Weed Management
CornSouth ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC
Southern Production & Marketing Strategies
A Supplement to Cotton Farming and The Peanut Grower Magazines
March 2022
CornSouth Farming Is Not For The Faint Of Heart Perdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture conducts a monthly survey on farmer sentiment called the Ag Economy Barometer. The most recent poll is rife with producer concerns going into the season. “Rising farm input costs and ongoing supply chain disruptions appear to be contributing to producers’ weaker perception of current conditions and expectations of their farm’s financial performance in 2022 when Amanda Huber compared to last year,” says James Mintert, Editor principal investigator and center director. The index is based on producers’ responses to whether they expect their farm’s current financial performance to be better than, worse than or about the same as the previous year. In January, 52% of respondents said they plan to reduce farm machinery purchases in the upcoming year. Supply chain issues continue to hamper farmers’ investment plans as, for the third month in a row, over 40% of producers reported that low farm machinery inventories were holding back their purchase plans. According to the survey, farm construction plans were also weaker this month as 66% of respondents reported reducing their construction plans in the year ahead versus last year. Supply chain concerns extend beyond farm machinery and farm building/grain bin construction plans. Disruptions in the supply chain for many farm inputs, coupled with strong demand, are pushing production costs higher. Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents in January said they expect farm input prices to rise by 20% or more in 2022, and 34% of producers said they expect prices to rise by 30% or more. Disruptions extend not just to pricing, but also to input availability. In January, 28% of producers said they have had difficulty purchasing inputs for the 2022 crop season. In a follow-up question, respondents reported difficulty in purchasing a broad spectrum of crop inputs including herbicides, insecticides, fertilizer and farm machinery parts. Producers said they intend to use the same nitrogen application rate in 2022 as in 2021, nearly four out of 10 (37%) said they intend to reduce their nitrogen application rate compared with last year. The bright point in this gray horizon is that crop prices for corn, cotton and other grains remain strong. Mark Welch, Texas A&M ag economist says the wheat market is experiencing volatility because the Ukraine is a significant producer. Other markets, including corn and soybeans, are also watching South America where drought is putting upward pressure on price. Read more from Dr. Welch in the article “Market Concerns” adjacent to this column. No one ever said farming was easy, at least no one who knew what they were talking about. But the producers I know are resilient. Hopefully, the January survey will be lowest this year and sentiment will rise as problems are resolved.
Market Factors
C
Cost Concerns
ommodity crop prices remain strong as weather and geopolitical concerns add volatility to markets. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension grain economist March Welch says drought conditions in both hemispheres are raising questions about global crop yields while troops amass in a region that supplies one-third of the world’s wheat. “We’re seeing competitive prices among all commodities, and there are a lot of questions surrounding various crops here and across the world,” Welch says. “These questions will likely play a role in planting decisions. Costs are up as well, but commodity crop prices are still good relative to those increases.” Welch says planted acres of wheat across the Southern High Plains, including much of Texas and Oklahoma, were in “rough shape” due to drought. There have been reports of emerged wheat fields being lost to dry conditions. But there is still time for dryland wheat to recover and make a crop. Growing conditions are better in Kansas, the nation’s No. 1 wheat-growing state. Areas do need rain, but fields there also have more time to receive and respond to better weather. Farmer Options Welch says the wheat market has been volatile recently due to tensions in Ukraine and Russia. The two nations account for 30% of global wheat exports, and conflict would disrupt trade and affect prices. “It is important to recognize that high wheat prices are a signal to producers around the world to plant more, but crops depend on the weather and whether crops can grow in certain areas and balancing acres with other needs,” he says. Grain marketers, especially corn and soybeans, are also watching production in South America, where drought is a concern and causing upward price trends. The demand for domestic corn is up due to feed and fuel. Export demand for domestic corn has been high of late, with Mexico, the No. 1 buyer of U.S. corn, ramping up purchases and China continuing to buy as well. Maximize Efficiencies Cotton and sorghum are also demanding high prices, which means farmers can expect to have options based on their budgets, rotation schedules, and soil moisture and rainfall expectations, Welch says. Sorghum, for instance, is more drought hardy than corn and generally costs less per acre to produce. But because of high input costs, Welch says 2022 is a year to maximize efficiencies for every dollar spent. “The risk management challenge is around marketing this year,” he says. “We know the high input prices are here and likely sticking around by planting time, but we want to make sure we don’t let the opportunity for high prices at harvest slip away.” Article provided by Texas A&M AgriLife.
