Hall County Ag Newsletter
September 2009
Josh Brooks, CEA-AG
Agricultural Waste Pesticide Collection
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Texas AgriLife Extension Service will hold a waste collection event September 18, 2009. Farmers may take unwanted pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, nematicides, bactericides, growth regulators, harvest aid chemicals, properly rinsed (empty plastic pesticide containers) and paint. In addition they may dispose of oil/oil filters/ grease, gasoline/diesel fuel, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, anti-freeze, lead-acid batteries, fluorescent bulbs and pesticides used on livestock.
Open to all Texas residents who apply pesticides or other agricultural chemicals for the production of agricultural products in Texas. Farmers who have banned or unwanted agricultural chemicals are welcome to bring these products to Hall County Farm Supply at 305 South 2nd street in Memphis, Texas. The collection hours are 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
For information on how to safely transport and handle waste materials, call the TCEQ at 512-239-3143. For information on the collection site call Hall County Extension Office, 259-1621.
Hall County Picnic
September 19, 2009
Farm Tour
3 CEU’s
Cotton Variety Trials
Sesame Trials
Defoliation
October 13, 2009
Lunch at Lakeview Gin. Tour to follow.
CRP Management
October 15, 2009
900 a.m.
Meet at Lakeview Gin and then
to field
Brush Control on CRP
Grass Id
Grazing Management
Wildlife Management
Ted McCollum
Dana Wright
Brent Baucom
Josh Brooks
3 CEU’s
Health Fair
October 30, 2009
Memphis Community Center
Cotton NAWF and Late Season Irrigation
It is time to decide when to cut off irrigation. Many of our fields have reached 4 nodes or less above white flower or the cutout stage. The COTMAN model uses 850 heat units from the time of bloom to a mature, normal boll. 750 heat units will probably make an acceptable boll. We are averaging a gain of 20 growing degree days or heat units per day. As our daytime temper-atures decrease, heat units will decrease to 5-10 heat units per day. Therefore, it will take 45-60 days to mature a boll from the day it blooms. Be realistic in the bolls you can mature and shut off your irrigation accordingly. The general rule of thumb is to cut off irrigation sometime between September 1 to September 10, depending on the field, in regards to soil moisture, fruit load and daytime heating. The glory of the center pivot is if the crop stresses quickly after irrigation termination or if high temperatures continue through mid September, another ½-1 inch of water can be applied quickly to aid in the prevention of boll loss. As we reach boll opening, the crop will utilize 1.25-1.4 inches per week depending on the (ET) evaporative transpiration rate. Use a soil probe to determine moisture in your profile. Late season irrigations tend to increase vegetative growth significantly while increasing yield very little. Fields will usually open bolls at the rate of 2%-5% per day. A good target is to have the soil profile nearly depleted of moisture as harvest aid season begins. Moisture stress can actually create a physiological state in the plant to shed older leaves. Cotton will usually respond better to harvest aids when there is some moisture stress on the plants. High levels of moisture tend to create defoliation difficulties.
Armyworms
Watch for fall armyworms in cotton. 8,000 –10,000 worms per acre is the threshold in cotton.
Wheat Variety Recommendations
Varieties recommended here are those that have consistently performed well over at least a three year period across the panhandle. Over the last four years, Hatcher and TAM 111 have consistently been top varieties in all the Extension trials. These varieties should be considered for all environments in the Texas Panhandle. TAM 112 is a very good dryland or limited irrigation variety. Endurance and Duster are very seldom the top variety in any given trial, yet these Oklahoma State varieties consistently are in the top 25% of most trials. Endurance is especially a good choice as a dual-purpose wheat for grazing and grain production. Yield data from previous years, variety descriptions, two and three year averages by location, and other information can be found at the following website under publication:
http://amarillo.tamu.edu/
programs/agronomy.
Soil Sampling
Soil Sampling is an important part of getting your wheat crop or any crop ready for the next growing season. The soil sampling procedures sheet that is included in the newsletter outlines proper procedures in collecting a soil sample. If I can help you with soil sampling call me at the office.
Variety Recommendations
Full Irrigation / Limited Irrigations / DrylandTAM 111 / TAM 111 / TAM 111
Hatcher / TAM 112 / TAM 112
TAM 304 / Hatcher / Hatcher
Dumas / TAM 304 / Endurance
Endurance / Endurance / Fuller
Duster / Duster
After the Conservation Reserve Program: Economic Decisions with Farming and Grazing in Mind
Since the CRP began in 1985, several million acres of former cropland have been planted with native and introduced grasses. CRP helps protect topsoil by taking highly erodible land out of crop production and establishing permanent vegetative cover in its place. It also increases wildlife populations. Now that CRP contracts are beginning to expire, landowners have some serious decisions to make.
When choosing to convert former CRP land to cropland or grazing, a landowner is faced with several decisions. The costs involved in the conversion process must be considered. Conversion cost will be between $113 and $143 per acre depending on the amount of tillage and chemicals applied to convert CRP land to dryland wheat production. The cost for converting CRP land to dryland grain sorghum or cotton production will range from $160 and $190 per acre.
Converting to livestock grazing will cost about $40 to $60 per acre if burning and fertilization are utilized. In addition, fencing and development of a water source may be needed. Expect to pay $600- $700 per mile for one-strand electric fencing and $800- $900 per mile for two-strand electric fencing. Barbed wire fence will cost about $6,000- $7,500 per mile including gates and corner post. A well with a windmill will range between $20,000 and $30,000, and a well with a submersible pump will range between $16,000 and $25,000.
Analyze the situation completely, focusing on the individual operation and figuring the numbers accordingly. Brent Baucom at the NRCS can provide assistance in understanding the issues of conversion and offer insight into some of the cost-share programs available to help offset some of the cost. If I can help you in making decisions contact me at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Office in Hall County at 806-259-1621.
Josh Brooks
CEA-AG
Hall County
Hall County Extension Office
109 S. 5th Street
Courthouse
Memphis, TX. 79245
806-259-1621