The Ag PhD Crop Scouting Reports are supplied by contributors to Hefty Seed Co., based in Baltic, South Dakota. Find more online at www.agphd.com and www.heftyseed.com.
ARKANSAS
Augusta, AR
Rice is anywhere from 2-4 leaf. All of it looks as though it had been hit hard with herbicide and most of it hadn’t! Cool, wet weather has really taken a toll. It would be great if we could get the grass sprayed and get 100 lbs/acre of ammonia sulfate out before next rain event. — Joey York
Many acres of the earliest corn are receiving layby herbicide and the first shot of sidedress nitrogen. This could be a good time to tissue test for nutrient deficiencies and take corrective action with foliar feed. — Perry Galloway
ILLINOIS
Georgetown, IL
If you have chosen to go with conventional corn or has a corn variety that doesn’t have the Bt rootworm trait, you must consider an in-furrow insecticide to protect your plants. If you use in-furrow fertilizer, Capture LFR is the best choice and it has come way down in price from several years ago. When in-furrow fertilizer is not an option, go with a granular. You will be happy you did. — Evan Zimmerman
Princeton, IL
With the current wet weather, now is a great time to be scouting and spraying your pastures for those nuisance weeds that crop up each year. GrazonNext HL controls 65 tough weeds and has no grazing restrictions. — Mike Denton
It is not too late to be putting some nitrogen and RyzUp SmartGrass on your pastures! — Kyle Bickett
We are getting close to early flowering in wheat. This is the correct time to apply 6.5 oz/acre of Prosaro fungicide to control fusarium head blight. — John Becker
IOWA
Rockwell, IA
Many beans are starting to get planted in the area. Make sure you get your pre herbicides on before your beans start to crack through the ground. Even if it means parking the planter for a day or two to get those acres sprayed, it will be worth it in the long road. Products like Fierce, Authority MTZ, Verdict, and Zidua Pro do an excellent job on extending your residual period to stay ahead of emerging weeds. — Tim Nuehring
Sheldon, IA
With corn starting to emerge, now would be a good time to check your planter’s performance. In 30-inch rows, measure out 17.5 feet and then count how many plants you have in that space compared to your desired population. Also, check for doubles, skips, and overall spacing to see how your planter units performed. — Adam Sauer
Were you eying a new seed variety or trait this year, but weren’t sure about how it would perform on your farm? Why not try a side-by-side comparison? This way, you can use your own tillage method, planting population, chemical program, and it is first-hand information rather than third party. Also, you would have full access to walk these areas whenever you want all the way from planting until it leaves in the wagon in the fall. If you are wondering about multiple varieties across multiple seed companies, a simple test plot might be something worth considering. — Nathan Kloft
The cuticle of a weed leaf can only hold so much moisture before it rolls off. If you are in a hurry and thinking about spraying your burndown following a rain or early morning dew, wait until dry down. This is your only shot to start the field weed free so make sure the weeds have every chance possible to retain the chemicals on the plant surface. — Connor Majerus
MINNSOTA
Breckenridge, MN
With beans going in the ground, make sure to get your pre-emerge on right away! There are a lot of really great options for pre’s in beans, but unfortunately, most are not very compatible with sugar beet rotations. One product that is very sugar beet rotation-friendly is Valor. 3 oz/acre does a great job and doesn’t have rotation restrictions like other products. — Tia Johnson
One weed to really watch out for before planting wheat is Quackgrass. Quackgrass is a tough weed to kill in wheat and is a big yield robber. If you happen to fall victim to it in your wheat fields, one of the best products that can help is Rimfire Max at 3 oz/acre. It isn’t a cure-all but will help a lot. Adding Linkage at 1 gal/100 of water will also help increase its effectiveness. — Tia Johnson
Hancock, MN
Early planted wheat fields are getting weedy. I am seeing a lot of ragweed, lambsquarters, and wild buckwheat in wheat fields. These fields are ready to spray this week. The wheat will grow very fast now and choke out any other flushes of weeds that might come. Spray before the wheat canopies to get sufficient spray coverage on the weeds. — Adam Gibson
If you haven’t gotten your corn pre-emerge herbicide on yet, don’t panic. There are many growers in the area spraying things like TripleFLEX and SureStart which can be applied up to 11-inch tall corn. If you have some emerged grass already, I’d recommend you add some Roundup to the mix on Roundup Ready Corn acres. — Aaron Giese
Janesville, MN
If you didn’t get your pre-emerge herbicide on and your corn is starting to emerge, don’t panic. You can apply Resicore at 40 oz/acre on corn up to 11 inches tall. — Josh Bruns
LeRoy, MN
Farmers in our area will run with their TripleFLEX/SureStart all the way up to 11-inch tall corn. If you need some burndown activity, just include Roundup. — Grant Lunning
Marshall, MN
