Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan

When Teresa Scanlan was crowned Miss America 2011, she became the youngest woman to wear the crown in over 70 years and the very first Miss Nebraska to become Miss America. Teresa is the daughter of Mark and Janie Scanlan and is from Gering, Nebraska. As the middle child of seven, Teresa was homeschooled through her junior year of high school and then graduated a year early from Scottsbluff High School in 2010.

She has now deferred enrollment to Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, where she is set to attend in August of 2012 and plans on majoring in government and then attending Harvard Law to become a criminal prosecutor. Hoping to become a judge and eventually be involved in the political arena, her highest career goals are to become President or a Supreme Court Justice. As a Christian in the political arena, she hopes to break down the stereotype of crooked and dishonest politicians, operating instead under character and integrity.

As Miss America 2011, Teresa worked to promote the Miss America Organization and the scholarships it provides, the national platform of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and her personal platform on eating disorders, as well as serving our nation’s military and working with the USO and being an advocate for agriculture and working with The Hand That Feeds U.S. Additionally, she spent time as a spokesperson and advocate for many other organizations and causes including the Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, Youth Service America, the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, the Taste of the NFL, Keep America Beautiful, Produce for Kids, Special Olympics, and more.

In her spare time, Teresa enjoys singing, acting, dancing, playing piano and guitar, composing songs, baking, hiking, participating in activities with her local church, and making clothes out of duct tape, among many other hobbies. She continues to travel as a motivational speaker and spokesperson and has just released an album, titled “Dueling Pianos” with composer and pianist Calvin Jones.

You can follow her travels and current projects at www.teresascanlan.com as well as @TeresaScanlan on Twitter and facebook.com/TeresaMScanlan

General Wesley K. Clark (Ret.)

Wesley K. Clark is a businessman, educator, writer and commentator.

General Clark serves as Chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic consulting firm; Chairman of investment bank Rodman & Renshaw; Co-Chairman of Growth Energy; senior fellow at UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations; Chairman of Clean Terra, Inc.; Director of International Crisis Group; Chairman of City Year Little Rock; as well as numerous corporate boards. General Clark has authored three books and serves as a member of the Clinton Global Initiative’s Energy & Climate Change Advisory Board, and ACORE’s Advisory Board.

Clark retired a four star general after 38 years in the United States Army. He graduated first in his class at West Point and completed degrees in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University (B.A. and M.A.) as a Rhodes Scholar. While serving in Vietnam, he commanded an infantry company in combat, where he was severely wounded and evacuated home on a stretcher. He later commanded at the battalion, brigade and division level, and served in a number of significant staff positions, including service as the Director Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5). In his last assignment as Supreme Allied Commander Europe he led NATO forces to victory in Operation Allied Force, saving 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing. 

His awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Defense Distinguished Service Medal (five awards), Silver star, bronze star, purple heart, honorary knighthoods from the British and Dutch governments, and numerous other awards from other governments, including award of Commander of the Legion of Honor (France).

I bet you’ve heard Brian and me talk about plant tissue analysis a number of times, and perhaps you’ve even pulled a test or two from somewhere on your farm.  The question then becomes “What do I do with the test results once I have them?”

If you haven’t seen a plant tissue analysis before, it’s pretty simple to pull one from a field and to understand the results once you have them back.  For details on how to pull a sample from your specific crop, visit  http://www.agphd.com/images/sampling_guide_for_plant_tissue.pdf.  There are quite a few labs around the country that do plant tissue analysis (often the same lab where you send your soil samples), but I personally like the way Midwest Labs in Omaha does it.  Here’s an example:

In Field A, the Phosphorus reading was 0.42%.  That really means nothing to me, but the lab gives it a rating of “S” which means sufficient.  Then I look at the Norm, which is 0.38%, and realize my 0.42% rating is just fine.  I have reason for concern with the Potassium level, though.  The reading was 1.63%, but the norm is 2.20% and the lab calls it “D” or deficient.  So what do you do when your test result tells you this?

