in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date May 5, 2002 Issue IN-CW1802 Agricultural Summary Field conditions remained too wet during most of the week. Fieldwork was mostly limited to those fields of lighter type and well drained soils. By mid-week, some farmers were back in their fields, but the best progress was made during the weekend. Corn planting is two weeks behind last year's record pace, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. There were only about 6 days suitable during the month of April for field activities. Temperatures remained cool during most of the week. Weeds are becoming a problem in some fields. Ponds remain in many low lying areas of fields around the state. Field Crops Report There were 1.1 days suitable for fieldwork. Ten percent of the corn acreage is planted compared with 83 percent last year and 49 percent for the 5-year average. By area, 14 percent of the corn acreage is planted in the north, 9 percent in the central regions and 3 percent in the south. One percent of the corn acreage has emerged compared with 27 percent a year earlier. Two percent of the intended soybean acreage is planted compared with 46 percent a year ago and 21 percent for the average. Other activities during the week were preparing equipment, applying fertilizer and anhydrous ammonia, tilling soils, moving grain to market, hauling manure and taking care of livestock. Ninety-three percent of the winter wheat acreage is jointed compared with 97 percent last year and 93 percent for the 5-year average. Thirteen percent of the winter wheat is headed compared with 25 percent last year and 16 percent for the average. Winter wheat condition is rated 66 percent good to excellent, above the 62 percent last week, but below the 71 percent a year ago at this time. Wet soils are putting some stress on winter wheat. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 18 percent excellent, 60 percent good, 21 percent fair and 1 percent poor. Pastures and forage crops continue to improve. Livestock are in mostly good condition. Spring calving continues. Crop Progress Table -------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Planted 10 4 83 49 Corn Emerged 1 0 27 NA Soybeans Planted 2 0 46 21 Winter Wheat Jointed 93 77 97 93 Winter Wheat Headed 13 1 25 16 Crop Condition Table -------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Pasture 0 1 21 60 18 Winter Wheat 2002 0 6 28 52 14 Winter Wheat 2001 1 6 22 62 9 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 0 0 19 Short 0 0 41 Adequate 32 37 40 Surplus 68 63 0 Subsoil Very Short 0 0 11 Short 1 1 34 Adequate 47 52 54 Surplus 52 47 1 Days Suitable 1.1 1.4 7.0 Contact information --Ralph W. Gann, State Statistician --Bud Bever, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://www.nass.usda.gov/in/index.htm Other Agricultural Comments And News Rainy Days, Soggy Soils, & Idle Planters While only about 20 % of Indiana's corn crop is typically planted by 30 April (1983-2001 crop reporting data, Indiana Ag. Stats. Service), farmers have been spoiled the last couple of years with excellent weather and soil conditions in late March and early April. Consequently, many farmers throughout the state were already well into planting by this time last year. Not so in 2002. Rain and snow during the past four weeks have delayed the start of corn and soybean planting throughout Indiana. None of this is news to the regulars down at the Chat'n Chew Cafe, but the frustration level is beginning to build among those who are faced with a significant acreage of corn yet unplanted, let alone that of soybean. While there is plenty of time to begin corn planting within the prime planting window of late April and early May, the risk is mounting that the finish of corn planting may occur in mid-May or later when yield losses to delayed planting increase significantly due to the shortened available growing season and accompanying stress factors. What can growers do to minimize that risk? By the time the end of April rolls around, growers should concentrate primarily on planting corn and less so on performing related field activities such as tillage and pre-plant fertilizer or herbicide applications. This advice is particularly applicable if the time spent accomplishing these other field activities would otherwise limit the completion of the planting operation in a timely fashion. In particular, * If you were aiming for pre-plant nitrogen applications, consider switching to a sidedress nitrogen application strategy using either 28% UAN liquid nitrogen or anhydrous ammonia fertilizer sources. An additional benefit to sidedress fertilizer strategies is that applying nitrogen fertilizer after corn emergence reduces the time frame for nitrogen loss caused by leaching or denitrification, resulting in more available nitrogen to the growing crop. The primary risk associated with a sidedress fertilizer strategy is that rainy June weather may prevent timely nitrogen applications before the crop becomes too tall for ground driven application equipment. * If you practice conventional tillage, reduce the number of pre-plant tillage trips. Today's planters do not require tabletop smooth seedbeds. If shallow tillage was performed last fall, consider planting into the stale seedbed without any additional tillage this spring. If no tillage was done after last season's soybean harvest, consider no-till planting the corn into the soybean stubble. See Tony Vyn's related article on tillage in a wet spring (P&C Newsletter, 26 Apr). * If you were aiming for pre-plant incorporated herbicide applications, consider switching to pre-emerge or post-emerge application strategies. The arsenal of corn herbicides suitable for pre-emerge or post-emerge applications is much larger than years ago. The primary risk associated with pre-emerge or post-emerge strategies is that rainy weather after planting may prevent timely herbicide applications before the weeds become too large for effective control or the crop develops beyond the herbicide label restrictions for crop growth stage. * Minimize herbicide