It is hard to believe, but in just a few short weeks, our farmers will begin to plant crops for the 2006 production year. Corn planting usually begins in the southern part of our county during mid to late March.

After mid March, and as the weather allows, most farmers in the county will become very busy. There is a lot of work to be done to prepare equipment for planting, preparing the fields, and then completing the planting processes.

But for the next few weeks, these farmers will be spending their time planning and preparing for the upcoming production year. Supplies must be purchased, rental and lease arrangements must be completed for the land that is needed for crop production, tax filing must be completed, and efforts must be made to learn as much as possible about the latest products and technology that will be needed during the coming year.

Next Thursday, February 23, the Robeson County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service will provide a comprehensive Corn and Soybean Production Meeting for farmers in the area. All farmers who plan to grow corn and soybeans during the coming year are encouraged to attend. The meeting will held at the O. P. Owens Agriculture Center, Highway 72 West, in Lumberton, beginning at 4 p.m.

This meeting will feature four of the best Extension specialists with expertise related to corn and soybean production. Dr. Ron Heiniger, Extension corn specialist, will discuss the results of the latest corn research and other recommended production practices that provide opportunities for high yields. Dr. Jim Dunphy, Extension soybean specialist, will discuss the same type of topics related to soybean production.

One of the major concerns facing soybean producers during the past couple of years is the possibility of serious problems with Asian Soybean Rust, a disease that can drastically reduce soybean yields. This disease has caused serious problems for soybean producers in South American. Since the spores of this fungus can be transmitted long distances by wind currents, we saw several incidences of the disease in southeastern United States last year. In fact, the disease was found in Robeson County, but fortunately, it did not come into this area until close to harvest time and, therefore, did not cause serious damage to our soybeans.

Although there are chemical fungicides available that can prevent this disease from causing problems, they are expensive and must be applied at precisely the correct time. Therefore, it is very important that soybean producers understand the system that is in place to track the movement of this disease and understand the need to treat only when necessary.

Dr. Steve Koenning, Extension plant pathologist, will provide an update about Asian Soybean Rust and will describe the monitoring system that will be coordinated by researchers and Extension specialists throughout the southeast. In addition, he will discuss the various fungicides that can be used if the disease moves into our area and the spray program that farmers must follow to prevent serious problems from the disease. Dr. Koenning will discuss other soybean diseases and management strategies was well.

Another major problem that our farmers are facing is that some of the weeds that can cause serious problems in soybean and cotton fields have built up a resistance or tolerance to the popular herbicides that in the past have been very effective in controlling these weeds. During the past two years, we have seen evidence in farmers' fields that pigweed continues to grow even after being treated numerous times with Roundup. This indicates that some pigweed plants have become resistant to Roundup. Each of these plants produced thousands of seeds, and this coming year when these seeds germinate and begin to grow, they too will be resistant to Roundup.

Seeds from resistant plants can easily be scattered throughout a farm and from farm to farm. Unless farmers do something to solve this resistance problem, they could be faced with serious weed problems that cannot be effectively controlled with the herbicides that are currently available.

Dr. Alan York, Extension weed specialist, will discuss this problem in detail and will provide very specific information that farmers need in order to prevent this problem from causing serious yield losses in the future. He will discuss the proper use of other herbicides for controlling weeds in corn and soybeans as well.

As you can see, this will be a very comprehensive meeting that will provide a tremendous amount of information for corn and soybean producers. It has been designed specifically for farmers by providing this information in a single meeting rather than several smaller meetings. Again, all corn and soybean producers are encouraged to attend.

If you are reading this article as soon as The Robesonian hits the streets, you still have time to get ready to attend the Annual Awards and Recognition Banquet that is coordinated by the Robeson County Crop Promotion Association. The banquet will be held tonight at the O. P. Owens Agriculture Center beginning at 6:30 p.m. If you farm, own a farm in Robeson County, or are interested in farming in Robeson County, you are invited to attend. The banquet this year will be dedicated to the memory of Gary Powers, prominent farmer, agribusinessman, and county commissioner who passed away last year.

If you are reading The Robesonian after dinner, read more about this banquet in tomorrow's paper.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 06/26/06