When it rains it pours, and when it doesn’t……well it just gets really dry. Following a less than pleasant summer growing season, mother nature continues to add insult to injury. September is prime time for peanut harvest in North Florida, and some farmers are saying we are doing a better job of peanut “planting.” They say …
Dr. David Zierden, the Florida State Climatologist and I have been discussing the 2014 weather for the Southeast. I suggested the similarities in crop conditions between 2011 and 2014, and we have looked at the rainfall totals for the 90 day June-July-August period. In 2011 we had a dry spring capped off with May being very …
Sorry for the brief post from the field. We are finding populations everywhere we’ve looked. Here are updated recommendations from Dr. David Buntin, UGA Extension Entomologist. These are applicable for Florida growers as well. It is my understanding grain and forage sorghums are hosts. Sorghum-Sudan and millet are non-hosts. NEW APHID PEST found in GA …
I have been learning more about aphid entomology than I bargained for this week. This spring and summer I have read about challenges with Sugarcane aphids in the Mid South, Deep South, and Texas. I have been thinking we were fortunate not to deal with the pest. However, this week we have tentatively identified the aphids …
Please join us for a North Florida Tradition as we prepare for a safe and bountiful peanut harvest. Dr. Barry Tillman, Peanut Breeder from University of Florida, will discuss Peanut Cultivars and Tyron Spearman of the National Peanut Buying Point Association will provide a Peanut Market Update. Other University Faculty will also share observations of …
I have been working with an Extension Intern this summer to collect information from farmers about challenges they encounter in integration of cattle and row crops in their operation. Many have indicated labor and expense of preparing grass fields for row crop planting is a barrier to rotation of grass with row crops. We are simultaneously …
As we complete peanut planting farmers are heading to the field to analyze the plant stands and weed concerns on a field by field basis. Fortunately with the spring rains and good soil moisture conditions I haven’t seen any replant situations except for a few wet holes that can’t be planted anyway. However, many farmers …
Continue reading ‘Farmers Concerned with “Skippy” Peanut Stands’ »
Throughout North Florida farmers are busy with planters chasing the combine as small grains are being harvested and cash crops planted. We have been blessed with consistent rainfall the entire spring, and there has been plenty of moisture to get crops established without any issues. Most seasons farmers feel like they give up a little yield …
We often talk about a “farmer’s intuition” and it took me awhile to realize maybe intuition is not the right word, but there is clearly a pattern to the history and experience of each individual farmer. A few years ago, one area farmer shared that his goal was to put out his last nitrogen fertilizer application to the …
I am seeing peanuts planted on April 1st just cracking the surface as of April 10th. This emergence timing is typical for the fields we get planted around the 1st of April each year. There are a few acres planted locally where farmers are trying to plant into available soil moisture and stretch their harvesting window by getting some peanuts planted early, some …
Continue reading ‘Early Peanuts Cracking…Still too Early?’ »