Well, after many producers were able to start getting back in their fields, rain this past Thursday resulted in another stop in a fitful fall 2018. Overall, most of the crops (soybeans, corn, and milo) handled the wet weather better than many expected. Mud holes have presented problems and some fields, especially those continuously tilled are presenting challenges with rutting and getting stuck, are still really too wet. However, good progress was made in many spots. Wheat planting is still lagging and November first is just around the corner. So what needs to be done to finish out the 2018 growing season and prepare for 2019?
• If still planning on planting wheat, producers need to consider several things. If they are following a summer crop, harvested yet or not, try to avoid any tillage and plant with a no-till drill. If there are ruts, smooth out the ruts and don’t till any more than necessary. The rule of thumb is if it’s dry enough to till, it’s dry enough to plant no-till. Be sure the drill can cut through residue which is a challenge under these conditions. Worry about applying fertilizer after planting. This isn’t ideal but wheat needs to be in the ground. Finally, it’s time to jack up the seeding rate and substantially. At least fifty percent over the normal rate. The trouble here may be finding seed wheat.
• If grain is staying on the farm, carefully monitor conditions in the bin. The higher humidity will make keeping grain in condition a challenge and careful monitoring is critical. It may be necessary to do more than simply applying air.
• Look at yields and look at rainfall. Mobile nutrients may have leached below the root zone and it is possible some fall applied nitrogen for wheat was lost to leaching or denitrification. For mobile pant nutrients such as nitrogen, sulfur, and chloride, it may be advisable for spring crops to perform nitrogen and sulfur soil profile tests, combine these results with realistic crop yields, and then determine fertilizer requirements. This applies to other nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium but these can be accomplished with a standard soil test. If a producer is on a regular testing schedule, unless something quite unusual has happened, there is no reason to alter the program.
• Finally, assess pest pressures for each field specifically and in general examine what happened and as much as possible why. Weeds are of special concern, especially with the continued expansion of herbicide resistant weeds. Also plan out next year’s crop with all of this in mind and taking in account prices, markets, and continuing trade difficulties with major trading partners. And once those plans are in place, it would be a good idea to lock in advantageous input and/or output prices.
Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207.
