A weekly publication of University of Illinois Extension, Ford-Iroquois Unit, Prepared in part by Stu Ellis, former Extension specialist and Karen Moore, County Director, Ford-Iroquois Unit.

• Ford-Iroquois Ag Breakfast – May 7^th Mark your calendar and plan to attend the monthly Ford-Iroquois Ag Breakfast on Wednesday, May 7^th beginning promptly at 7 a.m. Cost per person for breakfast is $5 (please have exact change). Mike Hellmer, Technical Services Manager for Pioneer – a DuPont Co, will be the featured speaker with Pioneer serving as this month's sponsor. Mike's topic will be "Technology Pipeline." Pre-registration for breakfast is requested by calling the Extension Office at 815/268-4051 by noon on May 6^th.
• Price relationships have changed between corn and beans since the USDA intentions report, says marketing specialist Jim Hilker at Mich. St., and he says it favors corn now, but weather is still a threat for a reversal. He says producers need to keep more in corn than the USDA forecast, because the US will have less carryout at the end of the year.
• Hilker says make some forward contracts if you can to lock in prices for your 2008 corn. Recognizing the fact some elevators will not offer forward pricing, he says farmers may have to use the options market. He knows put options are expensive, but offer downside protection from deep drops. He also says selling a call option reduces the cost of the put.
• Regarding soybeans, Hilker says, "If you look at new crop soybean prices only being twice new crop corn prices, versus a more normal 2.3-2.5, even with the high fertilizer prices, that means higher returns to corn per acre for most producers." And he adds, "It is hard for me to explain soybean prices given the projected world stocks. Does the market know something we don't?" Read more: http://www.msu.edu/user/hilker/outlook.htm .
• Cowboys still have a long trail ahead of them when you consider the observations of Purdue economist Chris Hurt. He expects slaughter cattle prices to remain in the $90 range for the balance of the year, and doubts fundamentals can support the late 2008 futures prices that are above $100. Production was up 3% in the first quarter and is up 7% in April, a rise due to higher feedlot placements last fall when corn was cheaper.
• Chris's crystal ball says the beef herd is getting smaller, with cow and heifer slaughter rates up and an increased number of heifers in feedlots. He thinks the trend will continue because of poor returns. However, an easing of the drought in the southeast will make some producers re-think downsizing plans. But he says there is dryness in the west. Read his newsletter: http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/marketing/weekly/html/042108.html .
• Hog producers lost $39/hd on March hogs, the most since the $36 loses of June 2002, but not as much as the $68 losses in late 1998. Since the $47/hd profits of June 2006, hogs have recorded an $87/hd reversal in 21 months. Iowa State calculated the numbers and attributed the losses to rising feed costs and record high market volumes.
• What is the summer outlook? Iowa State livestock economists say, "April projections suggest a slight reduction in losses as the hog market enters the seasonally stronger summer market. However, feed inputs continue to become more expensive, suggesting more significant losses after the summer months when hog prices turn seasonally lower."
• Celebrate! 2008 will be the 17^th consecutive year of record pork exports. Glenn Grimes and Ron Plain at MO Extension say Feb. exports were 57% higher, helped by Canada being up 37%, Russia up 163%, China up 361%. 17% of US production was exported in February, explaining most of the larger live hog demand growth in recent months.
• Canadian economics. MO pork economists report hundreds of thousands of weanling pigs in Canada are being killed because there will not be a US market for them under terms of US Country of Origin Labeling. Intended US feeders are breaking contracts to buy the pigs, so they are being destroyed as a result of having too little value in Canada.
• You may not have any corn planted, but take solace in the view of IL Extension specialist Emerson Nafziger, who says, "Corn that has been planted early into cool soils has not benefited much from that up to now." He provides a launch day check list:
  1) Check your fields, there are a few spots you might say "It's drier than I thought."
  2) Your planter and other equipment should be in shape, but it probably already is.
  3) Tilling wet soil produces clods and a poor seedbed. Tillage will not help soil dry deep.
  4) When the soil is dry, planting is a higher priority than applying pre-plant fertilizer.
