Crop Connection

Thursday, October 26, 2006 12:01 PM CDT

This week's listing of upcoming industry events and announcements.

Vegetable Fall Field Day Nov. 2, Janesville

Skelly's Farm Market at Janesville will host the Wisconsin Fresh Market Vegetable Growers Association's Fall Field Day on Thursday, Nov. 2. This event starts at 8:30 a.m. Topics include: How to Design, Build and Market Your Corn Maze, Scott Kelly, Corn Mazes America; Setting Up a Commercial Kitchen, Roger Eychaner, Rock County Health Department; Best Way to Spend Your Marketing Dollars, Rami Reddy, UW-Platteville marketing specialist; Liability and Insurance For Your Farm Market, Rick Stahl, Rural Mutual Insurance; Developing Your Market Website, Don Stanley, Summit Computer Training and Designs; and a Farm Market Talk and Tour with Tom and Joe Skelly.

The cost is $35 per member farm for up to two people and $15 per person beyond two. Non-member farms will be charged $50 for two and $20 per extra person. The lower member fee includes operations belonging to: The Wisconsin Fresh Market Vegetable Growers Association, Wisconsin Berry Growers Association or Wisconsin Apple Growers Association. Mail checks to: WFMVGA, 211 Canal Rd., Waterloo, WI 53594. For more information, contact Anna or Chuck Maenner at 920-478-3852.

The farm is at 2713 Hayner Road. From the south or north, take Interstate 90 to Janesville, exit at Highway 11, from the West. Follow Highway 11 five miles and turn left onto Hanover Road. Go one-eighth mile, turn left onto Hayner Road, and go three-quarters of a mile to the farm on the left.

Grape Management, Pruning Workshop Offered at Spooner

UW-Extension will be offering a workshop on exploring the challenges and possible opportunities of growing grapes in Northwest Wisconsin on Wednesday, Nov. 8, from 12:30 to 5 p.m. at the Spooner Ag Research Station. Cost for the workshop is $5 and participants must pre-register.

According to UW-Extension Area Ag Agent Kevin Schoessow, the purpose of this workshop is to provide participants with a general overview of grape culture, variety selection, vineyard establishment, labor and possible markets. Growing grapes for wine appears to hold the most promise, however there maybe other potential markets as well.

In addition to the indoor discussion, participants will also have the opportunity to see how grapes are pruned. The pruning demonstration will be held outside (come dressed appropriately) at the Research Station's demonstration garden.

Schoessow cautions that there are perhaps more challenges than opportunities for grape production this far north. The reason for this workshop is to educate interested growers about these challenges so they can make informed decisions.

For more information and to pre-register contact the Spooner Area UW-Extension Agricultural Agents Office at 715-635-3506 or 800-528-1914. The Spooner Ag Research Station is located a half-mile east of Spooner on Highway 70.

Soil and Water, Fertilizer Dealer Meetings On Tap

The separate Soil and Water Management and Fertilizer Dealer Meetings will be held at eight locations starting in November. UW soil scientists will cover topics for the Soil and Water Management Meetings beginning at 10 a.m. each day, followed by lunch and then the 1 p.m. Fertilizer Dealer Meetings at the same locations.

Soil and Water Management topics are: Tillage Effects on Nutrient Stratification and Soil Test Recommendations, Tillage Considerations for First-Year Corn After Soybeans, Using Polymers to Reduce Erosion and P Losses and Water Quality Impacts of Bunker Silos. The Fertilizer Dealer Meetings will cover: What's New in Nutrient Management Planning, New Nutrient Rate Guidelines for Wisconsin (panel discussion), and Using the New Nutrient Rate Guideline Publication (a group activity).

Dates and locations and host agents are:

Practice skip-row planting, a technique that prevents spray machinery from damaging plants, thereby potentially reducing yields.

Fertilizing Pastures In the Spring Eyed

Jeff McCutcheon, Extension Educator, Knox County, Ohio, says every spring he gets questions from producers about fertilizing their pastures with nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Many producers coming out of winter want to give their pastures a boost or they are fertilizing crop fields and figure they might as well do their pasture while they are thinking about it. Eventually he leads the conversation to the question: Is this really the best time to fertilize pasture?

McCutcheon isn't totally opposed to fertilizing pastures in the spring. Applications of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) should be made prior to establishing a new seeding based on soil test results. A light application of nitrogen (N), 20 to 40 pounds of N per acre, in March could be used to jump start spring growth and allow for earlier grazing. This could potentially give about two weeks of earlier grazing if environmental conditions are favorable. But the acreage for this N application should be limited.

The spring flush is coming and most producers can't normally harvest it all with grazing animals. Why add to the amount of forage produced when you don't need it?

An early nitrogen application also can increase the potential for grass tetany and excess nitrogen in the spring may possibly increase toxins in endophyte-infected tall fescue. Generally, one acre of pasture for every two cows should be fertilized with N in early spring and never more than a third of the total pasture acreage.

