Ag News Information & Resources April 2017

Fayette County

ISU Extension & Outreach

218 South Main Street

Fayette, IA 52142

Phone: (563-425-3331)

Fax: (563)425-3339

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/fayette/

Extension Links

Ag Decision Maker

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/

Beef Center

http://www.iowabeefcenter.org/

Dairy Team

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/

dairyteam/

ISU Nutrient Reduction Strategies

http://www.nutrientstrategy.iastate.edu/

Iowa State Research Farms

http://farms.ag.iastate.edu/farms

Iowa Water Quality Initiative

http://www.cleanwateriowa.org/

Manure Management

http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/

Pesticide Management

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/psep/

Pork Center http://www.ipic.iastate.edu/

Plan to Scout Alfalfa Stands for Winter Survival

Contact: Brian Lang, ISU Extension Agronomist, Integrated Crop Management News, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, 563-382-2949, bjlang@iastate.edu

A warm weather pattern in late February caused soil temperatures across most of Iowa to rise above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (F). This warm period was likely long enough for alfalfa and some forage grasses (most ryegrass varieties and less winter-hardy orchardgrass and tall fescue varieties) to break dormancy. When low temperatures resume, alfalfa plants can re-harden to a degree, but only to the extent that it still has stored carbohydrates available. Winter injury occurs either when frequent warm-cold cycles deplete carbohydrates, or if the temperature drops so rapidly that the plant does not have time to sufficiently re-harden.

When dormant, alfalfa crowns can tolerate soil temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees F, below this tissue damage could begin to occur. After breaking dormancy, tissue damage could theoretically start to occur at less than 28 degrees F, but more would not occur until soil temperatures reach the mid-20’s degree F. If shoot development occurred with a break in dormancy, and the current air temperatures are cold enough to freeze these shoots, the plant can initiate new shoots as long as sufficient carbohydrates are available. As carbohy-drates are depleted, tissue damage will occur. If too much damage occurs before the plant can initiate photosynthesis and replace carbohydrates, the plant will not recover.

Seasonal alfalfa management influences how well plants store carbohydrates entering winter. These factors include variety selection (winter survival index, disease resistance, fall dormancy level), age of stand, soil fertility, pest management, soil drainage, soil mois-ture in fall (higher soil moisture in fall tends to reduce alfalfa hardiness for the winter), cut-ting schedule intensity (how much stress was put on the stand), was there a late fall cut or not, and if cut late was there fall stubble left or not. These factors influence how healthy the stand enters into the winter, thus winter injury conditions between and within fields can vary considerable.

The current cold front may cause some wide-scale problems with alfalfa, but the extent of damage can only be determined with scouting fields. Begin by digging plants about a week after the cold front passes. This will provide time for symptoms to develop on crown tissue: firm tissue is good, soft tissue is not. If damage is due to the recent cold weather there should not be any visual tissue discoloration yet (first off-yellow, then tan in color) since it’s too soon after the freeze damage. If the crown tissue is discolored and soft to mushy, damage to the plants likely occurred weeks ago. If crown tissue is dead and drying out, damage to the plants occurred at least a month ago. Most plants in older stands will also exhibit some dark colored crown rot in the center of the crown, which is normal. Ignore this and evaluate the white tissue surrounding this area. Check the illustrations in the resource A3620 mentioned below to assist in your assessment of the stand.

It is impossible to predict the impact of this winter's fluctuating temperatures without scouting fields. The following resources can assist managers in conducting alfalfa stand assessments, as well as planning livestock forage inventory and considerations for forage replant options, if it comes to that.

University of Wisconsin A3620, “Alfalfa stand assessment: Is this stand good enough to keep?” University of Minnesota article regarding alfalfa winter injury, forage inventory for live-stock, and forage replant options: "Winter injury of alfalfa: putting the pieces together for live-

stock producers".

