Swine & U

Hail aside, sugar beet crop is looking good

By DICK HAGEN

The Land Staff Writer Emeritus “Every year has its new challenges, that’s almost a certainty. This year SMBSC growers are planting right at 120,500 acres. That’s approximately what we’ve had each of the last several years.”

That summary comes from Todd Geselius, Vice President of Agriculture at Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative. We met on July 17 — face masks in place. Todd Geselius

SMBSC knows precisely the processing capacity of their big Renville, Minn. plant: beet processing capacity per 24-hour time frame, 7 days a week. This plant doesn’t shut down once it cranks up — which Geselius predicts will be about Oct. 10 this year. Obviously, weather between now and then can temper these start-up dates. “Really, the only limiting factor is how many tons the factory

With the sugar beet crop looking good and pre-pile harvest underway, growers might want to consider planting a cover crop in their sugar beet fields.

Cover crops can make a big impact in several ways, even if pre-pile harvest acres represent only a small portion of the whole field.

First, headlands usually will have compacted soils in serious need of remediation. Headlands are a great location to incorporate a large-rooted brassica like radishes, rapeseed or turnips to loosen the soil. (Be careful to select a radish variety like Defender, Image, and Colonel which acts as a trap crop, not a host, for sugar beet cyst nematode.)

Second, early harvested strips planted to cover crops act as a windbreak over the winter slowing wind speeds and reducing soil erosion. In this case, including cereal rye, or another overwintering species in the cover crop mix will provide coverage until the following spring.

Growers can broadcast cover crop seed in pre-pile acres using a spinner-spreader or air seeder ahead of the defoliator, and the beet harvest process can effectively incorporate the seed. After pre-pile harvest, you can either broadcast with light incorporation for best germination, or drill the seed. Note that seeding rates are about 50 percent higher for broadcast, non-incorporated seed than for drilled, or incorporated seed.

Cereal rye is a great choice for cover crop beginners — alone, or as part of a mixture. If sugar beets are lifted before Sept. 1, you may wish to plant a mixture of a grass, brassica, broadleaf and/or legume to diversify. Diversifying can offer more carbon sources to build soil organic matter, a variety of root architec- can process each season,” he said.

So on July 17, what’s his assessment of the 2020 beet crop for SMBSC growers?

“Sugar beets are looking very good right now,” Geselius admitted. “Our first root samples taken last week were among the best we’ve ever seen this early in the season. And that’s very promising for the rest of the year.” Photo by Dick Hagen I mentioned that Rich Sigurdson at the Olivia airport was busy spraying beet fields to control circospora leaf blight. Is it because of heat and frequent rains that circospora is more intense this year?

Perhaps being a cautious agronomist, Geselius commented, “I wouldn’t say more intense. It’s about

Consider cover crops on beet ground

the same as past seasons. Our growers work dilitures to build soil structure, and can increase cover crop success, as different species thrive in different conditions. However, make note of any soil residual herbicides used on the field as some cover crops have occasionally shown sensitivity to the group 15 herbicides (e.g. Dual II Magnum) used in sugar beet cultivation.

Develop a plan for terminating over-wintered cover crops in 2021. Assess the cover crop and soil early in the season to determine what spring tillage, if any, may be needed to prepare the seed bed.

If your next crop is corn, plan to terminate cereal rye or other grasses at least 10 days before corn planting. A full rate of glyphosate is reliably effective.

In contrast, soybeans can usually tolerate a shorter window between cover crop termination and planting, and producers have been “planting green” into living grass cover crops. If “planting green,” be ready to terminate shortly after soybean planting. Follow the USDA’s cover crop termination guidelines to ensure compliance with crop insurance standards, which vary by region.

U of M Extension would be interested to see how cover crops on pre-pile acres establishes and overwinters. Extension would also like to see how it looks next spring compared to uncovered soil. Contact Anna Cates at U of M Extension at catesa@umn.edu to share your experiences or if you have questions.

This article was submitted by Anna Cates, State soil health specialist; Tom Peters, Extension sugarbeet specialist; Liz Stahl, Extension educator-crops; and Jodi DeJong-Hughes, Extension educator-water resources; University of Minnesota Extension. v gently to keep it under control and so far are doing a fantastic job. But it remains a threat the duration of our growing season. Warm, humid weather brings it on; and this late June, early July, those days were abundant. Good for enjoying our Minnesota lakes, but those days do create circospora issues in the field.”

And circospora isn’t quickly controlled. “It takes several applications during the course of the season to keep this blight under control. This year we pushed for earlier spraying because our crop got off to a quicker start. By starting early we can delay infections and slow down the progress of the disease,” said Geselius.

See SUGAR BEETS, pg. 14

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Safety on the swine farm should never be taken for granted

September is a busy and favorite time a wound which might need surgery. of year for all of us in agriculture. Harvest is near, there’s a lot to be done in crisp fall weather, and most farm fam ilies are working through repeated long days and short nights. Vaccines are the most common product animal handlers inject into themselves. In swine farrowing settings, hormone products used to induce labor in pigs carry a warning against exposure to or

September always includes National accidental injection by pregnant humans. Farm Safety and Health Week, and this If possible, in the pig barn, pregnant year it will be Sept. 20-26 with the employees should not handle hormones. theme, “Every Farmer Counts.” With that in mind, it’s a good time to review some of the most important safety issues facing swine producers. In addition to medical issues caused by rushed or thoughtless needle handling, mechanical problems can occur. Bent nee dles should never be straightened; and

