In this week’s CropCast, Seth Naeve and David Nicolai welcomed Dr. Tom Peters and Dr. Debalin Sarangi to discuss “Getting the most out of pre-emergence herbicides” Dr. Tom Peters is a sugarbeet agronomist specializing in sugarbeet weed control at North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota, Dr. Debalin Sarangi is a University of Minnesota Extension Weed Scientist for corn and soybeans. Both weed scientists reviewed the highlights of the recently published University of Minnesota Crop News article Getting the most out of pre-emergence herbicides: It starts with your soil in terms of suggestions to aid early season weed control. Their review included a discussion of factors including soil type, moisture conditions, and soil organic matter content which can affect herbicide performance. They emphasized that timing plays a big role in efficacy when it comes to pre-emergence herbicides. These products can be applied before planting, at planting, or right after planting—as long as it’s before the crop emerges. They detailed the effects of soil pH and CEC, herbicide mobility, soil moisture, rainfall and herbicide degradation via specific herbicide types and modes of action which are also listed in the recent crop news article.

These two gentlemen reviewed the crop growing season and early harvest results for sugarbeets, corn and soybeans in western Minnesota. They discussed early planting delays, limited seasonal rainfall, weed concerns and why some early yield results were better than expected. Factors such as genetic improvement and cultural management contributed significantly to the improvement for some area yields. Tom and Zach also provided advice on 2024 selection criteria when ordering corn and soybean (SCN tolerance) inputs as well as pest management & crop rotation of sugarbeets, corn and soybeans.

Please join us for another lively Minnesota CropCast.

In this week’s CropCast, Dr. Seth Naeve, extension soybean specialist and David Nicolai, extension crops educator welcomed University of Minnesota and North Dakota State Extension Specialists; Dr. Jeff Coulter and Dr. Tom Peters. Dr. Jeff Coulter is an extension corn specialist and Dr. Tom Peters is an extension weed specialist in sugar beets. These three state specialists discussed optimum planting criteria for growers to consider when planting their 2025 corn, soybean and sugar beet seed inputs. They reviewed specific guidelines regarding the most favorable planting depths, planting dates, planting rates and soil temperature for these Minnesota crops. They covered the practices to ensure good seed-to-soil contact based on optimal soil moisture conditions when soils are deemed “in good dry conditions” as influenced not just by soil temperatures but also by variety maturity and calendar dates as we move in the last half of April. They also discussed whether to plant longer- or shorter-season varieties based on the calendar, planting delays and soil/moisture conditions. Early season weed control was favored in all crops, especially sugar beets when grown in longer rotations by utilizing appropriate pre-emergence herbicides favored by the incorporation into the soil profile via timely spring rains. For more detailed crop planting recommendations please consult the University of Minnesota Extension field crop web sites at Soybean Planting, Corn Planting or Sugar Beet Growing.

Curtis Mahnken, Agricultural Economist with the University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management was a recent guest with the University of Minnesota CropCast podcast with co-hosts Dave Nicolai and Seth Naeve. Curtis reviewed the results of a recent analysis study concerning Minnesota 2024 Farm income.

This analysis includes data representing approximately 13% of Minnesota’s farms with gross incomes over $250,000 annually. It was compiled from 2,198 participants in the Minnesota State Farm Business Management programs and 115 members of the Southwest Farm Business Management Association. The data is collected by FINBIN (finbin.umn.edu), a database that provides farm-level financial data, commodity-specific reports and benchmark reports for peer comparison. According to the data the median net farm income for Minnesota farms dropped to $21,964 in 2024, marking the lowest level this century. Falling crop prices coupled with below-trendline crop yields due to weather extremes resulted in low incomes, especially for crop producers.

In addition to reviewing the results of the 2024 farm income analysis, Curtis discussed a new free farm income decision aid software tool for use by Minnesota farmers and ag professionals from the Center for Farm Financial Management called “CropCost” which will help to determine the cost of production for field and specialty crops. CropCost is designed to help identify the cost of production for each crop you grow, as well as breakeven cost of production at varying yields and expense amounts.

The Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota develops software, web applications and educational programs focused on farm financial planning, financial analysis, business planning and commodity marketing for farmers and ranchers, educators, lenders, small business owners and other ag professionals.

Curtis Mahnken joined the Center for Farm Financial Management in 2010 as an Extension Economist. Prior to arriving at the center, he spent four years with the University of Kentucky as an Area Extension Specialist in Farm Business Management. He grew up on a 100 cow dairy farm in southern Illinois and has been described as having milk running through his veins.