Ramsey County Ag Column

By Bill Hodous

April 7, 2008

Howdy!!

Spring work is getting closer and along with that also comes more decision making strategies.  One of the hot topics at our spring conference was CRP and the production there of.  There has not been a lot of CRP taken out of grass production in our county but there are still some acres.  CRP across the state has changed some but percentages are pretty low.  What ever the case if you are one of those producers putting CRP back into production you may want to consider some different strategies.  All CRP acres that are either getting broke out this summer or are being planted will have some disadvantages.  The main problem will be nutrients.  The highest I have heard of for levels of N has been 8 pounds.  This means you will need to either apply very high levels of N or consider crops that do not require much as, such as a legume.  Unless we get perfect conditions, there is likely going to be a yield drag but if we are able to carry over our crop insurance yields we can be covered in that area.  So, f we would decide to no-till soybeans some other obstacles could come into play.  How do we get our seed planted?  How do we apply any additional nutrients to the soil surface?  Can we get proper placement of our seed?  How do manage our residue?  What are we going to do with all of those pocket gopher mounds, not only for spring planting, but also for harvesting?  What will be our weed control strategy?  Are we only limited to a legume production on those acres or can we consider other options?  Maybe another option might be haying the acres the later part of June and doing some tilling of acres for next years production, but then we are carrying over some added land expenses to the next year.  There are many other topics to discuss on CRP production and if you would like to discuss any of them please feel free to give me a call.  I do have material from our past conference that asks these same questions and how the areas were covered.  Counties around the state are either buying or renting a big land roller capable of breaking down the residue and somewhat leveling pocket gopher mounds.  Remember most land was enrolled as highly eroadible land so use farming practices that enhance those areas.  

Controlling Dandelions in our fields???
Dandelions are becoming more of a problem every year.  They are tough little dudes to manage and with that, Dupont is offering their strategy.  Remember to read and follow the label in any pesticide applications and as we talk about in our pesticide trainings watch planting restrictions on any used herbicide.  I have included a few sentences of information on the control of Dandelions.

DuPont Affinity BroadSpec label allows for a burndown application 7 days prior to planting soybean and, 14 day prior to planting corn.  Where Affinity BroadSpec is used on light textured soils, such as sands or loamy sands, extend time interval to planting by 7 additional days to both soybean and corn. Where Affintiy   BroadSpec is used on high pH soils (>7.9), extend time to planting interval by 7 additional days for both soybean and corn.
 

524 4th Ave #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu