cq perspectives jan 2007

8/4/2019 CQ Perspectives Jan 2007

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OFFI CIAL PUBLICATION OF CROP QUES T AGRONOMIC SERVIC ES, INC

C r o p Q u e s t P e r s p e c t i v e s 1

Current commodity pricing structures areoking better than they have for the pastveral years. This will certainly change the

ynamics of how farmers are going toproach the new cropping season. Someay look at this rise in commodity pricingan opportunity while others may cau-

ously approach the markets and continuedownsize inputs in hopes for a goodeld with minimal input costs. Forrop Quests team of agronomists, itsusiness as usual during this market-g shift.While we may proactively alterme of our recommendations toclude a few more inputs, our goalto help our customers get the most

ut of every acre, regardless of the price of e crop, says Dwight Koops, Regional Viceesident, Ulysses, Kan. Our role with our

customers has not changed,he adds. Were still there tocollect data and help informour customers to whats thebest value for their dollar.

That focus may have shiftedmore toward an offensiveapproach, but it is stillimportant to focus inputdollars on getting areturn.

Koops points to seed technology as anample. There are a lot of new hybrids andotechnology traits that will be available in

007. However, some of that biotechnologynot necessary on some elds. We want toake sure that our customers are not spend-g the money for certain technologies justcause they sound good. We want to analyze

the eld and choose the best seed technologypossible. We are totally focused on makingsure that every dollar spent yields a solidreturn especially in years where commodityprices are good.

Crop Quest agronomist John Reh isntlooking too far in the future for the op-portunity for producers to make goodmoney right now. This is especiallytrue where wheat is already in the

ground.We have planted more wheat

this year than in any time sinceIve been in the area, Rehrecalls. My fear is that econo-mists will see all of this wheatin the ground and adjust the

price downward. For those who have taken apricing position, this could be a good move.For those who have not, now is the time tomake sure and do whats needed to bring in agood yield.

The veteran agronomist strongly recom-mends taking care of the crop in the groundright now. If you took a position and lockedin your wheat price higher than it has been inthe past, lets take care of it rather than wait-ing for the last minute to put on our nitrogenor our herbicides, he advises. Take care of the weed pressure now while it is small andnot causing a problem.

Another item Reh recommends espe-cially if the wheat price stays strong isa fungicide treatment in the spring if war-ranted. This will be especially important forany irrigated wheat or dryland wheat weretaking for seed, he notes. In addition, if inthe past youve skipped the winter nitrogenapplication due to costs, this may be the year

to reconsider and get that nitro-gen in the ground to push youryields.

Greensburg, Kan., Crop Questagronomist Farrell Allisonagrees with Reh and adds,I would suggest that weedcontrol take a priority inyour planning. I wouldliked to have seen somepost-emergence herbicidesput out last year that were not due to in-put restrictions. Id like to see those budgetedin this year. This would certainly go a longway in making a better harvest yield. Onwheat, he adds, dont wait until you thinkyou have a crop before you apply your fertil-izer treatments in January and February. Nowis the time to protect that wheat investment.

Rising commodity prices will allow ourcustomers to reap a pro t on more marginalground as well. We will see a return to moretraditional crops. In our territory, that iswheat, corn and grain sorghum. Grain sor-ghum will be a major player on dryland acresthat may still lack suf cient subsoil moistureReh adds, Im working with my custom-ers to develop two to three cropping optionsper eld so they can have all the informationwhen planting decisions need to be imple-mented. Regardless of the markets, moistureis the deciding factor and needs to be a hugepart of any cropping decision.

Our business is still all about timing,Koops concludes. When prices are low, youcant afford to make a mistake because yourrisk is very high. The same holds true in goodpricing years. You need to take advantage bygetting the most bushels per acre.

