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Volume 16 Issue 5 September 2006

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF CROP QUEST AGRONOMIC SERVICES, INC.

A Good Rotation For Wheat But A Tough Crop To Manage


Wheat farmers in Kansas and Oklahoma have long been looking for a non-grass winter rotational crop. Canola has the capability to fill the need, with yield potential comparable to wheat and a good market demand, plus it can be grown and harvested with existing equipment used for wheat. Despite its potential, canola had plenty of problems in Kansas and Oklahoma last year. In central Kansas, Crop Quest agronomist Jim Gleason says as much as 80% of canola fields were abandoned. Further south and east, the abandonment rate was significantly lower. We think canola has some promise for our area, Jim Gleason says. Last year was our first year working with the crop, and we had some tough times. I hope growers wont give up on canola based on one bad year, he says. Down the road, we will have better varieties and more experience with the crop, he adds. In southwest Oklahoma, Crop Quest agronomist Howard Bartel says canola was very erratic, some fields were a disaster. The biggest problem in Oklahoma is there is no labeled insecticide to control aphids. Aphid damage, plus extreme drought conditions in the fall which led to late, thin stands, were a lethal combination for canola in some parts of Oklahoma, according to Bartel. The losses may be attributed to freeze damage, but I think the lack of cold hardiness was more due to thin stands, small plants and aphid damage, which stressed plants going into the winter months, Bartel says. Canola plants have to be 4- to 6-inch rosettes to survive winter, and the Howard Bartel drought, plus some late plantings, caused many fields to be abandoned, Bartel says. Mike Stamm, a canola breeder for Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University, echoes a concern shared by Gleason and Bartel, that canola requires more management than wheat. Producers interested in growing canola should probably start with 20 to 30 acres to get a feel for the management required, Stamm says. Three different species of aphids cause problems with canola. Insecticide-treated seed may protect canola into January, but unlike wheat, insects continue to be a problem for canola throughout the winter months. Green peach aphids and turnip aphids are big problems for canola in the fall, winter and early spring. Cabbage aphids attack canola in the bud and flowering stages. Stamm says a firm seedbed, not light and fluffy, is critical to getting adequate stand establishment. Seeds are small, and planting depths less than an inch are needed. Good seed-to-soil contact is essential. In Oklahoma, Bartel says his growers had the best success at planting depths of one-fourth to one-half inch. Growers wanting to try canola should also be aware that sulfonylurea herbicides, such as Finesse, Maverick and Olympus, which are commonly used for weed and grass control in wheat, have an 18-month plant-back restricGleason tion for canola. Canola is highly sensitive to the SU family of herbicides. Sumner, a Kansas State canola release, possesses tolerance to SU herbicide carryover and may be planted on wheat fields treated with an SU in the spring, according to Stamm. There is no label protection for applying SU herbicides over the top of Sumner and it is not a recommended practice. In central Kansas, Gleason says his growers who used no-tillage systems fared better than those using conventionaltillage. In Oklahoma, Bartel says just the opposite was true. Aphids and worms were our big problem, and it was easier to control these pests in conventional-tillage systems, Bartel says. If we came back in with a harrow and knocked the wheat straw down, canola seemed to do better, he adds. Canola is being touted as a high-quality source for biodiesel. It has only 7% saturated fat, giving canola-based biodiesel increased cold flow for use in colder climates. Canola also has 40% oil content, compared to 18% for soybeans, which is the top crop for biodiesel production in the United States. In Oklahoma, Bartel says better insect management and timely establishment of good stands are critical to canola production. In Kansas, where aphids and worm pressure are less, Gleason says seedbed preparation and getting a good stand are critical, but says the crop is so new to growers here in Kansas, that simply learning more about production practices will help future production. Canola will need season-long management, and getting professional help in establishing seedbeds and managing insects may be the difference between success and failure in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Finesse is a registered trademark of DuPont. Maverick is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company. Olympus is a registered trademark of Bayer CropScience.

