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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Moisture is needed, regardless of form

I’ve been known to whistle as I work, and I’ve been known to whistle as I walk the halls at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds. But this week, I’m singing a new tune:

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!

Some may question my sanity, especially since it’s December in Iowa. But as Paul Harvey would say, “Now for the rest of the story.”

The story is that Iowa – and much of the Upper Midwest – is suffering from a drought. Our great state just completed its driest July-November period since 1976, according to a recent article in The Des Moines Register. About three-quarters of the state officially classified as being in a drought.

With no autumn rainfall, we need moisture over the winter or in early spring. Snowfall may or may not be of benefit, depends on when it comes and how it melts. Snowfall on frozen ground that eventually melts is not of great benefit because it usually just runs off the frozen ground into the streams and rivers without filtering down into the soil profile.

Precipitation, like we’ve experienced here this week, is of great importance. The ground isn’t completely frozen yet, so this rain and rain/snow can sink into the parched soil.

Sufficient moisture is critical in the spring for seeds to germinate and for seedlings to grow. While fall precipitation can play a role, we can still make up for moisture deficiencies with snowmelt and spring rains.

And on that note, I’ll change my tune to something a little more appropriate to the season and to our climate:

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Listen to: Let It Snow

Webspec Admin

December 15, 2011

General, Season, Winter
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

TIPS TO AVOID COMBINE FIRES
Dry conditions and strong winds have contributed to several combine and field fires across the Midwest this harvest season.

Remember to clean and maintain your machines regularly because static electricity, which is generated as the combined moves through the field, can ignite the residue. Use a pressure washer or a compressed air blowgun to thoroughly clean your machine. Remove excess crop residue from rotating units. Frequently blow leaves and chaff off the engine with compressed air or a portable leaf blower, and remove wrapped plant materials on or near bearings, belts or other moving parts.

Mark Hanna, Iowa State University Extension agricultural and biosystems engineer, offers additional tips to prevent combine fires:
- At the beginning of each day, check engine fluid levels (such as coolant and oil).
- Check the pressurized oil supply line to the turbocharger shaft for areas that may rub from wear and start an oil leak.
- Examine exhaust or hot bearing surfaces. Repair leaking fuel or oil hoses, fittings, or metal lines immediately.
If a fire does occur, CALL 911 FIRST. Then attempt to extinguish the fire by pulling the pin on the fire extinguisher and squeezing the handles together. Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire and sweep from side to side. Remember P.A.S.S., which stands for Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. For more tips on how to avoid and handle a combine fire, click here for a related Farm Journal article.
Webspec Admin

October 6, 2011

Fall, General, Season
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

HARVEST PROGRESSES LIKE WILDFIRE

Gusting winds, dry plant material and hot combines sparked several field fires last week throughout Latham Country. A combine fire on Thursday caused fire to stretch two miles wide and 1 mile long near Kanawha in North Central Iowa. As a result, law enforcement officials asked farmers to temporarily cease harvesting due to the elevated risk of fires.

Although harvest came to a temporary halt in some areas, great progress was made statewide over the last seven days. Twelve percent of Iowa’s corn crop has been harvested, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service report on Oct. 3, which is ahead of the 10 percent five-year average. Ninety-eight percent of Iowa’s soybean crop has turned color, but just 21 percent of the soybean crop has been harvested to date.

Select a territory in the map below to view a region’s most recent crop report, provided by Latham’s regional sales managers

Team Latham

October 5, 2011

Fall, General, Season
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Tips for Harvesting Lodged Corn
Hail, straight-line winds and other stressors throughout the 2011 growing season has caused corn to lodge in several fields across the Midwest. As a result, it won’t be “harvest as usual” for many corn farmers. They’ll need to reduce speeds and take extra steps to prevent as much loss as possible. With corn prices around $7 per bushel, it doesn’t take long for harvest losses to mount. Each pound ear on the ground per 436 square feet equals a loss of one bushel per acre, according to a recent Wallaces Farmer article.