Corn South: Covering Southern Corn Production Corn South is a supplement to the Mid-South and Southeast versions of Cotton Farming magazine and to The Peanut Grower magazine for producers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
Cover photo by Laura McKenzie, Texas A&M AgriLife
2
CORN SOUTH
|
MARCH 2022
Visit www.CornSouth.com and fill out the E-News Sign-up to have exclusive content delivered to directly your inbox. CORNSOUTH.COM
Weed Management
Supply And Cost: Two Challenges To Overcome
A
t a winter production meeting in Hazen, Arkansas, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Extension weed specialist Tommy Butts had one message, “This is a year to survive.” Weeds have long been a challenge in row crop agriculture, threatening everything from degraded crop quality to significant loss of yield. And while herbicide technology has improved over the decades, the tendency of weeds to develop resistance has gradually imperiled that technology’s effectiveness. In 2022, growers will also face a disrupted supply chain and a throttled availability of many of the herbicide technologies they’ve come to rely on. Issues affecting supply include production facility destruction from natural disasters, shipping problems and labor shortages caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a plastics shortage and China’s move to reduce air pollution ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Because of this, growers face both limited availability and skyrocketing prices for herbicides and more. Avoid These Bad Decisions Butts says the situation may lead growers to make one of two bad decisions. “I have two primary concerns for this year,” he says. “One is the high prices of some of our primary herbicides, like glyphosate and glufosinate. Those two are potentially in short supply, as well as atrazine for corn TWITTER: @CORN_SOUTH
and some others. “One of two things is going to happen. Either you are going to have to spend through the roof to get good weed control and just be unprofitable for the year, or, in the second scenario, you are going to cut back.” Butts warns that if cutting back is the choice, then more than likely, you are going to have weed escapes. While it may or may not directly affect your yield this year, growers are replenishing the weed seed bank, setting up future problems. Prices On The Rise Like fertilizer, which has risen 200-300% over the last year, herbicides such as glyphosate and glufosinate have also risen as much as 300%, costing $53 and $120 a gallon, respectively. Scott Stiles, Extension economist for the Division of Agriculture, says herbicide prices are among the many input costs growers will grapple with this year. “Diesel prices have moved sharply higher since Dec. 1,” Stiles says. “Diesel is up 75 cents a gallon over the past two months and is at the highest levels since September 2014. Farm diesel prices are around $3.05 to $3.10 a gallon today — compared to $2.60 a gallon we used in the crop budgets back in November. That level of increase has added $20 an acre to our rice variable costs, $10 an acre to soybeans and $11 to $13 an acre for corn and cotton, depending on irrigation method.”
Enlist Labeling Enlist herbicides [Enlist One (2,4-D choline) and Enlist Duo (2,4-D choline + glyphosate)] were recently granted amended seven-year registrations for over-the-top applications on Enlist corn, cotton and soybean. However, numerous counties have prohibited the use of the product. Additionally, growers should be aware of new labeling guidelines to reduce impacts of off-target movement. Contact your Extension agent for information on the use of Enlist in your area.
