CMEG Crop Management Extension Group

Field Crop News

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

December 11, 2007    Vol. 07:35

IN THIS ISSUE:

Field Crop News Schedule — Susan Alexander, Jefferson County Extension

A reminder that the future winter publication dates are as follows: January 22nd, February 12th, March 11th and 25th.

Weather Outlook — Paul Knight, Pennsylvania State Climatologist

A cool and wetter than average weather pattern is dominating the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes region including much of Pennsylvania so far this December. This matches the expected pattern for a December when a moderate to strong La Nina has been measured in the tropical Pacific. As a result, there is some confidence in the expected regime for the upcoming winter.

There will be a switch from cold and damp in the northern tier to a very mild pattern (dominate by Pacific air flow) probably by the end of December, but very likely in January. The warmer regime should persist well into February until a flip back to colder than normal is expected with a high degree of certainty that March 2008 will be colder than average in the state.

Week One (Dec 12–19): Expect two opportunities for relatively widespread wintry precipitation. The first will be in the northern half of the state on Thursday with a couple inches of snow mixed with sleet/freezing rain is likely. Snow showers are likely on Friday afternoon into early Saturday as rather chilly air arrives. A large storm will affect the eastern third of the nation — centered on Sunday. The mountains and west should see a majority of the precipitation as snow while the southeast may just notice a mixture or rain. There will be abundant moisture with this system (more than 1 inch of liquid). It will be followed by windy and very cold conditions for a day or so before a long slow moderation starts.

Week Two—Three (Dec 20–Jan 3): Expect the majority of the period to average near to below normal temperatures with drier than average conditions in the central and east and above normal precipitation in the northwest. The wintry precipitation of the period Dec 13–17 will keep mornings cold in the snow covered sections of the state. Odds favor Pacific air dominating the last few days of this period.

Water Testing Services Available Now Through County Extension Offices — Mena Hautau, Berks County

The Ag Analytical Laboratory at Penn State now offers drinking water testing for consumers, water testing for livestock and testing for irrigation water. This service is in addition to the tests the lab already conducts for soils and organic amendments, such as manure and compost.

Water testing kits are available through local extension offices or you can contact the lab directly at 814–863–0841.

To learn more about the waters services available, you can read more at their Website: http://www.aasl.psu.edu/ (Click on WATER link at the top of the page.)

Tight Forage Seed Supplies for 2008 — Marvin Hall, PSU Forage Specialist

Reports from the recent meeting of the National Seed Trade Association indicate that orchardgrass, tall fescue and clover seed supplies will be limited in 2008. Reasons for the limited supply include seed production fields in Oregon (location in USA where most forage seed production occurs) and overseas being taken out of production at the same time overseas demand is rising. This shortage is likely to persist for a couple years. Current seed prices reflect this shortage with orchardgrass seed at over $4 per pound. If you intend to plant these crops next year it would be good to buy early to ensure you can get the variety you want and lock in the current price.

Register Now for the 50th Pennsylvania Agronomic Education Conference (Formerly the Lime, Fertilizer, and Pesticide Conference)

The 50th PAES Annual Conference will take place at the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel on January 15 and 16, 2008 in State College. The conference will kick off at 9:30 am on the 15th and will conclude on the afternoon of the 16th. This year’s conference will include a special 50th Anniversary Celebration on the evening of the 15th. Conference topics include:

CCA, Nutrient Management, and Pesticide Application Training credits will be available. To register, contact Mary Johnston at 814-234-8771 or mej6@psu.edu. Early registration discount if received by Jan. 2, 2008. More information is available on the website at http://paes.cas.psu.edu/Conference.html

Pennsylvania Professional Crop Producers’ Conference Set

The Pennsylvania Corn Growers, Forage Growers, Soybean Growers and No—till Alliance organizations are joining forces in 2008 to sponsor a “super conference” to be held on March 4—6, 2008 at the Penn State Conference Center and Hotel in State College. This conference has something for all crop producers, and promises to be very exciting and informative. So far, the organizers have producer coming from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Holland, across the USA as speakers to talk about how they produce crops with a focus on no—till crop production.

Another new concept for this conference will be Round Table Discussions which involves producers and speakers getting together and discussing some aspect of crop production. These discussion sessions will be about one hour in length and involve a “down and dirty”, “nuts and bolts” discussion about how they have incorporated a crop production practice into their farming operation.

This conference should be very exciting and informative. If you can only attend one conference this year, this is the one! No other conference in Pennsylvania in 2008 will offer such an international group of producers to expose you to new crop production concepts. Make plans now to attend. Registration information will be distributed soon.

Corn Production Changes — Greg Roth, PSU Grain Crop Specialist

Some have asked if corn yields are increasing in PA.

At the ASA meetings last month, we presented a poster on corn yield and rotation effects from the Penn State Hunter Rotation experiments.

