Wednesday June 11 Ag News

2014 – Weed Research Tour: Weed Resistance
Stevan Knezevic, UNL Weed Extension Specialist

Weed resistance to herbicides is not a new thing. It began to occur as soon as man started using chemicals for weed control. Weed scientists predicted in mid-1950s that repeated use of any herbicide could lead to shift in weed species, and that herbicide tolerance in weeds can increase with repeated use of the same herbicide.  Very soon after that (early-1970s) the first cases of weed resistance occurred in pigweed species showing resistance to atrazine. Worldwide about 368 herbicide-resistant weed biotypes reported to be resistant to 19 different herbicide modes of action. Also, at least 50 weed species have been reported to have biotypes resistant to one or more herbicide families. Repeated use of the same herbicide was always the main reason for weed resistance to herbicides worldwide. 

In Nebraska, we have about 20 weed biotypes that are resistant to five main herbicide modes of actions. The list of weed species include: common waterhemp, redroot pigweed, Palmer amaranth, kochia, shattercane, marestail and giant ragweed. The type of resistance includes: triazine, HPPD, ALS, growth regulators and Glycine.  The newest type of resistance is the glycine type (glyphosate-Roundup) confirmed in four Nebraska’s species (waterhemp, marestail, kochia, giant ragweed), which resulted from repeated use of glyphosate based products over the last 15 years.           

This Field Day on June 26, 2014 will highlight the importance of herbicide mode of action, and how to use the Site of Action Numbering System to reduce potential for weed resistance in Nebraska. Also, 20 herbicide studies will be shown during the Field Tour. Studies will show comparison of many EPP, PRE and POST herbicides for corn and soybean, as well as control of volunteer Roundup-Ready soybean in Roundup-Ready corn.   

It will be a minimum 3-hour long event, which will start with presentations of several topics for discussions, and then a Field Tour. Topics for discussion will include: Herbicide Mode of Action and Site of Action Groupings, How Weed Resistance Develops, Weed resistance in Midwest and Nebraska.

Field Day will start with registration at 9:00AM, presentation at 9:15 and Tour at 10:30AM. We are located at the Haskell Ag Lab, just 2 miles east of Concord (14 miles north of Wayne, or 45 miles west of Sioux City, Iowa).
  
For more information contact Stevan Knezevic (sknezevic2@unl.edu, cell: 402-404-0175), or my technologist (Jon Scott). There is no admittance fee for the Field Tour, while courtesy registration is appreciated, please register with our secretary, Wendy Winstead (wwinstead2@unl.edu, 402-584-3837). 



USDA Awards Office Space Lease in Madison County

Dan Steinkruger, State Executive Director of the Nebraska Farm Service Agency (FSA), announced that USDA is consolidating the Madison County USDA Offices into  a new USDA Service Center in Norfolk.

The new Service Center includes the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Water Quality Team and Rural Development (RD) field office, presently located in Norfolk.  Moving the Madison County NRCS and FSA Offices, currently located in Battle Creek, to Norfolk will consolidate all of the USDA offices into a single Service Center.  This will provide a one-stop customer service for USDA programs in the Norfolk area.

Speaking on behalf of USDA, Steinkruger, noted “USDA is committed to maintaining a presence in rural communities and the way to accomplish this in Madison County and Norfolk is to lease space that is reduced from the current space, resulting in a cost savings for USDA.”

The federal leasing process for USDA is competitive.  A number of proposals were received, ranked and evaluated before a final decision was made and the lease was awarded.  The new Service Center is under construction at 2601 Lakeridge Drive in Norfolk.  It will consist of 6,440 square feet. Approximately 22 employees, living in the Norfolk area, work for the three USDA agencies. 

NRCS is an agency committed to “helping people help the land” whose mission is to provide resources to farmers and landowners to aid them with conservation.  Ensuring productive lands in harmony with a healthy environment is its priority.

RD is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America and provides loans, loan guarantees and grants for rural housing, community facilities, water and waste water projects, business and energy programs and rural utilities and broadband.

