Monday April 22 Ag News

Stuck on Stalks? Consider These Options for Managing Loose Cornstalks
John Wilson - NE Extension Educator, Burt County
Without a doubt, the question of what to do with cornstalks that accumulated almost everywhere has been one of the most frequent question following the March flooding in Nebraska. Cornstalk accumulations have varied from a few inches to a few feet deep. This has and continues to pose a challenge for many farmers as they prepare for spring fieldwork and planting.

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) Guidance Document 11-023, Flood Damaged Grain and Hay Disposal, also applies to cornstalks. If you have questions on these guidelines, contact the NDEQ Waste Management Section at (402) 471-4210.

If the layer of stalks isn’t too deep, 4 inches or less, they can be incorporated into the soil with tillage. One word of caution: The soil underneath a layer of cornstalks will dry even slower than fields without the extra crop residue. Doing tillage or other field work before the soil has dried can cause compaction and create ruts, resulting in a greater problem than originally created by the stalks.

Cornstalks are low in nutrients, but will return some nutrients to the soil. On average, mature cornstalks contain about 3 pounds of phosphorus and 24 pounds of potassium per ton of dry matter. However, because these nutrients are tied up in the organic material, they will not all be available the first year. Perhaps the most important contribution to the soil will be the addition of organic matter which can improve soil structure, water infiltration, and nutrient availability.

Options for Managing Cornstalks
If the layer of stalks is greater than four inches, and unfortunately most of them are, there aren’t a lot of good options. The stalks can be burned, spread, composted, or stockpiled for spreading at a later time, probably after harvest this fall. Let’s take a closer look at each of these options.

Burning may be the easiest method IF they dry out enough. When burning, always remember to consider where the fire can travel and get a burn permit from the fire department where you will be burning stalks. If you can get in and spread deeper accumulations without tearing up the field, stalks will dry out faster.

There are two things you’ll want to consider if you burn stalks. First, burning does have an impact on air quality. You may have noticed smoke in the air recently from the burns being conducted in the Flint Hills of Kansas. You also need to consider the wind direction when you are burning and whether smoke will be blowing toward your or your neighbor’s farmstead. Also consider the value of organic matter that could be returned to the soil. However, the positive impact of removing the stalk accumulation may outweigh the loss of organic matter.

Spreading is an option if the stalks aren’t too deep and you have the equipment to do this. Once you spread them, they will dry faster and you can either burn them or incorporate them into the soil. If it fits in your operation, incorporating them is preferred because you get some of the benefit from the organic matter in the debris.

One thing that is important to remember any time you incorporate organic material into the soil, cornstalks and similar debris are high in carbon content and low in nitrogen. The microbes in the soil need nitrogen to break down the carbon-based materials and will take residual nitrogen from the soil to aid in this process. In doing so, they may create a temporary nitrogen deficiency for crops that were planted. You may need to increase your nitrogen fertilizer rate to offset this tie-up of nitrogen in the soil.

Composting cornstalks is not the same as piling them in a corner of the field. To compost cornstalks, you will need to turn and mix them periodically, maybe once a month over the summer. This will increase the rate they break down. You might form a big windrow of stalks along the edge of a field with enough room to turn and mix the stalks with a loader, lifting and pushing the windrow over onto adjacent new ground. Then next time repeat the process and move the windrow back on the original ground.

Stockpiling cornstalks in a pile at the edge of the field will allow for some breakdown to occur, but the rate will be slower than if they were mixed and composted.  Stockpiling will take the least ground out of production. Then at a later date, probably this fall after harvest, you can spread the stalks on the field in a layer thin enough that it won’t cause problems with fieldwork or planting the following year.

Even combines with good spreaders tend to leave more residue directly behind the combine. If you are spreading stockpiled stalks, you might want to make your passes with the spreader half way between the passes made by the combine.

Unfortunately there is not a great option for dealing with cornstalks that accumulated because of the flooding in March. You will need to assess the amount of cornstalks and the equipment you have available to determine which option will work best for you to manage them on your farm.



Avoiding Sidewall Compaction at Planting 
Paul Jasa - NE Extension Engineer

Planting season is here and many fields are very wet. As producers watch the calendar, they'll be headed to fields that may be less than ideal for planting. Wet soils are easily compacted and sidewall compaction during planting can be a problem, especially if the crop is "mudded in" and a dry spell occurs after planting. Patience is required for waiting for the soil to dry, but if the next rain is coming or the yield penalty for late planting is growing, it's hard to wait.

