PALMER AMARANTH IS AN AGGRESSIVE THREAT TO SD FIELDS By South Dakota Soil Health Coalition on’t ignore the threat of Palmer amaranth. If there’s one message Dan Forgey hopes to convey to South Dakota farmers and ranchers, it is the fact that this aggressive weed could take up residence in their fields in 2020 if they don’t take the threat seriously. “Producers can’t brush this off,” says Forgey, farm manager of Cronin Farms, in Gettysburg and South Dakota Soil Health Coalition (SDSHC) board member. Forgey speaks from experience. In 2018, the weed was discovered on Cronin Farms, in an 80-acre field of white wonder foxtail millet. The Palmer amaranth found its way into the field, stowed away in the millet seed. Its discovery voided the $42,500 seed contract. Forgey and his employer opted to hay the millet and burn the bales at a cost of $3,500.
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“It’s our belief on this farm, that we won’t give someone else our problem,” Forgey explains. What makes this weed so bad? Its competitive nature. “It can outgrow row crops if given the right environment,” says Gared Shaffer, SDSU Extension Weeds Field Specialist. Carrying up to 1 million seeds per plant, if conditions are right, Palmer amaranth can emerge within five days, growing to heights of 10 feet, with a stalk 4-inches in diameter. “It gets as tall as a Christmas tree and spreads like wildfire,” Forgey says. Our climate no longer protects us from this weed. Originally found in southern states, over time, Palmer amaranth has been introduced to northern climates. It has been found in North Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Like many weeds these days, Palmer amaranth can also be resistant to many herbicides including glyphosate. Palmer is in many S.D. counties Within the last five years Palmer amaranth went from being positively
identified in one South Dakota county to, by the end of 2019, the weed had been found in 11 counties, mainly along the Missouri River. Due to the number of prevent plant acres, if proper control measures were not employed, Schaffer says the number of Palmer sightings could increase in 2020. Lowry farmers, Jeff and Dixie Beitelspacher agree. In 2019, they found Palmer amaranth growing in two prevent plant fields of millet. After the discovery, they were determined to find its source and eliminate the risk of spread. The third-generation farmers walked their fields, hand rogueing Palmer. They spent many hours tracking down the source, eventually learning the seed originated in Kansas. “This is a serious thing,” says Dixie, noting that in 2020 they plan on spending hundreds on additional herbicide to clean up the fields. Although the seed grower offered to buy the bales of Palmer-infested millet, Beitelspacher’s would have had
to sign a release agreement, releasing the grower, dealer and company from any liability. They would be expected to keep everything confidential. “We gave up the $23,000 and burned the bales because we didn’t want to sell the hay as feed and infect someone else’s land,” Jeff explains. “And we feel it is important to get the word out,” Dixie adds. “We want to tell our story so that this won’t happen to others.” So, what can South Dakota farmers and ranchers do to protect their acres from Palmer amaranth? Although Palmer amaranth is new to South Dakota, Shaffer reminds producers, that for the most part, tactics for prevention are not. “The only difference with Palmer amaranth is that in some crops it is emerging later than the other weeds we typically spray for. If you don’t use a post applied herbicide in June, you may not catch it in some cases,” Shaffer explains.
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