Cotton can be a tricky plant to manage. Unlike most other row crops in the US, it is an indeterminate, perennial plant farmed like an annual through the use of plant growth regulator hormones (PGR). PGRs are used to attempt to shut down or slow the vegetative growth of the cotton and force it into [...]
Alfalfa production in Southwest Kansas is a profitable crop. Initial seed costs are comparable with corn, but when amortized out for a five to seven year stand, costs are around $20 per acre per year. Furthermore, since alfalfa is a legume crop, nitrogen fertilizer is not required for production, assuming seed was inoculated and nodules [...]
One of the most challenging nutrients to manage for crop production in the Southern Plains is potassium. Many of our soils in this region are sandy and are derived from low potassium parent materials. It is not unusual for our staff to recommend fairly high application rates to these soils to push production. Several of [...]
With the recent dry summers in the Southern Plains, interest in moisture conserving alternative crops has increased. One new forage that has shown great potential in North Central Oklahoma is teff grass. Teff is a summer annual forage native to Ethiopia that is very broadly adapted. It can tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, [...]
Applying a pop-up or starter fertilizer at planting has become commonplace. Here are just a few things to keep in mind as you prepare your planter this spring. By definition, pop-up refers to fertilizer put in direct contact with the seed, and a starter fertilizer is typically placed a couple inches away from the seed [...]
The cost of commercial fertilizer is a significant expense each year for crop production. But fertilizer has always been an input with a positive return on investment when applied at proper rates, and when replacing nutrients that are deficient in soils. One fertilizer source that is usually in great demand where available is manure. Beef [...]
Alfalfa continues to be a valuable commodity across the country. Producing enough quality alfalfa to meet the needs of the beef and dairy industry has been a challenge, especially during the dry years we have experienced lately. In order to maximize forage production, alfalfa needs to be properly managed for pests, water and fertilizer. Sometimes [...]
As wheat harvest is wrapping up over a good portion of the country, “it’s not too early to start thinking about your wheat seed needs for this fall,” states Dwight Koops, Crop Quest President. In some areas there may be shortages of seed wheat due to adverse growing conditions this past season over the High [...]
“Yes is does!” exclaims Farrell Allison, Crop Quest Agronomist in the Dodge City, KS Division. “At times, Precision Agriculture information and technology can be overwhelming but once all the pieces are together, it does pay,” he states. Allison consults on approximately 40 fields that are using some type of Precision Agriculture (PA) system. The most [...]
