Air November 1, 2000

Thank you Mark, and good morning everyone. Wow, talk about an attitude adjuster! With most of the county receiving at least an inch and a half of rain over the last two weeks, not only is the countryside looking better, but everyones attitudes seem to be better as well. Or maybe that’s just because the election season is almost over.

Once I finally got through with our Annual Extension Conference last week, I was able to get out and start looking at crops and yards again the end of last week and the first of this week. Rain, a little sunshine, coupled with unseasonably warm weather has sure made some drastic changes. Wheat is up and looking really good. With no late summer rains, we are seeing a lot of volunteer wheat in some fields. At this stage of the game, volunteer wheat is no more or less of a disease, insect threat than our seeded alfalfa. If the volunteer is in a stubble field and you want to let it grow for late fall forage, or early spring forage, then there shouldn’t be a problem, and given the feed situation we’ve got this year, it may be a wise move. Naturally, if that volunteer is coming up with your newly seeded wheat, there’s not a whole heck of a lot you can do now, but it sure points out the need for crop rotation. I am seeing A LOT of small winter annual weeds and grasses coming on now. Henbit, chickweed, speedwell, cheat, downy brome and yes, even musk thistle are coming on strong now. Start walking your wheat fields. If you have a good rotation you may not be seeing a lot right now. But if the wheat is into old wheat ground, look out! A fall treatment, in the coming weeks, could be a very good investment. If you have heavy weed infestation, waiting until spring may not be a good idea. Henbit can use a lot of moisture in the winter and early spring, moisture that could be critical, you never know. With this rain, alfalfa fields are really starting to grow. This would be a great time to apply some phosphorus. And start watching those established alfalfa fields for weeds. There are several dormant season treatments out there. Now, it may cost you around $20 per acre or more to get one of these applied, BUT if you figure that just fair alfalfa is fetching $70–$80 a ton right now, we’re only talking a quarter ton of hay to break even. I think the economics are there to justify it!

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

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