Weekly Ag Update

By ned birkey

msu EXTENSION EDUCATOR EMERITUS

SPARTAN AG 

 The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center’s outlook to Oct. 6, 2026, called for temperatures likely above normal for most of the eastern half of the country and leaning above normal outlook for precipitation for our area of the Midwest. Despite all the hubbub in Michigan about drought, the MSU Enviroweather station at Deerfield has recorded 7.76 inches of rain since Aug. 1, compared to 2.23 inches last year. Since July 1, 2026, this site has had 13.04 inches compared to 5.35 inches last year. Aaron Wilson, of Ohio State, said August 2026 was officially the wettest August on record since 1895, compared to the driest August on record in 2025.

Soybean harvest is a great time, granted busy, to make notes from the combine cab in a pocket seed company notebook about the crop in the field. Hang a small hand shovel from the ladder and during a break or while unloading, look at plants, stems and roots for signs of Sudden Death Syndrome, Red Crown Rot, Brown Stem Rot or Soybean cyst nematodes. Use a free pocketknife won at seed field days to split stems and look at the pith or signs of the new Dectes larvae. Google can help provide additional diagnostic information and make better written notes right away.

Volunteer corn is a growing problem in both soybeans and corn, according to a survey by the Weed Society of American. Volunteer corn becomes a viable host for corn rootworm, which can complete a life cycle if volunteer corn is allowed to grow too long into the season. If the larvae pupate in early to mid-July, then rootworm will be there in the following year’s corn crop. For weed control, higher rates of clethodim, sequential or precision applications, and watching herbicide-tolerant trait stacks become more important. Cornhead adjustments and not driving so fast that ears are thrown out is another good tactic.

Wasps or hornets can be annoying or aggressive in the fall as natural food grows scarce and they target ripening produce, pumpkins, fallen fruit, compost bins, etc. Wasps are beneficial insects that hunt flies, caterpillars and insect pests that can harm your plants. Only remove a wasp nest if it’s in a high traffic area, otherwise wait until cold mornings or weather to remove it. A hornet is larger in size and more robust than a wasp. Hornets are social insects having nests, such as in the ground, whereas wasps can be social or solitary.