AIR SEPTEMBER 23, 1998

Thank you Mark and good morning everyone. Yes, I am back in the office. If you tried to call me last week and found that I was gone I have returned - if you left a message call back or be patient, I had a lot of messages and mail to work through!!

If you’ve got seedling alfalfa coming up keep a close eye on it. There has been a lot of insect damage being reported on seedling alfalfa. Most seedling alfalfa can not tolerate much feeding damage so quick action may be necessary. If that is the case give me a call and I’ll come out and take a look at it!

I’m starting to get a lot of questions come in about storing grain. In many cases that grain is being stored in structures that haven’t seen much grain for a while. If that is the case then several items are in order. First of all do a good job of cleaning up the storage structure. Sweep up and vacuum up every bit of debris. Next spray down the structure with a good insecticide for that purpose. Malathion has been used for years and years, but we should probably consider switching to something like Reldan or Tempo. Keep in mind that when you are spraying the inside of a storage structure you need to spray all surfaces to the point of runoff. How much is that? Figure 1 gallon of spray for every 900 to 1000 square feet. If you are planning to keep the grain for any length of time be sure to treat the grain with an insecticide also. Reldan will probably be the product of choice for everything except corn. Of course the one critical consideration for on farm storage is moisture. If you are going to be taking out a loan on farm stored grain check with the FSA office to see what they require. In general remember that the drier the better. If you have aeration you can put grain in at a higher moisture content and if you are just planning to store it for a few months it can go into storage wetter. I always advise that unless you know that you will be feeding the grain out through the winter store grain like you are going to keep it for at least a year. Aerated corn and milo should be under 14% and preferably under 13%. Aerated soybeans 12% or under. Non-aerated grain needs to be moved by spring, period. Ifyou are going to keep it longer get it aerated. Non-aerated corn and milo should be 10 - 12% moisture, nonaerated soybeans 10-11% or drier. If you have questions give me a call!

This is Chuck Otte, County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook '98.

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