Field Crop Update, September 1, 2022

Erik Smith, Area Field Crop Specialist/Team Leader
Central New York Dairy and Field Crops

September 1, 2022

1. Announcements:

Corn Silage Dry Down Days:

a. GoldStar Feed and Grain, 7593 State Route 20, Sangerfield. Please bring 5-7 stalks of corn from each field you would like to have sampled. John Winchell from Alltech will check DM, Protein, and starch. Lunch provided. Today, September 1, until 2pm.

b. CCE, Richardson Farm, John Brouillette and Mark Smith will be at Richardsons Farm 5959 Skinner road, Vernon center NY at 10 am on Wednesday September 7th to accept your whole plant corn samples. Bring 8 representative corn plants harvested at chopper height (obtained in the morning) from each of the fields you want to test. Please write your name, telephone number, date of planting, day maturity, town and attach to your sample.

Herbicide Resistance Survey: With the recent documentation of evolved herbicide resistance in New York, including Palmer amaranth (glyphosate, ALS-inhibitors), waterhemp (glyphosate, ALS-inhibitors), horseweed (glyphosate, ALS-inhibitors, paraquat), lambsquarters (bentazon), Cornell is looking to get a better feel for the current "state of the state" with respect to herbicide performance and failure. Specifically, we want to survey growers/land managers/crop consultants/extension specialists/industry personnel, etc…, across cropped (e.g. agronomic, vegetable, fruit), ornamental/horticultural (e.g. Christmas tree farms, golf courses), and non-cropped (e.g. industrial, roadsides) systems in NY. This survey is very short and should be QUICK to answer. It is also completely ANONYMOUS. Answers will help Cornell weed scientists plan future research and extension projects.

2. Field Observations

a. I'm seeing a lot of in-field variation in both corn and soy. Early group soybeans are extremely patchy. See this article by Mike Hunter for burndown options in no-till soybeans.

b. Now is the time to also plan for your last alfalfa harvest. If you've taken a cutting in the last week or so, you should get one more. Whether or not we've had a hard freeze (~25F), alfalfa starts to go dormant around mid-October, so harvesting after that should not affect overwintering health. The last thing you want to do is cut and then accumulate less than 200 GDD before crowns go dormant for winter. That will deplete root reserves and leave the crop vulnerable to winter kill. See this article for some more insight into last-harvest timing for alfalfa.

c. The rest of this week's update will focus entirely on corn silage harvest and the associated Growing Degree Day units.

Lots of reports of corn silage crops reaching ~35% whole-plant DM before the kernels seem to have reached full maturity. At this point, there is not much development to be gained if we see a rain event that might otherwise jump-start kernel development. So trust your whole-plant DM and take your crop when it's reached the target ~35%.

Regarding GDD, nearly every location in our region has experienced at- or near-record GDD since silking, especially crops that silked the last week of July (after July 23rd). Coupled with the recent dryness, many crops are ready to be chopped as we speak.

Check your silage crops' whole plant dry matter to make sure you're ready to harvest - your crop may be ready before you know it! See our recent emails regarding Corn Plant Dry Down and Kernel Processing. A reminder from Joe Lawrence (PRO-DAIRY):

"The status of the corn crop is highly dependent on where you are in the state this year but in areas with drought stress (but not complete plant death from drought) it will be really important to watch kernel maturity in combination with whole plant dry matter. In these fields the plants look pretty ugly but the kernels continue to attempt to mature. You will see in the attached that the year and health of the plants makes a difference in how much ear DM contributes to whole plant DM vs. stover DM. For this droughty scenario this could look more like the data from 2019 where the plants are not healthy and therefore contribute slightly more to whole plant DM but ear DM is still driving the dry down process and patience is needed to allow this to happen: See full article here.

And to assess the effectiveness of this year's nutrient plan, see this factsheet and this factsheet on the Corn Stalk Nitrate Test.

3. Growing Degree Days as of Aug 31st: See: Climate Smart Farming Growing Degree Day Calculator
Growing degree days (GDD) are calculated by taking the average daily temperature and subtracting the base temperature for development of a given organism ((High + Low)/2 - base temp = GDD). For corn silage, we are using base 50/86, as corn development starts at 50 degrees F and ceases above 86. Check your location, planting date, and silking date. Silage corn needs 750-800 GDD (depending on hybrid maturity) after silking to reach a whole plant DM of 32%. Under typical late season dry down conditions we can expect the crop to reach 35% DM four to seven days later (Remember that we can expect to accumulate 20-25 GDD per day, or even up to 30, so this is not a large window). For more details, see this article. No matter what the numbers say, always check your crop to see how close you may be to harvest:

Hybrid relative maturity and GDD form silking

Blue: Time to make plans (35% DM anywhere between 5 - 11 days from now, depending on maturity)

Green: Gas up the harvest and the trucks (35% DM in 2 - 8 days, depending on maturity)

Yellow: See you in the field (35% in less than a week)

Red: It's already in the bunk or it's goin in the bin or for high-moisture corn (DM likely > 30-40%)

GDDs as of Aug 24, 2022





Field Crop Update, September 1, 2022 (pdf; 462KB)


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Document and Share Storm Damage

Mother nature has really been difficult over the last few days. Significant damage has been seen throughout NYS. Please let us know what types of damage your farm may have sustained during this time. This could be in the form of property damage, lost power, milk dump due to lost power, loss of livestock, loss of stored feed or growing crops.

