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
It’s hard not to mention weather in Arkansas after 7-10 inches of rain and record river flood stages projected. We will no doubt lose some rice, corn and soybeans due to flooding. Rice is 1-2 leaf and off to a pretty good start on the higher ground. Corn is V3-V4. 2 pass herbicide guys are looking pretty good from a weed stand point but the 1 pass stuff is ready to spray and getting pretty hairy. Seeing some fields where the corn was washed out of the ground off the side of the bed from heavy rain and will have to be replanted either back to corn or to soybeans. Soybeans are mostly V1 and doing pretty good where not under water. — Joey York
Corn is mostly at V3-V4 and ready for herbicide application and first sidedress N. We recommend a 6:1, N:S in our light, sandy soils. We’re starting to see pre-emerge beginning to break on our earliest soybeans. Plan on an approved dicamba application with a residual as soon as ground conditions allow. — Perry Galloway
ILLINOIS
Georgetown, IL
Like last spring, planters will be sitting for a few days while the ground dries out. Now is a good time to inspect fields that have emerged to check on spacing, population and automatic clutches to be sure things are working properly. Also keep in mind, some starter fertilizers will start to crystalize after sitting. Take some time to clean filter screens and orifices so when it is time to get back in the field, there is one less thing to slow you down. — Evan Zimmerman
Princeton, IL
Cool, wet conditions after planting could lead to SDS in soybeans. Known SDS fields should be planted when drier and warmer conditions exist to help alleviate problems. — Mike Denton
Once the soils dry up, we will want to get the corn planters back running as soon as possible. This could mean that soil temperatures will be colder than we would like to see for this time of year. We have seen the good results with fungicide in-furrow in cold weather situations. With this in mind, consider adding Headline in-furrow or upgrading to a product like Manticor LFR or Temitry LFR. These products both contain Headline and Capture LFR. This will give you the added benefits of having a fungicide in-furrow with an insecticide this spring. — Matt Denton
It’s a little early to consider switching up burndown programs. We will be able to spray much sooner than plant. We also should have plenty of time to meet most planting restrictions. — John Becker
IOWA
Rockwell, IA
A great way to get your corn started in the right direction is by using AgroLiquid fertilizer in-furrow. With heavier soils and plentiful rainfall in our area, many are using up to 13 gal/acre consisting of Pro-Germinator, Sure-K and Micro 500 as their full fertilizer program or a starter program of 4-5 gal/acre. This can be accomplished without seedling damage because of the very low salt level these products have. Something we are noticing is that by doing this we are seeing 2-3 points dryer grain coming out of the field. — Tim Nuehring
Sheldon, IA
I have seen a few fields that are going to corn that have begun to green up with some marestail and kochia. A good way to get these weeds under control is to put 1 pt/acre of Clarity with your pre such as TripleFLEX. This will kill the weeds along with giving you a nice residual. — Adam Sauer
When running a burndown program, remember to check the label for plant back restrictions. 2,4-D is a good tool to use, but has a restriction of 10-14 days, depending on the rate used. If you are planting the new Xtend traited soybeans, Xtendimax would be a great option with zero restriction. — Nathan Kloft
Ensure these few cold/slow days are utilized for reviewing your cropping plan. Get in touch with your agronomist again and go over your specific chemical programs or review your program through the Ag PhD Modes of Action app. Find out if any new seed maturities/varieties are still on hand and swap some of your original order for your own on-farm side-by-side. Finally, make sure to get your seed and chemical picked up to miss the rush at your local retailer. — Connor Majerus
MINNESOTA
Breckenridge, MN
With the delayed planting we’ve had, a lot of weeds are already emerging. In most cases, the field cultivator will help take care of these weeds, but where you won’t be doing tillage, a burndown should be used. Getting ahead on your weed control can save you lots of yield in the future! — Tia Johnson
Fairmont, MN
Spring is sprung, and so have the dandelions. There is an easy remedy for complete broadleaf control in your yard. Use a product called Tricast (generic Trimec) at a rate of 3.2 oz/gal of water. This will not only kill the existing weeds, it also will keep them from going to seed. — Hans Hinrichsen
Hancock, MN
If you’re planting Xtend Soybeans this year, you can find the most up-to-date application requirements, including approved tankmixes and nozzle options, at these two websites: Xtendimaxapplicationrequirements.com & Engeniatankmix.com — Aaron Giese
There were a few sugar beet fields that emerged before this last cold spell. Make sure you are out evaluating your stands. Some of these beets may need to be replanted. — Nathan DuHoux
I am seeing many giant ragweed seedlings germinating on field edges. Most ragweed in this area is glyphosate resistant. Tillage will knock these small weeds out. Just remember there is a seed bank of millions of other seeds that will emerge a couple weeks after your tillage pass without a residual product on. Keep residual rates up and potentially spot spray later on field borders and other high pressure areas that are showing heavy weeds this early. — Adam Gibson
Janesville, MN
