Cropping Issues in Northwest Minnesota

Angie Peltier, Jared Goplen and Phillip Glogoza, Extension educators Now is crunch time for row-crop producers: harvesting, hauling and drying the crop, fall tillage and perhaps fall fertilizer applications need to take place before the snow sticks around. With recent rain events leaving fields unfit for heavy machinery traffic now might be a perfect time to collect soil samples to monitor soybean cyst nematode (SCN). SCN is the top yield-limiting soybean pathogen and can cause up to 30% yield loss without obvious symptoms. Recently some SCN populations have shifted to overcome the most commonly available source of varietal resistance (called PI88788) resulting in higher SCN egg counts and yield losses. Knowing your SCN numbers is an essential component of an integrated SCN management strategy.

The following was prepared by University of Minnesota Extension soybean agronomist Dr. Seth Naeve: With continued cold, cloudy, and rainy conditions across Minnesota, farmers are beginning to question when they will be able to get into the field to harvest their soybeans. Excessive rains have left fields at 100 percent field capacity.

The following was prepared by Michael Cruse, University of Minnesota Extension Educator: Many of our local agricultural producers are facing difficult times right now. On top of typical farm stress factors – isolation, variability in weather, lack of access the health services – farmers have also had to deal with 3-4 consecutive years of low commodity prices. These conditions are leading to a rise in mental health issues – depression, anxiety – which sadly has led to all too familiar consequences like loss of interest in family, friends and community as well as farmer suicides. If you or someone you know needs help – be it financial counseling, spiritual guidance or just an open ear – please call or talk to someone.

Kernels demand sugars. Developing corn kernels place a very high demand on the plant for sugars. Stress reduces the rate of photosynthesis, thereby reducing the amount of sugars that the plant is able to produce. Many different stresses can reduce the rate of photosynthesis: too much or too little moisture, nutrient imbalances, plant injury (ex.: hail, insects, diseases), excessive plant populations, and even long-periods of cloudy weather. In northwest Minnesota in 2018 these stresses included higher than average temperatures and lower than average rainfall during much of the grain-fill period.