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Harvey County

Category: Agriculture

Cold Temperatures with Late Developed Wheat

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

When you get a combination of low temperatures, dry soils and poorly developed wheat crops it creates a concern among farmers about the wheats chances of surviving the winter. Will the wheat survive the combination of those conditions?

“Where wheat plants have a good crown root system and two or more tillers, they will tolerate the cold better. If plants are poorly developed going into winter, with very few secondary roots and no tillers, they will be more susceptible to winterkill or desiccation, especially when soils remain dry,” Jim Shroyer, K-State Research and Extension crop production specialist said. “Poor development of secondary roots may not be readily apparent unless the plants are pulled up and examined” he added.

If the seed is not planted at the correct depth, about one and a half to two inches, the crown will not be protected good enough from the weather conditions. The crown needs to be reasonably well protected in the soil so it can be protected from cold temperatures. If the wheat seed was planted to shallowly then the crown will not be buffered from the winter weather and will be more susceptible to winterkill.

Temperature ranges in the fall also have an effect on winterkill. If the temperatures suddenly drop into the low teens the wheat plants will not have had enough time to winter harden. If the fall temperatures gradually drop then the wheat will be adequately cold harden and should be able to handle the winter.

In most cases, producers won’t know for sure if the wheat has survived cold temperatures until early next spring.

Fall Application of Anhydrous

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Soils in parts of Kansas are now cool enough to allow producers to apply anhydrous ammonia for their 2017 corn crop, and have been for the past couple weeks in northern Kansas. This practice has some appeal. For one thing, fall fertilizer application spreads out the workload so that there’s more time to focus on corn planting in the spring. Secondly, wet spring weather sometimes prevents producers from applying lower-cost anhydrous ammonia in the spring ahead of corn planting, and forces them to apply more expensive sources after planting. Equally important for many producers have been issues with ammonia availability at times in the spring.

Despite those advantages, producers should be aware that there is potential for higher nitrogen (N) loss in the spring following a fall application, as a result of nitrification of the ammonium during late winter and very early spring and subsequent leaching, or denitrification. If anhydrous ammonia has already been applied this fall for the 2017 corn crop, this article will discuss what to expect if soil temperatures have not been cold enough until now. Continue reading “Fall Application of Anhydrous” →

Controlling Mustard Weed in Wheat

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Too often producers do not notice mustard weeds in their wheat fields until the mustards start to bloom in the spring. As a result, producers often don’t think about control until that time. Although it is still possible to get some control at that time with herbicides, mustards are much more difficult to control at that stage and often have already reduced wheat yields by then.

To keep yield losses to a minimum, mustards should be controlled by late winter or very early spring, before the plants begin to bolt, or stems elongate. If winter annual broadleaf weeds are present in the fall, they can be controlled with any number of ALS-inhibiting herbicides, including Ally, Amber, Finesse, Affinity, Rave, Olympus, or PowerFlex. Huskie, Quelex, 2,4-D, and MCPA can also provide good control of most mustards if the weeds are at the right stage of growth and actively growing, and if the wheat is at the correct growth stage. Dicamba and Starane are not very effective for mustard control. Continue reading “Controlling Mustard Weed in Wheat” →

Post-Harvest Dirt Work

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

After harvest, many producers might head to the field for deep tillage such as ripping, or to make earthwork repairs around the farm. A few days before you want to start these activities, it’s worth a call to 811 for your safety and to prevent expensive damage to underground utilities.  The website http://call811.com  has easy-to-follow instructions for requesting this free service and detailed information concerning why you need to know what’s below.

Sadly, fatal accidents do happen in soil excavations. If you dig any trenches or soil pits, safety should be considered from the very beginning of the project. Soils with sandy textures are more susceptible to a collapse than soils with a higher clay content. If standing water is present in the pit, the walls are more apt to collapse.

There are Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines on excavation safety, such as when it is necessary to shore the walls of a soil pit or trench. One important consideration is soil should be piled a minimum of 2 feet away from the walls of the trenches for two reasons:

  1. Soil clods or excavating tools could roll back into the trench and cause injury to occupants.
  2. Reduces the risk of a trench collapse by keeping the weight of the soil piles away from the trench edges.

Even if a soil pit is 4 feet deep or less, it is a good idea to angle the edges of the soil pit. This does create more disturbance, but if it prevents an accident, it’s worth it.

For more information on trenching and excavation safety, see the following OSHA publication:“Trenching and Excavation Safety”, https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha2226.pdf

Winter Cattle Water

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

With winter weather slowly approaching we should not forget to make sure all of your cattle have excess to fresh drinking water. Even though with these cold temperatures it might not seem like they need to drink as much water as normal it is vitally important that they can get to water.

The water needs of cattle are influenced by a number of factors such as: rate and composition of gain, pregnancy, lactation, physical activity, type of ration, diet salt content, dry matter intake and environmental temperature. This time of year cattle are trying to stay warm so they won’t be doing a lot of physical activity. A study done by Kansas State University showed that in January on the average water intake with calves weighing 600lbs was 5.0 gallons per day and at 1000lbs it was 8.5 gallons per day. If you fall calved and have cows milking right now they will need to have excess to around 11 gallons of water per day.

A good way to keep the water thawed is putting a water tank heater in the water tank. If you do that you need to make to check it often to make sure it is not shorting out in the water. A good thing to look for if a short does happen is the cows will congregate around the water tank but will not be drinking. Keeping a close watch on your cattle should tip you off fairly quickly.

Livestock Wind Blocks

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Providing animals with ways to get out of the wind during cold temperatures during the winter will cut down not only your feed cost but will help minimize weight loss and decreasing milk production. Building wind rows is a very good way to do this and it can be used for many years down the road.

Continue reading “Livestock Wind Blocks” →

Fall Pasture and Hay Field Soil Test

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

 Soil testing can be done in either spring or fall on hay fields and pasture. Given a choice, fall would be the preferred time because it allows more time for any needed lime applications to have an effect before the main growing season begins, and it gives the producer some flexibility for planning nutrient applications.

 Soil sampling on a regular basis (every 3 – 4 years) can keep you from applying excessive and unnecessary amounts of fertilizer or manure, and can increase yields by revealing exactly which soil nutrients are too low for optimum productivity. By doing this practice properly, producers can save money and reduce the environmental impacts. Continue reading “Fall Pasture and Hay Field Soil Test” →