Andy Stone's Field Focus Report

Dear Field Focus readers, I have been remiss in contributing this season and for that I do apologize. If this missive is a bit long it’s due to my desire to catch up.

The first picture tells quite a story as it’s the original Stone family farm. This is the 162nd year the Stone family has farmed the ground and my 32nd crop. As you can see, it’s off to a great start and looks  just as you’d like a Corn crop to look early in it’s life.

It is meaningful to me to think of all the changes this piece of dirt has seen. When my family first homesteaded here in the 1840’s it was predominantly covered in timber. Their first job was to clear the ground a bit at a time and plant the basic necessities for survival. I’m sure they planted some oats, Corn and vegetables as well as forages. Over the years the Ground was all cleared and now it is one contiguous field of Corn. The other interesting thing to review is not just the varied Crops it has produced but to think of all the Technologies that have been witnessed over time. Today the field is one of our Genss RIB complete Hybrids. That has been quite the Journey from Open Pollinated corn to the most advanced trait  package currently in our lineup!.

The next picture is of one of our new (for us this year) tillage instruments. The Salford Vertical tillage tool is an excellent example of another change this farm has witnessed. From Horse drawn plows to this example of a complete finishing tool is indeed a long journey. We are very pleased with this tool and the condition that it prepares the soil to. Our stands and emergence have been really nice this season and I will give all the credit to this tool and my dedicated Farm staff. It is one thing to have the machinery and quite a different thing to operate it to get the best of it’s abilities out of it.

My final picture is some 3401RR2’s in Notill. I am constantly amazed at how modern Seed treatments (Acceleron) and high quality seed Planted by folks that take pride in their work can get off to an amazing start.

As I write this we are totally done planting Corn and Beans on my farms. To have planting wrapped up by May 14th is a tremendous thing. This has definitely been a Spring like none that I can remember. My Farm manager told me last week, this is the first year ever that he wore out a pair of Boots, dragging his feet on planting Corn. Each year is different and how it winds up is yet to be decided but as my Grandfather always told me “ a job well started is a job ½ done”. So now it’s up to Mother nature and being farmers and optimists’ I’m sure it will have a great Harvest.

Thank you all for your faith in our Company and for all your continued patronage.

Sincerely,
Andy

A few words from our Stone Seed Group Agronomists,
Rex Gray, Edinburg, IL

Hello again Field Focus readers.  With much of the state receiving large amounts of rainfall over the past few weeks, many corn fields are starting to appear somewhat sick for lack of better terms.  I thought it would be a good chance to review what actually happens to the plant when soils become water-logged.

Water-logging of a soil can have various effects depending on the length, occurrence, temperature, and timing in which the waterlogging takes place.  Many times a single specific symptom may actually be caused by a combination of things resulting in a single visual symptom.

The visual symptoms of a waterlogged soil can be some what confusing to some as the yellowing or chlorosis of the older leaves, which develops during water logging is similar to that which occurs with Nitrogen deficiency and waterlogging can actually mimic a Nitrogen deficiency.  In actuality, the yellowing develops too fast for it to be a true Nitrogen deficiency.  Anaerobic conditions are more to blame as the oxygen levels in the soil have been depleted by roots and micro-organisms.  Once Oxygen has been depleted a sequence components breakdown organic matter, and produce volatile organic acids and may actually be more to blame than a lack of Oxygen and under anaerobic conditions nitrate can virtually disappear from the soil solution by microbial reduction.

As visual symptoms often receive a majority of immediate attention, the soil itself frequently goes unnoticed as to what may have went wrong.  The soil is a vital piece of the puzzle when dealing with plant nutrition and waterlogging, nutrients in such soil can go from available to unavailable in a very short span of time.  Although all soils may not have been directly affected by flooding there are some which have naturally lower permeability or simply a lack of adequate drainage.  Similar effects of flooding may occur on these soils, but at a dissimilar pace.  It is important to recall all soils have various water-holding capacities and although most Illinois soils have good water holding capacities, many soils can easily reach field capacity with excessive amounts of precipitation.  Soils of this nature often show signs of ponding on the soil surface which can mimic the effects of flooding, although for a much shorter period of time.  Even soils which may not show signs of excessive surface water can still be considered waterlogged and the net affect on plant nutrient is thought to be similar.

Hopefully this helps you to understand what actually causes these symptoms and if any questions arise please fell free to contact me at anytime as I can try to help you understand this process better.  Until next time, remember to be safe out there!