Farms are encouraged to DOCUMENT AND SHARE any impacts the weather may have had on their home or business. This could include structure damage, crop loss, inventory loss due to power outages, damage to equipment or fencing, and more.

If your farm experienced any sort of damage, please reach out to any of the folks listed below (or all of them). The more impact information that is collected, the greater the likelihood of a disaster declaration which can bring vital emergency support and awareness. The CNYDLFC Team will continue to collect detail and submit to NYSDAM and the EDEN network.

Reporting Weather Related Impacts (For your home or farm business)

  • First, ensure that all the people and animals on your farm are safe, and that there aren't any unsafe working conditions created because of the weather (check your structures!). If there's an emergency, call 911 - don't try to manage it all on your own.
  • Second, document all negative weather impacts for your farm and their estimated financial cost. Take photos, make estimates, and put it all in a safe place.
  • Reach out to your insurance providers - farm, vehicle, crop, etc. to initiate the claim process as needed.
  • Then, share your farm's damage with any (or all) of the ag support agencies listed below. We all work together to collect storm damage information and funnel it up to Ag and Markets which can initiate a natural disaster declaration.
Your local Cornell Cooperative Extension Association Office.
  • Chenango: 607-334-5841
  • Fulton/Montgomery: 518-853-2135
  • Herkimer: 315-866-7920
  • Madison: 315-684-3001
  • Otsego: 607-547-2536
  • Schoharie: 518-234-4303
  • Saratoga: 518-885-8995
Any of our CNYDLFC Team members (calls/emails/texts/site visit requests all ok)
  • Erik Smith: 315-219-7786
  • Daniela Gonzalez: 315-749-3486
  • Ashley McFarland- 315-604-2156

Your county USDA/FSA service center.
  • Chenango: 607-334-3231
  • Fulton/Montgomery: 518-853-4015
  • Herkimer: 315-866-2520
  • Madison:315-824-9076
  • Otsego: 607-547-8131
  • Schoharie: 518-295-8600
  • Saratoga: 518-692-9940

Your county farm bureau manager

  • Region 3: Bailey Coon: 518-937-0566
  • Region 5: John Wagner: 315-761-9770
  • Region 6: Natally Batiston: 518-937-0269
  • Region 7: Todd Heyn: 518-431-9338

Please let us know how we can help you.


Cash Rent and Custom Harvest Survey

To date, there is limited information available about rental rates and fees for crop harvesting.  Farms can use this valuable information for their farm business planning to help improve decision making and profitability. 

The data that is collected, and the subsequent reports/findings/resources will be helpful for all of us to answer that call of "What's the average rental rate in my area?" and "How much do people charge to combine oats?"

Take the survey here.


Farmers Can Join MeatSuite For Free!

MeatSuite.com is a free resource provided by Cornell University where NY meat farmers can create a farm profile and list their bulk (wholes, halves, quarters) and bundled (i.e. Grilling Bundle) meat products.

Why should farmers join?

1. It's free and easy!
2. Connect with more local customers. In the past year the MeatSuite.com farm directory had 8,300 visits from New York consumers. Farm profiles get as many as 25 views per month from potential local customers. We also spotlight MeatSuite farms on social media and bring attention and purchases to farms through highlights and giveaways.

How do I join?

Farmers can visit https://www.meatsuite.com/farmers/ to create a free farm profile. You must list at least one product for your farm's profile to go live. You'll also have access to Cornell's free Meat Price Calculator, a helpful tool for pricing your meat to make a profit.

While you're on MeatSuite, check out the "Creating Consumer-Friendly Bulk Meats" publication on the log-in page. It has tips on how to create bulk meat products that are easier for first-time buyers to say "yes" to.

If you have any questions as you create your farm profile or products, we're here to help! Please email Matt LeRoux at mnl28@cornell.edu.


Spotted Lanternfly

Lycorma delicatula, or Spotted Lanternfly (SLF), is an invasive plant hopper from Asia and is an agricultural pest. In the United States, it was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014. Spotted Lanternfly has been found in New York State on Staten Island, all New York City boroughs, Long Island, Port Jervis, Sloatsburg, Orangeburg, Ithaca, Binghamton, Middletown, Newburgh, Highland, and the Buffalo area. SLF threatens the agriculture and forestry industries, and is also a nuisance pest. The nymphs and adults feed on over 70 different plants, but is especially detrimental to grapes, a black walnut, hops, maple trees and apples. New York State Ag and Markets supported CCE efforts to help bring awareness to communities and we developed this Public Service Announcement and would appreciate you sharing it with your member lists. 



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