June 30 NASS-USDA Acreage and Grain Stocks Reports

Today, June 30, 2009, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its annual Acreage and Grain Stocks reports. These reports provide useful information about planted acreage and amounts of grain in inventory. The acreage report indicates planted corn acreage is up one percent from 2008 to an estimated 87 million acres. Besides 2007 this is

Update on Soybean Aphid

Soybean aphid has been showing up in the upper mid-west for several weeks. This pest can be a big problem in soybean production, but has not historically been so in Kentucky. We hope, and in the short run expect, that this will remain the same, at least for 2009. It is however, important to remember that this pest can and does infest Kentucky grown soybeans. If its' biology and/or short term

Nutrient Deficiencies

Last week, I posted an image of a corn plant and said that it was possibly deficient in Mn. Dr. John Grove quickly met me with some corn plants with similar symptoms: yellow or chlorosis between the veins and green along the veins. Image of those plants are below. 0 lbs of N/acre 67 lbs of N/acre applied preplant 133 lbs of N/acre applied preplant 200 lbs of N/acre applied preplant Corn plants

Corn, Late Planting and Management

Photo: Possible Mn defiency in corn, which is most likely due to weather and not lack of Mn in the soil. Believe it or not, corn has emerged on 96% of the acres in Kentucky which is right in line with the five-year average, according to the Kentucky Crop and Weather Report. While emergence is on track, planting was not, and management decisions need to be adjusted. Preplant nitrogen fertilizer

Wheat and Barley Yield Contests

Harvest forms and rules for the Wheat and Barley yield contests are available at:http://www.uky.edu/Ag/GrainCrops/YieldContest/YieldContests.htmThe barley contest is new this year and is being administered by the University of Kentucky, but is fully sponsored through Osage BioEnergy, a company interested in turning barley into fuel ethanol.The wheat yield contest is administered by the University

Planting Soybeans Late and Target Populations

The USDA Crop Progress and Condition Report for June 7, 2009 indicates that soybeans planting is 48% completed, well below the 5-year average of 71%. About 32% of the soybean plants had emerged.Normally, for full season soybeans, we suggest that a final stand of 100,000 plants per acre is sufficient for maximum yield. However, we are getting later into the season. For full season soybeans planted

Head Scab Newsletter

The Wheat Science IPM Group Newsletter was released on June 4, 2009 with the latest information for mangaing wheat with Fusarium head blight (or head scab) this season.The newsletter is available as a pdf at: https://www.ca.uky.edu/ukrec/newsltrs/News09-FHB.pdf

First Find of Soybean Rust on Soybean for 2009

Hello Everyone,A recent report from Dr. Clayton Hollier with Louisiana State University (LSU) documented the first find of soybean rust (SBR) on soybean in Louisiana and the U.S. for 2009. The find was in a soybean sentinel plot at the R4 (mid-pod) stage. That is a fairly early stage for a first find of SBR and it is cause for some concern (but NOT alarm). Usually, the first find of SBR in

Marketing Winter Wheat

Wheat producers may be asking themselves if they should store or deliver wheat and if they store should they forward price or not. Currently, the wheat futures contract at the Chicago Board of Trade is offering a large positive carry (the difference in price between two futures contracts) for storing wheat from now into the fall. The gross return between July and December futures is 53 cents

Storing Wheat

Proper prior planning! This is the essence. Let there be no doubt that preventing a problem in stored wheat is by far more effective and economically sound than solving a problem that could have been prevented.

Prepare bins two weeks ahead of time.

Insure your bins are in good repair. Even small holes will allow insect entry. Be sure the roof does not leak!

Do not store with carryover grain.