Better Yield in the Field

05/31/2023

How long can corn survive in flooded conditions? Prior to the 6-leaf stage or when the growing point is near or below the soil surface, corn can survive only two to four days of flooded conditions (standing water). The oxygen supply in the soil is depleted after about 48 hours in a flooded soil. Without oxygen, the plant cannot perform critical physiological functions; e.g. nutrient and water uptake is impaired, root growth is inhibited, etc. If temperatures are warm during flooding (greater than 77F) plants may not survive 24 hours. Cooler temperatures prolong survival. Once the growing point is above the water level the likelihood for survival improves greatly.

Even if flooding doesn't kill plants outright it may have a long term negative impact on crop performance. Excess moisture during the early vegetative stages retards corn root development. As a result, plants may be subject to greater injury during a dry summer because root systems are not sufficiently developed to access available subsoil water. Flooding and ponding can also result in losses of nitrogen through denitrification and leaching. If flooding in corn is less than 48 hours, crop injury should be limited. To confirm plant survival, check the color of the growing point (it should be white and cream colored, while a darkening or softening usually precedes plant death) and look for new leaf growth three to five days after water drains from the field.

05/31/2023

Current years May weather pattern has been similar to that in 2019. 2019. The upside is 2023 temperatures have been higher compared with May temperatures in 2019 (See Figures below). But, rainfall across the Texas High Plains have rivaled those in 2019 (see figure below). Keep in mind that cumulative rainfall is a point in time collection. This year I am quite sure rainfall totals are much higher in various areas around Moore and Hansford Counties. I was traveling to Dalhart on Saturday. It rained on me from Cactus to Dalhart and most fields were standing in water and ditches were running water. I was in Gruver yesterday. Traveling around Hansford county was a challenge on county roads. Fields all around Hansford county are saturated and many fields are standing in water.

Saturated soils can compromise root growth in corn. Many time roots will fail to grow deeper than two feet. I will refer to this as lazy roots but there is a physiological response for condition. The real issue is lack of oxygen in saturated soil restricts root growth. Water percolating through the soil profile will prevent roots from developing much past the second foot. Consequently, roots tend to stay in the top couple of feet where there is more air between soil particles. This was quite common for corn developing in saturated soil during the 2019 season. I know there will be similar issues where corn is in saturated soils this year.

What is the downside to shallow rooted corn? The main potential issues is when corn is going through late vegetative and reproductive growth. If temperatures return to normal in late June, July and August, shallow roots will not be able to keep up with plant water demand, especially in R1, R2, and R3 (much like 2019). Plants will scavenge stalks for nutrients and water. As stalks are depleted of nutrients and water, they become stressed and stalk and root rots become more prevalent late in the season. Yield potential will be reduced and standability may become an issue. This was quite common in 2019.

08/01/2022

A La Nina weather pattern occurred last August. This weather pattern is characterized by warmer temperatures and dry conditions in the southern regions of the United States. Record breaking dry conditions occurred from last August and continues to grip the Texas High Plains. The first winter freeze in the Texas High Plains occurred in November of 2021. The late freeze allowed cotton and sorghum to utilize water well into November. The soil moisture profiles were completely depleted in fields planted to cotton and were extremely low in fields planted to sorghum. Winter and spring irrigation was essential to fill profiles prior to seeding in 2022, especially fields with limited available water. Some farmers elected to fill profiles after planting corn. This works in fields with good water and farmers willing to make slow passes once fields were seeded to corn without shutting off the pivot. It is much more difficult in fields with limited available water or occasionally turning off pivots. Lack of rain and extreme heat in July have created issues in most corn fields but much more evident in corn fields with limited available water, lack of full soil moisture profile, or a combination of the two issues. Desiccated pollen prior to pollen shed, excessive silk growth, and poor anther exertion delayed pollination and/or missed pollination. How does temperature, relative humidity, and wind impact pollination?

