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Faulkner County Agriculture Update

June 28, 2024

4-H Foundation Fish Fry


Our 4-H Foundation Fish Fry Fund raiser is coming up on August 9th at the Conway Cowboy Church. Come on out for some good food and good fun!

General Conditions

Weather


We got a decent rain on Wednesday morning. I have heard varying amounts but I would say it was close to an inch on average. What surprised me the most was how the ground soaked that rain in very quickly. I went back out that afternoon and could almost walk a soybean field without any boots on. We also hit some very high temperatures this week. Grass crops are accumulating large amounts of heat units and everything is growing fast right now.

There is a good chance for rain on Sunday then we are back to hot conditions the rest of the week. This could be a game changer rain for some non irrigated crops. The night time lows are in the high 70's and getting close to 80.

Arkansas River
Drought Monitor
US Drought Monitor
Row Crop

Rice


It is time to start scouting for disease. I have included our recommended disease fungicide chart. I have not seen or heard of much sheath blight or blast out there but be on the look out. This is the time to think about applying a fungicide for kernel smut. This is the one disease we can not scout for. You have to spray before the head comes out or you will miss it. Both Ozark and 263 are moderately susceptible to kernel smut, so if you have a field that has had history of kernel smut I would spray it. I know it is hard to spend money on something you can't see yet, but as the great Hank Chaney always said "you can pay me now or you can pay me later!". The timing for spraying for kernel smut is between mid boot to late boot. The pictures I have included here show a plant at mid boot. If you cut the stem you can find the head it is about midway down the plant. This is a good time to spray, and you can use a generic propiconazole which doesn't cost that much. I am going to attempt a kernel smut demonstration on a field next week looking at two rates of propiconazole and three timings. Hopefully it is something we can look at later in a field day.


Below is a link to Dr. Hardke's Arkansas Rice Update from last Friday.

Arkansas Rice Update 6/21/2024

Soybeans


Soybeans enjoyed that much needed rain on Wednesday. We had some fields that were really feeling the pressure of the heat and dry weather. If we can grab this next rain on Sunday we will be in business. There are still a few fields left to plant and a few replants but we are close to being fully planted for 2024. We got the soybean variety trial planted on Tuesday and I put together another soybean pre-emerge demonstration on Friday. My goal is after the pre-emerge herbicides start to break to come across with different applications of Enlist and compare a total weed control program. I have listed the varieties below that are in the variety trial.


Insect pressure still remains low. I did pick up a few green and brown stinkbugs this week but nothing alarming. Corn earworm moth trap counts continue to be low but that can break at anytime.

Corn


Just like the soybeans, the rain on Wednesday was crucial for the corn, especially fields that are dryland. If we get the one Sunday, these could be the million dollar rains that sets us up for a good corn crop. On fields that are irrigated, don't stop the water. Even though we are getting a few rains, we need to keep our irrigations going, especially with pivots. I have already had a few ask, how much longer will I have to water. The answer is you still have a little ways to go. If we are sitting at R3 right now, you have two weeks to get to R5. Once you get to R5 things start to slow down and depending on if you are using rows or pivots will determine how much longer to go. I would say most people have at least four more weeks of watering to go.


Disease pressure remains light. I have not heard of any southern rust yet, and to be honest we are getting close to where even if we do get southern rust we can outrun it.


This is the first week we accumulated over 200 heat units. We accumulated 203 heat units this week which brings us up to 1919 total heat units since April 1. That would put corn between R3 and R4.

Corn Earworm Moth Traps


Well it was another week with low numbers. I have seen that eastern Arkansas are starting to get big flights so we are probably not far behind.


I have included a link this week to the statewide 2024 Statewide County Trap Catches. You can see numbers from traps from all the counties.

2024 County Trap Catches
Herbicide Trainings

Anyone that applies Enlist, Dicamba, or Paraquat are required to go through additional education hours. The Enlist and Dicamba training is done online through the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Paraquat is done through the National Pesticide Safety Education Center and there is a $25 charge.

For Enlist and Dicamba follow the link to our Pesticide Training Page. On the left side of the screen there is a menu that links you to Enlist and Dicamba training. I have also added the link to the NPSEC website for the Paraquat training.
UADA Pest Education and Training Page
NPSEC Paraquat Training
Beef, Small Ruminants, & Forages

Faulkner and Perry County Grazing Field Day


The Faulkner and Perry County Grazing Field Day will be held on July 13th at the Jeff Owen Farm just north of Enola on Heffington Cemetery Road.


