Faulkner County Agriculture Update
February 16, 2024
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Weather
Rain was the story again last weekend, but the rest of the week was really nice. We had some warm days and drying has finally started. We have a chance of rain today, but it looks like it won't last long so maybe we won't get too much. If we can avoid significant rain today the rest of the week looks good to get some fertilization and spraying done. We will have a few cold nights this weekend but mild temperatures return for the rest of the week.
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River Valley Rice Production Meeting
The next production meeting is the River Valley Rice Meeting which will be held on February 28, 2024 at Yesterday's in Morrilton.
Here is the agenda for the morning:
9:30 – 9:45 - Registration/Coffee and Donuts
9:45 – 10:30 - Jarod Hardke – Extension Rice Agronomist
10:30 – 11:15 - Tommy Butts – Extension Weed Scientist
11:15 – 12:00 - Ryan Loy – Extension Agriculture Economist
Lunch
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Dicamba Ruling Update
The dicamba ruling saga continues this week. Even though a judge in Arizona has vacated the registrations of XtendiMax, Engenia and Tavium for dicamba soybeans and cotton, the EPA has come back and said that producers can use existing stocks of these products in 2024. So any stocks that were in the hand of a dealer or producer before February 6 can still be used this year. There are still cut off dates that producers must follow.
Just a reminder, this is only for these products. Anyone using dicamba in pastures, turf or home owners are not effected by this.
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Arkansas Soybean and Corn Cash and Booking Market Reports
The two links below take you to reports by Brian Deaton, Extension Economist with contributions by Jeremy Ross - Soybean Specialist and Jason Kelley - Corn Specialist.
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Wheat
The first application of fertilizer on wheat started going out this week. Planes were flying as the ground was still a little soft for ground application but was dry enough to apply urea and ammonium sulfate.
The majority of wheat in the county looks great. The wheat is responding to the warmer weather, and if we can get a few dry days it will really respond.
There are a few weeds out there that we need to be aware of. Ryegrass is the number one competitor and yield robber of wheat. The problem is at this point there aren't a lot of good options. Axial is about the best option we have. The other weed that I have seen some of is wild garlic. Garlic doesn't rob yield but when you take seed to the elevator if they can smell wild garlic they will dock you. Wild garlic is easy to control with Harmony Extra.
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Beef, Small Ruminants, & Forages
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2024 River Valley Beef Conference
The 2024 River Valley Beef Conference is coming up next week at the I-40 Sale Barn in Ozark on February 20, 2024. I would love to see a lot of Faulkner County producers there taking advantage to this great opportunity. If you have any questions about it please feel free to give me a call!
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Forage To Do's for Next Week
If we miss the rain this week, we should be set up nicely to be able to cover some ground next week. Here are a few things to be thinking about next week.
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Fertilizing winter annuals. I would apply 100 pounds of urea on any winter annual grasses that are planted. This will kick them off and hopefully allow grazing in March.
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Spraying weeds in summer forages. It is time to pull the trigger on spraying winter weeds in hay fields and pastures. We can still get by with some glyphosate in a mix right now, but it won't be long that bermudagrass will be turning green and that option is out.
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DO NOT FERTILIZE SUMMER FORAGES. I know it is tempting when the weather is warm to put out fertilizer on summer hay fields and pastures, but it is still too early. If you wanted to just apply potash or phosphorus that is okay, but applying anything with nitrogen in it right now is a waste of money. We need to wait until the first week of May.
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Fertilizer with herbicide on it. I have gotten the question about applying a fertilizer with a herbicide on it. That is an option, but don't use a fertilizer with nitrogen in it. If you want to apply some to just potash or DAP that is fine, but I still think spraying is better than applying with a fertilizer.
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Sprayer Calibration
Every year about this time I get questions about spraying. I will give recommendations and then I get this question, "so how much do I put in my tank?" That is a question I can not answer unless the sprayer is calibrated.
The goal of calibration is to determine Gallons Per Acre (GPA) of water being applied. Once that is determined, calculations of how much chemical to apply is easy. An example would be a sprayer calibrated to 20 GPA. If it is a 200 gallon tank that means that 200 gallons divided by 20 gallons per acre would equal 10 acres. So one tank load would do 10 acres. And if you need 1 pint per acre of a product, that would be 10 pints in the tank.
