The enrollment deadline for the optional Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program is fast approaching. The Pennyroyal Farm Analysis Group and the University of Kentucky have released a newsletter updating producers on how the optional ACRE program works and the 09 wheat situation relationship with ACRE. You can view the newsletter at: http://www.ca.uky.edu/agecon/index.php?p=110 and clicking

Yellow Soybeans and Soil Compaction

Image 1: Yellow soybeans in this field are the result of sidewall compaction.The spring rush of planting is catching up to the soybean crop in some fields. Surface compaction and sidewall compaction was most likely caused by planting when fields were a little too wet. The compacted soil has restricted root growth on soybeans. Until now, there has been enough water to keep most nutrients within

Soybean Aphid: Numbers are on the rise in Central Kentucky… At least a little!

Over the previous week we have seen an increase in the number of locations reporting the presence of soybean aphid (SA), and in one case a substantial increase in the number of reported aphids per plant. Neither of these finds is unexpected, nor do they indicate an immediate problem but they do illustrate that pest numbers are increasing slowly.This is typical for SA in Kentucky. Experience has

Worrying about Small Soybeans

Some farmers are concerned that the smaller growth of soybeans could result in reduced yields. Some are questioning the use of foliar fertilizers and/or fungicides to help make up the difference. Soybeans were planted late across most of the state. According to the latest Crop and Weather Report from NASS, soybean flowering is at 35%, behind the five-year average of 47%. Most farmers' "internal

New Wheat Publications

The Small Grains Variety Trials for 2009 is available at: http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/pr/pr586/pr586.pdfThe Wheat Guide (ID-125) has been completely updated with new content, photos and format and is available at: http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id125/id125.htm The Kentucky Small Grain Growers sponsored the updated version and is partly funding the printing of copies.Printed copies of both

Current Status of Soybean Rust

The current soybean rust distribution in the US has changed very little in the last month. Currently, the disease is found in a very small number of soybean sentinel plots in Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama. It is also found on kudzu in those states plus Georgia and Texas. The main difference between the present SBR distribution compared to the same date a year ago is the presence of SBR in

First Soybean Aphid for 2009 Collected

The first soybean aphid (presumed) for the 2009 season in Kentucky has been collected. A singe juvenile aphid was found on a leaflet from our “100 leaf” sample from the Henderson Co. sentinel site. Not much of a find perhaps, but it does let us know that the Soybean aphid is in Kentucky. The aphid is presumed to be a soybean aphid because only a single very young juvenile was collected and these

How ACRE will Calculate the Average State Yield Per Planted Acre.

I had a question on how the ACRE program will calculate the average yield per planted acre for Kentucky. The ACRE program will use yields provided by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). However, the calculation for yield per planted acre used by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will be a little different than how NASS defines yield per planted acre. The FSA defined yield per