Crop Quest Perspectives

COTTON DEFOLIATION REQUIRES MANAGEMENT, TIMING AND LUCK


The cotton crop in West Texas is mostly irrigated and looks like another good crop. Crop Quest agronomist Kyle Aljoe says the harvest aid systems they use change from field to field, with the constant being a need for careful management to ensure strippers get the maximum yields available in the field. Texas ranks first in cotton production in the United States. Cotton is the leading cash crop in the state, and is grown on five million acres. This crop generates $1.6 billion in cash for farmers and has a total economic impact of $5.2 billion for the state. Cotton is grown in six different regions of Texas. From the High Plains to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, each region is extremely different on the approaches to cotton production due to variations in climate, soil type, percentage of the crop that is irrigated and harvest techniques. This year, our irrigated cotton looks real good and our dryland cotton not so good, says Aljoe. What, how and when harvest aids are applied depends largely on how fast growers want to get into the field to strip it, he notes. When a field looks like it is ready, we go in and cut open bolls. If the seeds are full, not jelly-like, and if the seed coat is brown to black, those are good signs that its time to open the bolls with ethephon, and then dry down the plant with paraquat, he explains. For the past two years, Aljoe has been working with Crop Quest precision ag specialist Nathan Woydziak to develop variable rate application for growth regulants. By keeping the field uniform in growth, the agronomy team is able to maximize harvest efficiency. Uniform growth also helps make defoliation more efficient, further improving stripping. Typically, Aljoe and Woydziak recommend two to three pints of an ethephon-containing defoliant to open bolls, hopefully at variable rates to make Nathan Woydziak the boll opening uniform across the field. After maximum boll opening is achieved, he comes back with paraquat to kill the cotton plant. In the High Plains, virtually all the cotton is stripped, not picked. The High Plains region of Texas is located north and south of Lubbock, Texas, between the Caprock and the New Mexico border. This area consists of 27 counties that produce 64% of the states cotton crop. Two techniques are used to harvest cotton in Texas. Stripper harvesting is generally performed in regions with a shorter grow2 Crop Quest Perspectives

ing season and low-input production systems. The entire cotton boll (carpels and seed cotton) is removed from the stalk and unwanted plant trash is separated at the gin. Strippers are used exclusively where tight-bolled, storm-proof cotton varieties are grown. Picker harvesting is used in areas with long growing seasons and longer staple cotton. Pickers remove only the seed cotton (fiber and seeds), which results in less trash but higher harvest costs. While some West Texas growers simply wait for the cotton to freeze out, then strip it, research indicates the cost of prepping and desiccating cotton far offsets the cost of not doing so. In our experience, it almost always pays to open the bolls, then kill the plant and pick when cotton is fully mature, rather than waiting for weather to determine when the optimum time is to pick, Aljoe says. In some cases, organophosphate desiccants are used, but it is critical to remove all the green from cotton before it is stripped. A new material, fluthiacet-methyl, is currently being tested, and combines boll opening and removes juvenile foliage and suppresses regrowth for an extended period of time during the harvest period. We typically will use ethephon on two to three fields, or enough for a grower to strip in three to four days, and then come back with more fields. If we get freeze warnings, we stop treatment on mature fields and move to immature fields to try and open as many bolls as we can before the freeze hits, Aljoe says. Kyle Aljoe While growers in the High Plains of Texas are still hoping for three- to four-bale cotton on their irrigated acreage, most growers in Oklahoma are just hoping to salvage a decent cotton crop. We had a good-looking crop up until late July. Then we started losing fruit load with intense heat and drought conditions, says Crop Quest agronomist Howard Bartel. Many of our growers will get cotton out early and plant wheat for rotational purposes, if possible, he concludes. For most growers with these dry conditions, opening bolls is not a big concern. Because of the dry weather, we will use more desiccants, primarily to save costs. In the better cotton in our area, we will use an organophosphate desiccant, along with ethephon. We are tending to go to higher rates of ethephon and reduced OP materials on our better cotton, Bartel concludes. Regardless of whether cotton is stripped or picked, three-bale or one-bale potential, getting a field ready for harvesting is critical, both in terms of maximizing yield and quality and in reducing costs associated with damage to pickers and strippers. Getting it right requires some careful planning and good management.
www.cropquest.com

