Field Focus 2010 Archive Page:

Agronomic Update – 12/8/10      

Andy Stone's Field Focus Report.

Dear All,
This will be our final Field Focus for 2010 so I’d like to take a moment to reflect. 2010 was an exciting and challenging year, starting with too much moisture but an early planting season and then moving to dry and warm. Along the way we learned many important things such as Nitrogen at the correct time is very important, late rains make great beans, and varietal issues can cause huge swings in yield. Humm, lets think this over, we didn’t really learn these things as we already knew them, but they were certainly “relearned or reinforced”.

What we really did “learn” was if we do what we know we should, pick great adapted varieties, plant and manage in an agronomically sound manner and market with the goal of selling at a profit, farming can be one of the most rewarding professions. Agriculture in the U.S. continues to be the “bright spot” in our economy and for this we should be very grateful.  Many years ago I stated that those who make the food and fiber for the world should be treated as national treasures and I feel we get closer to that every year. As the world's population continues to expand and nations desire their people to have a better life, our production is assuming a new world relevance.

We at The Stone Seed Group have but one overarching goal - to be the best partner in the complex world of seed that you can have. We have made large investments in training our people and enabling them with better technology. We live our message of “Focused on your Future” because we know we can only be successful if you are successful.

Every year has a different flavor. As with this one, next year will surely be different. Our wish is for you to have a successful 2011. Please take the time to enjoy your friends and families and keep safety in mind every second.  And most of all, THANK YOU, for your friendship & your business.

Till next year, all the best,
Andy & Roe Stone

Stone Seed Group Vs. Pioneer & NK - Soybeans within the State of Illinois!
Check out the comparative analysis report between (4) key Stone Seed Group soybean products (mid to late Grp III maturities) verses Pioneer and NK of similar maturity within the State of Illinois from 2008 thru 2010. Data is pulled from all available Illinois sources such as 3rd party plots, FIRST Trials, University of Illinois, County Extension plots, Side by Sides, Stone Seed Group plots and Tech Development. Click here for the complete report.

Here is a quick summary of the report:

• 2R3900 brand won 69.28% of the time in 306 comparisons
• 2R3701 brand won 67.86% of the time in 140 comparisons
• 2R3801 brand won 74.86% of the time in 175 comparisons
• 3A388NRR brand won 66.84% of the time in 386 comparisons

Stone Seed Group out-yielded Pioneer and NK by an average of 2.5 bushel/acre and won 69.12% of the time. The average $ advantage for Stone Seed Group over Pioneer and NK is an additional $29.29/Acre*!

*Assumed selling price per unit: $11/bu
-All Pioneer products in this comparison begin with “93”
-All NK products in this comparison begin with “S”

 
Optimum (confusion) AcreMax explained?  Is this really a simple system? ...you be the judge. 

Employee Comments From around the state:
TAMMY’s 2 Sense Nonsense –  We hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving Holiday, now back to business!  The past couple weeks I have been thinking what could I possibly add to this weeks Field Focus when harvest and fall tillage is pretty much complete, what is left until spring?  Well lucky for you I actually came up with something! 

Winter Wheat! 
Depending on where you live, may depend on what it may look like at the present time!  As you can tell by the pictures to the left it my be with or without snow.  There is quite a bit of Winter Wheat drilled in the fall and I thought it may be there would be some interest of the progress.    Below is a chart similar to that of the corn and soybean progress we publish from the spring to fall.  Depending on your respective area and the weather conditions will depend on what end of the scale you may be.  We all hope to be in the fair to excellent end of the spectrum. 

Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year from our families to yours!

Stay tuned and look for the return of Field Focus in 2011!

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006
Tammy Smith, CSR: Thanks Tammy for compiling the Field Focus each week!

Agronomic Update – 11/22/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)  Good news and greetings from McClean Co.  I’ve spent much time working with my farmer dealers with great success so far.  Both of my larger dealers have increased sales over 200 units due to very good performance of 6N52VT3, 8T468VT3, 8T339VT3, and 7T683VT3 as well as a few others.  7T683VT3 performed well where we kept it on rolling soils.  Sales are good and brisk with the Double-Up Program getting many customers to try the RR2Y soybeans for the first time.  With the great Stone Seed Group soybean performance, we are getting on a lot more acres this year, with competitive pricing and great yields, our customers are getting a great VALUE with the Stone Seed Group.  Onward and Upward. 

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Field work has quieted down over here in the east central Ill. area.  I’ve just been busy with appointment sales with customers and prospects, as results have been real good.  We’re still waiting on some rain and they say we might get some on Monday and Tuesday.  If we do get rain, I think guys will resume putting on ammonia.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving next week, let’s reflect on the good harvest we just had and the good prices farmers have to work with.  Also be thankful for all of the things we take for granted and just how nice it is to live here in the heartland of America.  A Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there in Illini country.

TAMMY’s 2 Sense Nonsense – As I drove in to the office this morning, I noticed that most all the crops have been harvested as well as most ALL of the fall tillage being completed.  I don’t remember too many years that we have been able to accomplish all of this  before the holidays came creeping upon us.  Now, to continue planning for the 2011 crop season!  I hope you all take the time to go to www.stoneseed.com and review some of our great products and their performance in the yield results, doing so could make it easier for you to make a decision on what hybrids of corn and varieities of soybeans to place on your farm for the upcoming 2011 planting season.

On this Thanksgiving Day Holiday, more than ever our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible and in this spirit we would like to say THANK YOU and best wishes to you and your families during this holiday season!  Be safe as you travel to family and friends for holiday feasts!

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

 With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, let’s take an agronomic look at some of the crops at the big meal:

Ever heard of Antoine-Auguste Parmentier?  No, you say?  He was an 18th century agronomist who finally convinced the French that potatoes were safe.  He figured reverse psychology might work, so he posted guards around potato fields during the day to prevent people from stealing them.  At night he left them unguarded, so every night the local people would sneak into the fields and take sacks of the “valuable potatoes”.

Sir Walter Raleigh brought potatoes to the court of Queen Elizabeth I, but someone must have been confused by the directions.  Instead of cooking the tubers, they discarded them and boiled the stems and leaves.  Everyone who ate these servings became very ill, and potatoes were banned from the court for a long time until the correct directions were eventually discovered.

Indian corn, with all of its coloring is almost always used for specifically decorative purposes only.  It is so hard that it doesn’t cook well.

The world record for eating corn on the cob (held by Cookie Jarvis)  is 33 ½ ears in 12 minutes.

How do you tell if a cranberry is ripe?  If it bounces at least 4” high, it’s good.  If it doesn’t bounce high enough it is too ripe.

It takes about 200 cranberries to make 1 can of cranberry sauce.

The early American colonists created pumpkin pie.  They would cut off the top and remove the seeds.  Then they filled the inside with milk, spices, and honey, and baked the “stuffed” pumpkin in hot ashes.

In 1584, the explorer Jacques Cartier reported finding “gros melons” in North America.  The English translated this to “pompions”, which became pumpkins.

Now you can astound your relatives with your amazing insights into the Thanksgiving meal!

Upcoming Events!

The Peoria Farm Show is coming up fast this month - Nov 30-Dec 2.  Be sure to stop our booth (H1131 & H1133)

University of Illinois 2011 Corn & Soybean Classics

The upcoming program, with a format that emphasizes crop production, pest management, economics, and the interactions among them, will begin at 9:00 and conclude by 3:30. Market updates will be provided throughout the day, and communication among speakers and participants is encouraged. Question-and-answer sessions are scheduled for both morning and afternoon. Lunch and a proceedings booklet with synopses of all presentations are provided to each registrant.

These are the dates and locations for this year's Classics:

• January 5 (Wednesday): Springfield Crowne Plaza
• January 6 (Thursday): Mt. Vernon Holiday Inn
• January 7 (Friday): Champaign I Hotel and Conference Center
• January 10 (Monday): Bloomington DoubleTree Hotel
• January 11 (Tuesday): Malta Kishwaukee College
• January 12 (Wednesday): Moline i wireless Center
• January 13 (Thursday): Quincy Holiday Inn

The following speakers will be part of each meeting:

Carl Bradley--Paying for Fungicides, or Making Fungicides Pay?
Michael Gray--0%,5%,10%,or 20%: Stacked or Pyramided, Structured or Refuge-in-a-Bag. Perfectly Clear?
Terry Niblack--Nematodes that Attack Corn and Soybean: Situation and Management
Fabián Fernández--Improved Nitrogen Management through Source, Placement, and Timing
Aaron Hager--Revisiting the Realm of Residuals
Gary Schnitkey--Corn and Soybean Margins
Emerson Nafziger--A "Formula" for High Corn Yield?
Vince Davis--Soybean Agronomics

You can register online for the Classics at www.cropsciconferences.org. Preregistrations, at a cost of $60, are accepted through December 18. Registrations December 19 through 31 and on-site are $75. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at 800-321-1296.--Aaron Hager

Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday and it being a short week, there will be NO Field Focus for the last week of November!  See you next month!

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 11/12/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)  Not much going on here. Many farmers are now putting on ammonia. With all the rain early in the season, and compaction many are working corn, and bean ground; first time I’ve seen this in a long time.  I have numerous cases where my customers have increased their orders from last year due to great performance, and competitive prices.  Also, we sure need rain here, it is extremely dry.  

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Most all field work is done, but it is very dry.  Some guys are putting on gas and others are waiting for moisture to come sometime soon.  In the mean time, I’m seeing a lot of customers on an appointment basis about their seed needs for next year.  It looks like warm weather is headed our way and hopefully some much needed moisture.  Be safe out there. 

TAMMY’s 2 Sense Nonsense – It’s November already!  Where has the time gone?  Illinois Crop Progress Report shows that nearly 100% of harvest is now complete and everyone’s focus seems to be shifting to fall tillage and fertilizer application.  Some of you may  even be ready to review product performance information, yield information from combine monitors or scale tickets in preparation of placing an early order.  Please be sure to check our web-site for ALL our Plot Information as well as our Product Information and find a DSM near you to contact for the latest and greatest up-to-date information on Stone Seed Group Products and Services.

Stone Seed Group™ Out-Yields Beck’s Hybrids in Illinois!

Check out the comparative analysis report between (4) key Stone Seed Group corn products and (6) key Beck’s Hybrid products within the State of Illinois from 2009 and 2010 to date. Data is pulled from all available Illinois sources such as 3rd party plots, FIRST Trials, University of Illinois, Soy Capital, County Extension plots, Side by Sides and Stone Seed Group plots. Click here for the complete report.

Here is a quick summary of the report:

• 6N52VT3 brand won 78.20% of the time in 133 comparisons
• 7N88VT3 brand won 80.00% of the time in 95 comparisons
• 8T468VT3 brand won 70.71% of the time in 99 comparisons
• 5913VT3 brand won 86.67% of the time in 105 comparisons

Stone Seed Group out-yielded Beck’s Hybrids by 11.5 bushel/acre and won 78.94% of the time. The average $ advantage for Stone Seed Group over Beck’s Hybrids is $54.62/Acre.* With a planting population of 33,000, this equates to approximately $131.08 per unit of corn better value for Stone Seed Group products over Beck’s!

Look for yield comparison updates with other competitors to come on a weekly basis. 
Agronomy Team.

*Assumed selling price per unit: $4.75/bu
*Assumed drying Cost:  $0.05/Point moisture over 15%

 

Agronomic Spotlight: Seed Size Issues in Corn
Questions arise every year regarding effects of seed size and shape on plantability and yield potential.  Corn seed size or shape is not related to genetic yield potential.  However, planter settings should be adjusted for accurate seed postioning placement and intended population.  Learn more about planter setting tips for Vacuum planters with “cell disks” or “flat disks”, and “Finger Pick-up” planters by clicking this link.

Upcoming Events!

The Peoria Farm Show is coming up fast this month - Nov 30-Dec 2.  Be sure to stop our booth (H1131 & H1133)

University of Illinois 2011 Corn & Soybean Classics

The upcoming program, with a format that emphasizes crop production, pest management, economics, and the interactions among them, will begin at 9:00 and conclude by 3:30. Market updates will be provided throughout the day, and communication among speakers and participants is encouraged. Question-and-answer sessions are scheduled for both morning and afternoon. Lunch and a proceedings booklet with synopses of all presentations are provided to each registrant.

These are the dates and locations for this year's Classics:

• January 5 (Wednesday): Springfield Crowne Plaza
• January 6 (Thursday): Mt. Vernon Holiday Inn
• January 7 (Friday): Champaign I Hotel and Conference Center
• January 10 (Monday): Bloomington DoubleTree Hotel
• January 11 (Tuesday): Malta Kishwaukee College
• January 12 (Wednesday): Moline i wireless Center
• January 13 (Thursday): Quincy Holiday Inn

The following speakers will be part of each meeting:

Carl Bradley--Paying for Fungicides, or Making Fungicides Pay?
Michael Gray--0%,5%,10%,or 20%: Stacked or Pyramided, Structured or Refuge-in-a-Bag. Perfectly Clear?
Terry Niblack--Nematodes that Attack Corn and Soybean: Situation and Management
Fabián Fernández--Improved Nitrogen Management through Source, Placement, and Timing
Aaron Hager--Revisiting the Realm of Residuals
Gary Schnitkey--Corn and Soybean Margins
Emerson Nafziger--A "Formula" for High Corn Yield?
Vince Davis--Soybean Agronomics

You can register online for the Classics at www.cropsciconferences.org. Preregistrations, at a cost of $60, are accepted through December 18. Registrations December 19 through 31 and on-site are $75. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at 800-321-1296.--Aaron Hager

Lets also touch a bit on SAFETY as you are in the fields completing fall tillage work or applying the fall fertilizer, please be very careful and safe as you do so!  Always pay close attention to your surroundings for someone or something that may have popped into the picture unexpectedly.  Also be very careful working with Anhydrous and other fall chemicals as you are applying them.  Wear the appropriate safety gear such as goggles, gloves, glasses etc. as you would in the spring!  Until next week!

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of November 05, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 11/1/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
NORTH WEST IL:  Tony Strom (Victoria, IL – Knox Co.)  Harvest is over 90% done in Knox, Warren, and Stark counties, with a few corn and soybean acres left to harvest. NH3 application started last week and after 2 inches of rain early this week and temperatures dropping everyone will be running this weekend. A lot of fall tillage has already taken place and all my plots are completed. We had an excellent showing in my plots and 3rd party. 6N52VT3 had an outstanding year and our new SmartStax™ 6228GSS also excelled. Soybean were great everywhere.  Have a good week and be safe.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)  Looks like a wrap here in Central IL. People have started ordering seed, but we are still waiting to put on ammonia. Many rippers and chisels are breaking bolts and even being pulled apart; very hard out there, as we anticipated it would be. Some guys are still long on corn with prices where they are, but we are off to a much better spring kickoff.  Stone Seed Group varieties performed very well. My district has been rewarded for that. So far things are looking great!!

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Field work is complete and they started applying anhydrous over in my area on October 28th.  Everyone seems to be ready to place orders; they are coming in like crazy now that the crop is in and the field work is coming to an end.  Some customers have even increased their orders due to performance and plot results.

Stone Seed Group™ Out-Yields Pioneer® in Illinois

The picture is a link to the right that is a comparative analysis report between (4) key Stone Seed Group corn products and (5) key Pioneer products within the State of Illinois from 2009 and 2010 to date. Data is pulled from all available sources such as 3rd party plots, FIRST Trials, University of Illinois, Soy Capital, County Extension plots, Side by Sides and Stone Seed Group plots.  Only head to head comparisons with a minimum of (10) tests are in this report. 

Here is a quick summary of the report:

• 5913VT3 brand won 64.71% of the time in 34 comparisons
• 6N52VT3 brand won against all Pioneer products 80.41% of the time in 148 comparisons
• 7N88VT3 brand won against all Pioneer products 66% of the time in 100 comparisons
• 8T468VT3 brand won 74.36% of the time in 39 comparisons

Stone Seed Group out-yielded Pioneer by 9.8 bushel/acre and won 73.52% of the time.  The average $ advantage for Stone Seed Group over Pioneer is $51.62/Acre.*
With a planting population of 33,000, this equates to approximately $123.90 per unit of corn better value for Stone Seed Group! 

Look for yield comparison updates with other competitors to come on a weekly basis. 
Agronomy Team.

*Assumed selling price per unit: $4.75/bu
*Assumed drying Cost:  $0.05/Point moisture over 15%

Anhydrous Ammonia Applications in a Dry Fall...

The Stone Seed Group Agronomy Team has addressed this topic in Field Focus several times already in the past 30 days but in all reality, the dry soil conditions have not changed much if any throughout most of Illinois.  This presents a potentially “volatile” situation for NH3.   Many questions are still being asked about NH3 applications this fall. 

• Are soils cold enough?
• Is there enough moisture in the soil to properly seal behind NH3 knives?
• What if I deep tilled soybean stubble this fall and I want to apply NH3?

The following is a quick read from Jim Camberato, a Purdue University Extension Agronomist on this topic:

Anhydrous Ammonia Applications in a Dry Fall …”The first step to insuring the efficient use of AA is to keep it in the soil during application. Soil moisture helps the soil seal and also functions to capture ammonia (NH3), enabling its reaction with water to form NH4+. Currently some soils may be too dry to seal properly and capture all the NH3 that will be applied, especially if the soils are loosened by tillage prior to AA application. It is not advisable to apply AA to soils in this condition irrespective of soil temperature.”  To read the entire article, click here.  

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of October 24, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 10/22/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
NORTH CENTRAL IL:  Matthew Meyer (Mapleton, IL – Peoria Co.)  Amazingly, another harvest has almost come and gone in a blink of an eye. The weather has just been beautiful for farmers this fall. In west central Illinois, harvest is about wrapped up with several guys finishing up beans and a few corn fields remaining, but the finish line is near for almost everyone. Ground is being worked, disked and chiseled and prep work for putting on Nitrogen has started with just a handful of some guys already started on that. Be sure to stay safe out there. And wouldn’t you know it, a break is in sight, the weatherman is calling for rain!

CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.)  As harvest winds down plots and general yield data are coming in and it is displayed on our web site.  Information we can all use in helping us with decisions for 2011.  As field work progresses, safety is still a topic we all should be aware of.  Tractors with implements on the road and soon fertilizer tanks are something we need to be aware of.  Now we all need to focus on plans being made for the 2011 crop year.  We need to evaluate, in crop planning, how things performed under various conditions, whether it be corn on corn, corn on beans, or things like wet holes that we may be able to help correct with tilling or waterways.  Soil tests, method of application of N, and tillage this fall and next spring are all things to be considered.  2011 has the makings of a very exciting year in crop production with new corn and soybean offerings with great traits to help increase productivity, and a fall when we can actually get some work done.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)  All wrapped up here, just waiting to put on ammonia. I have many customers with 65-75b/acre averages, some of best bean yields ever.  Very busy just trying to see everyone. It is nice to have almost everything done, good yields and good prices. Have any questions just call?

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Helped take out the bean plot today for Ag Answers in Sullivan, Ill. and our varieties did well, especially 2R3401 and 2R3901.  The 2R3401 bean did 64 bu., planted 6-30 on 15 in. rows.  Our beans and corn products sure continue to shine in plots all over Ill.  A lot of my customers are ordering some 6404VT3P and some 6228GSS.  Remember, when you order SmartStax™, we throw in the refuge corn free.  Hopefully by the time this article hits the Field Focus, we will have received some much needed rain to help finish tillage work and get some N applied in the soil.

