CREC Crop Day Agenda

The North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center (REC) will conduct its annual Crop Day on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

The emphasis this year will be on corn and soybean management utilizing a combination of NDSU and industry crop experts, according to Greg Endres, NDSU Extension Service area agronomist at the Carrington REC.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m. There is no registration fee. Refreshments and a meal sponsored by the North Dakota Corn and Soybean Councils will be served.

The morning's educational program begins at 9:30 a.m. Bruce Due, Mycogen agronomist, will review what was experienced and learned during the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons that can be applied in 2014 for corn and soybean production.

Tim Becker, Joel Lemer and Lindsay Maddock, NDSU Extension agents from Eddy, Foster and Wells counties, respectively, will review the 2013 tri-county results from the NDSU corn establishment and yield study. They will be reviewing the relationship of corn plants - field density, timing of emergence and spacing (for example, normal versus skips and doubles) - and the impact on grain yield.

CREC agronomists Mike Ostlie, Blaine Schatz and Endres will provide highlights of corn and soybean production research. They will discuss trial data primarily on plant establishment and intensive management. Subjects include plant populations, planting dates, row spacing, early season plant nutrition and special inputs.

The final morning topic will be crop profitability projections for 2014. Steve Metzger, farm business management coordinator at the CREC, will review the potential costs and returns of corn and soybeans, compared with other crops, including wheat, barley, dry beans and sunflowers.

After lunch, John Lee, Agvise soil scientist, will review his lab’s results of the fall soil samples analyzed from this region to give participants information for planning fertilizer needs in 2014. In addition, he will explain the proper procedures for sampling crops for plant tissue analysis.

Dave Franzen, NDSU Extension soils specialist, will discuss three topics. He will provide an update on NDSU’s revised recommendations for managing nitrogen in corn. Also, he will discuss early season yellow corn syndrome and talk about why and how to use plant tissue analysis.

A total of 4 continuing education credits in crop and nutrient management will be available for certified crop advisers participating in the event.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting the Carrington REC at (701) 652-2951; Tim Becker, (701) 947-2454; or Joel Lemer, (701) 652-2581.

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Source: Greg Endres, (701) 652-2951, gregory.endres@ndsu.edu

Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.edu