B: Thanks for tuning into Ag
PhD, I’m Brian Hefty. D: And
I’m Darren Hefty. We really
appreciate you watching
today because it’s really
critical at this time of
year that we get things done
on the farm before harvest
really gets rolling, and if
you’ve got pasture
management to get taken care
of, come on! You’re not
going to stop the combine to
go manage weeds out in the
pasture. We’ll talk about
what you need to do today.
B: We’ll also discuss soil
testing. Probably the most
popular question we get
about soil testing each year
is, “Should I use grids, or
should I use zones? And
along with that - what size
should my grids and zones
be?” We’re going to talk
about all that today. D:
We’ve got a Weed of the Week
that is not all that bad of
plant, as long as it grows
where we want it to, but if
it gets out in the wrong
spots, we’ve got to get it
under control. We’ll show
you how to do that on your
farm today. But first,
here’s our Farm Basics.
B: During our Farm Basics
time today, we’re going to
talk about yield monitors
and yield maps, and we
especially want to speak to
non-farmers out there. This
is a tremendous tool - the
whole yield monitor thing -
that farmers never used to
have. When Darren and I were
growing up on the farm - or
even as young agronomists -
we did not have this. I
can’t even imagine farming
without this today. So, we
want to explain exactly what
it is and what the benefits
are for us as farmers. D:
Growing up on the farm, I
thought the greatest
invention ever was an
air-conditioned enclosed cab
on a tractor. That was nice
for me, because it was more
comfortable to be out in the
field; but the yield monitor
is by far the most valuable
invention that’s happened in
farming because we can see
the variance out in fields.
It was a game changer for us
because now as that combine
drives through the field,
you just constantly get
updates on, “Oh, my yield’s
200 bushel corn right now.”
“Oh, now my yield’s only 140
bushel.” I can flag that
spot on my field and say,
“Ok, what’s going on out
here? What happened? Why did
I lose yield in that spot?”
And by the same token, I can
find that spot that goes 280
bushel corn and say, “Wow!
Everything’s right over
here, what’s different?”
Because here’s the thing -
as farmers, many times if we
have a disappointing yield
out in the field, it’s easy
to say, “Well, you know, if
we would’ve caught one more
rain, that would have made
all the difference in the
world.” Well guess what?
That field got the same
rain, but one area went 280
bushel, and one went 140
bushel. The yield monitor
lets us find where those
areas are out in the field,
and we can start improving
them for the future.
B: Once you have all that
information from the field,
then you can print that off
on a yield map. What we
have, then, is different
colors, and you can
certainly set the parameters
for that, too. So, for
example, a lot of times the
standard map will have five
colors or seven. What I
typically do is have it set
to twelve different colors,
so I have twelve different
ranges of yield, and I might
even have twenty or thirty.
I just want to see - as much
as I can - what made a
difference in the field. Now
we use this to evaluate
everything - to evaluate
fungicides, herbicides,
insecticides, fertility,
seed varieties - almost
anything that we can do out
in the field - now this
gives a great way to measure
it. D: The other thing
that’s really interesting
about this, Brian, is you
can see patterns on those
maps. Like you mentioned
we’ll use different colors
to show different ranges of
yield. Ok here’s the 260 to
280 bushel yield. Here’s the
240 to 260 bushel yield, and
so on. And when we see those
patterns out in the field,
we can start evaluating our
farming practices. Maybe it
was nothing that we did this
year, but we’re seeing
problems from last year show
up. “Oh, I didn’t get my
residue spread evenly,” or
“Oh, I didn’t spread the
fertilizer quite evenly last
year, and now it’s showing
up on this year’s yield
map.” That’s pretty
impactful on farms - just
knowing that every time we
go out in the field, we’re
making a big difference. B:
Unfortunately, one of the
things that shows up on
yield maps and yield
monitors far too often is
when we as farmers don’t do
a good job with weed
control. If you’ve got this
week’s weed, we’ll show you
how to stop it on your farm
later in the show.
B: Today, we're going to
talk a little about
soil testing, especially
with regards to grid versus
zone testing, and also what
size of grid or zone should
you use? D: We do get
questions about this all the
time, especially on Ag PhD
Radio, people will say,
“Well, which is the best way
for me to do this?” The best
way is the way that you can
manage. So let’s say that
you’ve got variable rate
application technology that
you can spread to one-acre
grids; then I’d pull
one-acre grids and see what
kind of variance is out in
your field. When we look at
pH, for example, there is
such a difference in some of
our fields, that from one
grid point to the next, we
may need some lime… and we
don’t need some lime just
the next point over. By
sampling in smaller grids,
we’ve got the opportunity to
try to manage it well. B:
Here’s the thing - the more
variance you have, the
smaller your grid needs to
be. Let’s say you’ve been
managing on five-acre grids
for the last 10 years. I
don’t have any problem with
that, but what I would
suggest to you is - at least
once, just go down to
one-acre grids. What you
will probably find is now
this gives you the
opportunity to even things
out over the field, and once
you even things out, well
now you actually could go
back to two-and-a-half-acre
grids, or maybe even
five-acre grids, that’s
fine, but it’s just that one
application - that one time
- where you have the
opportunity to get those
things straightened out on
your farm; go to the small
grids at least once. D:
Alright, so that’s one
extreme; let’s look at the
other. How about one sample
per field - frankly the data
is worthless. You’re going
to be over-applying
fertilizer on half the field
and under-applying
fertilizer on the other
half, because you’re
applying towards an average,
and there’s going to be
variance out in your field.