Upswing in Commodity Prices Offers Cautious Optim

John Reh

wight Koops

Farrell Allis

? ? ? ?? ? Volume 17 Issue 1 January 2007


2/4C r o p Q u e s t P e r s p e c t i v e s w w w . c r o p q u e s t . c o m2

Red River Crabgrass OffWhen several ranchers asked Crop Quest agronomist Craig Koehn

to help them nd a heartier, more drought-resistant grass for summer

grazing, Koehn recommended Red River crabgrass. The results havefar exceeded clients expectations and more ranchers and farmers areleaning on Koehns management programs to raise crabgrass on anannual basis.

We see crabgrass as a newly emerging crop in a lot of our areas,says Koehn. We have found that crabgrass can use up to 400 lbs.of actual nitrogen and 100 lbs. of actual phosphorus in one growingseason in a high management situation. However, this past summer,most producers put on approximately 200 lbs. of N and 50 lbs. of Pand it could support about 500 head of yearling calves on a 120-acrecircle for about 90 to 120 days of grazing. The best part about thiswas that we were still getting the 2.0 to 2.2 lbs./head/day gains weexpected. Red River crabgrass is among the most palatable sum-mer forages. Steer and heifer performance trials have averaged dailygains of 1.8 lbs. on medium-quality crabgrass. Optimum conditionshave increased daily gains to 2.5 lbs.

Koehn quickly adds, Red River crabgrass isnt the kind of crab-grass you nd and kill in your yard. On the contrary, Red River crab -grass is an excellent source of nutrition that is extremely drought-re-sistant and provides a high level of nutrition for grazing cattle. It is apreferred grass in many of our dairy herds because of its nutritionalcontent and palatability. For example, the Montezuma, Kan.-basedagronomist notes, a hay harvest of crabgrass during the rst growthcan have 15% to 20% crude protein and 65% to 75% digestibility.

Red River crabgrass is a runner grass that spreads by stolons. Theplant roots down wherever the stolons joints touch moist soil. Ithas very competitive regrowth and grows well in hardiness zones 6to 10. It also thrives in warm weather (80F to 100F), warm soils,moist conditions and well-drained soils that do not crack when dry.

Forage YieldUnder moist, fertile conditions, Red River crabgrass can yield 125

lbs. of forage/day/acre. A 21-year average at the Noble Foundation

(where Red River crabgrass was rst developed) is 3,075 lbs. of dryweight crabgrass per acre double-cropped with 4,285 lbs. per acre of

winter pasture. Together, these double-crop forages totaled 7,361 lbs.per acre. Trials show that Red River crabgrass increased yields 25%to 50% more than good native types. First-year production of broad-casted seeded crabgrass averaged 2,260 lbs. of dry forage producing226 lbs. of beef from 50 lbs. of nitrogen fertilizer.

Irrigated crabgrass and rye/triticale produced 250 to 260 cow daysof grazing per acre under continuous grazing management near Bur-ton, Kan. Dry matter production averaged 4.2 tons per acre over threeyears under irrigation.

Crabgrass has relatively high digestible dry matter with equal orhigher crude protein compared with other grasses, Koehn notes.Red River crabgrass has tested 73% digestible. During the rstgrowth cycle, crabgrass can be expected to have crude protein levelsof 25% to 30%. Mid-summer growth lowers crude protein levels to15% to 20% while late summer regrowth with low rainfall and fertil-ity can drop crude protein below 10%.

Red River Crabgrass EstablishmentA common method in recent years for crabgrass establishment

is, in August or September, to plant 2 bu/acre of wheat for grazing.Apply 25-20-0 N-P 2O5-K2O with the wheat seed. Apply additional ntrogen as needed for the winter wheat pasture. In February or March,use a grass drill or small grain drill to plant 20 to 25 lbs./acre purelive crabgrass seed. No-tilling the crabgrass into the eld of wheatseems to be the best. Cattle can remain on the eld after planting, andcan be grazed until mid-April on the wheat. Apply glyphosate to killthe wheat stand after removing the cattle. A fertilizer application 100-50-0 of N-P 2O5-K2O broadcast should be applied before crabgrassstarts to emerge. More nitrogen can be applied through the sprinklerduring the summer. The crabgrass should start to germinate by lateApril or early May. Apply 0.5 inch/acre circles to provide moisturefor the crabgrass to germinate. These irrigation applications shouldcontinue until crabgrass is established. About three to four weeks