With weeds already emerging and a late start to planting, a pre-emerge that includes some burndown may prove beneficial. Add a product with Sharpen or use straight metribuzin with your pre-emerge at 1/6 to 1/3 lb/acre to help burn those weeds. Don’t forget to add crop oil or MSO with those burndown products. — Ray Johnson
LeRoy, MN
Last year we had some early planted soybeans that were in the ground for what seemed like 3 weeks. They came up and yielded 72 bu per acre. If those beans weren’t treated, my guess is we would have had 1/2 of the beans make it, and very likely a re-plant situation. When it’s cold and wet, seed treatment pays even better than normal. — Grant Lunning
Marshall, MN
The current soil temperature in the Marshall area is 33 degrees. By the end of the week we should be looking at upper 40s for the soil temperature if the forecast is correct. Now would be a great time to pick up any products you noticed that you were short on so that when it is fit you can concentrate on planting. — Mike Homandberg
Soybean seed treatment should be considered going forward this spring to prevent diseases from setting in. Cold, wet soils can lead to seed and seedling diseases. Use a total package seed treatment like Hefty Complete. You should see quicker emergence and better stand along with the maximum amount of disease tolerance. — Dave Timmerman
Make sure to add a seed treatment to your soybeans when planting this spring. These cold and damp soils are constantly trying to rob you of the seed’s full potential later on during the year. We want each seed to be protected throughout the full life cycle with some sort of treatment early on. — Jeremy Jensen
As there are corn acres planted in our area, some growers may not have their pre-emerge such as TripleFLEX or SureStart on yet with all the moisture we have had. Please keep in mind that these products have a height restriction of 11 inches, so you still have time to apply them. — Jeff Gladis
Olivia, MN
Using a fungicide in-furrow with your fertilizer will help your corn plants stay healthier in cold soil conditions. — Aaron Spronk
With the cold soils, it is a good idea to add QuickRoots and a fungicide to your planting mix to help with the cold vigor of the seed. — John Scheibel
If you have glyphosate resistant weeds, you should consider planting Xtend soybeans. For those who have already made the switch to Xtend beans, make sure you still use a pre-emerge herbicide this year. We have seen from past years that pre-emerge residual herbicides are very effective, and they are foundational to any weed control program. — Tony Hagen
Thief River Falls, MN
With small grain seeding in full swing, remember to use a product like Pre-Pare for early burndown plus residual grass control in fields where weed pressure exists, especially wild oats. — Alex Yaggie
Ulen, MN
With more acres seeing a fall cover crop, keep in mind they can host a variety of insects over winter. Coming back the next year, you may need to at least make plans to monitor this potential issue, if not be proactive. A couple options in corn would be Capture LFR in your liquid fertilizer or extra seed treatment. In beans, a fungicide and insecticide treatment like CruiserMaxx or Intego Suite. If your ground is warm enough for seed to germinate, it is also ready to host insects. — Greg Peterson
Winthrop, MN
If you are using glyphosate; dicamba; 2,4-D; or Gramoxone as a burndown, you want the air temperatures at night to be above 50 degrees and daytime temperatures to be above 70 to get the very best level of weed control. — Tyler Gasow
Even if you have sufficient levels of micronutrients on your soil tests, it still would be a good idea to add a product such as TJ Micro-Mix or Micro 500 to your in-furrow starter. 1 – 1.5 qts/acre with these cold soil conditions should give you a great ROI. — Dean Christiansen
With the cold and wet soil conditions in the area, be sure to plant varieties that have good early season vigor. Also, put a seed treatment on that includes an insecticide, fungicide, and a biological to help protect the seed and improve early vigor. — Matt Vogel
MISSOURI
Bertrand, MO
Most of the area wheat has completely headed. Insects are present in a number of fields. An application of fungicide plus insecticide has been (or will be) applied when the head is at about 10 to 15% flowering. — Albert Duenne
Some area farmers have been planting soybeans. Remember to use three pre’s for better weed control season long. — Albert Duenne
Hayti, MO
Now might be a good time to pull planting and spraying data from your equipment. Look it over before the next round of planting and spraying begins to see if you need to make corrections or changes. — Eric Luye
If you didn’t get your soybean field’s burndown applied before this rain and are going to plant straight Roundup Ready beans, it might be a good time to consider changing to Xtend soybeans for more pre and post herbicide options. — Danny Stevens
MONTANA
Sidney, MT
With cool conditions in the region, seed treat should be highly considered. It will help against fusarium and rhizoctonia root rots that may develop. Raxil Pro MD or Stamina F3 are good seed treatments that are not too expensive. — Chester Hill
Laurel, NE
With the added moisture we received this weekend, make sure the conditions are right before starting the planter back up. Planting is the most important step in producing a good crop. — Rusty Reifenrath
With all the cool temperatures, you may need to heat up your burndown program by adding another herbicide like Aim or Sharpen to your Roundup. — Kody Urwiler
NEBRASKA
West Point, NE
For no-till guys, adding Sharpen to your current pre-corn program or switching to Verdict might be the difference in controlling these very tough winter annuals. — Jared Steffensmeier
Marestail second options, soybean programs: Surveil & Sencor; 2,4-D or Sharpen: 14 days before you can plant (Sharpen must have MSO 1 pt/acre).