Contributing Factors - Shallow Planting
Many factors contribute to sidewall compaction. While opening a seed-vee in wet soil is often given as the main reason, planting too shallow is the primary problem. In most conditions, corn seed should be planted 2 to 3 inches deep for proper root development. Most corn planters were designed for this planting depth, especially those with angled closing wheels. When the seed-vee is properly closed, the sidewalls of the furrow will be fractured as the soil closes around the seed, eliminating the sidewall compaction and providing seed-to-soil contact.

Most sidewall compaction problems occur when the press wheels are set with too much downpressure, overpacking the seeds into the wet soil. When planting shallow, this press wheel compaction is below the seeding depth, making it difficult for the seedling roots to penetrate the soil. If you look at the angled press wheels from the rear, they intersect at an imaginary point about 2 inches below the soil surface. This provides seed-to-soil contact at seeding depth while closing the seed-vee. As such, downpressure on the press wheels should be checked at seeding depth, not at the top of the seed-vee. If the seed-to-soil contact is adequate, don't tighten the downpressure springs trying to close the top of the seed-vee. Make sure that the planter is properly leveled, or even slightly tail down, for the angled closing wheels to have a pinching action to close the seed-vee.

Seed-vee Closing Wheels
A variety of attachments are available to help close the seed-vee if the standard closing wheels cannot. Some producers use coulters or intermeshing row cleaners to till the soil in front of the planting unit to provide loose soil for closing the seed-vee. However, this loosened soil often sticks to the depth gauge wheels in wet conditions or the tillage dries out the seed zone in dry weather. A better way to provide loose soil for closing the seed-vee is to do it after the seed has been placed in the furrow. There are several brands of spiked closing wheels available to replace the standard press wheels with ones that till in the sidewall around the seed.

The less aggressive spoked wheels provide some seed-to-soil contact while closing the seed-vee and reducing air pockets around the seed. The more aggressive spoked wheels tend to dry the soil more and typically require a seed firmer to provide seed-to-soil contact and a drag chain behind them to level the soil. As the soils become drier and more seed-to-soil contact is needed, some producers remove the spiked wheels and put the standard closing wheels back on to reduce overdrying the seed zone. If the downpressure is set too high on some of these spiked wheels, they may "till" the seed out of the seed-vee, especially when planting on curves or contours. To reduce the aggressiveness of the tillage and to provide some soil firming and depth control, some producers run one spoked closing wheel and one standard wheel. This combination works well in a wide variety of conditions.

Too Much Down-pressure
While the seed furrow closing devices are important, too much downpressure on the depth gauge wheels will also create sidewall compaction as the disk openers form the seed furrow. The disk openers may create some sidewall smearing while pushing the soil outward to form the seed-vee. If there is too much downpressure on the depth gauge wheels, they will pack the soil downward at the same time, causing compaction that may be too dense for the closing devices to fracture. When this occurs, producers typically put more pressure on the press wheels trying to close the seed-vee, making the compaction around the seed worse yet. Downpressure on both the row unit (depth gauge wheels) and the press wheels should be reduced in wet soil conditions.

Soil Structure
Another contributor to sidewall compaction is the lack of soil structure in many tilled fields. Producers may put extra pressure on the closing devices to close the seed-vee when in wet conditions. Without soil structure, the standard closing wheels "pinch" the sidewalls closed over the seed, particularly in heavier soils. However, as the soil dries, it shrinks and the seed-vee may open back up, exposing the seeds. This often occurs when there is a hot, windy period after planting, drying out the seed zone and reducing the stand. This is less of a problem in higher organic matter soils and in continuous no-till soils with improved soil structure.

If the angled closing wheels can be remounted, one in front of the other, this will reduce the pinching effect and compaction over the seed. If there is a dry layer on top of the soil at planting time and good soil moisture at planting depth, don't use residue movers to remove the dry soil because it has already shrunk. Also, when possible, leave residue over the row to reduce drying of the soil and to protect the seed zone from raindrop impact.



Which Dicamba Product Should I Use as a Burndown Before Planting Soybean?
Amit Jhala - Extension Weed Management Specialist

I recently received several phone calls from growers with questions on terminating broadleaf cover crop species and broadleaf weeds using dicamba products. The growers were particularly interested in whether dicamba products such as Banvel, Clarity, and DiFlexx could be applied to terminate broadleaf cover crop species such as hairy vetch, field peas, or mixtures and broadleaf weeds such as henbit, field pennycress, or marestail immediately before planting soybean. The answer for the dicamba-based herbicides listed above is NO. This is because their labels have soybean planting intervals of 14 to 60 days, depending on the product and its use rates.