FSA is equitably serving all farmers, ranchers, and agricultural partners through the delivery of effective, efficient emergency, agricultural and loan programs for all American agricultural producers.

Steinkruger added, “USDA is excited about moving into the new office, projected to be completed on September 1, 2014.  USDA and rural America are synonymous – working hand-in-hand  to produce the most abundant and most affordable food, fiber and fuel supply in the world and we are honored to call Norfolk home for the Madison County USDA Service Center”.



GRAZING MANAGEMENT CRITICAL NOW
Bruce Anderson, UNL Extension Forage Specialist

               Many pastures are looking pretty good.  But how they are grazed now will affect how well your pastures do the rest of the summer.

               When pastures look good and cattle are doing well we usually pay little attention to them.  But don't take good pasture for granted; in a couple months it could look a lot different.

               Now is the time to pay particular attention to your rotational grazing.  In particular, whenever possible, leave more growth behind than usual when you move to new pasture.

               When moisture is available like now, your grasses will regrow after grazing.  Regrowth starts more rapidly when extra leaves remain behind after grazing.  These leaves help plants harvest more sunlight energy to hasten regrowth, so your pasture will be ready to graze again much sooner and with more forage than if it had been grazed very short.

               Another valuable reason to leave extra growth behind is the increased competition this provides to weeds.  Late June and early July is the time many weeds like ragweed really start growing rapidly.  The extra grass you leave behind and the faster regrowth of your grass will help reduce this weed invasion.

               A final reason to leave extra growth behind is to improve animal nutrition.  As you leave behind the stemmy, less desirable feed and move animals more frequently into fresh, high quality pasture, rates of gain increase, cows get bred more rapidly, and overall performance improves.

               Sure, your pastures look good now.  To keep them looking good and your cattle performing well: avoid overgrazing, encourage rapid regrowth, maintain competitive residues, and rotate often onto fresh, productive pasture.



Organic Farm Tour Near Osmond

PUBLIC INVITED: NO CHARGE: Saturday, June 21, 2014, @ 1:30 p.m.

Prairies Edge Organics
Dennis Wacker
86288 540 Ave.
Osmond, NE 68765

Demonstrations:
•  Row crop cultivation 
•  Wildflower prairie buffers
•  Small grain & cover crop management

Directions:
From Plainview, go 3 miles east on Highway 20 then go 1 mile south on 540 Ave.
From Osmond, go 6 miles west on Highway 20 then go 1 mile south on 540 Ave.
Further questions; call Kim @ (402)-620-2701; ociane1@yahoo.com.

Promoted by:  Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA  NE #1) - Nonprofit Mentoring Farm Group 



NEBRASKA WINTER WHEAT PRODUCTION REPORT

Based on  June 1  conditions, Nebraska's 2014 winter wheat crop  is  forecast  at  56.8 million  bushels,  up  44  percent  from  last  year’s  crop,  according  to  the USDA’s National Agricultural  Statistics  Service.   Average  yield  is  forecast  at  40  bushels  per acre, up 5 bushels from a year earlier.

Acreage  to be harvested  for grain  is estimated at 1.42 million acres, up 26 percent  from a year ago.  This would be 95 percent of the planted acres, well above last year’s 77 percent harvested.

USDA: Winter Wheat Production Down 2 Percent from May
Winter wheat production is forecast at 1.38 billion bushels, down 2 percent from the May 1 forecast and down 10 percent from 2013. Based on June 1 conditions, the United States yield is forecast at 42.4 bushels per acre, down 0.7 bushel from last month and down 5.0 bushels from last year.

Hard Red Winter production, at 720 million bushels, is down 3 percent from last month. Soft Red Winter, at 454 million bushels, is up 2 percent from the May forecast. White Winter, at 206 million bushels, is down 1 percent from last month. Of the White Winter production, 10.9 million bushels are Hard White and 196 million bushels are Soft White.



NCBA President Testifies to the Value of Trade

The United States beef industry supports a strong export market. Today, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President and Victoria, Texas, cattleman, Bob McCan, testified before of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee expressing the benefits of expanding agricultural trade and eliminating barriers to U.S. exports.