Option A – You could try to foliar feed some nutrients into the plant.  This seems realistic, and there are products like Sure-K that could deliver some highly available Potassium to your plants.  The challenge in this case is that the test was pulled August 3rd, and the plants already have pods on them and are fully canopied.  Driving a sprayer through the field is tough, and it may be too late to fix the problem.  Plus, you’re looking at one tissue test that only gives you a snapshot of the nutrient situation that day.  If you took a sample every week for 10 weeks, and they showed a trend of low to deficient Potassium levels, that would be better data to make a fertilizer application decision on.  With only one test, it’s hard to know if the Potassium levels are always low or this is a one-time deal that may correct itself next week with a good rain.

Option B – Take your medicine.  I view plant tissue analysis as the report card of the farmer.  In this case, the report card is telling you that the fertility plan used for this crop was insufficient in available Potassium.  The best long-term fix is to change your fertility program.  Either apply more Potassium, use a more available source of Potassium, or potentially supplement your program with a foliar Potassium right around the reproductive stages (flowering).

The trick with soybeans is they don’t tend to show nutrient deficiencies until the plants are putting on pods and filling them (in other words, in a period of high nutrient demand).  With corn and wheat, the nutrient deficiencies tend to show up much earlier in the season.

If you’d like to get a good read on how you’re doing with your fertility program on your farm, I’d suggest taking a field or two and pulling plant tissue analysis each week throughout this growing season.  Pick a good spot in the field and a lower yielding spot.  Mark them with a GPS tool like a FarmPad (www.farmlogic.com) or with a low-tech tool like a flag.  Pull samples each week for 10 weeks and chart the results.  I will almost guarantee this will completely change the focus of your fertility program, as it did for Brian and me.  This didn’t mean spending more on fertilizer for us.  It meant spending the same dollars more wisely to get a better return on investment and ultimately better yields.

For more information on plant tissue analysis, check out the Ag PhD channel on YouTube.

Whether your broadleaves are Roundup-resistant or not, you can stop them easily with 5 simple rules:

1. Improve your spray coverage.  Pick your weediest fields and spray those on the calmest and best days with extended range flat fan nozzles.  If you have triple nozzle bodies, it’s easy and quick to switch spray tips.  Flat fan nozzles will provide significantly better coverage than Turbo TeeJet or air induction nozzles.  This means slightly better weed control.  Ask yourself – in your weediest fields, are you okay with 97% control or would you want 99%?
2. Always include another herbicide with your Roundup.  It only costs a little more to add the tankmix partner, but you will kill more weeds and leave residual with most products to extend your control.  Status is the most broad-spectrum herbicide.  Use 2.5 oz if you have no resistant weeds; use 5 oz if you’ve got them.  I prefer to see you spray Status prior to 8” corn to minimize drift issues and maximize crop safety and control.  Callisto, Impact, and Laudis are virtually the same thing.  They’re not as good on buckwheat, marestail, and morningglory as Status, but they are great on most corn broadleaves, safe to the crop, and have no volatilization concerns.  Buctril has no residual, but it is great on buckwheat and lambsquarters.  For big velvetleaf, use Resource.
3. Use a spray adjuvant.  Non-ionic surfactant can help Roundup and most post-emerge herbicides to spread out (improve coverage) and stick better.  This means slightly improved control.  Some herbicides work even better when mixed with methylated seed oil (MSO) or crop oil concentrate (COC), as they help the herbicide penetrate the leaf surface of the weed.  However, MSO and COC can add more leaf burn to your crop.  If the weather has been cool and damp and you’re spraying early in the season, leaf cuticles will likely be thin.  MSO and COC will give more burn to the crop and are needed less for weed control in this situation.  When it has been hot and dry, especially late in the season, leaf cuticles will probably be thick, meaning MSO or COC could help improve weed control and not burn your crop excessively.
4. Spray when the weather has been nice for at least a couple of days.  Our standard Roundup rule is if the nighttime temp drops below 50 degrees within 2 days before or after spraying you need to up your Roundup rate by 50%.  There’s no herbicide I can think of that works better in cold temps than warm.  If you want the best possible weed control, spray when it’s warm – not excessively hot (90+), but warm.
5. Spray weeds when they’re small.  The bigger weeds get, the higher rate you need and the less chance you’ll have to get good control.  Just as importantly, the longer you let weeds grow in your field, the more they lower your yield.  As farmers, we’re always searching for some new thing to add yield and profitability, but don’t forget that having good weed control is still the most important thing you can do for your crop.