Now I’ll look at it this way
- if your yield monitor data
says, “I had a
hundred-bushel wheat across
my entire field; there was
never any variance” – well,
you might be able to get by
with one sample for the
whole field. But if you saw,
“Oh, I had 60-bushel wheat
here and 120-bushel wheat
there” or “I had
hundred-bushel corn here and
300-bushel corn there,”
you’ve got tremendous
variance out there, and you
need to go to some smaller
grids. B: Alright - now we
talk about zones; a lot of
people like zones, and I’m
fine with zones; that’s ok.
But here’s what I want you
to think about - are your
zones accurate? You may say,
“Well, I’m doing different
soil types.” Ok, I’m not a
believer in testing by soil
type. And also, I’m not a
believer by testing by Veris
cart either. This is the
reason why - just think
about this - all the things
that you’re going to measure
in that soil test, you’ve
got roughly 20 things.
You’ve got all the
micronutrients, all the
secondary nutrients, all the
major nutrients, you’ve got
soil pH, you’ve got cation
exchange capacity, you’ve
got base saturation, you’ve
got ALL these things - if
it’s a Veris cart; if it’s a
soil type; and you’re using
it to say, “Well, the Veris
cart said this area was all
the same.” Does that mean
every single one of those 20
things is the same? Not a
chance in the world. So, if
you want to use zones, fine.
But at least once, split the
zones up into something
around one acre. So, don’t
take big zones, I hate big
zones. Just like Darren said
- with composite sampling -
the data is pretty
worthless. So, at least one
time, see what you have for
actual variance, then use
variable rate fertility to
fix not just P and K, but to
fix all the things that need
to be fixed, ‘cause you’ll
see variance in everything
from pH to the
micronutrients. We want to
try to even out the field as
much as possible. Then you
can apply one thing across
most of the field. D: This
information that we’re
giving you works everywhere
in every soil on the earth.
If you say, “Well in my
area, they do it a little
bit different.” That doesn’t
make it right. That just
means, “Well, we’re using
the practice we used 10
years ago, 20 years ago, 30
years ago.” You can manage
things a little more
intensely on your farm, and
you should see results. Now
in different soil types,
like say for example you
have very sandy, light,
beach sand kind of soil -
yes you’re going to manage
things a little bit
differently than you are
with very heavy deep clays;
or if you’re in a high
moisture area, you may do
your fertilizer application
a little different than in a
low moisture area, but you
still need to start with
good soil sample data to be
able to determine what the
best program is to give you
the best return on
investment on your farm. B:
One last thing I want to
leave you with is how to
soil sample. Here’s how you
soil sample: You pick GPS
points. Whether it’s a grid
or a zone, whether it’s a
big grid or a small grid, a
big zone or a small zone, I
don’t care. You select GPS
points, you drive to that
GPS point, you get out of
your vehicle - whatever the
vehicle is - you take 2 or 3
cores on each side of the
vehicle - all 4 sides - you
throw everything together in
a sample bag - done. And the
reason why you want to go
with GPS points is that’s
repeatable. So now you can
come back next year. You can
come back 5 years from now.
You can come back 50 years
from now. This gives you the
opportunity to truly trace
how you’re doing over a
period of time. Don’t
randomly sample across your
zones or your grids; that’s
never going to work; you’re
never going to have
repeatability. Pick GPS
points; that’s absolutely
100 percent the way to go.
D: Well one of the things
that you may see out in your
field while you’re out soil
sampling is this week’s Weed
of the Week. Can you
identify it?
D: Fall pasture management
may not be at the
top of your priority list
now, because you might
think, “Well I got time, I
don’t have to do that quite
yet,” but guess what?
