in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date October 23, 2005 Issue IN-CW4305 Agricultural Summary Rain showers slowed harvest progress mid week but field operations resumed over the weekend, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Several operations are now done with soybean harvest and are focusing on corn. Some elevators are running at full capacity and are only accepting deliveries as they move grain out. Many farmers have been visiting local FSA offices to sign up for Loan Deficiency Payments. Field Crops Report There were 5.0 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 56 percent good to excellent compared with 84 percent last year at this time. Sixty-two percent of the corn has been harvested compared with 70 percent for last year and 56 percent for the average. Moisture content of harvested corn is averaging about 17 percent. Eighty-seven percent of the soybean acreage has been harvested compared with 86 percent last year and 78 percent for the average. Moisture content of harvested soybeans is averaging about 12 percent. Eighty-six percent of the winter wheat acreage has been planted compared with 75 percent last year and 73 percent for the average. Fifty-one percent of the winter wheat acreage has emerged compared with 41 percent last year and 42 percent for the average. Moisture received during the week will help with emergence and growth of winter wheat. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 3 percent excellent, 32 percent good, 43 percent fair, 17 percent poor and 5 percent very poor. Livestock remain to be in mostly good condition. Some farmers are feeding hay to help supplement the lack of pasture. Crop Progress Table ----------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ----------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Harvested 62 46 70 56 Soybeans Harvested 87 71 86 78 Winter Wheat Planted 86 68 75 73 Winter Wheat Emerged 51 21 41 42 Crop Condition Table ---------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ---------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 4 11 29 45 11 Wheat 1 3 28 59 9 Pasture 5 17 43 32 3 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table -------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : -------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 3 5 1 Short 19 24 11 Adequate 70 70 72 Surplus 8 1 16 Subsoil Very Short 9 11 4 Short 29 30 26 Adequate 59 58 66 Surplus 3 1 4 Days Suitable 5.0 6.5 2.8 Contact information --Greg Preston, Director --Andy Higgins, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://www.nass.usda.gov/in/index.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Agricultural Comments And News AT ANY RATE, NITROGEN APPLICATIONS GETTING PRICEY Nitrogen application recommendations for Midwest farmers will soon be changing, mainly driven by a need to be more cost efficient as fertilizer prices continue to rise. Historically, fertilizer recommendations for Ohio, Indiana and Michigan field crops have offered optimum nitrogen rates based on the maximum yield potential for a particular area. For example, to achieve an average yield of 175 bushels per acre of corn in northwest Ohio, farmers should apply 196 pounds of nitrogen. That amount ensures the crop suffers no nitrogen deficiency. Such a system, however, relies on nitrogen being inexpensive and over-application not too costly, said Robert Mullen, an Ohio State University soil scientist. Both are no longer the case. "This approach has served agriculture well. The economic detriment due to over-application has historically been small from an economic standpoint," Mullen said. "But as nitrogen prices have risen over the past several years, the economic penalty for over-application has reached a point where economic considerations need to be made. Producers -- especially those managing large acreages -- are beginning to look at fertilizer nitrogen application from an economic standpoint." Fertility specialists throughout the Corn Belt have devised a new system basing optimum nitrogen rates on the current price of fertilizer and the average price of the crop. For example, if nitrogen is 25 cents per pound and the price of corn is $2.50 a bushel, to achieve 175 bushels per acre of corn in northwest Ohio the best nitrogen rate would be 156 pounds, at an application range of 150-180 pounds. As the cost of nitrogen or the price of corn changes, the optimum rate of nitrogen also changes. "It boils down to an exercise in risk management," Mullen said. "The old system uses a single value, while this new system gives farmers a range to work with. If farmers are risk averse, they can use the high side of the rate range. If they are more willing to accept risk, they can use a lower side of the rate range, increasing their potential for economic reward." Current fertilizer recommendations needed to be updated for several reasons, Mullen said. "One reason is that the system assumes the soil is a blank medium and devoid of natural nitrogen. We know that's not true," he said. "And the problem we run into is that we don't know exactly how much