CMEG Crop Management Extension Group

Field Crop News

Website Address: http://fcn.agronomy.psu.edu/

November 13, 2007    Vol. 07:34

IN THIS ISSUE:

Field Crop News Schedule — Andrew Frankenfield, Montgomery County Extension

As we move into the winter season our distribution of the Field Crop News will change from bimonthly to monthly until March. The upcoming winter publication dates are as follows: December 11th, January 22nd, February 12th, March 11th and 25th.

Weather Outlook — Paul Knight, Pennsylvania State Climatologist

A cooler than normal November is very likely as the new weather pattern will favor regular reinforcements of chilly air (though no extreme cold is expected). Temperatures are already averaging 2–4 degrees below normal for the first third of the month and there are no signs of enough warming (despite the mild spell in the middle of this week) to reverse this trend. Along with the generally below normal readings will be increasing opportunities for light snowfall in the valleys and southeast. The lake effect snows will be frequent during the next couple of weeks, perhaps building up an early season snow cover in the northwest counties. The most probable template for this coming winter’s conditions are a chilly start with some early snow, a very mild heart of winter and a potentially very cold and snowy late winter, early spring.

Week One (Nov 14–20): After a very mild day with increasing clouds on Wednesday, a strengthening cold front will produce the most rain (>0.50”) in the eastern counties during the first part of Thursday. Much colder air will arrive on gusty winds (>25mph) kicking off a widespread lake—effect in western and northern sections later Thursday and into Friday. A chilly weekend is expected with a chance of patchy light snow either late Saturday or the first half of Sunday. A reinforcement of cold air is likely early next week. The first widespread snow or wintry mixture is possible later Monday into Tuesday.

Week Two—Three (Nov 21–Dec 5): Expect the majority of the period to average below normal temperatures with drier than average conditions in the central and east and above normal precipitation in the northwest. The general feel of the period will be rather wintry, though at least one spell (2–4 days) of above normal temperatures are likely — during which time, it will rain in most sections.

REAP — Tax Incentive Program for Farmers — Jeff McClellan, PA No—Till Alliance.

No—Till adoption in Pennsylvania is poised to take a dramatic step forward thanks to legislation passed in July 2007 called the Resource Enhancement and Protection Act (a.k.a. REAP ). REAP is a tax incentive program designed to encourage conservation “Best Management Practices” (BMP’s) that reduce erosion and sedimentation impacting our streams and watersheds.

The program is administered by the State Conservation Commission (Commission) and the tax credits will be granted by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Up to $10 million in credits may be issued in fiscal year 2007–2008 on a first—come, first—serve basis, for qualifying BMP’s completed after the program start date of October 23, 2007.

Eligible applicants may receive between 25% and 75% of project costs as state tax credits for up to $150,000 per agricultural operation. Tax credits can be used for up to 15 years from the date of issue. The amount of tax credit available to a recipient is dependent on the type of BMP implemented. Examples of qualifying BMP’s include developing conservation and nutrient management plans, installing barnyard renovations, and the purchase of no—till planting equipment. A complete list of eligible BMP’s is expected top be finalized by mid—November.

Participants that receive a tax credit have several options for using their tax credits:

  1. Use tax credits directly to reduce a state tax bill. (Self)
  2. Sell tax credits to another Pennsylvania taxpayer, after holding the credit for 1 year. (Sell)
  3. Work with a sponsor that will help finance a farmer's BMPs. The farmer will be compensated for making improvements and the sponsor will receive the tax credit. (Sponsor)

Any farmer who is subject to taxation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is eligible to participate in REAP. Qualified projects must meet the following criteria:

* The cost of developing and implementing these plans may be included to qualify for the tax credit.

Applications for REAP should be available online and from the SCC on December 1 2007, and will be accepted for consideration on January 2, 2008.

For the most up to date information about REAP, visit the SCC web site at http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us, then click on “Commissions and Councils” > “State Conservation Commission” > ”Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP)”

Fall is a Good Time to Diagnose and Cause Soil Compaction — Sjoerd W. Duiker, PSU Soil Management

Ironically, the time is right for both diagnosing as well as causing soil compaction. Diagnosis of soil compaction using the penetrometer or soil compaction tester should be done when the field is at field capacity (24–48 hours after the soil profile has been thoroughly wetted). More information on diagnosing soil compaction can be found in Agronomy Facts 63 (http://cropsoil.psu.edu/extension/facts/agfacts63.cfm). Causing soil compaction is easy now because the soil profile is being recharged with moisture and is unlikely to dry out anytime soon. The soil is most compactable in its plastic state (when you can make a ball out of a clump of soil), while soil structure will be destroyed when you are in the field at moisture contents higher than that (rutting by vehicles, pugging by animals). The damage cannot easily be repaired and results in costs such as increased fuel bills and tillage equipment wear and tear, as well as the reduced soil quality caused by the compaction event and subsequent tillage passes. Annual crop yields are typically reduced 5–10% after a severe compaction event, while forage yields can also be reduced by a similar amount.

