Action Farm Edition

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Investing in sulfer status of WI alfalfa a wise decision | Ag industry looks back at 16 years of Bt corn impact | Mild temperatures in March: good or bad news for the growing season? | Planting

crops early can cause insurance implications | What’s the optimum soybean seeding rate?

April 15, 2012

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Action Farm Edition | April 15, 20122

Prior to 1990, significant quantities of sulfur were deposited on crop fields through rainfall. In Fond du Lac County, this amounted to about 15 pounds per acre per year. Amendments to the Clean Air Act in 1990 called for, among other things, a large reduction of sulfur pollutants through the use of industrial sulfur “scrubbers” and the burning of low sulfur coal in power plants.

Current local precipitation analyses now indicate about 7 pounds of sulfur are deposited per acre per year, a reduction of over 50 percent in the past 20 years. The ramifications for crop fertility programs are not fully known, but recent University of Wisconsin studies and an increase in sulfur deficiency observations point to the fact that producers need to know where their fields stand from a sulfur sufficiency standpoint.

Over the past two years, samples

of alfalfa plants were taken across the state to analyze plant tissue for sulfur concentration. In total, 73 samples were collected from 21 different counties. Plant tissue sulfur concentrations were considered low (less than 0.25 percent sulfur) in 63 percent of these samples. Interestingly, most of the fields sampled appeared normal in appearance (i.e. didn’t show visual signs of nutrient deficiency).

A similar plant analysis survey had been conducted in 2000 and 2001. In that study, only 38 percent of the samples were in the low sulfur range.

Deficiency of sulfur in alfalfa is characterized by light green and stunted plants with thin stems and delayed maturity. In corn, a general chlorotic (yellowing) takes place, similar to nitrogen deficiency. Often plant leaf veins remain green.

Investing in sulfer status of WI alfalfa

a wise decisionSulfur, like nitrogen, is a mobile nutrient in the soil. This makes a standard soil test for sulfur somewhat less precise compared to those for phosphorus and potassium. Sources of sulfur not directly measured by the soil test may contribute significantly to crop requirements. In addition to precipitation, other plant sources of sulfur include organic matter, the subsoil, and manure.

Given sulfur’s mobility and its multiple sources, actual sulfur availability can vary from field to field and even within areas of fields. Currently, plant tissue analysis is the best method to confirm sufficiency.

Two crops that require relatively large amounts of sulfur are alfalfa and corn harvested as silage. A 4 ton per acre alfalfa crop removes about 23 pounds per acre of sulfur. Corn silage can remove 25 pounds or more of sulfur

per acre. The increase of corn silage acres over the past twenty years and the increased yields obtained from both crops may also be contributing to less plant available sulfur.

As we move forward through this decade, sulfur fertility will require more attention. If significant amounts of manure are applied to a field on a routine basis, sulfur likely won’t be an issue. However, in situations where little or no manure is applied or fields are low in organic matter, it’s likely sulfur will be deficient unless commercial sources are applied. The days of relying on precipitation as a major sulfur nutrient source are over. The Clean Air Act is working.

The bottom line to this story is simple: Don’t assume plant sulfur status is sufficient and don’t assume it’s deficient. Invest a few greenbacks in plant tissue analysis to know for sure.

Farm located on Hass Rd, Town of Eldorado. (Aileen Andrews/Action Publications)

Ben Julka, a senior at Laconia High School, teaches school children about farm tractors during the May 4, 2011 FFA Day on the Farm at the Julka farm near Rosendale. (Justin Connaher/Action Publications)

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Action Farm Edition | April 15, 2012 3

Agricultural college graduates today probably don’t remember a world without Bt corn. It’s been sixteen years since Bt corn was first introduced to the marketplace.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a naturally-occurring soilborne bacterium possessing the ability to produce crystal-like proteins that selectively kill certain insect types. The protein-producing bacterium gene, through biotechnology, is inserted into the corn plant. When ingested, these “cry” proteins give insects such as European corn borer (ECB) a fatal case of the stomach flu.

Transgenic Bt corn didn’t reach the market without controversy. There were and still are those people fundamentally opposed to any transgenic plant. Some of our foreign trade partners blocked their borders to transgenic crops. However, one of the biggest points of contention originated from a study showing that the ECB Bt cry protein had lethal effects on monarch butterfly larvae, which feed exclusively on milkweed.

Fast forwarding to the present, Bt corn is grown on about half of Wisconsin’s corn acres and comprises a majority of all corn grown nationwide. Fifteen years of use has reduced the populations of ECB significantly based on annual fall field surveys. The suppression of overall ECB populations has benefitted those acres planted to non-Bt corn and to other crops damaged by the pest such as sweet corn and potatoes.