nitrogen is in the soil and how much will be available to the crop. The release of nitrogen is dependent on the weather, so there's always a possibility of adding more or less nitrogen to the soil than is needed." Also, nitrogen applied to the soil always reaches a point of saturation, and yield eventually levels off no matter how much more nitrogen is added, Mullen said. As a result, farmers could be wasting money on unneeded nitrogen using current nitrogen recommendations. "Is it always economical to shoot for maximum yield? Research has shown that it's not," Mullen said. "It may take the same amount of nitrogen to reach 179 bushels per acre as it does to only reach 170 bushels per acre. It's impossible to determine at what point the nitrogen level is reached to where it is no longer a benefit to gain more yield without a nitrogen rate trial in every field." The new nitrogen application recommendations will be the focus of Mullen's Extension presentations during producer and consultant meetings and field days this fall and winter. Ohio State University Extension fact sheets and bulletins will highlight changes to the current Ohio, Indiana and Michigan recommendations beginning this winter. Written Friday, October 14, 2005, Ag Answers, Business and Science of Agriculture, An Ohio State Extension and Purdue Extension Partnership. The INDIANA CROP & WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is issued weekly April through November by the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office, 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 USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table Week ending Sunday October 23, 2005 ----------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|------------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN| Total|Days |Temp ----------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |74 34 52 -1 1.46 3 Valparaiso_AP_I |73 36 53 +1 0.06 3 Wanatah |74 34 51 +1 0.06 2 56 Wheatfield |72 35 52 +2 0.55 5 Winamac |72 32 51 +0 0.19 4 54 North Central(2)| Plymouth |70 36 50 -2 0.10 2 South_Bend |67 36 50 -2 0.30 3 Young_America |72 36 51 +1 1.00 4 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |70 33 50 +0 0.08 3 55 Fort_Wayne |72 35 51 +1 0.12 2 West Central(4) | Greencastle |74 35 54 +0 1.08 3 Perrysville |77 35 54 +3 1.05 3 57 Spencer_Ag |79 38 55 +4 2.26 3 Terre_Haute_AFB |77 38 56 +3 0.95 3 W_Lafayette_6NW |74 32 52 +2 1.09 3 62 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |74 39 55 +2 0.95 3 Greenfield |75 39 53 +2 3.07 4 Indianapolis_AP |76 40 55 +3 1.51 3 Indianapolis_SE |75 37 54 +2 2.82 4 Tipton_Ag |72 34 52 +2 0.66 2 59 East Central(6) | Farmland |73 34 51 +2 0.68 2 52 New_Castle |77 34 53 +3 1.67 4 Southwest (7) | Evansville |88 40 62 +7 0.70 2 Freelandville |81 42 58 +5 0.73 3 Shoals |79 36 56 +4 1.06 4 Stendal |87 43 61 +7 0.69 3 Vincennes_5NE |86 39 59 +5 0.90 3 61 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |84 39 59 +6 0.44 4 Oolitic |82 35 55 +4 0.48 3 61 Tell_City |88 44 64 +9 0.23 2 Southeast (9) | Brookville |83 37 55 +4 0.48 2 Milan_5NE |80 38 55 +4 1.20 4 Scottsburg |82 36 56 +3 0.90 4 ---------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday October 23, 2005 ------------------------------------------------ Accumulation -------------------------------- April 1, 2005 thru Station October 23, 2005 -------------------------------- Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF -------------------------------- | | | | Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |21.68 -2.30 60 3555 +366 Valparaiso_AP_I |16.16 -10.27 57 3372 +454 Wanatah |18.77 -6.54 68 3213 +444 Wheatfield |24.33 -0.09 112 3394 +569 Winamac |21.15 -3.25 70 3414 +500 North Central(2)| Plymouth |18.02 -7.17 65 3299 +230 South_Bend |13.80 -10.74 64 3444 +568 Young_America |24.18 +0.43 61 3433 +421 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |18.67 -5.03 68 3220 +478 Fort_Wayne |17.39 -4.35 66 3420 +398 West Central(4) | Greencastle |30.68 +3.34 58 3417 -10 Perrysville |21.94 -3.51 63 3715 +537 Spencer_Ag |31.77 +4.47 68 3539 +340 Terre_Haute_AFB |22.78 -2.95 62 3769 +370 W_Lafayette_6NW |18.03 -6.06 66 3510 +501 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |23.32 -0.76 67 3799 +434 Greenfield |34.72 +8.34 79 3520 +286 Indianapolis_AP |24.15 +0.07 63 3869 +504 Indianapolis_SE |27.52 +2.85 66 3540 +181 Tipton_Ag |25.39 +0.60 67 3273 +363 East Central(6) | Farmland |24.39 +0.64 65 3288 +451 New_Castle |27.67 +2.36 60 3194 +284 Southwest (7) | Evansville |23.04 -1.41 57 4254 +338 Freelandville |26.09 +0.67 62 3933 +419 Shoals |26.82 -0.65 74 3921 +514 Stendal |25.66 -1.51 58 4218 +539 Vincennes_5NE |29.67 +4.25 65 4110 +596 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |25.42 -2.22 65 4009 +627 Oolitic |25.32 -1.14 66 3645 +403 Tell_City |24.77 -2.99 49 4433 +638 Southeast (9) | Brookville |23.74 -1.73 61 3749 +677 Milan_5NE |27.47 +2.00 95 3645 +573 Scottsburg |25.98 -0.20 72 3853 +355 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 2005: Agricultural Weather Information Service, 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