What are the toughest weeds in pastures and how do you control them?  One thing’s for sure, the pasture weeds vary as you move across the country (in fact, you may not recognize some of these names).  As you can imagine, our recommendations for control vary, as well.  Here’s my best run at some of the toughest weeds in pastures.  Keep in mind, labels vary around the country, so always read and follow label directions.

Thistles (including Canada, Bull, and Musk) – with lots of residual, Milestone is the best product to use.  Typically we’re running 7 ounces for Canada thistle and 5 ounces for bull or musk.  Combination products like Chaparral (Milestone + Ally) and ForeFront (Milestone + 2,4-D) are fairly effective, but not as good as straight Milestone.  Tordon is very good, too, and has come way down in price over the last few years.

Leafy Spurge – Tordon is by far the best.  It takes at least a full quart to make a permanent difference wiping out spurge.  2 quarts per acre is the maximum rate and would be the best when spot spraying patches.  One note on Tordon is that if you use over 1 quart per acre, you’re not supposed to graze the land for 2 weeks in those areas or cut them for hay during that time.  Also, be sure to keep Tordon away from fish and from trees you don’t want dead.

Hoary Cress (Whitetop) – Since it chokes out the grass anyway, most people run 3 quarts of 4 lb. Roundup (or the highest labeled rate allowed) and kill everything in the patch.  This is effective, but if you want a chance at saving the grass, you should run with Telar at one ounce per acre.  Killing it in the fall is typically the best, but if you catch it in the pre-bloom stage, it is quite vulnerable then, as well.

Larkspur – Tordon at 2 quarts/acre.  Brian hates it when I say things like this, but this is a very pretty plant.  Hopefully you never see it flower out, but if you do, I think you’ll agree with me.  Kill larkspur in the rosette stage before flower bud formation for best results.  Tall larkspur requires the full 2 quarts.  Other larkspurs like geyer and plains may only require 1 pint of Tordon for control.

Sagebrush – 3 ounces of Chaparral + 2/3 quart of LV6.  Tordon works well too at 1 pint/acre plus 2/3 quart of LV6.

Houndstongue – Chaparral at 2.5 to 3.3 ounces/acre.  You can add 2/3 quart of LV6 if needed, but going to the higher rate of Chaparral may be better.

Common Mullein – Tordon at 1 pint/acre plus 2/3 quart of LV6 is good.  So is 2.5 pints of ForeFront or 3 ounces of Chaparral.

Spotted Knapweed, Absinth Wormwood – Tordon at 1 quart/acre or 7 ounces of Milestone.

Russian Knapweed and Dalmatian Toadflax – These weeds are really tough.  We’ve had the best luck with Tordon at 1 to 2 quarts/acre (I’d suggest staying toward the higher rate). For the Russian knapweed, Chaparral at 3 ounces is pretty good, too.

Club Moss – 1.5 pints of Tordon + 8 ounces of LV6

Multiflora Rose – Tordon at 1 to 2 quarts/acre plus either 1 quart/acre of Remedy or 1.67 quarts LV6.

Western Ragweed – Tordon at 1 to 2 quarts/acre or 1 quart/acre of ForeFront have been the most popular choices.

Dandelion – People who don’t have dandelions laugh and think this can’t be that tough.  They’re wrong.  The highest labeled rates of Distinct (6 ounces/acre) or Banvel (1 quart/acre) have worked fairly well.

The optimum timing for control of each of these weeds will vary somewhat, but in general the best times to kill them are either in the fall 1 to 3 weeks before the first hard-killing frost or when they are actively growing during the spring and summer.  For spring and summer control, stopping these weeds before they put seed on is the most effective and beneficial.

Everyone is talking about Roundup-resistant weeds.  Every meeting I went to this winter, every conference I attended, and every farm magazine I picked up, Roundup-resistant weeds were there.  The good news is these weeds are easy to control in corn.  Think about waterhemp, lambsquarters, common ragweed, giant ragweed, palmer pigweed, velvetleaf, and marestail.  The bad news with all of them is there is absolutely nothing I can recommend to you in soybeans that will control ALL those weeds season-long in one application.  Worse yet, if you don’t dramatically reduce their numbers pre-emerge, you may have an incredibly difficult time post-emerge controlling them.  Here’s why.

