 |
 |
HOME | |
|
BLOGRONOMIST | |
|
TURF & ORNAMENTALS | |
|
DEALER LOGIN | |
CONTACT US | |
|
No-Till March 11, 2013 Written By1: Andrew Hoiberg, Ph.D. In autumn of 2012, Craig Dick and I began discussing a Calcium Products research agronomist and manager of research & development (R&D). I was thrilled at the idea and gladly accepted the position a few months ago.
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, the blogronomist and VP of sales and marketing at Calcium Products. Find other articles at blog.calciumproducts.com. October 6, 2012 Written By1: Craig Dick You don't have to take my word for it. Check out this piece from 'No-Till Farmer' magazine: Weeds make themselves scarce when calcium enters the picture Providing available calcium to your crops makes a big difference. Let us know if we can answer any questions for you! August 9, 2012 Written By1: Craig Dick We know lots of farmers are having a tough summer with the drought. We have had lots of people ask how some of our long-time customers are faring. We received this note via email last week. Hi Craig, Are you having a drought out your way? We are short of moisture but with using gypsum and lime on my corn and beans plus cover crops and no-till I am looking at 150 bu. plus of corn and 40 plus soybeans. Our county has been declared a disaster area. Some corn in sandy ground is only 2 ft high, the soybeans on clay knobs died from no moisture. I am glad I am no-tilling. Thanks, Larry from Michigan, for that update. It’s great to hear that you will be harvesting a crop this year!
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, the blogronomist and VP of sales and marketing at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at blog.calciumproducts.com. May 10, 2012 Written By1: Courtney Tompkins
Here's the full lineup:
August 13, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick From the PFI Listserve
Pocahontas, IA – Learn how to improve your cover crops at a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day workshop in Pocahontas on Thursday, August 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The field day will begin with a complimentary evening meal, followed by a cover crop management discussion. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.
Tom Kaspar from the National Laboratory for Ag and the Environment will present about ten years worth of research he and other colleagues have been conducting on cover crops. Sarah Carlson will share on-farm research results of 2 study PFI farmers have been conducting with cover crops in no-till and organic farming systems. She will also share other farmers’ cover crops stories and share an opportunity for farmers to conduct on-farm research through PFI’s Cooperators Program. Joe Frerk from NRCS will share information about EQIP and MRBI program funds available to help offset the cost of adding a cover crop to your farming system. Address: County Conservation, 702 NW 7th St., Pocahontas, IA 50574 Field Day Contact: Joe Frerk, NRCS and Soil Water Conservation District, (712) 335-4790,joe.frerk@ia.usda.gov Practical Farmers of Iowa includes a diverse group of farmers and nonfarmers. Corn, soybeans, beef cattle, and hay are the top enterprises for PFI farmers, although many have a variety of other operations, including fruits and vegetables. PFI’s programming stresses farmer-to-farmer networking through research and demonstration, field days, conferences, and more. For more information, call (515) 232-5661 or visit www.practicalfarmers.org. June 25, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick There is an interesting article in the July issue of No-Till Farmer .
"No-Tiller Losing Pigweed Fight" Dyersburg, TN, farmer Eddie Anderson a 15 year veteran of No-Till PLOWED under 1000 acres to combat glyphosate resistant pigweed. Also in the article "glyphosate resistance is the single largest threat to production agriculture."
I cannot imagine undoing 15 years of work due to a weed control issue.
We have a customer and crop advisor that is working in Georgia and has seen some tremendous results with SuperCal 98G as part of his comprehensive soil restoration and fertility improvement program. I believe that these pictures demonstrate that the practices that Verity farms promote can help you combat glyphosate resistant pigweed.
In “Weeds and Why They Grow” (Jay L. McCaman), its shown that pigweeds grow best in low calcium soils. We know through work done by Dr. Don Huber and many European researchers that glyphosate is a strong calcium chelator, making it unavailable to plants. In my short but busy career in agriculture (crop scouting, production seed, insecticide sales, and agronomy sales) I have never seen roots like Howard has achieved.