Extreme heat, lack of rain, low relative humidity, and gusty wind impacts corn growth and development in numerous ways some of which include:
• Temperatures above 90°F can desiccate pollen
• High night temperatures (at or above 70°F) increases respiration wasting stored sugars for growth and development.
• Low relative humidity increases plant water demand.
• High daytime temperatures decrease efficiency of photosynthesis resulting in fewer sugars to use and store.
• Usually, stressed areas within irrigated corn (sandy spots, hard pans or compaction areas and SW portions on fields) cause stress-induced slow silking resulting in seed set issues.
• Extreme heat (at or above ~95°F) can desiccate silks making them non-receptive to pollen.
• Heat over 95°F depresses pollen production.
• Continuous heat (over several consecutive days) before and during pollen shed results in a fraction of normal formation of pollen. Heat also reduces the period of pollen viability to a couple of hours or less. This can impact kernel set.
• Just a day or two difference in flowering or planting can make a substantial difference in kernel set.
• Pollen sheds at the top of the tassel and proceeds downward over several days.
• High temperatures will not severely stress corn pollination if soil moisture is adequate.
• High wind increases air movement around the plant and will result in higher transpiration.

Weather in the Texas High Plains has been a roller coaster from April through much of June. Extreme heat has been common in July. Daytime temperatures exceeded 100°F on most of the 10-day period between July 10 and July 20. Low relative humidity, gusty wind, and high evapotranspiration (ET) created extremely stressful conditions for corn entering reproductive development. Heat, low relative humidity, and wind has impacted evapotranspiration (ET) in corn. ETs pushed half an inch per day in the period from July 10 to July 20. High ET’s make challenging maintain adequate soil moisture to meet corn water demand.

Calls around early silking started in early July. The first field I walked was on July 18. Much of the field was pollinated but excessive silking was common. Mist silks were 6” to 8” long. Looking up I noticed very few anthers at the tip of the tassels down to the lateral branches of the tassels. There were a few anthers that dropped pollen from the top of the tassel. A few ovules were fertilized but most ears did not pollinate until 3 to 4 days after silks started emerging. I made a follow-up visit on July 22. Most of the ear was entering R2 development while early pollinated kernels were in R3 development. Those early kernels were crowding out the later developing kernels. This will impact kernel size and kernel set.

The other observation from this field was missed pollination, mainly at the base of ears. Remember that these are the largest kernels on the ear. Once viable pollen was available for pollination, excessive silks covered some of the early silks (from base of ear) making difficult for pollen to contact these silks. Extreme heat also desiccated some silks before receiving viable pollen. The result is fair to poor pollination on many ears.

More reports of partial pollination are being reported around the area. This is not a hybrid specific or brand specific issue. It is more related to timing of pollen development in relation to extreme heat. Desiccation of pollen was compounded in fields maturing pollen during the extreme heat during the day while tassels were wrapped inside the top and flag leaves. Anthers field to exert if pollen desiccated prior to pollen shed. I have noticed this to some extent in every I have walked the past couple of weeks. If you are in fields with pollination issues, carefully examine the tassels. Most likely anthers will be found in glumes. They will likely be flat indicating pollen desiccated prior to pollination. It is advisable to evaluate all fields that entered reproductive development over the last three weeks. Consider adjusting management options in fields with less than desirable kernel set (ears with less than 90% kernel set if missed kernels are at the base to mid portion of the ears.

Prior to adjusting management practices document the issues in the field. Clear and specific narrative AND pictures will be important to define the issues. Contact your crop insurance provider to set up a field visit with adjusters PRIOR to adjusting management. I would suggest treating this issue much the same way you would respond to hail damage. Clear communication with you crop insurance provider will be critical for adjustments in yield losses based on your APH. The same is true prior to abandoning parts or whole fields. Some policies may require you to continue basic management (specifically irrigation) even though the field will not be productive. A conversation with your adjuster will prevent a costly mistake later in the season.

