Download Cover crop termination makes way for cash-crop

10
www.MissouriFarmerToday.com / April 9, 2016
Northwest
North Central
“
After some bright sunshine and
strong winds we were able to get in the
field Saturday, April 2, and got the planter tested and running following church
Sunday. The ground worked up like a
lettuce garden, and corn was going in
good. Time will tell how much we get in
the ground before a strong chance of rain
Tuesday (April 5) of this week.
Northeast
“
For the last month, they’ve been
putting on anhydrous around the place.
There’s been a very little bit of corn planted. Everybody’s got their ground worked,
they’re just waiting for that soil temperature to get up. More corn will get planted
this week with the way the weather is.
Nathan
White
“
E.L.
Reed
I went and picked up my seed this
morning (Monday, April 4). My neighbor
planted some corn a week ago, Saturday
(March 26), and it’s got a quarter-inch
sprout on it. It depends on the weather,
but there’s probably going to be a lot of
corn planted this week.
Livingston,
Daviess
Counties
Carroll
County
Brent
Hoerr
Marion
County
East Central
“
West Central
It’s gearing up to be a busy week
here with dry weather forecast the first
few days of the week. Planters will start
to roll. Most of the anhydrous ammonia
has been applied, everyone is just waiting
for a little warmer weather. A few farmers have been out planting, but most are
waiting for warmer soil temps.
“
Kurtis
Gregory
Saline
County
We missed some of the bigger storms
that rolled through Missouri last week,
so we are dry and corn is going in the
ground. Some farmers I talked with were
secretly hoping it would rain to delay a
little while, since temps aren’t ideal but
the calendar is. Wheat and pasture fertilizer has been going on and greening up.
We got oats seeded to make hay for our
cow barns and are getting ready to start
putting corn in the ground.
Danny
Kuenzel
Franklin,
Gasconade
Counties
Southeast
“
In the first corn field I planted, I’ve
got corn up. We’re almost done with
corn planting. We got 2 inches of rain
here Thursday (March 31), so that shut
us down in the field. We might get done planting corn this week. We’ve got a
chance of rain Wednesday (April 6).
Southwest
“
Most of our area received 1-2 inches of rain last Wednesday (March 30). A
lot of corn was planted late last week
and will continue this week given the
dry forecast. Wheat and rye haylage
has been baled. A lot of no-till corn and
bean fields are burned down and ready
to go.
John
Kleiboeker
Lawrence
County
Central
“
Less rainfall received than forecasted; most crop inputs applied and
pastures are rapidly greening up. Started
planting corn at the end of March and
have just over 20 percent in the ground.
This week looks to be sunny and clear —
expect a lot of corn to be planted in the
area over the next several days.
Clint
Stevens
Stoddard
County
South Central
Brian
Martin
Boone
County
Editor’s note: NASS crop progress
data was not available at press time.
Cover crop termination makes way for cash-crop planting
t’s becoming more common to see
fields of green in the late fall along
roadways. The fields look green because of cover crops growing in them.
Once spring arrives it’s important for
farmers to properly terminate the cover
crop so the fields are ready for planting
I
the cash crop, according to a news release
form Iowa’s Van Zante Creek Watershed
Project.
If not terminated properly, cover crops
may act like a weed and slow soil drying
and warming in the spring. But killing a
cover crop as late as possible allows pro-
ducers to get the most of their investment
by maximizing plant growth and the accumulation of residual nutrients.
Some cover crops naturally die through
winterkill. Others need manual termination through tilling, mowing or herbicides. The NRCS does not recommend
tillage because it destroys some benefits,
such as improving soil structure and reducing soil erosion. If the cover crops are
mature, they may be harvested, crimped
or mowed. If using herbicide, farmers
need to ensure the chemical is compatible with the crop being planted.