The race is on at the Latham plant. Three forklifts make quick work of this customer loadout.
The 2011 planting season got off to a slow start, but farmers have put seed in the ground at record pace over the past two weeks. Last week in Iowa, corn planting was 69% complete and soybean planting was 40% complete. From the reports we received from the country, most farmers are nearly finished with soybean planting as of the end of last week, so we’re anxiously awaiting this week’s USDA Crop Report to release this afternoon.
Corn "spiking" after ten days of being in the ground. Whirl is now visible.
It’s amazing what a few days with 80 degree temperatures and good moisture can do to new seeds being planted, says Peter Bixel, Latham’s Seed2Soil® program lead. Peter took this photo of a corn field that was planted 10 days ago. He also took this photo of a soybean from a field that was planted just four days ago in North Central Iowa.
This soybean seed was planted just four days agodeliver the last pallets of seed in time for customers to hit the ground “planting.”
Here at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds headquarters, the race is on to deliver the last pallets of seed in time for customers to hit the ground “planting.”
How is planting progressing in your neck of the woods?
Earlier this year, I wrote about one of my favorite agvocates, Debbie Lyons-Blythe. A Kansas cattle rancher and mother of five, Debbie grew up on her family’s Angus ranch. She has continued her passion and involvement in agriculture by caring for 500 cattle each day in the heart of the Flint Hills.
In an effort to share her passion and help educate consumers about modern agriculture and animal care, Debbie started a blog, Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch. Debbie says her ultimate goal in creating the blog was to connect with the individuals buying groceries and educate them about their food choices. She wanted to bridge the gap between the knowledge we often take for granted in rural America and the average consumers’ agriculture background and knowledge. Thus, she says, it seemed natural to start sharing some of her family’s favorite recipes with blog readers.
We were lucky enough to receive just such a recipe from Debbie in honor of National Beef Month. I must admit that I was thrilled to see that this recipe involves steak, grilling and butter! Not only that, it’s an award-winning recipe. Debbie’s children made this recipe for the CAB Beef Cook Off last year, and won the senior steak division.
Give the Blythe’s recipe a try and let us know what you think! For more of her delicious recipes, visit Debbie’s blog.
Many Midwest farmers will wrap up the 2011 planting season this week, but there won’t be much rest for the weary. As soon as seed is in the ground, it’s a good idea to start scouting fields.
Post-planting is an ideal time to begin scouting one’s crops. Many soilborne pathogens strike as soon as the seed begins to take on water; others strike young seedlings. Because seeds can germinate quickly and emerge in 3 – 5 days, it’s not too soon to start walking your fields.
Check plant populations, evaluate stands and be on the lookout for early summer diseases. Is there a germination problem? Do you see effects of chilling or crusting?
Assessing your situation ASAP will allow you to formulate a plan while there’s still plenty of time to implement it. You could replant in parts or in all of a field now, so you can attain the yields and returns you want this fall. Information on corn replanting decisions is available from www.agronext.iastate.edu/corn. Click on the “Planting” topic, then click on the “Replant Decision Aid Calculator” tab and use that tool and related information to help make a replant decision. For a resource on soybean replanting decisions, go to www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/pm1851.pdf.
Another benefit of evaluating current stands is to help you determine what adjustments should be made before planting next year’s crop: Do you need to adjust your planter settings or your planting speed?
Once you get past the mechanical issues, look at the disease pressure. If soybeans are damping off, perhaps next season you should opt for seed-applied fungicides? Do you need to pay closer attention to a particular soybean brand or corn hybrid’s disease rating? Seed selection is one of the most important decisions affecting yield. Click here for tips on selecting soybean brands and selecting corn hybrids.
What a difference one week makes! A weekly survey shows 69% of Iowa’s 2011 corn crop was planted as of May 8 compared to only 8% on May 1.
Yesterday, while being interviewed as part of Latham’s Crop Tour, Latham® dealer Mike Aldinger said he finally started planting his corn on Monday, May 2. He finished planting the last of his corn acres Monday, May 9, on his farm near Iowa Falls, Iowa, in the North Central part of this state.
Without delay, Mike started planting his 2011 soybean crop. Going straight from planting corn to soybeans appears to be the trend this season, but it has caused many farmers to question whether it’s the right thing to do. Optimal soil temperatures for soybean germination and growth is a minimum of 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit, and soil temperatures statewide are averaging well above that this week.
“Last year many soybeans were planted in mid-to-late April in absolutely perfect soil and weather conditions. Then cold, rainy conditions followed,” John Holmes, Iowa State University Extension crop specialist at Clarion in north central Iowa, was quoted in yesterday’s Wallaces Farmer article.
That’s why it’s important for farmers to take a look not only at current weather conditions but also at the short-term forecast. If the seedbed is suitable, we’re encouraging our customers to start planting soybeans without delay.
