Ask An Agronomist

Aug 11, 2022


In this week’s agronomist outline the Mayville/Portland area is starting so see a variety of different things. More bugs are beginning to show up every day along with the weed of the year, waterhemp.  Here you can read a little about what we have been doing to manage what we have seen recently.
The past one to two weeks we have been seeing more and more waterhemp appear late in soybeans and edibles which has been a major struggle.  Pre-emerge chemical is the best opportunity to slow down waterhemp and it is something that everyone should consider going forward.  Dicamba and 2,4D have had below average control of waterhemp this summer which makes it very tough to keep clean fields.  Going into the 2023 growing season I’m encouraging growers to shy away from straight Xtend beans and lean towards XtendFlex and Enlist to give us the opportunity to spray liberty later in the season when waterhemp tends to appear but that doesn’t mean to shy away from pre’s.  Zidua has been our best product on waterhemp and going forward many acres will be applied to give growers the best opportunity at clean fields late.
Bugs have been the talk of the countryside most recently.  Aphids, grasshoppers, and spider mites have been appearing more as the days go on.  We have been dealing with grasshoppers all season on and off typically where there are small grains or tall grass areas.  Earlier we were using either Vantacor or Bifenthrin to help control grasshoppers but going forward that might have to change due to there being mites and aphids appearing as well.  With aphids appearing typically along the rivers so far, we are leaning towards either spraying Transform or Sefina to help keep our beneficials in the field.  If we are dealing with multiple insects in the field, we have a couple premixes that we have been able to use like Renestra for aphids and hoppers, and Ridgeback for aphids and mites.  Each field seems to be different so talk with your consultant to see which insecticide best fits each acre.
Harvest 22 is right around the corner.  Barley and wheat acres turned fast, and we are sitting about a week away from seeing combines moving in the area.  The expectation of the crop is all over the board right now.  We started off the year fairly wet and struggled to get a crop in.  Recently we hit a dry cycle and things began burning up faster than expected.  We have been able to catch a couple ¼” rains which has helped our crop hold on.  The corn and beans are really looking good right now if we can catch a couple smaller rains, we could be looking at a very good crop.
In recap, 2022 has been a rollercoaster of a season.  To thinking we were going to be in early and ending up being late, weather disasters with wind and crusting, and now dealing with all sorts of in season bumps in the road, we have been very fortunate how most of the crop looks.  We would like to wish all growers a safe harvest and we look forward to doing business again in 2023.
-Agronomist, Brady Paul
 
 

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The Boards of Thompson Farmers Co-op Elevator and Valley United Coop will be having informational meetings along with Special stockholder meeting(s) on September 6th. It will be 6:00 PM at the Thompson Community Center and at 8:00 PM at the KC Hall in Reynolds.
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Once again, Valley United Co-op teamed up with Land O’Lakes to provide a donation to the Sand Hill Settlement Historical Society Museum in Climax, MN. Location Manager, Dan Nelson presented the check to the committee on July, 20, 2023.