Iowa Custom Rate Survey Updated

Contact: Alejandro Plastina, Extension Economist & Ann Johanns, Department of Economics The custom rate survey has been updated as of March 2017. You can obtain a copy at: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/pdf/a3-10.pdf Many Iowa farmers hire some custom machine work in their farm business or perform custom work for others. Others rent machinery or perform other services. The information is based on a survey of 152 usable responses from Iowa farmers, custom operators, and farm managers. Twenty-one per-cent of the respondents perform custom work, 13 percent hire work done, 41 percent indicated doing both, 1 percent indicated doing none, and 25 percent did not indicate whether they perform or hire custom work.

For each operation, the average rate from the survey, the median, and the range are shown. The average is calculated as the simple average of all responses. The median is the middle number among the ordered responses (from smallest to largest). The reported range excludes the minimum and the maximum values to avoid reporting outliers.

The reported rates are expected to be charged or paid in 2017, including fuel and labor. The average price for diesel fuel was assumed to be $2.15 per gallon. This rate schedule is intended only as a guide. Actual custom rates may vary according to availability of machinery in a given area, timeliness, operator skill, field size and shape, crop conditions, and the performance characteristics of the machine being used. Rental rates for some machinery items are shown in the last section of this report, along with a worksheet for estimating rental rates for other items.

Note: All rates include fuel, repairs, depreciation, interest, labor, and all other machinery costs for the tractor and implement.

Soil Temperatures

Contact: Brian Lang, Iowa State University Extension Agronomist, Integrated Crop Management News, 563-382-2949, bjlang@iastate.edu

The NPKnowledge website provides an overview of state-wide soil temperatures: http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/NPKnowledge/

However, currently the soil temperature gauge at the Kanawha research farm is malfunctioning. For more detailed infor-mation soil temperatures and trends, Iowa Environmental Mesonet website provides links to the automated weather stations showing hourly soil temperature readings. To select your general location, date, etc. go to: http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/agclimate/#soil04t

New Report Shows Cover Crop Acres Grow Despite Tightening Crop Budgets

Contact: Jacqueline Comito, Iowa Learning Farms, 515-296-0081, jcomito@iastate.edu & Liz Juchems, 515-294-5429, Iowa Learning Farms

Iowa Learning Farms 2016 Field Day Evaluation Report shows cover crop acres up 32 percent According to the newly released Iowa Learning Farms 2016 Field Day Evaluation Report, the number of Iowa cover crop acres grew by approximately 32 percent to 623,700 acres. While the positive growth with shrinking profit margins is encouraging, the rate of growth is 3 percent slower than the growth measured the year before, and still well below the goal of 12.5 million acres called for in Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Iowa Learning Farms sponsored 30 conservation field days and workshops in 2016 on cover crops, strip-tillage, saturated buffers, prairie strips and more. These events drew an attendance of 1,510 people, primarily farmers and landowners (89 percent). Twenty-seven percent of ILF field day attendees were female. In January 2017, farmers and landowners who attended ILF field days were mailed an evaluation questionnaire to investigate whether they made changes to their farming practices. In a one-month period, 281 evaluations were returned for a 40 percent response rate.

Growth in cover crop acres came from both first time and experienced users. The majority of respondents (69 percent) started seeding cover crops at least three years ago and have an average of five years of experience with cover crops. Examining the percentage of their row crop acres seeded to cover crops, there was a steady increase corresponding to years of cover crop experience. As experience with cover crops increased, concerns about yield impacts and implementation knowledge decreased. This is consistent with findings from the longest running on-farm cover crop research and demonstration project in the state of Iowa. After eight years, a properly managed cereal rye cover crop had little-to-no negative effect on corn and soybean yield and actually increased soybean yield in seven site-years and corn yield in two site-years. Cost was identified as the biggest barrier to cover crop adoption for the third straight year. Cost share continued to be a driver as approximately 61 percent of cover crop farmers reported using cost share, representing 73 percent of the overall reported cover crops acres (up 3 percent from 2015). Cost share was used to plant 82 percent of the acres for farmers who reported cover crop usage for three years. As these cost share contracts expire in the coming years, Iowa could experience an even larger slowdown in cover crop adoption. While cost share can help lower the risk of adopting a new practice, it is not a sustainable tool in the long term to voluntarily meet Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals. Field days continue to play an important role in nurturing a voluntary approach to conservation. ILF’s evaluation findings show that attending multiple conservation field days increases both conservation practice adoption and networking effectiveness with other farmers and landowners. Through farmer-to-farmer networking, ILF’s influence was extended to 48 percent more farmers than attended ILF events. The full ILF 2016 Field Day Evaluation Report is available online at www.iowalearningfarms.org.

