Tag Archives: dicamba

Should Court Ruling on Dicamba Affect My Seed Choice for Double-Crop Soybean?

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The court ruling yesterday has given a devastating blow to farmers that are depending on the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend herbicide program for their soybean. There seems to be much discussion regarding clarification of this ruling, including when the ruling can take effect and a possible “existing stocks” provision.

Until the ambiguity around the decision is clarified, it’s worth thinking about seed choice. Assuming there is little that can be done about soybean already planted and growing other than alter your postemergence tank-mixes, you may have an opportunity to switch varieties for the upcoming double-crop soybean planting.

First and most important, do not change your variety selection if you have weeds that can be controlled without the addition of labeled dicamba products (Enginia, FeXapan, Xtendimax) to your herbicide program. The varieties that your have already selected are most likely to be best for your farm and will maximize your yield.

However, if you must add dicamba to your glyphosate to kill glyphosate-resistant marestail (hopefully you’ll take care of this weed before you plant), Palmer amaranth, or common ragweed, then you have some options with Liberty-Link, Enlist, Liberty-Link GT27, or a few other varieties that have stacked the GT and LL traits.

Like all herbicide-resistant traits, there are good varieties and there are some that don’t yield so well. I suggest that you refer to our Virginia Soybean Performance Tests 2019 or other good private and public resources to see how these have performed.

2020 Five County Agricultural Conference – King William, VA

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The 2020 Five County Agricultural Conference will be held Wednesday, Jan. 15 at the King William Ruritan Club Building, 156 Ruritan Lane, King William, Virginia 23086. This year’s conference will include pesticide certification training, updates from FSA, NRCS, and SWCD, several Specialists and Agents from Virginia Cooperative Extension that will cover a wide variety of topics, and precision agriculture round-table discussion. In addition, you will be able to get your dicamba herbicide certification with training being offered by Don Cline of BASF. We look forward to seeing your there for a great day of learning and interaction with the experts. Lunch will be provided. Agenda detail are below.

Full Attendance to the conference has been approved for Private Pesticide Applicator Recertification in Category 90 and Commercial Categories 1A, 10, and 60.  The conference has also been approved for 1.5 Virginia Nutrient Management CEU, 2.5 Integrated Pest Management and 1.5 Crop Management CCA-CEU credits.

7:45 a.m.             Registration

8:15 a.m.             Grain Market Update, Robert Harper, Manager, Virginia Farm Bureau Grain Division

8:45 a.m.             Corn Update and Hybrid Selection – Dr. Wade Thomason

9:15 a.m.             Break

9:30 am.              Soybean basics and Soybean Variety Selection- Dr. David Holshouser, Extension Soybean Agronomist

10:00 a.m.           Crop Fertility and Fertilizers – Dr. Hunter Frame

10:30 a.m.           Precision Ag Discussion

11:45 a.m.            Cooperating Agencies (FSA, NRCS, and SWCD)

12:30 p.m.          Sponsored Lunch (Participants not seeking pesticide applicator recertification or Dicamba Certification are welcome

 to adjourn following lunch)

1:15 p.m.             Dicamba Certification – Don Cline, BASF Crop Protection

1:45 p.m.             Legal Update – Robert Christian, VDACS Pesticide Investigator

2:15 p.m.             Spill Response Activity – Robbie Longest/Mike Broaddus, Extension Agents, ANR, Essex and Caroline

3:00 p.m.             Wrap up paperwork and adjourn

Tri-County Crop Production Conference – Carson, VA

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The 2020 Tri-County Crop Production Conference will be held Tuesday, Jan. 14 at the Carson Volunteer Fire Department on 19806 Halifax Rd in Carson, VA. This year’s conference will host several Specialists from Virginia Tech that will cover a wide variety of topics. In addition, you will be able to get your dicamba herbicide certification with training being offered by Don Cline of BASF. We look forward to seeing your there for a great day of learning and interaction with the experts. Lunch will be provided. Agenda detail are below.

9:00 – 9:05          Welcome and Announcements

9:05 – 9:40         Positioning Your Full-Season Soybean for Maximum Yields– Dr. David Holshouser

There are many things we can do to increase full-season soybean yield, but decisions made before planting are the most important.  This presentation will focus on site-specifically positioning your crop to best take advantage of the limiting resources of water, light, and nutrients.

9:40-10:20          Plant disease management – Dr. David Langston

Nematode and disease interaction issues in soybeans.  Update on fungicide and seed treatments available for corn and soybeans.  Common diseases occurring in 2019.

10:20-10:40       Break

10:40 – 11:10    Update on insect pest management – Dr. Sally Taylor

Review of major insect pests in 2019.  Recommendations for preparing for 2020, scouting tips to use throughout the season, and updates on insecticides available for use.

11:10 – 11:40   Small Grain and Corn Update – Dr. Wade Thomason

Review of the latest research in corn and small grain production in Virginia. 

11:40 – 12:00     Getting Started with Irrigation and Irrigation Survey – Dr. Julie Shortridge

Irrigation is not used on a wide scale in Virginia.  This presentation will introduce our new water specialist and a irrigation survey for growers.

