Volume #11 Issue #5 February 25, 2019

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1 Sudden Volume #11 Issue #5 February 25, 2019 Predicting the spring By Jason Migchels CCA-ON, CCS Crop Sales Specialist - Wyoming As we all know, no one can really predict how the spring season will develop. One thing we can do is be prepared for the spring. We can have a plan on what we are going to put down for nutrients, seed or chemical and the methods of how this gets done. What if the spring weather changes? What if things stay wetter longer with mid-range temperatures and slow drying conditions? This is the question I get every year when this situation happens and may impress upon us the need for a Plan B. The long-term weather outlook is suggesting variable weather pattern, but generally wet cool conditions for spring of Herbicide burndowns: In a no-till situation we have seen winter annuals growing late into the fall and are ready to bolt in early spring. Best practice was to spray these fields in the fall. This would have been Plan A. The main weed we are going to target is Canada Fleabane. A simple application of 1L of glyphosate/ 32 ml of Eragon plus merge in the fall would have given you a tremendous clean start in the spring and avoid any fleabane growing too big to kill in the spring. If planting wheat in the fall, double the rate of Eragon to give you more residual control of any fleabane emerging GROWMARK, Inc., AGRIS Co-operative Ltd., Ltd. The information provided in this letter is general in nature and specific information should be obtained by review of product labels and Brought consultation with to the you manufacturer. by AGRIS Such information Co-operative can be materially affected Ltd. by inaccurate & Wanstead data or assumptions, Farmers varying circumstances, Co-operative known or unknown risks and uncertainties, and many other factors which are beyond the control of GROWMARK, Inc., AGRIS Co-operative Ltd., Ltd. and results can vary widely. The user will not rely on any information provided herein Maximizing and GROWMARK, your Inc., AGRIS return Co-operative to Ltd. land, Wanstead labour Farmers Ltd. & will equipment not be liable for any reliance on that information. The FS logo is a registered trademark of GROWMARK Inc. and all trademarks contained herein are the intellectual property of their respective owners. Content is property of GROWMARK, Inc., AGRIS Co-operative Ltd., Wanstead Farmers Cooperative Ltd. and reproduction or copies of Crop Solutions that Work, in whole or in part is strictly prohibited, except with written permission from AGRIS Co-operative Ltd. or Wanstead Farmers Co-operative Ltd.

2 If there is no fall burndown, we need to be careful to make sure we are using the correct products. We want ensure the fleabane does not escape the herbicide application. This is Plan B. If the fleabane is still in the rosette stage and has a radius smaller than four inches, the following products work well. Do not apply the following products if it is any bigger then the picture above (four inches wide)

3 Eragon, Blackhawk and 2,4-D seem to work very well on this size of plant. When we run into delayed burndown and the fleabane increases in size or starts to bolt, we really need to rethink what we are going to do with our cropping system. My advice is to make sure you have Xtend soybeans and change your spray program to a dicamba based burndown at a higher rate. When using all the chemicals mentioned above, we need to think of weed resistance management and should always be looking at add a residual with another mode of action in the tank. Metribuzin (Sencor) or Flumioxazin (Valterra) are great chemicals to add to the tank for residual effect on broadleaf weeds. Seed: Seed seems like an easy enough practice to prepare for, but when the season is shortened it tends to be a critical decision of when to pull the trigger on reducing the maturity groups to shorter season hybrids/ varieties. If the spring stays wet and we cannot plant as early as we want, I tend to have producers wanting to shorten up varieties maybe a little earlier then they should. Here is our heat unit map that helps with this decision.

4 We all have different opinions of when we should switch these varieties. I would not be changing your heat unit selection till the last few days of May generally speaking. I find this map should give you a good idea of the heat units available in your area. I trust the hybrids and varieties selected range from just above full season to shorter season varieties/hybrids to spread out risk of flower dates. As always, call your local crop sales specialist, they will be willing to talk about what the right decision is for your farming practice. Nitrogen decisions managing nitrogen in a systems approach In corn there are many options available on how we apply nitrogen. Some put everything down up front. The application of all the nitrogen at planting time exposes it to potential losses to the environment and is not the best 4 R Nutrient Stewardship practice. Applying nitrogen stabilizers to urea-based fertilizers will help manage that risk of loss and keep nitrogen around longer to make yield. Another option is to use enhanced efficiency fertilizers such as ESN a polymer coated urea that slows down conversion to forms that can be lost and provides nitrogen as it is needed. Split application of nitrogen is the best way to apply and protect nitrogen from loss and optimize nutrient use efficiency. If we side dress in the later crop growth stages, we need to make sure that there is at least 30 lbs. of N down to carry the crop to side dress timing. To further optimize nitrogen efficiencies and perhaps adjust for higher yield potential we can consider our Y drop/green seeker system. We have the ability to split apply nitrogen and take corrective action if warranted.

5 If our year turns very wet after planting, we have options to make adjustments to cover N losses or adjust rates for increased yield potential. If the corn gets too tall to side-dress because of weather delays, we have a program to apply later in taller corn. Below is a picture of the applicator set up with the Y drops

6 These are just a few options available to help supplement planned programs. I hope that everyone s plans come to fruition and we all have a profitable year. If you have any questions, please contact your local or AGRIS Cooperative crop sales specialist and we will be happy to assist you.