MARCH 2022 | CORN SOUTH
3
Weed Management
Herbicide Alternatives
U
niversity of Georgia Extension weed specialist Eric Prostko offers the following information on alternatives to glyphosate in 2022. “Growers who are having trouble finding glyphosate and/or don’t like the price, might have a better chance of getting it in a pre-mix formulation,” Prostko says. Glyphosate pre-mixtures for use on field corn include Acuron GT, Enlist Duo, Halex GT and Sequence. It should be noted that Enlist Duo can be applied preplant to any field corn hybrid but can only be applied postemergence on Enlist field corn hybrids. Prostko says, “Roundup-Ready field corn was first commercialized in 1998. Prior to that time, field corn growers were managing weeds in-crop without glyphosate. It might not have always been easy or perfect, but it was good enough to make top yields. Since that time, there have been other herbicides developed for use in field corn.” Herbicides that have been tested by the University of Georgia and will provide acceptable weed control when applied at the V3-V5 growth stage are shown in the chart. Prostko says these herbicides will need to be
Some Give And Take Stiles says there is some “give and take” in other input costs, hinting at a ray of sunshine. “Some fertilizer prices have weakened in the past month,” he says. “Although, potash prices have remained fairly flat in recent weeks.” Stiles says prices for urea and di-ammonium phosphate coming through the Port of New Orleans have fallen about 28% and 5%, respectively, since mid-November. “Changes in Gulf prices doesn’t always translate to the local retail level, but we hear from growers that urea is now being offered at prices below the highs seen in late 2021,” he says. “It’s encouraging to see, but too early to say if it’s the start of a continual trend lower. Historically, we see a firmer price trend in all fertilizer prices from January to March. An extended price decline will generally start sometime in April and extend into late summer.” Putting A Game Plan Together If popular herbicides prove too expensive or too difficult to acquire, Butts says growers should fall back on the basics of good crop management. “Weed control is going to take specific, precise management this year. Do the little things, which will add up at the end of the year. “Some of those things include prioritizing
4
CORN SOUTH
|
MARCH 2022
Field Corn Herbicides Other Than Roundup or Liberty Trade Name Accent Q
Common Name(s)
Manufacturer
Counter (INFR)
nicosulfuron
Corteva
N
Acuron
mesotrione + bicyclopyrone + s-metolachlor + atrazine
Syngenta
N
Callisto
mesotrione
Syngenta
N
Capreno
tembotrione + thiencarbazone
Bayer
N
dicamba
BASF
Y
topramezone
AMVAC/BASF
Y
topramezone + atrazine
AMVAC
Y
Clarity Impact/Armezon Impact Z Laudis Revulin Q Shieldex Status Steadfast Q 2,4-D amine (not ester)
tembotrione
Bayer
Y
mesotrione + nicosulfuron
Corteva
N
tolpyralate
SummitAgro USA
Y
dicamba + diflufenzopyr
BASF
Y
nicosulfuron + rimsulfuron
Corteva
N
2,4-D amine (not ester)
Many
Y
tank-mixed with atrazine. Growers can choose not to use glyphosate, but they should anticipate slightly less overall grass weed control. Herbicides that can be
used for residual grass control in field corn include Anthem Maxx, Dual Magnum, Outlook, Prowl (postemergence only), Warrant and Zidua. CS
Control Weeds With Narrow Rows Corn is a very competitive crop, and when it’s planted on narrow-row spacings, 30 inches or even down to 20 inches, canopy closure will be achieved earlier in the season. This will shade out the row middles sooner, which aids in weed control. In addition to corn’s competitive nature, growers can also use herbicide chemistries not typically used in cotton, peanuts or soybeans. Herbicide products including atrazine and HPPD inhibitors, such as mesotrione, have activity on a broad spectrum of weeds and offer some flexibility for pre or post-emergence applications. One thing to be cognizant of is the over-reliance on Group 15 chemistries, such as S-metolachor. These products are used extensively in soybeans so it’s important to preserve their efficacy by tank-mixing other modes of action when possible. For a sound weed control program: 1) Start clean with a burndown or spring tillage. 2) Stay clean with pre and post-emergence applications utilizing atrazine and HPPD inhibitors. 3) Keep clean by rotating modes of action, using tank mixes and overlapping residuals to help combat herbicide resistance. CS Information provided by the North Carolina Corn Growers Association. burndown to make sure you start clean so there no weeds already growing at planting and when the crop is trying to emerge,” he says. “Use pre-emergence residual herbicides, because we haven’t seen as big an issue there with supply and prices haven’t gone through the roof to the same degree.”
By overlapping residuals, Butts says producers can get more consistent weed control. “It’s always easier to kill weeds before they emerge.” CS Portions of the article by Ryan McGeeney, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture CORNSOUTH.COM