Crisp, cool mornings remind us that fall is just around the corner. The crop continues to move quickly towards maturity, and harvest will be in full swing across Latham Country in a couple of weeks.
According to a Sept. 6 crop report by the Iowa Department of Agriculture, 96% of the state’s corn crop has reached dough stage. Eighty-six percent of the corn is at or beyond the dent stage, and 14% of the corn crop is mature.
Time is of the essence! Plan a successful harvest by scouting fields and evaluating standability. Identify potential problem areas. Note crop progress, as well as insect and disease pressure. Pay particular attention to fields that were damaged by wind and hail, promoting stalk rot.
Stalk rot is caused by stress, including extreme heat and a lack of moisture. Many acres were stressed this season, so standability could be an issue in several fields. Note the severity and prioritize fields for harvest. Implementing a strategy of “harvesting the worst first” could really pay off this fall when you keep kernals off the ground and in your hopper. You’ll want to get as many bushels as possible with corn at $7 or more!
For more information on how to detect stalk rot, watch my two-minute video and click here to read a related blog post.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are centered around showing sheep at the Iowa State Fair. That’s why I was genuinely excited when Kurt Netzke invited me to join his family over Labor Day Weekend at the Minnesota State Fair for the FFA livestock exhibition, the largest FFA show in the world!
Showing sheep at southern Minnesota open shows keeps Kurt and his wife, Kerry, busy throughout the summer. Kurt and Kerry started Netzke Dorsets three years ago and have done well in that short amount of time with their current flock of 15 registered ewes. Their 14-year-old daughter, Haley, and their 10-year-old son, Noah, also show lambs at the Redwood County Fair.
Last weekend the family spent five days at the Minnesota State Fair for the State 4-H sheep show where their Dorsets captured reserve champion honors in the White/Speckle Face Commercial Breeding Ewe Lamb class. In the open class, they secured champion, reserve champion, third and fourth places in the White Face Quality Lamb Show. Their lambs also ranked first and third in Market Pairs. Black face club lambs raised and sold by Netzke Brothers produced two purple ribbon class winners in the State’s 4-H show including Champion Black Face Commercial Yearling Ewe.
In the FFA Show, Haley placed first in the Dorset Winter Ewe Lamb class. A wether lamb raised and sold by Netzke Dorsets was champion in the White Face Market Lamb division and went on to place Overall Reserve Champion when competing against the black face and speckle face champions. This is the second consecutive year that Netzke Dorsets has produced the Champion FFA White Face Market Lamb.
Kurt and Kerry started Netzke Dorsets three years ago. Their daughter, Haley, placed 1st at the Minnesota State Fair.
Both Haley and Noah have been members of the Lyon/Redwood 4-H Junior Rabbit Quiz Bowl Team, which has won the state championship four consecutive years. Kerry has coached the team three years and was assistant coach the first year. In 2012, Haley moves up to the senior division. Meanwhile, Noah looks forward to helping his team defend the state title. Both kids enjoy raising their Mini Rex and Satin rabbits that don’t require all work of training, washing, shearing and showing that sheep do!
Farm chores keep the entire family busy. Kurt and his brother, Glen, grew up on what is now a Century Farm in Redwood County where Kurt and his family now reside. Both of them returned to farm with their father upon graduating from South Dakota State University (SDSU); Kurt double-majored in Agronomy and Animal Science, and Glen majored in Animal Science. They began farming full time and formed Netzke Brothers, LLC in 1993 when their father retired from farming and drove semi trailers for Viessman, Inc. until his death in 2006. Their mother continues to help on the farm during planting, haying and harvest seasons.
The Netzke’s crop rotation includes corn, soybeans and alfalfa. The majority of their alfalfa is baled into large squares and sold to dairy operations. In addition to their grain and forage operation, the Netzkes maintain a 75-head cow/calf operation at the farm with an emphasis on club calves. A 65-head Suffolk-cross ewe flock provides quality show lambs for their annual spring lamb sale.
“Raising livestock has taught our children the circle of life,” says Kerry, who also works off-farm as the executive director for Area II Minnesota River Basin Projects, Inc. “Lambing and calving are always special times of the year. Plus, we enjoy the home-raised meat. Lamb ribs on the grill are a family favorite.”
With fall harvest quickly approaching, many busy farm families will forgo the grill for the crock pot. In honor of the changing season – and in promotion of the food they raise – the Netzkes are sharing their family’s favorite recipes for Lamb Stew and Ribbon-Winning Apple Bars.
What’s your family’s favorite harvest-time meal?
Recipe:RIBBON-WINNING APPLE BARS
Crust:
• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. shortening
• ½ c. milk
• 1 egg yolk, beaten (reserve white)
Mix flour, salt and shortening; add egg and milk. Pat half of the dough into a greased, 9×13 pan. Set remainder of dough aside.
Filling:
• 5-7 c. apples, peeled and sliced
• 1½ c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 T. flour
Combine filling ingredients and spread evenly over crust; dot with butter. Roll out the remaining dough and place over apples. Beat egg white until fluffy and brush over crust. Bake 45-60 minutes at 375 degrees. Optional: Drizzle powdered sugar frosting over the baked bars.