Registration will start at 8:30 with the program starting at 9:00 and concluding with a lunch provided by the Faulkner County Conservation District.


Topics to be covered:

  • Electric Fencing
  • Water Tanks
  • Rotational Grazing
  • Calibration of Sprayers and Drills
  • Updates from NRCS


For anyone that has an EQIP contract and need to attend an educational meeting, this will count for that.


Please register by July 10 by calling either the Faulkner County Extension Office at 501-329-8344 or the Perry County Extension Office at 501-889-2661.

Asian Longhorn Tick Webinar


Please join us Thursday, July 11th at 6:00pm for an informational webinar on the Asian Longhorn Tick. In this webinar we will be joined by Drs. Kelly Loftin and Emily McDermott from UADA along with Drs. John Nilz and Josh Moffett from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to discuss Theileria in cattle and the Asian Longhorn Tick.

 

This webinar will cover topics such as how to distinguish species and control tick populations along with disease symptoms and diagnostic testing. This webinar is for all livestock producers, veterinarians, agents and anyone wanting to learn more about the Asian Longhorn Tick. 


Registration link:

https://uada.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LsL7Bu7wRfaSCKix5o_rkg#/registration

Armyworms in Faulkner County


Armyworms are still hard to find in the county since we found the first ones a couple of weeks ago. I am not even hearing much from south Arkansas which was spraying like crazy. That doesn't mean to let your guard down. Keep scouting fields and look for signs of feeding. A good indicator is watch crabgrass, they really love that. You can see the damage easily on crabgrass so it is a good indicator grass.


Please let me know if anyone is finding worms at treatment levels.

Fertility Demonstrations


We got another demonstration out this week. Last week we established the Nitrogen Stabilizers plot, and this week we got out a Nitrogen Rates plot. We tried to get it in Wednesday morning, but the rain got to the field before we could, so we got it out Friday and we hope to catch a rain on Sunday. There are two plots left to establish and we will get those our after the producer harvests this cutting.


These plots include:


  • Nitrogen Stabilizers
  • Sulfur Rates
  • High Nitrogen Rates
  • Nitrogen Rates


These results will be in our demonstration book at the end of the year.

Wooly Croton

Jaley Pearson - Faulkner County Extension Intern


Woolly Croton is a native, warm-season annual with star-shaped hairs on the surfaces of the leaves and stems.


Each leaf is attached to the stem by a stalk, called a petiole. The leaves have no lobes, are usually entire and are located alternately along the stem. They have an aromatic smell when crushed.


The flowers are arranged in spikes at the ends of the stems. The fruit is a capsule that has three segments supporting three individual seeds.


Woolly croton produces seeds that are very valuable to dove, quail and other seed-eating birds but are of low value for livestock grazing. When these plants are abundant, they are generally associated with soil disturbance, lack of soil cover or overgrazing.


Wooly croton is one of the easiest pasture weeds to control with herbicides. In May or early June when woolly croton is less than 12 inches tall apply 2,4-D amine at 1 to 2 pt/A. There are a few more options as well other than 2,4-D. Also recommended are Metsulfuron 6-DF as well as Grazon P+D, GrazonNext and Weedmaster(dicamba + 2,4-D).

Wooly Croton

Footrot Vaccine

Dr. Dan Quadros - Small Ruminant Specialist


Footrot vaccine is now available, thanks to the California Wool Growers Association! Footvax (labeled only for sheep) comes in 250-dose bottles and sells for $1.55 per dose or $387.50 per bottle. They will ship UPS overnight with the shipping costs added to the invoice. They must have permission from our State Veterinarian to sell Footvax in our State. Please email info@woolgrowers.org if you would like to order, and they will start the process with the Arkansas State Veterinarian. The recommendation is to initiate a vaccination program with 2 shots per animal, 4-6 weeks apart, 1mL subcutaneous.

Footvax Safety Data Sheet
Cattle Market Notes Weekly
Livestock Market Report

The weekly livestock market report is available on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture website.
ADA Livestock Market Report
Upcoming Events

Faulkner/Perry Grazing Field Day - July 13, 2024, 9:00 - 12:00 at Jeff Owen Farm in Enola.

Contact Kevin Lawson, County Extension Agent–Agriculture, Faulkner County | Kevin Lawson
uaex.uada.edu/faulkner