There are at least a couple of secondary issues related to poor pollination. The potential for common s**t and fusarium ear rot will be elevated on ears that experienced pollination issues. The following is background information on these two diseases;
Common s**t, Ustilago maydis, is becoming evident on ears that have been under stress and missed some pollination. This fungus causes s**t galls on stalks, leaves, ears, and tassels. Actively growing tissue is especially susceptible to infection by common s**t.

Common s**t galls are characterized as swollen, distorted growths initially covered with a glistening white membrane (see image below). The membrane will rupture as the galls mature revealing a mass of dark brown to black powdery spores. The spores will overwinter on crop residue and in the soil for several years.
Although s**t infection is favored by excess nitrogen, herbicide injury, or mechanical injury, adverse environmental conditions have been responsible for most infections in this year’s corn crop. Scattered hail storms and blowing sand/soil have injured stalks and leaves leaving openings for spores to enter the plant and causing galls on stalks and leaves.

Corn that pollinated during periods of excessive heat and dry conditions had portions of ears that missed pollination. Generally, the missed pollination was on the ear tip, but this issue was more widespread on ears in some fields or portions of fields. This leaves an opening for common s**t infection on corn ears. The fungus will grow down unpollinated silks and infect ovules. Silk infection must occur 7-10 days following silk emergence for galls to form. Galls infecting corn ears become apparent 10 to 14 days following infection. The gall will mature about three weeks following ear infection.

In of itself, common s**t has little impact on yield although ear infections can appear very serious. It is more serious if numerous silks are not pollinated or slow to pollinate. Remember that this pathogen infects unfertilized ovules. Ears would not have produced kernels even in the absence of common s**t. Also, some hybrids are more susceptible to common s**t than others.

Fields heavily infected with common s**t will produce thick clouds of dark spores during harvest. Sometimes it appears that a field may be on fire when these clouds build over fields. Keep in mind that some folks sensitive to molds may need to wear masks when entering fields infected with common s**t.

Extreme stress on this corn crop puts ears at elevated risk for fusarium ear rot infection. For corn grown in the Texas High Plains, ear rot resistance or tolerance should always be one major agronomic characteristic that guides your decision on hybrid selection. Scores also should be published in seed guides. If not, ask questions around lack of scores for this ear rot, protocols used for scoring hybrids, and where precommercial hybrids are evaluated to determine fusarium scores.

Fusarium (F.) verticilliodes (commonly referred to as fusarium ear rot) is a common ear rot organism of corn grown in the Texas High Plains. It produces a secondary metabolite called fumonisin, a toxin to certain mammals such as horses and cows. It can cause liver and esophageal cancer in humans.

Fusarium ear rot is a seed borne pathogen. Also, it overwinters as spores on crop residue such as stalks and leaves. Overwintering spores are the inoculum for infection in the following years corn. Spores may be water splashed, wind-blown, or carried by insects to plant tissue and ears. This disease can infect stalks, leaves, tassels, and grain.

Fusarium ear rot is unique in that it can infect grain through silk or use pollen as a vector to reach the silks. Climatic conditions such as wind speed, precipitation, and humidity during silk stage can impact fumonisin concentrations. Silks are most susceptible to infection at 4 to 6 days following pollination. Research has shown that infection through silks to be the most effective route to produce fusarium infected grain.

Fusarium infection can be introduced by insects feeding on kernels or through wounds such as silk-cut, a split in the pericarp, on the grain. Fusarium ear rot and fumonisin can be moved on the ear by insects or by water trapped in and under husks. Fumonisin levels are typically higher when rain occurs prior to harvest (think about August 2017 weather across the Texas High Plains).

Intact kernels infected with fusarium ear rot may turn tan to brown and/or may develop white streaks on the surface referred to as a starburst pattern. It is possible for a kernel to be infected, have fumonisin present, yet show no symptoms (it is an endophyte). Research has shown fumonisin production and fungal growth ceased when grain was less than 18% moisture.
Management tips: Select hybrids that have average or above average tolerance (resistance) to F. verticilliodes. Ask your seed provider the score for fusarium ear rot tolerance on hybrids. Avoid those with lower-than-average scores for tolerance to fusarium, especially when planting in areas with a history of fusarium ear rot infection. Transgenic (Bt) hybrids offering control or suppression of worms that infest developing ears may reduce infection but does not guarantee grain free of fusarium and fumonisin. A field or fields with many ears infected with fusarium ear rot should be first to harvest. Grain with high levels of fumonisin can be blended with grain free of fumonisin or with low levels of fumonisin to lower overall fumonisin levels.

