BCR_Ag Matters_032523

Ag Matters

Spring 2023

KEEP SOYBEANS HAPPY

See story on page 6

INSIDE

•Make grain bin safety a priority

•Ticks a threat to cattle

•Wetter weather in state

•and more...

Make grain bin safety a priority

By Erica Quinlan AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

DES MOINES, Iowa — It only takes 20 seconds to become fully engulfed in a bin of flowing grain.

It takes 3.5 hours, on average, to extract someone from a grain bin.

National Grain Bin Sa-fety Week was observed Feb. 19-25 to remind farmers of risks of entering grain bins and to provide safety tips.

GRAIN BIN SAFETY TIPS

1. Do not enter a grain bin with crusted or out-of-condition grain.

2. Never work alone.

3. Never enter a grain bin while an auger is running.

4. Learn alternative ways to break up crusted grain of clogged augers.

As part of Grain Bin Safety Week, Nationwide Agribusiness hosts the annual Nominate Your Fire Department Contest.

The goal is to supply fire departments across rural America with the specialized rescue training and equipment needed to respond if an entrapment occurs.

This year’s contest is open until April 30. To nominate your fire department, visit https://tinyurl.com/mrx2depu.

“Every year, grain bin accidents lead to countless injuries or deaths and it is everyone’s responsibility to take proactive measures to prevent these tragedies from happening,” said Brad Liggett, president of Nationwide Agribusiness.

“For a decade, Nationwide has been a leader in the fight to correct this industry issue, and while we’re incredibly proud of the efforts and the many partners who’ve made them possible, there is more work to be done.”

Erica Quinlan can be reached at 815410-2070, or equinlan@shawmedia. com. Follow her on Twitter at: @AgNews_Quinlan.

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Since 2014, Nationwide Agribusiness has been collaborating with industry leaders and agricultural professionals to host Grain Bin Safety Week.

Ticks a threat to cattle Asian longhorned species on move

By Martha Blum AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Asian longhorned tick could become a problem for Illinois cattlemen.

“The Asian longhorned tick is currently in 18 states, so we’re trying to be proactive and not reactive to this tick,” said Teresa Steckler, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator.

“I’m not aware of it being in Illinois, but that does not mean it hasn’t been brought in by bird,” said Steckler at a booth in the trade show during the Illinois Beef Expo. “It is in western Kentucky and southern Ohio, so within the next year and a half we’ll probably have some in Illinois.”

This tick can reproduce without mating with a male.

“We’re trying to make producers

in Illinois aware of this tick because anybody bringing livestock out of the south could bring one tick on their farm and it could turn into thousands of ticks,” Steckler said.

The Asian longhorned tick can carry the disease Theileriosis.

“It presents itself like anaplasmosis so you won’t know unless you have the animal tested,” Steckler said.

“We want producers to know so they can quarantine their animals and treat them with something that kills ticks.”

At a farm in North Carolina, this pest has been linked to the death of five cows and one bull had over 1,000 attached ticks.

It is important for cattlemen traveling to shows to watch for this tick.

“There can be cattle from multiple areas in the same barn,” Steckler said. Other ticks are also causing problems.

Other ticks such as this Lone Star Tick and Gulf tick are also causing problems.

“With the increase in the Lone Star tick and the Gulf Coast tick, we’re seeing an increase in tick-borne diseases in Illinois,” Steckler said.

“The Lone Star tick can cause alpha-gal syndrome in people which is an allergy to red meat,” she said. “We need people to be proactive and protect themselves against tick bites.”

Anyone who finds a tick can get it identified for free by the Illinois Natural History Survey Medical Entomology Lab.

“Collect the ticks off livestock, pets or you and send them in to help us know where the ticks are at,” Steckler said. “The lab will identify the ticks and possibly check for diseases of livestock and human health consequences.”

If a person has a latched tick, it is important to remove it properly.

“If you don’t, the tick will expel what’s in its salivary glands into you,” Steckler said.

To remove an attached tick:

1. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.

2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick.

3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

For the past two years Steckler has been conducting research to look at the effects of evasive plants on ticks and tick populations.