In this same article, Iowa State University (ISU) Extension Ag Engineer Mark Hanna reminds farmers to keep these tips in mind when harvesting lodged corn:
- If harvest speeds are significantly reduced, the amount of material going through the combine is reduced. Fan speed may need to be reduced to avoid blowing kernels out of the combine. Rotor speed may need to be reduced to maintain grain quality. Check kernel losses behind the combine and grain quality to fine tune cleaning and threshing adjustments.
- Operate the corn head as low as practical without picking up rocks or significant amounts of soil.
- Single-direction harvesting against the grain of leaning stalks may help. Evaluate losses though before spending large amounts of time dead-heading through the field.
More tips for machine operation to reduce harvesting losses is available from Wallaces Farmer online. Click here for the full article, “Harvesting Tips For Lodged Corn.”
Team Latham

September 13, 2011

Corn, Crop, Fall, General, Season
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Prioritize Fields for Early Harvest

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.

Webspec Admin

September 12, 2011

Fall, General, Season
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Making a Harvest Checklist

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.

Webspec Admin

September 8, 2011

Fall, General, Season
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Too hot for corn?
Peter Bixel, Seed-2-Soil powered by Sci Max Team Leader

The effects of this past’s week heat wave on this fall’s corn yields is a main topic of conversation in the countryside. Farmers are wondering if consecutive days of excessive heat will cut yield. It’s true that stress during pollination and silking may result in shorter ears, increased tip back and fewer kernels per ear – all of which contribute to less yield potential. Sometimes.

Fortunately, the availability of pollen is usually not a problem with modern hybrids for a couple of reasons:
1. At its peak, a plant produces 500,000 pollen grains per day! There is usually more than enough pollen to go around.
2. Most pollen shed occurs during the morning when temperatures are cooler and moisture stress less evident.
Breeding efforts have significantly improved the stress-tolerance of today’s hybrids. The time between pollination and silking – also known as the anthesis-silk interval (ASI) – is very short with modern hybrids. This shorter ASI results in few barren plants. In older hybrids, however, silking always followed initial pollen shed by at least several days.

The good news is current soil moisture conditions are excellent throughout much of our territory. Likewise, the crop moisture index shows that all of Iowa sits at the midpoint, “Slightly dry/ Favorably moist.” A good share of our soils have high water holding capacity. As the heat spell continues, the differences in mid-afternoon corn leaf rolling between soils with better moisture holding capacities than others will be evident.

High temperature impacts on corn

This heat wave may have a double impact on the crop. The first is the increase in rolling of corn leaves in response to moisture deficiency. By rule-of-thumb, the yield is diminished by 1 percent for every 12 hours of leaf rolling – except during the week of silking when the yield is cut 1 percent per 4 hours of leaf rolling. Unfortunately, most of our crop will be silking next week. The second impact is less obvious initially.

When soil moisture is sufficient, as it is for the most part this July, the crop doesn’t have a measurable yield response to one day of temperatures between 93 F to 98 F. The fourth consecutive day with a maximum temperature of 93 degrees or above, however, results in a 1 percent yield loss in addition to that computed from the leaf rolling. The fifth day there is an additional 2 percent loss; the sixth day an additional 4 percent loss. Data are not sufficient to make generalizations for a heat wave of more than six days, however, firing of leaves becomes likely and very large yield losses are incurred. Generally a six-day heat wave at silking time is sufficient to assure a yield not to exceed trend (Iowa trend yield is near 174 bushels per acre).

Hopefully, this hot-weather trend will end soon! Everything – plants, people and pets – could use a break.
Webspec Admin

July 21, 2011

Corn, Crop, General, Season, Summer
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Rain Makes Corn, but Wind Makes a Mess!

It’s no wonder that farmers always have one eye on the radar and both ears tuned to the next weather report. Weather is the number one factor in determining yield, said Dr. Fred Below, professor of Plant Physiology for the University of Illinois.

During a July 15^th presentation to a group of farmers enrolled in Latham’s Seed-2-Soil® program, Dr. Below said that rain in July and cool night-time temperatures in August make grain. His data shows that about 70 bushels of yield can be attributed to weather.

Unfortunately, the weather last Monday was out of control! Straight-line winds of 75 to 100 mph struck many corn fields in Latham Country, including our WHO Crop Tour Stop on Johnny Wilson’s farm near Laurel in Central Iowa. These photos by John Latham show damage in the area, including a new bin that collapsed, and downed corn.

Yield loss to the maturing corn crop may be large, reports Rod Swoboda in a recent Wallaces Farmer article entitled “Severe Storms High Winds Flatten Iowa Corn.”

This bin located north of Johnny's field didn't fare quite as well.

