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Ag Report : Washington County
Ag Report August 5, 2003
Washington County Ag Report
August 5, 2003
This weekly report is provided free of charge to Washington county farmers
and agribusinesses. Contributors are Sandy Buxton, Colleen Converse, Aaron
Gabriel, Laura McDermott, and Mandy Rising. If you would like to be removed
from the mailing list or know of someone that should receive it, please
let us know.
"One drop of hatred in your soul will spread and discolor everything
like a drop of black ink in white milk." -- Alice Munro
Announcements
Tuesday, August 12 at 5 pm - Biodegradable Plastic and Greenhouse
Meeting: First stop is at the Moses's Farm on Rte 67 in Eagle Bridge
to evaluate a new biodegradable plastic that Rich and Kathy used this
season. Then we will caravan up to Hayes's Produce on Rte 22 in Cambridge
to see CJ and Wendy's new greenhouse with a plastic bench system.
Tues., Aug. 12. 9:30 AM- 5 PM, 2nd Organic Field Crops Field Day.
Roundtable discussions, presentations, and bus tour to area farms.
Guest speaker Tom Frantzen, innovative Iowa farmer who raises pastured
and deep bedded hogs and organic crops, and uses holistic management.
$25, $15 additional person from same farm. Pre-registration required.
Sponsored by NEON, New York Certified Organic and NOFA-NY. Call Maxine
Welcome, 607/255-5439.
Tues., Aug. 12. Self-guided Art and Agriculture Tour in and around
the Salem, NY (Washington County). Art work, demonstrations, free
samples. Contact Ruth Sauer, Arts 220 Gallery and Studio, 518-854-3406
or Meg Southerland, Gardenworks,
854.3250.
Thursday, August 14 at 7:30 pm - Outsourcing Feed and Fieldwork -
at the Adam Liddle Farm, Tripp Rd., Agryle. Learn about a successful business
relationship between Adam and his feed supplier Wilbur McIntyre. Is it
profitable to buy all your feed or hire out fieldwork? What are the obstacles
and hard lessons learned? What are the elements of success? Can I profitably
raise feed without big machinery? Come join our discussion. Light refreshments.
Call Aaron for more information and to give us a head count. 800-548-0881.
Thursday, August 14 - RFFP Organic Farmers' Network gathering 5:30pm
optional potluck, tour 6 - 8 PM Witenagemot Farm, Schaghticoke, Arthur
and Susie Place, 518-664-6086 Mixed vegetable farming and greenhouse,
heirloom tomatoes varieties.
Mon. August 18 5:30-7:30 PM, COMMERCIAL ORGANIC PRODUCTION FROM
APPLES TO ZINNIAS Taliaferro Farm, New Paltz, NY, Regional Farm &
Food Project. 518-271-0744 vegetables, herbs, flowers, berries, and apples
on 47 acres,marketing through a 60-share CSA, farmers markets, and wholesale.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7 pm - Corn Research Plots Field Day: Phosphorus
Starter Fertilizer Trial at the Greenwich Central School Ag Program field
(by the running track). Discuss the new corn starter fertilizer recommendations
for phosphorus and see our plots that are part of a state-wide project.
CCA credit requested. AG
Thursday, September 18th, 5-7 pm - Cut Flower Production Management
and Marketing, Lilac Ridge Farm, West Brattelboro, VT. 1 ¼
acres in organic cut flowers. Tour will examine aspects of production
and marketing. Washington County CCE will have a van leaving the Salem
village park at 3:30 pm. Please call 800-548-0881 by Tuesday, September
16th to reserve a spot. There is a $3 per person charge to cover travel
expenses.
Weather Data - 2002 and average of 1999 - 2001
We are experiencing technical difficulties with our computers, so we will
not be able to report the weather data this week.
Midwest Commodity Prices - from the Wall Street Journal
Corn per bushel $2.03/bu
Cotton Seed Meal per ton $150/ton
Soybean per bushel 5.405/bu
Corn Gluten Feed 55/ton
Hominy Feed per ton 31/ton
Wheat, soft white 3.69/bu
48% Soybean meal per ton 171.5/ton
Tallow per pound .1725/lb
These prices are provided only to show where the general market trends
are moving and to help you determine appropriate ration ingredients. Local
prices will vary due to shipping, processing, and discounts.
FARM BUSINESS NOTES:
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) is in full gear and the deadline is
now approaching, August 22. This program designed to reduce the national
milk supply will collect bids from farmers who are interested in participating
in one of the programs (Herd Reduction or Milk Production Reduction).
Jason Karszes, PRO-Dairy, has completed a spreadsheet to help producers
with the production reduction decision. Wayne Knoblauch and Mark Stephenson,
Cornell University, have completed the aid for the herd buy-out. The calculator
program is available for you to download at http://dairy.cornell.edu/cwt.
For any other information, please call the office.