There, during the period from 1990–2005, corn yields have increased by 4.4 bu/acre/year.

The yield increase has been similar for corn after corn, corn after beans, or first year corn after alfalfa.

This translates into about 2.6%/year, since 1990. Yields in the rotations averaged 154 bu/acre for the corn on corn, 162 bu/acre in the corn after soybeans and 174 bu/acre in the first year corn after alfalfa. Relative to corn after corn his is a 5% increase for corn after beans and a 13% increase for corn after alfalfa.

So corn yields have been increasing at a fairly steady rate in our trials, comparable or higher than national trends.

Jump on the No-Till Express to the National No-Tillage Conference Cincinnati Convention Center, Cincinnati OH / Jan. 9 to 12, 2008

Join your colleagues on an action packed trip to Cincinnati, Ohio to attend the National No-Tillage Conference January 9–12, 2008. This year’s conference is built around the theme of “Gaining The No-Till Edge”. The 16th annual National No-Tillage Conference offers 85 cutting-edge sessions spread over 4 days to provide you with non-stop, insightful learning and unlimited networking opportunities with the giants of no-till.

Ride the No—Till Express to Cincinnati
The No—Till Alliance has organized a discounted rate bus trip thanks to the financial support of the Capital RC&D Area Council through a special No-Till Promotion Grant. The roundtrip bus fare is only $50 and available to all interested parties in the state. Membership in the Alliance is not required to take advantage of this special offer.

Take Advantage of Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance Member—Only Discounts
No—Till Alliance members that have paid their 2008 dues qualify for some special discounts. Dues for the year are only $25 and qualify you for the following special pricing:

Save $70 off the National No-Tillage Conference registration. Members pay only $177 for a full conference registration — compared to the regular price of $247! Registration deadline for this special rate is December 28, 2008.

No—Till Alliance members also qualify for a very special room rate at the Millennium Hotel, attached to the Cincinnati Convention Center — site of this years Conference. Members have access to a block of 35 rooms available through December 18th, on a first come — first served basis. The member rate is just $92 per night / 1–2 persons per room. (Regular room rates are $154 per night). Call the Alliance office or register online to get the special discount group code.

For fastest service: Register online: www.panotill.com/NNTC (cut and paste this address to access the information). Call: (814) 863–4260 E—mail: info@panotill.com

Websites of Interest

2007 Corn Hybrid Silage Testing Data: http://cornandsoybeans.psu.edu/

2007 Soybean Variety Performance Data: http://cornandsoybeans.psu.edu/

2007 Corn Hybrid Grain Testing Data: http://cornandsoybeans.psu.edu/

REAP — Tax Credit Program: http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/agriculture/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=145155

Upcoming Events

Managing Manure and Nitrogen in No—till Crop Systems
December 18th, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Presenters: Dr. Doug Beegle, PSU Soils Specialist
Jeff Graybill, CCA, Lancaster Agronomy Educator

Location: Lancaster Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601
Cost: $10.00 to cover handouts and refreshments.

1.5 Act 38 NM Credits
1.0 Manure hauler/broker credits
2.0 CCA credits

Pre—Registrations are required. Contact the Lancaster Extension Office to register; For more information ask for Jeff Graybill: (717)–394–6851

REAP Meeting
Meeting to Discuss No—Till Equipment Purchases under the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Tax Credit Program
Tuesday, December 18, 2007, 10:00 am to Noon
State Farm Show Complex — VIP Room
Contact: Mary Bender, REAP Administrator, State Conservation Commission by December 12, 2007.
717–787–8821, or via email at mabender@state.pa.us

Southeast Pennsylvania Crops Conference
January 22–24, 2008
Registration deadline January 15, 2008

North West Grazing Conference
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
DuBois, PA
Contact Susan Alexander (814) 849-7361 or SAlexander@psu.edu

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a topic, please contact your local Extension Educator. Contact information can be found at http://cropsoil.psu.edu/people/extension/extensionedlist.cfm

Contributors: Dept. Crop & Soil Sciences: Marvin Hall, Dwight Lingenfelter, Paul Knight, Bill Curran, Ron Hoover, County Extension: Susan Alexander (Jefferson), Del Voight (Lebanon), Mark Madden (Sullivan/Bradford), Mena Hautau (Berks), Jeff Graybill (Lancaster), Andrew Frankenfield (Montgomery)

Editor: Susan Alexander, Jefferson County Extension

Upcoming Events

Real time pest and heat unit activity: http://agsci.psu.edu/news/spotlight/pa-pipe

Calendar of Events: http://www.events.psu.edu/cgi-bin/cal/webevent.cgi?cmd=opencal&cal=cal209&

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If you have problems subscribing or wish to cancel your subscription, please contact Lisa Crytser by e-mail at lac8@psu.edu or by phone at 814-865-2543.

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