TAMMY’s 2 Sense Nonsense – WOW, what a fall!  We’re not quite to the end of October yet and a lot of farmers have already completed harvest for 2010.  Last year at this time we barely had a good start to harvest.  What a welcome difference.  As everyone reaches completion of harvest we begin to look ahead in planning for 2011.  In doing so be sure to check out all our plot results @ www.stoneseed.com  to see what products you may have some interest on getting more information to possibly put them into your product plan for 2011.  We have a lot of great products to offer, don’t miss out on the opportunity to plant them.  Contact one of our DSM’s to learn more, if you don’t have one, call one of our 3 locations and our CSR team would be happy to point you in the right direction.  Have another great week and watch out for all the spooks that will be around!   

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

      As the guys write in their comments above, fertilizer application time is upon us.  Here are a few points to remember:

---Anhydrous application:  Hold off until soil temperatures 4” deep at 10:00 A.M. are 60 degrees or below when using nitrification inhibitors such as N-Serve®.  If no inhibitors are being used, wait until soil temperatures are consistently under 50 degrees.

---This is a great fall to lime.  Remember, it isn’t just about the pH.  It’s also about nutrient availability.  It’s estimated that if your pH is 5.5 you essentially waste 32% of your N-P-K; if it is at least 6.0 that figure drops to 20% or less.

---If you’re using factory by-products or sewage sludge, check with the provider about levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, etc. in your material.  These products can be good to work with, just be sure you know the analysis.

---Where you are at with your soil fertility levels on your farms matters to us with our seed recommendations to you.  If the levels are good, we’ll recommend certain varieties.  If there are issues such as low potash, high C.E.C., etc., we’ll probably recommend some different varieties. Your yield maps and soil fertility situations are important to us as we develop seed selection plans with you.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of October 18, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 10/15/10        

Andy Stone's Field Focus Report.

As the Harvest draws to close, I feel it’s time to reflect on our Agrarian good fortune. Sure this year had it’s share of challenges with the wet and then the dry & hot but we in Illinois were again blessed. Our Corn yields were not a record but they were respectable for the season and our Bean yields were some of the best ever. When you put this together with the outstanding markets for our products that we now have, it will once again be a fine year.

I feel our Company has been doubly blessed, we have some of the hardest working folks I’ve ever been associated with and the best customers in the entire world. As I look over our Test results our performance has never been stronger. Never before have we dominated so many yield comparisons, just look through the FIRST trials and the University of Illinois Variety testing trials. You will see what  our Company stands for when we say: "We Live Here, We Farm Here, We Know Illinois!”. These unbiased 3rd party tests leave no doubt that we back up our words!

The second part that I feel doubly proud of is that in contrast to many other Ag suppliers we have chosen to hold the line on Prices and in many cases reduce them year over year. Our entire goal every day is to be the most profitable Seed Solution for all of your acres and I sure feel we are accomplishing that goal. If you are not presently planting our Top performing products I urge you to go to our contacts page and call your local Stone Seed Group DSM.

My last idea as I reflect on our bounty is to encourage everyone that reads this to go to our www.GrowCommunities.com web sight and nominate a charity in your local area. It only takes a minute and it could garner your local community $2,500.  We want to prove to the world that America’s farmers are not only the most productive but also the most caring in the world. Another great charity that only takes a minute to apply is www.FarmersFeedingTheWorld.com. My friend Kip Tom is a big supporter of this organization and we should all look into it. Our world is a big place and many (too many) people go to bed hungry each night.

We in America and Illinois are fortunate that the sun has shown on us, now let’s make our world a better place by sharing the bounty.

Thanks for a great year!
Andy

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)  It looks like harvest is wrapped up here in Central, IL.  I am now trying to take orders.  Looks like 6N-52VT3, 8T468VT3, 681-76VT3, 7T231VT3, worked well!  Our new 5508GSS, 5708GSS, and 2R3001, 2R3401 also were good.  Most guys have fertilizer going on; many guys are trying gypsum; does great for loosening soils. Waiting for it too cool off for ammonia work, but let’s keep the DEEP RIPPING GOING.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Harvest is quickly winding down over here in and around Tuscola.  I had a customer near Arthur who had a 40 acre field of 2R3800 beans make 78.5 bu. across the elevator.  I rode in a combine with one of my dealers down at Casey on Wed. and his 378NRR beans planted 6-27 were making between 53 and 60 bu.  I have enjoyed a fast start to the selling season as my customers have seen good results and have increased their corn orders and either increased or added beans for the first time.  Several are trying our new 114 day Triple Pro corn for the added ear worm protection.  I encourage a lot of you to take a good look at it for your line-up.  I worked up a 45 bag corn order for one of my customers using 2 triple stack hybrids and 1 triple Pro with 9 bags of refuge versus 43 bags of 2 Smartstax hybrids and 2 free bags of refuge [company policy].  The difference was the Smartstax line-up was only $7.00/bag more or about $3.00/acre more for total protection.  I was surprised.  In this case it’s a no brainer to use Smartstax.  Take a good look at our new 112 day 114 day hybrids and think about that 5% refuge, which is free from Stone Seed.  Take care and enjoy this beautiful weather.

Andrew Musselman; (Morton, IL- Tazewell Co.)  Harvest has finished for some or is almost finished for most others already this year.  What a dramatic change from last year.  A few farmers with corn-on-beans have experienced the same yield as last year or slightly higher.  Most of the corn-on-corn experienced a dramatic reduction in yields from last year, with at least a 10% yield reduction, if not much, much more.  Beans have generally been doing well, with many fields in the 60 and 70 bushel range, with some places in fields going into the 80s and 90s.  I have not heard of many beans going under 50 bushel.  My diagnosis on the corn-on-corn problem would be summarized as this: three consecutive wet years, with compaction added to the soil every year, minimal freeze-thaw last winter, late harvest last fall not allowing microbes to work on residue, a wet spring inhibiting rooting and oxygen flow, high night-time temperatures, and lack of timely rains.  I also noticed more rootworm feeding than last year.  The damaged roots could have been a pathway for soil-borne pathogens to enter the plants, causing disease to malign the plant as well as the high heat.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

 Harvest in Northern Illinois continues, and not far behind the combines are lime piles, deep rippers, vertical tillage tools, and chisel plows.  This will be the fall to bring up the pH and manage the crop residue.  Want to see 100 bu/acre corn?  We’ve got it.  Want to see 300 bu/acre corn?  We’ve got some of that too (in isolated areas).  In a region where we thank our lucky stars if we see greater than 50 bu/acre beans, seeing 60-70 bu/acre beans roll out is a refreshing sight.  Between Rt. 34 and Rt. 30, yields are all over the board.  Go north of Rt. 30 and many guys are seeing the best yields they’ve ever had.

With the wide range of yields has come many field observations such as these where farmers ask:
---why is one field standing perfect at 13.5% moisture and another one lodging heavily at 18%?
---why is one variety in a plot showing the “zipper effect” and another one next to it looks great?
---why did my neighbor’s corn look better than mine when he only applied nitrogen once and I split applied mine?

Mother Nature certainly keeps agronomists busy! 

Agronomic Spotlight

Managing the Effects of Crop Residue in Continuous Corn…crop residue in continuous corn can be difficult to manage.  If residue is not dealt with, it can decrease seed to soil contact, emergence, and vigor.  Residue can also tie up nitrogen (N) during much of the season making it unavailable to the corn crop.  Additionally, residue can harbor disease pathogens.  While the speed of residue degradation is heavily influenced by weather and the environment, there are actions that can be taken during and after harvest, as well as in the spring to help decrease the negative effects of excessive crop residue.  Read the full article by clicking here.

Interpreting Yield Results – Data Evaluation and Statistical Measurements….Data from a single plot location near one’s farm is only one snapshot of performance, and it may not provide a complete picture of hybrid potential…evaluation of a hybrid across multiple locations and multiple years if available allows the greatest opportunity to get an accurate picture of its performance and consistency.  Many plots have other items of information that require an understanding for proper interpretation.  To learn more about how to better understand plots with “Check” hybrids and statistical measurements such as LSD (least significant difference) and CV (coefficient of variance) read on at this link here.

2010 Plot Results Update:  Harvest time and fall tillage is wrapping up throughout most of our area.  It’s time now to evaluate Corn and Soybean product performance.  There is no better reference for you than the Stone Seed Group website.  Once there, view and/or print Dealer and customer plots and 3rd party plots/research including FIRST, University of Illinois and Soy Capital… all at http://www.stoneseed.com/plots.htm.  New plots are added DAILY and are easy to search for! 

JUST LOADED:  University of Illinois 2010 Corn results -- Check out Stone Seed Group’s outstanding performance!

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of October 11, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 10/08/10

DSM COMMENTS:
NORTH WEST IL:  Tony Strom (Victoria, IL – Knox Co.)  Harvest is on the downhill side!  With the great weather soybean harvest is almost complete. Yields have been averaging around +70 bu./acre and are abundant.  RR2Yield soybean are 1st in plots in my area, 2R3401 is outstanding.  Corn yield continue to vary a lot, fungicide results show 20 to 30 bu./acre better on corn.  6223VT3 is consistently in the top in my area and plots will be 6228GSS this year.  Weighed 6N52 in at 232 bu./acre last week in Stark County. Have a great week.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)    We are just about there with the 2010 harvest.  Even my customers to the north are getting close to finishing up.  Kieth Fluegel of LeRoy, IL cut his best soybean crop ever with his 3A388NRR, they made 62 bu./acre across 90 acres with some being on timber and white soils.  Scott Hoeft of Bloomington, IL, one of my longest customers and a good farmer has close to a 210 bu./acre average on corn and 66 bu./acre average on his beans.  He had 130 acres of 3A388BRR and 3800 that averaged 73 bu./acre, received his order AND check yesterday.  Most soybean yields are up with some guys coming in with well above average soybean yields.  Bob Paine had an average of 65 bu./acre with his 3A388NRR, which is a stud bean.  Things are progressing here rapidly, by next Field Focus , most of my guys should be wrapped up for the most part, this is GREAT NEWS!

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Well the weather continues to be just perfect as farmers are wrapping up harvest over here in east central Ill.  I have one more big corn plot to take out north of Bement on Friday, October 8th.  Customers of mine continue to be fortunate in having good corn and bean yields.  As I started to work on serious seed orders this week, since guys are finishing up, I’ve already experienced a 150 bag increase in corn sales from my first 3 customers I saw this week.  They are very happy with the good results and the fact that our prices have decreased a bit.  Very good bean yields on our RR2Y, they continue to come in from all over.  Continue to check out all of our plot results on www.stoneseed.com.  It is good to see that most of all the ground is going to get tilled this fall after what it went through last year.  Continue to be safe out there and put Stone seed in your line-up.

TAMMY’s 2 Sense Nonsense – The last couple weeks we have had a lot of plots taken out around the area and results are steadily coming in.  As Dennis Opperman mentioned above, PLEASE be sure to frequently check our website for the updates on plot results.  A lot of good product is coming out of the fields, and showing up the compitition I might ad.  If you didn’t plant some of these great hybrids this season, you might want to consider them for 2011.  Contact your local DSM and learn more about our products and their performance in the plots!

Website Plot Reports hint:  Find corn or soybean plots easily!  All corn report titles are highlighted in “red” and all soybean report titles are “brownish”.  http://www.stoneseed.com/plots.htm

Have another SAFE and successful week in the fields!

Bement, Illinois Plot Results:  Stone Seed Group and Pioneer
Check out the plot results Dennis Opperman referred to in his comments.  This is more of a “side by side” affair than a strip trial on Cary Hinton’s farm just north of Bement, Illinois.  Each product is 16 rows across and the field length is 2,340 feet long.  6N52VT3, our best selling VT3 product and the winner of this same plot last year was used as the “check” hybrid this year. 

6N52VT3 dominated all Pioneer products.  Note the figures indicating the “difference from check”.  Nothing came within 5 bushel of 6N52VT3 except Stone Seed Group 6413VT3, which will be our new Genuity SmartStax® 6418GSS in 2011.  Factor in Corn Earworm protection as a SmartStax® and count on even more yield!

Click the left image to see this plot.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of October 4, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 10/01/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   I have only a few guys left harvesting corn.  Most of my dealers/customers are into beans and they are doing better than expected, about 5-15 bu./acre average better.  RR2Y beans in most cases are way better than the RR1’s.  What a CRAZY crop year, soon it will be over!  

WEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  Corn harvest is wrapping up.  Several are done with corn and making the dust fly with beans.  I can only remember one other year that we had corn done in Sept.; early 90’s I think.  Yields over all are decent but not what we experienced last year.  However it’s nice not listening to dryers suck propane. 

Bean yields seem to be coming in better than 09.  Lots of 70’s, and I would not doubt seeing some actual 90 bu. field average beans.  Lots of 10 and 11% beans. 

Continue to stay safe.  We lost another combine locally yesterday.  Seems we have been giving our volunteer fire departments too much extra practice lately.  Watch out for the city folks on the highways.      

TAMMY’s 2 Sense Nonsense – With the continuation of harvest and everyone working hard in the fields, I decided to continue and build on FARM SAFETY.  You can never be TOO SAFE while in the fields or on the farm.   Below is some interesting Farm Safety and Health Facts that I found on the web.  Please take special note  of the “Contributing Factors to Farm Fatalities in Rural Areas”, and don’t become one of these statistics!  Have a great week on the farm and in the fields!  

The American Society of Safety Engineers
Protecting People, Property and the Environment Since 1911
August, 2010
Farm Safety Fact Sheet for Rural Areas

National Farm Safety and Health Week, September 19-25, 2010
Farm Safety Facts

• Agriculture work is one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S., with an average death rate of approximately 25 people per 100,000 workers in 2008, according to the Centers for Dis-ease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• In 2008, approximately 1,818,000 full time workers were employed in production agriculture.
• Each day, approximately 243 agricultural workers suffer lost-work-time-injuries. Five percent of these injuries results in permanent impairment.
• Most farm-related incidents are caused by machinery, with tractors being the leading cause of farm-related deaths.
• More than half of all farm-related deaths are caused by tractors. Of these fatalities, more than 50% are from tractor overturns.
• Slips and falls are the leading cause of farm-related injuries.
• Farming is one of the few industries in which families (who often share the work and live on the premises) are also at risk for injuries, illnesses and deaths.
• Additional passengers on tractors, especially children, are at a very high risk of being injured.

Farm Health Facts

• Farming has one of the highest levels of job-related stress.
• Often, farmers are exposed to hazardous chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia, carbon diox-ide and methane gases, which can cause acute and chronic illnesses.
• Farmers may suffer from respiratory problems due to exposure to large amounts of dust and chemicals.
• Farmers are at a greater risk of suffering from heat stroke.
• In rural areas, hospitals and other health services can be miles away, causing serious delays in emergency medical attention. ASSE recommends farmers and their families have first aid and

Contributing Factors to Farm Fatalities in Rural Areas

• Farmers operating a tractor may not see oncoming cars when making wide turns, which can cause a fatal collision.
• Tractors may not have Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS).
• Some farmers do not wear seat belts when operating tractors equipped with a ROPS, falsely believing it is safer not to wear one.
• Stress and fatigue can lead to farm accidents as farmers can lose concentration and focus when operating machinery for long periods of time.
• Loud noise is a common cause of farm-related hearing loss. Farmers should wear earmuffs or ear plugs while working in the vicinity of loud noises.

For Additional Farm Safety Information: Contact the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administra-tion (OSHA) at www.osha.gov, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at www.cdc.gov/niosh, and the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety at http://research.marshfieldclinic.org/children.
Founded in 1911, the Des Plaines, IL-based ASSE is the oldest professional safety organization and is committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Its more than 32,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries. For more information please go to www.asse.org.
Contact: Lindsay Stuart, 847-768-3404, lstuart@asse.org, or Pam Glinka, 847-768-3462, pglinka@asse.org for additional farm safety tips, fact sheets or if you need assistance. Go to www.asse.org/newsroom for more information.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

 As harvest continues we are seeing the genetic potential of the Stone soybean lineup being unleashed.  There are numerous instances where farmers are seeing soybean yields higher than anything they’ve ever seen on their farm before.  If you are a part of this fortunate group, keep these yields in mind when you plan your fertilization program for next year’s crop.  Soybeans are heavy users of potash, and at some of the yields we’re seeing you’ll need to possibly reconsider your program.

P₂O  Nutrient Removal (lbs.) K₂O  
Soybean Grain      P₂O (phosphorus)               K₂O (potash)
60 bu.                   48                                          84
70 bu.                   56                                          98        
80 bu.                   64                                         112

 Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL.

Soy Capital 2010 Soybean Demonstration Plot:  Check out these results from Towanda, IL.  Stone Seed Group placed 5th, 11th and 16th!
2R3401 – 78 bu/ac
2R2801 – 76.2 bu/ac
2R3801 – 74.3 bu/ac

Stone Seed Group 2010 Plot Results:  We encourage you to begin checking out our plot results at http://www.stoneseed.com/plots.htm.  Brian Taylor nearly broke the 100 bushels/acre threshold on soybeans with our new Roundup Ready 2 Yield® product 2R3401 near Waggoner, Illinois last week.  Results should be up on the web by tomorrow for that high-yielding plot plus more than 50 other Stone Seed Group plots.

Fall Tillage Decisions in 2010….

“Corn yield results in 2010 confirm the fact that crop rotation had a much bigger impact than tillage systems (Table 1).”  See test results comparing the last 10 years yields/tillage systems by rotation to 2010 results.  Read the entire article by clicking the picture here.

With The Early Harvest:  Should I Plant Wheat Early? 

Many wheat growers may be tempted to plant wheat early this year.  However, early planted wheat increases the probability of infestation by Hessian fly, which lay eggs that hatch and the larvae (maggots) feed on young wheat seedlings. The optimal planting date for wheat in Illinois is within 7-14 days after the average Hessian Fly-free data, as can be seen in the table below (University of Illinois 2004).  Disease infections also increase with early planting especially in warm soils (>60 degrees F).  And if increased pest pressure is not enough reason to hold off on early planting, excessive fall growth resulting from early planting also increases the risk of winter injury, and advanced wheat development can increase the risk of spring freeze injury.  Consider using the extra time to soil sample and apply lime, phosphorus, and potassium where needed.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of September 27, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 09/24/10  

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)  We received 7/10” rain here Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.  Some folks are back in corn as we speak.  I had a customer who cut 30 acres of soybeans that yielded 77 bu./acre.  I had a good side by side plot that 5908 GSS won, beating out Golden Harvest and Becks Liberty Hybrids.  Most of my customers will be done with corn by the end of the week.  I have another customer that told my dealer his 8T339VT3 has been his best corn so far.  I took M617 and M637 to my food grade buyer and I think he will put them on his list.  He said they both looked great!  See you next week.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Harvest continues to click along at a fast pace over here in east central Ill.   A 1.5 inch rain from Tues. night through Wed. morning has stopped action for awhile to allow farmers to “catch their breath”.  I have a corn plot to take out Thurs. afternoon in the Arthur area.  Yields continue to be pretty good, with 6N52VT3 leading the way.  681-76 and 6N52 were the top two hybrids respectively in John Lannon’s corn that I took out last Fri. up south of Sidney, Ill.  They came in at 241 bu. and 235 bu. and beat one of Becks newest numbers (6179VT3) by 40 bu. when it yielded 201 bu.   I’m hearing some fantastic Round-Up 2 bean yields in the mid to upper 70’s.  With the fact you can buy R2’s in Sept. and Oct. under $50.00; that should be something guys want to jump at.  Continue to check out www.stoneseed.com to get the latest plot yields around the state and see how great our hybrids are doing.  Have a good week and be safe out there.  Dennis Opperman, DSM in Tuscola, Ill. serving east central Ill.