Corn silage harvest is already underway and grain harvest will soon follow. Are you ready for an early harvest? Keep these three things in mind when putting together your harvest checklist:
1. Develop a plan. A good plan will outline in order of importance which fields to harvest first. The main consideration when contemplating your harvest order is focusing on fields exhibiting potential for Stalk Rot and subsequent Stalk Lodging. Secondary concerns include hybrid maturity, crop residue management and logistical concerns.
2. Get in your field. Once a harvest plan is developed, get out in your field and assess crop progress and identify potential problem areas. Being aware of crop progress and insect and disease pressure at all times is the best way to ensure maximum yield. If challenges do arise, you might have to harvest early. I am available to help in determining which fields may need to be harvested first. Please don’t hesitate to call!
3. Prepare equipment. Make sure you check machinery and conduct necessary maintenance prior to harvest. I have witnessed growers who, due to conditions like Stalk Rot, should have been harvesting a week earlier than they actually did. They simply weren’t prepared for an earlier harvest, and as a result, they lost thousands of dollars worth of crops that could have been saved.
If there was ever a day fit for riding motorcycles or driving a convertible, it was August 27! More than 110 drivers and riders revved their engines under clear blue skies and sunshine for the 3rd Annual Latham Freedom of Independence Ride.
Riders crossed the Mississippi aboard the historic Cassville ferry.
The 90-mile route took riders and drivers across some of the most scenic roads in northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin. Participants traveled winding roads in both states, crossing the Mighty Mississippi on this historic Cassville ferry. We’d like to give a “shout out” to Ron Hampton and the hardworking captain and crew members, who made our ferry ride memorable for all of the right reasons!
Along the way, riders and drivers stopped at four different farm fields. These stops showcased: (1) Latham’s hallmark Seed-2-Soil® program, whichhelps increase a farmer’s profitability and efficiency by bringing more meaning to grid samples and geo-reference yield data; (2) new corn technology including Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids with VT Double Pro, the industry’s first dual mode-of-action with above-ground insect protection in corn, and Refuge-in-a-Bag, a true one-bag system that simplifies refuge;
Our “field day on wheels” included four Latham® crop stops.
(3) new soybean products including Latham® Hi‑Tech Soybeans with LibertyLink and Genuity® Roundup® Ready 2 technology, which is showing great yield advantages and economic benefits to our customers; and (4) Latham’s business philosophy, which focuses on partnering with farmers to select the seed products that best fit their needs.
Check out the Kodak moments on Latham’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/LathamSeeds. And mark your calendars now for Latham’s 4th Annual Freedom of Independence Ride on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. You’ll want to join us as we celebrate our company’s 75th year of business with an extra special ride through Latham Country!
I said I was going to ride this year, and I did! This year a cooler, next year a Harley?
Serving Up “Cowboy Caviar” in Honor of the Dayton Rodeo
It’s “Date Night” tonight and “Kids’ Night” tomorrow at the annual Dayton Championship Rodeo in Dayton, Iowa. Load up the truck (mini van or SUV) and head to North Central Iowa for a weekend of affordable family fun at the 74th annual event. From carnival rides, flea markets and Bingo, there’s sure to be something of interest to everyone!
Nightly performances, at 7:00 Friday through Sunday, will feature bull riding, saddle bronc riding and barrel racing. There will also be a 1:30 p.m. performance on Labor Day.
“It takes a lot of people, who worked really hard, to make this a great holiday weekend event,” says Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds’ sales manager Jim Heckman, who’s in his third year as chairman of the Dayton Rodeo Committee. “We’re happy to bring contestants, the rodeo committee and the community together.”
Pulling everyone together involves lots of “behind the gates” coordination. That’s why the Dayton Rodeo Committee contracts with Cervi Rodeo Company. “You have to have good bucking horses, bucking bulls and a lot of fighting bulls,” says Mike Cervi, whose family has been in the rodeo stock business for more than 60 years. “You need color in the front and the employees in the back to make it run smoothly.”
Keeping everything running smoothly also includes the chow line! Today Mike Cervi shares with us one of his favorite recipes for Cowboy Caviar. It also sounds like a great recipe to serve this weekend at a get together with family or friends.
Corn Rootworm and the Soybean Variant: Volunteer Corn Creates "Safe Harbor" for Rootworm
While driving across the Iowa countryside this summer, one can’t help but notice all the stalks of volunteer corn ascending from the soybean fields like a sentry on duty. A sentry usually prevents the passage of unauthorized persons. In a cornfield, however, the volunteer corn actually serves as a “safe harbor” for corn rootworm.
Corn rootworms essentially need corn to survive. That’s why a corn-soybean rotation has been an effective control measure. When corn appears in a bean field, however, the rootworm beetles have a food source and then a place to lay their eggs. Most eggs are laid in the upper 6” of soil during late summer. Eggs remain dormant until the following spring, so they’re “ready to feast” on the next crop of corn.