04/15/2022

04/15/2022

Folks - just a few reminders as planters hit the field:
Seeding depth - generally 1.5 to 2.0 inches. In a dry year it does not hurt to go a little deeper (2.0 to 2.5 inches)

Check each row for uniform seeding depth. This is generally something that should be done before going to the field. Variances in seeding depth will result in stand uniformity costing yield. Make sure planter is level and in good working order before going to the field. It is a good idea to check wear parts each morning or when moving from one field to another.

Seed bed prep: Fields should be uniform and devoid of clods. Many strip-till fields have cloddy strips. It will take quite a bit of water to breaks clods down. Running a freshener over strips will help. Remember, strips may look good on the surface but cloddy under the surface. This will impact seed to soil contact and stand.

There are air pockets in many strips. Irrigating after planting will help settle strip but will change the seed depth. This leads to late emerging plants or plants leafing out underground.

Tractor speed: Tractor speed should be 5mph or less unless using a high-speed planter or speed tubes. Skips, doubles, or triples or late-emerging plant 2 or more leaf stages behind surrounding plants will significantly reduce yield.

Imbibitional chilling: This is a potential issue in the first 24 to 48 hours after planting. Farmers will need to water to get a stand this year. We are still experiencing wide temperature fluctuations. Cold water on top of cool soils will stress germinating seed (soil below 50 degrees F.). Imbibitional chilling can cause death of seed or deformed Always plant hybrids with above average stress emergence scores when planting into cool or cold soil (usually fields seeded in April and early May). This may not prevent imbibitional chilling injury but will minimize its impact when seed is imbibing water.

Corkscrewed mesocotlys and coleoptiles: Many causes but generally associated with crusted soil, wide soil temperature fluctuations, seed planted too deep, or herbicide injury.

Planting is the most important operations for a farmer. It sets the tone for the season. Uniform emergence and stand will go a long ways to meet yield goals.

03/10/2022

In 2021, EPA issued a ruling revoking all tolerances for chlorpyrifos. Recently, the EPA has moved forward with plans to discontinue use of chlorpyrifos on food by denying objections to EPA’s rule revoking all chlorpyrifos tolerances. The justification for revocation of chlorpyrifos tolerances on food was based on the EPAs inability to determine a reasonable certainty of no harm from aggregate exposure to chlorpyrifos.

The EPA will provide a copy of its response to objections and the accompanying order in the chlorpyrifos final rule document EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0523 at www.regulations.gov.

Registrants of chlorpyrifos received a letter for chlorpyrifos products with food uses confirming revocation of the tolerances and indicating cancellation and label amendment options. Chlorpyrifos use has been on the decline in recent years because of reduced production and state mandated use restrictions. Alternative insecticides have been registered in recent years for most crops. However, there will be holes. The final ruling took effect on February 28, 2022.

As of Feb 28, 2022, anyone with existing chlorpyrifos products will not be allowed to use them on food. The products can be used for non-food purposes is so labeled.

What does the EPA consider food? Here is an EPA list of food? Terrestrial Food Crops: Alfalfa, apple, asparagus, banana, bean (snap, lima), beet (sugar, table, including crops grown for seed), blueberry, brassica (cole) leafy vegetables (bok choy, broccoli rabe, broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, collard, kale, kohlrabi), caneberry, cherimoya, cherry (sour, sweet), citrus (lemon, orange, grapefruit and citrus, other) citrus orchard floor, corn (field, sweet, including crops grown for seed), cotton, cranberry, cucumber, date, feijoa, fig, grape, kiwifruit, leek, legume vegetables, mint, nectarine, onion (dry bulb), pea, peach, peanut, pear, pepper, plum, prune, pumpkin, radish (including crops grown for seed), rutabaga, sapote, seed and pod vegetables, sorghum (grain, milo), soybean, strawberry, sugarcane, sunflower, sweet potato, tree nuts (almond, filbert, pecan, walnut, other), turnip, wheat, and seed treatment.

