Air July 20 - August 3, 2006

Powdery Mildew, Insect and disease issues

This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. A disease that we often see on ornamental plants has the possibility of showing up on crops this year thanks to some of the warm weather, high humidity and periodic rains. The disease is called powdery mildew, it usually shows up on wheat, but we can’t rule it out on anything, and it looks just like it sounds. But not to worry, there really isn’t anything that we are probably going to do with it on our summer crops anyway. However, there are other issues that could be showing up in the latter half of the summer. It’s not enough that we have to worry about whether we are going to have enough rain, we always have to worry about insects and an occasional disease. Soybean rust is keeping a pretty low profile so far. While being found on alternate hosts in Texas it hasn’t really been showing up on soybeans yet. Now, if we get into another summer where the hurricanes and low pressure systems are stacked up through the gulf and across the Atlantic to west Africa, this situation will change. Sorghum ergot is something we have seen in our area and there is some concern that we are set up for a real problem this year. There has been a new fungicide labeled for it so we have that tool available if need be. Soybean borers are already showing up and soybean aphids are probably right behind. We’ve seen both in recent years, but they’ve shown up late enough not to be a problem. That may be the soybean aphids modus operandi for years to come, but we need to keep an eye on this one, so please let me know if you start seeing aphids on soybeans. This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte.

Tips for Safe Towing

This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. Towing farm vehicles is not something that we often think about. For one thing, I don’t think we have to do it nearly as often as we used to. Engines and equipment in general are far more reliable than they used to be. And as of late, we simply haven’t had to worry about getting stuck in mud, sorry to say. When I was growing up on the farm, towing a vehicle involved a cable or a chain. I was fairly young when my dad instructed my in how to tow or be towed with a chain so as not to break the chain or cause excessive jerking of both vehicles. I vividly remember the first time I was involved with a tow using one of the new tow ropes. I couldn’t believe how relatively smooth it was. I thought my brother was a genius for discovering one of those polypropylene ropes. In spite of all of theses changes, towing a vehicle still occurs and it can be a dangerous situation, so let’s remember a few of these critical points. Purchase good equipment and keep it in good shape. It doesn’t matter if it is a cable, rope or chain, it can be a problem if it isn’t in good shape. Now, that also requires that you go over your tow connection of choice on a regular basis and inspect it for problems. Pay particular attention to hooks, especially one that is bent, stretched, cracked or reshaped. They are not going to be safe. Double check all attachments before starting a tow and especially if using a tow rope, use a thimble to reduce wear and prevent sharp bends. Keep bystanders clear of the danger zone and only attach to a tractor on the drawbar. Then apply power smoothly and slowly. Tows will eventually always happen, so let’s just be sure we doubt it the right way, the safe way. This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte.

Risk and Profit Conference

This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. As we move into the latter part of summer we have one tradition that we shouldn’t forget, field days and producers conferences. I’ll certainly try to get announcements out on these when possible, but keep your ear to the radio and eye to the ag press and take advantage of these opportunities to learn from the folks that are out there on the cutting edge of the ag production research. We’ll be having an alfalfa production meeting in Geary County the 10^th of August. Keep listening for more details on that one, but it’ll be at 7:30 on the 10^th at the fairgrounds in the 4-H building. Many of these field days are at the K-State experiment fields around the state. These should be a must attend on everyone’s summer activity list. A relative newcomer to the summer list is the K-State Risk and profit conference held at Kansas State University in Manhattan. This is one that not too many local folks have attended, because it often has a price tag of about a hundred bucks on it. But those that have attended will tell you that it would be the best money you’ve invested in a long time. Now remember, a fee for a meeting like this is a deductible business expense! This years risk and profit conference will be August 17 and 18. Registration information and forms are at the Extension Office. There are a lot of presentations at this meeting and some of the topics this year include wheat variety selection, the merger of economics and agronomy. Successful family farm business transition and optimal nitrogen fertilization rates given the price of nitrogen. Contact me for details on this great program. This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte.

Wheat Stubble Burning, Pros and Cons

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 been in Geary county as the county extension agent for 25 growing seasons now. There have been some changes. In 1982, you could total all the other crops acreages together and still not have more than the acres of wheat. That changed once we hit the 1996 farm bill and freedom to farm. Now wheat struggles to stay ahead of soybeans for the number one crop in the county. In the mid 1980s we were really pushing the concept of no-till or conservation till. In the mid 1990s it finally started to happen. In the early 1980s, you could go out after wheat harvest on any day that the wind wasn’t howling, and you could see plumes of smoke from stubble fields being burned. That’s not the case any more, in fact, the number of wheat field burns I’ve seen this year could probably be counted on one hand. This is a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say. Before I start trashing the burning of wheat stubble I do have to admit that there are some advantages to burning wheat stubble. It removes wheat stubble faster and cheaper than any other method. It does control tan spot and speckled leaf blotch in wheat after wheat. And if done early enough in the season, it can reduce the incidence of take all disease. It may help control Hessian Fly and cheat, but in all honestly, probably not in most years. There really is no excuse to burn wheat stubble fields anymore. With no till planters, freedom to farm and the EPA watching every plume of smoke out of the Flint Hills - let’s just leave that stubble well enough alone and save the organic matter! This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte.

Drought Stressed Alfalfa

This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. Let’s face it, 2006 has not been a really good alfalfa year, at least so far. Heavy alfalfa weevil and aphid pressure early have given way to below normal rainfall and subsequent poor growth. Some fields have had areas with close to normal growth while other areas get about 2 inches tall and then start blooming. A lot of times we’ll get some rain stimulated growth - maybe 6 or 8 or 10 inches, and then it just sits there for several weeks. So what do we do? If the alfalfa is starting to bloom and there is enough growth that you have a chance of making a windrow, go ahead and harvest it. Hay is certainly at a premium right now. Any recent rain will cause growth of that alfalfa. Now, if the tillers are blooming or the growth just plain stopped because of dry weather conditions, and the field receives a good rain, the old tillers are not going to start growing. There is an old myth that new tillers will only develop after the current growth is removed. This is just a myth and many of you can remember taking the first and second cutting at the same time in a wet spring. Just leave the stubby little growth and new tillers will come on just fine. I want to put in a plug right now for an alfalfa production meeting that we are having at the 4-H/Sr Citizens building on August 10^th at 7:30 in the evening. There will be several of us on the program talking about alfalfa seeding, fertilization, harvest management, insect pest management, forage testing and we’ll even discuss that time old question, when do we take that last cutting in the fall, if I get the numbers run that is! This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I’m Chuck Otte.