Better Farming - December 2016

Better Farming

December 2016

AteToday?

Thank a Farmer.

CROPS:

THE

LYNCH

FILE

Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers

Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship

(ETS).

Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization

of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. These products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from these products can only be exported to, or

used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted.

Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for these products. Excellence Through Stewardship

is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship.

ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready

technology

contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, an active ingredient in Roundup

brand agricultural herbicides.

Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybeans

contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate and dicamba. Agricultural herbicides containing glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate, and those containing dicamba will kill crops that are not tolerant to dicamba. Contact your

Monsanto dealer or call the Monsanto technical support line at 1-800-667-4944 for recommended Roundup Ready

Xtend Crop System weed control programs. Acceleron

seed applied solutions for canola contains the active ingredients difenoconazole,

metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil and thiamethoxam. Acceleron

seed applied solutions for canola plus Vibrance

is a combination of two separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients difenoconazole,

metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil, thiamethoxam, and sedaxane. Acceleron

seed applied solutions for corn (fungicides and insecticide) is a combination of four separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active

ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, and clothianidin. Acceleron

seed applied solutions for corn (fungicides only) is a combination of three separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl,

trifloxystrobin and ipconazole. Acceleron

seed applied solutions for corn with Poncho

/VoTivo™ (fungicides, insecticide and nematicide) is a combination of five separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients

metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, clothianidin and Bacillus firmus strain I-1582. Acceleron

seed applied solutions for soybeans (fungicides and insecticide) is a combination of four separate individually registered products, which together contain

the active ingredients fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin, metalaxyl and imidacloprid. Acceleron

seed applied solutions for soybeans (fungicides only) is a combination of three separate

individually registered products, which together contain the active ingredients fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin and metalaxyl. Acceleron

, Cell-Tech™, DEKALB and Design

, DEKALB

Genuity and Design

, Genuity

, JumpStart

, Optimize

, RIB Complete

, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and Design

, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™, Roundup Ready 2 Yield

, Roundup

Ready

, Roundup Transorb

, Roundup WeatherMAX

, Roundup Xtend™, Roundup

, SmartStax

, TagTeam

, Transorb

, VaporGrip

, VT Double PRO

, VT Triple PRO

and XtendiMax

are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Used under license. Fortenza

and Vibrance

are registered trademarks of a Syngenta group company. LibertyLink

and the Water Droplet

Design are trademarks of Bayer. Used under license. Herculex

is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Used under license. Poncho

and Votivo™ are trademarks of Bayer.

two modes of action. Recall the

conversation we had about Roundup

Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and only

using glyphosate/dicamba as a

herbicide tool. Applying only glypho-

sate/dicamba will really only mean

using dicamba (single mode of

action) on weeds that are already

glyphosate resistant and increasingly

Group 2 resistant also. Adding dicam-

ba (Group 4) to the list of resistant

herbicide modes of action in Ontario

will be the beginning of the end. We

are not finding new herbicide modes

of action and haven’t for almost 20

years. Farmers need to wake up or be

prepared for full scale mechanical

and/or hand weeding.”

Another step is to scout fields

early. This year was another classic

year where weeds got too big to be

easily controlled. Small weeds are

easier to kill than large weeds. I am

not sure why so many fields were

sprayed too late this year. It may be a

result of a dependence on custom

sprayers. More growers need to have

their own sprayers even if they also

use custom sprayers. This way,

growers can spray some of their own

acres if they cannot wait for the

custom sprayer.

As soon as you go seven days

without rain, the weeds will grow

through. Growers/applicators keep

waiting for residual products to be

activated. Meanwhile, weeds like

lamb’s quarters, ragweed, velvetleaf,

etc. get measured in inches instead of

leaf numbers.

Most post-emergent herbicide

label instructions are based on leaf

number, not size. Read the product

labels. It seems increasingly common

that too many products are applied

late. Add in drought-like conditions

and it’s a recipe for disaster.

Another tip is to spray weeds in

the fall. This year there was a great

opportunity to spray fleabane in

winter wheat fields. A small number

of growers took advantage of this

opportunity. More could have. Most

should have.

In many cases, post-emergent

weed control was sacrificed because

of water volume. You can use low

volumes of water with some herbi-

cides but many post-emergence

herbicides other than glyphosate

work better with higher water

volumes.

The new dicamba (XtendiMax

herbicide) for spraying dicamba-re-

sistant soybeans needs high water

volumes. Comment from same friend

who works in the crop protection

industry: “I continue to hear from

many growers that ‘I have a 50-acre

sprayer’ or ‘I have a 100-acre sprayer,’

for example. Regardless of the

product or combination of products,

they use the same water volume with

the same nozzles with the same

settings from field to field, crop to

crop, year to year. This is archaic

thinking.”

Finally, we need to know the

locations of the resistant weeds. As we

get into the amaranths and the next

generation of resistant weeds, we have

to be able to track them. In this matter,

common good has to supersede an

individual’s right to privacy.

Consulting agronomist Patrick Lynch,

CCA-ON, formerly worked with

OMAFRA and Cargill.

“

I continue to hear frommany growers that ‘I have a 50-acre sprayer’

or ‘I have a 100-acre sprayer,’ for example.

”