Now that the soil has warmed up the soybeans that are going in the ground today could actually emerge 3-5 days from now. It is very important for the sprayer to be right behind the planter as most of the newer pre-emerge herbicides have to be applied prior to emergence. — Mike Homandberg
Olivia, MN
For those spraying pastures or CRP ground, there are a couple different options. Grazon HL is a combination of Milestone and 2,4-D – this is very good on thistles. If you have woody trees that you want to kill, Grazon P + D or Graslan L are good options. They both contain Tordon and 2, 4-D, but the Graslan L has the new 2,4-D choline for virtually no volatility. — John Scheibel
Weeds are beginning to come through in some corn fields already. Resicore or TripleFLEX can be used before corn is planted until it is 11 inches tall. — Aaron Spronk
I have been noticing weeds starting to move in on the edges of fields. Check the edges of your fields and spray a burndown such as Dicamba if you need to. Taking care of these weeds now will not only eliminate your crop’s competition in those areas but you will also be keeping these weeds from going to seed and spreading to the rest of your field. — Tony Hagen
Thief River Falls, MN
Metribuzin is a great pre-emerge product on soybeans that can add a different mode of action when paired with another pre-emerge product. Keep in mind that if you have a soil pH over 7.5 or organic matter below 2%, you want to back the rate down to a 1/6 pound to decrease your risk of crop injury. — Jordan Swanson
It’s less stressful raising soybeans when you use a pre-emerge herbicide, especially if you have fields with known resistance issues. Using an Authority product, dependent on your weed species issues, will keep your fields clean longer before your in-season applications. — Alex Yaggie
Ulen, MN
A number of farmers in the area planted corn without getting a pre-emerge herbicide down. Now they’re beginning to apply their pre-emerge herbicides and in some cases the crop is popping through at the same time. Growers are choosing many different herbicides depending on which weed issues are the worst. For example, we’re seeing a lot of Resicore being used in fields with ragweed problems. — Greg Peterson
Winthrop, MN
For the early planted corn acres, make sure to do a stand count as soon as possible to make sure replanting is not required. So far in our area, corn is starting to emerge. Stands are uneven but population seems to be good. — Dean Christiansen
If you have any lake property and can’t enjoy the water because the milfoil or weeds, an application of Hydrothol will do the trick to eliminate them. A 40 lb pail will treat between 4,000-16,000 square feet. — Tyler Gasow
Even if you are using the Xtend or Liberty Link seed technologies, be sure to put down a good pre on your soybeans to get ahead of the weeds this year. Large seeded broadleaves seem to cause the most trouble for farmers in our area. A great option to control them and to get good residual is to use Authority First at 4 oz/acre as your pre. — Matt Vogel
MISSOURI
Bertrand, MO
Some area farmers are still preparing their fields for soybean planting. An option to think about for burndown help would be something like Valor at 2.5 oz/acre added to Roundup or Gramoxone. — Albert Duenne
Soybean planting in our area will be rocking and rolling in a few days; soil conditions are good. — Albert Duenne
MONTANA
Sidney, MT
I have gotten questions about the mixing order of GoldSky to be sprayed on winter wheat. Make sure to scout fields to see what stage the plant is in. If in the joint stage, one may need to switch to another herbicide. Mixing in 6-8 oz/acre of LV6 will improve broadleaf control. And oh yes, the mixing order is 1) Goldsky 2) AMS 3) LV6 4) NIS. — Chester Hill
NEBRASKA
Laurel, NE
There has been a lot of seed put in the ground in just a few days. When planting is over or we catch a rain break, take some time to look over your stands and look at the seed that was put in the ground during those cold temperatures. — Kody Urwiler
West Point, NE
In some of our winter meetings we talked about simple ways to increase yield on your farm. One example was planting between 3-4 mph. I know it is tough to do when everyone feels like they’re already behind, but this is something to keep in the back of your mind. — Jared Steffensmeier
I’m seeing sidewall compaction on corn that was planted Friday and Saturday. Corn planted on Sunday afternoon looks a lot better. — Jacob Gubbels
NORTH DAKOTA
Hurdsfield, ND
If you used any form of Pursuit (Authority Assist or Extreme) in your soybean fields in the past, remember that it is a 40 month rotation back to canola. Check your crop history and rotations as you decide what to put in those undecided acres. — Emily Kline
Lisbon, ND
Growers in the area are aware of soybean cyst nematode problems in many fields. In addition to choosing nematode resistant varieties, many are adding ILeVO seed treatment at 0.6 oz/unit. It has shown positive results in controlling the nematode numbers and protecting yields. — Spencer Schultz
Mohall, ND
A lot of guys are seeding faba beans. Be aware that there are no herbicides with full labels for this crop. The only choices you have will fall into the category of section 18’s. This means the products need a special use permit for each season. — Ron Hefta
