From the Fields: On the lookout for diseases, weeds

BREMEN, Ind. — Summer is in full swing on Clay Geyer’s home fields, where he’s on the lookout for — and has already found — some plant diseases and weeds.

Geyer shared an update on farm life with AgriNews.

Q: What’s going on at the farm in July?

A: Mid-July is usually the time frame we shoot for when cutting winter wheat, but this year’s harvest sprung up about two weeks ahead of schedule. We had all of our wheat cut and straw baled before July 4 festivities.

A week later, our next-door neighbor experienced some mechanical issues with his grain platform, so my brother finished the last 100 acres of his wheat harvest, so he could get his Teff grass planted.

As we approach the first week of August, I am about 90% complete with third cutting hay and look forward to another two cuttings before late fall.

Q: Any diseases or pest pressures so far?

A: The weather conditions we have had lately present the perfect growing conditions for not only tar spot, but white mold in soybeans.

Toward the end of July, we received an abundance of precipitation leaving the soil well-saturated and the river banks busting at the seams.

The mosquito populations seem to double by the day. I saw minimal damage in my fields from extreme wind gusts that spawned off of Hurricane Beryl and did observe some green snap just above the pollinated ears.

After further scouting during a visit and interview with Meteorologist Dave Caulfield from ABC 57 News, we discovered some tar spot on the lower leaves of the corn plants.

Thankfully, I was able to schedule crop dusting with Agriflite in Wakarusa to treat all of the cornfields with fungicide the same day before the tar spot disease worsened.

Most of my soybean fields have canopied, and it is difficult for the moisture to escape between the rows. I can only assume we will be spraying soybeans soon, too, with hopes and expectations of avoiding white mold.

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you face on the farm this time of the year?

A: Weed pressure is a never-ending battle in soybeans. But, as it stands now, all of our fields appear clean and free of weeds.

Even though the crop maturity calendar seems to be two weeks early, we are encroaching the overnight foggy conditions that seems to hang on until early morning hours the following day.

Late night and early morning fogs usually sets up camp during the week of the Indiana State Fair and follows us throughout the rest of the season as we struggle to bale dry hay from here on out.

Another challenge I hear from other producers is the difficult process while trying to round up enough help to bale hay.

Once school is back in session, I’m afraid I will lose the three young men that have helped me this summer with hay.

Q: What are some of the things you enjoy doing most on the farm during the summer?

A: Relaxing behind the steering wheel of the tractor as I capture a bird’s-eye view of the hard work I have set forth in the crops I have planted and nurtured along the way.

Harvesting fresh fruit from the garden and orchard trees. The smell of hay drying in the fields or the powerful aroma occasionally wafts from the neighboring dairy farm while they are mixing up daily feed rations in the TMR.

Q: Living in a rural area, what are some ways you can stay connected to other farmers and the community?

A: Farm auctions, Bourbon Tractor Drive, weekly hay auctions, church, grocery store, farm stores, farmers markets, social media and inviting the news media to the farm.

Q: How do you prepare for the transition from summer to fall on the farm?

A: There isn’t much we can do to slow down the transition of summer before jumping into fall. I can’t believe how fast summer has slipped away. The largest adjustment for me is fall to winter. I’m definitely not ready for winter.

Q: Do you have any concerns about the H5N1 virus that was found in several states?

A: There is always a reason to be concerned and hopefully the management practices set forth by livestock producers will help curb diseases and viruses across various parts of the country.

It is not easy task for some livestock facilities to keep ahead of the large flocks of wild birds migrating and feeding from multiple fence-line bunk feeding systems across a community.

Keeping an eye out for sudden changes in animals and humans alike is all part of being dialed into daily production.

Q: Do you have any marketing and economic concerns right now?

A: Since, I did not win the latest Powerball drawing, I’ll have to stick to my original plan and not create more commodity contracts than what I have grain to fill them with.

I would say it is probably safe to say that we will not see $17 dollar soybeans or $8 dollar corn this fall, but just think if we did. What would this do to the outlook on farmers wishing to make impulse purchases on farm equipment?

Q: Any other thoughts you’d like to share, or other activities going on at the farm?

A: We recently had the broilers butchered at Rolland’s in Nappanee. For years, we always transported the dressed birds back home in milk cans layered with ice. But due to the size of our Cornish-Cross birds it was quite evident milk cans was not the answer.

So, I purchased a new Behlen poly water tank at Schrock Farm Supply in Goshen to contain the bags of butchered birds and stopped by Martin’s grocery store for 25 large bags of ice to keep them cold until we got home to wrap them in freezer wrap.