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Aaron Miller (Brownstown, IL – Fayette Co.)  Most growers in my area have made a good dent in the corn harvest. Some have finished up, and are just starting on beans. The corn yields were all over the board. Where the corn was good it was very good, but where it was bad it was very bad. It had to do a lot with how the ground laid, if the water got off of the corn it was really good, a lot of 180 to 200 bu. corn. I haven't heard much on the bean side for yield, but if the beans yield as good as they look, we could see some really good beans for this part of Illinois.

TAMMY’s 2 Sense Nonsense– Is it nonsense?  Don’t know, sometimes maybe, but thought it was a catchy phrase so decided to change it.  Harvest is in full swing in most areas and we all must remember to TAKE CAUTION when we are approaching slow moving farm equipment on the roadways.  Below is a bit of information I found on the web and thought is was worth sharing.  One thing I noticed not listed below that my husband is always reminding me of is that when approaching a slow moving piece of equipment near a crossroad DO NOT PASS them,  they may be turning and depending on the size of equipment and implement they are towing, they need to make wide turns.  Good luck and be safe on the highways, as a farmer and as a local citizen driver.

A few rural road safety considerations:

Slow down as soon as you spot a piece of farm equipment. In fact, if you see something ahead that is neither car nor truck, slow down--at least until you have identified the object.
Watch for hand signals. Just because a tractor veers right does not mean the operator is pulling over for you to pass. The sheer size of farm equipment often dictates the necessity of wide turns--hence the veer right. If a tractor operator is signaling you to wait, trust him. He has a much higher vantage point than you.
Be aware of the triangular Slow-moving-Vehicle (SMV) sign. Only use SMV signs on slow moving vehicles, not to mark driveways or for other non-vehicular uses. Not only are these actions illegal in many areas, they devalue the purpose of SMV signs, putting producers at risk when moving equipment.
Watch for flashing amber lights. This type of light often marks the far right and left of farm equipment. Also watch for reflective tape marking extremities and sides of equipment.
Do not speed past farm machinery. Even when you may pass safely and legally, the turbulence created by your vehicle may cause the machinery to sway and become unstable.
Do not pull out in front of slow moving vehicle and then slow suddenly. A tractor pulling a grain cart does not have the maneuverability of a car. Did I mention size? Make sure you have ample space to pass. As with any passing operation, check the rear-view mirror before returning to your travel lane.
Do not expect equipment to run partly on the road shoulders. Driving with one set of wheels on the pavement and one set on loose-surfaced shoulders substantially increases the risk of overturn or other accident.

This article contains excerpts from "Road Safety" by Lisa Holscher. It first appeared in the May/June 2007 issue of Hobby Farms

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

The number of comments and observations about green stems in soybeans are increasing, so let’s think about our terminology:

Photo by: Shaun Casteel, Purdue Soybean Extension Specialist

---If we say the beans are showing stay-green, we would be referring to the fact that the beans are remaining greener longer in all parts of the plant, including pods, leaves, and stems. With the increased use of fungicides on beans, you may notice this either as a result of the fungicide itself or a fungicide/varietal interaction.

---If we say the beans are showing green stem then we’re talking different scenarios:

1.  Bean pod mottle virus transmitted by bean leaf beetles?  In many areas this year these beetles were a no-show.
2. Interactions with stink bugs or other pod feeding insects?  Once again, in many areas these were a no show or at low levels this year.
3. Environmental interactions or stresses during seed development?  This seems to be more of the driving force this year.  To narrow this down, look at some of your green stem plants.  Do they have fewer pods and seeds then the plants that are normal harvest color?  Research has shown that a bean plant with significantly fewer pods will also show a later maturation of the stem.

STONE SEED GROUP PLOT RESULTS Updated Daily
Don’t stop here…go to http://www.stoneseed.com/plots.htm to see all of our plot updates for this past week!  Find over 40 Stone Seed Group corn strip trial plot results and side by sides from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.  Also find current results on many 3rd party tests!  Soybean plots will begin rolling out this week so check back often to see how well our Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans are performing this year. 

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of September 20, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 09/17/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
EAST CENTRAL IL:  Matthew Meyer (Mattoon, IL – Coles Co.)  With the turning of the calendar to September and Labor Day passing, many farmers have started harvest in the west central Illinois region. By taking advantage of these slightly cool temperatures and windy days earlier this week, some farmers are finding out that their corn is drier than they realized. I have personally heard some 13 to 14% moistures around the area. Yields have varied across the region. Also, with some early reports that later season corns are doing slightly better and corn after bean ground the same. It is great to get started with harvest, but just remember everyone, think safety first while on the roads and while working around machinery.

NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  First field of 5T128VT3 came out yesterday...204 bu., 16% moisture, 55# test weight...very good for 103 day corn...most corn in field is 18 to 22 percent...still appear to be excellent yields in Northern Illinois...some beans coming out...8 percent and 60 to 70 bu/ac...much corn should be coming out shortly...stalk quality falling off quickly...so far, excellent harvest conditions!

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)  One more good corn plot to go! Yields are all over. Corn on corn some under 100 bu./acre and have seen some 8T212VT3, with fungicide, on rolling ground, make 220 bu./acre, up to 260-270bu./acre in hot spots. Only one customer cut any amount of beans, 3A319NRR; made over 60 bu./acre.  He was happy.  Most customers are pretty happy with the Stone Seed Group hybrids.  We are even happier with higher grain prices, and drier corn with most full season corn 19% moisture or under.  Ta ta for now.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Crops are coming out over here around Tuscola at a record clip.  I had one customer take out a 72 acre field of 6N52VT3 at 197 bu./a.  Another customer I talked to this Thurs. morning told me he’s taken out 400 acres of corn and is averaging 198 bu. so far.  I took out a plot of 5 hybrids at Kappes Farms east of Tuscola and the plot averaged 204 bu./acre.  I also took out Brandenburg Farms corn plot down at Casey and it averaged 186 bu./acre, while the Pioneer 1395 in the plot made 151 bu./acre.  My corn plot north of Tuscola at Curt Clappers had yields of 221, 219, and 218, and average over 200 bu./acre  Hybrids 6N52, 681-76, 8T468, and 5508GSS are all doing well from what I’m hearing from my customers, as well as 6223VT3, which will be a GSS next season. It has been doing exceptionally well in Tuscola and Casey. There has been little bit of mold, but not much.  For the most part grain quality has been good.  Moisture continues to run 15 to 17% out of the fields.  My customers up in the Champaign Co. area are also reporting good field yields at or near 200 bu.  The rolling ground there probably helped to get the water off quicker.  I’m finding out that guys who put on some form of N this spring, are getting better yields than those who put it all on last fall.  That’s it for now.  Be safe out there in the fields.

WEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  Corn harvest is progressing very well with moistures in the 15.5% to 18% range.  Kernel depth is shallower than in previous years, contributing to less than expected yields. Other contributing factors are the excess rainfall, nitrogen losses, and abuse of the land in working it wet for the past 3 years. Did we have a choice in most cases? Excessive residue and more disease spores exposed to the corn crop also played a role. It’s a combination of factors that have led to the lower yields, which are probably 20% lower than last year. In one 40 acre field I saw a yield monitor go from 43 bu. to 260 bu. in the same pass. The bright spot is dryer corn and higher prices as long as the higher prices don’t correspond to higher input costs in 2011. Again it comes back to marketing, which is a never ending battle. Soybean harvest began this week but I have not heard of any yields yet. On a safety note: On 9-14 I witnessed 2 combine fires. One was a total loss and the other a severe melting of wiring around the feeder house and under the cab. Take the time to blow out your combines and make sure you have a couple charged 30 pound fire extinguishers mounted on the combine. P to the 7th power..Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Crap still happens though no matter what precautions you take. But..You can replace iron….not a life. Stay Well!!! 

Dave contacted Carl Bradley, University of Illinois Plant Pathologist, about Diplodia in corn this year.  The following is an email from Carl on the subject:

“The Diplodia pathogen survives mostly in the stalk (as embedded pycnidia). As long as there is stalk debris present, then it's likely that the inoculum is present as well.  The situation this year is probably a little worse because of the lack of tillage last fall because of fields being too wet. In addition, there was plenty of Diplodia present last year, so we know that the stalk residue was likely full of Diplodia........the only other component you need for disease (ala disease triangle) is conducive weather for disease (wet weather before and during silking.....which you also had in your area).  All hybrids are susceptible, but there are hybrid to hybrid differences in susceptibility. 
All in all, Diplodia can be a pretty tough disease to manage, but I think some residue management will help reduce the inoculum levels in the field......crop rotation can help as well.”

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Jay Ryan (Pana, IL – Christian Co.)  This year has been a roller coaster of expectations of the corn crop. Before we planted we knew we had made mistakes last year that we would pay for this year. Then an early planting season kind of masked some of those thoughts. Then we’ve seen how uneven the corn crop looked at about V5 and started getting concerned. Then it rained and rained and rained until you couldn't see across the fields anymore and the unevenness was kind of an afterthought. Throw in some more rain and a month of 90+ degree weather and what do you get....a corn crop that is disappointing to our most recent expectations. Corn yields are varying from 80 bu./acre to 230 bu./acre with most of them in the 170 range. The wide range is attributed mainly to drainage, compaction, and nitrogen programs. On a bright note, we are getting an identical start to the fall of 2007 with early harvest and field work. This was followed by 2008. Remember? The year that if a field went 220 you were calling your seed man asking what is wrong with this hybrid! Regardless, the past is the past and the future looks bright. Keep those rippers rolling and sock ‘em in as deep as you can pull them!!!

TAMMY’s 2 Sense – WOW!  What a welcome change from this time last year!  One year ago farmers didn’t think about harvesting their crops and this year everyone has been combining corn for a good week and some have even been able to get in and harvest soybeans. 

Now that harvest is in full swing, please remember to be safe and cautious of what YOU are doing, the people working with you are doing and be aware of any children that may be present and around the equipment.  It only takes 1 second, a blink of an eye for something terrible to happen on the farm.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

As Dave Dimmick and Jay Ryan referenced in their comments, a number of factors have contributed to this year’s up and down corn yield performance.  What does it mean to you?  What are your fields telling you?  Check out the ears on your corn.  They can tell a lot of stories, and help you sort out what happened, both good and maybe not so good.  The accompanying pictures can give you some ideas to maybe eliminate some guessing.

Click image to see larger

The plot data is rolling in.  Be sure to check our 2010 Plot Data link to see all of this week’s updates! 

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of September 13, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 09/10/10

DSM COMMENTS:

CENTRAL IL:  Matthew Meyer (Mapleton, IL – Peoria Co.) With the turning of the calendar to September and Labor Day passing, many farmers have started harvest in the west central Illinois region. By taking advantage of these slightly cool temperatures and windy days earlier this week, some farmers are finding out that their corn is drier than they realized. I have personally heard some 13 to 14% moistures around the area. Yields have varied across the region. Also, with some early reports that later season corns are doing slightly better and corn after bean ground the same. It is great to get started with harvest, but just remember everyone, think safety first while on the roads and while working around machinery. For this time, ‘til next time. Have a great week!

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
 Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL. Corn has been coming out at a fast pace as growers have discovered how dry the crop is.  Standability has been good so far by all reports.  Yields are highly variable based on topography, fertility programs and crop rotation.  The bottoms are producing our lowest yields due to early season soil saturation that challenged roots systems and flushed our nitrogen away.  Rotated ground is producing better than our corn on corn.  Nitrogen is the biggest factor for all of the above.  Based on what this agronomist has seen this year, nitrification inhibitors have a significant impact on nitrogen availability (NH3 and 28% solution)…that goes for both Fall and Spring applied.  With as much on the line in growing corn, managing nitrogen should be a priority for 2011.  Early maturing soybeans have been harvested this past week as well and yields have been better than expected with good quality. 

FIRST Trial Highlights for last week:
	Tuscola – FULL Season 8T468VT3 (113RM) - 1st of 72 entries on Gross Income 6413VT3 (114RM) - 9th of 72 entries on Gross Income
	Watseka – EARLY Season 6N52VT3 (110RM) - 5th of 72 entries on Gross Income 5603VT3 (106RM) - 7th of 72 entries on Gross Income 5508GSS (105RM) - 28th of 72 entries on Gross Income

Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans
A recent inspection of the Stone Seed Group soybean plot at Rick and Mark Eskew showed plants are rapidly maturing in this plot ranging from a 3.0 to 3.9.  The 2R3001 (3.0 RM) is already fully mature.  Pod formation and number of pods look fantastic from top to bottom in the Roundup Ready 2 Yield® varieties. 

Plot Days - This week will finish up most of our scheduled Field Days as harvest really gets cranked up.  We appreciate all who have attended to learn more about our corn and soybean lineups and how we can help improve your profitability. 

	Photo 1- Dennis Opperman and Jeff Brown discuss Stone Seed Group corn products with customers at Curt Clapper’s farm near Tuscola, Illinois.
	Photo 2- Stone Seed Group Dealers, Robert Going and Garrett Maschhoff join together for a field day at Robert’s plot near Addieville, Illinois last week.
	Photo -3 Stone Seed Group grower plot day at the GenTech Farms outside Geneseo, IL
	Photo -4 Stone Seed Group grower plot day at the GenTech Farms outside Geneseo, IL
	Photo -5 Stone Seed Group Moweaqua Location grower appreciation dinner at the Moweaqua Park.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 09/03/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  Some corn harvest has started...lower than expected test weights, and to the south disappointing yields...seems to be exceptional corn north of Shabbona stretching into Wisconsin...high moisture corn much drier than expected at 27 percent...heavy harvest to begin about September 15 in north...SmartStax™ looking exceptional...anthracnose and Goss Wilt in pockets throughout area...expect lower than expected test weights everywhere...most bean yields appear to be average...SDS very heavy in early planted fields.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)  Not much new here, some big guys may fire up combines at the end of this week, I’ve seen some combining started east of town.  There is a lot of dead corn now; more guys going next week.  Stalk quality is really going to be suffering soon.  I have seen Anthracnose stalk rots in some dead corn.  We should really try to run rippers this fall weather permitting.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.) Corn harvest has begun over here in the Tuscola area.  I have heard of corn yields around 160 to 170 on corn on corn.  Most of the activity has been southwest of Arthur.  I look for things to really get busy after the Labor Day weekend.  Customer Gary Kuhns harvested a 92 acre field about 4 mi. west of Tuscola that went 210 dry bushel  average across the elevator scales .  It was mostly Stone’s 681-76VT3 and a refuge.  By the way, if any of you reading this have not checked out the FIRST plot trials, go to our plot page and see how well Stone did at the Vandalia site in the Illinois south location (click here to see the 2010 plot page). We had 4 hybrids in the top 16 and 681-76 was 3rd in the early season trial.  Good luck to everyone out there in the fields and be safe.

 Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL. 2010 Plot Data is trickling it!  Click Here to see all new plot data reports.  Presently, we have data from Coles and Christian Counties along with F.I.R.S.T Trial’s first harvested plot near Vandalia, Illinois in the Illinois South region.  Check out our performance in Vandalia here:

TAMMY’s 2 Sense –  Our Field Days continue.  If you are in the area and can stop by we’d love to have you!! 

Tuesday, September 7th
Geneseo Location Field Day/Plot Tour – 10:00 a.m. with lunch provided by Knox Co. Cattleman Assoc.  Tour located north of Geneseo, east off Rte. 82 onto 2550 Ave.  For more information contact the Geneseo office at 309-944-5131.

Friday, September 17th
LaSalle County Farm Bureau Seed Corn Plot Day - Meal served @ 5:30p.m., and prepared by the Serena FFA. After meal Dale Durchholz, Senior Market Analyst from Agri-Visor to give market update.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of August 30, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 08/27/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.)  Here in central ILL., harvest will begin very soon.  105 day maturity corn planted in early April is below 20% and is ready.  The stalk issue on some of these varieties is bad and we need to check the stalks as Jeff suggested.  Soybeans are still a few weeks away but a yellow cast is showing up on some of the earlier beans.  If you need wheat seed for this fall you had better speak up because supply is limited.  As harvest approaches safety is always a concern, be cautious and be safe.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  A few combines rolling.  The driest I’ve heard is 18%.  Most spot checks are still in the 24% plus.  The SDS situation seems to be decreasing in severity.  It did it last year too.  Go figure.  I’ve been getting some good human temperatures this week. 

TAMMY’s 2 Sense –  The picture to the left is of a Stone Seed Group dealer, Gary Gaskill, standing in a field of RR2Y® soybeans; on the right shows the number of soybeans in the pods from the plants in this same field. 

Join us for a field day to learn more!

As you can see by the below, we have another week of events.  We would like to invite you to attend any of our Field Days and Plot Tours that fit your schedule and are in an area near you.  For your convenience I have listed below the events coming up in the next few days.

Wednesday, September 1st
Jeremy Puetz, Fowler Indiana dealer of Scott Good will be having a customer appreciation and product information meeting.  Location:  Puetz Fowler, IN shop - 5p.m. with meal provided.  For more information please contact Scott Good at 815-383-6614

Thursday, September 2nd
Keith Fluegel Field Day - Dale Luster; Noon - 2 PM Indoor field day and Customer Appreciation with dinner at Jack's Restaurant in LeRoy.  For more information or to attend this meeting, please contact Dale Luster 309-531-7134.

Garrett Maschhoff & Bob Going Field Day - Sept 2nd starting at 6 p.m. with tour @ Bob Going's plot and 7:30 p.m. meal provided at the Eagle Nest in Addieville, IL.  For more information contact Dennis Opperman 217-493-2920.

Tuesday, September 7th
Geneseo Location Field Day/Plot Tour – 10:00 a.m. with lunch provided by Knox Co. Cattleman Assoc.  Tour located north of Geneseo, east off Rte. 82 onto 2550 Ave.  For more information contact the Geneseo office at 309-944-5131.

Plot Tour Photos

Tony has a few words to say to the crowd at Larry Troyer’s Field Day!  

Dave Love & Greg Wolf talk Agronomics on corn!

Picture from Jim Woodall at Randolph Ag Plot Day.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL
Rather than focusing on a specific disease this time, here are some observations:

---Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) is turning into “drawn out and prolonged” syndrome, as this disease is increasing in severity across many fields in northern Illinois.  It is allowing us to make observations about drainage patterns in fields, compacted areas, planting dates, varietal responses, and to see how these have all influenced the severity of this year’s SDS.

---The topic of Goss’ Wilt disease(and confusing it with anthracnose) comes up along the I-39 corridor.  This has been a relatively isolated problem, but it is significant when it comes to spraying fungicide; it’ll work for anthracnose(a fungus), but won’t touch Goss’ Wilt (a bacteria).

---Corn varieties in the top couple tiers of counties in Northern Illinois are having “their year”.  There will be some amazing yields up there on some shorter maturity hybrids.

 Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL.
Anna Mikel, Customer Service Representative and Jeff Brown, Field Agronomist collected these ears in consecutive order from our Stone Seed Group plot at Farina, Illinois.  We held a field day at this location with Stone Seed Group Dealer Brian Gehle and his customers this past Thursday.  This was undeniably the most Corn Earworm (CEW) pressure we have seen this year with nearly 100% infestation.  The trait effectiveness for corn earworm found in the Genuity™ VT3Pro™ was phenomenal.  Corn Earworm trait protection is also found in all Genuity™ SmartStax™ and Genuity™ VT2Pro™ products. 

 Note there is some Corn Earworm damage on the Genuity™ VT3Pro™ but not nearly to the extent of the comparison.  Remember the pest has to feed on a few kernels containing the Bt toxin in order to be controlled.  Corn Earworm is still feeding on these ears as can be seen on the bottom right ear…a corn earworm has its head buried in a kernel.

Click on image to the right to see a bigger view.

 

 

STALK INTEGRITY ISSUES

Farmers that have begun harvest across Illinois are seeing a wide variety of corn yields in fields and understandably, they want answers. 

Stalk Health Issues in Stressed Corn
Many growers recognize that individual fields or areas within fields have been struggling against multiple stresses throughout the season.  Problems include COMPACTION from last fall or this spring, water-logged or ponded soils, nitrogen deficiency as a result of the former two, and now excessively hot temperatures (+90 degree) and in some areas dry soil conditions in August. 

Fields or areas within fields that have suffered one or more of these stresses this season have been stressed even further during the grain filling period.  As a result, there will be big yield swings in fields based on soil type, planting dates and rainfall patterns.  There are two things a corn plant will do at all costs….first, put on an ear; secondly, fill the ear…even at the plant’s own expense.  As the photosynthetic factory tries to keep up with the physiological demands of the developing ears under adverse conditions, plants will resort to cannibalizing stored carbohydrate reserves from the lower stalk tissue and remobilizing those reserves to the developing ears. 

This process will cause an overall deterioration of lower stalk integrity and strength.  More importantly, as these reserves are sucked out of stalks, resistance to stalk rot pathogens such as Anthracnose Stalk Rot also decreases.  The bottom line is stalks become very weak. 

How to check plants?  The simplest technique is to push stalks away from you as you walk down rows of corn.  Teach yourselves the following technique!

1.  Push the plant tops approximately 30 degrees from vertical.  If plants fail to snap back to vertical, the stalk has been compromised and an earlier harvest should be considered.
2. Pinch or squeeze the plants at one of the lowest internodes above the brace roots (try to pinch the same node on each plant checked).  If stalks crush easily by hand, again, plan on harvesting as soon as possible. 

 

We will see differences in hybrids and trait packages under these stresses such as comparing a VT3 – large ear (cannibalized stalk) vs. a refuge RR – poor ear (good stalk).   The thought process is the VT3 overcame more adversity than the RR early on and produced a larger ear.  In these highly stressed areas, refuge hybrids may take a serious hit. 

In summary:  This crop has turned very quickly, and with the shallow roots, shortages of N, intense heat during grain fill, and a large kernel demand for carbohydrates that may be coming from stalks, harvest may need to occur in fields sooner than planned to avoid excessive lodging.

Should you have any questions, please contact your DSM or the Agronomy Team.  Thanks and be safe out there!

 

Click Here to view the Agronomic Spotlight on Stalk Health Issues in Stressed Corn

 

 

 

 

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of August 23, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 08/20/10        

DSM COMMENTS:
NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  Weather has cooled somewhat but test weight on corn may be less than expected, too many hot nights in a row may have caused some problems...tip back of 1 1/2 inches common everywhere...to the south is ear worm and to the north is western bean cut worm...all said we have an excellent corn crop in Northern Illinois...most is dent to dough stage...Sudden Death has really unfolded in ALL beans...may drop 5 bu. on bean yields...going to be very early corn harvest for N. Illinois.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   Not much has changed here in central Illinois.  We received 1 ½” of rain last week which should really help.  The beans are looking good; however the corn on corn is a different story with some areas 30-40 bu. acre less, compared to rotated.  Most guys I see can tell me what they thought they did wrong.  I’ve received good reception on some cold calls, and many new people told me they would buy.  Looks promising!

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Aaron Miller (Brownstown, IL – Fayette Co.)  The surrounding area received a much needed rain Friday night, with most of the area receiving between 1.5-2 inches. There have been reports of growers shelling corn south of Greenville. There has been a significant amount of silage cut in the surrounding areas, and what hasn't been cut guys say they plan to cut next week. Most of the early beans are R5+, with some starting to turn. The amount of pods on the RR2's I have been walking are very promising. The yield advantage is for sure toward the RR2's over the RR1's.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  Last week I flew out to Williamsburg VA for my father’s WW II 83rd ID reunion.  We flew from Bloomington to Atlanta to make connections.  This is the first time to see the holes, spots and blotches in 90% of the fields we flew over.  Things were still green.  On our return a week later I was shocked to see how the corn crop had yellowed off.  I haven’t heard of any harvesting going on but the way this crop “matured” leaves me to believe test weights may be affected.  The SE US has had dry to drought conditions.  Personally I don’t feel we will have the US corn crop we had last year.  Corn harvest here could commence at any time.  Its highway time again.  Stay safe! 

TAMMY’s 2 Sense –  As you can see by the below, we have another week full of events .  We would like to invite you to attend any of our Field Days and Plot Tours that fit your schedule and are in an area near you.  For your convenience I have listed below the events coming up the week of 8/23/10.

Monday, August 23rd
CORNEGLIO FIELD DAY - Description of Event: TOUR OF CORN PLOT, Location of Event: NORTH MAIN, FARMER CITY, for more information, please contact Dale Luster @ 309-378-3881.

Tuesday, August 24th
2010 Genuity Showcase Tour - Monsanto Universal Training Site; Mt Vernon, IL
If you are available and would like to attend this event, please contact your local DSM or one of the following:  Jeff Brown – 217-714-6006, Dave Love – 217-652-9434 or Greg Wolf – 309-314-5001 or 309-944-5131.  Look forward to seeing you there!

Wednesday, August 25th
Dimmick Customer Meeting 8:00 am - Three Star Family Restaurant, Jacksonville, Illinois.  If you are interested in attending, please contact Dave Dimmick @ 217-473-9524.

Field Day at Tom Braid Farm - address is 7800 E. 600 North Rd. McLean, IL 61754. The event will begin at 5:00 PM with a meal following plot tour.  For more information or to attend this event, please contact Russ Terry @ 309-825-0430.

Larry Troyer Plot Tour – Hudson, IL  17671 E. 2300 North Rd., Hudson, IL  61748.  Plot Tour will begin at 6:00 p.m., if you are interested in attending this event, please contact Tony Strom @ 309-781-7580.

Thursday, August 26th
Moweaqua Field Day.  Tour begins at 5pm with dinner following the tour.  For more information to attend please contact our Moweaqua office @ 217-768-4513.

Gehle Field Day at the Farina, IL location beginning at 5pm. Lots to see and talk about at this location which also includes 8 of our newest corn genetics and 8 soybean genetics. Special guest will be Tech Dev Representative, Randy McElroy who will briefly discuss his studies at the site.  To attend this event and more information, contact Neil Gray @ 217-343-7131.

Friday, August 27th
RANDOLPH AG FIELD DAY - Description of Event: CORN AND BEAN PLOT TOUR. Beginning at 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., location of event:  Randolph Ag, 650 N. 1/2 East of RTE 51.  For more information on this event, please contact Dale Luster @ 309-531-7134.

J & J Farms Plot Tour- Mark & Matt Johnson Farm, 3 ½ mi. West of Galva on Route 34.  Tour will begin at noon, lunch will be provided by the Knox County Cattleman’s Assoc.  For more information on this event, please contact Tony Strom at 309-781-7580.

Plot Tour Photos

Richard Brenneman showing a five bean pod from 2R3701 in Bob Paine’s Plot.

Beautiful weather at Bob Paine’s Plot Tour.

Keith’s Swanson’s Plot Tour was the happening place in Victoria, IL.

The corn was looking great at Keith Swanson’s plot tour.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

     As we head down the homestretch toward harvest and make observations about the crops, here are a couple of other observations you may want to make besides the usual kernel fill, size of ear, and leaf diseases.

Corn
---begin checking your stalks for rot; since corn has struggled all year with root and nitrogen issues, with limited nutrients going to the ear, there isn’t much left this year to feed the stalks.

---check your ears for corn earworm damage.  Remember, 3 damage kernels/ear =1 bushel in yield.  Planting Smart Stax™ varieties next year should be in the action plan for this.

Soybeans
---observe the height from the ground of the lowest pods.  If they’re too low to combine, you’ll want to consider upping your population in the future.  If they start too high with too much internode space from the ground to the first pods, you’ve probably got room to lower your populations.

---Pull up a few plants and check the roots.  Although most of the nodules are probably dead (not pink inside), you can observe how nodulation progressed this year; are they sparse or in good supply?  As long as the roots are pulled out, check for soybean cysts. At this stage of the life cycle they may be beige, lemon-colored, or light brown.

    Make your observations and correlate these to what you’ll observe in the combine shortly.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of August 16, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 08/13/10        

Pleasant Plains, IL: Andy Stone I’m hearing a lot of comments that folks are getting started, so thought I’d take a trip out to the Field of 6N52vt3 that I’ve shown you before. It’s amazing what a month will do. As you can see on the moisture tester we are at 29% today. Being 96 degrees I was disinclined to walk out too far so it’s probably not totally representive.
My point of writing this is to caution all that the high heat and advanced dry down genetics are causing this Corn crop to dry far faster than many suspect. I know of some fields around Sullivan being harvested as I write this at 27%. It time to be making those final Hybrid evaluations and to make sure the Combines are tuned up and ready.
Obviously with the planting season and excess moisture we will have  lots of field variability so we will want to evaluate the total before Harvest decisions are made. Also keep an eye out for the difference in Ear Worm control in our new Smart Stax hybrids, if you have them you will be impressed!.
The Soybean crop continues to look great but it is probably time for that “State fair” rain that always seems to add Bushels. We are seeing some isolated cases of BSR and SDS so it’s great a practice to continue scouting. I think as you look at the new GenRR2y’s you will be impressed. I’ve found bunches of 4 bean pods and my DSM’s report some with 5 ( I can’t find mushrooms either). A bit more rain and I think we will have an awesome Bean crop.
As we get close to Harvest, Please, Please use caution when doing the final sweep’s on bins and getting equipment out for the first time. Accidents are never something that we plan on but they can happen when we have a moments inattention. Be Safe and have a tremendous Harvest.

Andy Stone

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   We finally received a decent rain (.6”); we’ll take it.  A large part of my area is seeing really fired corn now on the high spots; the bad spots are completely brown, dead, and the corn is very far along.  A lot of corn will be black layered in another 2-3 weeks or less with high heat.  I can not believe how far along this corn is!  See for yourself and join me for the following Field Days/Plot Tours:  Bob Paine – Wednesday, August 18th at 5:30 p.m., a chicken dinner will be served; Rick Corneglio – Monday, August 23rd 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., lunch will be served along with the tour, this plot is near Farmer City; Randolph Ag and Coop – Friday, August 27th 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. lunch will be served by Longhorn Smoke house, this plot will be on Rte 51 just a few miles south of Bloomington.  Hope you can join us for one of the tours!

NORH CENTRAL IL:  Tony Strom (Victoria, IL – Knox Co.)  We received from 1 to 4 inches of rain this past week in Knox, Warren, and Stark counties. This will really help out the soybeans. Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) is showing up in some soybean fields, especially in the early planted and less tolerant varieties.  Most of the corn is dented a month ahead compared to last year.  Overall, crops are looking good without a lot of disease pressure at this time although with extreme heat and humidity corn leaves stay wet longer in the mornings which can increase disease development.  Yield checks have been all over the board depending on what part of the field you are in.  Keith Swanson’s plot tour at Victoria, IL will be Thursday, August 19th at 6 p.m., located a 1/2 mile south on County 15.  Please stop by for a rib-eye steak.  Have a good week!

TAMMY’s 2 Sense –  As I mentioned in the 8.06.10 Field Focus, we would like to invite you to attend any of our Field Days and Plot Tours that fit your schedule and are in an area near you.  For your convenience I have listed below the events coming up next week.

Wednesday, August 18th
Curt Clapper Plot Day – Tuscola, IL, beginning at 5 p.m. located near Tuscola, IL.  For more information, please contact Dennis Opperman @ 217-493-2920

PAINE Field Day - Description of Event: large corn, soybean tour. Location of Event: 2 1/2 miles e. of I-155, Town Line Rd. Bob Paine plot tour-evening event supper provided!! Good Fried Chicken at 5:30 pm.  For more information please contact Dale Luster @ 309-531-7134

Thursday, August 19th
FSB plot Pittsfield Aug. 19th 5:30 PM for more information contact Dave Dimmick @ 217-473-9524

University of Illinois Agronomy Day ~ Aug 19th Located in the Crop Science Research and Education Center for more information on this event, please contact Jeff Brown @ 217-714-6006, Greg Wolf @ 309-314-5001 or Dave Love @ 217-652-9434

Rick and Mark Eskew Field Day: Begins at 5pm for plot tour and meal at 6pm. This is a large corn and soybean plot, a lot to see including populations and seed treatments. Located at Mark Eskew's Home; between Ashmore and Kansas, IL for more information, please contact Tucker Beckmier @ 217-840-4207.

KAS Farms Plot Tour at Keith Swanson’s Farm, located ¼ mi. S of Victoria on Cty. Rd. 15.  Plot Tour begins at 6:00 p.m.  For more information please contact Tony Strom @ 309-781-7580.   

We hope you will be able to join us for one of the above tours!  Watch for more details on upcoming plot tours later in the month.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

Almost as certain as death and taxes, this is always the time of year when we see areas of fields with yellow beans.  It is important to identify what the problem is, especially since some of these issues can be minimized with proper variety selection and timing of planting.

 What are you seeing?  Is it Sudden Death Syndrome or Brown Stem Rot?  Do you see any soybean cysts on the roots?  Is it Charcoal Rot or some late season Phytophthora?  Is it some issues with potash unavailability or is it yellow flash from a late Roundup application?  Proper I.D. now makes for easier planning the next time the field is in beans.
    
Want to read up on Sudden Death Syndrome?  Here’s an Agronomic Alert article from Monsanto Tech Development.

Not sure what charcoal rot looks like?  Here are some pictures from the most recent Univ. of Illinois Pest Mgt. newsletter.

Wilted soybean plants affected by charcoal rot.

Dark specks (microsclerotia) can be observed inside the lower stems
of soybean plants affected by charcoal rot.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of August 9, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 8/6/10

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   We are getting very dry in central, east central Illinois.  Most of my clients are crying and praying for rain now.  They received a little rain from eastern McLean County and north to Dwight, along Route 17 from Route 39 east.  Corn is fired and we see much kernel tip back due to the hot nights, according to Dave Shenaut, a Monsanto Technical Development Researcher.  The beans are looking good but it seems like they have stopped flowering and growing.  The corn on the other hand has started to dent and that is a good thing, hopefully we are looking at much drier corn this fall!

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  It’s heating up over here in east central Ill. and it’s not from all the optimism of U. of Ill. football team.  Crops continue to look pretty good, mainly because we can’t see the holes in the fields.  I am seeing some various ear rots in the cornfields due to heat, moisture and heavy humidity we’ve been having in the mornings of late.  I’ve looked at some of our early SmartStax™ numbers in the fields and they look good, with very good looking ears and no signs of ear worms.  I tested some ears of our 110 day 6N52VT3 for a customer on Wed,. Aug. 4th and it tested 43% and some ears from our 105 day SmartStax™ came in at 47%.  So it looks like with normal drydown, we might see some shelling the early part of Sept.  The early planted beans look real good and it won’t be long before we can start looking for those 5 bean pods.  Take care out there and watch the heat.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)   I made a day trip to south central Iowa a few days back and after seeing the water damaged crops and late planted corn and beans or not planted at all…. in that neck of the woods, I feel we in south west central Illinois are in a garden spot.  Be thankful for what we do have.  Our late planted corn is pollinating and looking better each day.  Soybeans are getting some height, however SDS is becoming prevalent in early planted soybeans.  Like most of Illinois, we will need a late freeze to make everything work out this year.  Insects don’t appear to be a major concern except for some corn earworm.  There has been talk of Diplodia but I have not experienced any signs to date.  Crops seem to taking the extreme heat well.    

TAMMY’s 2 Sense –  Here we are into August already, where has the time gone?  School will be starting soon, which means for us in the farming community, we need to watch out for each other.  Along with watching for stopped school buses and children, we also need to be aware of the farm equipment on the roads; take caution, SLOW DOWN and BE SAFE! 

This past week we have had a couple Technology showcases, one down at Parkland College in Champaign, the second one at the Monmouth Learning Center.  Another showcase is coming up on Tuesday, August 24th in Mt. Vernon, IL.  If you are interested in attending the showcase in Mt. Vernon, please contact your DSM or one of our offices for more information on attending.  Below are pictures taken from the showcase at the Monmouth Learning Center. 

We have many Field Days and Plot Tours coming up in August and early September!  Watch the mail, call your DSM or contact one of our three locations for more information on one that may be near you!

I wish everyone a Safe and Bountiful Fall Harvest!

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

 As we move into August, the crop development in Illinois continues to be a story of which parts of the state have had recent rains, and which ones haven’t.  As we open up corn ears and check for successful development, tip back, diseases, aborted kernels, etc., it’s important to be able to look back through the season and correlate what we are seeing in the ear to how the cropping season has been.  Are you looking at issues that can be changed with cropping management, or is what you’re seeing related more to weather stresses?

Looking at beans, although soybean aphids have not become a factor anywhere yet, this is the time of year where there can be many other insects on the underside of bean leaves that could be confused with aphids.  These pictures are taken from the Aug 6th issue of the Purdue Pest Crop Newsletter:

Early nymphs of potato leafhopper and soybean aphid

Close-up of adult white flies and soybean aphids

Close-up mealy bugs on leaf

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of August 2, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 7/26/10          

DSM COMMENTS:
NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  This is just an amazing crop year...in northern Illinois we are 90 percent brown silk...the season is just too late for GLS to become a serious problem...very little fungicide application...Ear worm on the other hand could create ear damage both in the near term and at harvest...ear worm larva are beginning to show up on sweet corn...corn and beans very green and healthy...to date no problems exist...we could stand a good inch of rain for grain fill...to date just an exceptional spring and summer!

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   Looked at Stone 6T672VT3 today, it looked great but we saw a large amount of earworm feeding.  When I explained Genuity Smart Stax products control them, the grower definitely wanted some.  Most corn here in McLean, Tazwell and Livingston Counties look good.  The beans look much better now also, despite rain damage, ponds and yellow spots.  We have been dry most of the month with no rain!  Very good Stone Seed Group Rollout Meetings, watch out the STONE TRAIN is heading your way, better jump on!