Livestock farmers must address differSWINE & U used needles should be disposed of in ent types of farmer safety issues beyond those of the modern crop producer. When By Diane DeWitte proper sharps containers. Appropriate low-cost sharps containers are empty plasworking with swine, caretakers deal with an intellitic detergent or fabric softener bottles with the lid gent, gregarious being with a long memory. Calm screwed on tightly. Milk jugs are too flimsy for sharps treatment and regular positive interaction quickly containment and should not be used. When the establish the pigs’ good behavior habits. sharps container is full, it should be tightly capped, A 2006 12-week study showed that when a human walked through the pigs’ pens three times a week, 50 percent of the pigs showed reduced flight behavior in seven weeks. Only 20 percent of the pigs who had been walked through one time per week exhibsealed with heavy tape, and labeled that it contains sharps. Different counties have differing methods that they recommend for sharps disposal. A call to the county environmental services department can provide information for producers’ sharps disposal. ited reduced flight response in seven weeks. Swine University of Minnesota’s collaboration with the producers know that slowly walking pens regularly Upper Midwest Ag Safety and Health Center will help pigs become accustomed to positive inter(UMASH) has been at the forefront of the needleactions with people. stick injury issue by providing bilingual fact sheets Some stages of swine production produce different kinds of safety issues. and producing videos to help farmers teach their animal caretakers. Needlestick prevention posters and more are available to producers on the internet

Handling piglets during post-farrowing health at umash.umn.edu/needlestick-prevention. care can cause the sows to become agitated. If the pigs begin to squirm and make noise, the sow will respond to protect her young. Caretakers working with young pigs should keep a sorting panel close to block the sow from causing injury. A zoonotic disease is one which can pass from ani mal to human or vice versa. A common example in cattle and small ruminants is ringworm, the skin fungus which spreads easily. While ringworm in pigs is possible, it’s not much of an issue. More com

With the exception of young piglets and nursery mon is the chance of influenza spreading from carepigs, most of the animals on the hog farm outweigh takers to pigs or back. the caretaker. Steel-toed footwear is a must. In both Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) certification education for producers, the most highly recommended animal-handling implement is a solid sort ing panel. The panel ensures the safety of both caretaker and pig. The influenza viruses found in swine can infect humans, although it isn’t a common risk. However, human influenza viruses can infect pigs and can cause the outbreak of new viruses in the herd. Swine health professionals today lament that in many large herds, influenza is present on a regular basis. For this reason, producers vaccinate against swine

Although many swine operations today conduct influenza. Human caretakers must also get a seareproduction through artificial insemination, most sonal flu vaccination to reduce the chances of varistill have a few boars on the farm for heat detecant viruses forming and infecting the swine herd. tion. A large sexually mature male animal on the farm should be moved and handled with caution and protection. Again, the solid sorting panel is the tool of choice when moving boars. Additional influenza information for swine producers can be found on the U.S. Center for Disease Control website at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swineflu/ Farm safety statistics show that over 80 percent of farm workers and 73 percent of swine veterinarian have accidentally stuck themselves with a needle while giving injections to livestock. Most accidental needlestick injuries are minor; but secondary results could be skin infections, allergic reactions, or With crop growth on track for harvest in September, we will soon see plenty of semi-truck manure tankers on the road-side and tractors moving through the fields across our counties. As harvest progresses and the soil temperature decreases, pig farmers and commercial manure applicators will be working quickly to get hog manure applied and incorporated into the crop residue in the fields.

As drivers share the road with the large equipment needed to do this work, it’s important that attention is paid to what’s moving on the road and how fast. For drivers in farm country, this is also a time to be patient. The operator has limited speed capabilities and may not even know a driver is behind the equipment.

Back in the barn, the manure handler has to be extra careful when pumping the pits. Methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide is released as the stored manure is agitated and pumped. They are naturally-occurring gases, but they pose serious safety risks and can quickly overcome a human or a pig.

Producers should ensure hog buildings are fully ventilated when moving manure from the pits beneath. Use of the “STOP” tag on barn doors will alert everyone that manure is being pumped. These tags can be obtained by contacting the Minnesota Pork Board at (800) 537-7576 or U of M Extension swine educators Diane DeWitte at stouf002@umn. edu or Sarah Schieck at schi0466@umn.edu.

More information about safe manure handling can be found on the University of Minnesota Extension manure management website at www.extension. umn.edu/manure under the “safety” heading.

National Pork Checkoff reports that more than one million pigs are transported on U.S. roads daily. Our Minnesota contribution to that number is substantial, and the overwhelming majority get to their destination safely. Pig transport requires the driver to be alert and undistracted, to recognize his/her own symptoms of fatigue, and to know how to prevent or manage it.

In the event of a pig hauling incident on the road, the Minnesota Pork Board and Minnesota’s Region 5 Emergency Management put seven emergency response trailers in strategic fire departments. The trailers contain equipment for handling and containing animals at an accident site, including gates, chains, tarps and wire.

Currently the livestock emergency response trailers are housed with fire departments at Adams, Buffalo Lake, Fairmont, Granite Falls, Pipestone, Sleepy Eye and Worthington. In the event of a livestock-hauling accident, responders can contact the nearest livestock emergency response host fire department. Department personnel will deliver a trailer to the site and assist with roadside training to get the animals contained.

September is the time when we see more farm machinery traffic on the road and in the field, but safety is on farmers’ minds year-round. Knowing how to work safely with swine, machinery and other caretakers prevents loss or injury of humans and pigs!

Diane DeWitte is an Extension Educator specializing in swine for the University of Minnesota Extension. Her e-mail address is stouf002@umn.edu v