Every year, Crop Quest agronomists get in touch with their current clients to sign a crop service agreement to continue their agronomic services for another crop season. For many of the consultants, this is the most difficult part of their career due to the fear of rejection or the potential loss of acres. Our agronomists are trained very well in the technical and agronomic sciences, but most do not consider themselves to be salesmen, even though they receive training in this area. Early sign-up or contract signing is something we highly encourage for all our farmer/clients. Even though Crop Quest does benefit due to fewer trips (less fuel cost) when the clients sign early, the real benefit is for the farmers themselves. Long-term planning is one of the key factors in a successful crop management plan. By signing early, it gives the agronomists the time that your farm deserves for developing a successful cropping plan. Soil sampling is absolutely essential in knowing what nutrient levels are present in your soil and to plan ahead for timing, application and the kind of fertilizers most economical for your operation. Most fertilizers have to be broken down by microbes or chemical reactions into their usable forms that the

Why Should A Farmer Contract Services Early?

By: Ron OHanlon,


President
Member, National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants, CPCC-I Certified

plant roots are capable of absorbing. When the process is delayed, the crop is put at risk due to nutrient deficiency or the nutrient may be partially lost due to improper timing. Crop Quest agronomists spend considerable time in understanding the crops that have been selected, to see if they are the best choices for the soil type, pH, usage (high moisture, ensilage, dry grain), disease tolerance or resistance, stress tolerance, planting characteristics including early vs. late seeding, and the many other concerns that are associated with the planting of a particular crop. These are not decisions that should be made on the spur of the moment or to wait until the crop is ready to be planted. A successful crop management plan is one which the farmer and agronomist develop over a period of months. This discussion should include cropping alternatives, rotations, nutrient requirement, hybrid or variety selection, water requirement, potential crop usage, economic budgets, planting method (no-till, strip-till, conventional-till, conservation-till, ridge-till), herbicide and insecticide selection, interactions and carryover concerns and etc. In order to have time to assist our clients in these important decisions, we really encourage the farmers to let their agronomists know early their intentions of continuing with our agronomic services. The best way to accomplish this is by signing the contract early to remove the frustration of time and expense in the commitment that has to be made before our agronomists are able to devote their time and energy into your management plan. We very much appreciate each farmers business in the past and thank all who have participated in our early sign-up program. When our agronomists approach you to continue our services for another year, know that it is mostly for your benefit that they are asking.

You Can Learn A Lot From A Combine


As we head toward the harvest season, it is our nature to sit back and take a deep breath, because we feel that we are over the hump and are about to reap the benefits of all our hard work. But as we all know in agriculture, our work is never done. This is the season to do as much evaluation as you can of the conditions and variations in your fields, and to critique some of your farming practices. Taking good notes now about weed, insect and disease pressure, watering patterns, soil conditions, hybrid performance and other aspects of your fields will go a long way toward making more profitable decisions next year. It is also a good time to evaluate how your machinery is functioning, so you can do needed repairs and upgrades over the winter months. Make sure you double-check your records of what biotech traits were planted in your fields this past year. Store those records so they can be easily accessed when you start making cropping plans for next year. This is especially important for the herbicide traits in seed. Volunteer problems need to be addressed differently for Roundup Ready or LibertyLink varieties. The combine is a great place to do more record keeping. From the cab, you can note noxious weed areas and insect damage. It is a great place to observe watering patterns, and this can help you decide whether a sprinkler, for instance, needs an upgraded nozzle package, or whether the sprinkler had chronic plugged nozzles. By: Dwight Koops The yield monitor on Regional Vice President your combine is another Ulysses, Kan. tool you can use to evaluate the performance of your fields. Yield maps can help you and your agronomist decide where there may be fertility issues and other soil variations that need further attention. These maps can help us pinpoint where we need to pull soil samples, and can help us evaluate how to maximize yields in the more productive areas of the field. If you are collecting yield monitor data, Crop Quest has all the computer tools and skills necessary to help you create proper normalized yield maps that will be very useful in making better management decisions. I urge you to get your yield monitor data to your agronomist so we can help you utilize the data properly. Crop Quest has some of the best trained GIS specialists in the country that are fully capable of taking the burden off of you to organize and compile your data into a very useful tool. You can rest easy knowing that you dont have to be a computer wiz or spend countless hours of your valuable time to get great use out of your data. As your agronomist, we also enjoy jumping on the combine with you. We too can learn many things by seeing the crop from that vantage point. We hope to see you inside the cab of your combine this harvest, and we hope you have a bountiful harvest.
Roundup Ready is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company. LibertyLink is a trademark of Bayer CropScience.

