Hall County Ag Newsletter
September 2009
Josh Brooks, CEA-AG
Agricultural Waste
Pesticide Collection
The Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality and Texas
AgriLife Extension Service will hold a
waste collection event September 18,
2009. Farmers may take unwanted
pesticides, herbicides, insecticides,
fungicides, rodenticides, nematicides,
bactericides, growth regulators, harvest
aid chemicals, properly rinsed (empty
plastic pesticide containers) and paint.
In addition they may dispose of oil/oil
filters/ grease, gasoline/diesel fuel,
transmission fluid, brake fluid, power
steering fluid, anti-freeze, lead-acid
batteries, fluorescent bulbs and
pesticides used on livestock.
Open to all Texas residents who
apply pesticides or other agricultural
chemicals for the production of
agricultural products in Texas. Farmers
who have banned or unwanted
agricultural chemicals are welcome to
bring these products to Hall County
Farm Supply at 305 South 2nd street in
Memphis, Texas. The collection hours
are 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
For information on how to safely
transport and handle waste materials,
call the TCEQ at 512-239-3143. For
information on the collection site call
Hall County Extension Office, 2591621.
Hall County Picnic
September 19, 2009
Farm Tour
3 CEU’s
Cotton Variety Trials
Sesame Trials
Defoliation
October 13, 2009
Lunch at Lakeview Gin. Tour to
follow.
CRP Management
October 15, 2009
900 a.m.
Meet at Lakeview Gin and then
to field
Brush Control on CRP
Grass Id
Grazing Management
Wildlife Management
Ted McCollum
Dana Wright
Brent Baucom
Josh Brooks
3 CEU’s
Health Fair
October 30, 2009
Memphis Community Center
Cotton NAWF and Late
Season Irrigation
It is time to decide when to cut
off irrigation. Many of our fields
have reached 4 nodes or less
above white flower or the cutout
stage. The COTMAN model uses
850 heat units from the time of
bloom to a mature, normal boll.
750 heat units will probably
make an acceptable boll. We are
averaging a gain of 20 growing
degree days or heat units per
day.
As our daytime temperatures decrease, heat units will
decrease to 5-10 heat units per
day. Therefore, it will take 45-60
days to mature a boll from the
day it blooms. Be realistic in the
bolls you can mature and shut
off your irrigation accordingly.
The general rule of thumb is to
cut
off
irrigation
sometime
between
September
1
to
September 10, depending on the
field, in regards to soil moisture,
fruit load and daytime heating.
The glory of the center pivot is if
the crop stresses quickly after
irrigation termination or if high
temperatures continue through
mid September, another ½-1
inch of water can be applied
quickly to aid in the prevention of
boll loss.
As we reach boll
opening, the crop will utilize
1.25-1.4
inches
per
week
depending
on
the
(ET)
evaporative transpiration rate.
Use a soil probe to determine
moisture in your profile. Late
season
irrigations
tend
to
increase
vegetative
growth
significantly while increasing
yield very little.
Fields will
usually open bolls at the rate of
2%-5% per day. A good target is
to have the soil profile nearly
depleted of moisture as harvest
aid season begins. Moisture
stress can actually create a
physiological state in the plant to
shed older leaves. Cotton will
usually respond better to harvest
aids when there is some moisture
stress on the plants. High levels
of moisture tend to create
defoliation difficulties.
Armyworms
Watch for fall armyworms in
cotton.
8,000 –10,000 worms
per acre is the threshold in
cotton.
Wheat Variety
Recommendations
Varieties recommended here are
those that have consistently
performed well over at least a
three year period across the
panhandle. Over the last four
years, Hatcher and TAM 111
have consistently been top
varieties in all the Extension
trials. These varieties should be
considered for all environments
in the Texas Panhandle. TAM
112 is a very good dryland or
limited
irrigation
variety.
Endurance and Duster are very
seldom the top variety in any
given trial, yet these Oklahoma
State varieties consistently are in
the top 25% of most trials.
Endurance is especially a good
choice as a dual-purpose wheat
for grazing and grain production.
Yield data from previous years,
variety descriptions, two and
three year averages by location,
and other information can be
found at the following website
under publication:
http://amarillo.tamu.edu/
programs/agronomy.
Soil Sampling
Soil Sampling is an important
part of getting your wheat crop or
any crop ready for the next
growing season. The soil
sampling procedures sheet that
is included in the newsletter
outlines proper procedures in
collecting a soil sample. If I can
help you with soil sampling call
me at the office.
Variety Recommendations
Full
Irrigation
TAM 111
Hatcher
TAM 304
Dumas
Endurance
Duster
Limited
Irrigations
TAM 111
TAM 112
Hatcher
TAM 304
Endurance
Duster
Dryland
TAM 111
TAM 112
Hatcher
Endurance
Fuller
After the Conservation Reserve Program: Economic
Decisions with Farming and Grazing in Mind
Since the CRP began in 1985, several million acres of former
cropland have been planted with native and introduced grasses. CRP
helps protect topsoil by taking highly erodible land out of crop
production and establishing permanent vegetative cover in its place. It
also increases wildlife populations.
Now that CRP contracts are
beginning to expire, landowners have some serious decisions to make.
When choosing to convert former CRP land to cropland or grazing,
a landowner is faced with several decisions. The costs involved in the
conversion process must be considered. Conversion cost will be between
$113 and $143 per acre depending on the amount of tillage and
chemicals applied to convert CRP land to dryland wheat production. The
cost for converting CRP land to dryland grain sorghum or cotton
production will range from $160 and $190 per acre.
Converting to livestock grazing will cost about $40 to $60 per acre
if burning and fertilization are utilized.
In addition, fencing and
development of a water source may be needed. Expect to pay $600$700 per mile for one-strand electric fencing and $800- $900 per mile for
two-strand electric fencing. Barbed wire fence will cost about $6,000$7,500 per mile including gates and corner post. A well with a windmill
will range between $20,000 and $30,000, and a well with a submersible
pump will range between $16,000 and $25,000.
Analyze the situation completely, focusing on the individual
operation and figuring the numbers accordingly. Brent Baucom at the
NRCS can provide assistance in understanding the issues of conversion
and offer insight into some of the cost-share programs available to help
offset some of the cost. If I can help you in making decisions contact me
at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Office in Hall County at 806-2591621.
Josh Brooks
CEA-AG
Hall County
Hall County Extension Office
109 S. 5th Street
Courthouse
Memphis, TX. 79245
806-259-1621