Continue to Scout, Take Notes, Learn, and Adjust while Making Decisions For 2024

BY Dairyland Seed Agronomy Team

2023 In Season

As we draw closer to corn and soybean harvest, make a habit of taking a note pad (electronic versions work, just be careful to not get wet) to your fields and plots to take notes of what you see. A few things to be mindful of when walking fields prior to harvest:

Weed escapes: Did your weed control plan live up to your expectations, or do you have weeds that it missed? If so, do you recognize and know what weed it is? Was the problem a timing issue, , plugged nozzle or improper mixing? If you do not recognize or know what the weed is, contact your Dairyland Seed District Sales Manager or Agronomist for help. We have seen an increase of palmer amaranth spreading into new areas, and we want to make sure we stop it where we can. Perhaps you need more herbicide resistant traits like Dairyland Seed Enlist E3^® soybeans, which offers more flexibility in timing when you want to safely spray your crop as well as the products you can safely use.
Disease pressure in corn: Are you seeing heavier disease pressure this year versus previous years? Are you seeing new or different diseases starting to appear? We have seen new areas with tar spot and physoderma brown spot and stalk rot, as well as Goss’s Wilt. In soybeans, look for sudden death syndrome (SDS), sclerotinia white mold (SWM) and frogeye leaf spot (FLS). Have you seen them before? Are they in a new area? During fall scouting, pay special attention to such things as ear rot. Those may include Diplodia, Gibberella, aspergillus, penicillium and fusarium. If you notice concerning levels, schedule those fields for earlier harvest. Do you need a different Dairyland Seed variety to help with these diseases or additional seed treatments or fungicide applications to help with control measures?
Fertility: Are you seeing nutrient deficiencies in your crop? Did your nutrient management plan work? Do you need to make changes? Do you need to split apply your nitrogen and sulfur in your corn? Are your soybean leaves showing a yellow tint on the outside leaf margins? Much like corn and alfalfa, soybeans need fertility. Are you applying enough fertility to supply your soybean crops needs?
Insects: Are you seeing late season corn rootworm beetles? Are they northern, western, or southern? This could have a bearing on what trait you use for next year’s crop. Are you seeing more areas with soybean cyst nematodes (SCN)? Should we soil test those areas to find out the SCN levels? Higher levels may warrant a different seed treatment or rotation.
Standability or lodging: Did we have wind or weather events that will push up harvest on a field(s)? Which fields need to be harvested first and why?

When you are walking Dairyland Seed plots, are you seeing products with better disease or insect tolerance? Do these products have better ear development or pod set? Do you like what you see? Take notes of what you like and do not like about the products you planted, as well as the new products you see in the plots. These notes can help your Dairyland Seed dealer as well as District Sales Manager and Agronomist fit the products you are looking for.

When the combine or choppers start to roll, take your notes with you, and write down or type in what didn’t work or what you would like to change, as well as the successes you see. Did that new tile you put in help with water management? Did that additional nutrient application bring in more yield and/or a better-quality crop? Taking good notes allows you to look back to decisions you made as well as forward to find what works and what needs to change.

Dairyland Seed’s Agronomy Team is more than willing to help you develop solutions to make you more successful.