Crops damaged by Monday’s storm
Brian Res, Lyon County Ag extension agent
Monday, August 10, 2009
Before I say anything about the weather events of Monday afternoon, I want to thank everyone involved with the Lyon County Fair for their help making it a success. From the coverage by The Gazette as well as on KVOE, to the Fair Board, the volunteers, the superintendents, the exhibitors, the sponsors, the premium buyers, and especially the crowds, we appreciate everyone’s help and support. Thanks!
Now, let’s hope that 2009 comes to a close without further weather-related incidents. Monday afternoon was at least the third significant hail storm of the year for at least a part of Lyon County , and it was the most significant wind storm in many years.
Straight winds, estimated at well over 80 miles per hour. I am very glad I was in Emporia , and not at home in the northern part of Lyon County. I probably would have been nervous!
What will come of the crops damaged by the hail and high winds? Well, the obvious is that the crops broken over or off are done. And there were many that way — especially soybeans. Much of the corn withstood a lot of the onslaught, but lost its leaves which will in effect limit its ability to produce more energy to be stored in the grain. It will cannibalize the stalk, further weakening a damaged plant, to attempt to finish out the grain. And with severe leaf loss, much of the forage value is reduced if silage was an option, one that would let you harvest early while what crop is left might still be standing. If there is still an ear on the plant, you will probably have grain, but at a substantially lower yield and test weight than it potentially had Sunday evening.
Soybeans, on the other hand, might be able to produce additional leaves, branches, flowers, pods and seeds, but with the amount of energy that will need to be used by the plant to recover from the damage the potential for the plant to get all that done in time to mature before a frost is pretty low.
Granted, if the beans are still there and there is still some leaf area, you will probably have some yield. But if the main stem was removed, your yield potential has probably been reduced by a substantial amount. In any event, if you had damage, I would suggest you make an appointment with your crop insurance adjuster to find out his opinion of the situation.
I would like to bring some area events to your attention. The first is coming up August 20 at Olsburg, and will be the KLA/KSU Ranch Management Field Day. It will start at 3:30 p.m. Give me a call if you would like to ride along.
The second and third events are the Neosho Headwaters WRAPS meeting August 24 at 6 p.m. and the Cottonwood WRAPS meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 26. Both WRAPS events will be held at the Anderson Building on the Lyon County Fairgrounds. Please call Debbe Schopper at 343-2813 ext. 3 to make a reservation for either or both of these events.
The fourth event will be a cover crops tour, taking place near Manhattan at the Ashland Research farm. This will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 9. I will again plan on taking a van, but the people in Manhattan would like reservations by Aug. 24. Please give me a shout if you are interested or would like more information.
The last couple of events I would like to share today are the Risk and Profit Conference in Manhattan on August 20-21, and an Adult PQA+ Certification session on September 14 for those local pork producers planning on selling live hogs to most major packers. This is something that almost the entire industry is requiring now.
Let’s hope the weather clears so we can make a few of these upcoming events and get what’s left of the crops harvested for this year!
• Brian Rees, Lyon County Ag extension agent, can be reached at the Lyon County Extension Office at 341-3220.