Harvest is coming up as
well, so getting this taken
care of now could be really
important for your farm. B:
Alright, one of the big
questions we get from people
is, “When’s the best time to
control weeds out in my
pasture? Should I spray in
the spring or the fall?” And
I always say, “The best time
is always today! Whenever
the weed is growing, we want
to go kill it! So, I don’t
care if it’s the spring,
it’s the summer, it’s the
fall. It does not matter to
me. But the one key thing
that I’m going to tell you
is spray at least a couple
weeks before your first
killing frost. If you don’t
spray early enough, what’s
going to happen is your
herbicide won’t truly get
down all the way through the
extensive root system of
many of these perennials -
or sometimes even biennial
weeds - and you don’t get a
complete kill. So, what
we’re after here today is
not just to burn the top
growth, we’re after complete
control on every weed out in
that pasture, so hopefully,
you have a more productive
pasture next year. D: And
there are some new tools out
there, too, that you could
consider using on your farm.
One of those being DuraCor.
We talk a lot about
Milestone; that’s been a
really fun product to work
with - aminopyralid is the
active ingredient - it’s the
best product we’ve ever seen
on thistles. It’s fantastic
and like Brian said, it gets
down in the roots and kills
them. The problem is most
pastures don’t just have a
few thistle plants; they’ve
got a variety of weeds.
Using a product like DuraCor
has two different active
ingredients - one being
Milestone - for control of
things like thistles, but
the other is a new
component. B: Well the other
one is basically a 2,4-D
replacement, and let’s step
back for a second. For years
there was Grazon, that was
Tordon and 2,4-D. Then
GrazonNext - Milestone and
2,4-D. With the DuraCor,
it’s Milestone, and I’ll
just call it the new 2,4-D
replacement. Less drift,
little bit better efficacy.
So, we would encourage you
to at least be checking that
out on your farm or on your
ranch. The thing with two
mode of action products -
it’s fine if you have a
variety of weeds, but I’ll
be honest - I’m not a huge
believer in two mode of
action products when I have
patches of perennials. So,
here is what I would
encourage you to do - number
one - if thistle is your
number one problem on the
farm, you just go out there
with straight Milestone at
seven ounces - yes, it’s
going to cost more than
DuraCor or GrazonNext, or
almost anything else, but
who cares? You’re after
complete control - not just
this year - but FOREVER.
FOREVER. And what I mean by
that is - what happens
commonly is you go out to
your pasture, you burn the
weed down a little bit, and
it keeps coming back - same
weed - year after year after
year because these thistles
are either perennial or
biennial. So, you’ve got to
get ahead of them, you’ve
got to get complete control.
Milestone’s the thistle
product. Tordon is an
excellent product if let’s
say you have leafy spurge or
a number of other
perennials. If you have
brush species - that’s where
we’d probably have you move
over to something like
Remedy Ultra - that’s
triclopyr - or potentially
you could go Vastlan; that’s
going to be a little bit
lower drift product, similar
to Remedy Ultra, like a
triclopyr. There’s also
Chaparral. And that’s a
combination of the active
ingredients you’ll find in
Ally and Milestone. So,
you’ve got a number of
different products there for
perennial weeds, and for
longer term control, that’s
usually what I talk to
people about. D: Brian, I
can’t believe it, you
haven’t even mentioned your
favorite pasture product
yet! B: Well, Distinct is my
favorite pasture product,
but that, Darren, is for
annual weeds; maybe biennial
weeds. So, the perennials –
again, you’ve got to go with
something stronger; you’ve
got to go with something
that’s going to cost a
little more money like
Milestone or Tordon; that’s
the way to go there. But the
annual weeds - maybe some
biennials - I really do love
Distinct – it’s just Status
without the corn safener,
and it’s one-third the price
of Status. Now a lot of
people will say, “2,4-D or
dicamba, that’s the way I
want to go,” But try to find
the newer formulations,
especially on the 2,4-D.
Something like Enlist One or
Freelexx - you don’t have
all that drift and
volatility of the old 2,4-D.
I’d just really be thinking
about that, because very
commonly, out of pastures,
we see drift and volatility
that hurts cropland. D: Well
weed control is one big
issue, and now is a great
time to get that under
control on your farm, but
the other things that I
wanted to focus on are the
health of the grass and the
fertility of the soil. So
when we look at grazing well
into the fall, as
temperatures begin to
decline, and we start seeing
daytime temperatures down
into the 60’s, or even
lower, that’s a great time
to get some RyzUp SmartGrass
out on your pasture. Now
this is gibberellic acid
that’s going to increase
stem elongation and lengthen
your grazing window. It’s
been a game changer for a
lot of ranches that are
starting to run a little bit
short on pasture and want to
get the cattle out on
pasture longer and have some
more grass for them to eat.