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Tucker Beckmier (Atwood, IL – Douglas Co.)  The weather in east central Illinois this week has certainly been a challenge.  Rainfall amounts range from 6 inches at Sullivan to less than 2 at Atwood 20 miles straight north.  Some buildings, homes and fields saw wind damage in the hardest hit areas.  On a brighter note, pollination is mostly complete and looks very promising in most areas.  Leaf disease in corn appears to be minimal and an early harvest will be welcome this fall.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)   Life in the Illinois swamp continues to be replenished with additional rain.  We needed the first inch back on Sunday and Monday but the other 4 to 5 inches could have avoided us.  We also experienced some jittery wind conditions that did snap off some corn in various places.  The early planted corn is well on its way to maturity, some with a nitrogen deficiency.  We still have later planted corn struggling to make a crop.  Soybean growth stages are all across the board but most canopies have filled while others are working on it...  Root worm beetles (western and southern) are present in many corn fields.  Low pops of Jap beetle in both crops.  I have not found any Soybean aphids to date.   Slight presence of septoria or bacterial blight which is normal to find on lower canopied soybean leaves this time of year.  

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL Now we are entering into the summer stress time of the haves and have nots(who has had rain and who hasn’t), and with the high heat and humidity, and corresponding rapid corn development we are beginning to see the effects of dry conditions on the crop. 

 Insect pressure has been relatively light in northern Illinois, but we continue to monitor for corn earworms and western bean cutworms in corn, and aphids in beans.

Much of the scouting has been done to determine whether to spray for gray leaf spot and rust; the next phase of disease scouting in corn will be sorting out leaf diseases such as northern leaf blight and Goss’ wilt for proper identification. 

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL. Effect of Wet Weather Conditions on Corn Standability explores how excessive soil moisture can limit corn root development, preventing the plants to properly anchor in the soil.  Under moist conditions, brace root formation may not come quick enough to support the top growth of corn leading to root lodging.  In addition, the excessive moisture conditions can cause incomplete brace root development that leads to plant lodging. Read more about this by clicking this link.

Corn Earworm moths (CEW) moving into Illinois. 

The maps shown indicate potential Corn Earworm moth flights in Illinois.  HIGH RISKS continue on Day 1 across the southwestern Corn Belt from northern Kansas and southern Nebraska into Iowa, northern Missouri, and western Illinois, with another HIGH RISK on Day 4 essentially across the same area but also further east into Illinois. 

Moderate risks are in place for areas south of US 20.  Moth flights remain focused especially to the south of US 20.  Farmers south of US 20 and along and south of I-80 need to be on guard and prepared for new moth flights this week.  Just because an area is in a Moderate vs. High Risk does not mean it will not see flights as well.

Go to www.insectforecast.com – for current full maps and details.

Check for Corn Earworm Larvae (CEW) by pulling back the husk to look for larvae at the ear tip on 10 consecutive plants.  CEW larvae are light green to dark brown, usually have an orange head capsule, and 3 to 4 stripes across their body length. While the YieldGard® family of traits (VT3) has assisted in providing control for many major corn insects, CEW is only suppressed by these products. The introduction of Genuity® corn traits now offers advanced above-ground insect protection that can improve grain quality and increase yield potential. Genuity® VT Double PRO™, Genuity® VT Triple PRO™, and Genuity® SmartStax™ corn provide dual modes of action against lepidopteron species such as CEW.

Keep in mind that Losing just three kernels per ear of corn can equal one bushel per acre lost

The following links are Agronomic Spotlights that focus on Soybeans.  There are several different components that directly impact soybean yield at particular growth stages.  Two Spotlights discusses these components at flowering and seed development stages of growth.  Click on the following links to learn more:
          Yield Components of Soybean during Flowering

          Yield Components of Soybean during Seed Development

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of July 19, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 7/13/10

DSM COMMENTS:
NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  In northern Illinois 90 percent of the corn has pollinated and the crop looks as good as any in the last few years.  We have been receiving just about an inch of rain a week for the last month, no insects and only slight evidence of GLS.  This crop is extremely early for northern Illinois. Beans are really taking off with about 60 percent of rowed beans closed, many flowers present and again no insects to speak of.  Potentially crops may be as good as we have ever had!

CENTRAL IL:  Nicole Forsberg (Clinton, IL-Dewitt Co.)  Upon returning from a vacation out West and traveling through all of Nebraska and Iowa I would have to say the fields in my sales territory look great in comparison! DeWitt County is progressing well with tasseling nearly complete.  The planes are buzzing overhead applying fungicide and insecticide where disease and Japanese Beetles have caused damage.  Woodford County continues to look very well and could use a shower in a few areas.  Tazewell County continues to show the results of uneven emergence with many fields still looking like ocean waves.  Soybeans are beginning to canopy and need to be closely monitored for beetles as well.

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Jay Ryan (Pana, IL – Christian Co.)  We have a wide variety of crop conditions throughout my region, this goes for both planting date as well as ratings. Nitrogen deficiency is the growing concern in much of my area. Prolonged saturated soils are contributing to a substantial amount of nitrogen loss. Fall applied anhydrous, 28%, and ammonium sulfate programs seem to be taking the biggest hit. Even though the spring applied anhydrous as well as side dress look better there are still signs of deficiency. The big question is will we run out prior to kernel fill. Soybeans look pretty good as a whole. Here again quite a range in growth stages as the last planted are just emerging. All in all a pretty good crop though.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)   Pollination is progressing well on the early planted corn.  Replant corn has another 30 days or more to finish the process.  Heat units continue to crank.  Jap beetle pops seem to have dropped off and low numbers of corn rootworm beetles observed.  Many soybean fields have been sprayed and relieved of weed pressure.  The later planted beans are developing well.  This last week we received anywhere from 5/10” to 1” of rain in several small rain events.  No major wind which we all hope remains the norm.  We hope to see corn maturing in mid Sept. with much dryer harvest moistures at least in the earlier planted crops.  2010 has been a mixed bag for us but over all we remain optimistic for a profitable year.  It’s been difficult to play the catch up game with Mother Nature but I think we gained some points the past two weeks. 

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL

 Gray Leaf Spot and Common Rust are continuing their march up Illinois; now they are breaking out to various degrees along the I-80 corridor.  Corn rootworm beetles and Japanese Beetles are low in number except for some isolated spots.  Miscellaneous corn issues such as nitrogen problems, nematodes, and greensnap are evident throughout the region.

As sweet corn comes out of the field, evidence of earworm injury ranges from light to moderate.  We’ll keep an eye out for evidence of differences between Smart Stax and other traits. 

Bean progress in the region ranges from emergence to pod set.  Scouting begins for Frog Eye and Anthracnose, along with checking for evidence of Cyst Nematodes. 

Sunny skies and plenty of moisture should make for ideal pollinating conditions as the crop progress rapidly moves along.

Dave Love, Petersburg, IL  The planes are flying here at home 6-7 days a week.  GLS and rust are showing up above the ear leaf in areas and mainly in some competitor’s varieties.  You may see disease in one spot worth spraying and go 3 miles down the road in the same variety and see fairly clean corn.  The main lesson here is to keep scouting.  Beans are looking good depending on planting date and herbicide use.

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL.

The planes have been busy this week across Illinois spraying fungicides on corn.  Our first “Agronomic Alert” this week focuses on Gray Leaf Spot and Common Rust, the two most widely seen diseases thus far in corn this year.  Environmental conditions have been favorable for infection of both diseases.  When scouting corn, check the entire plant for leaf disease as Common Rust will attack the younger or higher corn leaves while Gray Leaf Spot is initially found more on the lower or older leaves.  Take a moment to read over this “Alert” and spend some time to check your fields for pressure. Contact your Stone Seed Group DSM for more information and assistance.  Click this link to read more:  Agronomic Alert – Gray Leaf Spot in Corn

Moth flight captures in parts of Indiana and Illinois have been impressive this year already for Corn Earworm and Western Bean Cutworm.  Has anyone found worms feeding on their sweet corn already this year?  This agronomist has and if they are in sweet corn, they will be in our commercial corn fields as well.  Most of these are Corn Earworm which migrate into our area each year by wind currents.  Western Bean Cutworm does overwinter in Illinois and is becoming more of a threat each year.  For each 3 kernels fed on, figure on 1 bushel lost.  Damage from these pests is usually hidden.  Only one technology provides trait protection against both insects.  Genuity® SmartStax™, Genuity® VT Double Pro™ and Genuity® VT Triple Pro™. 

Click these links to find out more about identification, life cycles and management:
Agronomic Spotlight – Corn Earworm

Agronomic Spotlight – Western Bean Cutworm

Finally, a dry period has hit most of our area.  But wait, I can’t be seeing drought stricken corn already…or can it be?  The answer is a resounding “YES”, we can be seeing corn that is showing signs of drought stress.  Remember all of the compaction seen this spring from harvest last year, spring tillage, torrential rains, etc… This has had an impact on root development in areas of many fields.  Shallow root development can lead to drought stress earlier than corn roots at a normal depth.  Click this link to learn more: Agronomic Spotlight - Drought Stress in Shallow Rooted Corn

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of July 12, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 7/01/10          

DSM COMMENTS:
SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Aaron Miller (Brownstown, IL – Fayette Co.) My area received any where from an inch to 6.5 inches on Sunday evening.  Most growers had a couple of days of planting before the big rain hit.  There were reports of water just below the tassels on some corn in the Vandalia bottom.  Most growers in my area are done or just need a couple of days of good running to finish up.  Most of the growers I am talking to are not going to hesitate on planting the rest of beans they were planning on planting.  The majority of the corn is tasseled out and shedding pollen.  I have seen some rust and grey leaf spot, but nothing close enough to justify spraying fungicide.  The forecast looks good for this area over the next week, most guys will be able to get in the field by this weekend. Hopefully if the weather cooperates, this area will be finished up by the middle of next week!

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  Last Sunday was our last rain.  This is some kind of rain free record for us.  Much late bean planting and spraying of soybeans has taken place. (around wet holes but doing the best we can). Early corn is pollinating and we have had some flying on fungicides but it could be N, roundup, soybean seed. Still finding evidence of rust and GLS in younger and later planted corn. Jap beetles have increased somewhat in numbers. Ear size is encouraging on the early pollinated corn.  I think we are getting this planting season wrapped. Enjoy the 4th by remembering our freedoms we take for granted.

NORTHERN IL:  Tony Strom (Victoria, IL – Knox Co.) Fields drying up in Knox ,Warren and Stark county with soybean planting finishing up in the wet areas. Corn planted in Early April is beginning to pollinate. Japanese beetles are abundant and with corn starting to silk need to be monitored closely.  With the current rainfall and temps there is a lot of GLS showing up. Overall crops look good in the dryer areas and following soybean stubble.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL. Last week’s Insect Quiz:  No one answered the correct insect name and it’s no wonder, this is a critter we don’t see in row-crop production.  Aaron Miller of Brownstown, IL came closest with his guess “Looks like a baby off of the movie Tremors”.  The insect is called a Soldier Fly Larvae.  The fact that these were wriggling all over the ground recently in a soybean field in Shelby County suggest this soil had been saturated for a very long time…an environment these insects thrive on. 

Do I Try to Spray or Not for White Mold Control?  If you work through the following checklist, it will help you decide:

TAMMY’s 2 Sense - Tammy Smith, Customer Service Rep - Geneseo Location – Summer is here!  The old saying “rain makes grain”,  I don’t know about you but I have had enough of the rain and have been enjoying the beautiful sunshine and cooler temps this past week. With that we also have our friendly, or NOT so friendly PESTS to contend with, in our crops as well as in our homes, yards and gardens. That being said I thought it would be appropriate to contribute the bleow article I searched and found on the Medline Plus web-site.  Hope you all had a SAFE AND ENJOYABLE 4th of July Holiday.

Pesticide Safety Tips
Resources

• Questions On Pesticides?
  National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC)  1-800-858-7378
  

Although pesticides can be useful, they also can be dangerous if used carelessly or not are stored properly. Here are some tips for safer pest control:

• The most effective way to reduce risks posed by pesticides is to use non-chemical control methods to reduce or eliminate pest problems. Around the home, such measures include removing sources of food and water (such as leaky pipes) and destroying pest shelters and breeding sites (such as litter and plant debris).
• If you decide you must use pesticides, always read the label first and follow the directions to the letter, including all precautions and restrictions.
• Don't use products for pests that are not indicated on the label and don't use more pesticide than directed by the label. Don't think that twice the amount will do twice the job.
• Use protective measures when handling pesticides as directed by the label, such as wearing impermeable gloves, long pants, and long-sleeve shirts. Change clothes and wash your hands immediately after applying pesticides.
• Before applying a pesticide (indoors or outdoors), remove children, their toys, and pets from the area and keep them away until the pesticide has dried or as recommended by the label.
• Don't spray outdoors on windy or rainy days. Take precautions to keep the pesticide from drifting or running off into the vegetable garden, pool, or neighbor's yard.
• Remove or cover food during indoor applications.
• If using a commercial applicator or lawn care service, ask for information about potential risks and safety precautions to take.
• Don't buy more pesticides than you will need. If you have leftover pesticides, check with your local government to determine whether your community has a household hazardous waste collection program or other program for disposing of pesticides. If no community program exists, follow label directions and any state or local regulations regarding disposal.
• Keep the telephone number of your area Poison Control Center near your telephone: 1-800-222-1222.

Here are some tips to follow if you have children or if children visit your house or yard:

• Always store pesticides away from children's reach, in a locked cabinet or garden shed. Child-proof safety latches also may be installed on cabinets and can be purchased at local hardware stores and other retail outlets.
• Never transfer pesticides to other containers that children may associate with food or drink.
• Never place rodent or insect baits where small children can get to them.
• Teach children that "pesticides are poisons" - something they should not touch.
• Alert others to the potential hazard of pesticides, especially care givers and grandparents.

IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, try to determine what the person was exposed to and what part of the body was affected before you take action, since taking the right action is as important as taking immediate action. If the person is unconscious having trouble breathing, or having convulsions, give needed first aid immediately. Call 911.or your local emergency service. If the person does not have these symptoms, contact your local Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. Have the product container with you when you call for assistance - remember to act fast!

General First -Aid Guidelines:

• Swallowed poison. Induce vomiting. ONLY if the emergency personnel on the phone tell you to do so. This will depend on what the child has swallowed; some petroleum products or caustic poisons will cause more damage if the victim is made to vomit.
• Poison in eye. Eye damage can occur, within minutes with some types of pesticide. If poison splashes into an eye, hold the eyelid open and wash quickly and gently with clean, running water from the tap or a gentle stream from a hose for at least 15 minutes. Do not use eye drops or place chemicals or drugs in the wash water.
• Poison on skin. If pesticide splashes on the skin, drench area with water and remove contaminated clothing. Wash skin and hair thoroughly with soap and water. Later, discard contaminated clothing or thoroughly wash it separately from other laundry.

Inhaled poison. Carry or drag victim to fresh air immediately. If you are able to get to the victim because of fumes, immediately contact the Fire Department. Loosen victim's tight clothing. If the victim is blue or has stopped breathing, give artificial respiration (if you know how) and call rescue service for help. Open doors and windows so no one else will be poisoned by fumes.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of June 28, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 6/25/10

DSM COMMENTS:
NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  Corn is basically sitting still...just too much water is making it difficult for the corn to breath, but is still in excellent condition.  We have had 3 very severe storms roll through since last Friday, the good news, there were no excessive amounts of water, the bad news, extremely high winds with some corn tipped but no Green Snap.  The beans are showing a little more yellow coloration everyday.  Japanese Beetles are becoming more present West and North of Rockford.

CENTRAL IL:  Paul Jockisch (Havana, IL – Mason Co.)  Well, another week with rain amounts ranging from 2-4 inches throughout the majority of my area, bringing up river and aquifer levels even higher.  Crop dusters have been in full force this week applying urea on nitrogen depleted corn acres in the areas that we can’t get ground equipment across.  Also, growers are using the crop dusters to plant (broadcast) their soybeans due to the saturated ground.  Pictured, Stone 3A388 being loaded and broadcasted by a crop duster for a customer in the Illinois River bottom Wednesday morning near Manito, IL.  Once loaded and in the air, it only took the crop duster about 5 minutes to broadcast 50 units of beans.  Overall, it took about 45 minutes to cover 80 acres, making four trips to the airport 3 miles away.  Hope everyone has a great week, and maybe we all can get a week or two to dry out.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.) It has been another crazy crop year!  Now we have planes flying, Roundup-maybe, rumors of flying on UREA?  Need it anyway we can get it.  The Supreme Court overruled the lower court ruling banning the sale of Roundup Alfalfa.  I sold some, he really likes it, probably will sell more.  Roundup Alfalfa is convenient, easier to keep out weeds and cheaper weed control.  We will see you all soon.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Not much has changed from last week other than we’ve received more rain and the corn has grown another foot.  I still have customers in Clark Co. and Logan Co. here in Ill. trying to finish bean planting, and customers in Missouri just north of Quincy trying to do the same.  The bean crop is starting to hurt from all the rain in certain areas.  I’ll bet in Aug. we will be praying for a rain.  Take care out there and have a good week-end.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  Last week rains continued to keep farmers from finishing soybean planting and spraying bean fields which have become major challenges of weed control.  Forecast is for dryer and slightly higher temps.  Advanced corn is now just starting the pollination process.  To date I have observed very light GLS, moderate rust, some Greensnap, and a few Japanese Beetles.  GDD’s have cranked and the condition of the crop is good except for the acres of wet holes, creek bottoms and replant corn.  Beans will pop as soon as we can get them sprayed.  I feel in some cases we have taken away 5-6 bu./acre in yield due to weed competition and that may be conservative.  But we haven’t had an opportunity to get across these fields. 

CENTRAL IL:  Andrew Musselman (Morton, IL – Tazewell Co.) Corn and beans are greening up, but the continued rain is keeping some areas overly saturated, de-oxygenating the soil, and inhibiting nutrient uptake.  Greensnap and root-lodging has occurred in the area in the past week.  3.05” rain since last Friday at Morton.

NORTHERN IL:  Tony Strom (Victoria, IL – Knox Co.)

Took this picture of ducks swimming between the corn rows on 6/22/2010 at noon. What else is there to say but wet. (Right)

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.)  As the corn starts to tassel the Japanese beetles are waiting.  In my general area they appear thick, now on ornamentals and fruits moving into pollinating corn fields.  There is corn that looks great and fields that are still too wet and they look tough.  Wind and rains on Tuesday leaned some corn and root lodged or snapped others.  Overall we took it very well.  Some of the sweet corn is FLAT.  Beans are coming along.  We will see if planting dates coincide with yield.  Aphids so far have not been a problem.  Rust is showing up in some places, earlier than you would expect it to.  Growing Degree Days I’m sure have something to do with it. 

Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL.
Heavy rains continue in waves across Northern Illinois, and the extended wet period is altering some crop management decisions:

CORN
---Some yellow fields have responded beautifully to supplemental nitrogen applications, but in others the corn roots are beginning to deteriorate and rot, and the nitrogen uptake is irregular.
---Examination of roots in problem fields (yellowing, lodging, stunted, etc.) is required to sort out physically abnormal roots vs. diseased roots vs. rootworm issues.  Root structure and development of secondary roots need to be observed to make decisions.
---Confusion reigns in the country when it comes to applying liquid nutrients postemerge.  Applying 2 gallons of a 25-0-0 nitrogen product doesn’t give you 25 units of nitrogen, but more like 4-6 units.

SOYBEANS
---We’re in the narrow decision making window about spraying Cobra for white mold suppression.  4-5 oz./acre at first flower; don’t go too early or too late.  Think about your situation.  For white mold to occur you need the beans, you need the disease present, and you need the right environmental conditions   If you’re not sure what to look for, give us a call at Stone Seed Group.
---The conversation about aerial seeding of beans pops up in various areas.  Check with your crop insurance guy about coverage doing it this way.  The best results are seen if the soils are higher in clay content.  During these prolonged wet spells, the soil stays “plastic” longer, and the beans will embed themselves in it better than they will if the proportion of silt increases.

