7.28.20 News from Your Federated Agronomists

As crops continue to mature, keep scouting fields for potential pests that require treatment. Insecticide choices are many, and your Federated Agronomist can help with recommendations. Then read on (video too) for news of a big change in the format for Discovery Plot Days this year. Kevin Carlson, Federated's agronomy sales manager, offered this brief video update on growing degree units in 2020.

Discovery Plots Move to New Format with Covid19 Concerns

Discovery Plot Days in their traditional format will not be part of the summer experience at Federated Co-ops in 2020. Unfortunately, due to Covid19 concerns over the health and safety of Federated staff and you, our customers, it is not possible to gather everyone under the tent or tour the fields. But Discovery Plot Tours will go on – in a virtual environment! You can gather all the news and information from the Discovery Plot tours while sitting in the comfort of your living room. And, because the virtual ... Read more.

Scout Now and Watch for Spider Mites, Aphids

“It’s that time of year again. Weeds are hopefully suppressed, beans are closing in the rows, the corn is pollinating, and scouting for bugs is now in full swing,” said Mike Slater, Federated agronomy sales rep at the Isanti location. Growers are “always battling something – the weather, weeds, bugs, etc,” Slater mused, and the primary battle at this point in the season is over spider mites and aphids on soybeans. Spider mites are “extremely small – only 0.05 cm long, about a 1/3 of the size of a soybean aphid,” said Slater. (See photo. Spider mites appear to look like grains of sand.) “Their webbing and damage to leaves are easier to spot than the pest themselves,” he added. Spider mites feed on the plant leaves and “suck out the contents of the leaf cells." Spider mite damage typically appears... Read more.

Consider the Crop, Pest Pressure, and Cost

“Choosing the best insecticide depends on crop, pest, pest pressure, and cost,” said Brad Hipsag, Federated agronomy sales rep at the Ogilvie location. Well-scouted fields make it possible to properly identify pests and assess the pressure from those pests. “Be sure to scout those fields,” he said. “The economic threshold for soybeans aphids (see previous article) is 250 aphids per plant on 80% of the field,” said Hipsag, with “economic threshold” being defined ... Read more.