B: In terms of fertility we
would just encourage you –
soil test out in your
pasture. That’s a really
good way to go, and then
look at everything - not
just nitrogen - but look at
sulfur and boron, potassium,
phosphorus. There are a lot
of nutrients where you could
really help your overall
pasture production. We say
it very often, but so many
pastures around the country
- and really around the
world - are neglected. If we
just properly fertilize. We
use RyzUp SmartGrass. We do
some rotational grazing. If
you do the right things,
it’s very common to double
your grass production. And
while you may not look at
grassland as a cash crop, I
do, because the more grass
you have, the more you’re
going to overall increase
your net income. D: The
other thing is drought
tolerance, Brian - as we
feed the grass properly, it
uses less water. So, we can
produce more grass with less
rainfall with the proper
fertility. So, managing
weeds - very important in
drought situations too,
because weeds are very
inefficient users of light
and of nutrients. If we
manage the weeds, we get
good grass growth well into
the fall with something like
RyzUp SmartGrass, and then
we also manage that pasture
- as you mentioned - with
rotational grazing and
fertility; we can do a great
job out in the pasture, and
now is the time to get these
things done. B: Well coming
back to weeds – we’ll talk
about our Weed of the Week
next.
B: Our Weed of the Week
is compass plant. Now,
you may be of the belief
that every plant should
live. Now here at Ag PhD, we
want plants to live, and in
fact, compass plant is
protected in certain areas.
So we’re not saying we have
to kill this plant in every
single situation, but just
understand - we also, here
at Ag PhD, encourage you to
kill corn, and to kill
soybeans, and to kill wheat
- when it’s in the wrong
field. So, it’s just in
certain situations that we
feel like we need to control
these plants ‘cause when
they are in the wrong spot,
they are considered weeds.
D: Now if you’re looking at
our Weed of the Week and you
say, “Man, that looks like
what I call gumweed” or
“what I call turpentine
plant.” Yes, we’re talking
about the same thing -
compass plant. So out in
cultivated fields, you have
to look at it as - this is a
long-lived perennial; it’s
not one that really spreads
a lot, but it is a perennial
weed. So, the best way to
get down into a perennial
root system is with Roundup.
Many people will say, “Well
what about tillage?” but if
you chop those roots up, you
could have new plants
shooting up. I’d rather not
do the tillage, spray the
Roundup at a high labeled
rate, and then kill that
plant completely. B: But
typically, when we’re
talking about forbs - which
this one is - Roundup isn’t
the best; or, if nothing
else, at least you have to
run with a VERY strong rate.
So, make sure if you’re
using Roundup, you’re using
the highest labeled rate.
Otherwise, there are other
things that you could
certainly try, many are not
even going to be labeled on
compass plant, but I would
try something like Distinct
or Status, 2,4-D, a lot of
different things will likely
burn it down for you. D: One
other product you may try in
a burndown is Sharpen; that
could be used in a variety
of crops, too. B: And
certainly, Liberty is a good
burndown product as well,
and it can be used in
Liberty Link crops. Well
that’s it for our Weed of
the Week, compass plant, but
stay tuned, Iron Talk is
coming up next.
D: Getting residue
spread evenly behind
your combine is so critical
to the success of your next
crop. We’ll discuss this
important topic in today’s
Iron Talk. Everyone is
always excited to get
soybean and wheat crops off
the instant they’re ready to
harvest. We fall into that
category on our farm as
well. With corn though, it
may stand in the field just
a little bit longer to dry
down, and the rush in
Northern climates is then to
get it harvested before the
snow flies. Harvest can
often be a rush. However, if
you don’t get your residue
spread evenly, you’re
setting yourself up for
problems with your next
crop. Even if the residue is
just a little bit thicker in
spots, it leads to the
ground not warming up as
fast, and the emergence of
your crop being slowed or
even stopped. We saw this
all across the country in
2019 and 2020. If harvest is
already done on your farm,
act now to move uneven
residue distribution around
and minimize problems going
forward. Some tillage -
hopefully just light tillage
- will be required. A heavy
harrow has become a popular
choice in the north, but
anything light, like a field
finisher, could be a good
option. The trick is to do
as little soil disturbance
as possible, since these
fields will be sitting with
no crop for a while.
Personally, I’d consider
getting some cover crop out
there immediately to protect
your soils from erosion,
too. There is plenty of
information and data
supporting brassica family
cover crops to help speed
the breakdown of residue as
well. If you haven’t begun
or finished harvest yet,
this is a key time for your
farm. No matter what crop
you are harvesting, take
some time - make the
adjustments necessary to
spread your residue evenly
across the field. This will
eliminate costly and time
consuming additional passes
needed to clean things up.
It will also be evident in
faster emergence and thicker
stands of crop next season.
That’s all for today’s Iron
Talk, and now, back to
the show.
B: Well that's our time
for today’s show, but
before we go, we want to
invite you to check out the
Ag PhD Radio Show, where we
take your live phone calls
each weekday on Sirius XM
Channel 147 at 2 PM Central.
D: Don’t miss the next Ag
PhD TV Show. We’ll have
another Weed of the Week,
Farm Basics, Iron Talk, and
a whole lot more. I’m Darren
Hefty. B: And I’m Brian
Hefty. Thanks for watching
Ag PhD.
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IFA Productions
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