The 2021 MP44 (weeds), MP144 (insects) and MP154 (diseases) are now available for pickup at the Extension Office. These three publications give Extension's recommended control options for weeds, insects and diseases in areas such as row crops, livestock, forages and homeowner yard and gardens. To receive your copy contact me and I will bring you one, you can come by the office or there are some copies available at the Waggin' Ranch Feed Store, Farmers Association Co-op in Springhill and Associated Farmers Co-op in Conway.

We will not be having our regular row crop production meeting in Morrilton this year. Instead Row Crop Commodity Webinars will be held starting in January. Each webinar starts at 1:00 p.m.

To register and see the agenda for each meeting click the link below.

Producers that will be using Enlist must go through the certification process every year. This course is available through the Extension Courses website. The link is below.

The following is a message from Courtney Weatherbee from the National Pesticide Safety Education Center.

Effective December 31, 2020, new regulations mandate that any paraquat products under 120 gallons distributed or sold by paraquat registrants require a closed system and do not allow jar testing. However, dealers and distributors are permitted to continue to sell paraquat products that do not meet the closed-system requirement until their stocks run out, and pesticide applicators may continue to use existing stocks according to the directions on the label of the product in their possession.

We are moving closer to letting our cattle out on ryegrass in the next couple of months and something we should be aware of is grass tetany. This is the time to look at a high mag mineral for spring grazing on rapidly growing winter annuals.

Grass tetany is a disease that commonly occurs in Arkansas in the months of February, March and April. The disease is caused by an abnormally low level of magnesium in the cow’s body. This decrease in magnesium can be indirectly caused by heavy fertilization of pastures. When forages are fertilized heavily with potassium (potash), this can decrease the dietary absorption of magnesium in a cow’s gastrointestinal system. Furthermore, young and rapidly growing forage usually has an increased content of potassium. These two pathways that lead to this disease (fertilization and rapidly growing forage) commonly occur in late winter and early spring.

This disease typically occurs in older lactating cows but can also occur in cows with poor body condition scores or cows that are over conditioned. Other factors that may play a role in the disease are moist, cool spring weather and stress. The stressors that most affect cows in the spring are weather, hauling, penning and heavy lactation.

Symptoms associated with this disease range from slight changes in behavior to death. Early in the disease, affected cattle may have a decreased appetite, decreased milk production, a tendency to stay away from the herd, increased alertness or a stiff/unsteady gait. As the disease progresses, cattle may become recumbent and/or exhibit muscle tremors (spasms), an increased heart rate and an increased breathing rate. If untreated at this stage, the cow will likely die.

The most important part of treating this disease is to correct the magnesium imbalance. If clinical signs are mild, magnesium can be corrected by treating with approximately 15 ml (15 cc) of a 2 percent magnesium sulfate solution given subcutaneously in several injection sites. If the clinical signs are more severe, immediate action must be taken with the guidance of a veterinarian.

To quickly restore magnesium in severe cases, 5 mL of an electrolyte solution containing calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and dextrose (CMPK) is given intravenously. This solution must be administered slowly as these electrolytes have an immediate effect on the cardiovascular system and can cause cardiac collapse if given too quickly. After treating with the intravenous solution, one can then administer one tube of CMPK gel orally or give another 5 mL bottle of solution intraperitoneally to decrease the incidence of relapse.

Prevention of grass tetany can be achieved by providing a salt-mineral supplement containing at least 1 percent magnesium. Several mineral feeders should be used if stocking rates are high. Mineral feeders should be conveniently located in the pasture so cattle have adequate access to them. It is also important to review fertilization practices to prevent magnesium deficiencies in cattle. Fertilization should be based on recent soil samples taken from the farm. If your herd is at risk for grass tetany, consult with your veterinarian to develop an action plan.

Metsulfuron is one of my favorite herbicides to use in a forage weed control program. It is very effective and relatively cheap, which is a rare combination in farming. Just like glyphosate, there is always a lot of confusion with this herbicide. Metsulfuron is the chemical name of the herbicide but there are many different trade names. Always check the label and make sure you are getting metsulfuron methyl as the active ingredient and you will be in business.

Rates for metsufluron range from 0.25 ounces to 1 ounce per acre. Commonly when mixing with 2,4-D and glyphosate I use a 0.3 to 0.5 ounce rate. Some harder to control weeds like blackberry require a higher rate of 1 ounce while easy to control weeds like buttercup only requires 0.3 ounces. Consult the MP44 forage section for recommended rates and weeds controlled.

Metsulfuron is for use in a bermudagrass based hay field or pasture. It has good activity on bahiagrass and can be used to control bahiagrass in a bermudagrass forage field. It usually takes at least two applications of 1 ounce per acre, but it will do a good job. So if bahiagrass is your desired forage, do not use metsulfuron.

Use great care when mixing metsulfuron in your tank. It is a 60DF material which stands for dry flowable. Herbicides that are dry flowable are in the form of a little pellet which doesn't dissolve in water easily. It takes a lot of mixing to make sure the pellets are all the way dissolved. When I mix it, I like to mix it up in a different container first where I can mix easier and can see that it is all dissolved before I add it to my tank. I have talked to producers that have said before they got no control where they started spraying then at the end it killed everything.

Be careful when applying this herbicide around ornamentals. If your pasture is close to your yard, make sure you take great care because you can see damage to ornamentals and trees.

Here are some common trade names for metsulfuron:

In this edition of Cattle Market Notes Weekly Dr. James Mitchell gives a corn and soybean situation update.

The weekly livestock market report is available on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture website.

Winter Production Meeting Webinars - Each webinar starts at 1:00 p.m. To register and see the agenda click here.