“This is a multi-departmental collaboration that includes Veterinary Medicine, U of I Extension, National Resources and Environmental Sciences and the Illinois Natural History Survey with funding from the Dudley Smith Initiative,” she said.

The study includes several evasive plants — garlic mustard, bushy honeysuckle and Japanese stiltgrass.

“We looked at temperature and humidity at two heights and we drug the plants every three weeks for ticks,” Steckler said.

“Garlic mustard is found mostly up north around the Chicago area,” she said. “Bushy honeysuckle is all over the state and if you look in the woods especially in the fall when the trees have dropped their leaves, anything that is green is likely bushy honeysuckle.”

The research is showing a change in invasive plant species.

“They are impacting the relative humidity which can make it more hospitable for ticks because ticks love high humidity,” Steckler said. “So, we need to increase the awareness about invasive plants and how to remove them.”

The researchers are working on compiling the data from the project.

“The results should be available this fall,” Steckler said.

Martha Blum can be reached at 815-4102254, or mblum@shawmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at: @AgNews_Blum.

AGRINEWS PHOTO/MARTHA BLUM

Teresa Steckler talks to a cattleman during the Illinois Beef Expo about the importance of looking for ticks on his animals. The Asian longhorned tick has been found in 18 states and when there are multiple ticks on an animal it can cause reductions in growth and performance.

Keep soybeans happy Feed plants throughout the growing season

By Tom C. Doran AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

PONTIAC, Ill. — A standard soybean fertility program used to be just relying on whatever was left over in the field after corn, but feeding the plants should be looked at no differently than feeding ourselves to maintain health.

“If we can direct the water and the nutrients, the food, to the mouth of the plant, we can get this explosion of activity. Some of it is biological activity in the soil. Some of it is stimulating that soybean to put on a big root system,” said Jason Webster, lead agronomist and director of Precision Planting’s Precision Technology Institute.

“How many times do you feed your soybeans? I look at this as a way to tap into the soybean plant and continue to feed it.”

Webster backed the notion of keeping soybeans fed and happy throughout the growing season with the results of PTI field trials conducted in 2022. The data was presented PTI’s winter tour.

Leading the top 10 PTI agronomic trials in return on investment last year was the high management soybean trials.

“Precision Planting’s Conceal on the planter has changed the game for us quite a bit. We go out 3 inches away from the soybean and we’ve got some really nice fertilizer products out there that are helping to drive those roots and help drive soybean yield,” Webster noted.

“I want those plants coming out of the ground with their hair on fire and ready to go because I want them to flower as fast as possible. I want a longer growing season. I feel like here in Pontiac we’re kind of stuck. I need

a longer growing season. I’m going to plant earlier. I’m also going to feed those soybeans early and get them off to the races and flower quicker.

“I missed flowering on soybeans on Memorial Day by two days in 2022. I’ve never seen it that early before. I want large soybean leaves for sunlight. That’s my factory. I’ve got to be at 100%. The factory can’t be running 85%.”

High management soybean trials were conducted on the PTI Farm in 2022 using fertility treatment programs from seven different companies.

All of the high management trials included strip-till with a banded diammonium phosphate 18-46-0 and potassium chloride 0-0-60. Miravis Neo fungicide was applied at R1, and TrivaPro fungicide was applied at R3.

The high management trials include the application of 5 inches of water

during the growing season via surface drip irrigation.

The Nachurs fertility program had the top yield at 101 bushels per acre in the high management soybean trials, and the AgroLiquid program had the highest positive returns at $90.38 per acre.

Both of these trials had a planting date of May 5 with a planting population of 120,000 per acre in 30-inch rows after corn. The soybean price used was $13.96 per bushel. The rates are per acre.

Here is the fertility program under the Nachurs high management trials:

AT PLANT

• Conceal Dual Band — 5 gallons Throwback, 1 quart Humiflex Max, 5 gallons K-fuse, 0.5 gallons SideSwipe.

• FurrowJet Center — 1 quart Ryzo-Link PE, 1.5 gallons Balance, 1 pint

HumiFlex FA, 1 pint Calcium 3%.

• FurrowJet Wings — 1 gallon Balance, 2 gallons TripleOptions.