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, a Blogronomist and Sales and Marketing Manager at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com/ .  Calcium Products Craig Dick No-till magazine glyphosate resistant pigweed no-till supercal 98G calcium Don Huber April 26, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick
Note: This article is intended as a general guide to herbicides and soil pH. It is not a substitute for herbicide labels, nor promotes or discourages the use of any herbicide(s). All herbicides are names are trademarks of their respective manufactures.
Soil pH can make a big impact on soil-applied herbicides
Low soil pH (<6.2) will cause the triazine herbicides (Atrazine, Sencor) to be bound to the soil. When herbicides are adsorbed they are not effective at controlling weeds since they are not available in the soil solution. This is why pH sensitive herbicides like Atrazine, and Sencor can be used with less risk of crop injury in low pH soils. At low soil pH higher rates are need to control weeds. Crop injury increases when soil pH is higher.
When higher rates of herbicides are used in an attempt to get better weed control in low pH soils, herbicide residues in the soil increase. These bound herbicides are released if the soil is over-limed. If ag lime is postponed until just before planting, this release of bound herbicide can have serious detrimental effects on sensitive crops.
"Over-liming" Injury
Sometimes there are problems when soils are limed with large amounts of ag lime. Spreading high rates of lime than required or quickly raising a very acidic soil can cause crop injury. If there is a long history of triazine herbicides used, liming can release these chemicals and kill sensitive crops. Decreased crop growth because of "over-liming" injury is usually associated with lowered availability of phosphorus, potassium, or boron. Over-liming acidic sandy soils can produce zinc and copper deficiencies.
Poor crop performance due to nutrient deficiency is often blamed on Atrazine, and Sencor since problems do not develop until 2 to 3 weeks after emergence. Moldboard plowing can reduces phytotoxicity of Atrazine, and Sencor by diluting the herbicide residue in a large volume of soil. The best way to avoid these problems is to consistently maintain the soil pH above 6.2. Applying SuperCal 98G minimizes the adsorption of triazine herbicides to the soil and results in improved crop safety and performance. Properly limed fields will reduce the residual herbicide in the soil and avoid large release of bound herbicide causing crop injury.
Poor Performance and Carry-over
The half-life of many herbicides varies with soil characteristics and environment. For example, the half-life of atrazine in Georgia on a soil with a pH of 6.8 was reported to be 39 days, whereas in Minnesota the half-life was 261 days on a soil with a 7.9 pH. Whether a herbicide has basic, acidic or neutral properties can determine its ability to exist in the soil solution or adsorbed by soil solids. In general, herbicides whose pH is close to the pH of the soil are strongly adsorbed and are not subject to runoff or leaching. In contrast, herbicides whose pH is not close to that of the soil are likely to stay in the soil solution and are subject to runoff or leaching. Herbicides in the soil solution are more available for plant uptake than strongly adsorbed herbicides.
Soil pH Effects on Carryover & Breakdown of some herbicides.
Additional determinants of herbicide behavior include soil texture and organic matter
Some herbicides will be neutral or uncharged regardless of soil pH. Pendimethalin and Metolachlor are examples of this type of herbicide. Rate recommendations for these herbicides are made strictly on the basis of soil texture and % organic matter.
Many herbicide complaints can be avoided by keeping soil pH in the proper range. Most herbicides perform much better at pHs of 6.5 to 6.8. When making herbicide recommendations, it is important to know what the pH of the soil is and the chemical that is being applied. If soil pH is not optimal, herbicides may not kill intended weeds and/or cause crop injury.
When scouting fields for complaints one can use “indicator weeds” as a rough estimate of the soil pH. A soil sample is the best way to accurately determine pH.
Weeds that can indicate soil pH
Soil moisture is also a factor
To be effective, the herbicide must also be present in the zone of the soil profile where the majority of weed seeds germinate. In no-till rain is need to work in soil-applied herbicides. Typically a 0.5-inch of rain is sufficient to 'activate' most herbicides. This amount can vary among soil types and the soil moisture content prior to the rainfall event. A dry soil requires more rain than a moist soil. This is because rainfall must wet a dry soil before significant movement of the herbicide will occur.
Using SuperCal SO4 can help increase water infiltration, decrease runoff and soil erosion.
Maximize fertilizer and chemical usage, resulting in better yield, make sure you are using SuperCal 98G and Super Cal SO4 when needed.
