Yet another cold snap moved through the area this past weekend and several had questions concerning the possibility of this event to damage our wheat crop.  I’ve pasted a copy of the NOAA observed low temperatures throughout most of Tennessee’s wheat producing areas, and as you can see from the image temperatures fell very close to dangerous levels.  Additionally, frost was reported in several areas. Continue reading →

Posted on behalf of:

S. Aaron Smith, Associate Professor and Extension Crop Marketing Specialist
Beck Bowling, Extension Specialist
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
University of Tennessee

Below is a summary of USDA NASS Estimated County Yields for Tennessee. Data is displayed for all available counties as of March 28, 2023. Additional data can be found at:
https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/

To view this article in PDF form with all attached figures, please click the image above. Continue reading →

The front which moved through this past weekend (3/18-3/20) brought low temperatures down within a few degrees of records set back in 1965.  Based on the growth stage and temperatures observed, I believe we will see damage in some of our wheat.  In this blog article, I cover basic information on the conditions that led to the injury and how best to assess the level of injury in your wheat crop following a freeze near jointing. Continue reading →

The 2022 Tennessee Cotton Variety Trial Results Publication (PB 1742) is now available online.  Included within these results are ten large strip trials (CSTs) testing 13 XtendFlex commercial varieties, four large strip trials (CSTs) testing 6 Enlist commercial varieties, and six small plot trials (OVTs) testing 40 experimental and commercial varieties.

Special thanks to all of the agents and producers who helped generate this data.  Additionally, thanks to the USDA Classing Office in Memphis for assisting with this effort.  If you have any questions on location response or variety placement, please do not hesitate to reach out directly to your county agent.

We have finished ginning all collected Official Variety Trial samples and I expect to have the remaining fiber quality data back from the USDA Classing Office in Memphis any minute now.  We are on track to have the complete results from both the Official Variety Trials and the County Standard Trials weeks earlier than normal.  Still, I wanted to share some of the preliminary results with you now. Continue reading →

Conversations this week have centered on the forecast lows over the coming weekend, boll maturation at temperatures averaging below 60F, and slow activity of defoliants and boll openers.  In this blog, I briefly tackle each of these issues. Continue reading →