Up and running

Just about a week after planting the rye/radish mixture is getting to the point you can 'see' my thought process. As you will notice the rye is coming on well and the radish isn't far behind. Typically I have observed the radish to be a little slow in germination but a vigorous grower once germinated. Again the rows of radish will winter kill while the rye will remain. This should allow direct planting of corn in the early spring between the rows of rye.

Great year for beans?

This year most of our full season beans are looking great! After a year of ample rain and minimal pest pressure over most of the acres we should be set for some great yields. Make sure you are getting ready to get into those fields. Once 95% of the pods are brown you should take to the fields for harvest. This minimizes losses from trying to harvest beans that are too dry. As always make sure to pay attention to the combine adjustments and check your settings once you are in the field and starting to harvest. Hopefully this year will produce some great bean yields for all!

Corn drying well

I have been taking a few samples in the fields to see where some of the grain corn is at as far as moisture's. To be honest I have been surprised at the numbers I've been seeing. Most early planted corn I have been testing has been around 20-26% moisture. I have noticed a few combines running, and for good reason. If you are looking to shell high moisture corn and have some mid length corn (around 114 day) that was planted in good time this year it may be time to take a sample through the field to see where you are at. We had trouble getting whole plant moisture to the place we needed it for silage, however our ears have been drying well, even on green stalks. Make sure to take a representative sample from your fields, now just the outer rows.

A new cover crop?

As some may have noticed I have been spending less time on my blog lately. This is because I have been out planting a cover crop trial to test a new method of using cover crops. I'm planing a mixture of rye with tillage radish, which obviously has been done before, however with a slightly different twist. I have alternating double rows of rye and radish (see illustration) that will hopefully allow for corn to be directly planted into the winter killed radish rows in the spring.

So the question may be why do this? Here are a few reasons we are looking into.

We have all heard the benefits of letting cover crops grow to increase soil carbon as well as add a mulch to conserve moisture. However, this practice means you have to give up an early planting date to receive the benefit of the crop. With the alternating rows the rye can continue to grow along with the corn for a short time. Another issue we see often is residue from most cover crops holds moisture and keeps soils cool. Radish leaves little to no residue by spring so the strip they are in should heat up and dry out a little quicker. Lastly pests are often an issue in fields where we have had cover crops. This is the area that this will either perform as desired or be a disaster. Hopefully the corn will grow with little residue immediately around it so slugs will not be an issue. Additionally some observations from last year have made me think that we may be able to get the pests to feed on something other then the corn by having a living crop in the field with the corn.

Some of this may be a stretch but we feel it is worth looking into. I will have more on how this is going in the near future.

Selling Considerations; Shell versus Silage

As corn dries down many look to prices and markets to see what options they have. In Franklin County we typically have the option of either selling silage or grain depending on what seems to have the most favorable economics. I am not an expert in the markets so I'm not going to tell you that this is black and white, however I do have a few considerations you should make prior to selling your crop.

The main difference on the agronomic side of silage versus grain is the nutrients removed from the field when we take the whole plant versus just the grain. For this example I'm going to look at only phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Nitrogen can also play a role but the system is very complex so it is not clear exactly how much we will keep around until next years growing season either with or without cover crops (this is why we test prior to side dressing N).

So if we look at removal of P and K from silage we can estimate (using Penn State's Agronomy Guide) that we will remove approx. 5.0lbs/Ton of P and 11.0lbs/Ton of K. As a rough estimate we typically consider the conversion from bushels of corn to tons of silage as 6.5-7bu/ton of silage. If we use this conversion for our removal rates for grain end up at 2.8lbs of P and 2.1 lbs of K removed (7*book values for grain removal). This means that roughly twice the amount of P is removed and over 5 times the amount of K is removed when comparing silage to grain.

So let's do a quick example to clarify. Initial estimates show a 150 bu/ac grain yield or 21.5 Ton/ac silage yield in a specific field. We are trying to decide if we should sell it to the neighbor or keep it for grain. December futures are showing a price of $3.09/bu or$464/ac on this yield. The difference between grain and silage in nutrients removed at this yield will be 47.5 lbs of P and 191.5 lbs of K. With today's price of $0.25/lb. P and $0.50/lb. K this is a difference of $107.63/ac. just to buy back the nutrients you lost by selling silage. If we add that into our grain price ($464) we need $572/ac. or about $27/ton (on 21.5 Ton/ac) to break even with our grain price of $3.09. Obviously neither of these take into account the cost of harvest etc. so keep in mind who is paying for that when pricing your corn.

