Spraying

Lots of spraying of soybeans is going on in our area. I hope to get 120 acres sprayed today.

I wanted it done a week ago before the they really started blooming but it never happened. There is so much work to be done in such a short period of time it all can't be done at just the right time.

That's often true but even more so this year when we crammed a whole spring's planting into the first week of June. We waited and waited to plant and then nearly killed ourselves getting it all planted in that late, narrow window.

We have never caught up so now this field is in flower and we are going to knock the first flowers off with the spray. It's inevitable. So farmers are asking how much damage is being done by knocking the early blooms off.

The soybean plant flowers the month of July right after the summer solstice and the double crops even flower later into and through August. Weed control is the most important thing a farmer can do for his crop so it must be done whether the beans are flowering or not.

In theory we would prefer not to knock any blooms off but in reality we often do. We have to. Every crop program is designed around good reproduction but that is the process that makes our annual crop. Sometimes you can't help to ding it a bit and you can't go without weed control.

So I tell myself and others don't worry too much and focus on the problem at hand. We must control the pests and weeds are number one here, disease number two and insects number three.

That's why pesticides were invented, to control pests. We have plenty of weed pests to control in southwest Ohio so bugs and diseases and even soybean blossoms are taking second seat to weed control.

Ed