Wheat Pete’s Word, April 20: Manure Spreader Out, Corn Planter In

In this week’s Word, Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture, talks compaction, fertility, staging of winter wheat, the value of neonicotinoids on soybean seeds, the smoke test, and so much more.

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Highlights

(01:00) Winter Wheat
- Huge changes in the wheat crop. Warm temperatures over weekend gave huge boost to wheat crop, and yield potential.
- But, Monday gave it a funny white cast…what’s that about?
(02:45) Maple Syrup
- Good news from Eastern Ontario, where maple syrup farms are seeing a really good run.
(03:15) Applying Manure
- Using tractors with low psi tires or tracks will help mitigate compaction at the soil surface.
- BUT deep compaction is all about axle load.
- Deep compaction could be limiting water movement to tile drainage.
- “We have to figure out how to do that better.”
(04:51) Corn
- Is it too early to plant corn?
- Look at the weather forecast and calculate the heat unit accumulation. You might just be able to plant longer-season hybrids.
- Warm temperatures? As soon as the soil is dry enough, get out there.
(06:18) More on Wheat
- Determining the growth stage.
- Many fields are already at growth stage 31 — about 10 days ahead of normal.
- What’s the critical weed-free period? Do I need to spray?
- An update on conditions in western Canada.
- How do Faller and Prosper compare to Ontario varieties?
(10:52) Red Clover
- Is 3-4 plants per square foot enough?
(11:10) Applying Hog Manure to Winter Wheat
- If I’m spreading 4000 gallons of liquid hog manure (25lb/1000gallons), how many nitrogen will it contribute? How about sulphur and manganese?
- What does chloride deficiency symptoms look like?
- Does manure provide chloride?
(12:40) Corn
- How much nitrogen should I apply to get the crop through until side-dressing?
(13:54) What’s the value of neonicotinoids on soybeans?
(14:50) Do we have any liquid carbon data?
(15:20) Does the smoke test work to find tile?