“The elimination of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers is a top priority for the U.S. beef industry, and I strongly encourage you to work with the Administration to craft current and future trade agreements based on free market, science-based principles,” McCan said.

Beef demand continues to increase around the world. In 2013, foreign consumers purchased 1.17 million metric tons of U.S. beef at a total of $6.1 billion. According to CattleFax, a global leader in beef industry research, analysis, and information, exports accounted for $307 per head of fed cattle in 2013.

“With 96 percent of the world’s consumers living outside of the U.S., access to foreign markets is vital for the future success of U.S. beef producers and rural America,” McCan said. “For NCBA, the elimination of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers is a top priority for the U.S. beef industry. If there is one industry that has witnessed both the benefits and tragedies of U.S. trade policy it is the U.S. beef industry.”

Free-trade agreements have led to increased profitability for producers and NCBA supports science-based and market-driven trade opportunities. In 1993, U.S. beef exports to Mexico were valued at $116 million. As a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico eliminated its 15 percent tariff on live cattle slaughter, the 20 percent tariff on chilled beef and the 25 percent tariff on frozen beef. In 2013, Mexico is now our third largest export market, valued at nearly $1 billion.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a new agreement that includes: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the U.S. NCBA believes TPP has the potential to open a number of export opportunities for the U.S. beef industry, but is currently limited by Japan.

“Japan’s unwillingness to abide by the principles of free trade threatens the entire process,” said McCan. “We encourage USTR to remain vigilant and to continue to push the Japanese toward tariff elimination on beef.”



NPPC Wants Full Market Access Offer From Japan

In written testimony submitted today to the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, the National Pork Producers Council reiterated the importance to U.S. pork producers for countries, including those in the current Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations, to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. pork.

NPPC is a strong supporter of the TPP, but the trade talks have bogged down over Japan’s reluctance to eliminate tariffs on a number of U.S. agricultural products, including pork.

The TPP is a regional negotiation that includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which account for nearly 40 percent of global GDP.

“The elimination of tariffs is the heart of an FTA,” said Randy Spronk, a pork producer from Edgerton, Minn., and chairman of NPPC’s trade committee. “U.S. pork producers’ support for a final TPP agreement has been conditioned on the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. pork exports in each of the TPP nations. If the current Japanese offer on market access were to become part of the final TPP agreement, NPPC would not be able to support TPP or Trade Promotion Authority.”

In its written testimony, NPPC also pointed out that if U.S. negotiators allow special treatment for Japan so it can protect its farmers, U.S. agriculture will be cheated out of billions in annual sales to Japan. Further, the precedent established likely would diminish the value to pork producers and the other so-called sensitive sectors of all future FTAs. The European Union and future FTA partners, such as China and the Philippines, will use the Japan deal as the starting point in their negotiations with the United States.

“This is the most important commercial issue ever to face U.S. pork producers,” Spronk said. “The U.S. must reject Japan’s offer and insist that it do what every other U.S. trading partner has done and what all the other TPP nations are willing to do: eliminate tariffs on virtually all products.

“For U.S. pork, this means elimination of the Gate Price system, tariffs and all protection. If Japan is unwilling to open its market fully to our products, it should exit the TPP negotiations so the U.S. and other nations can expeditiously conclude the talks.”

Said Trade Subcommittee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., in his opening statement: “If any countries insist on retaining tariffs, then we must complete the negotiations without them and allow them to rejoin when they can commit to full tariff elimination.”



NCGA Board Elects Rob Elliott as Next Farmer to Help Lead Organization

The National Corn Growers Association's Corn Board has elected Rob Elliott of Illinois to become the organization's first vice president for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

"I am honored that my colleagues on the board placed their trust in my ability and dedication to leading our association forward in its mission of creating greater opportunities for corn growers across the country," said Elliott. "I realize that farmers face many challenges right now as threats to the Renewable Fuel Standard abound and misinformation about our industry permeates public perception. I know that we have much to do, but I look forward to working with our grower leadership over the coming years to find innovative, impactful ways to not only meet these challenges but also seize the opportunities certain to come."