Recently, a team of Midwest-based scientists completed a study that quantified the economic impact of Bt corn. It’s the first study where benefits could be actually measured by looking back instead of predicting what might happen in the future. When Bt corn was first introduced, some people predicted a savings of millions from reduced pesticide use. The flaw in this thinking was that corn was rarely treated for

ECB, especially in Wisconsin.

In this new study, a total of $325 million was cited as the cumulative benefit linked to Bt corn use in Wisconsin from 1996 through 2009. Interestingly, 75 percent of the benefit went to non-Bt corn growers. The primary advantage of using Bt corn comes from reduced yield losses. Users of the technology pay for this benefit in the form of technology fees (at the very least). Because of the significant overall pest suppression, non-Bt corn growers also experienced yield gains without the cost of the technology and are thus receiving more than half of the economic benefit.

Today, there are multiple cry proteins that control ECB and corn rootworm (CRW). Some also offer added control of western bean cutworm, fall armyworm, stalk borer, and corn earworm. Package an ECB controlling cry protein with one for CRW in the same hybrid and you have what’s called a Bt “stack.”

One of the concerns with overuse of Bt hybrids is the development of resistance within an insect population. This has been countered with the planting of non-Bt refuge acres. In the past year, companies now have begun to release hybrids with multiple cry proteins that kill the same pest. These are called pyramid hybrids. Think of this as the equivalent of using herbicides with multiple modes of action in the same spray tank mix to control weeds. In many cases, pyramid hybrids have reduced refuge requirements, even to the point where the refuge is mixed in the bag.

As Bt technologies evolve, time spent evaluating options will be rewarded. A “Handy Bt Trait Table” is available from UW-Extension entomologist, Eileen Cullen, to quantify the different options. It’s available on the Fond du Lac County Agronomy web site. As for the monarchs, research tells us that they’re still doing just fine.

Ag industry looks back

at 16 years of

Bt corn impact


Mild temperatures in March: good or bad news for the growing season?

Does a mild winter, a record-shattering touch of summer in mid-March, and persistent drought in most corners of the country bode ill for Wisconsin’s upcoming growing season? Taking stock of the official start of spring, March 21, finds little sure evidence to know either way it seems according to Bill Bland, University of Wisconsin-Extension agricultural weather specialist.

The U.S. Drought Monitor updated March 13 shows the mild drought (rated D0 on its scale) in NW Wisconsin expanding slightly south and eastward from where it was two weeks ago. Just across the Minnesota border, however, areas of moderate and severe drought (D1 and D2) persist.

“While a look over the past 18 months

reveals Wisconsin precipitation statewide as normal, the most recent 6 months have left the NW portions of the state 2-4 inches short of what’s expected,” Bland noted. “For the NW Climate/Crop District only 10 percent of years yield this little precipitation-hence the emergence of mild drought. This part of Wisconsin has too much recent experience with dry summers to be comfortable with how this year is evolving. Just across the border in Minnesota climate districts are experiencing the driest winter on record.”

Do longer-range outlooks for temperature and precipitation provide any clues to the upcoming summer? The mid-March updates for summer (June-July-August) only reveal that

forecasters have no grounds to make a prediction other than luck of the draw.

“The tools that forecasters can use in other parts of the country to look ahead just don’t work here in Wisconsin, for better or for worse,” said Bland.

For example, weakening of the La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean bode well for easing of the drought in Texas. But such far-away changes in sea temperatures do not reliably suggest what we can expect in Wisconsin.

The Drought Outlook updated March 15 shows neither easing nor intensification of the situation in NW Wisconsin. It does expect improvement in the Minnesota drought through April and

May, based largely on the expectation that things tend to return to more normal conditions over time.

With record-shattering warm temperatures in March, the 2012 spring and summer seems to be getting off to an extraordinary start.

“Vegetation will be coming alive and there is plentiful energy for evaporation from the landscape. Let’s hope that rainfalls keep up,” Bland said.

The annual Ag Showcase takes place at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds, recreational building. Jesse Diaz, age two, of Fond du Lac, samples some sausage from Beck’s Meat Processing, on Saturday, March 4. (Aileen Andrews/Action Publications)

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Old time tractors and real threshing work as it used to be done at the Eden thresheree held at the Wettstein Farm East of Eden. (Patrick Flood/Action Publications)

Stuart Joas, a farmer near Oakfield, feeds some of the herd with a round hay bale through the silage system. (Aileen Andrews/Action Publications)

The annual Ag Showcase takes place at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds, recreational building. Olivia Livieri, age 10, of North Fond du Lac, holds onto a baby chick that Agri Partners had on display on March 4. (Aileen Andrews/Action Publications)


With the continuing record-breaking temperatures and sunshine warming soils this year, some farmers may be thinking of planting their crops earlier than usual.

Climatologists and meteorologists, and many other people, will remind us all that we could still get severe frosts. Regardless of these warnings, some farmers have and/or may plant early. If farmers choose to plant early, there are crop insurance implications according to Paul D. Mitchell, University of Wisconsin-Extension agricultural economics specialist.