Webster, ND
Fields that were worked and planted to wheat now have a lot of weeds emerging. Be prepared to spray early on these fields. — Jim Sitar
There are plenty of soils in our area with soil salinity issues or what some farmers just call sour ground. One of the strategies these growers are using this spring is applying Dakota Rev. We’ve seen better nutrient availability in terms of more nutrients actually getting into the plant when used at 1 to 4 quarts in-furrow with starter. — Stephanie Stensgard
Wilton, ND
We had some poor spray conditions a week ago. I would evaluate the fields sprayed in that time frame to see how effective that application was. — Jamie Schurhamer
SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen, SD
Pre-emerge herbicides for soybeans will be going on very soon. Take a look at products like Zidua Pro that contain 3 different modes of action. Zidua Pro contains a group 14, 15, and 2. This should give you excellent early season control on tough weeds. — Tanner Johnson
Keep an eye on your iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) spots this season. If you know you have fields with bad cases of IDC, help clean that up with a 4% chelated iron in-furrow at 1 pt/acre. This is a great insurance plan for just $2-3/acre. — Justin Hanson
Baltic, SD
I have been fielding a lot of calls on 2,4-D ahead of soybeans for a burndown application. My question is, why are you not planting Xtend soybeans? You can spray 22 oz/acre of Xtendimax or 12.8 oz/acre of Engenia for burndown, pre-emerge, or pre-plant. Why do you want to take the risk of spraying 2,4-D ahead of soybeans? Sure dicamba costs a little bit more, but if you damage the soybeans at all with 2,4-D (which happens all the time) you would pay for many years of safe dicamba applications. — Tyler Koenig
We are finishing corn planting on some of the farms in the area. Make sure to adjust planting depth for soybeans to a 1-inch depth. We need to take the same care for soybeans as we do corn in getting a good, even stand to capture the solar energy as uniformly as possible and give each plant the optimum chance to succeed. — Rob fritz
Centerville, SD
I received a question from a farmer asking the rainfast for pasture herbicides. Your Grazon P+D, GrazonNext, and Distinct products are all in that four hour window. Milestone and Tordon are recommended for two hours. Another rangeland product, Curtail, is six hours before the clouds roll in. With the active weather patterns lately, keep these in mind. — Peter Strom
Due to the moisture and later planting dates, weed identification is critical before applying a burndown. Certain herbicides do not work as well on certain weeds. — Tim Brouwer
SOUTH DAKOTA
Freeman, SD
When spraying yards with gardens and flowers around them, make sure you are using a low volatility product like Freelexx. It is an amine 4 + choline herbicide which reduces your volatilization substantially. — Matt Zilverberg
Gettysburg, SD
If you have broadleaves in your pasture, apply GrazonNext HL plus NIS and you will have good results. — Kyle Hawkinson
Huron, SD
It may be tempting to increase the depth of your soybean planting due to soil conditions drying, but you will more than likely have a better stand if you stay within the recommended 1 to 1.5 inches. — Garritt Dykstra
Remember to check planting depth when planting soybeans. 1 inch to 1.5 inches is the ideal planting depth. — Norland Hofer
Most soybeans going in the ground in this area are coated with a complete seed treatment like Hefty Complete. Growers like the combination of an insecticide, fungicide, and QuickRoots for root development and protection. The comment I hear the most from them is that they don’t see the clumping of wet, sticky seed like with some other treatments out there. — Kyle Wiese
Kimball, SD
Good soybean treatment usually pays off. Last year we saw many fields with poor stands when treatment wasn’t applied. Beyond stands, we saw fields that were split with and without treatment. Bean leaf beetles did significant damage to the soybeans that were not treated and hadn’t touched the ones with an insecticide treatment. — Mike Erickson
Watertown, SD
If you are having trouble with noxious weeds such as wormwood or Canada thistle in your pasture, you can use Chaparral at 3 oz/acre. On an ATV sprayer, you can add 0.25 oz/gallon of water if spraying 10-15 gal/acre. Also add NIS at 1 qt/100 gal of water. — Jack Beutler
WASHINGTON
Farmington, WA
Chickpea Programs:
Preplant:
Roundup + Sharpen + Prowl H2O or Sonalan. Pursuit is another option to throw in the mix but you need to watch plant-back restrictions and build up in low soil pH.
Post-plant/Pre-emergence:
Sharpen, Valor, or Spartan/Spartan Charge + Metribuzin — Jamie Rovey
Quincy, WA
If you are having trouble with ALS resistant henbit or chickweed in your timothy hay, add Aim EC to your 2,4-D/Dicamba mix. — Dave Dye
With corn planting well under way, it’s important that your planter is calibrated correctly to the type of ear flex of each variety you plant. If you plant too high of a population on a flex ear or too low of a population on a fixed ear, your end result could be some major yield loss. — Danny Hopkins