Elliott, along with his brothers Rick and Dan, his 91-year-old father, his four grown children and their families and a nephew, farms corn and soybeans in Warren County, Illinois while running a growing seed business. He began farming 36 years ago. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Illinois State University in Normal.  He and his wife, Stephanie, have four children: Erik, Jared, Robbie and Gina.

On the national level, Elliott co-chaired the Commodity Classic Committee for 2014, serves as vice chair of the NASCAR Advisory Committee and as NCGA's alternate representation to 25x'25. Previously, he served as the organizational representative to the Waterways Council.

"A large part of NCGA's success can be attributed to the quality of farmers who have stepped forward to lead the organization, and we strongly believe that Rob will continue this fine tradition," said NCGA President Martin Barbre. "Our Corn Board appreciates the energy he brings to our work and the thoughtful insights he contributes to our discussions. As evidenced by his long list of activities at the state and national level, Rob continually demonstrates his dedication to farmers and his willingness to work tirelessly on their behalf."

On Oct. 1, Barbre, of Illinois, becomes chairman and the current first vice president, Chip Bowling of Maryland, becomes NCGA president. In October 2015, Bowling becomes chairman and Elliott becomes president.



Ethanol Stocks Near 15-Month High

U.S. ethanol inventories again increased last week to a near 15-month high amid rising domestic production, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration released Wednesday, June 11.

EIA reports total inventories increased 170,000 barrels (bbl), or 0.9%, to 18.42 million bbl for the week-ended June 6, the highest since the week-ended Mar. 15, 2013, boosting year-over-year surplus to 2.4 million bbl or 15.2%.

EIA also showed ethanol production at U.S. plants rose for the fourth straight week, ramping up 6,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 944,000 bpd last week while 6.4% higher than a year earlier. Four-week average production at 934,000 bpd was up 6.5% from a year earlier.

Blender inputs, a proxy for ethanol demand, increased 7,000 bpd to 869,000 bpd for the week profiled, while also up 0.8% from a year earlier. Four-week average input was also up 2.8% from a year earlier.

Imports of ethanol were 10,000 b/d, up from zero barrels last week.

Gasoline demand for the week averaged 362.2 million gallons daily.  Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 10.95%.

On the co-products side, ethanol producers were using 14.313 million bushels of corn to produce ethanol and 105,353 metric tons of livestock feed, 93,923 metric tons of which were distillers grains. The rest is comprised of corn gluten feed and corn gluten meal. Additionally, ethanol producers were providing 4.92 million pounds of corn distillers oil daily.



Navy to Buy 37M Gallons of Biofuels

The Department of the Navy said in a news release Wednesday it would purchase at least 37 million gallons of drop-in biofuels as part of its F-76 marine diesel and JP-5 shipboard jet fuel supply.

Bids are due by July 9, and deliveries of fuel will start April 1, 2015.

The purchase was listed in the upcoming Inland/East/Gulf Coast bulk fuels solicitation released by the Defense Logistics Agency Energy on Monday, June 9. The Inland/East/Gulf Coast is the single largest bulk fuels acquisition program, and is valued in excess of $3.5 billion.

The biofuels sought can be blended in a range of 10% to 50% with conventional petroleum products and must meet all military fuel specification properties which make handling requirements and performance indiscernible to the end user. Currently, two biofuels pathways have been tested and qualified for use in Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, ships, vehicles and equipment and efforts are underway to adopt more pathways.

DLA will purchase the biofuel blends only if they are cost competitive with their conventionally-derived counterparts. There are $27.2 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture Commodity Credit Corporation funds, capped at 71 cents or less per neat biofuel gallon, available to defray additional costs that may exist for fuels derived from domestic feedstocks on a USDA-approved list.

"Expanding military energy sources improves the reliability of our overall fuel supply, adds resilience against supply disruptions, and gives the military more fuel options to maintain its readiness and defend the national security interests of the United States," the Navy said.



