The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
“How is seeding going?” I asked the farmer. “Not bad” was his reply. “We’re about done with the fields where conditions are good. But now, all the remaining fields are wet.”
Too much water has been the major challenge facing Foster County farmers as they worked to get their crops into the fields this spring.
After record-breaking snowfall this winter, the topsoil was drying out and it seemed that field work was about to begin.
But then it rained.
The Carrington REC received 2.6 inches between May 6 to 8. I heard reports of even greater amounts in other parts of the county.
The rain delayed planting by a week to ten days. Even when farmers did get started planting, they had to pick and choose among their fields, leaving the wet ones until last.
The USDA reported that 48 percent of North Dakota’s spring wheat crop, 32 percent of the state’s corn crop, and 20 percent of the state’s soybean crop had been planted by May 22.
We were far behind those values in Foster County, but farmers made rapid progress. Several producers told me they were either finished or nearly finished planting by May 30.
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We had 58 consecutive days in March and April when temperatures failed to reach our normal daily high.
Now, the trend in temperature has gone the other way.
Daily high temperatures in May averaged eight degrees above normal. We reached 80 degrees or more 13 days last month.
The warm-up caused pastures to green rapidly. One Foster County cattleman told me, “The grass is growing fast. It’s comparable to last year.”
But not all grass species do well in warm weather. The cool season grasses seem to be producing less than normal this year.
The rapid warm-up hasn’t hindered weed growth. By now, you’ve probably seen the yellow flowers of leafy spurge in pastures and ditches.
Leafy spurge is one of 13 noxious weed species in North Dakota, and it has been selected “Weed of the Year” by the authors of the North Dakota Weed Control Guide.
The plant species is native to Eurasia. Researchers believe it was introduced as seed to the U.S. in a shipment of oats from Russia in the late 1800s.
Herbicides can control leafy spurge effectively, but no spray program can eliminate the pest.
Herbicides should be applied when leafy spurge is in the true flower stage, or when it is in bloom and seeds are developing, typically in mid-June. Herbicides can also be applied when the stems develop regrowth in early to mid-September.
Biological control is another option to consider. In the past four decades, ten insect species have been released in North Dakota to control leafy spurge. Among the ten, four species of flea beetles (Aphthona spp.) have the greatest impact.
Flea beetle larvae kill leafy spurge by feeding on the plant roots and root crown.
Research has demonstrated that the use of flea beetles plus chemical control is better than either method used alone.
For more information, please contact me in the Extension office (652-2581, jeff.gale@ndsu.edu).
