Northwest Iowa Crop Update Newsletter by Todd Vagts ISU Extension Crops Specialist Counties Served:  Carroll, Calhoun, Crawford, Ida, Monona, Pocahontas and Sac.
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Volume 2, Number 30

Northwest IA Crop Update, December 19, 2002
(Word Document)

In this issue 
End of Year Evaluation
ISUE Extension Crop Advantage Conference
Residue Mngt Survey Available
ICIA Yield Data Available
Updated soil test interpretations

End of Year Evaluation
This will be the final issue for 2002 and I greatly hope my newsletters throughout the year have been beneficial to your business.  I would like to thank all of you for your input on information needs and for helping to make this newsletter continually better.  As we move into the next cropping year, I would like to once again solicit your comments on how useful this newsletter was to your business or customers and how I can improve the newsletter next year.  Your time and comments are much appreciated.  Hopefully only a few minutes of your time will be required to fill out the survey. 

You can access and submit the survey online http://www.extension.iastate.edu/carroll/crops/newsletter-survey.htm or you can print the survey (on-line form or as a word document) and fax it to me at 712-792-2366.

Crop Advantage Series Conference
ISU Extension Crop Advantage Conference in Carroll, IA is set for January 15, 2003

Crop producers and agribusiness personnel are invited to attend the Iowa State University Extension Crop Advantage Series at the Carrollton Inn on January 15, 2003, registration beginning at 9:00 am, program beginning at 9:30.  Certified Crop Advisors can obtain up to 5 credits by attending the conference. Featured speakers will be Dr. Mike Duffy, ISU Extension Economist, on the “Impact of the 2002 Farm Bill on Crop Management Decisions,” and Dr. Marlin Rice, ISU Extension Entomologist on “Bean Leaf Beetle & Bean Pod Mottle Virus:  Double Trouble for Soybean.”

Topics covered in the afternoon workshops will include:

·        “Thinking Outside the Insecticide Box:  The Future of Corn Rootworm control”

·        “Insuring N and P Recommendations”

·        “Quality Alfalfa Production Strategies; Management, Harvest, and Fertility”

·        “Revised ISU P and K Recommendations”

·        “Precision Agriculture Technologies: Local Perspective on Current and Future Successes”

The cost of the program is $25.  An additional $25 fee is charged for Certified Crop Advisors attending the conference for credit. To obtain a program brochure or for further information, contact Todd Vagts at the Carroll County Extension Service at 712-792-2364.

Residue Management
The 2002 National Crop Residue Management Survey is available. Data, regional summaries, graphs and a news release can be viewed at the web site http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/CTIC/CRM.html. The CD with 2002 data and hard copy will be available to members, NRCS and Extension in the near future. For questions or more information, contact Dan Towery, CTIC/NRCS natural resources specialist, at 765-494-6952.

Iowa Crop Performance Test Data Available
These data can be found at the Iowa Crop Improvement's home page http://www.agron.iastate.edu/icia/.  (To access all the North Central states crop testing data try the North Central Crop Evaluation Committee's homepage at http://www.ksu.edu/kscpt/nccec/).  For data that is already downloaded into an excel sheet for easy sorting, visit my web page at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/carroll/crops/yield_trials.htm

New in 2002 is the inclusion of 16 additional tables on the Iowa Crop Improvement homepage. These new tables report hybrid performances averaged across districts. This provides a chance to look at hybrid performances across more locations in one year than was possible in the past. With the fast turnaround of hybrids, this has become increasingly important.

ISU Soil Test Interpretation and Recommendation Updates
ISU has recently updated ISU publication 1688 “A General guide for Crop Nutrient and Limestone Recommendations in IA”.  The changes and updates mostly apply to K2O (potash) soil test interpretation and the addition of an interpretation for the mehlich-3 ICP for phosphorous. 

The mehlich-3 ICP interpretation for phosphorous was added since the “ICP” method (rather than the typical colorimetric method) of nutrient analysis typically yields a higher value.  The important thing here is to know which method the soil lab used in determining phosphorous needs: Bray P1, Olsen P, or Mehlich-3 and if Mehlich-3 was used, did they use the colorimetric or ICP method in their analysis. 

The change in Potash interpretation and recommendation was brought about by some recent field studies indicating that not enough soil K was available even though the soil test indicated there was.  This might be due to response changes over time, but it might also be due to how samples are now handled in the lab compared to previous methods (originally yields and results were calibrated to a field moist sample, now they are dried in the lab).  To correct the problem, the soil test K recommendations have been moved up one category, in other words if the old recommendation would have indicated optimum K levels, the new recommendation would be in the low category.  Additionally, some new recommendations have been made for deep banding K under no-till and ridge till cropping systems, refer to the publication for more detail on deep banding K.

To see the new recommendations, go to the on-line Extension Publication  "General Guide for Crop Nutrient and Limestone Recommendations in Iowa," Pm-1688.  It can be found here:

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1688.pdf .  It is not yet available as a hard copy but should be by the end of January.

(Word Document)