Air March 1, 2000

Thank you Mark, and good morning everyone. As to whether March is coming in like a lion or a lamb, I guess everyone will have to decide that for themselves. While the rain last week did make a tough go for the cows and calves I think it was overall a pretty welcome sight!!

I spent all day Monday in an agent training session in Manhattan talking about bugs and diseases, so I thought I would give everyone an update on what the specialists were highlighting as far as what to expect. I think we all know that the weather at any time has more to do with the insect and disease problems than anything else. Chinch bugs are the first thing to come to most folks mind if we are thinking about dry weather. We are past due for a chinch bug problem... Isn’t that exciting news? Late summer and fall last year were dry. This would certainly have favored chinch bug development in the late season, one of the needed precursors to an early season chinch bug problem. The State Dept. of Ag does not do their Chinch bug survey anymore, they don’t consider it economically important enough to justify the cost... Hmmm. Anyway, I’m going to try to get out the next couple weeks and do a little surveying myself to see what I might be able to find. I’ll keep you posted. Although we had aphids and greenbugs late into the fall, and they probably overwintered, there is a general feeling that there is an associated increase of beneficial insects and spring problems from greenbugs or other aphids may be fairly minimal. I imagine we will see a fair amount of Barley Yellow Dwarf in the wheat though because of all the aphids last fall. Jagger and 2137 have some resistance, but Karl will be hammered if it had good growth last fall and aphids present. Leaf rust has overwintered, so far, so if it does turn off dampish in April, look out for this old nemesis. A quick comment on ticks on cattle as I close. We’ve had a new tick moving into our part of Kansas of late. The Gulf Coast Tick is active right now, will peak in April and carry on into June. It has a real affinity for ears and can cause some serious ear deformation especially on young cattle. As you are out with those cows and calves start checking ears and if you see a lot of ticks in the ears it would behoove you to start carrying a 1% pour on solution and a 1 inch paint brush and treat the insides of those ears of the calves. Contact me at the Extension Office for more information on this emerging livestock pest.

This is Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook 2000.

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