CROPS
Soil Quality: Biological activity is mostly responsible for releasing
and cycling nutrients in soil. For soil microbes to be active, they need
moisture (not too much, not too little), heat, oxygen (from plenty of
soil pores), and food (organic matter). Our current moist and warm weather
should be stimulating biological activity and releases of nutrients for
the crops to take up. If your crops do not look good, then do a little
detective work and determine the cause. Feel free to give me a call. AG
Cover Crops: You should be thinking about fall cover crops, some
of which need to be planted in August. Hairy vetch and red clover should
be planted by mid-August. Plant oats no earlier than mid-August, otherwise
they get a rust disease that will cover them, and mostly make them look
ugly, but if they are used for livestock feed, it will greatly reduce
forage quality.
Alfalfa: Alfalfa is looking good. I have not noticed any build
up of diseases, but we are having perfect disease weather. For alfalfa
cut 30 days ago, we are about at 32% NDF (neutral detergent fiber). As
a general rule of thumb, alfalfa will gain 1 percentage point of NDF per
warm day. PLH are plentiful, but each field can have a different population.
I do not expect you to check all your fields, but you should check new
seedings of PLH susceptible varieties that have little regrowth, uncut
fields near recently cut fields, susceptible varieties that have little
regrowth, and new seedings that are regrowing. Early harvest is a good
method of PLH control, but be sure to give stands plenty of time between
the last two harvests (7 weeks) or between last harvest and the first
killing freeze for plants to get ready for the winter.
Field Corn: Most corn is looking healthy. Goose-necked plants
are a sign of corn rootworm damage. This is severe damage, yield loss
can occur even if you do not see goose-necking. Some corn still has a
ways to go before tasseling. You should be thinking on how you might store
immature corn. Separate storage for mature and immature corn may be worthwhile.
Grasses: The rain has really helped regrowth. I did notice one
field that had noticeable grasshopper damage (a couple percent of leaf
tissue was missing). When it comes time to harvest grasses, remember that
a day of sun shine can boost the percent sugars and also dry out the soil
for better machinery operation and less soil compaction.
Pasture: If you think that you are heat stressed, imagine if you
weighed 1350 lbs and had a microbial factory inside of you producing heat.
At 83 oF and 70% humidity, cows are distressed, and it only gets worse
as heat and/or humidity go up. Use wise judgement when considering how
to keep animals eating and prevent heat stress. Giving them shade or a
building may be necessary.
Edited From Vegetable Pest Status Report July 31, 2003
By John Mishanec, IPM Vegetable Program
Vine crops
This is the time of year for powdery mildew (PM). I have talked to some
growers who have already put a spray or two on their pumpkins. Cornell
does not recommend applying PM sprays till you actually find PM in the
field. I know many growers say if it is the last week of July, than it
is time to apply a PM spray. This may have been a good idea in the past
when there were not the good products to combat PM. Today we have two
or more systemic fungicides (Quadris, Flint and Nova) which do an excellent
job killing PM in a crop. If these products are used before there is PM
to kill, than they are wasted. To avoid resistance, it is recommended
that these products be used only twice each season. Quadris and Flint
are basically the same sort of fungicide. Don't rotate between these two.
Nova is a different type of fungicide and it is what you should rotate
with Quadris or Flint. Applications of these products should be two weeks
apart with Bravo or copper applied in the between week. Go out and walk
through your pumpkin fields. Especially look on the undersides of the
leaves. When you find PM than it is time to start your fungicide program.
Last year, PM started very late. We saw it around the second or third
week of August. Everything else this year is late so lets hope PM is late
too.
Last week, many locations received two or more inches of rain in a very
short time period. Earlier in the season, we experienced heavy rain fall
and many of the vine crops showed angular leaf spot on the oldest leaves.
Angular leaf spot is a bacterial disease. When it is dry, it does not
spread. Heavy rains will spread the disease by splashing. This week we
are finding new angular leaf spots on the new growth. Spots are small,
less than a quarter inch across, white with a black edge. As the spot
gets old, the center falls out and you are left with an irregular hole
in the leaf. Check your fields and if you see this on your pumpkins and
other vine crops, a copper spray may help stop the spread of the disease.
Keep an eye out for squash bugs in your vine crops. If you see them building,
it may be wise to include an insecticide in your first fungicide spray.
Where control of cucumber beetles is necessary in fields that are blooming
and therefore attracting bees, the use of Sevin XLR Plus is less likely
to cause severe bee kills than applications of most other effective insecticides
or Sevin as wettable powder. The XLR formulation sticks to plants better
and is not picked up and carried back to the hive by foraging bees. If
sprays are applied early in morning or late in the evening when bees are
not foraging and the sprays dry before bees return to the field, the XLR
formulation is not likely to cause significant bee kill. (R. Weinzierl,
Illinois in the OWYS Veg Update)
Sweet Corn
Last week, we caught the first corn ear worms (CEW) of the season. There
were lighter numbers the farther north you went. Heaviest numbers were
caught in Orange County and they decreased as you moved north. This week,
the numbers stayed high in Orange County but decreased significantly farther
north. This is good as it means the storm that carried them up did not
carry up high numbers. If we continue to only catch a few, than you may
be able to hold off on silk sprays. The second flight of european corn
borer (ECB) has not started. When ECB is flying, they lay their eggs on
or around the ear. ECB is harder to control second generation than first.