Authority First / Sonic Sencor; 2,4-D or Sharpen: 14 days before you can plant (Sharpen must have MSO 1 pt/acre) — Jacob Gubbels
NORTH DAKOTA
Hillsboro, ND
Be sure to constantly be checking seed depth and spacing. — Ryan Pierce
Hurdsfield, ND
Olympus has been a great pre herbicide ahead of spring wheat to take care of grasses like foxtail barley. Don’t forget that it also has action on broadleaves like flixweed, field pennycress, shepherds purse, and mustards. It is a great burndown option ahead of spring wheat at 0.2 oz/acre for $2-$3. — Emily Kline
Lisbon, ND
With spring still remaining cool, RyzUp SmartGrass is still a good product to give your pastures an early season boost. Use this at 0.5 oz/acre along with a quart of NIS/100 gal and 2 lbs of AMS/acre. — Adam Ladwig
Mohall, ND
When planting spring wheat and using burndown, apply at least 0.17 oz/acre Victory (=0.25 oz Express) added to Roundup to control volunteer canola. Last fall, canola that emerged after a burndown and was not subject to a killing from heavy frost, overwintered and has become a big, more vigorous plant this spring. — Ron Hefta
Wheat fields seeded over the weekend may already have some broadleaf weeds coming up. 1 oz/acre of Sharpen with 1 pt of MSO will have good control on pests like kochia and marestail. — Charlie Adams
Webster, ND
Soil temperatures are still cold but heat units are slightly ahead of last year, believe it or not! It doesn’t really matter, though, when there is no seed in the ground, but I just mentioned this to compare this year to last. — Jim Sitar
It is key to use a good fungicide and insecticide seed treatment in this cold climate when planting your wheat, corn, and soybeans. For wheat, our choice is NipsIt Suite. It offers the best insecticide on the market for wheat. For corn, Capture LFR is a good choice if you want to put it in with your liquid fertilizer. Otherwise, use Brigade if you have a separate liquid system or injector system as it is much cheaper. For soybeans, we use Intego Suite which offers the new ethaboxam fungicide for the best pythium and phytophthora control on the market as well as an insecticide treatment. — Jim Sitar
Wilton, ND
Soils are still very cold but the calendar says it’s time to plant corn. If you are going to start planting this week, make sure you’re using low-salt fertilizer and using fungicide and insecticide to help protect the seed. — Jamie Schurhamer
SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen, SD
With the cool, wet spring conditions so far, consider using 8.5 oz/acre of Temitry LFR or Manticor LFR in-furrow as an extra insurance policy. These are both great combination products comprised of both Capture LFR and Headline in one premix. — Justin Hanson
Spring is nearly upon us and that means pre-emerge herbicides are getting applied. Make sure to follow label instructions on adjuvants for products like Sharpen and Aim. Both these products require an MSO to have a successful burndown on emerged weeds, whereas other products may only require NIS or crop oil. — Kalen Kjellsen
When planting into cold soils, in-furrow products like Capture LFR + VGR and Xanthion have shown great ROI. However, if you are planting into warmer soils, these products might not pay as much. — Tanner Johnson
Baltic, SD
May 2nd – The days of killing flowers and gardens are officially over. There is a new formulation of 2,4-D that is available out on the market today called Freelexx. Freelexx is a 2,4-D Choline that offers low drift, low volatility, and low odor. This gives you the ability to spray right up to the edge of flower beds and gardens. As always, make sure you are not spraying on a windy day and please use a little caution around the garden and flowers. — Tyler Koenig
With the cool conditions this spring, pasture growth has been suppressed. RyzUp SmartGrass is a plant growth stimulator that will increase plant and root development and extend forage production during this cool weather. Typical use rate is 0.5 oz/acre. RyzUp will help your pastures get off to a faster start and stimulate rapid growth. — Lee Fischer
We are going to have a wide spread in planting dates this season. One of the advantages we have with the pre-plant products we have in corn is that most have a label that allows over the top spray. Consult labels but don’t stop putting on the residual products once the corn is up. — Rob Fritz