Small Tractor Sales Still Going Strong

The Association of Equipment Manufacturer's monthly "Flash Report" says the sale of all tractors in the U.S. for May 2014 were down 2% compared to the same month last year. For the five months in 2014, a total of 85,190 tractors were sold which compares to 83,516 sold thru May, 2014, representing a 2% increase year to date.

For the month, two-wheel drive smaller tractors (under 40 HP) were down 2% from last year, while 40 & under 100 HP were up 7%. Sales of 2-wheel drive 100+ HP were down 19%, while 4-wheel drive tractors were down 16%.  Combine sales were down 16% for the month.

For the five months, two-wheel drive smaller tractors (under 40 HP) are up 5% over last year, while 40 & under 100 HP are up 5%. Sales of 2-wheel drive 100+ HP are down 9%, while 4-wheel drive tractors are down 9%.  Sales of combines for the first five months totaled 3,299, a decrease of 10% over the same period in 2013.



California Wheat Farmer Installed as USW Chairman

Roy Motter, wheat farmer from Brawley, CA, took the reins as Chairman of the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board of Directors at the organization’s annual meeting on June 11, 2014, in Omaha, NE.

“Attending USW meetings and conferences in Latin America, South Asia and Europe, I am continually impressed by the quality of the USW staff and their work,” Motter said. “I am honored to continue representing all U.S. wheat farmers overseas, sharing the message that we grow the most reliable supply of high quality wheat in the world.”

Motter is a managing partner of Spruce Farms, LLC, a diverse operation in California’s Imperial Valley that includes Desert Durum®, lettuce, onions, sugar beets, alfalfa hay, and sudan grass. He is currently serving as chairman of the California Wheat Commission and has been a member since 1998 and has served as president and vice president of the Stockman’s Club of Imperial Valley.

Other officers installed included Brian O’Toole (Crystal, ND) as Vice Chairman and Jason Scott (Stevensville, MD) as Secretary-Treasurer. Last year’s chairman Dan Hughes (Venango, NE) transitioned to Past Chairman and Chairman of the USW Budget Committee. USW officers were elected to these one-year positions at the January 2014 Winter Wheat Conference.

SW's next Board meeting will be held jointly with NAWG in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM, Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, 2014.



Cargill Moves to Group Housing for Company's Sows

Cargill, one of the largest pork producers in the U.S., is continuing its commitment of moving to group housing for its sows that produce hogs for pork. Company owned facilities will be 100 percent group housing by the end of calendar 2015. Contract hog farms that contain Cargill-owned sows will transition to 100 percent group housing by the end of calendar 2017. The hogs produced by Cargill-owned sows represent approximately 30 percent of the total hogs harvested annually at the company's two pork processing facilities in Illinois and Iowa.

Cargill's U.S. pork operation has maintained 50 percent group housing for company owned sows over the past several years. The company's 2011 acquisition of an idled hog farm complex in the Texas Panhandle is allowing Cargill to achieve 100 percent group housing for its gestating sows. Over the past three years, Cargill has invested more than $60 million in the purchase and improvement of the 22,000-acre property near Dalhart, Texas, including the construction of sow barns containing group housing and conversion of existing sow housing from the type known as stalls/crates. Cargill's Dalhart facility employs more than 300 people, including a team trained to care for the animals at the site.

"Over the past two years, many of our retail, foodservice and food processing customers have made decisions about future sourcing of pork products from suppliers that use group housing for gestating sows," stated Mike Luker, president of Wichita-based Cargill Pork. "While Cargill was a pioneer in the use of group housing for gestating sows dating back more than a decade, in the past few years growing public interest in the welfare related to animals raised for food has been expressed to our customers and the pork industry.

"Both group housing and individual housing have pros and cons, and we continue to learn, and evolve best practices from our transition to group housing," explained Luker. "While an industry change of this magnitude is challenging and costly, we believe it is the right thing to do for the long term future of pork production in the U.S., and our customers agree with us and support our decision. Nevertheless, we need to be mindful that many family farms involved with raising hogs have their life savings invested in their operations and it will require time and other resources if they choose to make a conversion to group housing."

