Parsons, Kansas —
For some Arkansas ranch-ers, it’s the autumn of “no.”
“No rain. No snow. No grass. No hay,” said Mike McClintock, Boone County Extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.“If most of them put a pencil to what they have spent, they would sell out. It's just plain tough on them.”
One mitigating factor has been the relatively mild temperatures, said Don Hubbell, director of the Livestock and Forestry Station in Batesville. Cold weather means the cattle need more calories to stay warm.
“The warmer weather is helping with the energy needs, but like always, as soon as it gets another 10 degrees colder it will double hay feeding for most herds,” he said.
Cattle producers had been pinning their hopes to a moist autumn to breathe life into the last of the summer’s bermudagrass and kick start cool season grasses and other fall and winter forages, including plants in the brassica family such as turnips. However, the November 20 U.S. Drought Monitor map showed more than 81 percent of the state in drought.
“Due to dry weather and frosts, forage growth has basically stalled,” said John Jennings, professor-forages for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Some that planted annuals and brassicas early and protected the forage from armyworms have fall growth to graze now.”
“Hay availability is still a problem—or transportation cost from areas having hay is really the problem,” he said.
Jennings said many producers are still asking about planting ryegrass, but this late in the season “the only seed still available is Gulf ryegrass and its cold tolerance is too low for a reliable establishment planted this late except in far south Arkansas.”
In south Arkansas, “we sure need some significant rain down here,” said Jerri Lephiew. Columbia County Extension agent. “We’ve had a lot of minor tenths-of-inches showers and … it is really concerning that our rainfall is so slight going into December.”
Lephiew said she’s advised producers to hang on to any hay they produced in late July and August, but they are “eager to sell. They are going to need that hay if something doesn’t change.”
In Little River County, there was a slightly more optimistic picture.
“We had a good spring and early summer, most producers put up enough hay to make (it through) this winter,” said Little River County Extension Staff Chair Joe Paul Stuart. “Also, producers culled last year due to the drought, so we don't have near as many cattle to feed as normal.”
The other concern is soil moisture and surface water. “More rainfall is needed to wet the soil profile and fill ponds/creeks before spring or we will be in the same situation as last spring,” Jennings said.
For more information about cattle production and the 300 Days Grazing program, visit www.uaex.edu, the brochure at http://w ww.aragriculture.org/forage_pasture/grazing_pro gram/grazing_program_booklet.pdf or contact your county Extension agent. £
Crops
Light rains not enough to sustain cool season forages
- Crops
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Plant now, add nitrogen later
When the rain faucet shuts off, plant first and apply nitrogen later, advises Peter Scharf, University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist and professor in plant sciences at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
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MU Field Scouting Report: No freeze damage to wheat, delayed corn planting
Wheat is in the flag leaf to early boot stage. No freeze damage to the wheat head was seen. Temporary phosphorus deficiency, identified by purpling on leaf tips, was seen due to cold weather.
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Corn planting dates and cold temps cause concern
“The possibility of temperatures nearing 32 degrees or below, there is concern among producers for damage of the wheat head,” said Jill Scheidt, agronomy specialist with the University of Missouri Extension in Barton County. According to Bill Wiebold, state specialist with the University of Missouri Extension, wheat is the most sensitive to freezing temperatures when the heads are coming out and flowers are beginning to form.
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Wildcat Extension Report: Can gypsum fix what ails your soil?
A man much wiser than me once said that the easiest way to change your soil is to move. Unfortunately, this is not always an option for most producers. Soils in southeast Kansas are classified, in general, to be heavy clay soils.
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Kansas wheat growers should be aware of crop diseases
With forecasts of snow still a possibility and the wheat just starting to green up in parts of Kansas, it may surprise some wheat growers to know that March is an important month for wheat disease development.
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Cover crops can provide many benefits
Having plant growth in fields year-round can improve the soil, according to Tim Reinbott, superintendent of the University of Missouri Bradford Research Center. He says using cover crops in the fall and spring can provide large benefits.
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Drought impacts U.S. soybean quality results
According to a recent soy-checkoff-funded study, the overall oil levels in last year’s U.S. soybean crop increased over the previous year, while average protein fell. United Soybean Board (USB) Customer Focus Action Team Chair Sharon Covert says U.S. soy’s biggest users pay attention to those results.
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Midwest soil could take up to two years to recover
The Midwest suffered the worst drought in years last summer, and Midwest soil has been suffering from a drought since early 2010. As a result, crops have wilted and farmers have fallen on hard times. Now, a University of Missouri researcher says that it may take at least two years for crops and soil to recover.
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Ag profitability conference addresses crop concerns
Corn and soybean producers face wide-ranging harvest price possibilities for the crops they plant this spring.
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Local growers get latest on new herbicides
Controlling herbicide resistant weeds was the hot topic during the Andrew County Ag. Update conference on Thursday, Jan. 17 in the Clasbey Center in Savannah, Mo.
- More Crops Headlines
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Plant now, add nitrogen later