If Roundup no longer controls certain weeds post-emerge, what are your remaining post-emerge choices?  They are basically all the same products we had 15 years ago when Roundup soybeans first came out.  That means Pursuit, Flexstar, Resource, Harmony SG, FirstRate, Cadet, Cobra, etc.  Those herbicides are great if you spray early (4” tall weeds or less), have few weeds (so you can get great spray coverage), use the right spray adjuvants, and use the right product(s) for the weed(s) you are after.

Your safest bet, since Roundup-resistant weeds continue to spread quickly each year, is to start with a good pre-emerge product that has lots of residual.  Here are my top 4 suggestions:

1. Sonalan (best), Treflan (cheapest), or Prowl (no incorporation needed).  The “yellows” have always been great on grass, but they also have good activity on most small-seeded broadleaves, including lambsquarters, waterhemp, pigweed, etc.  These products can also be mixed with any of the rest of the herbicides on my list.
2. Valor.  This is the least expensive product that offers primarily broadleaf control.  It gets even less expensive when you factor in the $3 Roundup bundling program.  Valor is very good on small-seeded broadleaves, and carryover for next year is not an issue.  Valor has little activity on large-seeded broadleaves like sunflowers and cockleburs, but it can be used in any soil pH situation.
3. Authority (Assist or MTZ, not First).  Authority has tremendous soil residual.  This is great when it comes to late-season weed flushes.  This concerns me when it comes to carryover, especially in high-salt or high-pH soils.  Carryover is rarely an issue, but I’m always still cautious, as Authority’s half-life is in excess of 200 days.  You won’t find straight Authority anymore, so you’ve got to get one of the premix options like Authority First, Authority Assist, or Authority MTZ.  I don’t typically recommend Authority First, as it contains FirstRate.  FirstRate can only be used once per season, and I prefer to use it post-emerge.  The Authority products I do like are Assist (Authority & Pursuit) and MTZ (Authority & Sencor).  Assist is better on nightshade and velvetleaf.  MTZ is superior at controlling lambsquarters, waterhemp, and other pigweeds.
4. Metribuzin is the generic version of the old Sencor.  The 2 problems this herbicide has always had is it can leach (meaning less residual if you get lots of rain), and it has increased activity in high-pH soils.  The advantages it has include its very low cost, the fact that it is pretty good on most broadleaf weeds, and that if you have consistent high-pH soils, you can use a low rate and get the same performance you’ll see in low-pH soils at a higher use rate.  I get a charge out of the fact that when I was a kid, Sencor plus Treflan was the most popular pre-emerge soybean program.  Here we are more than 30 years later, and Treflan and Sencor (albeit generic versions) are commonly used again.

If you’ve got Roundup-resistant weeds, one pre-emerge herbicide probably won’t cut it.  Use 2 pre’s and base your post-emerge decisions on whatever is left for weeds.

General Wesley K. Clark (Ret.)

• You will see some of the newest, latest technology in seed, pesticides, fertilizer, and equipment.
• Darren and Brian Hefty will be going through each of their plots with you talking about the successes and failures they’re seeing so far this year.
• Ag PhD is also proud to be offering a tribute to the military with a special ceremony on our farm.
• Guest speakers will include General Wesley K. Clark (Ret.) and the 2011 Miss America, Teresa Scanlan.
• You’ll see a NASCAR car and several other unique attractions.
• Live tiling will be going on most of the day, along with a live lift station demo.
• A large Ride & Drive area complete with tractors and tillage equipment.
• New technology displays and demonstrations from companies like Raven, FarmLogic, Outback, TJ Technologies, and many more.
• There will also be optional educational sessions including a Tile Design Class with Brian Hefty,
  

  Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan

  Darren Hefty will be interviewing corn yield champion David Hula who last year produced over 400 bushel corn per acre, Drainage Law featuring one of the top ag drainage lawyers in the country, Estate Planning with a financial expert, Soil Mapping with a software technology company, Grain Marketing with one of the top grain marketers in the region, and Tile Guidance System Updates with Intellislope, AGPS, and Trimble.

• As always, we’ll have entertainment for your kids including inflatables, balloons, games, and even a little farm safety information for kids.
• Lunch, supper, snacks, and drinks will also be served throughout the day.
• Golf carts will be available for those who need that service.
• There will be discount lodging available at several hotels.  Just check www.agphd.com for options or give us a call for more details at 605.529.5413.