    For example, for Clarity to be applied at 16.0 fl oz/acre, there would be a 28-day soybean planting interval after one inch of rain. If Clarity were to be applied at 8.0 fl oz/acre, the soybean planting interval would be 14 days after one inch of rain. The Clarity label also specifies: “Do NOT make Clarity burndown applications to soybeans in geographic areas with average annual rainfall less than 25 inches.”

    If DiFlexx is applied burndown at 24 fl oz/acre or less, the planting interval for soybean is 60 days.

This longer planting interval must be applied because Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean is not listed on Banvel, Clarity, DiFlexx, or other dicamba products.

Dicamba-resistant soybean, also known as Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean, became available commercially in 2017. Three dicamba products (FeXapan, Engenia, XtendiMax) are labeled to be applied pre-plant, pre-emergence, or post-emergence (up to R1 soybean growth stage) for broadleaf weed control in Xtend soybean.

Take Home Message
-    You can use dicamba products such as FeXapan, Engenia, or XtendiMax as per label requirements in a burndown application and plant Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean without a planting interval.
-    You can NOT use dicamba products such as Banvel, Clarity, and DiFlexx, and immediately plant Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean. If you use these products, you have to maintain a soybean planting interval of 14 to 60 days, depending on the product and its use rates. Read the label.
-    We recommend NOT using any dicamba product for spring burndown application before planting Roundup Ready soybean, Liberty Link soybean, and conventional/organic soybean.



Conservation Stewardship Program signup is underway

Farmers and ranchers interested in enrolling in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) have until May 10 to submit paperwork.

CSP is a national voluntary stewardship incentives program administered by Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). CSP is designed to reward farmers, ranchers, and foresters for maintaining existing conservation, as well as for the adoption of additional conservation measures on their land. The program pays producers for continuing and expanding conservation efforts that support natural resource priorities such as clean water, better soil management, improved habitat, energy efficiency, and others.

“CSP offers farmers and ranchers an important pathway to enhancing stewardship of land, soil, and water resources,” said Anna Johnson, policy manager with the Center for Rural Affairs. “The current signup window offers a valuable opportunity to enhance stewardship for a whole operation."

To be eligible, applicants must prove they meet a conservation threshold on their operations. Contract duration is five years, and, in many cases, contracts may be renewed for an additional five years.

“The process to indicate interest in enrolling in CSP is easy,” Johnson said. “Farmers and ranchers only need to submit one form to NRCS, then work with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to establish a farm number, if they don’t already have one.”

Under CSP, farmers and ranchers work with local NRCS staff to write a conservation plan for their operations. Together, they plan conservation practices to bring their operation to a higher level of stewardship while keeping acres in production.

Interested farmers and ranchers should contact their local NRCS office to learn more. Information can be found at nrcs.usda.gov.



EXTENSION RISK MANAGEMENT EDUCATION CENTER ANNOUNCES FUNDING OF PROJECTS

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center (NCERMEC) recently awarded over $597,000 in funding for 13 project directors to develop extension risk management education programs for producers.

For the 18th straight year, the Extension Risk Management Education program has awarded grants for projects that educate farmers and ranchers with tools they need to address the uncertainties in farm income and manage their risk. Funding decisions are made by an advisory council of peers from the 12-state north central region who specialize in agricultural risk management. The funding year began April 1, 2019 and ends September 30, 2020.

“This funding will be used to develop and implement educational programming for agricultural producers addressing production, human resources, financial, legal and marketing risk,” said Brad Lubben, NCERMEC program director. Project directors are from north central universities and government as well as non-profit organizations. In addition to these ERME grants, five projects were each awarded $3,000 to explore needs for future programing.

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Program is funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and has been hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Agricultural Economics and Nebraska Extension since 2001. The Center was funded for the first year of their recent three-year $3.3 million award. In addition to the North Central Center, ERME regional centers are located across the country at the University of Delaware (Northeast), the University of Arkansas (Southern) and Washington State University (West).

For more information and to see a full listing of funding recipients and their projects, go to www.ncerme.org.



NEBRASKA Q1 2019 MILK PRODUCTION

Milk production in Nebraska during the January-March 2019 quarter totaled 357 million pounds, down 2 percent from the January-March quarter last year, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The average number of milk cows was 59,000 head, 1,000 head less than the same period last year.