02/24/2022

Field conditions in the northern Texas High Plains are still dry despite recent snow. Remember that 12 inches of snow is equivalent to one inch of moisture. Recently, I was conducting moisture checks in fields south and west of Morse. These fields had been strip tilled. The soil surface between strips and under residue was dry and cracked. Some strips had large clods while others were in fair condition. It will take quite a bit of water to break-up large clods. Across the Texas High Plains, Soil moisture profiles are fair to depleted depending on the prior crop. Forecasts predict dry conditions will persist over the next two weeks. Irrigation will be needed to help improve soil conditions prior to plowing. Here are summaries of field conditions by prior year’s crop.

Soil moisture has been best in fields planted to corn in 2021. Fields I have checked have fair to exceptionally good moisture below 12” to 18”. The top foot in most fields have little moisture. Some farmers have strip-tilled fields with little or no moisture in the top foot of soil. Strips are in fair to poor shape. Some fields are very cloddy and all fields I have checked have variable strips. Some rows are near perfect while other strips are very cloddy. Most fields need one to two inches of water prior to strip-till operations to prevent cloddy strips. Lack of moisture means whole corn kernels are intact. Volunteer corn will be an issue without adequate moisture to germinate these seeds prior to planting.

Soil moisture profile are more depleted in fields planted to sorghum or seed sorghum/forages in 2021. Moisture in the top foot and below three feet of soil is depleted. The soil surfaces were cracked and dry even under residue. Seed lost at harvest are intact. Abundant seed was seen under male rows of forage seed fields. Volunteer forage plants will be thick in the male rows if not managed prior to planting.

In 2021, cotton continued to use soil moisture into November because of a very late freeze. Soil moisture profiles were depleted in fields planted to cotton last year. Soil could not be probed in these fields. Lack of fall/winter moisture to now means soil moisture profiles still are dry. These fields will require the most moisture to fill profiles.

The NOAA precipitation outlook through June shows the High Plains leaning below average for precipitation and above average for temperatures through spring. There are upsides to these predictions:

1. Leaning below average for precipitation is a fairly weak
observation. I look at it more as equal chances for rain or
drought. That defines just about every year for the Texas
High Plains. The bigger question is “How long will the La
Nina Southern Oscillation persist?”. Currently, there is a
77% chance that La Nina will last through May. Afterward,
the trend turns more neutral. This prediction is a little
more concerning. Based on current weather and dry
conditions predicted through the next two weeks,
starting pivots to improve soil moisture in the top foot
prior to strip till is advisable. It takes much less effort to
prepare a seed bed when starting out with mellow strips
over cloddy strips.

2. Forecasts are educated guesses. This time last year the
outlook for the Texas High Plains was for drought and
heat through the summer. Mid-June heat had many
thinking the NOAA outlook was right. A weather change
in late June cooled the High Plains and brought with it
rain. These conditions continued through July. What the
weather conditions will be between now and planting is
unknown. I do think near term forecasts should have
more influence on management decisions, especially
now.

Lack of soil moisture profiles in fields across the Texas High Plains is our reality. I short look back to dry conditions from fall of 2017 through spring of 2018 serve as a reminder to the dangers of waiting for rain before preparing seed beds. Farmers that awaited rain prior to strip tilling were forced to prepare seed beds in dry soil. Many of these fields were cloddy and the seed beds were poor shape at planting. Stands were poor in many of these fields. One to 2 inches of irrigation will be needed to properly prepare soil for strip till. We are just a few days from March.

