Air May 22, 2002

Thank you Gary, and good morning everyone. Disease and insect problems are starting to show up in increasing regularity. I had a sample of chinch bugs brough in that were working on corn. If they were working on corn, then they are quite likely to start moving in on sorghum when it comes up. Be forewarned. First cutting of alfalfa is going down. I’ve looked in a couple of fields and have seen some evidence of weevil adults feeding on the regrowth. You’d better be keeping an eye on that. If you need to spray the stubble for weevil adults your choices are pretty limited. Even more limiting is the new furadan label that only allows one treatment per year, regardless of the rate. We had a lot of corn being sprayed for leaf feeding insects. There is debate over whether those were flea beetles, southern corn leaf beetles or both, but the point is almost moot as the damage is similar and the treatment is similar. With the cool conditions, and wet in some areas, crop growth is well behind normal and especially last year. WE may also see some additional problems from insects and diseases just because everything is slow going this spring.

With the showers we’ve been running behind on field work. And then wheat harvest is going to be here before we know it. What all of this means is that there will be a lot of ag equipment on the road over the next 4 to 6 weeks. When you hit the road with that equipment, whether it’s a tractor by itself, a tractor pulling an implement, a combine, a swather or whatever, keep in mind that your travel on those public roads is done under some fairly strict guidelines. There are a couple of safety items that are often overlooked and are required by state and/or federal law. The infamous slow moving vehicle reflective signs need to be clean and easily visible. In fact, if your SMV signs are more than 2 or 3 years old, they probably need to be replaced because they fade with time and do not show up nearly as well. Of equal importance are the flashers that all tractors manufactured since 1975 have. State law says that if you are on the highway with a farm tractor, the vehicular hazard warning lights will be turned on. This is not just during the sunset to sunrise period, but all the time. Bottom line, if you are out on any road with any farm equipment, turn on all the lights you have to make yourself as visible as possible. Safety isn’t just a good idea, in many cases, its the law!

This is Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook 2002.

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