Agronomy Articles
Crop Health
By Damien Fuerst, Agronomist, Scotland
Mother Nature has given us some much-needed moisture, but with the moisture it has also brought cooler temperatures. Most of the corn that has emerged doesn’t look healthy, which has been caused by cool temperatures and wet soils. With some sunshine and warm weather, it will grow fast and return to a normal green color so don’t be worried. Be thinking about crop health and what it needs to thrive. Talk to your agronomist about foliar feed products that can improve crop health and yield.
Alfalfa. Most of you have probably seen some unhealthy alfalfa. I have noticed a lot of aphids, alfalfa weevils and weevil larvae. Mustang Maxx is a great product to use with only a three-day pre harvest interval. Some alfalfa has been cut and some is getting ready to be cut. If that’s the case wait for some regrowth and have your local agronomist check it for pest pressure and what will best control them.
5/30/2025
Nutients
By Clay Hespe, Agronomist, Tyndall
The one thing about living in South Dakota is the ability of the weather to switch. If we are into a wetter cycle, you may want to look at top dressing corn to maximize yield. A dry application is the cheapest way to add nutrients to your crop but should be applied early. The more growth the corn gets you may see some burn from urea. Coron and micronutrient mix can be added with an herbicide application or at any stage without the herbicide. If you are thinking of waiting and possibly using a UAN application, you should check on pricing and availability. UAN is currently in tight supply and has a higher cost of nitrogen than the other forms of N. We can also do a tissue test to see what nutrient may be short, but we will have to wait until the V4 to V5 stage to get an accurate test. Talk to your agronomist to see which may be best for you.
5/23/2025
Know What's in Your Tank
By Christ Christopher, Agronomist, Marion
Another nice rain has been brought to the fields to really get the planted crops growing well. Now is a good time to scout your fields for crops that may be emerging or have emerged already to reconsider chemicals that need to be sprayed. Between the wind delays and this rain postponement a good majority of crops will be emerged when we are able to get back in the fields. If you haven’t sprayed all your acres with Pre’s, especially in the case of soybeans acres, we will need to rotate out your chemicals that are not labeled for post application such as Spartan Charge, Metribuzin, or Aim. Good options to replace those products for residual herbicides that can be sprayed early post would be Zidua, Warrant, Dual, or Outlook. Do not forego one of these residuals. These products can add good residual control that can be extremely beneficial in your year-after-year weediest fields. If you have a really weedy field, adding one of these Group 15’s for a fraction of a bushel of soybeans per acre could add several bushels to your yield and reduce the weed bank for the following years. That’s ROI you can count on.
5/16/2025
Agronomy Staff
 Jeff Schmiesing
Agronomy Dept. Manager
Cell: 605-940-7665
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 Allen Johansen
Agronomy Dept.
Purchasing Manager
Cell: 605-661-4882
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