Another advantage of irrigation now is that it will help germinate w**d seeds and crop seed from 2021 harvest. I saw no w**ds in the fields I checked last week. Typically, preseason herbicide applications are made starting in mid-March. Waiting closer to planting before irrigating means w**ds will not appear until April and may force farmers to change their herbicide options. Shortage of certain herbicides and increased costs of others could make the initial herbicide application more expensive and possibly less effective.

02/07/2022

DRY CONDITIONS and FERTIZER: Dry and windy conditions have persisted since last September on the Texas High Plains. Recent snow was welcome but did little to improve soil moisture. Production fields are severely moisture deficient in the top 1- to 3- feet across the area.

Many farmers have elected to apply anhydrous ammonia on part or across every field in lieu of exorbitantly priced liquid fertilizer. Anhydrous ammonia is a great form of nitrogen but it is not without challenges.

Dry and cool weather are a combination that can present early season challenges to corn production where anhydrous ammonia is used as a pre-plant fertilizer. The information in this document are suggestions for managing these fields.

CAREFUL MANAGEMENT will be required to minimize or eliminate early season ammonia damage to seedling corn roots. Remember that anhydrous ammonia must be converted to nitrate through microbial activity to prevent damage to seedling corn roots. This process is dependent on soil temperature (above 50º F) and soil moisture. Ammonia applied in dry cold soils (like we are experiencing YTD) has an increased probability of remaining in ammonia form by early April.

ANHYDROUS AMMONIA applied to dry soil allows ammonia to move out further from the knife injection point than in moist soils. Also, farmers often are tempted to decrease toolbar depth when soil conditions are hard and diesel prices are high resulting in shallow placement of ammonia. Inadequate soil moisture will slow nitrification of anhydrous ammonia although the soil temperature may be adequate to initiate the nitrification process. Any one or a combination of these scenarios can leave free ammonia near germinating corn seedlings in April. This causes moisture to move from young seedling roots to the free ammonia resulting in desiccation of plant roots. The higher the concentration of ammonia the greater the damage. Consequently, seedling corn is prone to damage when roots come into contact with the fertilizer. This can reduce stands, slow crop growth, and reduce yields. Replanting is required when corn stand loss is severe. This can have a “double whammy” affect when replant seed of the best hybrids are in short supply.

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES if anhydrous ammonia is the desired source of N for preplant in strip-till include watering the field prior to the application, especially if the top foot of soil is moisture deficient. Make sure ammonia is applied 8-10 inches deep. Limit the amount of ammonia applied to 100 pounds or less of actual N/acre. This will prevent the expansion of ammonia at the injection point through large pores and dry soil as well as supplying moisture needed to initiate the nitrification process when soil temperatures reach 50º F. Otherwise, begin pre-watering after the application and make sure the soil moisture profile is full prior to planting.

WHAT IF I HAVE APPLIED more than 100 lbs N/acre as ammonia preplant into dry cold soils? Pre-watering in March will be essential in the absence of precipitation. Most fields will need 2 to 3 inches of irrigation to reduce risk of plant damage by ammonia. Keep soils wet after emergence to help seedlings escape root burn.

IN EARLY APRIL (prior to planting) a soil test can be taken directly from the strip-till band to a depth of 4 inches and submitted to a lab to check both ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen. If soil tests reveal ammonia nitrogen is high in the planting zone, delay planting until early May when the nitrification process will be near completion and ammonia nitrogen concentrations are at safe levels. Do not apply any formulation of starter fertilizer with the seed in this scenario. Two-by-two placement would be a preferred technique for starter placement under these conditions.

02/02/2022

As folks get ready for land prep prior to the 2022 production season, check for issues that could make for a miserable start to the coming season.

Soil – Recently, I was zone sampling fields for variable rate fertilizer applications. I was able to sample the top 10” of last season’s corn and sorghum fields although the top 6 inches were dry. Two of last season’s cotton fields were a different story. The top 10” were exceptionally dry. Any attempt to obtain soil samples with a bucket probe from these two fields were futile. We moved around trying to find mellow spots, put a lot of weight on the probe and even beat the probe into the ground with a hammer. No matter how we tried or where we moved, it was impossible to probe beyond one to two inches. Driving the probe into the ground was successful but forcing the probe into the dry soil busted the tip. The tip of the probe now is buried nine inches into the soil.