Once, ECB starts, it may be necessary to apply a timed spray to catch
the larvae before they damage the ear. When CEW and ECB are here at the
same time, spray timings need to be tightened up as ears and silk need
to be protected. I wish I could tell you there was more management involved
besides just spraying but there isn't. Late season corn involves spraying.
With luck, you are not spraying as much with low populations or lack of
CEW.
Until the second generation of ECB starts, continue scouting your early
corn for damage. When you are over 15% damage then spray the field when
at least 40% comes into tassel. Follow this up 4-5 days later when the
rest of the field is in tassel. Tassel sprays are still effective as ECB
from earlier in the season are still in the whorl. Scout at least 5 locations
in a field, inspecting 5 plants at every location.
Potatoes
Keep looking for late blight. There is a confirmed report of late blight
in north western Pennsylvania. Check in low spots, along tree lines and
anywhere the field stays wet for long periods of time. Spots will be about
the size of a half dollar and black with a white ring of spores on the
edge of the spot. If you think you have found late blight, call your local
Cooperative Extension office or the Regional Office at 518-462-2553.
Solanaceae: Catfacing of tomatoes is a disorder that causes the
formation of a large scar at the blossom end of the fruit. The severely
affected fruit are often also larger than normal, and flatter and rougher
in shape. The disorder is common in early-planted tomatoes and has resulted
in as much as 40% of the fruit being classed as unmarketable in some of
our trials. Catfacing is brought about by exposure of the tomato plant
to cool temperatures at the time the embryonic flowers are just beginning
to form. The most effective temperatures are 60-65 degrees F during the
day and 50 degrees F at night for at least one week's duration. Colder
night temperatures such as 40-45 degrees F are less effective in causing
the disorder. Plants are susceptible to the disorder about four weeks
after sowing for the first cluster of an early variety, and susceptibility
continues for about one month during which the later clusters reach the
same susceptible stage. Thus a tomato plant that has been grown for five
weeks in a 70/60 degree F greenhouse should show no catfacing on its first
two clusters, because these were formed under warmer temperatures. If
those plants are transplanted into cool weather outdoors, however, later
clusters could be catfaced. Similarly, if a grower uses cool temperatures
to harden off tomato transplants before field planting, they could be
causing the catfacing with the hardening practice. Harden plants by withholding
nitrogen and water. It should be emphasized that tomato plants are susceptible
to catfacing before the flowers are visible on the plant. The susceptible
stage begins about 2 1 /2 weeks before the first flowers open.-Chris Wien,
Cornell University
Landscape plants: Red Spider Mites on ornamental fruit trees including
apple, pear, cherry and plum. The warm temperatures in early July gave
these insects a head start and we are seeing substantial bronzing already.
Japanese beetles continue to devastate a host of plants. We urge people
to avoid using pheromone traps because they actually draw more insects
to the area. Mossy rose gall was brought into the office recently. This
was the first time I had seen the large (> 1") hairy gall. The
galls are caused by cynipid wasps. The galls should be pruned off before
the larvae can hatch next spring. These galls are found on roses of all
kinds. Keep your eyes open for Mimosa Webworm, a relatively new pest that
may be seen in Honey locust trees. The larvae web together the leaves
and feed inside these protected webs. The larvae skeletonize the leaves
so that the tree looks scorched. Ligt infestation can be pruned out.
Lots of calls dealing with wood mulch questions. We have identified artillery
fungus for a number of people and have had lots of calls regarding slime
molds. Artillery fungus, Sphaerobolus stellatus, are real problems as
the spores that are shot from the fungus are virtually impossible to remove
from cars, siding or outdoor furniture. Slime molds, on the other hand,
look worse than they actually are. Generally slime molds are yellow to
orange in color and range from a few inches to more than a foot across.
They look very similar to vomit. Slime molds are most common on wood mulch
and when rains are frequent. Neither one of these causes any known plant
disease.
Mum production is moving along well - the only problem I have seen are
rodents or perhaps woodchucks eating the spaghetti irrigation tubes. Last
year I read a report of crows that were grabbing the tubes and moving
them out of the pots and even snipping them with their beaks. The local
grower is going to fence for the rodents and use rodent bait stations
- I'm not sure what to recommend if you believe the crows are messing
with you!
Sincerely,
Aaron Gabriel
Extension Educator, Crops and Soils
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