Here we are in late fall with corn harvest ahead of schedule and the section of the state with the most left in the field is way north central and north east Iowa. Those two sections received the highest moisture totals as inches total and percent of normal rainfall, thus their yields are the best of any of the nine sections of the state, but will likely have the highest drying cost as their plants stayed greener longer and kept filling the ears later than other locations. Good for them as they have had years where weather challenges ended up being greater. The soybean harvest is almost complete and it is now difficult to find any fields left standing.
Thus, the tasks still left to complete are any fall tillage and fertilizer applications left to be made. For a while in the last summer months there were dealers and retailers who were making the rounds among their regular customers seeing who were ready to book fall fertilizer. The spot prices had taken a substantial dip but still below where prices were at last spring. A high percent of growers jumped at some of those prices as we saw last spring that prices were more likely to increase over the winter.
A number of growers who are seeking to get updating soil samples taken from their fields to better monitor fertility levels, hoping to identifying the fields best able to maintain yield levels even if they apply only low maintenance rates of fertilizer. Surviving until input prices return to normal is what lots of farmers are hoping to have happen. A lot of factors come into play now and we keep hoping that things normalize once the Russian/Ukrainian fiasco comes to an end.
Good Measurable Rain
Normally after Mid-October rain of larger amounts are rare. After an April with no rains and how the western part of the state endured 2021 and 2022 growing seasons that were each 15 to 17 inches below normal, many of us were wondering if the soil profile was going to get even partially filled. Since early Friday thru noon on Saturday many parts of the state measured two to four inches. Most of it seemed to soak in and did not make the ground soggy. Currently both the daytime and night time temps are supposed to plummet later this week, so further infiltration of moisture is less likely.
When growers begin to formulate their cropping plans for 2023, recent weather trends indicate that growers must develop a plan that will search for products or ideas that will make their crop as drought tolerant as possible. This past season followed the trend of having an overly warm late March thru mid- April, then back into the deep freeze for two to three weeks, followed by one to two weeks of rain before it shuts off, with one hard rain every two to three weeks if they are lucky.
I constructed an action plan for the farmers I worked with and those that followed it liked how things turned out. Improving soil health to allow the best moisture infiltration is a good step, as coffee ground textured soil if optimum to achieve that consistency. Growers who have improved their soil health have seen how boosting soil fungal populations have created softer and loose soil. The next step is then to recognize which equipment passes, pesticide or fertilizer applications decimate those living organisms. Killing off much of the fungi or burning off the organic matter will have a negative effect.
Speaking of rain, I have to see how much rain fell in MN, S Dakota and Wisconsin. One has to doubt that one rain will refill the profile such that tile line will run much. The reduction of water levels in our two largest rivers will have an impact on products going down and coming up the river systems. Last season the major drought in Argentina caused the same problem with Panamax traffic. The Parana River which is 42 miles wide between Argentina and Uruguay was dredged last summer with the Chinese lining up the funding for the project. Those countries are in the middle of a lengthy multi-year drought.
Anhydrous Applications
The large white tanks were seen in many fields starting two to three weeks ago. Then as the weather stayed 15 to 20 degrees above normal and hard, bone dry conditions continued operators began to wonder if they should continue or shut down and resume after a rain arrived. If they continued the determining factor was likely being guaranteed a cheaper fall price only if the application was completed by Jan 1st. Losing applied nitrogen is always something that can be very costly. With $1/lb N no one wants to be the person who has to sidedress a high% of their acres without intending to.
BASF and Other European Companies
A week ago, it was easy to conduct a Google search and find stories which told of at least one of the major herbicide firms which was reading the tea leaves as to the business climate for manufacturing in the coming years. They realize that intermittent energy supplies and sky high natural gas costs, some of which are 10 X of two years ago were items they did not want to deal with much longer. Cooking a batch of intermediates or actives for a high dollar herbicide product can be very expensive. If all of a sudden, the lights go out, that batch might be ruined. The obvious solution for such a company if these things are out of their control is to find a country or location where energy supplies are constantly available and natural gas is less expensive.
One of the large firms announced that after what had to be a lot of soul searching announced they were going to commence the construction of a new $12 billion chemical plant in the Zhanjiang region of China. That means the two of the three largest chemical companies will be located in China. So, the national chess game between the two super powers includes computer chips from Taiwan factories, grain supplies from us, and herbicide supplies for our upcoming crops. Talk about being interdependent on each other.
After Harvest Challenges
Spring time saturated soils and a clicking planting time clock spooked most growers into working and planting fields before they were suitably dry. There have to be compaction layers that formed which will be best remedied with an in-line deep ripper. It would be very hard pulling such a piece of equipment.
The common question now is with such dry and hard soils, can they get a good season on any fertilizer which can volatilize or leak out of the system. Having moisture in the ground is necessary in the case of 82%. One agronomist with a major Cooperative was being interview and voiced his opinion saying that if there was a strong ammonia smell in the field after application it would be best to wait until a measurable rain did fall and allowed the OM to soak up the material.
December Conferences
In the last column I mentioned two conferences that you may want to put on your calendar. The first is on Dec 5 and 6 in Cedar Falls. Mitchell Hora and Liz Haney are in charge of that one. Liz Haney is the wife or Rick Haney, developer of the Haney Soil test where biological life of the soil is measured. She and a few colleagues head a group called Regen Ag. The Eastern Iowa meeting will focus more on cover crops and strip till, which fit better on rolling ground as a means to reduce erosion.
On Dec 7 and 8 our Central IA Agronomy and Supply and Agronomy Rx are holding “The Power of Biology” at the Briggs Woods Conference Center just south of the Webster City Golf Course on December 7 and 8. Early registration ends November 15 so be sure and sign up early to get the discounted price. Here is the signup FORM. To read about the event go to our website CentralIowaAg.com. Then go to ‘News’ and ‘Events’ or you’ll find the link HERE. This is one of those conferences you won’t want to miss. It will be a good time to gain insight into 2023 on what to expect and also a great time to network with other experts and farmers. We look forward to seeing you there.
Bob Streit is an independent crop consultant and columnist for Farm News. He can be reached at (515) 709-0143 or www.CentralIowaAg.com.