Supply Problems? No Problem.

The last few days Brian and I have fielded many questions about seed supply.  The rumour throughout the neighbourhood is corn seed is in short supply and you better talk to your dealer because he doesn't have what you ordered.
We always appreciate talking to customers, but I want to set the record straight.  The Barker warehouse is full and we have your order covered. 

We also have additional supplies of very good hybrids. 
38M58             2850 HU
38M59             2850 HU
P9675XR         2850 HU
P9855HR         2900 HU
P9910XR         2950 HU
P0118HR         3000 HU

We have started shipping seed out to customers and will continue doing the same this week.  
Let me be clear.  Our corn seed sales are 20% higher than last year and we still have supply.  If our friendly competitors are having problems, too bad for them.  Just call us and we will be happy to take care of their problem.

To N or Not To N, That is the Question

This past week Pat Lynch was gently admonishing me in an e-mail about nitrogen application on wheat.  Pat felt it was time to get on the bandwagon and get it done.  I was not as positive about the idea so Pat asked me what I was waiting for.  In his words "a sign from heaven"? 

There are more wheat fields that look rough in our neighbourhood than I initially thought.  These types of fields should get 40-50 lbs and field conditions are perfect to get this job done.  We also have time to do it.

I am not convinced that applying all our nitrogen in late March is wise.  The wheat plant will not use it and there is too much risk of  nutrient loss.  Both Michigan State and Ohio State extension services agree that N application should not happen yet.  Ohio State has data supporting delaying nitrogen application until stem elongation phase of plant development.  This is equal to growth stage zadoks 25-30 or feekes 6. 

Nitrogen applied at the beginning of stem elongation resulted in the same or higher yields as applying all the nitrogen at first green up.  The link to this article is posted below.

http://corn.osu.edu/c.o.r.n.-newsletter#6

To be fair to Pat, his main concern is a lack of time if we wait this long.  It can interfere with corn planting.  Corn planting needs to take priority over applying N to wheat.  No argument there.

Dave Phillips vs Cathy's Crocus

Early this past week a friend told me about Dave Phillips being on Canada AM that morning.  Dave Phillips was expressing his opinion that winter may not be over yet in Ontario.  In fact, Dave has been making the rounds with other media outlets this week saying the same thing.  I have respect Dave, the senior climatologist with Environment Canada.  I have heard him speak.  He can be quite funny and has a healthy sense of humour with regard to his track record of failed forecasts.  Dave is smart and uses past history as his guide to the future.  Historically, there has never been a year without snowfall after March 11.  Does this fact help us farmers make decisions?  Not really.  We have all seen snow in April, sometimes May and frost in June.  Do these facts keep us from planting corn in April?  You be the judge.

Nature doesn't listen to Dave Phillips or any other media reports on TV and radio.  Spring is busting out all over the place.  Cathy's crocus in the middle of our yard are telling us spring is here and mostly here to stay.  The same crocus did not flower last year until May.  An expensive spice is derived from crocus flowers.  Do you know what it is?  See answer below.

The ground is warm and coming into shape quickly.  The best seed bed conditions are usually found during the first good dry spell.    It is definitely time to plant alfalfa and spring cereals.  If snow does arrive, it will melt and disappear in a blink of the eye.

The wheat crop has broken dormancy.  Should we apply some nitrogen to take advantage of the early growth?  It is very tempting.  The crop has come to life, so it will soon need a boost.  Right? Research has proven that if your stand is weak and thin, 30 lbs of N early will give it a boost.  Most of the wheat in this area looks very good, so an early trip would be a waste of money.  No need to be in a hurry.  Wheat responds to temperature, it will start to grow anytime the temperature is above zero.  Wheat is also daylight sensitive.  This means an early start will not advance the crop as fast as we think.  Wheat does not need nitrogen in March and there is a risk to losing early applied N if it starts raining.

The Weather Network is calling for normal temperature and precipitation going forward.  That might mean a little snow, a little rain, a little sun.  In other words, a typical April.  Sounds like they agree with Dave.  My money is on the crocus.

 

** Answer to crocus question.  The spice is saffron.  Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world because it is made from the stigmas in the crocus flower head.  These must be hand picked.  Before you rush out and pick the stigmas from Cathy's crocus you need to know that saffrom can only be made from the saffron crocus.  The saffron crocus flowers in the fall, not the spring. 

KISS by Greg Stewart

I have posted two links to presentations by Greg Stewart, OMAFRA's corn lead.  I like Greg's approach because he keeps it simple and easy to understand.  Both are 15 minutes long and well worth the time.

http://fieldcropnews.com/2012/02/starter-fertilizer-considerations-in-corn/

http://fieldcropnews.com/2012/02/nitrogen-management-in-corn-lessons-learned-from-2011/

The bottom line messages are
1.keep some potash in your starter fertilizers
2.use the N calculator as a tool to calculate nitrogen rates

I personally have used both and believe strongly that Greg is right.

Thank you Greg. 

Bugs and Coaches

It is the winter doldrums time of year.  Agronomists are forced to make predictions about the upcoming season because the farmer and the agronomist are bored and they often have not much else to talk about, except for Ron Wilson.  I think farmers enjoy the game.  They get to talk amongst themselves about the stupid agronomist.  I have little use for predictions, mostly because I rarely get them right. 

Recently some clients have been asking about insect levels going into the spring and summer.  The warm winter has been friendly to overwintering insects, so the natural question is "has this been beneficial to crop pests?"   Ok, I will bite.

Corn Rootworm

Based on the very low numbers of adult rootworm last summer, I believe rootworm larvae have no chance of being a serious threat this year.  Many hybrids have rootworm resistance technology.