Soil temperatures have climbed an average of 1 degree daily for the past three days in a row in Franklin County, Iowa. And, soil temperatures should only continue to climb thanks to 90-degree temps yesterday and highs in the 80s and 70s forecast for the next two days. The five-day forecast calls for temperatures to cool slightly and for rain to set in late this week, so it appears there is a window of opportunity to plant soybeans now. Why not take it?
As the leading soybean-producing state in the nation, it’s hard not to argue that Iowa should also be the top biodiesel-producing state. Last week, the Iowa Legislature passed a biodiesel bill that would help it stand shoulder-to-shoulder with neighbors Illinois and Minnesota. This is a good thing for the state’s job market, energy security, and environment.
The bill, Senate File 531, does three things to promote the growth of Iowa biodiesel:
Extends a tax credit to encourage retailers to make biodiesel available at the pump;
Provides a production incentive for the state’s biodiesel producers; and
Helps pay for the infrastructure needed to move biodiesel in the state and beyond.
This legislation, if signed by Governor Branstad, will make biodiesel more available and increase sales. In turn, this would make Iowa more energy independent while putting Iowa biodiesel producers back to work and supporting thousands of direct and indirect jobs in our state.
This comes just in time for keeping Iowa in the foreground of the renewable energy landscape. There is a federal renewable fuels standard now that is expected to create demand for 800 million gallons of biodiesel nationally. It’s widely believed that those states with the strongest biodiesel policies will be the states where that demand is mostly met. Iowa is now poised to capture a large share of that market.
Biodiesel is America’s only commercially available, advanced biofuel. It’s about time our state policies encouraged its growth. This is a locally grown and produced fuel – if we don’t make the change ourselves, who will?
Iowa will be front and center today as Des Moines is hosting the National 140 Character Conference. This conference is so named to reflect the number of characters (i.e. numbers, letters and spaces) that a person has to Tweet, or to communicate a message via Twitter.com.
Yours truly will be presenting at 10 a.m. If you aren’t able to join us for the event in the Stoner Theatre, you can join us online. All presentations will be streamed from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
When Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds began blogging in 2008, many people questioned why we would devote marketing funds to communication tools that none of our current customers were using. (SIDE BAR: Remember the fax machine? Despite little initial demand, it became main stream in the 1980s. What about the automobile… why drive a Ford Model T when you could take a horse and buggy?)
Just as the fax machine helped us transmit exact copies of documents faster than standard mail and the automobile allowed us to travel greater distances in less time, new communications technology (a.k.a. “now technology”) allows us to have more frequent conversations in a more cost-effective way.
Our blog, TheFieldPosition.com, allows us to communicate agronomic information and publicize events in a more timely manner than traditional newsletters and invitations. Twitter and Facebook help us promote what we’re covering on the blog, plus they allow us to share what we’re seeing and doing in real time. In addition, our Facebook and Twitter accounts have connected us to many like-minded individuals who share our passion for “feeding and fueling world.” These communications allow us to talk daily – sometimes several times a day – with our customers and friends.
If you’re already comfortable with blogging or posting messages on Twitter and Facebook, you’re probably nodding your head in agreement as you read this article. If you’re not using “now technology,” give it a try today.
You’ll never know what you’re missing unless you try it! We hope you’ll follow us on Twitter @LathamSeeds, befriend us on Facebook and/or visit us at TheFieldPosition.com. C U online soon! 🙂
Throwing a party for your mom and her friends tops the list of “How to Celebrate Mother’s Day.” That’s all well and good for older children, but it might not be so practical for an 8- or 9-year-old child – unless you’re a Brownie Girl Scout!
Tomorrow our Brownie troop – 19 members strong – is hosting a Fancy Nancy Tea Party. We’ll be breaking out the boas and bringing the bling. “Pink” will be the theme of the day because Nancy wouldn’t want it any other way!
Fancy Nancy is a fictional character in the best-selling books by Jane O’Connor. Nancy loves everything fancy, from clothing and accessories to activities and words. (Yes, she’s a girl after my own heart! Nothing makes me smile like a fun pair of shoes, and I’ve always loved using fancy words – even before fancy words were cool.)
To keep with our theme, we’ll be serving a menu of fancy foods including:
Pink mints – thanks to Laura Cunningham for sharing her grandma’s recipe;
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes – thanks to Leslie Maynes for sharing the recipe below;
PB&J, using a Pampered Chef® Cut-N-Seal® to make them fancy, too!
While our Brownies are busy in the kitchen with food preparation, their mothers will be treated to manicures. We’ll also show a PowerPoint presentation that highlights our troop’s activities throughout the year. In addition, each girl will have the opportunity to have a “party pic” taken with her mother.
Tomorrow’s tea is sure to be Très Magnifique! How will you make your Mother’s Day extra fancy?
Special thanks to all of the special ladies below, who are helping make our Fancy Nancy party extra special:
Michelle Carlson Hartman, Michelle’s Country Cookin’;
Cathy Carlson, Cathy’s Country Cookin’;
Lori Sanders, Forever Yours Flowers & Gifts;
Sharon Sanders & April Sanders, Sanders Photography; and
fellow Brownie leaders, Beth Strike and Tracy Dirksen.