How late in the season can you spray herbicides in wheat? The first thing I am always concerned with in fields is yield. If you don’t control weeds early in the season, you’ve given up yield – sometimes a good chunk of yield. If it’s too wet to spray with a ground rig, call in a plane. If you can’t get over your acres timely, hire another person for your farm and/or get an additional sprayer. Just think what late spraying does to 1000 acres, for example. If you give up 5 bushels times $6, that’s $30,000. That pays for a big portion of an employee’s wages for the year or buys you a pull-type sprayer in one year.

Depending on where you are at in the country and whether you have winter or spring wheat, it may already be too late to get your wheat sprayed “early” in its growth. Now it’s time for plan B. If you’re already nearing flag leaf and you don’t have your weeds killed, you probably won’t help yield anymore by spraying. About all you’ll do is keep some of those weeds from going to seed and make harvesting a little easier. Another option you can always wait for later is a pre-harvest burndown with something like Roundup about a week before combining.

If you want to spray now, here is a chart showing how late in the season various products can be used. I caution you, though – product labels can change, so please check the label on any product you use before applying it, regardless of what our chart says below.

Feekes Scale of Wheat Development with Product Application Timing

Winter Wheat at Flag Leaf to Heading

Do wheat plants really “save the best for last?”  When it comes to leaves, they sure do.  The last leaf to emerge is called the Flag Leaf, and it is said to constitute about 75% of the effective leaf area that will feed the head and fill the grain.  For this reason, protecting the flag leaf is critical to achieving your yield goals.

As any plant begins the transition to move into reproductive stages, it is at a weak point for disease tolerance.  The flag leaf stage will be followed by boot (fully developed head swelling up just below the flag leaf) and ultimately heading.  Also, the flag leaf lies much more flat than other leaves (and is obviously on top of the canopy), potentially allowing more rust spores and other diseases to land on it.  Common sense tells you the vulnerability and importance of this timing for protection of crop and yield.

At flag leaf, all options for disease control are on the table.  Strobilurins (Headline, Quadris, Evito, and premixes that contain one of them) are still safe to use before head emergence.  After the head is out, you run the risk of increasing the vomitoxin levels in the grain if you use a strobilurin.  Triazoles (Tilt/Bumper, Prosaro, Folicur, and Caramba) are all safe to use, but you may choose to keep them in your shed in case you need them later.  In order for you to spray for head scab protection, you must wait until the head is out and has reached about 15% flowering.  Here’s the dilemma. Folicur has come way down in price compared to just a few years ago and is a popular choice for rust protection.  However, you can only spray a maximum of 4 ounces of Folicur per acre per crop season in wheat, so you probably want to save it until heading in case you need it.  Note: Prosaro is a premix of Folicur and Proline, so using Folicur at flag leaf would eliminate the possibility of using Prosaro at heading and leave Caramba as your only decent option.  For this reason, we prefer to see one of the following combination fungicides used at flag leaf timing:

1. TwinLine (Contains Headline and Caramba) – The use rate at flag leaf is 7 to 9 ounces per acre. 
2. Stratego (Contains Flint/Gem and Tilt/Bumper) – The use rate at flag leaf is 10 ounces per acre.
3. Quilt Xcel (Contains Quadris and Tilt/Bumper) – The use rate at flag leaf is 10.5 to 14 ounces per acre.

All of these products do a nice job protecting your crop from things like stripe rust, powdery mildew, tan spot, leaf blights, various blotches, and more.  In order to adequately protect the flag leaf, keep in mind that the flag leaf should be 50% emerged to fully emerged when you make the fungicide application.  Also, all of the combination products I just mentioned contain a strobilurin fungicide, so these products must be sprayed by Feekes 10.5.

We have the potential for good prices and a decent wheat crop in many areas.  Unfortunately, for good disease protection, you need to spray before the disease infects your crop for best results.  As flag leaf approaches on your farm, consider protecting your crop this year.  If weather conditions turn favorable for disease, spraying at flag leaf can really boost your yields and provide an excellent return on investment.

The May 2012 Ag PhD Newsletter has been released. Click the thumbnails below to view PDFs of the Eastern and Western Editions of the newsletter. Individual articles are also posted to our site.

Eastern Edition (Adobe PDF)

Western Edition (Adobe PDF)