Corn South March 2019

Pest Management

CornSouth ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

Southern Production & Marketing Strategies

A Supplement to Cotton Farming and The Peanut Grower Magazines

March 2019

CornSouth

Market News

Farm Bill Highlights Within a day of signing the 2018 Farm Bill, a government shutdown went into effect.

Questions swirled as to how the farm legislation would be implemented and when, of course. Once the government opened back up, Farm Service Agencies were behind the eight ball to get producers Amanda Huber informed and signed up for Editor programs. By then, producers were starting to make crop plans in earnest and even begin work in the fields or at least shops.

In case between the government shutdown and your crop-year start up you missed some of the highlights of this Farm Bill, University of Georgia Extension economists, Yangxuan Liu and Adam Rabinowitz, put together a list of the major changes for easy reference.

• The election between ARC/PLC is one of the key changes for Title I commodities in the 2018 Farm Bill. The initial election will be in 2019 for the 2019 and 2020 crop years. Beginning with the 2021 crop year, producers are allowed to change their ARC/ PLC program elections annually.

• A new effective reference price and updated PLC program yields are created for covered commodities.

• The statutory PLC reference prices for Title I commodities remain the same as in the 2014 Farm Bill with seed cotton added. The effective reference price permits the reference price to increase up to 115% of the statutory reference price.

• At the sole discretion of the owner of a farm, the owner shall have a 1-time opportunity to update the PLC payment yield, on a covered-commodity-by-covered-commodity basis. The payment yield is used in calculating the PLC payment for each covered commodity for which the PLC election is made.

• Beginning in 2019, ARC-CO (ARC-County) payments will be based on the physical location of the farm, with farms that cross multiple counties being prorated into each county.

• When calculating the benchmark revenue for ARC-CO, the effective reference price will be used as part of the calculation for the 5-year Olympic average price when the effective reference price is higher than the marketing year average price. In addition, the 5-year Olympic average yield will use either the county average yield or 80% of the county transitional yield, whichever is higher for that year.

For additional information on the Farm Bill, visit the University of Georgia Food, Agriculture and Resource Economic blog at https://site.extension.uga. edu/aaecext/.

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CORN SOUTH | MARCH 2019

Corn Stocks Less Than Expected

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ark Welch, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension economist, College Station, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently released report shows national corn supplies carried over from 2018 were lower than expected. The U.S. typically carries 1520 percent of the national crop into the next growing season.

The report estimated the U.S. corn stock was at 12 percent, Welch says.

“The carryover corn stock has been going down the last three years,” he says. “At 12 percent, that’s tight. If we get to 10 percent, that’s tight, tight and an indication that without record yields we need more corn acres.”

Prices have moved lower despite the report of reduced supplies, Welch says.

Domestic corn use estimates were lowered by USDA as well, which offsets some impact of the lower production numbers.

“Prices actually went down after the report came out,” he says. “We would think in the context of supply and demand there would be some degree of support for higher prices, but that hasn’t happened so far.”

Welch says uncertainty because of the ongoing trade talks with China,

Market Overview: • USDA reports corn stocks at 12 percent • Carryover is typically 15-20 percent • No corresponding increase in price to supply numbers • Ongoing trade talks may be dampening positive reaction specifically soybean exports, could be dampening a positive reaction within the corn market. Soybeans and cotton remain competitive crops for growers to consider as corn lingers just below $4 per bushel.

Wet weather across much of Texas and the Corn Belt in the Midwest could further exacerbate the nation’s corn supply, he says.

“The short-term problem for producers is being able to do field work and prepare for planting,” he says. “We have a good moisture profile that could support above-normal yields, but they still have to get the crop in the ground.”

Welch says conditions have been cold and wet throughout much of the Midwest and producers are well behind on tillage and fertilizer schedules. CS

Corn South: Covering Southern Corn Production Corn South is a supplement to the Mid-South and Southeast versions of Cotton Farming magazine and to The Peanut Grower magazine for producers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

To receive Corn South, visit www.CornSouth.com and click on “Subscribe to Corn South.”

Send comments to Corn South, 875 W. Poplar Ave., Suite 23, Box 305, Collierville, TN 38017.

You may also call 901-767-4020 or contact Lia Guthrie at lguthrie@onegrower.com or Amanda Huber at ahuber@onegrower.com.

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Radiate is not registered for sale or use in California.

FFA and the FFA emblem are registered trademarks of the National FFA Organization and used with permission. Use of the FFA name or mark being used does not represent an endorsement by FFA of this product or service or an endorsement by FFA of the manufacturer or provider of this product or service.

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Pest Management

Know Conditions That Favor Nematode Buildup

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n corn fields, wet weather in April is a recipe for nematode problems—specifically cotton root knot and stubby root nematodes. While not widely recognized as a yield-reducing pest in corn, the root knot nematode is a pest that affects both cotton and corn.

Austin Hagan, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System plant pathologist, said the cooler April weather in 2018 was conducive to the growth and support of the nematode population.

“In a multi-year rotation study at the Plant Breeding Unit a decade ago, yield losses in corn of up to 30 percent were attributed to the cotton root knot nematode,” Hagan, who is also a professor in the Auburn University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, says. “The study shows yield declines of 4 to 11 percent correlate with every 100 cotton root knot juveniles in a fall nematode soil assay.”

The impact of stubby root nematode on corn yield is still unknown, and stunting can be dramatic but tends to be localized. Producers may see patchy, stunted areas in corn, easily confused with fertility and pH issues.

Wiregrass Regional Extension Agent, Brandon Dillard, suggests producers put out a nematicide as they were planting corn, particularly if fields have a lot of moisture from rainy weather.

After planting, there is little producers

Stunting from stubby root nematode can be dramatic but tends to be localized in corn.

Managing Nematodes:

can do to combat nematode pressure. Producers should aim to optimize fertility and supplement a moisture deficit with irrigation to minimize stress and encourage root growth. Fertilization and irrigation will help offset feeding injury to the root system.

“There are no post-plant nematicides labeled for use in corn,” Hagan says. “Ongoing research projects at several Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station research units

• Apply a nematicide at planting if conditions favor nematode pressure.

• Optimize fertility and use irrigation to minimize stress and encourage root growth.

• Nematode damage — patchy, stunted areas – can be easily confused with fertility and pH issues. are addressing this issue.” CS Article provided by the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

New Product New Qrome Hybrid Products Corteva Agriscience recently announced the launch of Qrome products across the U.S. Corn Belt. According to the company, Qrome hybrids have earned the trust of American producers for consistent performance and have produced high yields by combining top-tier genetics, strong defensive traits and advanced seed treatments.

Introductory quantities of Qrome products will be available in the Pioneer brand for 2019 planting across expanded geographies in the U.S. Corn Belt. For the 2020 growing season, Qrome products are planned across a wide range of genetic

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CORN SOUTH | MARCH 2019

platforms and maturities in Corteva Agriscience seed brands.

Farmers who planted Pioneer brand Qrome products as part of limited launch in 2017 and 2018 across the Western U.S. Corn Belt reported strong performance and high yields.

Qrome products offer an optimized balance of insect protection and agronomic performance and feature a novel molecular stack of multiple insect protection traits and include two modes of action to control corn rootworm. Pioneer brand Qrome products have consistently delivered an average 5.5 bushel yield advantage over legacy triple-stack technology in multi-year research trials. In 2018 on-farm trials, Qrome products held an average 10.2 bushel per acre advantage over all competitive products tested.

More information can be found at www.corteva.com.

CORNSOUTH.COM