Mixing Cover Crops
4 Way Cover Crop Mix – sunflower, buckwheat, cowpeas, sunn hemp This was one of the worst years in the history of US agriculture for honeybee declines. Depressing as that sounds, it was difficult to believe as I stepped out into a summer cover crop field in our Lancaster County research plots. Even a quick…
Late Fall Alfalfa and Pasture Q & A
Questions from readers of OnPasture.com; answers from Genevieve Slocum and David Hunsberger, King’s AgriSeeds My cows and calves have been on a pasture for about a week with approx. 50% grass 50% alfalfa it has dried down on the stem and we have had -2 degrees C frosts several times. Some of the stand is…
Managing for “The Perfect Storm” of Winters
By Paige Smart, Southeast AgriSeeds There is little doubt that this winter will be a challenge to cattle producers throughout the southeastern states. The limited fall growth due to either extreme drought or extreme flooding has limited the ability to stockpile forage for the winter and has left many feeding hay already. These unfortunate…
Managing for Rootworms Before Resistance
Dave Wilson, Research Agronomist In 2014, we had a customer in Belleville, Pennsylvania report rootworm problems with a Bt corn hybrid, possibly suggesting rootworm resistance to the trait. This began an investigation into a trend toward resistance that more customers are struggling with. We notified Dr. John Tooker, Associate Professor of Entomology at Penn State…
Overgrazing to Aid Pasture Renovation
Overgrazing and high pasture productivity don’t often go hand in hand– unless you’re getting ready to interseed. If done correctly, a simple no-till pasture renovation can be more economical than tillage or conventional establishment. Before no-till seeding into your pasture, it’s best to prepare ahead of time by getting the competition from the existing stand…
Struggles with Palmer Amaranth
Palmer Amaranth – Penn State Palmer amaranth has been described as the “perfect weed” and “pigweed on steroids.” Its cluster of key survival traits seem to use almost every weed trick in the book, helping it evade management and thrive under most standard weed control regimens. Because of its development of herbicide resistance traits, it…
Managing for rootworm problems before resistance
Dave Wilson We recently had a customer report rootworm problems in a Bt corn hybrid, which suggested rootworm resistance to the trait. Rootworm resistance to the transgenic Cry Protein (Cry3Bb1) is the main component of Bt resistance and has been observed in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Farms that grow continuous corn year…
Evaluating freeze injury and winterkill of small grain forages
Dave Wilson, Research Agronomist Now that the snow is gone across ‘certain areas’ of PA and to the south, we are able to see the winter annual small grain forages and do some evaluations. I have been getting calls with questions concerning freeze- injury and potential winterkill of the winter annual small grain forages. Most…
Planning to Multi-Crop for the Northeast
David Hunsberger, King’s Regional Coordinator The basis for a successful double crop rotation is similar to any other scenario; plan first, and then execute. Success hinges on the foundation of soil testing, weed and pest control, scouting, appropriate seeding rates, seed selections and fertility applications. In planning ahead to multi-crop, a few questions must be…
Winter Annual Weeds
Common chickweed (Purdue Extension) Henbit (Purdue Extension) Even if you didn’t intend to grow a nurse crop when you planted your winter small grain, you might find that you have, especially if you planted early. The neat rows of triticale, barley, oats, or wheat may be sheltering new growth of chickweed and henbit, winter…
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