AgriCast

--Breaking--Cotton acres suffer due to Fusarium Race 4

2011-06-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

Numerous cotton growers across the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley are loosing their cotton plantings. Fusarium wilt race 4 has been diagnosed in many of the fields. Click this links below to find more information.

Fusarium wilt race 4 information

News reports on Fusarium race 4

Image from http://www.cotton.org/

How much does it cost to plant a new crop?

2011-06-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

Ever thought about planting a new crop? Here is some good information to figure just how big of a dent it's gonna put in your checkbook.

UC Davis Cost Studies

Test plots are worth the time

2011-06-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

Are you still planting the same silage corn variety you did ten years ago? How often do you change trucks on your farm? I bet its more often than every ten years. I bet your operation has changed a lot in ten years and so has the technology available in trucks. The same holds true for silage varieties of corn.

Today more and more technology is coming in the seed bag, not the spray rig. California finally has corn hybrids that work for the very specific issues that we face here, including pests. Many of today's corn varieties are able to withstand sprays of Roundup and Rely 280, but also offer growers a huge amount of savings with above and below the ground pest control. These advancements have also led to higher quality and yield numbers.

In a market where you get paid by the ton or by the quality numbers that your crops produce, can you afford not to "test drive" a new corn variety?

Most retailers of corn seed are more than willing to assist you in putting in a test plot. The good ones will even put the whole plot in for you, all you need to do is provide the planter and a driver. The key point is that the seed for a test plot is FREE! Talk to your seed salesman today, if you need to find a seed salesman, contact me and I can give you some contact information.

Are we really in a Congress created dust bowl?

2011-06-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

Rainfall and high commodity prices this year has made most forget that we were in the midst of a drought. This article is a great look into the problems we will face if we don't address the rapidly aging water supply system in the State of California.

Vulnerability of California water supply