Droughts, deluges, and high temperatures are harbingers of a changing climate. Agricultural systems must change, perhaps radically, to counter climate change and continue feeding the world. What systems will produce our food in 2050?
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October 31st marks the end of the harvest price discovery period for revenue protection crop insurance policies. The harvest price is used to calculate crop insurance indemnity payments and is the average December corn and November soybeans futures settlement prices during October.
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Conventional storage bins and silos will be filled soon, and alternative structures will likely be needed to handle the extra bushels as harvest continues and producers wait for improved prices in early 2024.
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Fall, especially when dry, is the best time to break up these soils so that compaction does not persist into the next season.
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Crop management has two basic objectives: to increase yield or to improve efficiency (produce the same yield with fewer inputs or a higher yield with the same inputs). In recent years, a third objective has gained importance – the need to reduce the impact of crop production practices on the environment.
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Fall harvest has begun, and this is a good time to look ahead and plan for better soil health. Soil health has several important aspects, but first and foremost is soil erosion prevention. Soil loss equals topsoil loss, and topsoil is where the largest portion of soil and plant biology occurs.
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We have a new highest overall yield reported in the contest at 143.42 bushels per acre. This 2023 No-Till State Champion wheat entry from Jason Crisp in McLean County followed soybeans. Camron, Clay and Mark Wells in Union County reported the second highest overall yield ever at 139.64 bushels per acre with the 2023 Tillage State Champion.
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Higher yields are attributed to genetic improvement, better management practices, and, possibly, changes in the environment, although the contribution of each is hotly debated. There has been, however, less discussion of how the plant changed to produce more seeds per unit area.
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Soil sampling time may be in short supply when crop harvest is to be followed by the establishment of a succeeding crop. Soil test results are not always timely, further delaying prescription map development. Due to the expense, grid, or zone, sampling is often done only every 2 to 4 years, which raises the question of how much fertilizer is to be applied in other years.
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Smoke from forest fires in Canada recently produced hazy conditions in parts of the Midwest, the East, and the Mid-South. Smoke and haze reduce the solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface. Will this reduction reduce crop yields?
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Southern rust of corn, caused by the fungus Puccinia polysora, was confirmed in Kentucky on August 8, in Todd County. As of August 8, we have only confirmed the disease in Todd County, but with our current weather conducive for disease development, it will not be surprising to see additional confirmations across the state.
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Either corn or soybean fully submerged more than 24 hours in these temperatures likely died. Plants in fields flooded for about 48 hours or more - even with plants exposed - likely will die. Generally, the area of plant death is larger than we initially estimate. If the water was over the ears for about 24 hours, then the ears are lost. They very likely have started to rot by now.
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The dry weather across the state is putting stress on the corn crop. The lack of water to corn before the V12 growth stage usually results in minimal yield losses if adequate water occurs at V12 and beyond. Most of the corn in Kentucky ranges from just planted to about V9 as of June 5, 2023.
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Read the latest research report on managing Fusarium head blight (head scab) in wheat from the University of Kentucky. This research was conducted by Nathaniel White, Timothy Stombaugh, and Carl Bradley with funding from the Kentucky Small Grain Promotion Council. It was published in the Plant Health Progress research journal.
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Kentucky is known nationally for consistently growing a wheat/double-crop soybean rotation. This rotation has been a part of Kentucky agriculture for many years because of all its benefits.
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Freezing temperatures were recorded across Kentucky Monday morning, April 24, 2023. The coldest temperatures were mostly in central and eastern Kentucky, but freezing temperatures were as far west as Trigg and Webster counties.
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During the last couple of years, slugs and snails have become serious pests of soybeans in many areas of the North Central U.S., including Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. These mollusks feed on germinating seeds until the V0 to V4 growth stages of soybean plants.
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Corn planting is underway in western Kentucky, and the number of acres should increase rapidly this week. In most years, the weather, forecast, and soil conditions are more important than the calendar for planting corn.
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