Air October 18, 2000

Thank you Mark, and good morning everyone. There have been a few reports of insect problems in new seedling alfalfa as well as greenbugs and other aphids in new wheat. I guess before we worry too much about that, we need to get enough rain to get the stuff up and growing. I have seen two wheat fields where you could row the new wheat, so I guess there are a few fields that could be at risk. Remember last year, we saw problems clear into late November and early December. If the weather stays warm we’ll need to watch these wheat fields as they emerge.

As we move on through the month of October and into November, AND especially given the way the month is shaping up, I want to strongly encourage you, as you are planting wheat, to use a good shot of starter fertilizer, something along the lines of 50 pounds of 18-46-0 unless your soil test calls for more, and also a higher than normal seeding rate of wheat. In most cases we are seeding into a dry seedbed which would indicate delayed emergence. Regardless of that, we are also into the latter half of October all ready so that alone would dictate an increase in seeding rates. I would suggest a minimum of 75 pounds per acre and as we move towards November, I don’t think 90 pounds would be out of line.

Switching to cattle for a minute, the next few weeks are very critical to your pastures. Not that anything is going to happen biologically there, but as the cattle are being moving out or have been moved out as is the case in many pastures, you need to take some time to go back into that pasture and evaluate its condition. The further into fall we go, we may start to see rain or snow storms that will knock down some of the remaining grass and forage. What you need to do before that happens is to get a feel for each and every pasture. Then make notes. If pastures are pretty well nubbed down then you will need to significantly reduce stocking rates next year. If there is still enough fuel to carry a good fire, then you probably only need to reduce stocking rates a little, such as 15 to 20%. And if you can hardly tell that there’s been cattle in the pasture, then you are probably right in the range of where you need to be. Why do you need to do this now? So that you’ll know how many cows to cull, or how many backgrounders or stockers to buy or not buy as the fall and winter progresses.

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

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