FOLIAR APPLICATIONS

• V3 — 1 quart FinishLine, 3 quarts TripleOption.

• R1 — 1 gallon K-flex, 1 gallon imPulse, 1 pint FinishLine.

• R1 — 8 ounces Boron 10%, 2 ounces Moly.

• R3 — 2 quarts K-fuel, 1.5 gallons Balance.

The at-plant treatments achieved 97 bushels per acre, 9.5 bushels over the control. At-plant plus foliar fertility treatments yielded 101 bushels per acre, 13.5 above the control and 4 bushels over the at-plant only treatments.

The economics indicate at-plant treatments resulted in gains of $47.64 bushels per acre, while the full combination treatments gained positive returns of $66 per acre.

Here is the fertility program under the AgroLiquid high management trials:

AT PLANT

FurrowJet Tri-Band — 1 gallon Sure-K, 10 quarts Micro500, 1 gallon SpringUp.

FOLIAR APPLICATIONS

V4 — 1 pint Boron.

R1 — 1.5 gallons Kapitilize, 1.5 gallons FertiRain, 1 pint Manganese.

R3 — 1.5 gallons Kaptilize, 1.5 gal-

lons FertiRain, 1 pint Manganese.

The control treatments averaged 87.5 bushels per acre. At-plant treatments yielded 91.4 bushels per acre. At-plant plus foliar treatments had an average yield of 97.8 bushels per acre.

Economics indicate at-plant treatments resulted in gains of $63.03 per acre, while a full combination of treatments gained positive returns of $90.38 per acre.

“I’m making more money on a per acre basis than I have been with just running DAP and potash,” Webster said.

“If I don’t irrigate with some of these treatments, obviously my yield goes down 20 to 23 bushels across the board, but you will still see the same response, the same trend with the treatments. The bushels aren’t as high, but the trend line is still there. It’s still making me money versus a standard DAP and potash.”

IRRIGATION STUDY

An on-going high management soybean study at the PTI Farm evaluates a NETAFIM drip tape irrigation system that feeds the soybeans with water and nutrients throughout the growing season.

“We’ve been irrigating soybeans for four years on this farm. I haven’t had a single year where we received less than a 23-bushel yield increase from

irrigating soybeans,” Webster said.

Water is accessed from a water recycling management program where field tiles run to an onsite pond and that water is reused in the crops.

In 2022, the drip tape irrigation resulted in an average yield increase of 23.8 bushels per acre compared to dry land soybeans. 4.5 inches of water was applied through the drip irrigation system from June to September.

Fertigation was also implemented to apply manganese, copper, boron, sulfur,

nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

“Four years of data in the high management soybean irrigation study has proven irrigation to increase soybean yield by an average of 24.2 bushels per acre, while increasing additional gross income by an average of $268.37 per acre,” Webster said.

Tom C. Doran can be reached at 815-410-2256 or tdoran@shawmedia. com. Follow him on Twitter at: @AgNews_Doran.

AGRINEWS PHOTO/TOM C. DORAN

Jason Webster, lead agronomist and director of Precision Planting’s Precision Technology Institute, details the results of the PTI Farm’s high management soybean trials at the recent winter tour in Pontiac, Illinois.

Wetter weather in state

Trend points to higher rainfall totals in Illinois

By Martha Blum AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

SYCAMORE, Ill. — Increasing rainfall amounts at higher intensity has been the trend in Illinois for several decades.

“We’re seeing a wetting trend across the state over the last 100 years and a lot of the change in rainfall has come in the spring,” said Trent Ford, Illinois state climatologist for the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois.

“No counties are getting drier. We haven’t seen a drying trend across the state,” said Ford during a presentation at the Illinois Crop Management Conference, hosted by U of I Extension. “DeKalb County is about 5 inches wetter and the spring wetting trend is not going away.”

Some places in Illinois have experienced intense rainfall events during the last couple of years.

“In Freeport, there was 11 inches

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of rain in two days, Lake Bluff had 6 inches in six hours and Seneca got 6 inches in three hours,” Ford said.

“These are the events we’re seeing more frequently.”

Receiving 5-plus inches of rain in six hours, the state climatologist said, will flood almost anyone’s field.