“Talking With Your Tenant” Publication Series

Contact: Liz Juchems, 515-294-5429, Iowa Learning Farms

Caring for Iowa’s farmland requires many decisions that impact today and future generation’s ability to best utilize the land for agricultural production. Land rental relationships can vary, but many face similar challenges when discussing new conservation practices with a tenant or landlord. To help begin the conversation, Iowa Learning Farms created a publication series with talking points and relevant research findings about a variety of conser-vation practices.

“A large number of Iowa cropland acres are rented every year; nearly 50 percent according to recent surveys. These rented acres are greatly influ-enced by the tenant who farms them,” said Mark Licht, Iowa State University assistant professor of agronomy and Iowa Learning Farms advisor, who conceptualized the series.

“Landowners are integral in the decision-making process: from leasing structure and understanding farming practices, to being considerate of practice costs and profitability. With emphasis being placed on nutrient loss reduction and practices ranging from in-field to land use changes, it’s imperative for landowners and tenants to have conversations about reaching production, profitability and environmental goals,” said Licht. “These conversations can lead to improvements of soil health and water quality, along with meeting productivity and profitability goals.”

As land is passed from one generation to another, or is sold, it can lead to uncertainty for tenants and landowners alike. “We developed this series in response to questions we heard from landowners. They wanted to understand how conservation practices such as strip-tillage and cover crops would affect both their land and the tenant’s bottom line before asking them to add these practices to their management plans,” said Jacqueline Comito, Iowa Learning Farms director. “While the name of the series is ‘Talking to Your Tenant,’ the reverse is also true. We think tenants will also find the series helpful as they educate their landowners on implementing these important practices.”

The series addresses in-field practices like cover crops, no-tillage and strip-tillage, and edge-of-field practices such as denitrifying bioreactors and wetlands. If landowners or renters with ideas for future topics for this series should contact Liz Juchems at ilf@iastate.edu or call 515-294-5429. The four-part series, along with other print and video resources, is available online at www.iowalearningfarms.org/conservation . Copies will also be availa-ble at Iowa Learning Farms field days and workshops, or mailed upon request.

Resistant Management Plan for Soybean Aphids

Contact: Richard Jauron, Extension Hor ticultur ist, Hor tline - 515-294-3108, 10am to noon and 1-4:30pm, Monday - Friday

Crabgrass is a common weed in many lawns. Crabgrass is an annual, warm-season grass. Germination of crabgrass seeds usually begins about mid-April in southern Iowa, early May in northern parts of the state. Crabgrass seeds continue to germinate over several weeks from spring into sum-mer.

The best way to prevent crabgrass infestations in lawns is to maintain a thick, healthy lawn through proper mowing, irrigation, and fertiliza-tion. Crabgrass has a difficult time germinating and surviving in thick turf. Gardeners who have had crabgrass problems in recent years will need to apply a pre-emergence herbicide in spring.

A key to the successful control of crabgrass in lawns is the correct timing of the pre-emergence herbicide application. A pre-emergence herbicide must be applied before the crabgrass seeds germinate. If the material is applied too early, crabgrass seeds that germinate late in the season will not be controlled. If applied too late, some crabgrass seeds will have already germinated. Pre-emergence herbicides should normally be applied in early to mid-April in southern Iowa, mid-April to May 1 in central Iowa, and late April to early May in the northern portion of the state.