US January-March Milk Production up 0.2 Percent
Milk production in the United States during the January - March quarter totaled 54.5 billion pounds, up 0.2 percent from the January - March quarter last year.  The average number of milk cows in the United States during the quarter was 9.35 million head, 8,000 head less than the October - December quarter, and 84,000 head less than the same period last year.



March Milk Production down 0.1 Percent
                       
Milk production in the 23 major States during March totaled 17.8 billion pounds, down 0.1 percent from March 2018. February revised production at 16.0 billion pounds, was up 0.4 percent from February 2018. The February revision represented a decrease of 37 million pounds or 0.2 percent from last month's preliminary production estimate.

Production per cow in the 23 major States averaged 2,044 pounds for March, 10 pounds above March 2018. This is the highest production per cow for the month of March since the 23 State series began in 2003.

The number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major States was 8.71 million head, 50,000 head less than March 2018, and 9,000 head less than February 2019.

IOWA:  Milk production in Iowa during March 2019 totaled 449 million pounds, down 1 percent from the previous March according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Milk Production report. The average number of milk cows during March, at 217,000 head, was down 3,000 from both last month and last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,070 pounds, even with last March.



NEBRASKA CHICKEN AND EGGS

All layers in Nebraska during March 2019 totaled 8.49 million, up from 7.69 million the previous year, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Nebraska egg production during March totaled 215 million eggs, up from 198 million in 2018. March egg production per 100 layers was 2,527 eggs, compared to 2,570 eggs in 2018.

IOWA CHICKEN & EGGS
Iowa egg production during March 2019 was 1.43 billion eggs, up 10 percent from last month and up 5 percent from last year, according to the latest Chickens and Eggs report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The average number of all layers on hand during March 2019 was 59.2 million, up 2 percent from last month and up 3 percent from last year. Eggs per 100 layers for March were 2,414, up 8 percent from last month and up 2 percent from last year.

US March Egg Production Up 4 Percent
United States egg production totaled 9.62 billion during March 2019, up 4 percent from last year. Production included 8.42 billion table eggs, and 1.20 billion hatching eggs, of which 1.11 billion were broiler-type and 89.6 million were egg-type. The average number of layers during March 2019 totaled 404 million, up 3 percent from last year. March egg production per 100 layers was 2,385 eggs, up 1 percent from March 2018.
                                   
All layers in the United States on April 1, 2019 totaled 404 million, up 3 percent from last year. The 404 million layers consisted of 341 million layers producing table or market type eggs, 59.4 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs, and 3.38 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on April 1, 2019, averaged 77.3 eggs per 100 layers, up 2 percent from April 1, 2018.



March 2019 USDA Cold Storage Highlights

Total red meat supplies in freezers on March 31, 2019 were down 3 percent from the previous month and down 2 percent from last year. Total pounds of beef in freezers were down 5 percent from the previous month and down 3 percent from last year. Frozen pork supplies were down 1 percent from the previous month and down slightly from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were up 9 percent from last month but down 1 percent from last year.

Total natural cheese stocks in refrigerated warehouses on March 31, 2019 were up 1 percent from the previous month and up 4 percent from March 31, 2018.  Butter stocks were up 11 percent from last month but down 1 percent from a year ago.

Total frozen poultry supplies on March 31, 2019 were down 1 percent from the previous month and down 2 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were down 3 percent from the previous month and down 3 percent from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 3 percent from last month and up 1 percent from March 31, 2018.

Total frozen fruit stocks were down 8 percent from last month and down 2 percent from a year ago.  Total frozen vegetable stocks were down 8 percent from last month and down 6 percent from a year ago.



Animal Rights Groups Sue Iowa Over Its Latest Ag-Gag Law

(AP) -- Animal rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging a new Iowa law that makes it a trespass crime to conduct undercover investigations at livestock farms, a measure the Legislature approved just weeks after a federal judge struck down a similar law.

The latest bill was approved by the Senate and House on March 12 and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds two days later. It creates a trespass charge for those who use deception to gain access to a farm to cause physical or economic harm, with a penalty of up to a year in jail. It also allows for a conspiracy charge that carries a similar penalty.

Iowa lawmakers passed the new law just two months after a federal judge struck down a law they passed in 2012 that the court concluded violated free-speech rights. That law made it a fraud crime to lie to get a job at a farm to do undercover investigations. The ruling is on appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.



NGFA, ag groups urge USTR to accelerate ag access in U.S.-Japan trade deal

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) joined nearly 90 agricultural organizations in urging the U.S. Trade Representative to negotiate a trade deal with Japan that restores, expands and accelerates meaningful access for U.S. food and agricultural products.