Crop Quest Perspectives

Reasonable Expectations
By: Jim Gleason Regional Vice President St. John, Kan. With all of the technology traits in the seeds that are available today, farmers are faced with more choices than ever before. These traits offer management options for controlling corn borer, rootworms and weeds. They are being offered as individual traits or are stacked in various combinations. This technology is easy to use since it is bred into the seed; however, this convenience comes at a cost. With this increased cost of the seed comes a higher expectation of performance as well. One of the traits that have been adopted fairly quickly has been the Roundup Ready trait. It is available in corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and alfalfa. A glyphosate-based system has given producers a chance to have clean fields fairly inexpensively, and we have come to expect clean fields with a couple of chemical applications. With all of the generic glyphosate products available, the price of the chemical is one-third of what it was just a few years ago. The cheap chemicals are nice when they work. Cheap chemicals have less product representation. The major manufacturers still offer brand-name glyphosate, but were forced to compete with a lower price. They still have representation out in the country, but in far fewer numbers than they were in the past. Since they are spread thinner, they try to do most of the product performance claims by telephone or e-mail rather than come walk the field. The generic and house brand chemicals have never had good product support and that is one of the reasons they have been priced lower. More of the risk of poor performance is carried by the producer with these cheaper products. The applicator doesnt have anyone to call when a treatment fails. There is an increasing reluctance for applicators to apply these nonsupported chemicals. They usually offer these as producer-applied products since they dont come with much support. The discovery of glyphosate-resistant water hemp has been confirmed in Missouri recently. With this discovery, the approach of weed control programs needs to change as well. Water hemp is in the pigweed (amaranth) family and is a common weed in the eastern High Plains. This weed used to be controlled by glyphosate, but with this chemical being used on more acres and crops for a number of years, resistance has developed in water hemp in Missouri. We are seeing this weed move farther west every year and it has the potential to bring this resistance trait with it. That will increase the cost of weed control programs if it does. In the past, there have been other chemicals that quit working. When one quit working, we had another one to switch to. By rotating between chemical families and modes of action, we were able to have pretty good weed control performance. Since there have not been a lot of new chemicals discovered in the last few years, we will be doing more tank mixes of old products to keep this resistance from spreading. We will need to rotate between chemicals. The cost of our weed control will increase because of tank mixing and the performance may not be as good as we have come to expect. We will have to adjust our expectations to what is reasonable.
Roundup Ready is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company.

Crop Quest is an employee-owned company dedicated to providing the highest quality agricultural services for each customer. The quest of our network of professionals is to practice integrity and innovation to ensure our services are economically and environmentally sound.

Mission Statement

Crop Quest Agronomic Services, Inc. Main Office: Phone 620.225.2233 Fax 620.225.3199 Internet: www.cropquest.com cqoffice@cropquest.com

Employee-Owned & Customer Driven

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Crop Quest Board of Directors


President: Director: Director: Director: Director: Director: Ron OHanlon Jim Gleason Dwight Koops Cort Minor Chris McInteer Rob Meyer

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