Longtime residents of Iowa realize that this state's weather is rarely "normal." This has been true for the last few weeks. The warmer than normal weather in February and early March has prompted the emergence of spring-flowering bulbs. Lawns have also begun to green up earlier than nor-mal. The unseasonably warm weather has prompted questions as to when to apply pre-emergence herbicides to lawns. If the weather over the next few weeks remains warmer than normal, apply the pre-emergence herbicide early in the normal time period. If you are still uncertain as to when to apply the pre-emergence herbicide, Mother Nature provides some helpful clues. Crabgrass seed germination usually begins with the end of the for-sythia bloom season or when redbud trees reach full bloom.

Application of Pre-emergence Herbicides to Lawns in 2017

Article by: Dr. Er in Hodgson, Depar tment of Entomology, Integrated Crop M anagement News

Soybean aphid remains the most important soybean insect pest in Iowa, and management over the last fifteen years has primarily relied on using foliar insecticides. The economic injury level was defined in 2007, and is approximately 675 aphids per plant or 5,560 cumulative aphid days. From that multi-state research, a conservative economic threshold was devel-oped to protect yield: 250 aphids per plant with 80% of the plants infested through the seed set plant growth stage (R5.5). The odds of making a profitable treatment decision is increased with regular scouting and applications made after exceed-ing the economic threshold. The economic threshold is validated annually at Iowa State University and is recommended regardless of fluctuating market values. Read more

2017 certification workshops will allow vendors to sell morel mushrooms in Iowa

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host a three-hour class for anyone interested in being certified to sell morel mushrooms legally within the state of Iowa. Workshops on the Iowa State campus will be available on three consecu-tive Saturdays in April 2017. To legally sell morel mushrooms in Iowa, sellers must complete a certification workshop that covers identifying morels and false morels. People can be poisoned by eating mushrooms that are misidentified as morels. By the end of the workshops, participants will recognize true morels from false morels. All three workshops will be held on the Iowa State campus in 210 Bessey Hall (2200 Osborn Drive, Ames, Iowa) from 1-4 p.m. on April 1, 8 and 15. Please register online. Click on "new user sign up" to begin making a reservation. Registration cost is $50 per person.

Required Morel Mushroom Identification Workshop Offered in April

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or status as a U.S. veteran. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Ross Wilburn, Diversity Officer, 2150 Beardshear Hall, 515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, 515-294-1482, wilburn@iastate.edu

ARTICLE BY:

Adam Janke, Ext. Wildlife Specialist

Spring is just around the corner and that means it’s time to get the planter ready and to start watching the fields for the right conditions to return after a long winter. But for many Iowa landowners, spring time means more than just planting season, it’s prescribed fire season.

Iowa’s native grasslands, forests, and wetlands were burned by Native Americans for thousands of years before European settlement. Therefore, most of Iowa’s native plants, and the wildlife that depend on them, have become adapted to the flush of nutrients created by the combustion of previous year’s plant growth and changes in plant structure that combustion creates.

Fires create critical patches of bare ground that young birds like pheasants and quail feed in and can also be a tool to fight invasive weeds or trees in grass fields. Further, when there is sufficient growth remaining in pastures to carry a fire, burning enhances forage quality by stimulating new succulent and nitrogen-rich plant growth – a phenomenon that was once essential to bison in Iowa’s native prairies and exploited by

Native Americans that used fire to attract them for hunting.

Prescribed fire can be an important land management practice in a wide range of habitats. Grasslands, like Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields, idle areas on the farm, savannahs, or roadsides often benefit from fire every 3-5 years. Forested areas take longer to accumulate sufficient leaf litter and woody debris, or fuels, to carry a fire and therefore burn over longer intervals generally 10-15 years. Landowners can gauge the need for prescribed fire in grasslands by the number of tree seedlings in the field or how thick the residual grasses from previous years’ growth is at the ground level.

