INFORMATION

• Join a crop club.
• Attend crop field days.
• Subscribe to one or more farm magazines.
• Talk to other producers.
• Talk with agricultural consultants
• Contact your local extension service office.
• Talk with your local conservation district or Natural Resources Conservation Service office. Shawnee Co. Conservation District, NRCS office

FERTILIZATION

• Soil test on a regular basis.
• Include legumes in your rotation. Legumes add nitrogen to the soil reducing the need for applied nitrogen.
• Feed the crop not the weeds. Band most of the nutrients 2" over and 2 " down from seed.
• When you apply a pop-up band of fertilizer in the seed row, use a 1:1 N/P ratio. Do not exceed total maximum recommended in the seed row application rates or seedling damage will occur.
• Build fertility at the 6" level in the soil, particularly P&K.
• Do not broadcast P&K. Too much gets tied up by the soil and is not available for plant use.
• When fertilizer is broadcasted it increases the chance that it is washed off the field during rain storms. With increased water monitoring this can be tracked back to YOUR field and YOU be held liable.
• The root mass contacts only 1% of the soil. Why fertilize all of the soil? Feed your crop, not the weeds.
• When you broadcast fertilizer you feed the weed as well as the crops.
• Once a field's general soil test level of P&K are at a medium to high level, P&K application rates may be reduced up to 20% if banded.
• Requires one ton lime to change soil acid level 0.2 to 0.3.
• If you let your general soil P&K levels drop, it requires 9# of P or 4# of K to raise test levels 1#.
• Requires 1.1# to 1.3 # applied nitrogen per bushel of corn. Maybe 1# in a corn/bean rotation.
• Animal manures can be a good source of nutrients. Work with your local agricultural specialist in determining nutrient content and recommended application rates.
• If manure is spread on no-till ground it must be spread evenly, no lumps. Generally, with the manure being left on top little nitrogen is left. The greatest value comes from the organic matter and the P&K in the manure.
• Once corn is 12" to 18" tall the plant has determined the nutrients available to it. Ear size is then set. Additional fertilizer added later will have little affect on yield in most cases. The point is, work with a current soil test. Be sure nutrients levels are adequate for the planned crop and yield level when it is planted. Split application of nitrogen is common in many regions. Be sure this is done on a timely basis.
• Top "Nine" Best Management Practices for Nutrient Management

CROP / CROP VARIETIES

• Use herbicide resistant varieties.
• Plant population should be keyed to the variety.
• In a field not protected with terraces starting with a wheat crop may be the best way to begin a no-till system of planting. Rainfall events are of less intensity in the fall. A wheat crop produces abundance residue. Soybeans can be doubled cropped into the stubble. The land is not left susceptible to erosion.

RESIDUE MANAGEMENT

• Spread straw and chaff entire combine width to reduce weed control problems.
• Crop residue has a value of 30$ to 150$ per acre. (Nutrients, forage, organic matter)
  No Tillers
  • Row cleaners clear a path so the planter can function like in a conventional tillage system. Residue is brushed aside, planting mechanism runs on a uniform surface, soil in seed zone warms more quickly. (Caution: Set the cleaners just to clear the residue. Set too deep can expose damp soil that can build up on planter parts.)

HERBICIDES / WEED CONTROL

• ***Always read and follow label directions***
• Crop rotation is very important.
  • Example: Corn/Beans, Milo/Beans, 2 Yr. Corn or Milo/Beans/Wheat
  • Breaks weed, insect and disease cycles.
  • Reduces or eliminates the need for herbicides in some years.
• Make sure the target weed is within the size range of control for the product.
• Rotate herbicide groups.
• Keep field edges clean.
• Know your weeds, scout your fields often and keep field records.
• Plant narrower rows.
• Spray your own crops.
• Be sure to give contact herbicides time to work before planting field (12-18 hours).
• Be ready to spray problem spots and only spray the problem areas not the entire field.
• Early pre-plant applications reduces herbicide rates, spreads workload.

SPRAYERS

• Use flat fan nozzles to reduce drift hazard.
• Use larger orifice size not more pressure to increase spray volume.
• Water volume critical. More is not always best.
• When using low water volumes a twin jet tip provides better leaf coverage.
• The faster you travel the larger the orifice.
• Flat fan tips. Instead of using 20" tip spacing and 80 degree nozzles, try 30" spacing and 110 degree nozzles. More forgiving, less test strips.
• You want 100% overlap spray coverage.
• Better to have too high of spray boom than too low.
• Spray boom will be about 34" to 36" above target (30" tip spacing).
• Twin jet nozzles used for contact herbicide application, if set properly, spray both front and back of weed.
• Except for the individual strainer for each nozzle, use only one main strainer past metering system to prevent misreads, not a strainer for each boom.
• Double plumb spray boom with a valve so you can go from flood tips to twin jet without having to change tips since these two types of nozzles normally are on two different spacings.
• If you are using foam markers and having trouble with the foam pieces falling through the foliage so you can not see your spacing try taking a rubber glove with fingers cut out and attach to foamer.
• Use 2# anti-drip caps instead of 10# to stop on/off problems.

PLANTERS / PLANTING