Line muffin pan with liners. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full).
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.
Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes.
Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.
Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).
Lemonade Buttercream:
Ingredients:
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Red food coloring
Directions:
Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined.
Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink.
Certainly this year is starting out to favor the Pythium species that are more prevalent in cool, wet soils. While Pythium and Fusarium are usually limited to damaging the early seedling stage of development, Phytophthora can be a season-long problem. I have also noticed that Rhizoctonia can linger in the soils and cause damage at a later time.
Pathogens can start infecting the seed as soon as it begins to take in water, which is the very first step in the process toward germination and emergence. It doesn’t, however, stop there. As that seed continues to absorb water, swell and develop a hypocotyl, pathogens can attack and destroy the seedling even after emergence.
The good news is these four particular soybean pathogens can be managed very well by using seed-applied fungicides like Latham’s SoyShield. Note that Dr. Robertson references using a combination of active ingredients, which is exactly what SoyShield is – and it was specifically designed with that in mind.
Benefits of seed treatments far outweigh the costs. In a wet, cool planting season like this, fungicide-treated seed is a must to prevent damping off from Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Phytopthora and Fusarium.
What a difference a week can make! Iowa farmers can plant slightly more than 20 percent of our state’s corn acres in one good week, according to ISU Extension Corn Specialist Roger Elmore. This figure is based on the five-year average, which includes one of the fastest planting seasons on record, 2010, and also one of the slowest on record, 2008.
Only 3% of Iowa’s corn acreage had been planted compared with 61% at this time last year, according to the April 25 crop report by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. In this week’s crop report, however, reportedly 8% of the state’s corn acres have been planted.
Lots of seed went in the ground over the weekend, thanks to a few dry days with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Even better news… soil temperatures statewide are averaging 52 degrees and the short-term forecast calls for a few more dry days with rainfall forecast for the week’s end.
Even if rainfall delays planting later this week, Elmore says there’s still plenty of time to plant corn without significant yield losses. There is no need now to switch hybrid maturities for May planting. Adapted hybrids adjust to later planting by shortening the time necessary to reach silking. To view Elmore’s research on the effect of planting date on days to maturing (R6), click here.
It’s not only planting season for Latham® seed customers Ron and Trudy McGrain. It’s also calving season for this Mapleton, Iowa, couple. Their first calf of the 2011 season was born March 24, and they’ll have 95 cow-calf pairs on pasture this summer.
The McGrain’s raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa on their scenic farmstead nestled in the Loess Hills. During my recent visit, there were 57 black Angus-Limousin calves dotting the hillside like wildflowers in the prairie.
Calf at the McGrain’s Farm
“It’s so much fun to watch those calves kick up their heels and run around the pasture,” says Trudy with a smile on her face. “Ron keeps an eye on all of them. He pays close attention to the cows that are ready to calve and makes sure the newborn calves nurse as soon as possible.”
As any good cattleman can tell you, it’s important to make sure newborn calves nurse as soon as possible. It’s also important for calves to be born in a relatively clean environment. Although the wet, cold weather conditions haven’t been ideal for calving this spring, the McGrains cattle herd is doing well. They have a 100% calving rate, and overall their herd health is very good.
Helping maintain good herd health is extremely important to Trudy, who is a registered nurse a former home healthcare provider. She grew up on a farm in nearby Oto and has been even more actively engaged in farming since she married Ron in 1979. She helps Ron catch the newborn calves, give them vaccinations and tag them. The two of them also take turns going out to the cattle yard to check on the herd during the calving season. During the summer months, she helps haul bales of hay – that is, when their daughters aren’t home because they love to help haul bales.
The McGrains are the proud parents of four grown daughters: Nicole, age 29, is married to Sean; Angie, age 28, is married to Greg, who’s serving in Afghanistan; Jennifer, age 26, who is married to Ben; and Kristina, 24. They’re also the proud of their three-year-old granddaughter, Chloe.
“Our girls love to come home,” says Trudy. “They experience a freedom here they don’t have in the cities where they live. They even think the food tastes better here!”
When their daughters comes home, they’re sure to request beef for dinner. Grilled steaks are the favorite, but hamburgers run a close second. And with Trudy’s recipe for “Scrumptious Hamburgers,” I can see why! I’m looking forward to giving that one a try. Trudy also shared a recipe Prime Rib Roast in a crock pot; I’ve already tried that one and would count it among my favorite recipes, too.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy beef? We’ll be celebrating May Beef Month for the next four Fridays, you’re invited to share recipes for your family’s favorite beef entrees.
Prime Rib Roast
Ingredients:
3- to 4-lb. roast (I use sirloin tip)
1, 14.5-oz. can beef broth
1 package of Good Seasons® Italian Seasoning
1 package of Au Jus mix
Directions:
Put small amount of water in crock pot and then set roast in the pot.
Place sliced onion over the roast. Combine the broth with the Italian seasoning and Au Jus.
