IFB Marketers to Washington got the scoop on the latest crop report during a USDA lockup. page 3
Herbicide rotation urged to avoid weed resistance Monday, August 18, 2014
BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
Farmers need to rotate herbicides or they may face resistant weeds that cause weed scientists “to rewrite the text books,” University of Illinois weed scientist Aaron Hager warned last week. Hager reported on increased herbicide resistance during the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences’ Agronomy Day on the university’s crop research farm, Urbana. “Our largest concern is not just (weed) resistance to one class of herbicides, but multiple FarmWeekNow.com classes (of For additional information herbicides). from U of I Agronomy Day, go to FarmWeekNow.com. That’s where we see this heading,” Hager said. He pointed to a chart outlining increased cases of resistant weeds and weeds with multiple herbicide resistance. Starting in 1995, resistance has continued spreading. In 2010, Illinois
Soybean aphid resistance and other crop issues received attention at U of I Agronomy Day. page 9
Farmers provide input for WRRDA implementation to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. page 8
was home to two waterhemp populations resistant to four classes of herbicides. This year, Missouri researchers found five types of herbicide resistance in fields in that state, Hager said. Adding to Hager’s concern is a lack of new herbicide ingredients on the horizon. The last new class of chemistry being used in Illinois was discovered in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, he added. Hager encouraged farmers to rotate herbicides based on their site of action. “We need multiple control tactics each year,” he said. Farmers may find new color-coded information to help them select different herbicides based on site of action. Visit Take Action Against HerbicideResistant Weeds at {takeactionon weeds.com}. The information was developed by Extension weed scientists, industry collaborators and the United Soybean Board. “Weeds are evolving faster than the technology is,” Hager said.
Two sections Volume 42, No. 33
IFB PRIORITY BILL SIGNED
Illinois Farm Bureau President Rich Guebert Jr., center, explains the importance of farm truck legislation Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law last week on Ag Day at the Illinois State Fair, Springfield. The legislation, an IFB legislative priority, dovetails state transportation rules with federal ones by allowing farmers with pickups and dually trucks to have their vehicles identified as covered farm vehicles. The rules take effect Jan. 1. See more state fair coverage on pages 4-5. (Photo by Kay Shipman)
More information about farm bill signup expected this fall BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
Periodicals: Time Valued
Farmers should get more information to help make decisions on sign-up for key farm bill programs by this fall.
Karis Gutter, deputy undersecretary for USDA’s Farm & Foreign Agricultural Services, discussed the timeline for farm bill implementation last week with participants of Illinois Farm Bureau’s MarKaris Gutter keters to Washington trip. “I think you’ll have adequate time for sign-up,” Gutter told IFB members. “We’ll make sure to roll out the information to provide enough time so you can educate yourselves (about the new programs).” Some IFB members expressed frustration with the fact that Farm Service Agency (FSA) employees aren’t able to discuss details yet about safety net options, Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural
Risk Coverage (ARC), offered in the 2014 farm bill. Gutter said FSA employees should be trained on the details about PLC and ARC next month and should be able to discuss the programs shortly thereafter. “We can’t start talking about the programs until the rules are published,” Gutter said. “We hope to have (the new safety net program) up and running by the end of the year to cover the 2015 crop year.” The first phase of farm bill implementation was the launch of livestock disaster assistance, which already dispersed more than $2 billion to livestock farmers. The next program to be rolled out will be a marketing protection program for dairy producers. Gutter anticipates a new dairy program will be ready by Oct. 1 to replace the Milk Income Loss Con-
More inside
Additional coverage of the 2014 Illinois Farm Bureau’s Marketers to Washington Trip on page 3
tract program, which expires Sept. 30. Next year, USDA will focus on changes to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The new farm bill reduces the maximum number of CRP acres nationwide from 32 million to 24 million. “We’re excited about what’s in the tool kit,” Gutter said. “The hard part is rolling it out. We’ve got a limited amount of time if we’re going to make the resources available, so we’re pressing hard.” USDA staff declined by 20 percent since 2009 due to budget cuts.