Performance Options To


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1 5Crop Quest, Inc. began its existence when

Rollie Stukenholtz and I met with anattorney 15 years ago. We received our Seal to do

usiness from the State of Kansas on February 27, 1992. As withny new venture, there is always uncertainty when starting a newusiness, but with 61 experienced agronomists and four experienced

ce personnel joining the company within a matter of weeks, weere off and running and havent stopped since. Crop Quest contin-es to rank as the No. 1 employee-owned crop consulting companyroughout the world, and our motto remains Employee Owned andustomer Driven.A lot has happened during those 15 years in which our agronomicrvices (crop consulting) have been used on over one million acres

bene t approximately 2,000 farmers/clients throughout a ve-ate area in the High Plains region. Even today, with the extendedought and the declining aquifers, we still service just slightly

nder one million acres throughout this ve-state area. More farmerse utilizing our services on dryland elds and chem-fallow acresthey have experienced what a Crop Quest agronomist can do for

em on their irrigated acres.A couple of the most signi cant changes we have seen dur -g these past 15 years is the introduction of biotechnologyaits (GMOs) which have allowed the use of Roundup or otheryphosate products to be used over the tops of growing crops. Not

nly has this been a less-expensive herbicide program, but it haslowed for the control of weeds that have been very dif cult to con -

trol in the past. However,with the continued use of this program over many of our crops, tolerance and/orresistance is developingin the weeds that willforce alternative herbicideprograms at a higher expense.

The insertion of the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene into corn andcotton plants was also a major breakthrough that allowed plants toproduce their own toxins to kill Lepidoptera worms (corn borers,rootworms, boll worms) that have been devastating for corn and cotton producers.

As a company, we have also computerized our agronomic eldstaff which has allowed better report writing, record keeping and theability to review and analyze information in a timelier manner forthe bene t of our clients. We also have the ability to offer our clientsprecision ag services, which many are using to take advantage of the advanced technology that has come out with new equipment andmachinery purchases.

It has been a pleasure working with our farmers/clients over thesepast 15 years and the employees/owners look forward to workingwith them for many more years to come. We look forward to thechanges and the technology that will be coming in the years aheadand helping our producers adapt to these changes as we move for-ward into the 21st century.

YEARS AGO By: Ron OHanlon,

President

Member, National Allianceof Independent CropConsultants, CPCC-ICerti ed

Craig Koehn

after crabgrass emerges you can start grazing the crabgrass. Makesure and discuss controlling weeds with your Crop Quest agrono-mist during the summer grazing phase, Koehn advises.

Crabgrass ProgramKoehn outlines a typical program for his Oklahoma clients:

Graze crabgrass from early May to mid-August. Allow crabgrass to go to seed (about two or three weeks),

then spray crabgrass with glyphosate to stop growth. Plant wheat-barley-triticale mix in late August to early

September and start grazing in about three to four weekson the wheat mix.

Graze the wheat mix until mid-April. Repeat the process. They are able to graze all but six to eight weeks out of the

year.

Estimated Production Costs: 1st year: $250 per acre (includes stand establishment,

irrigation, fertilizer and herbicide). Remaining years: $225 per acre (includes irrigation,

fertilizer and herbicide).

Crabgrass Requires Good ManagementCrabgrass, like any other crop, requires proper management andtiming to assure a solid return, Koehn advises. Irrigation sched-uling is critical to meet the growing needs of crabgrass. Its im-portant that the crop receives the right amount of water at the right

times to meet the protein levels capable from the forage. A lotof farmers waste money watering crabgrass at the wrong times.The other area of importance is making sure to apply the cor-rect nutrients at the proper time. Good nutrition becomes evenmore critical in your sandier soils. Weve been experimentingwith higher rates of nitrogen and phosphorusand are excited about the returns.