Based upon the timetable Cargill has set up for completing the transition to group housing for gestating sows, the company will be prepared to support "early adopter" customers seeking pork products from alternative sow housing in the next few years. Cargill's pork business maintains a commitment to the highest standards of animal handling and welfare, and continuously explores technologies that allow it to enhance its efforts in this important area of animal agriculture to help feed a hungry world.



Area Regional Control, Bioportal data help in swine disease management

Many of the key learnings gained from area regional control (ARC) programs targeted at PRRS virus over the last six years are now being used to help producers manage, monitor and share information on other swine diseases, including porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) and influenza. In addition, the Disease Bioportal website (bioportal.ucdavis.edu) managed by University of California, Davis, also is proving helpful to veterinarians in tracking disease outbreaks such as PED.

    Laura Schulz-Dalquist, DVM, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minn., works with producers in five states and with the Lyon County, Iowa, ARC program. She says the ARC programs have demonstrated the importance of producers in the same area or region working together in order for all to benefit from the data that’s generated. “It’s been rewarding to see producers accept and participate in ARC and the improved communication and management that results from everyone better understanding disease status, history and transmission dynamics.

    “Thanks to ARC programs, the communications networks that have evolved have made it extremely helpful in providing important disease information to producers in a more timely manner,” she says.

    Erin Johnson, DVM, technical manager, PRRS Solutions Team, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI), says many producer groups have taken the ARC framework and applied it to help fight the spread of PEDv. As the original developer of the ARC concept for PRRSv, BIVI continues to provide a wide variety of support to meet the needs of producers and the ARC programs as they evolve, and helps facilitate the sharing of disease information regularly at industry meetings.

    “The goal of ARC projects is to better understand and control the spread of disease in their neighborhoods, townships and counties. Groups of producers achieve this through developing processes to provide open and transparent communication, cooperation in outbreak investigations, and coordination of their individual disease control efforts to create an area effect.”

    In addition to ARC, Schulz-Dalquist has been using the Disease Bioportal, a web-based system that provides access to real-time or near real-time local, regional and global disease information. The Disease Bioportal, operated by the Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance at UC, Davis, provides additional layers of disease information such as geography, historic overview and strain information that can be useful to veterinarians in managing or preventing disease outbreaks.

   “We’ve used it for PRRSv and it provides mapping, dendrograms and disease outbreaks over time,” says Schulz-Dalquist. “By combining the producer-based ARC information and its organized communications network with the extensive disease data from Bioportal, we’re able to do a much more effective job helping manage and track PRRSv.

    “While we are just now looking to use these tools for PED, we’re optimistic they’ll help us to better understand the movements of this highly contagious disease and how to more effectively manage it.”

    With the continuing spread of PED virus, producers are encouraged to contact their veterinarian for appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations.



Scout Soybean Fields in Midsummer for Sudden Death Syndrome Following Cool, Wet Spring

Recent years of dry growing conditions have reduced the occurrence of sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybean fields. Yet, DuPont Pioneer soybean scientists warn that cool spring soils and high rainfall in areas of the Corn Belt may lead to a midsummer appearance of SDS symptoms.

Fortunately, Pioneer soybean research has tested for SDS since 2001 and continues to develop Pioneer® brand soybean varieties with high tolerance to the disease.

“Since the research program was initiated, the number of Pioneer brand soybean varieties with a SDS tolerance score of five or greater has grown from 20 percent of all varieties to more than 80 percent,” says Steve Schnebly, DuPont Pioneer soybean researcher. The testing program focusing on SDS was added as soybean researchers identified field infections spreading from the southern Corn Belt to north and east.

The severity of SDS depends on environmental conditions, time of infection and other crop stressors. Although SDS infects soybean plants just after germination and emergence, symptoms generally do not appear until midsummer.

