The Rural Voice, 1999-02, Page 27syndrome". These symptoms can be
mistaken for herbicide injury or can
be further aggravated by a pre -
emerge herbicide under the right
weather conditions, which I
witnessed in several cases this past
year. A three-year yield study in
Pennsylvania, which Southeast
Agway Co-op finished in 1997,
actually showed best results from the
2" planting depth.
Reconsider planting your
headlands. I have had growers
with combine yield monitors
tell me that headlands can yield 60
bu. less than the field average. This is
not profitable.
Fine-tune your planting rates.
Know which of your hybrids have
lots of ear flex and will deliver 100%
of their capability at 26-28,000, and
which ones have a determinate car
size that need a 30-31,000 population
(stalk strength notwithstanding).
You've probably heard about
variable-rate seeding according to
GPS and soil type. Don't spend any
money chasing this dead horse!
Fertilizer and nutrient management
Sample soils and follow realistic
recs and goals. Accurate soil tests
allow you to skimp in years of tight
money without hurting yields. It
allows you to reduce fertilizer costs
by taking advantage of the reserves
you have put there. If you don't
sample every three years you arc
losing money. You're either applying
too much or not enough. Rarely will
you have guessed correctly, however
I have seen it done more than once.
Fertilize for realistic yield goals.
A realistic yield goal is the average
of the three highest yields from the
past five production years for that
crop in a given field.
Apply most of your nitrogen in a
sidcdress application if time and
labour permits and base your rates on
manure values and a pre-sidedress
nitrate test if you are a livestock
operator. I have been practising this
procedure since 1991 and can
honestly say it works every time.
Reduce or eliminate
phosphorous fertilizer
applications. It looks like P has
taken a big jump over last year.
Additional P is not required for corn
(beyond a nominal starter amount) or
for soys, whcn P soil test levels are
above 20 ppm on a bicarb test, or
above 40 ppm on a Bray -P1 test.
Additional P is not needed in wheat
and alfalfa where the soil P levels arc
above 25 ppm bicarb or 50 ppm Pl.
Additional P will not produce a yield
response in white or coloured beans
when soil P levels exceed 20 ppm
bicarb or 30 ppm P1.
Apply micronutrients only
where a response is predicted or
known. Highly responsive crops will
show a yield response to a specific
micronutrient if the soil test is low.
You've heard the stories on foliar
fertilizer the past couple of years.
Suffice it to say there has been more
money wasted on foliars than have
been gained on foliars.
Take advantage of rotational
benefits. Corn planted after soybeans
yields 6 to 11% more than corn after
corn. Corn planted after wheat over -
seeded with red clover yields 10 to
18% higher than corn after corn. The
red clover contributes 40 to 60 lbs. of
actual N per acre. Longer rotations
will reduce yield losses from insects,
nematodes, white mold, and root rot.
It's just too bad we can't make good
money with wheat, oats and barley.
The crop diversity they could provide
Continued on page 38
Save Time, Trucking
& Money
Let our "LI'L SHAKER"
Portable Seed Cleaner
Clean & Treat Your
Grain For Seed
COOK'S PORTABLE
SEED CLEANING
Owen Sound
519-371-7281
519-534-2078
"Yes, We Can Come To Your Farm"
R.T. BOLTON & SON
DEPENDABLE QUALITY PEDIGREED SEED
Phone 519-527-0455 Seaforth
OAC ARTHUR for 2750 C.H.U.
High Yield Yellow Hilum Soybean
OAC AUBURN for 2775 C.H.U.
Top Yield Brown Hilum Soybean
Seean
the Seeds of a Successful Future
AC STEWART
High Yielding Yellow Feed Oat
AC RIGODON
High Yielding White Oat
CHAPAIS
6 row Feed Barley - short straw
AC STEPHEN
6 row Feed Barley
NEW VARIETIES FOR 1999
OAC ATWOOD for 2675 C.H.U.
Export QualityYellow Hilum
AC ALMA Barley
Top Yielding 6 row Feed Barley
OAC PAISLEY
Top Yielding Yellow Oats for Mixes
AC FRANCIS
High Yielding - Disease Resistant White Oats
BUY FROM THE SOURCE & SAVE
FEBRUARY 1999 23