Mauston Grain Plant Temporarily Closed

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Mauston grain plant will be out of service for an indefinite length of time. We hope to have the plant up and running as soon as possible. We are sorry for any inconveniences this may cause you. Please check back here for further updates on when the plant will re-open.

Due to the Mauston location being closed, we will be handling grain services for Mauston out of our other locations. We will be accepting wheat at our Adams location and oats at our West Salem location. Please call our marketing staff at 608-339-0357 to arrange transportation, or if you have any questions on pricing at the other facilities. If you have any other questions or concerns, you can contact David Rappa at 608-547-6149.

Armyworms ATTACK area corn fields

Please keep a close eye on your corn fields, especially those with a lot of trash or weeds. These photos taken by Wayne Roemer, an Agronomist out of our Plover location, show the extreme damage they cause. Wayne took these photos 8 miles south of Waupaca. Sally Turpin, an Agronomist out of our Mauston location, also found a heavily damaged field just north of Mauston. This pest moves rapidly and can leave only the stalk and mid rib on the corn plant. It is important to spray before the damage gets this bad. Please let us know if you need any help checking your fields.

– Rob Shields, Agronomist

Armyworms in Waushara county.

Armyworms in Waushara county.

Armyworm damage north of Mauston.

 

Tissue Sampling Alfalfa Today in Galesville

With third crop well on its way, we are checking to see where the fertility levels are. This way if some crop nutrients are needed, we can add some in when we spray the alfalfa for potato leaf hoppers. Please let us know if we can assist you in managing this crop.

– Rob Shields, Agronomist

Alfalfa tissue sampling.

Tissue sampling in Galesville, WI.

Answer Plot Event Tonight!

Allied Cooperative would like to invite all area growers to our Answer Plot event to be held today (July 17th).  We will have an Annual Meeting at 4:00 p.m., followed by a delicious steak fry dinner (FREE!), and a tour of our Answer Plot at 5:45 p.m.  The plot is located two miles east of the Hwy. 13 & 82 intersection in Adams County, Wisconsin.

It may be a steamy day — but you can almost hear the corn grow at the Answer Plot.  Come on out and see how different varieties are performing and gain insight in managing this year’s crops.

 

Soybean Aphid Alert!

Soybean aphid (photo courtesy of Wikimedia)

Attention! Soybean Aphid Alert! Soybean aphids have started to hit our area. We found out some fields are at threshold. I just visited with a grower whose fields are in Southern Adams county and Northern Columbia county and he has soybeans fields that need to get sprayed. Be sure to use a minimum of 15 gallons of water and a lot of pressure to get good coverage. I have had very good results using Leverage 360 insecticide in the past at the 2.8 oz rate. If you are spraying the field consider tank mixing in a foliar micronutrient package, such as Max in ZMB, and/or a foliar fungicide such as Stratego YLD at 4 oz. Please contact one of our agronomists to find the best recipe for your acres. Thanks and be safe out there!

– Rob Shields, Agronomist

UPDATE (5:36pm): In talking with our team up in Galesville this afternoon it sounds like the Soybean aphids are very bad up on the Trempealeau Prairie, just west and a little north of our Galesville location. They are ordering in more Leverage to combat this pest. Please check your fields on a regular basis. Typically the threshold is at 250 aphids per plant.

Watch for insect damage and topdress your fields correctly!

Insect damage seen in Adams County, WI, on July 2.

Over the next couple weeks, it will be very important to keep an eye on your fields for insect damage and to topdress your fields with the correct recipe.

With the increase in temperatures, we need to keep a closer eye on our crops for insect damage. Yesterday one of our scouts, Bryan Decker, sent in some photos of some insect damage in northern Adams county.

Also with the constant flushing of the soil profile we are encouraging growers to evaluate fertility shortfalls in their crop ASAP. When the need is established, a liquid or dry fertilizer recipe should be developed and applied to the field as soon as possible. A lot of our corn is at or past the V6 stage, when the number of rows around is established. We want to make sure that our corn has all it needs at this critical stage. Also in preparation for the rapid growth phase, V8 to VT, the plant is going to be taking up a lot of nutrients. Our agronomists have done a lot of tissue testing this past week and a lot of the samples are showing some deficiencies. The major nutrient deficiencies are Nitrogen, Potassium, and Sulfur. Some micros that have shown up as low have been Zinc, Manganese, and Boron. If you are topdressing your corn please make sure you are putting together the appropriate recipe for your fields. Contact one of our agronomists to assist you in this process. Thanks and have a safe Fourth of July!

– Rob Shields, Agronomist

July Crop Update

Potatoes

Late blight has been found in a potato field west of Plainfield last Friday, 6/28. With late blight in the area it is important to step up your fungicide program by shortening intervals and using premium products. Be sure to be scouting shaded East borders as they remain wetter later in the day and are therefore at a higher risk of infection by late blight especially if you are spraying by air only. This week we are fighting 3^rd and 4^th instar Colorado potato beetle larvae who survived earlier insecticide applications especially on edges.

Corn

In corn, we are making sure that the fields are weed free and continue monitoring for foliar diseases and insects. Our black light trap moth counts have remained low for most corn insects. We are seeing quite a few rose chafer beetles in several fields in the area, yet we are not seeing much feeding from them at all but will continue to monitor them.

Soybeans

In soybeans, we are cleaning up weeds across most of the area this week and monitoring fields for early insects and disease.

– Otto Oemig, Agronomist

A USDA Plantings and Stocks Report Quick Hitter

The USDA released their plantings and stocks report this morning. Corn stocks are below average trade guess. Bean stocks are also below guesses. Acres are higher for corn. What? Really? Maybe they did this just to tell us they will resurvey. Also, these numbers are from June 1st. You and I both know things have changed since then. Bean acres are higher also. This I can believe.

Producers should be aware of the inverse that is hitting the corn and bean markets. This simply means that the market is not paying you to store your crop. So if you’re still holding old crop bushels, it is certainly time to think about moving some. Here at Allied Cooperative, we are keeping our inventories low so we don’t have to carry bushels into the future where the price is eroding. Feel free to call me if you need help sorting it out.

– Rich Dahlke, Grain Merchandiser

Tomah Construction Update – June 26

Progress continues at our Tomah facility! Take a look at the photos below.

– Rob Shields, Agronomist

Armyworm damage found today! Watch your fields!

Armyworms found today north of Adams near Coloma. Please check your fields for this pest, they will move FAST with this heat. Let us know if you need any help checking your fields. If you are seeing more than 8% damage I would encourage you to spray an insecticide such as Arctic at 6 oz per acre ASAP. Contact us for more details!

– Rob Shields, Agronomist