Field and Garden: Wet weather hinders soybean planting

A weather system passed through Foster County on May 23 and 24, bringing cold, wet conditions to the start of Memorial Day weekend.

The Carrington REC recorded 1.4 inches of precipitation, with higher amounts near McHenry at 1.9 inches and lower amounts near Kensal at 0.9 inches.

Winds gusted up to 40 miles per hour during the storm, and the temperature dropped to 34 degrees on Friday night.

The rain halted planting for four to five days.

Some farmers, particularly in central Foster County, had made significant progress before the storm. One farmer reported being 97 percent done, while another said their fields were 90 percent planted.

However, these two farmers seemed to be the exception. My conversations with others led me to believe that 30 to 40 percent of the soybeans still hadn’t been planted on May 31.

To qualify for the full yield or revenue guarantee in the federal crop insurance program, soybeans in Foster County must be planted by June 10, and sunflowers by June 15.

While fields can dry out quickly under warm, sunny conditions, some fields and many low-lying areas will be too wet for planting this year.

The good news is that pastures look excellent. With precipitation amounts 40 to 50 percent above normal this spring, range scientists predict we can expect normal to above-normal forage production this summer.

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Weeds thrive in warm temperatures and abundant moisture just as much as our crops do.

Farmers must act quickly to apply post-emergent herbicides while weeds are still small, ideally less than two inches tall, for effective control.

Unfortunately, weather conditions can complicate this process.

One common restriction for herbicide application is that wind speeds must be less than ten miles per hour.

Reviewing weather data from June 10 to 17 of last year, I found only 11 hours during that seven-day period when wind speeds met the criteria for legal herbicide application.

Factors such as temperature and humidity can also limit the times when sprayers can enter the fields.

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Many farmers report increased resistance in kochia and pigweed to herbicides in groups 2, 9, and 14.

Weed scientists at North Dakota State University are conducting a survey this growing season to better understand the magnitude of the problem.

Farmers and agronomists are invited to participate in the survey by collecting samples of kochia and pigweed that they find in their fields and then submitting these samples to a laboratory for genetic testing.

The testing is paid for by the North Dakota Corn Utilization Council and the North Dakota Soybean Council.

I asked Extension weed scientist Joe Ikley about the significance of this study. He responded, “Knowledge is power. The results of this survey will reveal how widespread these resistant populations are across the state.”

Ikley also pointed out that the results of the tests will be sent individually to farmers, helping them better understand how to combat weed populations in their fields.

If you’d like to submit samples of pigweed or kochia for testing, please contact me at the Extension office (652-2581, [email protected]).