ALFALFA
---Alfalfa fields are yellowing, but leafhoppers may not be the issue.  This prolonged wet weather is bringing on more leaf spot diseases, crown rots, and phytophthora rots than are normally seen.  These diseases in turn are either killing plants or delaying the recovery from cutting.  If you have alfalfa turning yellow, don’t just assume it is leafhoppers and spray for the wrong reason.  Don’t assume it is boron deficient and apply boron if not necessary. 

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL.

Common Rust and Gray Leaf Spot (GLS) are the two key diseases seen in corn this past week in our Central/Southern regions.  Given the high temps and humidity, GLS should be a player this year particularly in corn/corn and high humidity areas along river bottoms.  To date, pressure appears to be very low based on SSG Agronomists and DSM scouting, however; a flare-up could occur quickly.  For more on this topic, be sure to read our Agronomic Spotlight this week that focuses on scouting and treatment of corn foliar diseases.  

Japanese Beetles have begun to emerge.  Be on the lookout for “hot spots” of this insect as they can impact corn pollination by clipping silks that have not been pollinated and can cause extensive leaf defoliation in beans.  Read more in the following Agronomic Alert that provides insight to this pest.  Be sure to contact your Stone Seed Group DSM or any member of the Agronomy Team should you have questions. 
 

Foliar Fungicide Applications in Corn…It is important to apply fungicides in a timely manner before significant corn leaf damage has occurred. Fields should be scouted prior to tasseling (V10 to V14), applications made from full tassel through blister (VT through R2), with the goal of protecting foliage from the ear leaf and above during grain fill (silking through black layer or R1 through R6).  Click on this link to learn more about key corn foliar diseases including photos and control measures.

Japanese Beetles in Corn and Soybean Fields… High populations of Japanese beetles might already be occurring across the region. Feeding by the adults can be a serious problem in both corn and soybean, thus scouting is crucial especially during the reproductive stages of both crops.  Click this link to find more information about this pest and control measures. 

Question:  Can anyone identify this pest.  These critters were crawling all over the ground in a Shelby County, Illinois soybean field.  They are about ¾ inches in length. Submit your guess in the below form...

Submit your guess in the below form...the correct answer will be in next weeks Field Focus update.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of June 21, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 6/18/10

STONE SEED GROUP OFFICE:  Andy Stone (Pleasant Plaines, IL - Sangamon Co.)

It’s amazing how much corn can grow in 2 weeks! Here I am in front of the same field that I was in front of previously. It has approximately doubled in size and the Tassels are starting to peek out. Obviously the plentiful rain and warm temps have caused all things (Other than the ponded areas) to grow very rapidly.

The U of I is reporting that there have been cases of pretty severe Root Worm feeding despite the moisture and that due to the shallow rootedness of the corn this may become a problem. We are also at the cusp of the Japanese Beetle invasion. My poor Linden tree is again under severe attack and I’ve started my summer spray program for it and Roe’s ornamental plants. As always we need to quantify the numbers to see if it is economic to spray our Corn for this annoying pest. If you need help call your DSM or contact one of our Agronomist as they will be happy to give you a consult.

Soybeans are continuing to be planted around the state (when possible) and overall I rate them as looking pretty good. My last fields that were planted 10 days ago have emerged, thanks to the continued moisture but will have some drowned out spots. The early planted Beans are looking quite good and the first Round Up application has been put on.

Other issues I hear of are Folks struggling to get Nitrogen applied. I’ve heard of numerous instances where Urea was being flown on. I’ve heard of widely varying prices for this service so I’m sure it pays to check around.

The time for Fungicide application in corn is just around the corner and with the environmental conditions we have had I’m sure there will many questions as to timing and need. Be sure to talk with your trusted crop professional to get the best info before you spend a lot of money.

As always, take some time to enjoy your family and friends and be safe!!

Thanks,
Andy Stone

DSM COMMENTS:

NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  RAIN MAKES GRAIN...sure have had enough but there are far worse places than Northern Illinois ...all corn is in excellent condition...most better than 2007 crop...on the other hand it is beginning to yellow up from too much water...army worm in wheat and hay in Northeast counties...western corn rootworm beetles showing up...if growth continues, will see some tassels during the first 10 days in July...wheat appears to be 10 days early...Good Luck to all with high water.

NORTHERN IL:  Tony Strom (Victoria, IL – Knox Co.)   We have received 4.5 inches of rain in the past week that has kept farmers out of the fields.  With more rain in the forecast, not much of a chance for fields to dry off and replant is at a standstill.  The bottom ground is still flooded in different areas.  Corn planted on high ground is looking well and chest high in some areas, however excessive moisture is starting to show stress in all the corn and soybeans.  The early planted beans are looking very well, the beans planted later, not so much.  Warmer temperatures and sunshine will help heating untis.

CENTRAL IL:  Paul Jockisch (Havana, IL – Mason Co.)  It’s been a long spring here in central Illinois, but we’re chipping away and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Soybean planting is about a week from being completed for the most part if it stays dry.  With an excessive amount of rain this month and throughout the spring, many farmers have been fighting to replant both corn and beans, especially in Fulton, Mason and Logan counties.  Early planted corn planted in mid April is starting to green up and look extremely good, about shoulder high in some places.  However, there are more acres of corn that is less than knee high and struggling to find that nitrogen zone, and therefore, side dressing has been in full force the last several weeks.  Unfortunately, there are many acres throughout Mason and Fulton County that won’t get planted for 2010.  There have been several reports from local growers that 50,000+ acres in Mason County alone haven’t been planted due to flooding, and may not at all.  Pictured above left, a local grower near Kilbourne, IL has a field of 8T339VT3brand from 2009 that can’t be harvested and still standing, even when it’s been flooded since late September!  Definitely an A+++ on standibility!  Pictured above right, a local retailer was trying to spray a grower's 6N52VT3brand near Mason City, IL last Saturday and found himself in a sticky situation. Have a great and safe week.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   Hello everyone, things are pretty good here.  Most corn coming out of tough looking condition, still see just a few uneven, streaky yellow fields but now they are in the minority.  We really need to get the Roundup on the soybeans, there are weedy soybeans all over because of wet weather.  If we get a break from rain, we need to hit the fields spraying.  I am afraid a few fields have lost some yield potential due to too much weed pressure.  Hopefully we can get some spraying done soon.  Over all, these parts of McClean, Livingston and Champaign Counties are in good shape.  I’ve had more than one customer tell me his corn is the best he has seen in a while, looking at very high potential.  Thank you to all my loyal customers for trying Stone Seed this year!!  We had a good year!!

CENTRAL IL:  Andrew Musselman (Morton, IL – Tazewell Co.)  Seven rain events so far this month have produced 2.2” of rain and kept the soil saturated and clouds overhead.  Southern Peoria county and Woodford county generally have some of the best looking corn.  Saturated soil in Tazewell and western McLean counties has hindered the growth of significant portions of corn fields.  A darker green color has returned to many of the fields with the increased heat in the past week.  Bean fields still have a lighter green color, but looking better.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  The corn crop is looking real good over here around Tuscola and the surrounding area.  I imagine we will see tassels by the 4th of July [remember knee high by the 4th of July] if not before.  Beans look good except for those ponds now present in the fields from all the rain we’ve received in the past 10 days.  Customers are still trying to finish their bean planting down in the Casey, Ill. area and I have customers who have some bean replanting in the northern part of Logan County.  When I was delivering some beans on Tues. to my Nashville, Ill. dealer for his double-crop customers, I found out that they have been getting missed from these rains and could actually use a shower.  It’s hard to imagine any place in Ill. that could use a rain.  It does look like we are going to dry out as they are predicting hot weather now.  Have a good day and enjoy your summer. 

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Jay Ryan (Pana, IL – Christian Co.)  Given the recent heavy rains, crop conditions are still very good as a whole. Much of the area received 2+ inches last weekend with some areas pushing over 5 inches. The low spots are struggling some but the rest of the fields look great. The first plot I put in on 4/1/10 hit pollination on 6/15/10 in Christian County.  If we keep getting the heat we are experiencing we should have an extremely early start to harvest. Even so, there are still several acres of beans to get in the ground in my southernmost areas.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL.

Despite Saturated Soils, Corn Rootworm Injury Evident in East-Central Illinois

June continues to be a very wet month across Illinois and in many areas of the Corn Belt this year. With all the excess precipitation and standing water in many fields, some have asked how these conditions might affect corn rootworm pressure. Unlike during the previous two growing seasons, I believe this year's rootworm population had a very good chance to establish on root systems and survive because of the early and quick pace of planting this spring. On June 10, Joe Spencer, an entomologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey, confirmed this prediction when he observed severe corn rootworm larval injury on plants in his plots located just north of Urbana. Several nodes of roots had been pruned on many of the plants he examined. More injury is likely because many of the larvae were still second instars, and they will have a chance to continue chewing on additional root tissue as third instars.

(Left) Corn rootworm larval injury to plants, June 10, Urbana. (Photo courtesy of Joe Spencer, Illinois Natural History Survey.)

Because of the saturated soils in many areas of the state this spring, I believe root systems may be shallower this year than we would like to see. Shallow root systems and severe root pruning could lead to significant lodging of plants in some fields. In some instances, even without corn rootworm feeding, shallow-rooted plants that become top-heavy later this year could be susceptible to lodging. If lodging occurs later this season, be sure to examine the root systems of these plants and determine the severity of root injury (if any). Don't just assume corn rootworms are responsible.
Emergence is likely just around the corner, and I won't be surprised if I begin to receive some reports of western corn rootworm adults by the end of next week. By the 4th of July, these sightings will become more common.--Mike Gray; University of Illinois Extension Entomologist.

A few extra notes:

Has anyone seen any Yellow Beans? This is a common phenomenon this year with soils being saturated for the past two weeks.  As a legume that produces its own nitrogen, active N-fixation in Soybeans does not begin until V2-V3 growth stage (2-3 fully extended trifoliates).  Waterlogged soils quickly run out of oxygen under warm air temps and increased carbon dioxide levels can cause poor root and shoot growth and affect nodulation production for nitrogen fixation.  The result is yellow beans.  A run of dryer weather will quickly turn this around.

One of our first tassel sightings this year across Central Illinois was Tuesday, June 15 near Pana, IL at Jay Ryan’s Stone Seed Group corn plot.  Jay and his family planted their corn plot on April 1 so it got off to an early start.  By the end of the week, all but a few hybrids were pollinating.  Observations elsewhere showed corn planted the second week of April had about 3 leaves to go before tasselling.  An early harvest would sure be nice for a change. 

Corn in the picture above is at a good stage to spray with a fungicide (VT) – tassel emergence.  Conditions have been ideal for corn leaf disease development the past few weeks such as Gray Leaf Spot.  Thus far, the Agronomy Team has not identified significant outbreak areas, however, now is the time for thorough scouting.  Pay close attention to your continuous corn fields.  If you have any questions, please contact your Stone Seed Group DSM or any member of the Agronomy Team. 

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of June 14, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 6/11/10

DSM COMMENTS:

NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  Heat and rainfall really moving corn and beans.  In Northern Illinois we have had enough rain but drainage has been exceptional...very little re-plant here...most of the corn looking as good or better than 2007...no-till beans still looking tough but coming...35 percent of corn is knee high with very good stands...beans moving to 2nd trifolate...wheat already turning and some will follow with beans if progression continues...

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Crops continue to grow and look good in and around the Tuscola area.  However, excessive rain in the Logan Co. area has led me to possibly have to take replant beans over to that area for a couple of customers.  I will know more after the rains that are suppose to come in here this Wed. afternoon and evening.  Bean planting has resumed in the Casey area where I have customers.  The crops look pretty good down in the Nashville, Ill. area where I was late last week with my dealer down there.  They are a week or two away from cutting wheat and starting double-cropping beans.  From Decatur to Tuscola and up to Champaign, the corn is thigh high and some is waist high and has that good dark green look to it.  Most of the beans are up and looking good and guys are looking for a 5 day dry window to cut some hay around here.  It looks like summer’s heat is coming back later this week and week-end and that will help the crops to continue their good growth.  Take care and have a good week. 

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  Bean planting was pretty much wrapped up this week.  Weed control has gone to drops for corn.  We have corn that is chest high and corn that is V2.  All the experts say we have an excellent corn crop.  Well, I guess I’m not an expert.  Our pollination period will last about 2 months.  Beans are emerging  with showers that hit us every  48 – 72 hours.  Few ponds.  Rainfall last week ranged from 3 tenths to 2.6 inches.  Hey its Illinois.  Potential is still there pending future weather events that we are prone to this time of year.  Watch the skies and keep your insurance man’s phone # handy.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL.

Photo Caption:  This photo was taken in Pike County just north of Pittsfield, IL.  Seedbed conditions at planting were pretty rough and heavy rain followed shortly after planting.  Check out the visual difference between the Acceleron™ Seed Treatment side compared to the non-treated seed.  Photo courtesy of Stephanie Smith; Technology Development Representative

Agronomic Spotlights for this week include a discussion on nematode management in corn, Morningglory control and assessing hail damage in corn and soybeans. 

Nematode Management in Corn… Symptoms of nematode feeding are most noticeable when environmental conditions cause plant stress.  Common above-ground symptoms include wilting, yellowing and stunting of growth. Common below-ground symptoms include swollen roots, lack of fine roots, minimal root branching and necrotic lesions. Nematode damage is rarely uniform within a field, and damage is typically more visible in areas with sandier soils.  Click here to read more about this hot topic!  Will a nematicide be a new component in Acceleron™ seed treatment for corn in 2011? 

Controlling Morningglory in Corn and Soybeans… Morningglories are low-climbing summer annual, broadleaf vines which can climb up crop plants for support. Depending upon light, nutrient and water availability, morningglories can have a significant impact on crop yields… Morningglories can be difficult to control in corn and soybeans. For management strategies for controlling this tough to kill weed, click here.

Hail Damaged Corn…Recovery and Damage Assessment… Recently, severe storms marched across the region bringing along hail that damaged corn in localized areas. After the initial shock of viewing a severely damaged corn field has diminished, the stages of determining the extent of the damage begin.  Yield loss in corn due to hail damage results from leaf area reduction caused by hail-damaged leaves and plant bruising and also due to stand loss caused by plant death.  To learn more about how to estimate corn damage from hail, click this link.

Hail Damaged Soybean…Recovery and Damage Assessment… Recently, localized areas were affected by hail. Hail damaged soybeans can be difficult to examine; however, evaluating plant health and stand loss is important in determining management options.  Evaluating the health of the growing point can be done soon after the storm, but making a decision regarding the yield potential of the field is premature because the plants have not been given enough time to recover. It takes about 4 to 7 days to see regrowth on soybeans after hail.  To learn more about how to estimate soybean damage from hail, click this link.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of June 7, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 6/4/10

STONE SEED GROUP OFFICE:  Andy Stone (Pleasant Plaines, IL - Sangamon Co.)

All,
It is June 2nd as I write this, starting my 30th year in the Seed industry. This week I’ve been over a large part of the State and thought I’d’ give you my overall impressions. On my farm (See Picture), my first field of 6N52VT3brand is looking tremendous 44” tall, the rows are closed and it’s growing quickly. This is on rotated ground and that is my first major observation. Corn on rotated ground, in general looks quite good everywhere. The other part of the story is that my C on C does not look nearly as fine. This is a trend that I see almost everywhere I go. In general, and my Agronomist’s have discussed this in the past, we are seeing a lot of compaction issues as well as the Spring applied N has remained in pretty narrow bands. The excess of moisture has caused additional stress by deairifying the soil in these compacted areas. One of our technical bulletins on this page describes some possible ways to help this situation but overall until we get some dry weather and consistent sunshine the situation will remain the same.

My summary of the Corn crop is that overall it is a pretty good start even with some of the challenges it’s facing. Soybeans in my opinion are, at least at this point off to a good start. I’m amazed at the difference high quality seed and seed treatments can make in a Soy’s ability to get out of the ground and growing. The fields that I have observed that have Acceleron on them all look pretty terrific. In general, even though there are still quite a few soy’s to plant in some areas they look good. Also, in our favor is that even though we have crossed into June some of the best Soy’s I have raised were planted in the June 5th to 12 window in past years, so we still have time.

Our Seed Corn production has all been planted and reports are the stands are quite good everywhere. Our Soybean Seed crop is at 95% planted and all that remains are some new RR2’s that just recently arrived from Chile. Now that returns are nearly accomplished I can report that we are quite pleased with our business this season and I do want to give a heartfelt thanks to all of you that have placed your trust in our Company.

My main focus, now that the crops are in the ground, is to look ahead to next year. One thing that I feel we at the SSG do very well is to be proactive in our marketplace with our Products, People and services. June is a big month as we welcome 2 new sales folks to our team and have a lot of in-depth Agronomic training for the entire Company. The CSR staff is hard at work getting statements finalized and planning how we can all offer better service and support.

As I look ahead, it is with a huge amount of optimism, for a good crop and a great start to the future.
Thanks,
Andy

DSM COMMENTS:

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   We finished planting beans for the first time here in most of my area.  Last Wednesday it was dry enough that everyone hit it hard and was even able to get some replanting done on Saturday and Sunday.  We’ve had 1 1/3 inches of rain and it is wet in the area now.  I have finished all my plots and they are looking nice.  I have never seen a crop of corn look so tough early on.  There is some Ammonia burn and compaction streaks, causing yellowing and unevenness.  There are more bad fields than good right now.  Many guys need to run a cultivator or just an anhydrous bar and run it deep to remove the compaction.

CENTRAL IL:  Matthew Meyer (Mapleton, IL – Peoria Co.)  Isolated thunderstorms have been the story of the past week or so. I’ve been all over west central Illinois this past week and the rain has been vastly scattered to say the least.  The rain has ranged from close to 4 inches near Peoria, to 2-3 inches around Jacksonville, to 1-3 inches around White Hall, and then there are those lucky individuals who barely had any rain at all. On the crops side of all this rain talk, corn is starting to come around. The lime green color we’ve been seeing is starting to turn a darker green and the corn is looking a whole lot healthier in most places. I was down south of White Hall Wednesday and there was corn up to my hip, which is about 3 to 4 feet tall. Amazing what a little bit of sunshine and humidity can do for these crops! Beans are slowly starting to poke out of the ground around the area. They are taking a little bit longer than the corn with all this rain we’ve had. For the most part though, we are ahead of where we were last year, so we need to keep our heads up and finish this planting season strong. Don’t forget farmers, if you need some help scouting fields or want some agronomic advice, don’t hesitate to call your DSM or one of our agronomists and get them out to your field! Stay safe out there everybody!  So long everyone for this time, until next time.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  Crops continue to look pretty good around the 40 mile radius of Tuscola.  We received .7 in. of rain early Wednesday morning.  My dealer in Casey is still trying to get started planting beans, as that area along Rt. 70 continues to stay wet.  I was down in Nashville, Ill. on Wednesday seeing my dealer and crops look pretty good down there as the farmers are wrapping up there planting in that area.  I still have a bean plot to get with my new dealer over in the LaGrange, Mo. area.  I was over there on Tues. and planting is still continuing as they have also received a lot of rain.  In this area a lot of farmers were spraying corn and beans until the rains came on Wed. morn.  We’ve been very fortunate to have had just the right amount of rain to have good stands of corn and beans in this area.  Good luck to everyone out there trying to finish up in their fields.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  This past week and Memorial Day weekend was a flurry of corn replant and 1st plant soybean.  Much spraying was completed and still progresses as we try to stay ahead of the weeds.  Corn is growing 2 to 4 inches a day and a dark green color is being observed.  Many early corn fields are waist high.  Memorial Day we experienced some scattered showers which knocked out many from field work on Tuesday.  Many south were still able to plant and spray.  Scattered showers are predicted for the rest of the week into the weekend.  Marginal hay making weather to say the least.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.)  Replant is becoming more common in my area, mainly due to water.  Rain in areas as much as 4” in the last few days has soaked soils and has gotten rivers and creeks out of their banks. A lot of the beans planted around Mothers day have come up in good time and are looking good.  Yellow streaks in corn fields and randomly dying plants are occurring mainly on bottom fields and saturated areas.  Due to the good weather we did have corn has shot up and is growing very quickly.  We might be careful if trying to cultivate to open up tight soils, not to let the corn get to big, growing at this fast pace could make the plants brittle and prone to snap if too big.