Cover Crop Time

So here we are with August gone and September under way. Silage harvest is in full swing, finally, and hopefully you are finding the yields you expected for this above average year. As those silage fields get finished off keep in mind this is a great time to plant cover crops. Even for your fields that have little to no slope or are not in close proximity to water cover cropping is an excellent practice. Cover crops not only protect your soil from erosion from water and wind they also help to enhance the soil carbon and add to soil structure through root growth. We also see a better over wintering of mycorrhiza when a similar species is planted as a cover crop (for instance corn to rye to corn is all a grass). The benefits to cover crops are numerous, however try to best fit the cover crop with your rotation. Here are some examples.

For those fields that are bare now and may be some of your last plantings in the spring you may consider utilizing a legume like crimson clover. This can give you some 'free' nitrogen while helping to retain soil over the winter. Crimson clover, like most legumes, need a long growing time to get the most out of the plant, as far as nitrogen production. Don't plant legumes where you are going to want to get a quick start to the planting season.

For those fields that may get a winter or early spring application of manure you should look to utilize a winter small grain. Rye seems to have the best root structure to hold our heavy equipment and grows well over winter. This would also be a good match for those fields you will want to get into earlier in the spring.

Just a reminder we have a cover crop plot here in the county and I'll be holding a fall and a spring walk where we will look at different species and discuss where they may fit. As always feel free to call in with any specific question you have about cover crop selection or benefits and drawbacks of specific species. Have a great weekend!

Corn Silage Update

As of today our plot is just over 33% D.M. I have noticed a descent amount of silage coming off especially in the southern portion of the county. We are almost where we need to be if we are filling trenches, but we need to be careful we don't push it too quick going into uprights. Again review the comments I have below about setting your kernel processors, I believe this will be crucial.

Check you ears!

No pun intended actually, we really do need to get into the cornfields and check your ears prior to harvest. I received a call today from a local crop scout who has been seeing and hearing of 'beer can' ears around the county. This is a phenomenon where the bottom few rows of the ear are properly filled while the top of the cob is barren. This obviously can cost a lot of yield.

It is believed that this phenomenon is usually due to a cold snap when the corn plant is forming the ear (V5-V8). This always occurs in this manner since corn will always develop kernels from the bottom of the ear to the top. So what fields are at risk? Well typically it appears that it takes lower 40s to stress the corn so I dove into the this years temperature records to try to pin this down.

It appears the May 14th and 19th are likely the main dates when damage likely occurred. Hagerstown Airport reported a low of 41 degrees for both days. If we look at the fact that it typically takes 4 weeks to reach V8 (where ear development is thought to be complete) and V5 is normally about 3 weeks after planting we can assume the highest risk corn for this abnormality was planted between April 14th and April 28th (due to two dates with low temps). Obviously any fields around this period should be checked. Overall, you may want to check all your early plantings.

The main issue with this abnormality would be decreased yield when shelling the corn. If you have the ability to chop this corn for silage and shell another field it may be advantageous. Of course you will take a hit on energy in your silage as well, however it may be a better option.

Adjust those kernel processors!

As the corn slowly dries down I'm seeing some drier ears on some very green stalks. If we continue this trend it may lead to some issues in getting available energy in our silage. If you have a kernel processor you are steps ahead in this area already. However, just because you put out the cash doesn't mean it will work without some attention. When you are out harvesting make sure to take some samples early on to see how the processor is working. To check the kernels take a handful or two of silage and place it in a 5 gallon bucket. Fill the bucket with water then slowly pour off the water. Once the water is pretty well gone you should be left with only kernels. Carefully inspect the kernels to make sure they are well processed and cracked. If the kernels are not cracked adjust the processor to a narrower spacing and test again.

Corn Starts to Dry Again!

I just got done looking at moisture on our plot. In review this was planted on the 29th of April and the variety I'm looking at is a 114 day variety. The moisture this morning finally has moved from the 30-31% D.M. we have been holding at for about a week. Today we are standing at 31.7% D.M. Although this isn't a huge jump it is finally in the right direction. The downside to this is that we are to have rain today and tomorrow which means we probably won't be drying down much going forward. So with all this said it looks like we may be into September before we really get silage harvest rolling. I know many have been pulling into the fields this week but I think for the most part in the county we are still waiting. The silver lining to all of this is that we have quite the crop sitting in the field when we do start in.