“Anything over 2 inches in less than 12 hours will result in standing water,” he said. “Above the 4-inch mark will cause standing water that’s running even off the healthiest soils on the flattest ground.”

Even the nuisance rainfall events that keep farmers out of the field or cause farmers to replant crops are increasing in frequency, Ford said.

“These patterns are becoming more frequent and likely will continue to increase,” he said.

There will be variability in rainfall amounts.

“We may go an entire year without an intense rainfall event in northern Illinois,” Ford said. “I think it’s doubtful, but it could happen.”

More intense rainfall events cause problems like runoff.

“Heavier rainfall produces more runoff because the same amount of rain in a shorter period more intensely results in less return to the soil,” Ford said.

“That creates problems with soil erosion and nutrient runoff and both issues are economic problems because you have to replace the nutrients and

the soil you can’t replace.”

In 1989, Ford said, a five-year storm in one hour resulted in 1.75 inches of rainfall.

“A five-year storm today produces 2.2 inches of rain in an hour,” Ford said.

“Over 100 acres that produces a peak runoff that’s 6 to 7 cubic feet per second higher and about 200,000 more gallons running off that field with a tremendous amount of additional energy,” he said. “So, there is more energy to dig deeper in the soil to carry those nutrients and soil with it.”

Last year was a weird year in northern Illinois, Ford said.

“In this area there were 18 to 20 days with measurable rainfall, but still this area was about a quarter of an inch drier,” he said. “It rained just enough to keep you out of the field, but it was not giving you a lot of moisture.”

The goal is to get rain down into the deeper layer of soil.

“Ideally you want to get the water to the tile system if you have excess moisture without carrying a lot of nutrients in your soil with it,” Ford said.

“You want the water off the top couple inches of soil, but you also want to

get the water down to the deeper layer where the crop can use it later in the growing season.”

Drought is a complicated topic, Ford said, when it comes to changing rainfall rates.

“Overall our risk of long-term drought carrying from one growing season to another is decreasing,” Ford said. “Since the 1970s and 1980s we’ve had pretty prolonged periods of wetness.”

“You have to go back to the 1960s where we carried drought into multiple, consecutive growing seasons,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t see drought impacts or we won’t get drought in the future, but it’s likely it won’t be as persistent.”

As summers continue to warm, evaporation is increasing.

“In Rockford, the trend for evaporation is about a half-inch increase per decade,” Ford said. “Over four decades, we’re now evaporating 2 inches more of water out of the soil, so that means even with additional rainfall this could cause drought issues a little faster.”

For example, in the Champaign County last year it went from no

drought around Memorial Day to severe drought by Independence Day.

“We got a half inch rain in June and 6 inches of evaporation,” Ford said. “What happened in June in Champaign is not a climate change effect. It’s natural weather variability. We missed the storms.”

With more rain events, farmers need to watch for increased fungal diseases in their crops like tar spot.

“Tar spot is well correlated with leaf wetness,” Ford said. “Humidity makes a welcoming environment for fungal diseases.”

Northern Illinois had a pretty significant dry spell in 2021.

“Yet it was still humid outside because the flow from the Gulf of Mexico was working fine,” the state climatologist said. “There was dry soil with humid air on top of it, so we still needed a lot of fungal disease management.”

The increasing and more intensive rainfall events in Illinois makes decisions about soil and water management more important, Ford said.

“Environmental sustainability is important, but sustainability is also economic,” he said. “You need to make decisions to be both profitable and environmentally friendly.”

Martha Blum can be reached at 815410-2254, or mblum@shawmedia. com. Follow her on Twitter at: @AgNews_Blum.

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“Overall, our risk of long-term drought carrying from one growing season to another is decreasing.”

Trent Ford STATE CLIMATOLOGIST

Testing hay helps animal performance

By Martha Blum AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Testing hay will help to predict animal performance.

“We test hay to use it properly,” said Ron Tombaugh, a director of the Illinois Forage and Grassland Council.

“The ability for forage to support desired levels of animal performance is a function of both voluntary intake and nutrient intake. Knowing the quality of hay helps producers increase the accuracy in ration formation,” said Tombaugh, who owns Dart Hay Service near Streator and has been involved with producing hay for about 50 years. “My goal is to raise 6-ton hay at 175 relative feed value with 22% protein.”