application down time and headaches by taking advantage of the current soggy soil down time to scout your fields and identify the major weeds (primarily winter annuals) that are already growing. If you will be applying burndown herbicides, make sure you have the products readily available that will most effectively control the weeds identified by your field scouting activity. Calibrate and perform last minute preventive maintenance on your spray equipment. Make sure you have enough and the right chemical products to accomplish the job to avoid those unexpected trips to the dealer during planting. * Minimize the risk of planter equipment down time by using these days of rain and soggy soils to go over the planter and tractor one last time to ensure that everything is working properly. This includes any last minute calibrations of starter fertilizer and insecticide applicators. Also make sure you understand all the ins and outs of any electronic controls associated with the planter (seed monitors, variable seed drives, fertilizer controls, GPS receivers, etc.) to minimize valuable time spent during planting trying to figure out why some @#$!%! electronic component is not working properly. * If you use some type of air planter AND your seed corn this year ranges from very small to large or very large kernel hybrids, make sure you are prepared for any necessary seed disc/drum switches and/or adjustments in air/vacuum pressure when you switch from one seed lot to another. Write the necessary information down in your pocket notepad or palm computer now so that you won't waste time thumbing through the operator's manual during planting or, worse yet, ignore the planter adjustments altogether. Finally, if you are already wondering whether to switch to earlier maturity hybrids because of the late start of the planting season, the short answer is "Don't worry yet." A decision to switch hybrid maturities is not necessary for most Indiana corn growers until planting is delayed to late May or later. To view some related online references, see the listing at: http://www.entm.purdue.edu/entomology/ ext/targets/p&c/P&C2002/P&C6_2002.pdf (pg. 6). Bob Nielsen & Tony Vyn, Agronomy Department, Glenn Nice, Botany & Plant Pathology Department, Purdue University. Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday May 5, 2002 --------------------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|-----------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days|Temp --------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Valparaiso_AP_I |68 35 50 -6 0.21 1 Wanatah |69 33 51 -4 0.33 2 55 Wheatfield |71 33 50 -5 0.22 2 Winamac |69 35 50 -6 0.86 1 53 North Central(2)| Chalmers_5W |71 36 51 -7 0.39 2 Plymouth |68 33 49 -9 0.21 2 South_Bend |67 35 49 -6 0.08 2 Young_America |70 37 52 -5 0.37 2 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |68 33 49 -5 1.07 2 50 Fort_Wayne |69 37 51 -5 0.63 1 West Central (4)| Greencastle |69 32 52 -7 0.43 1 Perrysville |70 36 52 -5 0.22 1 56 Terre_Haute_AFB |72 35 55 -4 0.55 2 W_Lafayette_6NW |69 36 51 -5 0.30 1 53 Central (5) | Brookville |73 35 54 -3 0.29 1 Eagle_Creek_AP |70 37 54 -5 0.37 2 Greenfield |67 36 53 -5 0.28 2 Indianapolis_AP |71 35 55 -4 0.29 1 Indianapolis_SE |69 35 53 -5 0.27 1 Tipton_Ag |67 36 50 -5 0.21 2 55 East Central (6)| Farmland |69 37 51 -4 0.55 2 52 New_Castle |65 36 50 -6 0.62 1 Southwest (7) | Evansville |77 43 60 -2 0.46 2 Freelandville |75 42 57 -2 0.41 1 Shoals |75 36 56 -4 0.22 1 Stendal |77 42 58 -2 1.63 2 Vincennes_5NE |78 37 57 -3 0.49 1 56 South Central(8)| Spencer_Ag |73 33 54 -4 0.30 3 Tell_City |81 43 60 +0 0.75 1 Southeast (9) | Milan_5NE |71 34 53 -4 0.38 3 Scottsburg |74 36 55 -5 1.84 2 ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 2002 thru Station | May 5, 2002 | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Valparaiso_AP_I | 5.45 +0.84 15 191 +75 Wanatah | 5.62 +1.21 15 159 +67 Wheatfield | 4.38 +0.03 14 179 +79 Winamac | 4.89 +0.63 16 165 +40 North Central(2)| Chalmers_5W | 4.49 +0.21 17 169 +11 Plymouth | 5.12 +0.62 17 162 +27 South_Bend | 3.49 -0.87 17 179 +74 Young_America | 5.03 +0.96 13 193 +72 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City | 5.69 +1.50 15 164 +74 Fort_Wayne | 4.36 +0.43 13 210 +98 West Central (4)| Greencastle | 6.33 +1.88 12 197 +19 Perrysville | 5.48 +0.96 14 204 +56 Terre_Haute_AFB | 5.78 +1.17 14 279 +100 W_Lafayette_6NW | 5.68 +1.32 15 197 +71 Central (5) | Brookville | 7.24 +2.67 13 246 +114 Eagle_Creek_AP | 6.06 +1.71 14 244 +76 Greenfield | 6.56 +1.83 17 221 +80 Indianapolis_AP | 5.94 +1.59 12 274 +106 Indianapolis_SE | 6.14 +1.68 11 225 +70 Tipton_Ag | 5.07 +0.53 16 180 +76 East Central (6)| Farmland | 5.87 +1.70 18 189 +91 New_Castle | 6.33 +1.55 12 164 +61 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 9.04 +4.27 14 389 +123 Freelandville | 5.64 +0.99 12 283 +85 Shoals | 5.56 +0.65 12 265 +71 Stendal | 8.75 +3.49 13 334 +107 Vincennes_5NE | 6.14 +1.49 10 306 +108 South Central(8)| Spencer_Ag | 7.45 +2.69 16 215 +61 Tell_City | 8.45 +2.84 11 404 +165 Southeast (9) | Milan_5NE | 8.76 +4.19 17 206 +74 Scottsburg | 7.59 +2.70 15 276 +77 ------------------------------------------------------------- DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period). GDD = Growing Degree Days. Precipitation (Rainfall or melted snow/ice) in inches. Precipitation Days = Days with precip of .01 inch or more. Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit. Copyright 2002: AWIS, Inc. All rights reserved. The above weather information is provided by AWIS, Inc. For detailed ag weather forecasts and data visit the AWIS home page at www.awis.com or call toll free at 1-888-798-9955. The INDIANA CROP WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is issued weekly April through November by the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. Second Class postage paid at Lafayette IN. For information on subscribing, send request to above address. POSTMASTER: Send address change to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. Source: Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service