Cover Crop Plot Planted in Franklin County

Today we planted the cover crop plot in Franklin County. This year we have 19 species and mixtures in the plot. It will be interesting to see how each performs. The plants include grasses, legumes and some non leguminous forbs. I will be keeping you up to date on the growth as well as winter hardiness of each species. I will also hold two field days at the plot, one this fall and one in the spring. Until then you can feel free to stop by the plot and see what is happening. It is located on Walker Rd. just east of Chambersburg. I want to say a special thanks to Ron Hoover of Penn State for helping establish the plot and Stanley Burkholder for the use of the land.

Silage continues to wait

Checked the plots again today since the research team is ready to get started on harvest. It still is hanging around the 30-31% D.M. We are sitting right around 2400-2500 growing degree days (GDD) according to Pa Pipe. This puts us about 100 days behind average. This would explain why we are seeing things so slow to mature around the area.

Soybean Aphids Continue to Dwindle

After scouting the Chambersburg plot again today for soybean aphids it appears that the population continues to decrease. As I stated before we never came close to the threshold, however now that hot weather has hit we are starting to see the populations react with a decrease in populations. The beans I'm scouting are in R6 so even if we hit a threshold population now (250 aphids per plant) it would not be economical to spray. If you do have late planted or double cropped beans make sure you still pay attention to the aphids. Hopefully the populations are dwidling all around, however you still may have heavy presure in some areas of the county.

Other observations in the corn plot

Just a quick note of some other observations in the corn plot this morning. The corn overall is very impressive with nice sized ears and good height. I noted that milkline has begun to move on some varieties, however, as noted the total plant moisture has not changed. I also noticed a fair amount of grey leaf spot in the plot, however this will have little to no affect on the plant at this stage. It seems around the county in general we are set to have a great crop this year. Even much of the late corn planted is looking great especially after Friday's rain. Hopefully we will get some real nice corn silage put up so we can make the milk roll once prices return and help fill in the gaps created by this price slump.

Corn Silage Dry Down Slows

I tested the PDMP plot again this morning and it appears our 1in. + rain on Friday has slowed us down a bit. The plot tested at 31% D.M. which is the same figure as Friday a.m. prior to the rain. This combined with an overcast day with some drizzle on Saturday seems to be holding the dry down off for a bit. The U.S. Weather Service is calling for cooler temperatures the begining of the weak with no precip. Hopefully low humidity and clear skies will help the corn to dry down again. I'll keep an eye on the silage plot and will have another posting on moisture on Friday if not before. Just in review this plot was planted on April 29th so you may want to adjust accordingly for your planting dates.

Corn Silage Dry Down

I sampled the PDMP plot this morning and I got a result of 31% dry down. That means in the last 4 days it has changed 6%, or 1.5% per day. In all honesty I thought it may be a little faster then that, however if this trend continues we are looking at harvest to start in another 5-6 days. This seems late for typical harvest, however we have had a cooler than normal growing season, so our degree days haven't mounted as fast as typical.

Other observations this morning was that most of the corn was at dent, however very little to any milk line was present.

Bean Pod Motle Virus

Good news. Monday I scouted for fields for bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) and today I got the results, all negative. The fields were located outside of Shippensburg, Mercersburg, New Franklin, and Chambersburg so they were from a broad area. I scouted only early plantings that had signs of bean leaf beetle feeding, so they were suceptible to BPMV. It would appear this is not a threat for now in our area. If you want to find out more about BPMV check out this information from Iowa State.

Corn Silage Harvest Drawing Near

Corn Silage harvest is just around the corner and I've started taking moistures on the PDMP test plot we have here in the county. On Monday the plots were at 27% D.M. so a little ways to go until we reach 40. We certainly have varied planting dates and stages of maturity around the county, however I do believe we start to see our earliest plantings getting close in the next week or so. The plot I'm sampling was planted on the 29th of April. I'll take another sample tomorrow and post the details.

So here it begins

So I have now rocketed into the world of blogging. This blog will be mainly focusing on the area of crop and soil science (agronomy) in Franklin County Pennsylvania. With this being said I will warn you that comments on the dairy industry and livestock production will likely come into play as well. Hope you enjoy this and I'll do my best to keep it up to date with relevant information.