Here a few guidelines for farmers who still have crops in the field, or want to graze pasture or crops:

  1. Use radial instead of bias—ply tires.
  2. Reduce tire inflation to minimum needed — Tire inflation pressure reflects soil contact pressure which determines surface compaction.
  3. Use tracked tractors or tractors with doubles inflated to their lowest allowable pressure.
  4. Reduce axle load — subsurface compaction is likely with axle loads > 10 tons.
  5. Keep trucks on the road or in field borders.
  6. Use traffic lanes — These could be considered “sacrifice” areas where tillage may be needed to alleviate compaction.
  7. Keep animals in the feedlot or sacrifice area until soil freezes 2–3 inches or dries out.
  8. Select early maturing corn hybrids and soybean varieties for next year to allow for more timely harvesting in the future. Recent research suggest early maturing varieties can yield very well in Pennsylvania. They dry down earlier, reducing drying costs. In addition, they allow more timely planting of cover crops, which help improve soil structure and make soil more resilient to compaction.

Equipment allowed under USDA—NRCS No—Till/Strip Till/Direct Seed Conservation Practice Standard — Sjoerd W. Duiker, PSU Soil Management

Some farmers receive support for no—till through federal or state government. It is important that growers realize what is considered to be no—till under these programs. The specifications most agencies use (e.g. USDA-NRCS) are described in Conservation Practice Standard 329 (No—Till/Strip Till/Direct Seed) The description of equipment allowed under Standard 329 can be found here (ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/WI/resources/tillagepracticeguide.pdf). Under Standard 329 in—row tillage tools such as anhydrous injectors, strip—till machines, or manure injectors are allowed if they don’t excessively disturb the soil (the latter is measured with the STIR index). Full—width tillage tools such as the Aerway and Genesis aerators, Great Plains TurboTill units, and rotary harrows made by companies such as Phillips or Phoenix (now out of business) are not allowed under this standard. Instead, you would fall into the Mulch Till category (Standard 345) and would forfeit payments received for no—till practices.

Sign up for EQIP before November 30, 2007 — Mark Goodson, USDA—NRCS

Pennsylvania farmers and landowners may receive financial assistance thorough USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP http://www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/html/eqip2005.html).

NRCS conservation programs help people reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat and restore and enhance wetlands. NRCS programs are voluntary, confidential and provide incentives such as technical assistance and financial incentives for planning, design and implementation of conservation systems. Examples of practices funded include nutrient management, cover crops, no—till, manure storage, meadow seedings and stream fencing.

To qualify for conservation programs, the applicant must have control of the land for the life of the proposed contract. For EQIP, eligibility is limited to farmers engaged in agricultural production on eligible agricultural land. All applications will be evaluated and ranked according to environmental benefits and cost effectiveness. In most projects NRCS does not cover all the costs of installation of practices; participants must pay a portion.

There is a current enrollment now for the next round of rankings with a deadline of November 30, 2007. Another round of rankings will follow a February 1, 2008 enrollment deadline if funds are available.

Market Outlook — John Berry, Lehigh County Extension

Grain marketing decisions this time of year are often based on speculation as to where prices might go from here. A method of assessing the future potential for price movement is to measure the carry offered by local buyers. Carry is the difference between a current cash bid and the bid for some time in the future. If the carry is just sufficient to cover storage costs — we break even. If carry is in excess of our costs of storage we will gain revenue from our storage enterprise from this difference. There are no charts for the average carry across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, so looking at published data that is available is the next best thing. It looks like this may be the year to store as much grain as is feasible for our individual businesses. The states listed are offering a return to storage in most situations — at this time. Let’s remember the seasonal effects in place with storage and have an exit strategy. A “rule—of—thumb” used by some marketers is to have all stored grain priced by the May—June time frame.

Contributors: Dept. Crop & Soil Sciences: Marvin Hall, Dwight Lingenfelter, Paul Knight, Bill Curran, Ron Hoover, Sjoerd Duiker County Extension: Kevin Fry (Armstrong), Del Voight (Lebanon), Mark Madden (Sullivan/Bradford), Dave Messersmith (Wayne), Lee Miller (Beaver), Andrew Frankenfield (Montgomery)

Editor: Andrew Frankenfield, Montgomery County Extension

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