Air August 4 - 9, 2006
Alfalfa Meeting
This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. I've got a little quiz for you this morning. When do most people plant alfalfa? In the late summer. When do we need to fertilize alfalfa? In the fall. So much of the critical management considerations for alfalfa occur in the late summer and fall. Which is why we are having an alfalfa production meeting on Thursday, August 9th at the 4-H/Sr. Citizens Building, at the Geary County Fairgrounds. The program will start at 7:30 p.m. and we have four speakers scheduled on the program. K-State Agronomist Jim Shroyer is going to address the variety selection, yes - there are better choices than the non-existent Kansas Common - planting guidelines such as when, how much, soil prep, starter fertilizer and seedling weed control. Extension Area Agronomist, Stu Duncan, is going to talk about fertility and weed control in established stands as well as a little bit on disease issues in alfalfa. Extension Entomologist Jeff Whitworth will discuss not only the perennial pest alfalfa weevil, but also aphids and potato leafhoppers. Then I'll bring up the end of the program talking about harvest management, especially that last cutting in the fall as well as forage testing - why it is so simple to do and why you should test every cutting in every field. And of course we'll have plenty of time for questions and answers. My goal is to get all the speakers through in about 90 minutes so that we have plenty of time for questions. It's probably going to be either too hot, or gosh, maybe too wet to still be in the field so plan to come on in for a good alfalfa update! This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.
Soybeans as Emergency Hay
This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. As much as I don't even want to think about it, we probably need to have a discussion of using soybeans as an emergency hay crop. As odd as that sounds to many people, we need to remember that soybeans were introduced to this country as a forage crop primarily and a grain crop secondarily. Even our modern grain varieties can make a very high quality hay if handled properly. And now I need to quickly insert a disclaimer. At one time you could not feed roundup ready soybeans that had been sprayed with glyphosate as a hay crop. Many of the labels do now allow you to feed the soybean hay as forage, usually as long as 14 days have passed between application and harvest. Make sure your glyphosate product is labeled to allow you to harvest as a hay crop. Being a legume, soybean hay can have very high protein level in the mid to upper teens in fact. But a lot of this value comes from the leaves. Most producers are only going to harvest the soybean crop as hay IF it looks like drought conditions are going to preclude a decent grain crop. Well, what do soybeans do when they start to become drought stricken? They start to drop leaves. So you basically have to make a decision to "pull the trigger" while there are still quite a few leaves on the soybeans - which is a stage where most producers still feel that there's a chance to make a grain crop. If you have a soybean field that may be getting to that point and IF you have the need for the hay, give me a call and we can talk through the options and consequences while you still have a chance to make some decent hay from the soybeans. If you wait til there's nothing but stems, it's too late! This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.
This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. I want to get in another plug for the K-State Risk and Profit Conference coming up August 17th and 18th. It's obviously too late to pre-register at the discounted rate, but you can certainly register at the door. The conference runs from Noon on the 17th until afternoon of the 18th. There's a keynote address on the 17th after lunch, three breakout sessions in the afternoon and then a dinner on Thursday night with Jerry Moran slated as the evening speaker. On Friday, the 18th, the day starts with breakfast, a general session for all participants which is a grain and livestock outlook by K-State Research and Extension marketing specialists Jim Mintert and Mike Woolverton and then five more breakout sessions during the rest of the day. The breakout sessions is really where the fun comes in. Currently there are 19 breakout sessions scheduled and I want you to listen to this list of topics: The case for and against farm programs, wheat variety selection - combining economics and agronomy to maximize profits and minimize risk, the renewable fuels situation, factors impacting farm growth, farm efficiency, the energy situation in agriculture (this one's by Terry Kastens and will be extremely thought provoking!), the law of unintended consequences - the Ogallala aquifer, Kansas Water law and technology adaptation, cost and revenue drivers leading into the 2007 Farm Bill - A Kansas perspective. Well this is only half the topics listed and you're going to have to determine which 8 of those 19 you want to go to. This is a conference worth every dollar it costs! This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.
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