Soybean SDS varies in severity from area to area, and from field to field. That’s why growers must clearly understand the extent of an SDS infection in each of their fields to effectively manage the disease. This requires scouting fields when disease symptoms are present, ideally using GPS tools like EncircaSM  View to map SDS-prone areas. Encirca View maps can be overlaid with yield maps to reveal the extent of yield losses from SDS. Check pioneer.com for information about Encirca services. For a free download of Encirca View, go to encirca.pioneer.com.

SDS leaf symptoms first appear as yellow spots, usually in a mosaic pattern on upper leaves; the yellow spots coalesce to form chlorotic blotches between leaf veins. Infected leaves, appearing about midseason, twist and curl before falling from the plant prematurely.

Root symptoms include rotted roots with deteriorated taproots and lateral roots. The root cortex shows light gray to brown discoloration; if soil moisture is high, sometimes bluish fungal colonies are present. These symptoms signal reduced water and nutrient uptake. Visit pioneer.com for more information on SDS scouting tips and management options, or contact your local DuPont Pioneer agronomist or Pioneer sales professional.

Selection of tolerant varieties is the best defense against SDS and other soybean diseases. Additional SDS management practices include planting disease-prone fields last, improving field drainage, reducing compaction, maintaining field fertility, evaluating tillage systems and reducing other stressors.

“Every disease and pest cycles in intensity from year to year, and at some point, SDS returns,” says Schnebly. “When conditions are ripe for SDS, we want to have the best, tolerant products on the market—we can’t let our customers down.”

Demanding research timelines enforce the need to maintain a high-intensity research effort in developing soybean varieties with tolerance to SDS and other diseases. “Developing any new soybean product requires seven to nine years of research,” Schnebly says. “We can’t back away from testing products for SDS tolerance just because we haven’t seen it in a couple of drier years.”

Research testing for SDS in areas affected by the disease is a group effort by DuPont Pioneer soybean research stations located across the Corn Belt. To ensure a high level of accuracy, Pioneer researchers work with local growers to identify field areas with high incidence of Fusarium solani, the fungus that causes SDS.

“Some of our SDS testing has occurred at the same field site over several years,” Schnebly says. “In those years when conditions aren’t good for SDS at one site, there might be a high incidence at another. Maintaining a large number of SDS test sites allows us to continue evaluating breeding material for Pioneer research as the conditions for SDS vary year to year.”



Mitsui Chemicals Agro and BASF sign agreement for new insecticide

Mitsui Chemicals Agro, Inc. (MCAG) and BASF announced today the signing of an exclusive global development and license agreement for a new insecticide (MCAG’s development code “MCI-8007”).

Under the terms of the agreement, MCAG has granted BASF a worldwide, exclusive license to commercialize the new insecticide, except in Japan and some other countries where MCAG will hold the exclusive and/or co-exclusive rights. 

Featuring a new mode of action, the active ingredient will provide growers and pest management professionals with a unique and attractive solution. It will also be an important rotation partner in managing insect resistance.

Intended use applications for the new insecticide include leafy vegetables, fruiting vegetables, soybeans and other legumes, cotton, corn and rice as well as urban pest control settings. It will control many problematic insects, including caterpillars and beetles in specialty and row crops as well as termites, ants, cockroaches and flies in the professional pest management market.

“BASF is committed to delivering innovative insect control solutions to growers and pest management professionals. This new, highly-effective active ingredient enhances BASF’s insecticide pipeline, providing complementary chemistry to our current and future solutions,” said Markus Heldt, President of BASF’s Crop Protection division.

“This new molecule was discovered by MCAG. We are very glad that the joint development has been started with BASF on a global basis. MCAG believes that this new insecticide can contribute to the improvement in food production and living environment in the world,” said Takehiko Kanai, President of MCAG.

Both companies intend to develop unique formulations for specific markets and applications. Significant research over the next three years will continue, with the first registration submission in 2016 for Japan, with other markets following in 2017.

The agreement remains subject to relevant governmental approvals. Additional details of the agreement were not disclosed.