When sampling his 3-by-4 bales, Tombaugh inserts the hay probe from 24 to 30 inches into the bale.

“Don’t sample hay right after you bale it because all hay goes through a sweat,” he explained during a presentation at the Illinois Beef Expo. “Wait about three weeks and if the

hay is stored outside, it should be sampled two to four weeks before feeding it.”

For both small square and large square bales, Tombaugh said, probe from the end of the bale, close to the center.

“For a round bale, take the sample from the curved side of the bale,” he said. “Try to do random sampling as best as you can.”

Reports from sampling labs provide a lot of information about the quality of the hay.

“Crude protein is the building blocks of muscle tissue so all animals need protein at varying degrees,” Tombaugh said. “Younger animals as they are growing will need more than dry cows.”

The acid detergent fiber number indicates how much fiber is in the hay.

“A higher ADF makes the hay less digestible,” Tombaugh said, citing total digestible nutrients. “And TDN is an estimate of energy.”

The way bales are stored will impact hay loss.

“If you have a large percentage of the round bale in contact with the ground, you’ll have more loss, but it you store it on pallets or coarse rock, the loss will decrease,” Tombaugh

said. “If you elevate it and wrap it, the losses decrease more.”

“Store round bales in high, welldrained ground in rows with the flat edges touching and try to orient the rows north to south,” he said. “Store the bales close to your feeding area.”

The value of hay loss during storage can be significant.

“If you have a 5% loss of hay that’s worth $120 per ton, that’s $6, and if it’s a 25% loss that’s $30,” Tombaugh said. “If you have 40% loss, that’s close to $50 per ton.”

Instead of cutting his hay close to the ground, Tombaugh raises his machine about 2 inches.

“That elevates the windrow so you get more airflow underneath it and it won’t damage the crown as much,” Tombaugh said.

“I leave the windrow as wide as I can without running on it because the wheel track will not dry evenly,” he said.

Tombaugh uses a bar rake in his operation.

“My experience with wheel rakes is they pick up more dirt off the ground unless the wheel rake is set perfect,” he said.

MAKING BALEAGE

Kendall Guither has been making baleage on his farm near Walnut for the past 25 years.

“Baleage made right is a near perfect feed,” said Guither, who also spoke

during the Illinois Beef Expo. “It has long stems to promote cud chewing and the benefit of fermentation which starts the digestive process.”

Another advantage of baleage is a narrower harvest window compared to harvesting dry hay.

“About 90% of the time I cut the hay one day and bale it the next,” Guither said. “If there’s high humidity and lots of clouds it might take a third day.”

Guither targets from 44% to 58% moisture in his baleage.

“That is enough moisture for good fermentation because if you limit fermentation, that invites mold growth,” he said. “If it is too wet you get butyric acid formation and that makes the hay sour.”

The hay producer uses rotary rakes and mergers for his operation.

“I like to put four windrows together because that speeds up the baling process,” he said.

The baleage is wrapped within three hours of baling.

“I normally use eight layers and it is important to use a high-quality plastic with tackifier because you have to stick the layers together for sealing to keep the air out,” Guither said.

The wrapped bales are stored in an area with good drainage. Bait stations for mice are placed in the storage area.

“I use to have 30% to 50% of the bales with holes from mice, but now I’m down to six to 12 bales a year out of 5,000 bales,” Guither said.

He makes 3-by-3 bales for baleage and his goal is to get the bale density as high as possible.

“Never use sisal twine on the bales you are going to wrap because it has oil in it and that will rot the plastic,” he said.

It is important to keep the dirt out of baleage.

“If the ash is above 9%, that’s a problem,” Guither said. “For each 1% above that, you will reduce feed intake.”

Martha Blum can be reached at 815410-2254, or mblum@shawmedia. com. Follow her on Twitter at: @AgNews_Blum.

AGRINEWS PHOTO/MARTHA BLUM Ron Tombaugh talks about the proper way to gather a sample with a hay probe during a presentation at the Illinois Beef Expo. He says to probe square bales from the end of the bale, close to center and take samples from the curved side of round bales.