Airing July 26 - 29, 2005

This is Ag Outlook 2005 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. As I returned from Buffalo New York last over the weekend, I was pleased to see how well everything was holding up in the triple digit weather we were having! In fact, things looked far better than I had feared after being gone for two weeks. The rain we had half way through that period was a big life saver. And if these showers can regularly break the heat so it doesn't roll on for week after week, we should be in good shape. The one thing that I did notice, right away, was the number of weeds in wheat stubble fields. If these fields are going back to wheat this fall, let's get those weeds knocked down in a hurry. Herbicides would preserve more soil moisture, but I wouldn't rule out tillage either. And if you are going in to a rotation and that stubble field will be planted to a spring crop in 06, and the weeds don't bother you, then just leave them alone as those weeds and grasses are good for the quail and other new birds just hatched out this year. Just a reminder that I will be pretty well tied up at the county fair all week. If it is a crop production emergency, feel free to come out to the fair and track me down. Don't try calling and leaving a message - it may very well get lost or I may not get you called back very quickly so just come out to the county fair and bring the problem plant along for fastest response. But more importantly, come out to the fair anyway. We've got a nice break in the weather, it's always nice to see what the 4-Hers have been doing and its always a good chance to visit with your friends you haven't seen for a while. The fair runs through Thursday evening so please come on out and show your support! This has been Ag Outlook 2005 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.

This is Ag Outlook 2005 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. The hot weather of the last couple of weeks was not very welcome to us, but the good news is that it wasn't to the liking of soybean rust either. Cooler weather of late is more likely to help the spread of soybean rust so we simply need to keep an eye on what's happening in other regions. So far, as of Monday there had been not much new from earlier reports. There is some thought that that drier than normal weather through much of the corn and soybean belt is reducing the risk of infection. There are no new reported regions of soybean rust outside of the ones that popped up after that first tropical storm spread the spores from Florida to Mississippi. As August 1 is fast approaching we are moving into the later portion of the season and the risk goes up, but the damage potential starts to drop off also. Maybe we'll make it through the season without soybean rust. Interestingly, while talking to united soybean board officials at our national county agent meetings last week, they aren't nearly as worried now as they were a year ago. I get the sense that they feel that soybean rust is a managable problem, maybe not one we'd like to have, but managable just the same. But let's not let our guard down. I do expect to see soybean aphids show up before long. They are getting close to Kansas and I'd be amazed if we don't see Kansas populations by the end of the first week of August. Now soybean aphids were here last year also, but they didn't arrive until late August. At that time I could easily find low populations in every soybean field I stopped in, but the populations never even came close to reaching treatment thresholds. Again, this may become an annual problem that simply shows up too late to be a problem, or at least in most years it may not be much of a problem. This has been Ag Outlook 2005 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.

This is Ag Outlook 2005 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. August 1st is approaching fast and I'm going to reiterate an earlier plea to get ready to plant alfalfa. August 15th to September 15 is the traditional time frame for this, but we need to be ready to roll on the 15th. First of all, last chance to get that soil tested. If the pH is below 6 we really need to get that field limed prior to planting and we have to make sure we have adequate phosphorus for young plant develoment. If it isn't in the soil we need to get some starter fertilizer applied. Get your hands on some good seed. If you want this stand to last for 6 years, like it should, start with high quality disease resistant varieties. Sure it may seem expensive, but if you prorate that cost over 6 years OR all the tons of production you're going to get - it's a pretty cheap investment. If you are going to plant no till in wheat stubble, which works pretty well by the way, be getting those weeds controlled with one of the glyphosate products. Be careful of anything with 2,4-D or dicamba in it as we are getting close enough we could have some residual in the soil to damage young plants. If you are using 2,4-D or dicamba with glyphosate for weed burndown, go on the light side with the phenoxy herbicides. If you want to burn off that stubble field prior to planting I guess I don't have a problem with that, but with many of the newer no till drills, it may not be necessary and the stubble makes a nice mulch, helping hold in soil moisture. You may also have a lot fewer weed flushes if you don't burn it off. Then as soon as you can on or after August 15th, get that seed in the ground. I'm a firm believer in dusting it in if necessary, but I also think we're going to have the soil moisture and rains to get us a good fall alfalfa planting season. This has been Ag Outlook 2005 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.

This is Ag Outlook 2005 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent.

This has been Ag Outlook 2005 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.

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