other yieldtoo extensive to give the whole calculated procedure within this short article,it is worth reviewing to see if increasing your seeding rate would be econom

justiable.Corn seed cost has risen dramatically over the past few years, primarily du

the genetic traits (GMOs) being stacked within the individual hybrids. The inresponse is to say, no way am I paying that kind of a price for corn seed anddo plant it, I will keep my seeding rate low. There is more to think about thathe initial cost of a bag of corn seed. These stacked hybrids are bringing thingthe table such as being able to use lower priced chemicals for weed control, uchemicals that allow improved weed control, using less or no insecticides forcontrol, improved plant performance, and increased plant health to name a fe

These improvements may have value for the overall yield poten

than the initial price of the corn All of these factors need to beinto account between the farmerhis Crop Quest agronomist to demine what the proper corn seedirate should be.

As a side note, remember a frof corn seed may cost you morewhat you are currently paying foseed, unless it has a very similar

better yield potential than the hybrid you are planting.

What Is The Proper

Member,NationalAlliance

ofIndependentCropConsultants,CPCC-I

Certied

By:RonOHanlonPresident

CROP QUEST EXPANDING...New Crop Quest Agronomists AubreaWinter and KevinHecht will

be working at opposite ends of the companys coverage area, but theybring similar new and creative ideas to the table.

Kevin grew up in the Crop Quest family. His dad, John Hecht, is aCrop Quest Agronomist and Special Projects manager. I grew up follow-ng my dad around in his work from Kansas to New Mexico. Though I

was always interested in agriculture and helping farmers, it didnt all comeogether until I got involved in it with other kids during college at

Kansas State University, Hecht says.During high school, he worked for a farmer, doing basic farm labor.

While at KSU, Kevin interned two summers within the Crop Quest Mt.Hope Division. During that time, he began to develop an interest in

precision agriculture and how this new technology was being utilizedn the eld.

Hecht received his bachelors degree in agronomy from KSU inDecember 2009, and began his full-time Crop Quest career on

January 15, in Idabel, OK. Kevin brings a strong agronomicbackground to this Special Projects area specializing in Preci-sion Agriculture. The addition of Hechts new position willprovide producers along the Red River access to state of theart Precision Ag techniques and more traditional agronomicrecommendations.

Though Idabel is a long way from home, it is in an area inwhich precision agriculture is really taking off. I continue to

be fascinated with developing precision strategies forfarmers, so I feel like Im in a really goodplace to learn and to share, states Hecht.

Its a really good feeling to generate these variable raterecommendations and maps for farmers, then sit down withthem and explain how they work. When a farmer tells ayoung guy like me, I should have been doing this yearsago, it is really a good feeling, he concludes.

Expanding the Crop Quest team in Northwest Kansas,Aubrea Winter is beginning her Crop Quest career in Good-land, KS.

Aubrea grew up on a grain farm in northwest Kansas andhas been involved in agriculture all her life. During her senioryear at Fort Hays State University, she did an internship withAg Valley in Nebraska where she worked extensively with

farmers which further heightened her interest in professionalcrop consulting.

After getting a degree in agriculture from Fort Hays State University,she worked a few months on the family farm while continuing to pursue aconsulting career. She joined the Crop Quest team in January 2010.

Returning to the area in which she grew up to begin her careerhas been a good thing, Winter says. Working with farmers in north-west Kansas and northeast Colorado has already been rewarding.She has been working primarily with corn and wheat, plus a fewacres of irrigated sunowers.

I really like it so far. All the farmers I have contacted havebeen very receptive to new ways of looking at things. And,having the Crop Quest team for support helps in building anew territory, Winter adds.

FOCUSED ON BRINGING INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO CUSTOMERS

Year

AverageSeeding

Rate(Seeds/Acre)Irrigated

AverageSeeding

Rate(Seeds/Acre)Non-Irrigated

2005 40,200 38,700

2006 48,300 36,700

2007 37,700 35,200

2008 39,800 35,600

4-Year Average 41,500 36,600

Table 1. Irrigated and non-irrigated seeding rates used by

NCGA national corn yield contest winners, 2005-2008.

Seeding Rate?

Information in chart provided byAgronomy Sciences Research Summary by Pioneer Hi-Bred Internation

KevinHecht AubreaWinte

8/4/2019 CQ Perspectives Mar 2010

4/4

Mission StatementCrop Quest is an employee-owned company dedicated to providing the highest quality agricultural services for each customer. The quest of our network

professionalsistopracticeintegrityandinnovationtoensureourservicesareeconomicallyandenvironmentallysound.

PRSRT STD

US POSTAGE

PAID

DODGE CITY K

PERMIT NO. 43

Employee-Owned & Customer DrivenCropQuestAgronomicServices,Inc.

Main Ofce: Phone 620.225.2233

Fax 620.225.3199

Internet:www.cropquest.com

cqofce@cropquest.com

Crop Quest Board of Directors President: RonOHanlon

Director: JimGleason

Director: DwightKoops

Director: CortMinor

Director: ChrisMcInteer

Director: Rob Benyshek

As many of our Crop Quest customers continued to watch snowfall in February, ScottBeguelin, Crop Quest Senior Agronomist,

began helping producers in Uvalde, TX, area as they started toplant corn. Although the farmers were a tad behind get-

ting into the eld due to an average of 15 degree coolerweather (corn planting usually begins around the rst weekin February), corn planting is underway. Cotton and grainsorghum planting will follow. Spring wheat will be ready to

harvest in May, and peanuts will then be ready to plant.Unlike the other Crop Quest territories in the upperHigh Plains areas, crops are produced year around inSouth Texas.

Timing of crop planting and harvesting isnt theonly big change Beguelin has had to adapt to. Thevariety of crops grown and the dependence on irriga-

tion were two of the greatest differences Beguelin noticed as com-pared to Northeast Kansas where he was manager of the Silver LakeDivision. He has been providing agronomic services to producers inthis South Texas area for two years and truly enjoys working withcustomers. The producers in South Texas are very easy to get alongwith; they let you know what they need so it is very easy to deliverthe services requested, says Beguelin.

As with much of the irrigated ground in the Texas Panhandle andSouthwest Kansas, many producers use center pivots with some

ood and drip tape systems.The big difference betweenthese areas is that the waterused in South Texas ispulled from four differentaquifers which are rechargedby rain in the nearby hill

country. The aquifers sup-plying irrigation water toKansas, Colorado and the

Texas Panhandle haveseen a decline in water

levels rather than thesteady levels of SouthTexas aquifers.

Many of the wells in South Texas are very large (2,000 2,500gallons per minute), and one well will provide for two to threepivots. Unlike many other Crop Quest territories where one crop isplanted in eld after eld, South Texas producers will plant differecrops in those two to three elds that share a well in order to maxi-mize water efciency. The diversity of crops planted is signicantldifferent from what is grown in the upper High Plains areas.

A good percentage of the crops produced in South Texas are focanned foods. Vegetables such as beets, zucchini squash, sweetcorn, onions, carrots, potatoes, green beans, lima beans, broccolicabbage and watermelon are raised for grocery production. Themajority of canned spinach in the United States is grown in SoutTexas. The variety of crops grown in this area has provided mewith a unique and challenging opportunity to expand my agro-nomic knowledge and expertise, stated Beguelin. Im excitedto be providing Crop Quest services to the producers in this areawhile learning about so many different crops, and the tropicalweather has also been a plus, he adds.

Comparing and Contrast ingAgri culture Product ionin South Texas

ScottBeguelin