Crops on tour in McLennan County

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Vick Alexander, with the Texas Department of Agriculture in Dallas, speaks about pesticide applications. -- Photo by Mindy Poehl

July 1 ,2004 -- Corn is used in a variety of ways. When most people think of corn, something they eat, like corn flakes and chips, is brought to mind. But human consumption of corn is only a small percentage of corn's overall use.

People may fill their cars up with ethanol blended fuel. Soft drinks are sweetened with corn sweetener. Bedding and furniture can be made of corn fibers, and the beef served for dinner is most likely corn-fed.

The corn consumption uses in the United States are used for: 57 percent feed/residual; 19 percent exports; 11 percent ethanol; 5 percent corn syrup; 2.5 percent starch; 2.2 percent sweeteners; 1.8 percent cereal/other; 1.3 percent alcohol; and 0.2 percent feed.

At the McLennan County Row Crops Tour on the Jason Dietrich Farm, near Riesel, on Friday, June 18, 28 different varieties of corn were planted and the potential yield of corn for 2004 was discussed.

Corn yields in the U.S. are expected to hit another record yield and analysts are predicting 10,400 million bushels of production from 73.2 million acres. The national yield is 142.2 bushels per acre. And, the projected farm price is $2.60 per bushel, which is 15 cents higher than in 2003.

Several agricultural specialists were on hand for the tour. Participants were provided information on a variety of crop subjects.

Vick Alexander, a Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide inspector, reminded growers of their responsibilities in pesticide use while growing corn and other crops. Certification and training to utilize certain chemicals is required by farmers before they are permitted to use controlled substances.

A number of different varieties of corn are being grown on the Dietrich Farm to be evaluated for productivity and compatibility to the area. However, McClennan County Extension Agent Donald Kelm, host for the event, said, "We don't know what the best varieties will be yet, but we'll have the results in August."

Dr. Mark McFarland, associate professor, Extension agronomist and soil fertility specialist, spoke about soil fertility. The fundamental limiting factor for crop production in Texas is the availability of water. As water evaporates from a plant's leaves, the roots replace the water with soil moisture. As the roots absorb water from the soil, they also absorb nutrients dissolved in water, McFarland explained.

McFarland believes nitrogen fertilization is most important in soil, since nitrogen is easily depleted. Corn has a high demand for nutrients because of its high yield and the amount of dry matter produced. The standard nitrogen recommendation for corn is 1.1 pounds of nitrogen for each bushel produced, McFarland said.

Grain sorghum is better adapted to the limited moisture conditions. Grain sorghum is recommended to have two pounds of nitrogen for each 100 pounds per acre.

Other types of soil fertilizers are crop residues, livestock manures and sewage sludge. Adding organic matter to the soil is the most common method for improving the soil structure, McFarland explained.

Dr. Monty Dozier, Extension water resources specialist, addressed the impacts of applying poultry litter to crops. He is conducting a poultry litter trial in Riesel to "look at the economic impact of using litter on hay and corn products."

In tilled pastures, Dozier noticed that nitrogen suffers the most loss annually with some phosphorous loss.

"We want to keep the pastures from losing those nutrients in the soil," Dozier said.

When applying chicken litter to the tilled pastures, phosphorous begins to build up. He reminded participants that it is important to test the soil every few years to measure the nutrients.