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, a Blogronomist and Sales and Marketing Manager at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com/ .
Calcium Products Craig Dick pelletized lime lime over liming soil pH herbicide supercal 98g atrizine sencor soil pH herbicide interaction January 18, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick While this conference is geared to no-tillers, anyone in production agriculture could learn something from attending this conference. Dan Davidson at DTN says it best here, this conference really is a Farming Think Tank. There are discussions on all things farming and I know any farmer will get more value out of meeting farmers from around the country, and interacting one-on-one with industry leaders than the cost of the conference. I highly suggest making plans to attend next year, it will be the second week of Jan. in Cincinnati, Ohio, www.no-tillfarmer.com. So what did I learn this week, ( besides get the basics right)? Uneven emergence is a huge yield robber, and a planter needs to be treated as a precision instrument. Excessive N is released by plants as ammonia gas and is a dinner bell for insects. Need to inoculate soybeans every year. Farmer (and agronomist) need to take time to observe their fields, get out of the pickup, dig in the dirt, smell the soil, really look at the plants. We should worry about how to get soils wet during the dry part of the year and not how to get the dry during the wet part of the year. Many farmers want more information on gypsum. You cannot do mechanically to the soil what needs to be done chemically, i.e. compaction is due to the chemical properites of the soil. There are many more ideas I took away and you can see them at https://twitter.com/CraigDick. Over the next few weeks I will be expanding on these topics.
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, a Blogronomist and Sales and Marketing Manager at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com/ .
January 14, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick I was toying with live blogging from the No-Till Conference, but I wanted to have a little more freedom to roam and not be tethered to my laptop. So I will be live-tweeting. You can follow my updates and the high points of the speakers at https://twitter.com/CraigDick, you don't have to join to follow, but if you have questions you will either need to join or send them here.
January 8, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick In the past two days Glen Howell and myself have driven 600 miles in a blizzard! As we left Des Moines heading into the storm on our way to Grand Island we encountered blowing snow which gradually subsided by the time we got there. The next day we struck out toward Des Moines and on to Marshalltown. I repeat of the day before, as we eventually caught back up to the storm! Our first meeting in Grand Island was with Servi-Tech, Inc. They specialize in crop consulting, and lab testing. What a great company and a great group of professionals. I was impressed with the management team at Servi-Tech and their commitment o educating their representatives. We presented information to their agronomists on the importance of lime and calcium on soils. Thanks for the invitation and the hospitality! Today we will be at the Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference, in Marshalltown, IA. This two day event is full of interesting speakers, round-tables, and a tradeshow. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) is a non-profit, educational organization that began in 1985 and now has over 700 members (we are one) in Iowa and neighboring states. Their mission is to research, develop and promote profitable, ecologically sound and community-enhancing approaches to agriculture. We took our time and made into Marshalltown just before sundown last night. We hope to visit with you at the PFI conference, dress warmly and drive slowly! Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, a Blogronomist and Sales and Marketing Manager at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com/ .