I had success soil sampling the two fields with a sweatless soil sampling technique (thanks to Fred Vocasek for sending to me the link to this technique). I was skeptical that it would work but it worked like a champ. See the following link for more information on this technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh8u_9My9Ww There was a hard pan five to six inches deep. I wore out a drill bit collecting the samples. Getting through the hard pan was difficult for the drill. It took 9 battery changes to complete the task. The drill was struggling to run by the end of the day. But, this unique soil sampling technique was successful for collecting soil from the last two fields.

Working these fields will be disastrous without applying water prior to getting the plow into the field. Each field will be unique…probing the soil will provide information on the amount of irrigation required prior to working the ground. Some fields may require an inch while others may need 2 to 3 inches of applied water. Watering will help reduce wear and tear on equipment and make for a better seed bed. Snow is in the forecast over the next couple of days…I hope it covers the area with two feet of snow. Even a foot of snow would certainly help improve soil moisture.

Equipment maintenance – Now is the time to complete tasks set aside following last year’s harvest. Equipment maintenance and repair prior to moving to the field is critical for proper seed bed preparation and planting operations.

• Plows – check implements for wear and busted parts. Repairing deficiencies could save a lot of downtime or creating a poor seed bed. There are shortages of certain parts. Some folks have robbed older implements to make repairs. Replace worn fertilizer hoses and knives and calibrate the system before going to the field. This is certainly not the year to waste fertilizer. Check and replace worn coulters and row cleaners. Clean or replace inside scrapers on the blades to prevent mud buildup. Maintenance now will prevent headaches in the field.

• Planters – If you have not done so, service now! Routine maintenance and inspecting and repairing all damaged ware parts such as seed plates, seed tubes, hydraulic hoses, disc openers, etcetera will get the season off to a good start. Always check each row unit for uniform depth. Never assume planter settings are providing uniform seeding depth, even on new planters. Check and adjust each row unit prior to planting. During planting, periodically check the seeding depth. More especially when soil types or conditions change in a field or when moving from one field to another. Seeding depth uniformity and spacing are critical for consistent emergence and stand establishment across each field.

• Finalizing Plans – As we inch closer to planting season, it is an ideal time to analyze your 2022 crop mix. A significant snow event in the next couple of days will improve soil moisture and may change a person’s crop mix this coming season. Although input costs remain high, fertilizer prices are coming down. Penciling production costs may change the crop mix that has the highest probability of maximizing net income.

• What is Plan “B” and possibly Plan “C” – There is no doubt that cotton acres will increase across the northern Texas High Plains in 2022. Cotton in the northern Texas High Plains can be risky. Weather events can delay planting and severe storms can wipe out fields. The narrow planting window for cotton usually makes replant a nonviable option.

It is always important to make plans for the “what if’s” in production agriculture. If adverse weather destroys a crop, what is the best replant option to maintain profits or limit losses? What hybrids and maturities are available for worst case scenarios? What are the potential benefits and challenges for each replant option?
Favorable commodity prices have created a positive outlook among farmers nationwide. However, farmer optimism around the 2022 crop prospects have been severely dampened by rising input costs, especially fertilizer, and non-availability of some herbicides important for w**d management. But, farmers are resilient and dedicated to their craft. There is no doubt that they will persevere in a volatile marketplace…they always have.

In years where commodity prices and input costs are high, it is extremely important to pay careful attention to details. Getting every bushel or pound from a crop will take careful planning, sound management, patience, and equipment maintenance. Seed bed preparation and planting operations sets the stage for meeting or surpassing yield goals. Equipment in sound condition will be essential to create a desirable seedbed and seed placement to ensure uniform emergence and stand establishment.