He noted, “Most Wisconsin farmers buy crop insurance for their major crops, such as corn and soybeans, with a sales closing date of March 15. Among its many details, the crop insurance contract specifies an

‘earliest planting date.’”

For corn, the official RMA earliest planting date is April 11 in most of the state and April 21 in the far northern counties (see the map below for details). For soybeans, the official RMA earliest planting date is April 26 for all Wisconsin counties. If soils warm up and this warm weather continues, some farmers may want to plant before them. For spring seeded small grains and forage seeding policies, no earliest planting dates are used.

“If a farmer chooses to plant earlier than the specified earliest planting date for the insured crop in their county, the crop is still insured and losses will be covered, as long as the farmer follows all the remaining contract specifications,” Mitchell said. “However, the farmer gives up eligibility

Planting crops early can cause

insurance implicationsfor replant payments that are part of the standard yield protection and revenue protection included in these combo policies.”

Specifically, if a crop stand is damaged early in the season so that the projected yield is less than 90 percent of the yield guarantee, a farmer can receive an indemnity for part of the actual cost of replanting. The affected area must exceed 20 acres or 20 percent of the unit’s acreage. The maximum indemnity is the chosen price election multiplied by the 20 percent of the yield guarantee, up to 8 bu for corn, 3 bu for soybeans and 1 ton for corn silage. This year, based on crop insurance prices of $5.68/bu for corn and $12.55/bu for soybeans, these allowances imply a maximum replant payment of $45.44/ac for corn and $37.65/ac for soybeans.

Farmers who plant before the earliest planting dates give up their eligibility for these payments if they were hit with a late killing frost or similar problems that would normally trigger replant provisions. Note that the yield guarantee is not reduced for late planting reduction if a farmer replants crops under policy replant provisions, so the crop has the same production guarantee as for the original plant date. Farmers with additional questions should contact their crop insurance agent.

If the warm weather continues, growers will have to weigh the risks and benefits of planting early. For farmers with crop insurance coverage, which is most Wisconsin farmers, one of the risks of planting early to consider is the loss of replant coverage

Waupun FFA Day on the Farm took place on May 12-13, 2011 at Homeland Dairy (Bill Bruins Farm), located near Brandon. Hundreds of students kindergarten through fourth grade visited the event.

Melanie Andrle, a student at Waupun Meadowview Primary School had a chance to pet some smaller pigs during the visit. (photo left)

Brad Warmka, left, a sophmore, and his sister, Carrie Warmka, a senior and WI Holstein Association Princess Attendant, spoke to student from Waupun Meadowview Primary School, while in the milk parlor. (photo right)

(Aileen Andrews/Action Publications)


Soybean seed was once a relatively minor input expense. Those days are gone. Several factors must be considered when determining how many seeds to purchase and drop out of the drill. Given the current price of seed, overseeding without getting a yield return doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Soybean plants have the innate ability to drastically change their growth habit based on plant density. High density stands will result in plants that are taller but with less branching, fewer pods, and smaller seeds per plant. Conversely, low density stands will be characterized by plants that are shorter with more branching, while also having more pods and larger seeds.

The goal is to find the point where more plants no longer contributes to

an economic increase in yield. Researchers generally identify this point at somewhere between 100,000 and 120,000 plants per acre. Target the high end of this range. To determine optimum planting rates, producers need to know what the difference is between what gets put in the ground and what actually develops into a productive plant. This of course will vary from year to year, farm to farm, and sometimes field to field. Nevertheless, you need to start monitoring plant emergence and keep records over time if you plan to make reasonable assumptions.

Take into account germination percentage and your emergence rate

when determining seeding rate. For example, if germination rate (located on the seed tag) is 95 percent and emergence rate (determined from your own records) is 85 percent, then planting 180,000 seeds per acre will result in a stand of 145,350 plants per acre (180,000 x .95 x .85).

Finally, consider and monitor seed

planting depth. Soybeans need to be planted between 0.75 and 1.25 inches deep. Either shallower or deeper can reduce stands.

What’s the optimum

soybean seeding rate?

Larry and Clara Hedrich tend to their goats (and photogenic llama) at LaClare Farm, near Chilton. The couple plans to move to a new location near Pipe in Fond du Lac County and increase their goat-milking herd from 400 to more than 600. (Aileen Andrews/Action Publications)

Action Farm Edition is published by Action Reporter Media, Fond du Lac. Contents of this section are published for Action Reporter Media. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of Action Reporter Media. For more information,

contact Jen Memmel, at 920-907-7901 or e-mail [email protected].

General Manager/ Richard Roesgen | Advertising Manager/ Jen Memmel Section Editor/ Katie Larson

on the cover: Farm located on Katzenburg Dr., Town of Ashford, Gary and Michelle Weiland. (Aileen Andrews/Action Publications)


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