Are you ready for spring 2020? With harvest 2019 looming and the scars from this past spring still healing, spring 2020 is not at the forefront of our minds. One thing to consider as we approach these fields with the harvesters this fall would be to get some fertility done for next spring. This has many benefits, like the opportunity to choose better field conditions than spring sometimes affords. This can minimize compaction as well as give the soil a frost cycle to work some layers out.
Another benefit for applying fall fertilizer—it allows your phosphorus,
potassium, and sulfur time to work into the soil. Potassium, phosphorus, and sulfur move through the soil profile much slower than nitrogen. By applying your phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur in the fall, those nutrients should be in the root zone come spring.
Fall fertilizer is generally less expensive than in the spring. Last fall, potash was $32 less per ton than December prepay and $55 less per ton than it was on April 1st. The fall of 2017, potash was $24 less then December and $37 less than spring of 2018. Anhydrous in the fall of 2018 was $123 less than December and $145 less than spring. Finally, in 2017 fall fertilizer was $120 less than December and $144 less than spring. This is mostly due to more efficient logistics in the fall vs. the crunch we face every spring. To top it off, we don’t always know what we will face in the spring. This past spring there was legitimate scare that some acres weren’t going to get what they needed due to the Mississippi River not opening as usual.
Lastly the acres that have fall anhydrous and plowed down fertilizer applied are ready for the corn planter next spring. When the fields are ready, you can get in the fields with the planter right away vs. having to put on fertilizer first. This creates a bigger window to plant in a timely manner and in better field conditions.
Targeting Soil Fertility
Times are tight with current commodity prices, so getting the most efficient productivity out of every acre is on everyone’s mind now more than ever. At Allied Cooperative we have the technology and expertise to make fertilizer and lime recommendations based on multiple layers of data. This informed approach will enable you to put the right amount of product in the right place, which maximizes the impact of every dollar you spend.
Taking GPS-referenced soil samples (“grid sampling”) is a great base layer for managing fertility. Areas to be sampled can vary by field size from five acre to sub-acre grids. The number of acres encompassed in each GPS-referenced soil sample can vary from five acres to less than one acre, but smaller fields should have at least five sample points to draw information from. With this data, we can deliver variable-rate recommendations for lime, potash, or DAP.
For example, a field that calls for an average of 200 lbs/acre of potash might have areas that need as much as 275 lbs/acre or as little as 125 lbs/acre for the same crop and yield. If 200 lbs/acre was applied on every acre of this field, some acres would receive excess potassium while other acres would be deficient. In this way, you can see how putting the right amount of product down in each area of the fields makes sense not just from an environmental standpoint but from an economic sense as well.
Finally, if someone else soil samples your farm we can import that information into our software and get you rolling towards an optimal fertility regime. Contact your Allied Agronomy Advisor today for fall soil sampling and variable-rate recommendations!
Ambitine™ technology is a blend of key plant extracts and acidifiers that support gut integrity and help support feed intake. Ambitine® supports gut integrity by helping to protect villi during periods of stress. The technology continues to take action reducing gut pH, stimulating secretion of digestive enzymes, supporting gut integrity, supporting immune-competence, and promoting a desired gut microflora balance. As we know, show pigs certainly have ample amounts of stress due to purchasing, new environment, feeding systems, transporting, washing, clipping, and exercising, so the addition of Ambitine™ to the Honor Show Chow Pig Feeds will be a great Addition. It can now be found in 209, 309, 509, 709, 809 and FINALE 909 .
Another important aspect to consider is the temperature of your milk when it’s given to the calf. A calf should consume its milk at 102-105˚ F. Travel time from the mixing location to the calf and outside temperatures should always be considered. It is a good idea to occasionally take the temperature of your milk using a thermometer when it reaches your calf. That way you can get a benchmark at where you are at and if adjustments should be made to achieve the correct temperature of 102-105˚ F.
Another element that is vital to consider is how the calf’s living space is bedded. Straw is a highly-recommended bedding source for warmth; however, it does a poor job at absorbing moisture. Even though shavings contribute dust, they absorb moisture very well. If your calves are housed on cement, a layer of shavings, topped with a good amount of straw will allow for absorption and the calf can nest within the straw. Some calf barns or hutches have gravel, dirt, or sand bedded areas. In these cases, a good amount of straw to permit the calf to nest should be sufficient. In extreme temperatures or with newborn calves, calf jackets can be worn to ensure the calf keeps warm. Washing the jackets in between each calf is a good practice to use to help reduce disease transmission.
Using these techniques for nutrition and calf care will help ensure that your calf program continues to be successful during the upcoming winter months. It is important to remember that these calves are your future. There is only one opportunity to raise them correctly, which shapes them into the cows that they will become in your herd. The Allied Cooperative nutrition team would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
challenges our cattle may experience. During any of these stressors, we know from experience that cattle will react by reducing feed and water intake, which is the foundation piece for the decline in animal health. However, when an animal’s rumen is functioning optimally, it has the right balance of microbiota in a stable pH environment to digest feed more efficiently, making more energy, protein, and other nutrients available for the animal; which will result in improvements in production and overall health.
I checked my rain gauge yesterday morning at 6:00am and dumped out 5.5 inches of rain. That is another 5.5 inches that we did not need. Area growers are anxious to start soybean harvest and finish up corn silage. But mother nature has other ideas for us. See the attached photo I took this morning on my way into work. This soybean field, just south east of Mauston has the headlands harvested, but it will be a while before the rest of the field will be dry enough to bring the combines in again. I keep praying for a stretch of warm, sunny, dry weather to help firm up our fields so harvesting can continue. I talked to one area farmer earlier in the week and he predicted that a lot of corn will get harvested in January. That is we will have to wait for a hard, deep frost to allow harvesting on some of these fields. I will keep asking for sunshine, in the meantime please be safe when dealing with less than ideal field conditions.
Yesterday morning we saw scattered showers hit the area. By yesterday afternoon we had some severe storms hit our northern trade area. My daughter’s cross country meet was cut short last night due to severe weather. (See photo of storm front moving in on Nekoosa.) They got 5 minutes into the race and the storm sirens went off in Nekoosa, pretty scary for 
a group of middle school students. I followed their bus back to Mauston, and from Nekoosa to New Miner we only traveled at 30 miles per hour due to the lack of visibility from the heavy rains.
rtant that you ID this disease now. This way you can plan to manage for this disease for the 2017 crop season. In a few short weeks we will not be able to see the symptoms of this disease. It often gets confused with BSR (Brown Stem Rot). With BSR the pith, or the inside of the stem is brown, in SDS it stays clear or white in most cases.
Breaking Ground 