Boots In The Field Report

Ken recaps how the heat and water over the last couple of weeks have affected crops in central IL in this Boots In The Field Report. He informs of incoming scouting reports and advises which pests and diseases might still have value in going after and what ones may not.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie covers: Field day recap, increase in beetle pressure, why fields are turning yellow at pollination, delays in getting air planes and what are other spraying options, how the haze/smoke from last week has affected the crops and what he is seeing for pollination issues, early season wind damage, and truncated/beer can ears.  

In this week’s Boot’s in The Field Report Ken covers why wet weather has hampered pollination and what pests to be on the lookout for. He also warns if growers are having to spray for rootworm beetles now, they need to note the current treatment plan didn’t work to manage the larvae and the plan needs to be adjusted for that field in the future. Ken reminds growers that a lot of the early planted beans are short and to make sure to check the growth stages for spraying, even though the rows aren’t closed some fields are have reached R3. With the excess moisture and predicted low temps next week, he advises to keep an eye on disease pressure, especially white mold, northern leaf blight, gray leaf spot and tar spot.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie covers: replant populations for weed control, where nitrates are showing the nitrogen to be after the massive amounts of water, and what insects and disease to be on the lookout for when scouting pollinating fields.

Ken covers what the massive amounts of rain in central IL means for growers and what to be on the lookout for. He uses the experiences in 2015 to give guidelines for how long the crops can survive underwater and in standing water, mapping out gulley’s while still visible, and warns about letting the ponded-out areas going to weeds. Some of the premium of early planted soybeans has been lost with this water stress and Ken advises that iron chlorosis, Rhizoctonia, Phytophthora can start to cause issues in the saturated areas. Ken also covers Nitrogen loss in corn, high risk zones, and uneven pollination. 

In this week’s Boots in The Field Report Ken covers the prognosis for the corn that got blown down and beans that got hailed on in last weekend’s weather and what things to consider with the wet front moving in. While the rain should help stalled out beans and is a better option than tasseling in a drought, he warns about keeping an eye out for increased disease pressure and nitrogen loss as a result of increased water.

Ken gives a crop report from Minnesota and back, and while he might be a little biased, he indicates the best-looking crop is right here in central IL. Ken advocates for growers to take a Farm Mental Health Week and covers why some growers are seeing rootless corn at this point in the season and what will help correct it. He reminds, that while disease pressure is low, pest scouts should be doing rootworm float counts to make decisions for next year and watching the bigger non GMO corn fields for corn borer damage.

Ken Ferrie recaps the reports from the north on frost damage from the past weekend and a planting update from the Quincy area. The beans at the Corn College Campus are starting to flower and Ken warns growers with early planted beans to make sure they aren’t knocking off these early flowers with miss-timed sprays that burn back the beans. He reports on calls concerning strong reactions from post sprays due to current weather patterns, heavy cutworm feeding, and damaged fields from 13 lined ground squirrels. Ken also explains the difference between the carbon penalty and the ugly corn syndrome in this week’s Boots In The Field Report.

Ken talks with CTC agronomist Matt Duesterhaus in Quincy, Il to see how they are dealing with the 15 inches of rain they have received since planting, replant issues they have both been seeing, and how hybrid characteristics can help inform your plan for dealing with the ugly corn syndrome. They also recap what insects to be on lookout for and what the damage will look like when scouting.

Ken recaps the outcome of the service calls looking at frosted beans this week, considerations for those who replanted and those who left it, and gives a heads up to the pest teams to be scouting fields and making ear count notes now.

Ken waves the caution flag on planting after noon today (5/6) in areas that are forecasted to get lower temperatures, warning that it is setting up the perfect storm for another Mother’s Day Massacre. He also talks with Matt Duesterhaus in Quincy, Il about replant decisions they are facing and how to use the replant worksheet on the website. This week they also warn growers with cover or high weed presence to be aware of the cutworm pressure. Scouts need to be on the lookout and not assume slow emergence is due to cold weather. Reports of seed corn maggot and bean leaf beetle have been coming in causing issues with emergence. Ken also advises growers to pay attention to moisture when they plant and if it is a concern to shut off the in-furrow starter. He says a little attention to seedbed this year can pay big dividends.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken gives a planting progress update and warns pest teams to stay on top of the bean leaf beetle pressure. He also states the rain delay was a welcome break to take care of moisture concerns and to help diversify risk by widening the planting window. Ken also talks a little about new technology that he got to see run this week that might solve the planting spike up dilemma.

Ken advises to keep an eye out on corn following the April snow to make sure it does not leaf out under ground and to check wheat for frost damage. He also warns growers to make sure they are checking on their prepaid glyphosate order to see if the shortage will cause farmers to readjust their plans.

To plant or not to plant that is the question! Ken lays out the risks of planting next week for both corn and beans. Farmers must know the risks involved for their own farms and weight it against the advantages. Many farmers will be coming to different decisions based on their own farm situations. What is right for you may not be right for your neighbor. Finally, Ken mentions that landlords and farm managers must be on the same page!

Ken gives a report on how many growers got something planted during the shot of good weather. He also catches up with CTC Agronomist Matt Duesterhaus to see how field conditions are progressing in the western part of the state. Ken stated some growers couldn’t take advantage of the nice weather to get beans in the ground because they had to wait on a herbicide application. He advised that planning for early beans might take an adjustment in winter burn down plans. Ken also warns growers to keep an eye out for cutworm and wireworm presence

Ken walks through what to think about when considering putting early beans in the ground. He reminds growers that when making a pass in the field you only want to create a density change not a compaction layer. And he warns that while you may get away with putting in a compaction layer to plant early beans, you must assign the cost and design a plan to fix it before the next year’s corn crop.

Ken answers the question “If 2021 is a drought, do I move all my nitrogen up front?” and other concerns for mitigating weather risk in the season ahead. He also sends out a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped put in, collect, and shell the ears for the Hybrid study.

The Sins of Spring presentation has caused a lot of questions about how a tillage system with TWO compaction layers (shallow and deep) was beating one with only one deep layer and how a vertical format was beating them both by quite a margin. In this in-depth Boots In The Field Report, Ken takes time to detail which elements caused the reduction and why yield response was so strong.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers considerations when trying to pay the carbon penalty of cover crops with manure, how carbon penalties affect beans, and who should push planting windows and who can wait.

In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken covers who needs to do seed test, which lots to test and what tests to run.