Heavy rains have thinned out some soybean stands and inclement weather has reduced the cotton acreage from what was intended. Calls are coming in about replanting poor soybean stands or replanting from cotton to corn or soybeans. Continue reading
Supplemental nitrogen may be needed in corn fields that are short of nitrogen because applied fertilizer has been lost from wet soils. Continue reading
With frustration levels running pretty high, some producers have quit planting corn and are looking at other options after this week. Others are watching corn prices and have the intention of continuing on at least through next week. This year has been tough going for all and continued wet weather and cool temps have delayed other crops, but I still think we have time to plant corn on our better ground. Continue reading
Some wheat fields are looking less green than we hoped for but not surprising due to the continued mini-monsoons we keep winding up with. A good bit of the wheat crop is at the flag leaf stage meaning it is too late to add additional N at this point. Continue reading
Based on the number of calls coming in, a combination of 1) applying N in early February (especially liquid N) and 2) continued wet weather has led to N deficiency symptoms showing up in some wheat fields. Variations in green color within a field can be due to application method as well as weather or soil conditions. Continue reading
Weather forecast looks like rain Thursday night/Friday that will catch a good bit of west TN and move eastward and this will put a halt to planting once again. We have made decent planting progress considering what we are working with on rainfall. Check your fields before moving equipment and try not to plant into fields that are too heavy. Continue reading
Some progress made in planting corn- finally! Producers have started planting the drier areas and most hope to be in full swing after we dry out from the rain tonight. Good news- we will have great deep soil moisture to help the corn crop in May and June. Bad news- corn prices have slipped and delays in planting mean some farmers are revisiting their planned corn acres. Continue reading
After a rough start in a year which had a severe impact on our corn crop, the soybean crop is actually looking pretty impressive. More folks are reporting above normal yields and very decent wheat bean yields. I have several soybean trials at the Milan REC which was a dust bowl in late June but started getting good rains from July onward– and we are pulling 60 and 70 bushel yields in non-irrigated fields. This is very good news for producers who are following a grim corn harvest. Statewide the soybean crop is close to 70% harvested and it looks like we will have favorable weather to finish on-time this fall.