Pro Farmer Crop Tour - Day 4

Crop Conditions - Southeast Minnesota

- Jay Zielske

Weather Challenges

• Some years more unusual than others.
• Cold wet May resulted in prolonged saturated soils resulting in near record amount of corn replant.
• Late May rain shut off, and conditions switched to the most severe drought for many since 1988.
• Drought has been the chief concern throughout the summer in southern and south-central Minnesota.
• Some relief arrived first week of August:
  • Stabilizing and salvaging the corn crop.
  • Soybeans better positioned to capitalize on August rains.

Corn

• Dry weather for much of the season led to significantly less Tar Spot.
• Corn rootworm diapause replaced tar spot as corn farmer’s biggest concern.

Soybeans

• Soil samples taken for SCN showed 60% of fields with high to very high levels.
• Pioneer® brand A-Series Enlist E3® soybean varieties with PEKING are performing well.
• Enlist E3 soybeans is THE DOMINANT soybean technology.

Looking Ahead to Harvest

• Drought stressed crop is likely to race to the finish.
  
• Farmers should not waste time getting the crop out of the field.
• Phantom yield loss is real.

Disease Challenge - Tar Spot

Quoting colleague Josh Shofner:

"You can’t fungicide your way out of Tar Spot.”

• Dry weather conditions throughout much of the area kept tar spot largely in check.
• Return to more normal weather conditions will likely bring a return to tar spot in 2024.
• Farmers in southeast Minnesota remember strategies learned in 2022:
  • Tar spot management begins with hybrid selection.
  • Scouting
  • Timely fungicide applications

However ...

Extended Diapause of Corn Rootworm Replaced Tar Spot in the Headlines Going into 2023

• Extended diapause and damage to first year corn from northern corn rootworm is back with a vengeance.
• First year corn without a below ground rootworm trait or insecticide fell victim to heavy rootworm pressure.
• High adult beetle populations in 2021 and back-to-back mild winters resulted in high survival rates and heavy pressure.
• Pioneer^® brand Qrome^® products fared well under rootworm pressure in 2023 … looking to the future we’re eager to rollout Pioneer^® brand Vorceed™ Enlist^® products.
• VORCEED Enlist^® technology provides the yield/insect protection / weed control options farmers are looking for.
• Looking ahead to 2024 whether it be tar spot or extended diapause, Pioneer is positioned to be the LEADER for both challenges.

Rootworm injury to non-rootworm traited hybrid.

Soybean Cyst Nematode

Populations Continue to Build

• Dry weather has resulted in minimal disease pressure thus far.
• With dry weather the impact of Soybean Cyst Nematode has been magnified.
• As part of our summer contact plan sales reps sampled 40 fields of non-Pioneer customers.
  • Nearly 60% of those fields showed high to very high populations even where resistant varieties have been planted.
  • Indication that reliance on PI88788 source of resistance is not enough.
• Pioneer continues to have success with PEKING source in our A-Series Enlist E3® varieties.