Navigating A Rainy Season Good decisions and good fortune will hopefully bring outstanding yields for South Georgia farmer Ryne Powers.
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t’s been a wet year in Baxley, Georgia, as it has in much of the Southern peanut belt. Not needing to spend the money on irrigation is a good thing. However, not being able to get into the field in a timely manner to spray fungicides for protection against disease is a recipe for disaster. For producer Ryne Powers, that is what he faced in 2021 but not the way it started. “We planted timely, and they came up really well. The first week or two conditions were good, and then we had a dry spell.” Powers says the Odum Powers Farm is a diversified operation with 1,700 acres of row crops and also chicken houses. “We have about 400 acres of peanuts, 700 acres of cotton, and the rest is in corn and beans.” Powers plants mostly Georgia O6Gs in twin rows, but he is also trying some of the Georgia 18RU variety. “We started planting peanuts in the first week of May and were done by about the 20th.” He says the peanuts were not stressed too badly during the dry spell and held up pretty well. “About the middle of June, it started raining and it hasn’t stopped yet.” A Rainy Year Powers says they were not only getting a lot of rain showers, but it would be significant rain events of a few inches. “In between these rains, it would stay cloudy for a couple days and then it would rain again.” It just happened to be the luck of the draw in his three-year rotation that peanuts were planted on the higher land this year. “That’s a definite benefit for yields. We can see the difference in the peanuts that are in lower areas.” In this rotation, he also didn’t have peanuts in any irrigated fields, which is OK since it wasn’t needed. Rocky Courson is the Nutrien Ag salesman in Powers’ area and also facility manager in Baxley. He says South Georgia is primarily flat land, but there are areas you would call higher and lower. “It has been a wet year in South Georgia. The higher dirt that drains well should yield pretty good. The low dirt probably will not do as well,” he says. Proactive With Protection Rain, although needed and welcome by producers, presents many challenges, one of which is maintaining a spray schedule for a successful disease management program. “We stay proactive with disease management,” Powers says. 14 /
THE PEANUT GROWER • NOVEMBER 2021
Ryne Powers, Odum Powers Farm Baxley, Georgia
• Has a diversified operation with 400 acres of peanuts, 700 acres of cotton, and the rest is in corn and beans, plus chicken house. • Started planting Georgia O6Gs on May 6. • Begins fungicide program at 40-45 days after planting. • May stretch sprays to three weeks but not with the rain this year. • Is happier with the protection and yield he has gotten from the more premium fungicides.
“We use Elatus and like what the product does for us. “This year, peanuts were up in price and, as much rain as we were getting, I felt we had a chance at getting a really good crop. I went with an extra trip of Elatus than I normally would. With prices where they are at, we decided it was an investment that would likely pay off.” Powers says they usually try to stretch sprays out three weeks with the more premium products. “This year, we stayed on a pretty tight schedule of 14 to 16 days because we were having so much wet weather. We didn’t want to get behind. We’ve had a little bit of leaf spot, but other than that we’ve been satisfied with our fungicide program this year.” Before Elatus was available, Powers says they were taking the approach that cheaper was better. “We were using strictly tebuconazole and Bravo. One year, it was wet like this one and we had too much disease. Rocky PEANUTGROWER.COM
