October 18, 2016
As the hustle of harvest fades, now is the time to make plans for a successful 2017 growing season. You evaluated seed choices and crop protection plans, scouted your fields and kept a close eye on the yield monitor during harvest. Now you can record what you’ve learned and use that information to game plan for next year. Knowing which seed selections performed best and what competition diminished yield are valuable parts of the decision-making process that lies ahead.
The following recommendations and things to think about come from Josh Croatt, a technical sales agronomist for DuPont Crop Protection in northwest Iowa.
THINKING AHEAD: As you harvest your crop this fall, start thinking about corn hybrid and soybean variety choices for next spring’s planting. Also, review the performance of this year’s herbicide and disease protection program in your fields.
1) Put your information to good use
A well-planned crop protection program proves its mettle at harvest. There’s no predicting every challenge each season will bring. Planning based on what you observed gives you a reasonable sense of what to expect — and the opportunity to overcome what you don’t. For example, many of the happiest soybean growers are those that planted into clean fields to start the season. Starting clean helped them overcome early season competition that previously held them back.
Your weed, disease and insect challenges from 2016 should connect to your seed choices for 2017. If you grow conventional corn and saw major weed escapes during harvest, a change in herbicide modes of action and switch to a fully-traited corn hybrid are in order. Let the pressure you expect to face inform to the corn hybrids and soybean varieties you select.
2) Plan now for success later
Proactive planning gives you the best chance of overcoming competition in 2017. The pressures that hindered crop yield in 2016 are likely to return or intensify. Reacting to challenges as they happen can mean leaving bushels behind. Extra bushels are what drive profitability, especially when commodity prices are low.
Your DuPont Crop Protection representative can help you develop a full-year crop protection plan. An effective herbicide program includes layered residual control and multiple modes of action. This eliminates gaps in weed control and safeguards against resistance development. Foliar health programs should include a top-performing fungicide that provides broad-spectrum, residual control. A product that offers curative, preventive, eradicant and antisporulant activity will provide maximum protection and application flexibility.
Determining your crop protection budget early has other benefits, as well. Look for a program that offers discounts for early budgeting and financial commitments. If you can use those discounts on your seed purchases, the immediate savings and flexible protection make planning ahead a fiscally responsible choice that provides benefits the entire season.
3) Work with an integrated team
Since seed selection and crop protection products are so connected, it’s wise to work with a team that partners to provide solutions tailored to your needs. Every member of your team should understand the bigger picture of your operation and how one product selection affects another.
For example, prioritizing yield potential during your seed selection may come at the expense of disease susceptibility. Your team should collaborate on a disease control program that complements your crops. And they should encourage you to stick to it. Forgoing planned fungicide applications can lead to significant losses if weather conditions take an unpredictable turn for the worse.
Following through with the plans you make is just as important as making them to begin with. You can plant the best seeds on the market, but unless you are committed to safeguarding that genetic potential, you may not reap the benefits you expect. Plan now, save now with the TruChoice Early Pay Multiplier. Matching your crop protection to seed selections can earn you big financial rewards. To create your customized crop protection program for 2017, visit earlypay.dupont.com or talk with your DuPont representative.
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