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL.

As soybean planting continues, this week’s Agronomic Spotlights and Alerts focus on soybean seedling diseases, delayed burndown ahead of soybean planting and recommendations for late planted soybeans.   The latter two articles address our Southern Illinois geography. 

We are beginning to see Fireflies at night and that is an indicator that Corn Rootworm hatch is most likely underway.  Our last Agronomic Spotlight this week discusses Corn Rootworm identification, its life cycle and management.  If rootworm problems are suspected, contact your Stone Seed Group DSM or one of our Agronomy Staff to investigate. 

Soybean Seedling Diseases Spotlight…Weather and poorly drained soils are not the only factors that may increase the chance of soybean seedling disease…  Different pathogens are present under different field conditions therefore; collecting the following information from each field can help distinguish which pathogen is present: general soil temperatures, general soil moisture (saturated, wet or dry), variety resistance or tolerance to Phytophthora, and plant growth stage…   Click on this link to read the entire article and to see the following flowchart that shows Seedling Mortality (Damping-off or Seedling Blight) Symptoms of Soybean Seedling Diseases caused by three key pathogens; Pythium, Phytophthora, and Rhizoctonia.

Delayed Burndown and Soybean Planting… Many soybean fields will be getting a burndown later than desired.  In several of those fields, marestail is getting larger and summer annuals, such as waterhemp are emerging.  Click here to check effective herbicide programs particularly in situations where glyphosate weed resistance is confirmed. 

Late Planting Soybean Recommendations (S. IL perspective)… Due to the excessive rains in some areas this spring, many farmers will be planting soybeans later than normal.  Late planting of soybeans requires a few more management considerations, such as soybean maturity, row spacing and weed control, planting rates, and insurance options.  Click here to read the entire article.

Corn Rootworm Spotlight (life cycle, identification, scouting and management)… Corn Rootworm eggs overwinter in the soil and begin to hatch in late May or early June. Larvae feed on corn roots, which can decrease yield potential and increase the risk of root lodging… Scouting for both larval damage and adult beetles can help to make decisions for next year…  Product selection is key to managing CRW. The introduction of Genuity® SmartStax™ corn, that contains the combination of Monsanto’s YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2® technology and Dow AgroSciences’ HERCULEX® RW Insect Protection technology, provides the most consistent protection against WCRW and NCRW larvae.  Click this link to read more.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of May 30, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 5/28/10          

DSM COMMENTS:
CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   HELLO ALL, WEDNESDAY NIGHT HERE IN BEAUTIFUL DOWNS, IL, JUST A LITTLE WET.  We only had ½” rain Monday night, a brief toad strangler.  I had several guys finishing beans 1st time east of here, but 20 miles west, Hopedale and the Pekin areas are now wet.  We received some complaints on replanting beans.  I never have seen so much, poor to average looking corn.  I can see wheel tracks in a lot of fields, and even which way guys worked ground.  Looks like we rushed it a hair too much this spring. Where I see wheel tracks, corn is stunted and yellow. The heat has made a lot of conditions show up.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Tucker Beckmier (Atwood, IL – Piatt Co.)  Spotty thunderstorms have delayed soybean planting in much of the area.  Yesterday afternoon we received an inch of rain at Atwood (Southern Piatt County) but still have plans today for a soybean plot this afternoon in southern Champaign County.   Christian county remains wet, with few soybeans planted and many are still waiting to replant corn into low areas of fields.  With the warm weather this week, the corn is growing quickly and many are nervous about getting nitrogen on and post spraying corn before it closes the rows.  Enjoy the Memorial Day weekend!

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.) Crops look good in the 30 mile radius of Tuscola where my main territory lies.  When I was over seeing my dealer in the LaGrange, Mo. area, just north of Quincy, they have finished planting corn and are ready to start planting beans.  They are still waiting to dry out down in the Casey area to resume planting and replanting corn before they start on beans.  In talking to my dealer down in Nashville, Ill. on Friday morning, they are starting to plant beans they are drying out as well from all of the recent rains.  As for me, I still have 4 bean plots to put in, which looks like it will happen in early June.  We were lucky to have missed all of the rains in central Ill. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  I hope things don’t look too bad over in the Sangamon Co. area.  Take care and have a good Memorial Day weekend. 

CENTRAL IL:  Josh Dukeman (Moweaqua, IL – Christian Co.)  Guys were able to get back in the field this week to plant beans around Moweaqua.  The short break in planting allowed us to walk some corn fields this week.  The corn on corn has really been showing signs of compaction again.  It seems like you can see just about every pass some growers had to make in the fields.  Very little cut worm and wire worm damage that I can see.  However there is some.  The few growers I have met with this week in the field were looking for answers as to what they might do to help these corn on corn acres.  Growers who have access to a tool bar may benefit going back and knifing in another 50 -60 lbs of product.  This can help break this soil up a bit, while adding a little jump start to the struggling crop.  The corn following beans over in this area seems to be moving right along very well.  Some growers even seem to think we may be looking at the best stand of corn we have seen in a long time.  I think it’s very important we walk these fields early and start uncovering what might be going on, in order to correct some issues as we move into next year.  Volunteer corn has also been a problem in areas that were hit with heavy wind last fall and caused down corn at harvest.  Keep in mind Genuity Smart Stax™ will be a great product to talk about for those acres if we see some of that this fall.  Liberty Link does have a nice place in a grower’s arsenal for this problem.  As for the beans, we finally got most of them up after 8 – 10 days of being in the ground.  The warm weather was a welcome sight.  It seemed to change the look of things overnight.  Hopefully if we can miss the next few pop up showers, we will wrap things up in this area.

CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.)  In the last 4 days portions of Sangamon County have received over 7 inches of rain and more to come.  On the brighter side, earlier in the week I was checking fields in Kankakee County and they were great.  6N52VT3 with a final stand of 34,000, being side dressed with 100 units of N.  What is the yield potential of that variety under these conditions?  Fields from Springfield to Carlinville are wet to say the least.  Post spraying of the corn could run behind if the weather doesn’t turn around.  One thing to remember, use enough Roundup to kill the weeds you are trying to get rid of.  If possible get the weeds in the corn before the 4” size and 6” in the beans.  There has been hay cut, some will be baled and some won’t due to the weather.  Replant is scattered throughout my area with more to come due to heavy rain.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  Numerous popup showers, many with killer lightning soaked area fields with 1 to 4 inches of rain.  Limited field work experienced this week.  At least we don’t have oil spills, tornados, volcano eruptions, rioting in the streets.   Let’s hope for a better week ahead.

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL.

Lots of planting activity continues in Northern Illinois; we have corn replanting, 1st time bean planting, and bean replanting all happening together.  As one region completes field activities, another region dries out and continues fieldwork.  There has been some localized cutworm activity in the Wyanet area, but other than that the insect activity so far has been minimal.  Various regions are showing yellow uneven corn; as I have been in these different fields with customers the issue has been sorting out the reasons the corn is yellow and recommending appropriate actions, we don’t want guys automatically assuming it is a nitrogen shortage when it could and in some cases has been something else.  Most corn is V3-V5, what beans are up are in unifoliate stage. 

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL. 

Our Agronomic Spotlight this week focuses on nitrogen loss due to wet spoils.  As predicted, excellent growing conditions have caused uninhibited corn plants to jump in size whereas corn that is experiencing stress due to compaction, variable planting depth, and nitrogen deficiency are noticeably shorter.  These situations are much more pronounced in corn on corn this year.  Consider the following “Spotlight” as a guide for possible additional N applications.  Remember too that running that toolbar between rows will also help break up tillage layers and help aerate the soil. 

Assessing Nitrogen Loss after Soil Saturation…Nitrogen (N) loss is a major concern after soils have become saturated from heavy rainfall.  Denitrification (microbial conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gases) and leaching are the processes involved with saturated soils that can result in significant N loss. Estimating N loss is not an exact science; however, below are some guidelines that can help with N assessment.  Click on this link to read the entire article.

 

 

 

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of May 24, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 5/21/10          

DSM COMMENTS:

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   As of Wednesday night, I have one customer near LaSalle planting beans.  I also have looked at some corn that got frosted; only 20 acres out of 550.  It was in the lowest field he had.  He was going to replant today, since the field is well tiled.  If we don’t get rain we could be planting beans by Friday or Saturday.  More rain fell west of here and to the south.  We have been fortunate.  There are a lot of beans emerging now.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)   We didn’t get any rain last Thurs. like they thought, but it started to rain at noon on Sat. and by the time it finished here in Tuscola on Mon. we had 1.8 in. of rain.  Everybody is out of the fields this week, with more rain coming on Thurs. night and Fri.  As for me, it has been a good time to visit customers and pick up seed boxes, pallets and any returned corn.  One good thing that is coming that we need is warm weather.  With the mid-eighties forecast for next week, we should really see these crops take off that are in the ground.  Take care and be careful out there.

CENTRAL IL:  Aaron Miller (Brownstown, IL – Fayette Co.)  With mostly rain the past day, no one is working in the fields! The forecast is going to get hot in the next couple days with it looking like some growers will be able to get back in the field by the beginning of next week. Most of the corn has come out of that "yellowish" phase, with the majority being in the V4 to V5 stage. The beans that are up and going are looking very good, considering the type of weather and temperatures we have been seeing.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  The past week has brought a wetter and colder than normal period.  Most areas have received over 4 inches of rain.  Many fields flooded, some leaving the remaining effects of sand bars, channels and timber.  Corn planting is mostly complete except for some timely spotting in.  Many beans are yet to be planted.  Emergence on the most recently planted corn and soybean is taking place as we speak.  There has been minor Black cutworm activity.  Weed control is still an issue, with several planted fields needing to be sprayed along with unplanted fields needing some burn down or tillage.  Prior to the rain I did see a grower cultivating corn with a 6 row JD cultivator.  Rain is predicted for later in the week but at least it is supposed to be warming up.  Another challenging year but we are ahead in planting dates compared to the past couple of years.

A few words from two of our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,

Greg Wolf, Geneseo, IL.
      The crisp, cool mornings of spring are now giving way to more humidity and warmer temperatures, so the crops in Northern Illinois will begin to take on a much different appearance this next week.  These are the issues for us:

• Much of the corn that is up is V1-V3, with some V4-V5 fields scattered around.  The corn is yellow, has been wind whipped, and sandblasted. Stress and cool conditions have shortened internode spacing. With all of this, the warmth of next week will certainly help the crop.
• Thousands of acres of beans are in exactly the same spot.  They have been in the ground for a couple of weeks and are struggling to break through thick crusts.  The light rains we are receiving now, if enough, will certainly aid in helping the beans work through these tight soils.
• This next week will see much bean planting, and patching in corn around wet areas as the lakes in fields begin to recede.  Now the switch to earlier season corns will begin.

Jeff Brown, Sidell, IL

Little to no field activity took place in East Central Illinois this week.  Rainfall during this time has not been heavy so a short run of sunny, warm days will allow soybean planting to resume.  Most corn has advanced beyond the 2 leaf collar stage of growth.  Replant should be minimal.  Field problems in corn will be much easier to see now as healthy, unimpaired corn will quickly outgrow corn that is damaged or restricted.  Scouting this week has revealed planter depth variations resulting in delayed germination (clods, trash, going too fast?), planter side-wall compaction, tillage compaction, NH3 burn and uneven corn development  based on soil type and water holding capacity to name a few.  Take time to check your corn fields for unusual growth patterns.  If soybeans are in the ground, check your stands.   Have a safe and successful week!

Spotlights for this week focus on Black Cutworm and Soybean Replanting Decisions. 

Black Cutworm Cutting Dates – Illinois:  Adult black cutworm (BCW) moth activity has peaked in some Illinois trap locations. Growing Degree Days (GDDs) can be used to predict larval development, and when the first cutting of plants may begin. BCW damage can result in stand loss, and scouting is needed to determine if economic thresholds have been met.  Click the link to read this informative article and see estimated 2010 cutting dates in Illinois…

Soybean Replanting Decisions:  Evaluating the Stand…Spotty stand reductions throughout the field can be caused by poorly drained areas in the field, sandy soil patches with inadequate soil moisture, and soil compaction areas.  Before deciding to replant, evaluate the stand for population and uniformity, and examine yield potential of the existing stand.  Click the link to read the entire piece that explains easy methods to evaluated plant stands and shows estimated yield potential based on % stand reduction…

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of May 17, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 5/14/10          

DSM COMMENTS:

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)     It looks like we are right at 100% complete on corn planting! YEA, but I have had some comments about frost damage on corn.  This is minimal, and mainly in low lying areas of fields.  It will grow back if the growing point is below ground, usually 7-8 leaves or less.  I am sure the agronomy team can add to this as well.  Beans are probably 40-50% done.  We had 1-1/2 inches of rain here, north a little less.  Currently I’m busy picking up seed corn.

CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.)  The rain is continuing.  We have had 3.4 inches since this last go around started.  Replant calls have begun on corn and since there were a lot of beans planted in the last week, replant could be an issue there too.  Be sure to be aware of the policies on replant and refunds on traited crops.  We got our bean plot in at Plains on Monday, we will see what happens.  I understand that some of our northern areas got in excess of 5 inches overnight on Wednesday.  Overall corn looks good with some side dressing going on, and beans that are up look good. 

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  So far we’ve dodged the big rains over here in Douglas Co.  I received 1 inch of rain Monday night here in Tuscola and 3/10 of an inch Wednesday morning.  Almost all of the corn is up and looks good.  A lot of beans are planted.  I have some customers who are entirely done.  On the other hand I have customers in the Casey area who are struggling with a lot of rain.  There is still corn to be planted down there as well as a lot of replant on some of the previously planted fields.   My dealer in Nashville, Ill., Garrett Maschhoff, replanted 100 acres of corn on Tuesday and then that area got another 1 inch of rain Tuesday night.  My customers in the Canton and Hannibal, Mo. area are really getting a lot of rain.  About half of the corn is planted over there and I’m holding my breath to see if we are going to have to replant over there with the heavy rains they are getting this Thursday morning as I type this letter.  Overall, here in the Tuscola area things look pretty good if we don’t get much more rain today.  Have a good day.

CENTRAL IL:  Aaron Miller (Brownstown, IL – Fayette Co.)  Most growers in Fayette and surrounding counties are getting a pretty good break from any type of planting or field work.  Most of the area received anywhere from 0.3 to 2.2 inches Tuesday night. There is some corn that has a lot of standing water in the fields. The corn is to a point of noticing some emergence issues in certain areas. A handful of growers have had to replant entire fields, but mostly just spotting in. Most of the corn is at V3. There seems to be quite a bit of beans to be planted yet.

Geneseo, Illinois:  Greg Wolf
Wednesday night we received 6” of rain.  You can imagine the flooding damage in town, but what about in the fields, which are flooded by both the heavy rains and the damage from creeks and rivers rising out of their banks?

First things first---Many farmers are speculating about damage to their crops, but first we’ll let the waters recede and then we’ll make some decisions. 
---Population.  Check the stands to see if the initial population is good or if it will need to be replanted to maximize yield potential.  If you originally used insecticide at planting, that will need to be part of your discussion. 
---Disease.  If the stand is good, pull up a few plants and gently scrape the outer tissue of the roots and shoots to make sure the interior of the plant is firm and healthy and showing no signs of rot.  You could have a good stand, but if diseased plants are going to be an issue, deal with it now when replanting is still an option.
---Collateral damage from river flooding.  The plant diagnostic books don’t show you pictures of what carp damage and snail feeding will do.  If you see shredded leaves, missing plants, leaves with holes, etc., keep an open mind and not immediately assume the issue is cutworms, etc.
---The sun comes out and bakes the field to a glaze. You’re digging plants to figure out whether to rotary hoe.  Are they already leafed out under ground and done, or are the shoots still firm but struggling?  Are the beans snapping off as they come through the ground or are they going to make it on their own?  If you make the decision to hoe, then hoe; don’t wait 3 or 4 days for a possible rain to soften the surface.
---Other collateral issues.  Mountains of corn stalks in the wrong places, trash and debris, piles of sand and muck.  We’re still in the middle of May, and not the middle of June.  Can you solve some of these issues before immediately going in to replant into a mess?
---What mystery weeds will you be receiving as presents?  When it comes time for postemerge sprays, scout those fields to make sure you know what you’re spraying.  You may have received some “surprise” weeds from the flooding, which may require a different chemical mix than what you were originally going to spray.
Field problems like these can be emotionally overwhelming, but if you methodically work through the issues, the outcome can be very positive.

Our newly emerged crops are facing challenges from recent weather conditions.  This week’s Spotlights discuss symptoms to look for and decision guides resulting from frost injury and flooded fields.  Remember that Stone Seed Group’s District Sales Managers (DSM) and Agronomy Staff are available to assist you. 

Frost and Cold Temperature Damage to Small Soybeans...Recent weather patterns have exposed soybean fields to frost and cold temperatures.  Understanding the effects of these weather conditions on soybean at different growth stages can help determine the best management options.  To read more click the thumbnail picture.

Frost and Cold Temperature Damage to Small Corn...Recent weather patterns have exposed corn to frost and cold temperatures.  Understanding the effects of these weather conditions on corn at different growth stages can help determine the best management options.  Additionally, waiting 3-5 days after the weather event can allow for a more accurate assessment of plant health.  Click the thumbnail picture to read the entire article.

Corn Management in Flooded Fields…heavy rains have caused flooding in corn fields, which could negatively affect yield potential and cause other problems.  Plant survival and potential nitrogen loss should be considered when deciding what management actions to take.  Find out more by clicking the thumbnail picture.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of May 9, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 5/07/10          

DSM COMMENTS:

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)     It has dried out here today with lots of guys planting soybeans.  The Downs, McLean, and Heyworth areas only had about ½ inch of rain.  Had several more growers finish corn today so almost 100% complete and some almost complete with soybeans.

CENTRAL IL:  Aaron Miller (Brownstown, IL – Fayette Co.)  Most growers are getting back into the field either today or yesterday (5/5).  We had anywhere from an inch to some places getting 2 1/5 inches Monday night.  Most growers are done with corn or finishing up with it.  The majority are working ground and planting beans.  With the forecast calling for rain and cooler weather I do have some customers holding off until next week to start on beans.  No real sign if any cutworm or serious agronomic issues to speak of, and we hope it stays that way!