Calibration can be confusing, but it is a must if you are going to spray your own fields. I am always happy to come out and help anyone calibrate a sprayer. It doesn't take very long, but I have attached a link to a University of Tennessee publication that can help you out if you want to do it yourself.
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2024 AGLC Grazing Conference
The 2024 AGLC Grazing Conferences will be held in Hope on March 28 and Harrison on March 29. They have a great line up scheduled this year. It costs $40 a person to attend.
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Tri County Beef and Forage Conference
Faulkner, Conway and Van Buren Counties are going together to present the 2024 Tri County Beef and Forage Conference on February 27, 2024 at the Cowboy Church in Damascus. The meeting will start at 5:30 pm with a meal followed by the program. Speakers will include Dr. Maggie Justice our State Beef Specialist, Danny Griffin the Van Buren County Extension Agent - Staff Chair and Kevin Lawson the Faulkner County Extension Agent - Agriculture.
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Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue Renovation Workshop
The University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture is partnering with the Alliance for Grassland Renewal to host an all you need to know workshop about renovating pastures with novel endophyte tall fescues. Speakers from across the southeast will join us to discuss everything from the history to economics of fescue toxicosis and managing tall fescues that have a fungus that helps the plant without the negative side effects on animal production. There will also be a tour of old and newly renovated stands of novel fescues at the research station. The workshop is March 21 at the Livestock and Forestry Research Station located at 70 Experiment Station Drive, Batesville, AR. The workshop begins at 8:15am and will conclude at 4:30pm. For meal and materials planning, everyone is asked to pre-register ($40/person).
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Arkansas River Valley Small Ruminant Conference
Save the date for the upcoming River Valley Small Ruminant Conference in April. I will have more information and an agenda soon.
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Here is this weeks Cattle Market Notes Weekly
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Livestock Market Report
The weekly livestock market report is available on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture website.
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Pesticide Applicator Training
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There are two PAT trainings scheduled for Faulkner County. All trainings will be held at the Extension Office located at 844 Faulkner Street in Conway.
The dates are:
March 12, 2024 - 6:00 pm
May 14, 2024 - 2:00 pm
To register you can call the office at 501-329-8344 or email my administrative assistant Mindy Beard at rbeard@uada.edu.
The training will cost $20. If you bring a check please make it out to Faulkner County Extension Office.
The online course is still an option also. If you want to use the online options, the link is below.
If you happen to miss ours, I have a flyer below with the dates and places of the ones in Conway and Perry County also.
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Faulkner County Open House
We would like to invite everyone to come to our Open House on March 16, 2024 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Extension office located at 844 Faulkner Street in Conway.
We have lots of activities planned for everyone that comes out. We will be taking soil samples that day. Just get a sample from your yard, garden or pasture and put it in a Ziplock plastic bag and bring it by and we will get it sent off for you.
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Homesteading Conference
We are excited to announce our upcoming Homesteading Conference on March 11, 2024 at the Extension Office from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. We will cover topics like Home Composting, Beekeeping, 4-H, Fertilizer Management for Small Farms, Food Preservation Basics, Economics of Food Preservation and Cheese Making.
Cost is $25 per person and a meal will be provided. We are excited for everyone to come out and learn more about homesteading.
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Pesticide Applicator Training - March 12, 2024 at 6:00 pm and May 14, 2024 at 2:00 pm at the Faulkner County Extension Office, 844 Faulkner Street Conway. To register call 501-329-8344 or email Mindy Beard at rbeard@uada.edu.
River Valley Beef Conference - February 20, 2024 at the Ozark Sale Barn in Ozark Arkansas.
Tri County Beef and Forage Conference - February 27, 2024 - 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm at the Cowboy Church in Damascus
Rice Meeting - February 28, 2024, Yesterday's in Morrilton.
Homesteading Conference - March 11, 2024 - 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at the Faulkner County Extension Office, 844 Faulkner Street, Conway.
Extension Office Open House - March 16, 2024 - 9:00 am - 12:00 pm at the Faulkner County Extension Office, 844 Faulkner Street, Conway.
Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue Renovation Workshop - March 21, 2024 - 8:15 am to 4:30 pm at the Batesville Livestock Research Center.
AGLC Grazing Conference - March 28, 2024 in Hope, March 29 in Harrison starting at 8:00 am.
River Valley Small Ruminant Conference - April 13, 2024 - 9:00 am - 12:00 pm at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.
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