Despite the damage that occurred July 11, ISU Extension Corn Specialist Roger Elmore says we can be thankful the damage wasn’t more extensive. Wet soils caused more root lodging from the derecho winds, explains Dr. Elmore in a blog posted July 15 by Iowa Farmer Today. Drier soils would have cause more greensnap, and thus higher yield losses. Read Elmore’s blog post for more information about yield loss from root lodging, greensnap and pinching.

Corn in Johnny Wilson's field near Laurel, Iowa after 80-100 mph straight-line winds passed through.

Derecho winds on Monday, July 11, damaged fields in Marshall County, Iowa. This competitor hybrid was located in a field just to the North of Johnny's LH 5376.

Team Latham

July 18, 2011

Agronomics, General, Season, Summer
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Tune into WHO News Radio Today for Round 2 of Crop Tour Update

We’re preparing to go on air shortly for the second round of the “From the Field” Crop Tour Series with News Radio 1040 WHO, and wanted to provide you with an update from each of the four producers’ fields being featured in the crop tour series. Tune into News Radio 1040 WHO today between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., when we’ll provide live on-air updates including plant growth stages and growing conditions.

Meet each of the featured producers below and receive updates on their growing season progress.

Scott Jencks’ field in Hawkeye, Iowa

The Jencks’ field of Latham® hybrid LH 5877 VT3PRO was scouted on June 6, and the crop is looking great. Ninety-five percent of the corn plants are at the V4 stage. Plant population is ranging from 32,000 to 38,000 – and that’s right where we want it to be in this variable rate field. Recent warm, dry weather has helped give crops here a boost, but it’s getting to the point where a little moisture is needed. The soil here is dry enough that it’s starting to crack.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGfZUX1BU_Q[/youtube]

Scott Mandernach’s field near Odebolt

As of June 6, Latham® hybrid LH 6167 VT3PRO that Scott Mandernach planted May 4 is at V5 stage with great stand and great root structure. The corn is about 18 inches tall throughout the field. The field has been pretty dry for the last week and a half, but that dry spell was needed to force the roots to dig down a little deeper after a wet spring. There is no disease or insect pressure at the moment.

Johnny Wilson’s field near Laurel, Iowa

Scouted on June 9, Latham® hybrid LH 5877 VT3PRO is looking good right now. Recent dry weather let the roots establish themselves, but yesterday’s rain was welcome. There seems to be a good hold on stand. The field was planted on May 3 at a population of 36,000 plants/acre. There is no sign of disease or insects in the field at this time.

Mike Aldinger’s soybean field near Iowa Falls, Iowa

This soybean field was scouted June 9. The soil has been dry for the past 10 days but it started to rain as we were scouting. This crop looks good for the most part. Plants are at the V1 stage, working on V2. Population looks good, and the plants have developed a good root system. There are a few bean leaf beetle marks on the leaves, but insect pressure is minimal throughout the field.

Team Latham

June 10, 2011

General, Season, Summer
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

What stage is your crop in?

All too often, agronomists provide crop recommendations according to stages of crop growth. For corn and soybeans, this is referred to as the “V” stage. While a plant’s progression through these stages can’t be determined by days on the calendar (due to varying hybrid types, environments, planting dates and location,) they are standardized by visual plant development.

Corn Plant at Stage "V3"

The V stage of the corn plant is determined by the number of collars present on the plant. The leaf collar is the light-colored collar-like “band” located at the base where every leaf blade connects to the stem of the plant. Leaves within the whorl, (those not fully expanded to allow for a visible leaf collar) are not included. For example, the photo at left has three collars so it’s considered a “V3 plant”, even though there are 6 leaves present. If this example were to be converted to a whole-field recommendation, the field would be considered at stage “V3” when 50% of the plants are determined to show three fully developed collars.

The soybean version of this identification system divides plant development into vegetative (V) and reproductive (R) stages. With the exception of the first two stages, the (V) stages are designated numerically as V1, V2, V3, through V(n), where (n) represents the total number of nodes that develop (fluctuates by variety and environmental influence). The V stages following VC are numbered according to the uppermost fully developed leaf node. To determine the correct stage, start with the unifoliolate leaf node. A leaf node is fully developed when the leaf above it has fully unrolled, meaning the leaflet edges are no longer touching. The eight R stages are simply designated numerically and describe the stages of flowering, pod production, pod fill and maturity.

Click the photo below for an expanded and printable visual of all growth stages in both corn and soybeans. We’d love to hear how the crop is progressing on your farm. What stage are your crops currently in?

Gary Geske

June 7, 2011

General, Season, Summer