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  We needed rain to get some corn emerged after our fast paced planting period, but not the 3 – 4 inch variety as many experienced.  Sporadic rainfall has kept some out of fields where as others were able to continue planting and have since started on soybeans.  Emergence seems to be leveling out on the clay hill sides and areas that dried out prior to planting.  Weed control in planted corn acres is high priority.  Reports of Black Cutworms and damage have been reported.  Growers are encouraged to monitor fields.  80 – 90 % of the corn is probably planted and many are starting on soybean.

CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.) Corn planting is winding down and soybean planting is going strong.  AS the corn emerges timing of fertilizer and post herbicide applications is important in crop development and weed control.  Walking fields, morning glory seems to be the dominate weed, and as we all know a tough one to control if not taken care of early and when they are small.  Some beans are emerging with a possible frost on Saturday night could be unhealthy for young beans.

Corn Germination, early season growth, sidedressing and volunteer corn control are our Spotlights for this week.

The following two articles from Iowa State University were written this time last year yet are timely for localized agronomic issues in fields seen this week. 

Temperature Fluctuations Have and May Continue to Inhibit Corn Emergence  Imbibitional chilling damage, which is the chilling effect seeds may experience when they imbibe, or absorb water when soil temperatures are less than 55 F for an extended time.  Seedlings may “corkscrew” or not emerge when exposed to these cool soil temperatures.  This may happen also when there are rapid swings in air temperatures of nearly 30 F…to read more click on this link (Click Here).

Check General Root and Mesocotyl Health when Assessing Corn Stands…Survival of young corn seedlings depends on a healthy kernel and mesocotyl which should remain firm and white through at least the growth stage V6.  Read more about what to look for in a healthy root system by clicking this link (Click Here).

Agronomic Alert – Sidedressing Corn  If no nitrogen was applied at planting or before, then sidedress applications should be made early (by V3) to meet the needs of developing seedlings.  At the V3 growth stage, seedlings have used up nutrients stored in the seed and are increasingly dependent on soil supplied nutrients.  Find out more by clicking the following link: (Click Here)

Agronomic Spotlight – Volunteer Corn Control: Pre-plant, Replant and In-crop…Read more about control options at this link: (Click Here)

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of May 2, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 4/30/10

DSM COMMENTS:

NORTHERN IL:  Tony Strom (Victoria, IL – Knox Co.)  With 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain last weekend, planting has been at a standstill in Knox, Warren, Stark and Henry counties.  Very little soybean planting took place before the rain, with most of the corn planting completed or over 2/3 done. Corn planted two weeks ago has emerged well and is waiting for some heat to take off; what a difference a year makes.  Predicted rain on Friday has kept some farmers from starting soybeans today.  I haven’t seen any insect or weed concerns yet. Have a safe week.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)    The last few guys will be planting corn here through Wednesday.  If it does not rain, the last of my plots will be going in on Thursday.  A lot of corn has now emerged.  There were a few fields last week prepared to hit bean planting hard; most of our customers are ready to plant beans now!  No field issues yet, west of here received 2 inches of rain, with the Downs area receiving 1.5 inches and north a little less.

CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.)  It’s wet here in central Ill.  With rain totals from 1.2-5.5 inches in the last week things have come to a quick halt.  Emergence appears to be very good on the corn that is up.  After looking at a few plots that have emerged, emergence seems to be uniform across the board.  Scouting fields for weed problems and keeping them under control will be important in the coming weeks.  A few beans have been planted, but cooler temps will slow down emergence.

CENTRAL IL:  Russ Terry (McLean, IL – McLean Co.)  The recent rain was a welcome sight for most growers in my area. In many cases, corn was planted in soils that were worked and re-worked to try to somehow create acceptable seed beds and in turn prematurely dried the top several inches of soil. It seems that most of the corn is in the ground and growers are looking forward to a seamless bean planting run similar to this year’s corn planting. Wow, what would that be like? I think I speak for the majority of growers and folks in the seed industry by saying “I think we deserve a good break, finally!”

 
EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)   A lot of planting continued last week right upon the time it started raining Fri. morning.  Several farmers are done with corn and are ready to start on beans when it dries up.  There are also several farmers who still have some corn to plant but are in good shape for where the calendar is.  The rainfall in my area here around Tuscola ranged from 1 in. to 1.5 in.  It was just what the doctor ordered and there are a lot of fields of corn that you can now row this week.   With more rain in the forecast starting on Fri., it looks like the bean planting will be put on hold til later next week.  In the mean time we’re looking at the start of a good corn crop across Ill. with 73% in the ground by April 25th.  Good luck to everyone out there in the fields and be safe.

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Jay Ryan (Pana, IL – Christian Co.)  Talk about a 180 from last year!  Most of my customers have wrapped up corn earlier this year than they started planting last year. With this start I would say that we have an incredible opportunity to not only have great yield potential but an early start to harvest to get back on track with deep tillage.  This is much needed to break up compaction from last fall and set 2011 up for a good year as well. I had a few growers plant some beans prior to this past weekend’s rains but no one went full bore. It will be a few good drying days till my area is back running as we captured between 2 and in some spots as much as 6 inches in the last week. My hat goes off to the growers as they proved how fast they can put a corn crop in given the weather cooperates.

SOUTHWEST IL:  Neil Gray Planting progress ranges from complete on corn, to almost done, to not much planted.  Field scouting has started with normal results, being "cutworms".  Washington County has heavy populations in some areas.  Corn populations look good for the most part, but some fields will be watched for possible replant.

These soybean and corn calendars are very good references for our areas...see below for more info...
	Corn Disease Calendar 2010...click the picture for the pdf.
	Corn Weed Calendar 2010...click the picture for the pdf.
	Corn Insect Calendar 2010...click the picture for the pdf.
Soybeans Disease Calendar 2010...click the picture for the pdf.
Soybeans Weed Calendar 2010...click the picture for the pdf.
Soybeans Insect Calendar 2010...click the picture for the pdf.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of April 25, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 4/23/10

DSM COMMENTS:

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)     Well, well what a wild ride this has been and what a comparison to last year. Most of my customers have ½ to mostly complete on planting corn and 3 of my dealers are done.  This year we are way ahead of Iowa.  Had a few guys, I know start on beans?  Not real good idea in my book.  End of next week is a different story.  Some guys got done and were putting corn in dry dirt, not so good, but my 0-tillers had plenty.  Funny, now farmers looking for rain?

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  A lot of my customers are done or will be done with corn by Thursday night around Tuscola in Douglas County and neighboring Piatt, Champaign and Moultrie counties.  We are all hoping for that 1 inch of rain over the next 3 days that they are forecasting.  Then I think most everyone will start in with planting beans.  As for me, I have 8 corn plots in and I’m happy about that.  So far it has been one of the best springs for farmers in a long time.  Good luck to everyone out there and be safe.

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Tucker Beckmier (Atwood, IL – Moultrie Co.)  Everyone has been hitting it hard the last ten days.  Farmers are either finishing up with corn or at least half way done.  While soils haven’t worked ideally this spring it does feel good to have the majority of the corn crop in.  Once the rain passes I expect corn planting to finish and guys will roll right into soybean planting.  We had 1/10 of an inch of rain Thursday morning.

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Aaron Miller (Brownstown, IL – Fayette Co.)  Most growers have reached the point of completion of corn planting.  There are some growers that have a couple of fields they are waiting for a rain.  Many guys are beginning to work bean ground.  With most of the area being no-till the past several years, field conditions left from last fall are not going to allow for much no-till.  There are a few growers that have started planting beans.  Most are waiting to see what the weather does this weekend, with a good probability of rain in the forecast.

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  The major field activity has been NH3 application.  Many suppliers were getting low on meeting demand with product and applicators.  We did have a report of an anhydrous accident where 3 men were injured.  Carry a gallon jug of water with you in case you have to rinse in a hurry.  Keep emergency response #’s handy.  Practice dialing with your eyes closed.  Also, it is always a good idea to work in pairs.  Planting is taking place with many pushing the NH3 window.   

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of April 19, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Curt Clapper of Rural Tuscola is busy planting corn over this past weekend.  Nearby, his brother Mike and District Sales Manager, Dennis Opperman, had just finished planting a Stone Seed Group strip trial.  We thank all of our cooperators for taking the time to work with us on plots and side by sides. 

Agronomic Spotlights

Managing Common Lambsquarters in Corn and Soybeans…Common lambsquarters is a tough-to-control weed with postemergence herbicides in corn and soybeans….To manage common lambsquarters, it is important to treat when it is small and use residual herbicides to help control additional flushes.  To read more about this Crop Protection Update, click on this link.

Importance of P and K in Corn and Soybean Development…The soil fertility levels for P and K are greatly impacted by their availability in the soil and previous crop removal.  For corn, each bushel harvested per acre removes approximately 0.4 pounds per acre P2O5 and 0.29 pounds of K2O.  Click on this link to read the entire article.

Managing Waterhemp…Waterhemp has become one of the most troublesome weeds in the Midwest.  Managing waterhemp can be challenging in agronomic crops, and it generally takes more than one herbicide application during the season to be successful.  Find out more by clicking on this link.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 4/16/10

DSM COMMENTS:

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)    Currently, I have 6-10 customers planting.  Many more will hopefully join them tomorrow or the next day.  No plots have been planted as of Wednesday, but there will be soon.  Customers tell me the soil is working very nicely; still see many leveling and putting on ammonia.  It is nice to see everyone off to a good, early start.  If we don’t receive any appreciable rain amounts through Friday, some folks will be done with corn by mid week next week.  WOW!  I drove 450 miles today in 7 counties; tractors and planters everywhere.  Thanks all, doing good here, hardly enough time to deliver all the Smart Stax®

SOUTHWEST CENTRAL IL:  Dave Dimmick (Murrayville, IL – Morgan Co.)  The major field activity has been NH3 application.  Many suppliers were getting low on meeting demand with product and applicators.  We did have a report of an anhydrous accident where 3 men were injured.  Carry a gallon jug of water with you in case you have to rinse in a hurry.  Keep emergency response #’s handy.  Practice dialing with your eyes closed.  Also, it is always a good idea to work in pairs.  Planting is taking place with many pushing the NH3 window. 

Requirements for Uniform Germination and Emergence of Corn
Adequate soil moisture is most simply defined as not too dry and not too wet. Most growers know what "adequate" looks and feels like. Uneven soil moisture in the seed zone can be caused by variable soil characteristics, tillage patterns, unusual weather conditions and uneven seeding depth. Uneven soil moisture throughout the seed zone is the primary cause of uneven emergence, the results of which can easily be yield losses of 8 to 10 percent…
To read more of this article, click this link:  Requirements for Uniform Germination and Emergence in Corn - Corny News Network (Purdue University)

Visual Indicators of Germination in Corn

Germination is the renewal of enzymatic activity that results in cell division and elongation and, ultimately, embryo emergence through the seed coat. Germination is triggered by absorption of water through the seed coat. Corn kernels must absorb (imbibe) about 30 % of their weight in water before germination begins. Less than optimum absorption of water (perhaps due to a rapidly drying seed zone) may slow or stop germination.  Repeated wetting and drying cycles can decrease seed viability.  Find out more by clicking this link:  Visual Indicators of Germination in Corn - Corny News Network (Purdue University)

Pre-plant and Burndown Control of Marestail in Southern Illinois
Currently in Southern Illinois, the marestail populations are a combination of glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-sensitive plants. This makes early application and the use of tank mixes with different modes of action critical to achieve marestail control. Understanding the growth pattern of marestail and being familiar with herbicide programs can help provide better marestail control.  Read more by clicking this link here.

Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of April 12, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 4/08/10

DSM COMMENTS:

STONE SEED GROUP OFFICE:  Andy Stone (Pleasant Plaines, IL - Sangamon Co.)
In central Illinois, near Springfield, last week was great for putting on NH3 for 4 or 5 days; plenty went on and folks were making plans to start planting soon. As I was coming back to the office Friday afternoon I saw 2 planters running just North of St. Louis.  Unfortunately, Saturday and Sunday we had .6” of rain; Sunday afternoon was warm and breezy so it dried out pretty quick.  Unfortunately, Monday afternoon we had a hard and fast ¾ of an inch so we are pretty wet here.  This storm was not very widespread so we still have customers that will be planting in various areas this week.
All the best to everyone and remember “A delay beats a disaster” be safe.

NORTHERN IL:  Kevin Sanderson (Creston, IL – DeKalb Co.)  Well, the snow is finally gone and the temperatures are moving upward. Field work is moving at a vigorous pace. Ironically, Friday I saw one grower combining corn on one side of the fence line and another putting NH3 down on the other side. Ground appears to be working up nicely. On March 31th, 200 acres were planted north of Rochelle. Heavy storms on Monday night produced damaging winds and up to 2" rainfall with more in the forecast today. It is still early in Northern Illinois. We almost always get some snow and cold weather in early April.

CENTRAL IL:  Dale Luster (Downs, IL – McLean Co.)   It is nice to see everyone up and running again.  Here in central Illinois many people are putting on ammonia, disking, and field work, finally.  Watch out, if it stays warm and dry, a lot of growers will be planting in 2-weeks. Ammonia is going on well. Conditions out there are pretty good. 

EAST CENTRAL IL:  Dennis Opperman (Tuscola, IL – Douglas Co.)  The soil is wet and farmers are patiently waiting to get back in the fields over here in Douglas Co.  Some were able to apply NH3 in the fields on March 24th and then again last Friday, April 2nd, but that’s about it.  We haven’t received a lot of rain, just enough to keep things wet.  As for me, I’m delivering seed to my customers.

CENTRAL IL:  Andrew Musselman (Morton, IL – Tazewell Co.)  The sun is shining through the clouds this Tuesday afternoon, with temperatures approaching 80 degrees, but I received .5” rain Friday night and .5” Sunday night, so field work is delayed again for a portion of my area.  On Monday, some NH3 was being applied along Rt. 136.  There is still a lot of ground to be worked from last fall.  Tiling has also been a major focus.  Some corn was planted last week by Chillicothe on sandy soil, but a significant amount of planting is still a ways off.

CENTRAL IL:  Dave Love (Petersburg, IL –Menard Co.)   Things are beginning to cut loose in central Ill. and other parts of the state.  Gas starting going on last week and planters were rolling.  Rain as usual slowed us down, but we should be back at it by this coming weekend.  Field work and anhydrous going good around the Columbia area Weds.  With a good forecast in the near future progress could be made in the next week.

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Jay Ryan (Pana, IL – Christian Co.)  It has been an interesting start to Spring through out my region.  There is still a large percentage of corn fields that have not had an opportunity to be prepared for the 2010 growing season.  It will be interesting to see if Mother Nature cooperates this week to aid farmers in closing in ruts from last year, and get some tillage work done to set up to plant heavy corn again this year.  It will take some IDEAL weather to pull it off this spring.  Furthermore, I think we will learn a lot this year on just how wet or how frozen we can perform deep tillage and still see positive results the following growing season.  We did have quite a few toolbars rolling late last week with a handful of growers who dropped some seed in the ground.  I took a peek at some that was planted last Friday on April the 2nd and there was already a ¼ inch sprout on the seed.  The rains through March have been general with a few areas receiving heavy rainfall.  There will be several tractors rolling by the weekend if we miss the next couple of storms heading our way. 

SOUTH CENTRAL IL:  Aaron Miller (Brownstown, IL – Fayette Co.)  There has been planting going on east of Ramsey, IL for about a week and a half now.  We received 0.75” of rain last Friday night in to the Saturday morning.  There was a little break after that rain, but today the planting picked back up and even more guys are putting on the gas.  There have been a couple of growers east of Vandalia putting on anhydrous and working in ruts from last fall’s harvest.  The majority of my area is just a little bit on the wet side.  All guys are searching for that “one” field that is able to go.

Timely information is what makes Field Focus such a valuable tool for our website viewers.  Each week DSM comments paint an accurate picture of what is happening “in the field” throughout Illinois and surrounding areas along with additional important agronomic topics including insect/pest updates by the Agronomy Team.  Access to helpful agronomic information has never been as timely as it is today.  In our efforts to be your information source, Stone Seed Group will be begin providing “Links” to important agronomic alerts that you can “point and click” upon to view entire articles and documents. 

Cold, Saturated Soil Effects on Corn Germination & Emergence…Corn planted this season could be exposed to cold temperatures and saturated soils. Soil that is saturated and cold can have a negative impact on corn germination and emergence. In addition, cold, saturated soils can cause other problems including surface soil crusting, compacted soils, and seedling diseases. If all of these factors occur, extensive emergence problems may take place.  To read more of this agronomic alert, click on this link.

Burndown Application Reminders with Roundup® Brand Agricultural Herbicides…These are some reminders to consider when using Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides to help maximize weed control in burndown applications…spring burndown applications work best when weeds are small (less than 6 inches) and actively growing.  To read more of this agronomic alert; click on this link.

Leveling Soil for Planter Operation…Last fall wet soil conditions during harvest time created unavoidable soil destruction and significant soil scars or ruts…if you are planning to work these soil ruts out, check your soil moisture condition before conducting any tillage operation.  To read more of this article; click on this link:  http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2010/0407hannaalkaisi.htm

  Illinois Crop Progress Percents as of April 4, 2010

1/ Less than one percent.

Refuge Acreage Calculator
As you finalize your corn varietal selections for your various fields, it can be confusing when figuring the refuge requirements, especially if you have VT3s and Smart Stax and/or VT Triple Pro varieties in the same field.  There is a very user friendly calculator on the Internet at www.irmcalculator.com.  It’ll assist you in calculating refuge acreage and total bags of seed needed for the field based on field size and your planting populations. No need to guess, as this calculator will lay it all out for you.

TAMMY’S TWO CENTS
As everyone is gearing up for spring planting of the 2010 crop season, remember to be safe with yourself and equipment.  Living on a farm myself, I know how quickly things can go wrong.  Below is a portion of an article I found on the National Ag Safety Database that I thought would be helpful for all of us to remember.  Good luck to everyone in the 2010 crop season!

Transporting Safety
Towing a wide planter on public roads is potentially hazardous because the travel speed is much less than cars and trucks on the road. For proper transport, follow instructions in the operator's manual. Here are a few important guidelines to follow:

1. Equip machinery with adequate lights, reflectors, and a bright, clean slow moving-vehicle emblem.
2. Put the planter in as narrow a configuration as possible. Many wide planters have a special transport position. Some states require a special permit to transport equipment that's more than 8 feet (2.4 meters) wide.  Check local and state regulations.
3. If an integral hitch is used for a double planter, the implement should be transported in tandem.
4. Use transport links to take the load off the hydraulic cylinder when equipment is moved more than a mile or two.
5. Use flashing warning lights, unless prohibited by local regulations.
6. Keep equipment to the right of the center line. It is courteous to pull over when possible to allow cars to pass if oncoming traffic prevents them from using the passing lane.
7. If the planter must be transported very far, haul it by truck or trailer.

Source: Fundamentals of Machine Operation - Planting, Deere & Co.

Field Focus Contributors:
Dave Love, CCA                    (M)217-652-9534
Greg Wolf , CCA                   (M)309-314-5001
Jeff Brown, CCA                    (M)217-714-6006

Agronomic Update – 1/27/2010

As you can see in the following newagtalk.com forum...maybe would be a good idea to check those grainbins if it's been a while.

http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=146688&mid=1042914#M1042914