The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Carrington REC received 11.9 inches of precipitation between April 1 and June 20. That is 6 inches above normal.
McHenry received even more rain, 14.9 inches, during the same period. That amount is the highest among 155 reporting stations across the state.
The wet weather delayed planting. As a result, our corn and soybeans are slightly behind normal in development for this time of year.
In mid-June, most corn was just several inches tall. It was still difficult to see plant rows in many soybean fields.
We’ll need more rain in coming weeks; but with the presence of abundant moisture, temperature is the key factor affecting crop growth and development.
The average maximum temperature at this time of year is 79 degrees, and the minimum is 56 degrees.
However, this year, we’ve already reached the 90-degree mark on two days.
Wheat and barley are cool season crops. The ideal temperature for wheat development is 75 degrees. Barley prefers slightly cooler conditions.
Cool season crops actually lose energy when temperatures get too hot, above 85 degrees or so.
When temperatures are warm, the development of cool season crops speeds up, and they have less time to grow.
That’s why a decline in yield is expected when wheat and barley are planted late.
A lot hinges on weather conditions at the grain filling stage. A significant stretch of cool nights during that critical period can have great yield benefit.
In contrast to small grains, corn and soybean like warm weather. These crops do best when temperatures are around 85 degrees.
Cool temperatures slow the development of corn and soybeans, putting them at risk if there is an early frost in autumn.
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NDSU Extension soil specialist Dave Franzen has observed that soil nitrate concentrations in some fields are currently much lower than when testing was done last fall.
This creates the possibility of nitrogen deficiency, which is something farmers want to avoid with crop prices as high as they are.
Franzen says that producers may want to consider a pre-sidedress nitrate test of the 0 to 12-inch depth of their fields.
He emphasizes that to ensure accuracy, multiple cores must be collected per cropping zone.
The soil samples should be express-shipped in a cooler to the soil testing lab because nitrates values will increase if the samples become warm.
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I’m working with other Extension agents and specialists to host a new program for 13- to-18-year-olds who are interested in the beef industry.
The day-long “Junior Beef Producers Workshop” will be held at the Carrington REC on Aug. 9.
Hands-on sessions will give young cattle enthusiasts opportunities to learn about reproduction (artificial insemination), herd evaluation, nutrition and manure management.
During a “lunch and learn” session, participants will hear from professionals who are working in various fields related to beef production.
NDSU animal scientist Rob Maddock will lead a tour of one of Carrington’s meat processing facilities in the afternoon.
Pre-registration for the workshop is required by July 29.
For more information, please contact me (652-2581, [email protected]) in the Extension Office.