If you had corn planted before the cold, wet weather we had, make sure to scout and dig up seedlings to evaluate the condition of your crop. If your sprout is twisted or not headed straight up to the soil surface that may mean your emergence will be uneven. — Wes Jepsen
Yesterday’s snow event has definitely cooled the soil back down. When it dries off, it would be wise to check soil temperatures before hitting the field again with the planter. — Mike Drey
Centerville, SD
Fields in the area are starting to green up with dandelions, marestail, and pennycress. To clean these fields up I recommend a good burndown to prevent problem weeds in-season. Products like Gramoxone and Aim provide a good burndown with no planting restrictions. If you are using Xtend soybeans, you can use the new Xtendimax herbicide or the new Engenia herbicide ahead of these soybeans with no planting restrictions. — Travis Petty
With cold temperatures and wet conditions, pasture grasses may be a little lagging or paused in growth. A product like RyzUp SmartGrass can help in certain periods of climate, especially when average daily temperatures are between 40 to 65 degrees. A plus is that it can be tank mixed with liquid fertilizers. Also, be thinking of scouting your summer pastures before the livestock are turned out for any toxic weeds or weeds that escaped your herbicide applications. — Peter Strom
Freeman, SD
With the cool, wet and snowy weather, everyone is at a standstill. Make sure you’re checking planters and sprayers. Any quick little fix or adjustment including monitors, plugged nozzles, bearings, hydraulic leaks, bad wiring, leaky hoses, etc. may save you lots of headaches when it’s go time! — Matt Zilverberg
A lot of guys are asking about burndown options. Gramoxone at 1-2 pts/acre with MSO at 1 gal/100 is very effective. Make sure it is warm and sunny when applying and use 15-20 gallons of water and spray nozzles that deliver a medium sized droplet for good coverage. This can be used ahead of corn or soybeans as long as the crop isn’t emerging. — Lee Dockendorf
Gettysburg, SD
If you are worried about pheasants eating your corn seed in high pressure areas, apply Avipel Shield to the seed before you plant. — Kyle Hawkinson
Huron, SD
With the cooler weather, the weeds don’t take in the chemical as well so you may need to increase rates (follow label instructions) until temperatures warm back up. — Norland Hofer
It is time to be checking your wheat fields for tan spot and other diseases. Tan spot can be very prevalent in cooler weather, especially in winter wheat. A half rate of fungicide added to your herbicide program is an economical way to control tan spot and many other weeds. — Garritt Dykstra
RyzUp SmartGrass applications on cool season grasses can really give them a great start! The window for application is quickly closing in the central part of South Dakota, so if using it shortly, a 0.5 oz/acre will make those grasses jump! — Alan Williams
With the colder temperatures early this week, it would be a good idea to hold off on burndown until later in the week when overnight temperatures are closer to 50 degrees, otherwise, you may not get the kill you are aiming for. — Kyle Wiese
Kimball, SD
Cheat grass is growing in several wheat fields in our area. Rimfire Max and PowerFlex do a good job suppressing cheat. If you have broadleaves growing as well, try PerfectMatch. It is a combination of PowerFlex and WideMatch. — Mike Erickson
New Underwood, SD
With nighttime temperatures still dipping in the 30s at night we have to be cognizant of what we spray. Even Roundup likes nighttime temperatures in the 40s to work efficiently. — Tyler Price
Watertown, SD
If you want to use a pre-emerge herbicide down on alfalfa before planting, take a look at Eptam at a rate of 2.25 – 4 pts/acre. — Jack Beutler
Looking to increase your ROI on corn? Consider using QuickRoots. QuickRoots is a microbial seed treatment that allows the plant to explore a greater amount of soil, which increases plant uptake of nutrients and water – turning into more yields. — Russ Werning
There has been a big weed flush in our area. With planting right around the corner you might have to look at using a burndown product like Aim EC or another no residual product. This will benefit you in better weed control and ultimately more yield. — Beau Wensing
WASHINGTON
Quincy, WA
Rust, rust rust. Spraying a straight propiconazole product can be enhanced with a strobilurin, giving your wheat longer protection against rust. —
Dave Dye
