With reduced seed availability to plant our 2016 soybean crop, farmers will be considering alternative strategies. One of those that might be considered is the Early Soybean Production System. This system is typically a challenge due to conflicting harvest timing with both peanuts and cotton harvest as well as rainfall in the month of September. …
Jay Florida Evaluation of Soybean Varieties 2015 Georgia Statewide Variety Testing 2015 There is also an Early Soybean Production System which might be considered. This is not typically recommended because of harvesting challenges including weather, and conflict with the harvesting season of other crops. However, if a farmer is prepared for timely harvest, it might be …
Crop farmers across the USA are singing the blues as they wrap up their crop sales and accounting for the season. Locally, it appears there isn’t a crop farmer that I’ve talked to that didn’t have some struggles on one farm or another; either weather, pest, or equipment, that dinged overall yields. When coupled with the …
After a wet September in North Florida, area farmers were treated to a dry October with near perfect harvesting conditions. Many have gone out of their way to remind me I thought we could expect a cooler, wetter fall because of the conditions climatologists have called “Super El Nino.” I’ve heard enough jokes about guys …
Inundated=Overwhelmed with things to deal with. We have been hard hit by caterpillars the last 2+ weeks. Starting with Soybean loopers about 14 days ago, and continuing with Velvetbean caterpillar (VBC) the last week. We are well above threshold levels in many peanut and soybean fields locally. Knowing the difference is very important. Control measures required can range from …
The USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service released their 2015 Planting Intentions Report this week. There is always room for debate about reliability, and this report certainly has the web buzzing. I don’t have much to add beyond what is in print, but wanted to share the highlights as they might relate to our markets. You …
I have had nematodes on my mind throughout our cropping season. Seems that sometimes we forget those pesky roundworms can ruin an otherwise good year. A colleague at University of Georgia, Rome Etheridge, recently shared a post on Seminole Crops E-News about both cotton and peanuts with nematode problems. Perhaps I haven’t looked closely enough at the …
Farmers in North Florida have been voting with their pocketbook the last several years. The region was covered up in corn in 2013 with virtually every irrigated acre producing corn as a result of the Midwest drought of 2012. The summer of 2012 brought a large expansion in peanut acreage following a drought shortened southeastern …
In my recent Extension Advisory Committee meetings before wrapping up for 2013 one thing that was emphasized was economic sustainability must continue to be a component of UF/IFAS Extension programming. This was following a year where farmers watched corn drop from $7/bushel at planting time to $5 at harvest and cotton fall from 0.95/lb at …
Full season soybean planting is wrapping up in this area. All that I am aware of left to be planted is those which some call “ultra-late” which will be planted behind corn for grain or silage. Although it is not too late to plant soybeans, research has shown yields decline with later than optimum plantings. …