The rainy spring resulted in financial challenges this year for many farmers whose crops were damaged or not planted, and it may have residual effects next year.
“This year was financially bad. Next year, managerially it will be challenging,” said Ray Massey, Missouri State University professor of agricultural economics.
The wet weather in 2015 may affect budgeting, weed control, tillage and drainage decisions next year for Illinois, Iowa and Missouri farmers.
“Missouri had the most prevented planting in the nation this year,” Massey said.
The USDA estimates 1.5 million acres were not planted in the state. About 1 million acres of soybeans in Missouri, or about 20 percent of the total crop, weren’t planted. About 500,000 corn acres in Missouri never made it either.
Illinois was second in the nation with 300,000 prevented planting acres.
While the majority of Missouri farmers have crop insurance, even those with coverage aren’t showing a profit, he said. For example, Missouri corn growers had expected 140 bushels per acre, at a price of about $4.15 per bushel, to earn about $581 per acre. For farmers who bought insurance at 75 percent protection, they would get about $435 in guaranteed revenue.
But those who didn’t get the crop planted only get 60 percent of that, or about $261 per acre for prevented planting, Massey said.
Investing in drainage
Matt Helmers, Iowa State University professor of agricultural engineering, expects drainage installers to be busy this fall and next spring.
Anytime there are excess wetness issues, people think about enhancing drainage. This year, that tendency is partially offset by the lower commodity prices, he said.
However, farmers are increasingly looking at controlled drainage in conjunction with structures to manage the water table and in some cases, hold water back, Helmers said. The systems also help keep nitrogen out of the streams.
Weed battles
Where crops couldn’t be planted this season, farmers will likely see more weed management issues next year, Massey said.
“A lot of farmers just have fields of weeds. There are a lot of sorry looking acres,” Massey said.
Weeds will be a problem not only in areas where crops weren’t planted and weeds took control, but also where rainy weather prevented farmers from getting post-emergent weed control done on time or at all.
This year showed the danger of putting all your weed control into post emergence options, said Aaron Hager, University of Illinois Extension weed specialist. Even a modest yield reduction of 20 percent caused by poor weed control can mean a loss of about $100 an acre with $9 soybeans, he calculated.
It’s something farmers already knew, he said: Using a single tactic to fight weeds doesn’t work. You can’t get maximum yield potential without having a weed control system.
Those who used a good residual herbicide this year saw better yields, he said.
“The glyphosate-only approach is broken. Farmers can’t go back to spraying weeds at 2 feet high,” Hager said.
Mike Wilson, agronomy marketing manager for Wabash Valley Services based in Southeast Illinois, agrees.
“The days of a quart of glyphosate twice a year and having clean beans are over,” he said.
“While glyphosate is still an important tool, it is no longer a cure for all ills. Education on resistance management is your best tool here.”
Compaction pressure
In the last weeks of August and September, Mark Hanna, Iowa State Extension agricultural engineer, thought it might be a rough year for soil compaction. But the weather became drier in time for combines, grain carts and trucks in the fields.
“We got a kind of break,” Hanna said.
Mahdi Al-Kaisi, Iowa State Extension soil management specialist, noted compaction problems are scattered throughout Iowa this year.
The wet spring led some farmers to mud-in crops when it was too wet, and soil compaction from large vehicles on soggy ground did affect yield potential in some areas, he said.
Reducing tillage and using cover crops are two ways to mitigate the damage now. Tillage radishes, for example, help break through compacted areas.
Al-Kaisi also recommends leaving a “decent amount of residue” after harvest.
Hanna advised farmers to evaluate the situation. Test the soil with a probe or by digging to see if there is really a problem to correct, he said. If there is, the right tillage may be in order, but excessive tillage can destroy natural soil structure that helps prevent compaction.
Often, Mother Nature takes care of compaction during the winter with frequent freezing and thawing, Wilson said.
“If it makes you feel better to do something, do it, but it may not make a difference in your yields in 2016,” he said.
Investing wisely
Those who chose good seed genetics and treatments usually did better in the wetter conditions, Wilson said.
“The weather this year again made it obvious that the correct maturity, a strong disease package and SCN resistance for a farmer can be a deal maker or breaker,” he said. “You start with a good foundation and you still have a good foundation.”
He emphasized the importance of managing soil fertility throughout the whole season. Multiple applications of nitrogen, when possible, seem to be effective.
The financial impacts of the wet weather make it more important to make good management decisions for next year, he said.
“I think that we, as soybean growers or the consultants who advise them, need to spend our winter looking at our soil test data, tissue test data, yield data and any other parameter that is relevant to prepare for 2016,” Wilson said.
Originally posted by Iowa Farmer Today.