Prescribed fire requires careful planning, coordination with local authorities and neighbors, and close attention to weather patterns that can affect the way fire behaves once lit. Humidity affects the rate at which the fire burns. Winds propel the fire and fan the flames. Atmospheric conditions determine where the smoke goes.

Fuels should be cleared from fire breaks through raking, mowing, or disking around the field or woodlot and should be at least twice as wide as the length of the flames they are intended to halt.

All of these considerations should be carefully anticipated in a Burn Plan developed in advance of the fire and meticulously checked off the day of the burn to ensure all conditions are suitable and all preparations have been made. This will include communicating with the local fire department to notify them of your intent to burn and to inquire about local ordinances or restrictions. Also, if you are considering conducting a burn on land under a federal contract like CRP, be sure to check with your local USDA office to ensure it is an authorized practice. Plus, you can often find advice or even cost share opportunities through state or federal programs for habitat management practices like prescribed fire while at the USDA office.

If you satisfy all your check boxes, your fire should go off without a hitch, and you should reap the benefits for years to come; first, watching the healthy plant growth return quickly this spring, and then watching the wildlife or cattle respond positively to the reinvigorated vegetation. This article appeared in the March edition of ISU Extension’s Acreage Living newsletter. Visit www.extension.iastate.edu/smallfarms for more tips, articles and to subscribe.

Spring Time is Prescribed Fire Time in Iowa

Upcoming Events

March 29—Fruit Tree Planting and Pruning Workshop, 4:30 pm, Erling Bilden Farm, Elgin April 11—Private Pesticide Train-ing, 1:30 pm, Extension Office, Fayette April 16-22—ISU Extension Week April 18—Spend Smart, Eat Smart Program, 5:30-6:30 pm, Elgin Li-brary April 25—Spend Smart, Eat Smart Program, 5:30-6:30 pm, Elgin Li-brary April 25—Birds & Wildlife Pro-gram, 7 pm, Oelwein Historical Society

Contact: Mark Hanna, Ag & Biosystems Engineer ing, 515-294-0468, hmhanna@iastate.edu

and Mehari Tekeste, Ag & Biosystems Engineering, 515-294-2464, mtekeste@iastate.edu

Iowa State University will conduct a five-year research project that will study the

impact of pipeline construction on crop production and soil compaction.

Researchers began collecting initial data last fall on university-owned farmland near Ames on an approximately two-acre site following construction activities for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The overall goal of the project is to quantify the impact of construction utilities equipment, field traffic and deep tillage on crop yield and soil compaction.

“The pipeline installation is an opportunity for field-based research that investigates the impact of utility construction and restoration practices on farmland, especially related to long-term crop yield and soil productivity,” said Mehari Tekeste, assistant professor of agricultural and biosys-

tems engineering, who leads the project along with Mark Hanna, extension agricultural engineer. The research project, which will collect data through 2021, is funded by Dakota Access Pipeline LLC. Texas-based Energy Trans-fer Partners is building the $3.8 billion pipeline, which runs through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. In Iowa, the pipeline will cross about 5,740 acres of cropland, according to Dakota Access.

“We hope our research will develop data to support future recommendations on the restoration of agricultural soil and crop productivity to pre-construction conditions,” said Tekeste. “This will be of benefit to industry and govern-mental institutions, as well as other researchers and extension specialists.”

The research site in Story County will be planted in a corn-soybean rotation. ISU research farm staff will maintain normal crop practices throughout the growing season, from tillage, planting, pest management applications and harvest. The pipeline’s route crosses about 18 acres of farmland owned by the university or university-affiliated organizations. Dakota Access completed construction and remediation activities last November, following the state-approved Agri-cultural Impact Mitigation Plan for farmland in Iowa.

Dakota Access Funds ISU Research of Pipeline

Installation Effects on Farmland