Cover Crops

Agronomy Newsletter -September 2023, Volume 14, Issue 6. Topics include: Farmland Rental Averages, Mid-Atlantic Crop Management School, Nutrient Management Farmer Training, Tar Spot Confirmed in Maryland for 2023, SARE Farmer Grants, Nitrogen Modeling Survey, Beneficial Stink Bugs in Crops, Deer Damage Survey, Wildlife Wednesday Webinars, On-Farm Research Trials, Weather Outlook, and Regional Crop Reports.

Agronomy Newsletter -August 2023, Volume 14, Issue 5. Topics include: 2022 Maryland Weed Control Trial Results, 2022/23, Maryland Wheat & Barley Trials, 4R Symposium, Frederick Grain Marketing Meetings, New Nutrient Management Details Revealed, Nutrient Management Task Force Nominations, When Does Corn Rally in August?, Public Release of Pesticide Incident Data, Grain Market Report, Weather Outlook, and Regional Crop Reports.

Agronomy Newsletter -July 2023, Volume 14, Issue 4. Topics include: Wildlife Management Symposium, Nutrient Management Update, Cover Crop Sign-Up, Interested in Planting Green?, Cover Crop Seeding Forum, Wheat Quality and Falling Numbers, Weather Market Phenomena, Hay and Straw Directory, Corn and Soybean Fungicide Charts, Scouting for Tar Spot in Corn, Pesticide Exam Now Available Online, LEAD Maryland Applications Open, Weather Outlook, and Regional Crop Reports.

Agronomy News-May 2023, Volume 14, Issue 2. Topics in this issue are Up and Down: Maryland Weather at its Finest, How’s That Burndown Looking?, Wet Cool Spring May Increase Slug Damage, Managing Fusarium Head Blight in Small Grains: Symptoms, Favorable Environments, and Disease Management Strategies, Maryland Weather Outlook, Maryland Regional Crop Reports, MDA Pesticide Container Recycling Program Ending, Don’t Forget to Take a Manure Test, Pythium Root Rot in Corn, USDA Still Accepting Census of Ag Responses From MD Producers, April 2023 Grain Market Update (information from USDA WASDE report), Managing and Scouting Fields for Fusarium Head Blight, New Web-Based Soybean Herbicide Tool, and Bt and Herbicide Tolerant Traits in Corn and Current Resistance of Target Insect Pests.

It feels that most years we find ourselves finding something abnormal about the weather. This year is no exception and in some ways is even more different from our “abnormal-normal.” Put lightly; the 2022-2023 winter was mild. There were only a handful of instances where we fell significantly below freezing and stayed there for more than a night or two. In fact, the average temperature from January to March of 2023 of 43.4 degrees Fahrenheit, was the second warmest on record in the 128-year NOAA Statewide Time Series dataset, just falling behind 2012 at 43.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Agronomy News-April 2023, Volume 14, Issue 1. Topics in this issue are Crop Budgets and Custom Farming Rates, Survey: Nitrogen Management, Forage Soybean Studies, New AgFS Educator, Hiring Nutrient Management Positions, Considerations for Burndown Programs in 2023, Grid Sampling to Improve Understanding of Soil Variability, Hughes Center Internship, Small Grain Disease Resources, Fusarium Head Blight Overview, Preparing for Tar Spot of Corn in 2023, Grain Market Report, Weather Outlook, and Regional Crop Reports.

Tar spot is a foliar disease of corn caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis and we confirmed it for the first time in Maryland from a grower field in Harford County in 2022; however, it is likely that it has been present in fields at low levels earlier than the 2022 growing season. Weather conditions across northern Maryland and Southern PA in August and September were favorable for tar spot development and pockets of disease outbreaks were reported, leading to much discussion about the disease amongst farmers and ag service providers over the 2022-2023 winter months about what to do to manage this disease in the future.

It’s that time of year when growers are considering which herbicides to include in their burndown programs. Utilizing effective herbicides will help to ensure less weed competition at planting. However, growers should consider not only what herbicides they plan to use in their burndown programs, but also the weed species present in the field.

A common question asked by farmers dealing with herbicide resistant Palmer amaranth is, “What are the most effective burndown options in situations where Palmer amaranth is larger then the ideal 3-4 inch control range?”