Corn Borer

The winter would be friendly to this one if there were enough larvae around.  Populations are low.  Bio-tech hybrids have reduced the impact of this one.

Western Bean Cutworm

Overwintering has been confirmed in tougher winters.  Moth flights coming over the border will guarantee populations to increase.  We have noticed this increase in our traps for two years.  Bio-tech will help, but if you are unlucky enough to have a western bean frosh party in your field, you may have to spray.  Scouting is important.

Black Cutworm

The black cutworm moth catches the red eye flight from the US and arrives in May.  It is the beaver of the insect world because the larvae cut off young healthy corn plants at the base of the stalk. Adults look for grassy or weedy areas of the field to lay eggs.  Traditionally, farmers along the north shore of Lake Erie have seen this one before.  Some species prefer sandy soils.  Not surprised if we see it further north, but won't be bad enough to warrant replant.

Bean Leaf Beetle

This one does appreciate the tropical winter.  The adults hang out under trash and litter in protected areas.  Cruiser treated soybeans give provide protection against the first generation.  Second generation adults will feed on the pods, transmitting bean pod mottle virus, which can affect IP premiums and seed quality. 

Soybean Aphid

Unpredictable does not begin to descibe soybean aphids.  They overwinter on buckthorn and can explode at any time during the summer.  Cruiser seed treatment really helps for the first 60 days after planting.  July and early August are open season.  Predators and disease cause aphid populations to crash and burn almost as fast as they build.  Aphids do more to keep crop scouts employed than any other bug.

One thing to keep in mind is, while the winter helps some pests to suvive and prosper, it also helps diseases and predators.  It is a dynamic relationship.  Using insecticide only when necessary keeps the relationship in balance.

Now, about Randy Carlyle....

Unconscious Incompetence

Unconscious incompetence was a term I was introduced to last week at a sales training course.  It has taken a while, but over time I have come to appreciate training.  Training, or practice, as sports types know it, is not easy.  It is not meant to be easy.  It is meant to make you uncomfortable and I have learned to embrace being uncomfortable.  At least being uncomfortable in practice, or training, because that is when I learn the most and the mistakes I make do not count.
Farmers are quick to embrace production type training because it is easy.  I suggest they should embrace training in other areas, like business or human resources or presentation skills.  Some of you have done this and it shows.  I would humbly suggest a sales skills course as well.  I don't mean a skills course that teaches you how to sell refrigerators to Eskimos, but a skills course that deals with the physchology of selling, because we all have to sell something.  If you disagree, you may be unconsciously incompetent.

If you haven't guessed already, unconscious incompetence means that you really stink at something, but you have no idea how badly you stink.  If you want to find out what you are unconsciously stupid at, ask your spouse.  Prepare to feel uncomfortable.
Raising the bar one notch puts you in the category of being consciously incompetent.  At this level you at least understand what you stink at and can take action to correct it.  The next step in the improvement process is to become consciously competent.  You have now become competent, but you have to concentrate to complete the job well.  The ultimate goal is to become unconsciously competent.  You no longer have to think about the task at hand, you just do it and do it very well.

I saw a clear example of this process when I attended a Detroit Red Wing vs Vancouver Canuck hockey game last Thursday night.  The two best teams in the NHL put on a great show.  Vancouver won in a shoot out.  The thing that impressed me most was, even at times during the game when ordinary hockey players would be in full panic mode, these players never showed a hint of panic.  They were fully unconsciously competent at playing hockey for the best teams in the world's best hockey league.

It involves much more than skill alone.  They achieve this level because they practice more than they play.  They also practice hard, the same way that they play.  They understand the value of practice and work hard to stay good at what they do best, while improving specific weaknesses. 
Practice or training, to use a sales term, is something we could all embrace more.  I only wish I had embraced it more when I was younger.

The Problem With Wheat

The wheat crop never gets a break.  If the weather doesn't kill it, the farmers' minds will make sure the weather kills it.
Farmers all have a self defense mechanism which re-inforces the instinct to not count the bushels until they are in the bin.  With the wheat crop this mechanism goes into overdrive.  When you plant a crop in October and harvest it in August there is too much time to worry about what can go wrong.
Every winter I get asked many times about the impact of the weather on the crop.  There can be too much snow, not enough snow, too cold, too warm, too wet or too dry.  Every time, every year I give the same answer.  RELAX, the wheat will be fine. It doesn't matter because the wheat plant does not watch the weather forecast like we do.  The wheat plant does not care.  The only exception to this rule is severe icing, which strangles the plant, and that is a rare event in these parts.
This year the concern is the lack of snow and temperature fluctuations.  A typical question is "Isn't this weather hard on the wheat?"
The answer is absolutely not.  The wheat plant goes dormant in December and stays that way until March.  Winter wheat can stand temperatures from -9 to -25 degrees at the crown of the plant and still survive easily.  The crown is the home of the growing point.
Where is the crown?  If you plant at 1.5 inches deep, the crown will be 1 inch deep.  I know there have been a few frosty mornings, but there is no way the soil temperature came close to -9 at the 1 inch depth.
It takes a week of -10 to -15 degrees to drive soil temps to the dangerous level if there is no snow.  If there is snow it will never get that cold at the crown. 
"But won't the freezing and thawing pull the plant out of the ground?"  No.  The amount of freeze thaw action has been very minor.  A wheat plant anchored in the ground is not susceptible to heaving injury. 
So the next time you start to worry about the wheat crop, remember one thing.  The wheat crop is not worrying about you.