Wheat | Agronomy

Crop Progress & Crop Condition Index

Donald Guthmiller – 5/17/2012

The Crop Condition Index (CCI), is calculated to track the condition of a specific crop from week to week during the growing season. It is based on the crop condition ratings reported each week in USDA’s Crop Progress Report. South Dakota’s office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) surveys Extension Educators and others each week to determine crop progress and crop condition during the growing season. Information from this weekly survey is released each Monday afternoon.

Dry Winters May Lead to Late Spring Frost

Laura Edwards – 4/10/2012

The warm spring season this year has us all looking forward to planting our fields and home gardens. Winter wheat has greened up, and flowers are making their appearance three weeks early or more. Even though we are looking forward to getting our seeds in the ground, it’s still not too late for a spring frost to affect our plants.

Late Interest in Wheat

Matthew Diersen – 4/10/2012

The Prospective Plantings report shows South Dakota growers again intend to plant fewer acres to wheat. The intended 2.45 million acres in 2012 is well below the intended and actual acres in 2011. Winter wheat seedings were announced back in January as down 3% from 2011. The surprise is spring wheat, where the intended 1.1 million acres would be the lowest on record. The ability to get into fields and a recent price rally has producers discussing a few more spring wheat acres.

Is My Nitrogen Still There?

Ronald Gelderman – 4/09/2012

Some no-till growers may have surface applied urea or liquid 28% (1/2 urea) nitrogen fertilizers late last fall after soil temperatures had cooled. Normally we think of N fertilizers as being fairly safe from losses once soil temperatures are below 50 degrees F. Although the conversion of urea into ammonium is slowed with cooler temperatures, it doesn’t stop the process.

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2012 Wheat Growing Degree Days Compared to Normal

Bob Fanning – 4/23/2012

As the unusually warm winter of 2011-12 transitioned to a warm spring, a common topic of conversation has been that the winter wheat is getting too big too fast. The threat of a late spring frost, when wheat is in an advanced growth stage and impacts to yields are greater is still possible.

Wheat Sensitivity and N-herbicide Applications

Mark Rosenberg – 4/23/2012

A common strategy in production management is to reduce the number of trips across the field during the growing season. This is one way to reduce costs and hopefully maximize efficiencies of fuel and time. This may mean combining herbicides and fertilizers to feed the crop and manage weed pressure.

Dry Winters May Lead to Late Spring Freeze

Laura Edwards – 4/10/2012

The warm spring season this year has us all looking forward to planting our fields and home gardens. Winter wheat has greened up, and flowers are making their appearance three weeks early or more. Even though we are looking forward to getting our seeds in the ground, it’s still not too late for a spring freeze to affect our plants.

Spring Weed Control in Wheat

Mark Rosenberg – 4/03/2012

Herbicides should be applied soon to minimize the impact of winter annual weeds on wheat growth and development. A select number of weeds are a problem in wheat including field pennycress, dandelion, marestail, and downy brome or “cheatgrass”. Canada thistle and ragweed will also soon begin to emerge.

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Tornado Safety, At Home and Away

Laura Edwards – 4/26/2012

The early onset of spring this year set off a round of tornadoes in the Upper Midwest, causing significant damage and injuries in Illinois, Michigan, and the surrounding areas. More recently, a weekend of severe weather brought tornadoes that went through Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and other neighboring states.

Lightning Safety In an Open Field

Laura Edwards – 4/24/2012

Although it sounds cliché, lightning can strike during any season of the year. It can be a significant hazard, both out in the open and near your home or office. The highest danger is when you are exposed with very little protection, as when you are out in the field.

Managing Stored Grain This Spring

Mark Rosenberg – 4/04/2012

Unseasonal warm weather this spring has many producers potentially planting much earlier than normal. However, do not forget that stored grain as you head to the fields this spring! Even with the ideal harvest conditions stored grain needs to be checked for spoilage, molds, and insects.
Grain moisture content must decrease as the grain temperature increases to store that grain for an extended period of time.

South Dakota Wheat Inc. Goes to Commodity Classic

Rick Vallery – 4/02/2012

South Dakota Wheat Inc. Board members attended the National Association of Wheat Growers annual meeting at the Commodity Classic in February, in Nashville, Tennessee. While at the conference, South Dakota delegates attended committee meetings where discussions on the Farm Bill, conservation, research, transportation, and international trade took place.

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Scout for Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus

Connie Strunk – 4/23/2012

With this exceptionally warm spring we have had, the winter wheat is progressing faster than normal. Most spring wheat planting finished up before April this year. As you are out scouting your wheat fields you might find your crop infected with a viral disease known as Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV). WSMV symptoms are often found first along the edge of a field or in patches near wheat volunteers.

Scouting Wheat Fields

Ruth Beck – 4/16/2012

Scouting is the process of monitoring fields and crops during a growing season. It can provide producers with field specific information on pest pressure and crop injury. Scouting has become more valuable in recent years because input costs and crop prices have risen significantly, justifying the time and expense associated with scouting. Information obtained from scouting is essential to the appropriate selection and application of pest management procedures and can also be used to help with management decisions for succeeding crops.

Burn-downs Critical for Foxtail Barley Control

Michael Moechnig – 4/03/2012

Wet conditions over the past couple years have resulted in greater populations of foxtail barley, a very difficult weed to control in no-till wheat. Although foxtail barley flourishes in wet, alkaline soils, it can also spread over an entire field.

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Wheat Sensitivity and N-herbicide Applications

Mark Rosenberg – 4/23/2012

A common strategy in production management is to reduce the number of trips across the field during the growing season. This is one way to reduce costs and hopefully maximize efficiencies of fuel and time. This may mean combining herbicides and fertilizers to feed the crop and manage weed pressure.

Is My Nitrogen Still There?

Ronald Gelderman – 4/09/2012

Some no-till growers may have surface applied urea or liquid 28% (1/2 urea) nitrogen fertilizers late last fall after soil temperatures had cooled. Normally we think of N fertilizers as being fairly safe from losses once soil temperatures are below 50 degrees F. Although the conversion of urea into ammonium is slowed with cooler temperatures, it doesn’t stop the process.

Residual Soil Nitrate

Kurtis Reitsma – 3/26/2012

Soil sampling and application of nitrogen fertilizer according to soil test results is the best path to take in developing a soil fertility strategy. Sampling for residual nitrate-N (0-6 and 6-24 inch depths) is usually done in the fall after the crop is harvested and before tillage is complete.

Managing Those Field Salt Spots

Ronald Gelderman – 3/23/2012

After some very wet years with high water tables, dry conditions have returned and left what looks like “dirty snow” in some of these lower areas of the landscape. Where water had set and evaporated, the salt was left behind. In other cases, a high water table brought salts close to the surface where they were deposited through evaporation.

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