All applications of K should wait until the plants can utilize it better. If you were to look at soil levels of potassium during the year you would find that it is in greater concentration during the spring (due to mineralization of K during the winter). Plants have the ability to take up more potassium than they need. This is called luxury consumption. Luxury consumption can occur when there are high soil levels of potassium, like what we see in spring. High concentrations of potassium can affect magnesium uptake by plants. This not only affects the plant physiology but can also cause metabolic imbalances in animals that consume mainly forages. The metabolic imbalance in animals is usually referred to as grass tetany. Why apply potassium at a time when more is already available and plants can take up more than they need?

So when is the best time to apply fertilizer to pastures? Research shows that if one application of P and K is being done, then fall is the best time for the application. By applying P and K in September or October plants develop a healthier root system and improve winter survival. This results in plants better able to withstand drought the following year. If high rates of phosphorus and potassium are recommended by soil test, then there is an advantage to splitting the application. Some of the recommended fertilizer should be applied after the first hay harvest, early summer, with the balance being applied in the fall. This will help reduce the luxury consumption of potassium by the plants and improve the efficiency of K use.

Fertilizing pasture in the spring is not the best use of your time or fertilizer dollar.

WLWCA: New Executive, LWCB Elections

Julian Zelazny is the new executive director for the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association in Madison (http://www.wlwca.org). Zelazny comes to the organization after having directed a national organization that specialized in state-level conservation policy, and before that, as policy director for the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. Zelazny's education is a degree in chemistry from the University of Connecticut, a masters in environmental studies from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and a degree from Vermont Law School.

An election for WLWCA's three representatives on the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Land and Water Conservation Board (LWCB) will take place at the WLWCA's annual conference in December. Each area association is encouraged to nominate one candidate and must submit a nomination along with a one-page biography or resume to the WLWCA office by Nov. 1. Biographies and an election ballot will be provided at the conference. LWCB election policy and bylaws and ballot are posted at http://www.wlwca.org.

ATV Runs On Biodiesel

Farmers now have more options than tractors, trucks and implements for using biodiesel. Arctic Cat has just announced completed development of a twin-cylinder diesel ATV, the first on the market. Arctic Cat is encouraging the use of a biodiesel blend in these ATVs. The company began manufacturing them last month.

The Arctic Cat machine comes with a fuel tag that recommends biodiesel use of up to B20. This was the first time B20 had been commercially promoted in small diesel engines.

Arctic Cat rigorously tested Lombardini diesel engine ATVs on emissions, sound levels, hot-start capability at air temperatures of 95 degrees, and normal-life engine durability tests, which simulate five years of consumer use. The tests compared for winter use with a No. 1 winter blend as well.

The 686cc twin cylinder, SOHC 4-stroke diesel engine, provides 30 percent greater fuel mileage over a conventional gasoline engine and provides extra low-end torque. The engine runs efficiently on six forms of diesel fuel, including B20, with a glow plug pre-heater assist for starting.

U.S. Feed Grains Corner Nearly 89 Percent Of Japanese Market

U.S. feed grains remain a popular commodity in Japan, accounting for 88.8 percent of imports through July. According to the Japanese Ministry of Finance, that country imported nearly 369.6 million bushels of U.S. corn between January and July, giving the U.S. almost 96.8 percent of their overall corn imports. In addition, Japan purchased 24 million bushels of U.S. sorghum and 1 million bushels of U.S. barley during the same period.

Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Expand Access to Herculex Traits

Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, and DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., announced that they will make their new and increasingly popular family of insect resistant biotech traits more readily available to growers.

The co-developers of the Herculex family of insect resistance for corn have agreed to eliminate a provision that would have delayed when Dow AgroSciences could license Herculex RW Rootworm Protection and Herculex XTRA Insect Protection to other seed companies. The companies agreed to allow the making of molecular stacks with the Herculex traits, as well as breeding stacks with their own or other traits. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

CHS Offers Expanded Low Linolenic Soybean Contracting For 2007

CHS Inc., a Fortune 500 energy, grains and foods company, is again offering its special contract program to producers and elevators for low linolenic trait soybeans. This year, however, the company has expanded its participation to include seed varieties from both Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.

Like last year's program, CHS is contracting both through elevators and directly with growers in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa for low linolenic soybean production. The company will pay a $0.40 per bushel premium for the identity-preserved beans upon delivery to the CHS crushing plant in Fairmont, Minn.

Annually, CHS refines more than 85 million bushels of soybeans into vegetable oil for food manufacturer customers. These customers are increasingly interested in oil from soybeans carrying the low linolenic trait due to the reduced presence of trans fats in the oil. These specialty trait beans typically contain less than 3 percent linolenic acid, compared to the 8 percent found in traditional beans. The reduced acid level reduces the need for partial hydrogenation during the refining process, resulting in lower trans fat levels - an increasingly desirable food choice for consumers.

Producers who are interested in participating in the CHS low linolenic soybean premium program for the 2007 growing season can contact the company toll-free at 800-642-0046, or their local seed dealer.

 

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