Farmers watching regulations, product supplies

As farmers finish planning for the 2012 growing season, they are paying attention to upcoming regulations regarding phosphate and nitrogen.

Proper nitrogen timing is an important thing to discuss with growers, according to Lyle Tallon, location manager for Brandt Consolidated in Cooksville.  Tallon stressed it is important for farmers to keep phosphate and nitrogen in the fields and out of nearby streams and lakes.

“Part of my territory is in the Lake Bloomington watershed, and we want growers to be utilizing proper techniques to keep nitrogen out of Lake Bloomington water,” said Tallon.

He said farmers today do a much better job of that than they did in the past.

“I think the number one thing that has changed here in my 25-year career here at Cooksville is that we’re putting on less nitrogen than we used to.  In the past, sometimes we just put one shot on in the fall and didn’t pay much attention to whether we lost part of it,” said Tallon.

Today, farmers might use three different applications of nitrogen.  They might apply some in the fall, some  prior to planting, and they might side-dress some, as well.  In total, that allows farmers to cut back on some nitrogen.

“It’s a little more work, but they are reducing their nitrogen rates,” said Tallon.

Tallon predicts fewer continuous corn acres in Central Illinois during the 2012 growing season.

“Farmers decided last fall in this area that they’re not going to gamble and plant a whole lot of second-year or third-year corn.  They made that decision early on last fall after some of them had less yield than they expected in their second- and third-year corn, so they just opted they’re going to grow some soybeans this year, maybe a few more acres than we have had in the past,” said Tallon.

Tallon said if farmers have not finalized their plans for this year’s growing season, now is the time to get that done as some products are in short supply.

“If they intended to maybe try some Liberty Link herbicide and the crops that are tied to that, there are some shortages of Liberty and Ignite.  They are moving that product south where they really have a problem with weed resistance,” said Tallon.

Tallon said products providing a residual herbicide in soybeans are also getting a little scarce.

“The industry is still trying to catch up… trying to outguess what the farmer might be going to use this year,” said Tallon.

To hear the interview with Lyle Tallon, click here:

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Carrie Muehling can be reached at carrie@wjbc.com.