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Harvest season is near!

As we enter this busy time of the year, take time to work safely and enjoy the blessings that we are fortunate to have in our lives.

Achievement!

We are very proud to announce that Marinda has passed her exams and is now a Certified Crop Advisor (CCA)...This is fantastic and huge congratulations goes out to Marinda on this achievement!

Grain Markets

At the time of writing, the Sept 12 USDA crop report came out with fairly neutral/slightly negative tone for corn, soys and wheat… and yet the markets had nice run up that day -- seems like the spec funds have had their way the past 2 months driving prices down and maybe now are happy with the profits they made?!? The USDA still won’t adjust the corn acres for another month or so and almost everyone believes that US corn acres will be reported as lower than the last report at 90 million acres.  Private forecasts are more in that 84-88 million range. So if you are a buyer of corn, beware that the risk of new crop corn running up could be a risk .. try and protect yourself on a portion of your needs. If you are a seller of corn, hopefully your crop gets mature as prices have a good chance of moving higher. Old crop corn is tight in Ontario and surrounding US states so basis levels should remain strong. Be prepared to sell some of your crop on rallies this fall. The crop isn’t in the bin yet but looking back to the late planting season, we should be happy with where crops are in maturity and yield potential! US/China situation is still a roller coaster so who knows when that will settle.   Know where your cost of production is and make some sales when profits are on the table! 

Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN)

SCN symptoms are starting to show up in soybeans. SCN are nematodes that infect the root system of soybeans, robbing the plant of nutrients. Symptoms may not be visible even though yield losses may be occurring; yield losses in the US are estimated to be up to $1 billion/year. If yellow, stunted plants are showing up in your soybean fields, dig up soybean plants to see if there are cysts on the roots. A soil test should be taken to determine the presence and concentration of cysts in the soil. Crop rotation, resistant variety selection, and the Ilevo seed treatment are all management strategies to use if the pressure of SCN is high. We can help with this process!

Green Arrow: Soybean Nodule needed for N production. 

Red Arrow: Cysts from female Nematodes taking in nutrients from the soybean plant.

Top Wheat Planting Tips

1.  Planting Date and Seeding Rate: 

Cereal crops are very responsive for planting date. The optimal planting dates for the majority of Wellington County and the North end of Waterloo County is around September 16-25th. Planting wheat too early can increase the risk of lodging and snow moulds. Starting seeding rates should be around 1.4 million seeds/acre. Planting wheat late will reduce fall tillering, so start increasing seeding rates early October up to about 1.8 million by mid-Oct is a good guideline.

2. Starter, Starter, Starter! – Starter fertilizer placed with the seed is very effective with winter wheat. On average, we can pick up 8-10 bu/ac with dry starter fertilizer over no starter. Next best is liquid starter which is about 4 bu/ac advantage over no starter.

3. Seeding Depth – Soil moisture is key. Make sure to plant into moisture and at a planting depth of 1- 1 ½ inches. Deeper planting could cause a delay in emergence, shallow planting discourages the development of the secondary root system; secondary roots help with overwintering and helps reduce heaving in the spring. 

4. Fall Weed Control – Consider controlling perennials and winter annuals this fall… you get much better control of these tough weeds when spraying them in the fall.

Assessing Risk for Late Planted Corn

Late corn planting has resulted in later tasseling across hybrids. This year, much of the corn in Waterloo and Wellington county tasseled from the last week of July to the second week of August. Luckily we didn’t have widespread issues with western bean cutworm, something we were concerned about with the late tassel, but the issue now is the risk of an early frost.

Generally, from the time corn silks we need 60 days for the kernels to reach physiological maturity (30-35% moisture). Once physiological maturity is achieved, frost will have little or no effect on the yield potential and quality of the grain. 

The following chart from Pioneer shows the yield impact from a frost depending on the development stage of the corn. 

Note that a light frost is when night temperatures reach 0°C. A killing frost for corn is -2°C.

This map of South-Western Ontario shows the Climate Zone Map of Ontario based on the average frost free dates. 

Zone E: Average date of first fall frost is September 26th.

Zone D: Average date of first fall frost is October 1st. 

These dates refer to temperatures reaching 0°C. An additional 2 weeks can be added for temperatures reaching -2°C. 

Rapid React Inoculant

Many livestock producers are experiencing a shortage of feed, in part from the difficult growing conditions of 2018 and part from the harsh 2019 winter resulting in more alfalfa winterkill. There is an option for producers in situations where they need to get into fresh feed as soon as possible. Rapid React Technology (Pioneer) helps to provide stable feed in 7 days while maintaining aerobic stability, and keeping a cool bunker temperature. Rapid React can also be used for emergency forages such as oats and peas, ryelage, and sorghum Sudan grass. Talk with your nutritionist about how Rapid React can fit your feed program !

Chemical Jug and Seed Bag Returns

Reminder that any empty, cleaned chemical jugs need to be returned need to be dropped off to us by the end of October!!

Obsolete pesticide collection days - Drayton FS Partners Sept 25th.