January 4, 2010 Written By1: Glen Howell Welcome to 2010! The next few months will be busy ones for everybody, including us. We will be at the Servi-Tech Midwinter Conference this week, followed by the Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference in Marshalltown (http://www.practicalfarmers.org/events/annual-conference.html). Next week is the National No-Till Conference in Des Moines on January 13-16 (http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/pages/NNTC---National-No-Tillage-Conference-Home-Page.php), & we finish up January at the Nebraska Agri-Business Expo on the 27th & 28th (http://www.na-ba.com/events.htm). The 1st week of February will find us at the Iowa Power Farming Show (http://www.iowapowershow.com/) in Des Moines (February 2-4), and we will be participating in the Agribusiness Showcase & Conference ( http://www.agribiz.org/) on February 9 & 10. You can also check out our show calendar here: (http://www.calciumproducts.com/calendar.cfm) We look forward to seeing you! April 15, 2009 Written By1: Craig Dick A recent article in No-Till Farmer Magazine spotlights a farming operation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Eugene and Curtis Lapp have been applying SuperCal 98G with their insecticide boxes at planting at 100 lbs per acre. They have found it to be more economical and more effective than broadcasting. Congratulations on the article guys, and thanks for the business! Read the article "What I've learned from No-Tilling" March 6, 2008 Written By1: Craig Dick This week I attended the 2008 Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference, held biennially in Denver Colorado. This program is put on by the International Plant Nutrition Institute and is attended by over 100 Industry and Academic Agronomy Researchers. Over 40 research papers are presented in this 2-day program. While the pace of the presentations is quite fast there is ample time to discuss ideas, and new agronomy techniques with many of agricultures best-known researchers. Jerry Hatfield presented “The Implications of Biofuels Production on Soil Productivity”. While removal of crop residue after harvest is viewed as a major source of cellulosic material, the implications need to be considered. Removal of large amounts of nutrients, decrease in soil organic matter, decrease is soil water holding capacity, leading to severe soil crusting and other environmental impacts. Mr. Hatfield has authored many papers on soil quality, organic matter and carbon. So many I didn’t even consider counting them. In one of his previous papers on achieving high yields he states,
Understanding what you are doing, why your doing it, and measuring the results is what it takes to achieve high yields. Dr. Robert Miller gave a great presentation on "Impact of Grid Point Sampling Intensity on Phosphorus and Potassium Uncertainty”. What this means is, if you are grid sampling, are they pulling enough soil cores for the composite to be sure that it is an accurate test of what is actually in the soil. Though his research he found that full tillage, minimal tillage and no-till needed different amounts of cores to be sure of accurate sampling. Full tillage means the soil is more uniformly mixed so 6-8 cores per sample point gives an accurate test, in minimal tillage shoot for 8-12. For no-till the best accuracy will require between 26-40 cores. Since no one has the time to do that many, we have to settle for less accuracy and pull 12-14 cores. This gives a 20% variability in the sample readings. While not all the presentations are directly related to the crops and climate most of our customer’s farm, I always come away with new and helpful information. You must constantly looking for new information to increase yields, start with the basics, (soil sampling, liming, building nutrient levels) and build on that. Calcium Products Craig Dick Jerry Hatfield Soil productivity cellulosic soil organic matter soil quality biofuels Dr. Robert Miller grid sampling high yield January 18, 2008 Written By1: Craig Dick This week Calcium Products attended the Nebraska Ag business trade show in Omaha, NE. The show is closed show and you must register to attend. We had a great time catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Midwest Labs presented information on lime quality. This can be confusing for many agronomists as well as farmers. They did a great job explaining why the fineness of the product is more important than the TNV. For example you can have 3 lime sources;
* not a misprint, it's acctually that ineffective. ECCE is measured by taking the TNV times a fineness factor. If the product is too coarse it simple does not work, no matter how much you put on. You can look up the quality of your ag lime on our website here, if you can’t find it on one of those reports, Midwest Labs has a great program for testing the quality, or lack of it, of your ag lime. One last point, SuperCal 98G has always tested greater than 91% ECCE and less than 1% moisture. Dr. Ray Ward of Ward Labs explained why it takes more sulfur on No-till acres. Here are some points I took away form Dr. Wards presentation:
One of the new friends we meet this week was Agronomic Solutions. They specialize in all types of precision ag services and products. They work with both growers and retailers, to offer unbiased solutions and services tailored to your needs. Offering an array of services and products; from GPS soil sampling, crop scouting, GPS boundary measuring, Agronomic consulting, and GPS equipment sales and support. They can help make sure you are getting the most out of those expensive fertilizers. Many of our dealers are already offering their services, contact you fertilizer dealer or check out their website for more information. Calcium Products Craig Dick Midwest Labs lime fineness % TNV ECCE ag lime testing Ray Ward Ward Labs No-till Sulfur Agronomic Solutions Nebraska Ag Business Show SuperCal 98G pelletized lime pel-lime |
|
We are proud to be a major sponsor of the Practical Farmers of Iowa field days this year. Topics range from pesticide drift monitoring to strip-tillate, organic crops, no-till, GMOs, tree crops and more. You'll hear research results and discuss innovative practices while networking with your fellow Iowa farmer. It sounds like you'd meet some pretty amazing folks and taste some delicious food too! 