  5) You are probably not going to plant too fast to reduce yield from poor seed placement.
  6) It takes 110-120 GGD from planting to emergence, but that is not always uniform.
  7) Even by planting in early May, yield loss will only be 5-10 bu. compared to mid-April.
• Planning your Bt refuge should be a priority. Purdue researchers say, "Striping the refuge within the field better mixes the emerging beetle populations, potentially delaying insect resistance." And they say using your neighbor's field is not acceptable.
• Protecting your Bt refuge from attack by corn rootworm is another priority.
  1) New John Deere planters have eliminated granular insecticide boxes, but can be retrofitted for liquid soil insecticides, or SmartBox® systems that are light enough.
  2) Splitting the planter with Cruiser Rootworm or Poncho 1250 seed-applied insecticides is possible with row seed boxes, but may not be possible with bulk seed boxes.
  3) Low rates of the seed-applied insecticides do not control rootworms. Rootworm product efficacy should be considered depending on the anticipated risk to damage.
  4) Liquid soil insecticides and seed-applied insecticides frequently perform poorly under high rootworm pressure. Granular insecticides are preferred in fields under high pressure.
• Scout your corn fields intensely between May 12 and 20. You'll be seeing black cutworms, based on the recent captures of adults from the southern tip of Illinois to the Wisconsin border. Entomologists predicted the date range based on egg laying and hatch schedules. Also, armyworm adults have been trapped in the southern half of Illinois. Even though you may be focused on corn planting, take a moment to scout for damage.
• "The difference between killing weeds and managing weeds is $$$ at the end of the year," says Mike Owen at Iowa State. Despite the mad rush to plant, Owen says give serious consideration to applying a pre-emergent herbicide to provide early season and residual control in fields were weeds germinate first and have heavy populations.
• A delayed herbicide application with glyphosate can be effective, but Owen says timing is critically important, and if it is done too late, money is lost because crop yield is suppressed. And he says such a treatment is unlikely successful as a 1-pass treatment.
• Can you calculate Growing Degree Days? With the onset of the growing season, crop and insect development will depend on GDD's, and you'll need to know how to total them. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews/2008/issues/20080421.htm .
  1) Average the high temp and 50 F. then subtract 50 for the GGD total for that day.
  2) If the low is under 50 F., use 50, since no growth occurs under 50 F.
  3) If the low temperature is above 50 F., use that, but still subtract 50 F.
  4) Total the daily increments, as the Growing Degree Days accumulate during the year.
• Flea beetles should be on your checklist. After your corn is emerged, look for the black specks that not only resemble fleas, but spread Stewart's Wilt to susceptible varieties, including inbreds and sweet corn. Their prevalence is based on average winter temperatures, and anything above 30 F, could have moderate to severe disease problems.
• You've paid a lot of money for a herbicide pre-mix, but the label only gives one rate and you want the flexibility to adjust that rate. How do you calculate the rate? IL Extension weed specialist Aaron Hager has calculated the active ingredients for 38 corn herbicide premixes and 19 for beans. http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/bulletin/article.php?id=909 . He makes it easy, but it is also some good mental exercise for that math student at home.
• Are you reducing soybean production costs by cutting back on the seeding rate? MN agronomist Seth Naeve reminds that population does not create yield, but soybean stands must be large enough to intercept the maximum amount of light, and maximum yields require sufficient population to create more nodes for pod growth. "More plants allow more potential places for seed to set and mature. For this reason, the minimum plant stand at harvest to maximize yield is the critical number to strive for."
• If you are planting no-till beans will there be the required 7 days between your burndown application and the planting date? That is the concern of Ohio St. agronomist Mark Loux, who says the short time usually means the elimination of the 2,4-D ester combination with glyphosate. But he says it is too effective to pass up. He offers extensive advice on 2,4-D and no-till corn and beans at: http://corn.osu.edu/#A .
• The window for topdressing wheat may be closing within days, say agronomists in IN and OH, since the wheat crop may be further along than it would appear to be. Node inspection indicates the stage of growth, and they say failure to check may lead to poor timing of applications which can violate labels, give poor weed control, or injure crops.