According to Koehn, your Crop Questagronomist needs to analyze your graz-ing plans prior to deciding on nutrients

and irrigation scheduling. I would adviseproper soil sampling and pro ling be -fore moving forward with crabgrassplanting, Koehn advises. Thisis especially important in areaswhere soils are sandy or have highalkaline pro les. Also, it is criticalto nd out what grazing pressureyou are expecting on your elds. This makes a lot of differencewhen planning nutrients and irrigation scheduling in order tomeet your grazing needs.

In conclusion, Koehn notes, Crabgrass ts a lot of produc -ers who are looking for a good summer grazing grass that will

stand up to a lot of growing and grazing pressure. There areminimum startup costs and, if properly managed, crabgrassnever has to be replanted again. It tends to be fairly droughthardy (1 inch every 7 days on average) and offers an excellentforage quality.

Roundup is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company.


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Mission StatementCrop Quest is an employee-owned company dedicated to providing the highest quality agricultural services for each customer. The quest of our network of

professionals is to practice integrity and innovation to ensure our services are economically and environmentally sound.

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDDODGE CITY KSPERMIT NO. 433

Employee-Owned & Customer Driven Crop Quest Agronomic Services, Inc.Main Of ce: Phone 620.225.2233

Fax 620.225.3199Internet: www.cropquest.com

cqof [email protected]

Crop Quest Board of Directors President: Ron OHanlon

Director: Jim GleasonDirector: Dwight KoopsDirector: Cort MinorDirector: Chris McInteerDirector: Rob Benyshek

Crop Quest Welcomes Amy GerdesAs more farmers realize the economic, quality and manage-

ment advantages of having a Crop Quest agronomist involvedin their operations, there are more opportunities for growth.And with that growth enters the need for additional highlyquali ed agronomists. Enter Amy Gerdes, Crop Quests newRecruiter and Education Program Coordinator.

Gerdes, who grew up on the Navajo Indian reservation inArizona, attended and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1992. After working with the university for a fewyears, Gerdes took the position as marketing director forEagle Milling Company where she promoted the ArizonaFeeds brand. Prior to taking the position with Crop Quest,Gerdes worked as a county extension agent in Kansas work-ing primarily with 4-H Youth Development Programs.

My main responsibility will be to attend various university job fairs looking for quali ed agronomists as well as promot -ing Crop Quest, Gerdes outlines. There are a lot of peoplewho want to be involved in agriculture and I hope to educatethem to the bene ts of Crop Quest as a career opportunity.

Crop Quest President Ron OHanlon adds, Because of our continued growth with new and existing customers, wewanted to nd a well-quali ed person who could help us

search, recruit and train new agronomists. This has been aposition that weve wanted to ll for several years and nallyfound the right person in Amy Gerdes.Amy comes to us with years of hands-ontraining experience with the CountyExtension Service and brings fresh

ideas and training experience that willquickly bene t our agronomists andcustomers.

While Gerdes says her job role willchange as the position expands,she is clearly focused on ndingthe most-quali ed agronomistsavailable. Crop Quest can onlygrow as quickly as we can bringon new, highly educated agrono-mists, Gerdes concludes. Imlooking forward to getting in the eld and nding and helpingtrain our newest additions.

Amy Gerdes can be contacted directly via e-mail [email protected] or by calling Crop Quest at620-225-2233.

Crop Quest Honored By National MagazineAgriMarketing, the nations leading publication for agri-market-

ing professionals, announced in their Product of the Year annualpublication that Crop Quests Paramount Reporting for ad-vanced SST Summit users was selected as a Product of the YearRunners-Up Recipient.

Last year Crop Quest upgraded all of its agronomists to the SSTsoftware for improved record keeping and eld data collection,which now allows all Crop Quest agronomists instant access to

eld data and critical, time-sensitive production data.Crop Quest precision ag specialist Jason Hooper notes, Para-

mount Reporting delivers value-added reports and a library of thepreviously created reports for advanced SST Summit users. Thistechnology is allowing our agronomists to present real-time data

thats easy to interpret and plan from. Were honored that Para-mount Reporting was recognized as a Product of the Year awardwinner.

cq perspectives jan 2007

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