12:00 -12:45       Lunch

12:45 – 1:15       Pesticides in VA update – Robert Christian, VDACS

Update on federal record keeping and worker protection standard. Additional information on changes in pesticide labeling for VA.  PPE review for commonly used pesticides.  Changes to paraquat labeling, handling, and training.

1:15 – 1:35         Weed control update – Scott Reiter

Roundup resistant common ragweed is common in our soybean cropping systems.  There are also 4 different herbicide technology systems in play for the 2020 season.  We will cover the options available and the stewardship needed to keep the herbicides on the target crops.

1:35 – 1:55          Cover crops – Mike Parrish

Cover crops have many uses in our production systems.  Soil erosion control, soil health properties, weed control, and moisture retention.  Presentation will cover results from local cover crop plots and impact on these properties.

1:55 – 3:00          On Target Academy – Don Cline, BASF

This session will cover the required training for using dicamba herbicide in post-emerge applications to Xtend soybeans and cotton.  Applicator & recordkeeping requirements, nozzle selection and technology, buffer requirements, weather conditions, and tank mix additives will be explained in detail

Full Attendance to the conference has been approved for Private Pesticide Applicator Recertification in Commercial Categories 1A, 10, and 60. 

The Virginia Grain & Soybean Conference is less than 2 weeks away!

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On behalf of both the Virginia Soybean and Virginia Grain Producers Associations, I invite you to join me for the 2018 Virginia Grain and Soybean Annual Conference on February 20-21, 2018. The conference will span two days and is being held at the Richmond Westin Hotel to provide a convenient, comfortable and inviting environment for attendees and their families. In response to increased interest, this year the conference will have a greatly expanded exhibit hall providing a larger and more prominent space for exhibitors and attendees to network.

Continuing to honor your requests that we not include information that you received at the county and regional meetings, we continue to include exciting, innovative, and largely non-production  oriented speakers.  Furthermore, following the success of last year’s two-day program, the conference has added even more breakout topics, speakers, and programming to help you run a strong, profitable operation. The program will feature keynote speakers and topics certain to bring value to your operation, including:  Smithfield Foods’ Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commodity Hedging Officer Dhamu Thamodaran; The Port of Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Area Manager Kara Matzko; and FBI Counterintelligence Training Center Special Agents Mark Betten and Matthew Seckers discussing the topic of intellectual property security and the agriculture industry.

As always, your registration includes all meals including a full dinner that will follow the networking reception Tuesday evening, giving you additional time to network and spend time with colleagues and speakers.

Click Here for Individual Registration

Click Here for Sponsorship Opportunities & Sponsors Registration

What’s on the Agenda?

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

10:30am Registration & Exhibitor Trade Show Opens

11:30am Lunch Buffet Opens

12:00pm Lunch & Commodity Market Speaker

Robert Harper, Grain Division Manager, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation

1:00pm Breakout Sessions – Choose One

Weed & Pest Management in Grain & Soybeans

Charlie Cahoon & Michael Flessner, Virginia Tech

Soil Health Strategies for Increased Yields

Chris Lawrence, NRCS Cropland Agronomist & Dr. Mark Reiter, Eastern Shore AREC

Opportunities & Challenges on the Horizon

Dicamba Update from Monsanto

Rapeseed & Organic Opportunities for a Profitable Rotation, Jeff riddell, Perdue AgriBusiness

2:15pm Break & Visit with Exhibitors

2:30pm Breakout Session Repeated – Choose One

3:45pm Break & Visit with Exhibitors

4:00pm Globalization of Agriculture & Commodities

Dhamu Thamodaran, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commodity Hedging Officer of Smithfield Foods

5:00pm Reception & Networking in the Exhibit Hall

6:00pm Awards Dinner

This includes corn and soybean yield contest winner presentations.  Although we did not break Keith Brankley’s 2012 Virginia record of 109 bushels per acre, we did induct 3 new members into the 100-bushel club, 3 new members into the 90-bushel club, and 4 new members into the 80-bushel club.  Of course David Hula and other corn farmers continue to break yield records in that crop – the number of winners is too large to list in this small space.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

7:30am Breakfast Buffet Opens

8:00am Annual Meetings, Elections, and Reports

8:30am Updates from Secretary of Agriculture & Forestry Bettina Ring

Break & Visit with Exhibitors

10:00am Managing Security Risks in Agricultural Trade

Special Agent Matthew Seckers, FBI, Richmond Division and Special Agent Mark Betten, Unit Chief for the FBI’s Counterintelligence Training Center, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA

11:00am The Agriculture Industry and the Port of Virginia: Growing New Markets

Kara Matzko, Mid-Atlantic Area Manager, Port of Virginia

12:00pm Dicamba Training & Certification Lunchon

Chelsea Valenti, BASF Crop Protection

Where Can I Stay?

We have reserved a room block at the Richmond Westin at the discounted price of $129 per night. Reservations must be made on or before February 6, 2018 by calling 1-888-627-7786. Reference the “Grain & Soybean Annual Conference” rate. You may also visit:

https://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/VGASA2018