“As the fourth largest market for U.S. agricultural products, improved access to Japan is imperative for the continued growth of the sector and the millions of American jobs it helps support,” states the April 22 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

The U.S. and Japan kicked off talks for a free trade agreement last week, with Lighthizer and his Japanese counterpart, Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, completing two days of initial talks on April 16.  President Donald Trump is scheduled to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House later this week. 

NGFA and other agricultural groups noted that the U.S. food and agriculture industry is increasingly becoming disadvantaged by competing regional and bilateral agreements that Japan already has negotiated and begun implementing, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EU-Japan EPA).

“In recent weeks, Japan cut tariffs for the second time on agricultural imports from the European Union and CPTPP member countries,” the letter states. “As a result, U.S. exporters of wheat, beef, pork, dairy, wine, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, and other products are facing collapse of their Japanese market share as these lucrative sales are handed over to their competitors.”

A trade agreement with Japan must include market access provisions that at least equal the terms of the CPTPP and the EU-Japan EPA in the first stage of implementation, the groups said.

The letter also stipulates that a trade agreement must include an accelerated phase-in of tariff cuts “to ensure the U.S. is not facing a disadvantage on tariff or TRQ quantity access compared to other countries.”



Multi-Industry Coalition Calls for Tariff Elimination as Part of U.S.-China Negotiations 

Americans for Free Trade, a coalition of business organizations from every sector of the American economy, today sent a letter to President Trump urging five specific outcomes from U.S.-China trade talks, which the White House has said are nearing completion. The letter, which was signed by 151 coalition association partners representing companies that employ tens of millions of American workers and provide goods and services to virtually every corner of the United States, asks for:
-     The full and immediate removal of all recently imposed tariffs, including U.S. tariffs and China’s retaliatory tariffs as part of a final deal;
-    A deal that levels the playing field for U.S. companies by achieving meaningful changes to address China’s unfair trade practices that put American technology, innovation and intellectual property at risk;
-    Avoidance of any enforcement mechanism that would trigger further tariffs;
-    Clarity on how the tariff exemption process will be carried out in the event of a deal; and
-    An economic assessment by the Administration examining the costs of tariffs for American businesses and consumers.

“American businesses and farmers bearing the burden of the trade war have been told repeatedly by your Administration that they must endure ‘short-term pain for long-term gain’ the letter states. “They were promised that tariffs were merely a means to an end, and that all this damage would be worth it. A deal that fails to lift tariffs would represent a broken promise to these hardworking Americans.”

Americans for Free Trade continues to advocate at the national and grassroots level to help illustrate the negative economic impacts of recent tariffs and the trade war. On April 24th, Americans for Free Trade will holding a town hall event in Williamsburg, Iowa as part of the Tariffs Hurt the Heartland campaign that will bring together businesses, farmers, and elected leaders to examine the impact across Iowa.



Agriculture, Natural Resources Groups Support Multi-Stakeholder Proposal to Manage Wild Horses and Burros

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Public Lands Council (PLC), American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), and Society for Range Management (SRM) today announced support for a proposal to reduce wild horse and burro populations on western rangelands.  The proposal, titled “The Path Forward for Management of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horses and Burros,” is the result of several months of discussions among representatives from diverse stakeholder groups, including humane advocates, livestock producers, local governments, and rangeland management professionals.  The proposal focuses on the congressional appropriations process and does not recommend any amendments to the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA).

“In the current political environment, this proposal represents the best opportunity to address the growing wild horse and burro population crisis in the West by finally making substantial, year-over-year progress towards Appropriate Management Level,” said Ethan Lane, Senior Executive Director for NCBA Federal Lands and Executive Director of PLC.  “If Congress does not act immediately, the BLM will not have the necessary resources to carry out their statutory obligation to manage these animals.”

“Each of the stakeholders involved in this proposal had to set aside some long-held positions in order to reach this agreement,” said Ryan Yates, Director of Congressional Relations for AFBF.  “While it was difficult for us to cede some tools authorized by the WFRHBA, including sale-without-restriction, we are hopeful that this good-faith effort will soon be rewarded with healthy populations range-wide.”

Lia Biondo, DC Liaison for SRM, added, “Western rangelands are at a critical tipping point, and our hope is that the common ground reached in this proposal will finally result in measurable outcomes on the range and a pathway toward recovery.”

The proposal, if fully implemented, would increase BLM’s capacity to gather horses and burros in overpopulated areas; administer population-growth-suppressant to healthy animals at gather; and increase use of long-term, pasture-based holding for older horses.