Applying a tank mix treatment to clean up volunteer corn will help you avoid the soybean variant in the rootworm beetle on your acres in 2012. Click the video link below for more information. Additional information on the soybean variant of western corn rootworm is available from this publicationby Iowa State University.
When asked to join the 2011 Iowa /Uganda Farmer-to-Farmer Exchange, I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve been raising row crops and beef cattle in Franklin County since I graduated from Iowa State, and so I understand first-hand some of the challenges women face as farm operators.
I was eager to learn about the challenges facing Ugandan farmers in general – and women farmers in particular – and this trip has been quite eye-opening to say the least. There are so many differences between our two countries and our two cultures. For starters, the entire country of Uganda is slightly larger than the state of Iowa. But Uganda has a population of 34 million people as compared to Iowa with just 3 million! When we tell the Ugandans there are more hogs than people in Iowa, they laugh.
The average farm size is 4 acres in Uganda, but we met one very successful woman who has 250 acres. This is a lot of work considering it is all done by hand. I have yet to see one tractor or even an ox plow.
This lack of equipment creates some challenges for farmers to get their product to market. For example, Tuesday we visited the Kamuli Mill. Farmers bring their white corn here where it is either sold directly to the mill or ground.
There are also middlemen involved because many farmers don’t have a way to transport grain to the mill. In order to afford hired transportation, a farmer must have large enough quantities of grain. A farmer could receive better prices if the grain gets transported to a larger market. That’s why I’m working on a project to help farmers market collectively for better prices.
It’s hard to believe that I only have four more days here! The farmers we have met in Uganda have been so appreciative of our help. They’re especially appreciative of everyone who is making this exchange possible. The 2011 Iowa /Uganda Farmer-to-Farmer Exchange and development project is coordinated by the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Global Program, in collaboration with the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at ISU, and VEDCO, a non-profit organization based in Uganda. The project is funded by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) through Weidemann Associates.
We’ve been invited to a Labor Day potluck on a farm north of Sheffield, where the kids can enjoy one last dip in the pool while adults relax one last time on the patio before our kids’ fall sports schedules and weather conditions determine our schedules for us! Because this party will be more like a “farewell to summer,” I want to bring a dish that is fitting for the season. I also need to keep in mind that both kids and adults alike need to find it appealing. Then I remembered a recipe that I received recently while visiting Wisconsin.
I have to admit that I never would’ve tried this salad recipe if it hadn’t come recommended by Rebecca Bailie because I’ve always enjoyed recipes she’s shared with me in the past. As soon as you read the list of ingredients, you might agree that it’s a relatively unusual combination. It really tastes more like dessert, but I’m going to tell myself it counts as a serving of fruit. I might even count a Chocolate Zucchini Cupcake as a serving of vegetables. That means I could still make Brownies in a Roaster for dessert. 🙂
How do you plan to save the last of summer? I’m always interested in new recipes that make use of in-season fruits and vegetables. Perhaps you’d like to share one with me!
Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) continues to threaten the profitability of soybean production, regardless of growing conditions. That’s why Iowa State University (ISU) Nematologist Greg Tylka encourages farmers to collect fall samples.
There are two main reasons to collect soil samples for SCN this fall:
SCN spreads into new fields every year. SCN is very easy to keep in check when population densities (numbers) are low, and numbers will be low when SCN first becomes established in a field.
Growers who have managed SCN with resistant soybean varieties for several years should take soil samples following the soybean crops to determine what the current SCN population densities are and to gauge if SCN egg numbers are increasing on resistant soybean varieties. If fall sampling is done to determine if a field is infested with SCN, it makes sense to sample in harvested cornfields where soybeans will be grown in 2012.
Steps on how to take fall soil samples for SCN are available in the August 18 issue of The Gold Standard by the Iowa Soybean Association. More information about the biology, scouting, and management of SCN can be found at www.soybeancystnematode.info.
With football (and thus tailgate) season right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about ice cold beverages and game day fare. It’s also time to pull the tailgate coolers out of hibernation. Most fall football days, heading to the game party means packing the cooler to the brim with snacks and drinks, dumping in some ice and heaving the heavy thing into the trunk. Then you hope your final tailgate destination doesn’t require a long walk with cooler in tow!
That’s the old way to tailgate. One lucky participant in Latham’s Third Annual Freedom of Independence Ride will get to experience the new way to tailgate this football season. One lucky rider will win the Cruzin Cooler, valued at $500. This cooler doesn’t require heavy lifting. You simply pack it up, hop on, and ride! Designed to help individuals keep beverages cool without the hassle involved with a regular cooler, the Cruzin Cooler holds a case of your favorite frosty beverages. Plus, it can travel at speeds up to 17 miles per hour!
Check out the cooler in action by viewing the video below.
grain to the mill. In order to afford hired transportation, a farmer must have large enough quantities of grain. A farmer could receive better prices if the grain gets transported to a larger market. That’s why I’m working on a project to help farmers market collectively for better prices.
