Faulkner County Agriculture Update
November 20, 2020
General Conditions
Next Week's Update

Just a reminder that there will not be a weekly update next week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope everyone enjoys this time with their families.
Weather

Another dry and mild week allowed for more ryegrass planting and soybean harvest. This has not been a normal November for sure. Grass is still green and we are getting to the point we could use a rain. It looks like next week we will get that. There are several good chances for rain next week as we roll into the Thanksgiving week. Temperatures will still be mild with a few chilly nights next week, but I am not complaining.
Arkansas River
Row Crop
Harvest

Another dry and mild week allowed us to harvest several more acres of soybeans. We are almost there. We are sitting at 95% done now.

Soybean Varieties

The 2020 Arkansas Soybean Performance Test Yield Summary is now available on the Arkansas Variety Testing Website. This is just yield data but it is a good start for producers that are wanting to go ahead and book soybeans for next year. There are several good Group 4 Enlist and Enlist/STS soybeans available for next year.
I had two Group 4 Enlist Soybean Variety Demonstrations in the county. We harvested one last week and then the other one Monday. Below are the results averaged together followed by the individual demonstrations with information about moisture, plant stand, lodging and test weight.
Beef & Forage
Internal Parasites in Beef and Dairy Cattle

The need to control internal parasites will exist as long as cattle are grazing pastures. However, parasite levels are not the same on all pastures or in all cattle. Pastures that are heavily stocked generally have a higher parasite burden than lightly stocked ones. Cattle in a drylot are less likely to have heavy worm infections than those on pastures. Young cattle will typically have more internal parasites than older cattle. Therefore, the methods of controlling internal parasites should be developed to fit individual production situations. Strategic deworming starts with understanding the life cycle of problem parasites, identifying seasonal changes in parasite burdens and implementing cost­ effective control. A successful deworming program, along with good overall herd management, will increase milk production in cows and thereby increase weaning weights of calves.

To learn more about Internal Parasites read our fact sheet:
Winter Forages

I talked to some producers that are still planting ryegrass. As long as the weather stays like this you should get a stand, but we all know the weather will change soon. One thing I did notice in a ryegrass field earlier this week was a nice flush of buttercups. If you have ryegrass that is at least 4 leaf or starting to tiller and want to apply 1 pint of 2,4-D it should knock those buttercups out.
NRCS Virtual Pasture Trainings

The NRCS is hosting some virtual pasture trainings over the next few days. Anyone that is interested in these events can contact NRCS for links to join or contact me and I can email you the flyer below with the links attached.
Livestock Market Report

The weekly livestock market report is available on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture website.
Upcoming Events
Contact Kevin Lawson, County Extension Agent–Staff Chair, Faulkner County | www.uaex.edu/faulkner