Spring 2007 Newsletter

Hello again from TSS:

Just about the time I put my heavy coat away, out it comes again.  What interesting spring weather!  Soil temperatures continue to be very cool this time of year.   I shouldn’t be surprised as we did experience record cold temps on October 29^th and 30^th 2006.  We had many reports of 18” of frost in the ground on fields in the SR 26 area this winter.  Late seeded winter wheat and canola have not recovered well and some fields that typically would have survived are being taken out. Extended cold and the partial thaw and rain event in March complicated the issue causing erosion and increased plant mortality.  On a more positive note this cool spring is helping the maturity of the wheat and canola crops.  Regarding the winter wheat crop, be very vigilant in your observations for cereal leaf beetle.  They seem to be showing up in numerous areas very early this year.  From our experience last year I can say that they can multiply very quickly, and do significant damage to flag leaves in a period of a few days.  Unfortunately, bio-controls do not work quickly enough to prohibit the use of more conventional controls.  Wheat can withstand significant numbers of beetles but when they begin to compromise the flag it is time to act.  Remember the flag leaf is responsible for about 80% of the metabolic activity required in the filling of the seed head. 

Stripe rust has been documented on a large scale this year by Dr. Xiaming Chen at WSU.  His predictive model has been pretty much on target this year.  Last week he reported infestation percentages of between 5% and 30% on wheat yields in the Patterson to Prosser area.  Remember that you are watching for two things in your diagnostic efforts- the incidence of infestation and the severity of infestation.  Incidence means how many plants out of 100 displays any sign of rust and severity will show the percentage infection exhibited in each identified plant.  This will help your field man determine the economic threshold for control measures.

In this regard, do your homework before you buy your seed.  Ask all of the relevant questions about disease susceptibility, growth habit, emergence, relative maturity, tillering ability, and planting rates.  If your seed guy can’t tell you what you want to know, or refer you to someone who can, then get a new seed consultant- one who CAN answer all of your questions!  Planting varieties that have relatively high susceptibility to stripe rust is foolish.  The newer plant genetics from WSU, OSU and U of I have good sources of both seeding and adult plant resistance to stripe rust.  Take advantage of their knowledge!  You paid for it!

Irrigated producers should be spraying your Declo HRW for powdery mildew as the stem begins to elongate.  Declo has exceptional yield capacity but it is susceptible to powdery mildew.   Remember the pre-harvest interval on fungicide use in wheat is usually 60 days. 

Tri-City Grain Market Report

Damon Filan, General Manager Tri-City Grain

Wheat Markets- All wheats hit new highs on 4/25/07.   HRW at $5.38, DNS at 5.97, and SWW at $5.20 delivered Pasco prices.   Weather markets are in full swing.  The Easter Weekend freeze reduced Midwest HRW & SRW wheat crops by 150-350 mil bu (15%-25%) of the U.S. Winter wheat crop.  Now dry conditions in The Black Sea areas, China, Europe, and Australia are on the radar screen.   World wheat plantings for 2007 are up approximately 6-10%, but yield potential is shrinking.  The next 30 days are critical.  These prices are profitable and suggest to keep selling into them.  2008 prices are lagging behind by 30c-40c/bu  but it is time to start watching them.

Yellow Corn-   $160 per Short Ton (ST) has been the high range for the 2007 harvest.  USDA March 30 prospective plantings report projected a 12 mil acre increase in YC acreage that quickly dropped the market $20/ST.  Since then planting delays due to weather have strengthened markets into the highs $140’s.    Ethanol production will require 3-4 billion bu of YC over the next 12 months.  The US needs to grow 12 to 13 billion bu to meet traditional demand plus this ethanol demand.  This demand for YC will be the driver for all markets and potentially set the floors on all grains at $1/bu higher than they have been for the past 10 to 20 years!  Weather for YC is critical through July.    2008 YC prices have also been good enough to sell.  For more information, log onto our Web page:   tcgrain.com, or give Jay and myself a call.  1-800-862-8529

Standfast Trifecta Alfalfa

This variety from Cal-West Seeds continues to amaze us.  The number of unsolicited comments we have received and the number of reorders is pleasing.  Trifecta is one of the newest varieties of Cal-West alfalfa with Standfast Technology.  This new technology seems to be a great fit for the Columbia Basin professional hay growers.  The combination of a wider harvest window due to delayed axillary bud initiation and 30% faster regrowth gives Trifecta a big advantage over the more conventional alfalfas.  A very narrow crown architecture helps it stand straight up and resist lodging to a much greater degree.  It has a dark green color and very high yield. It is becoming a favorite of many commercial growers.  Dr. David Johnson at Cal-west Seeds continues to give us alfalfa products that really perform.

Dairyland “Perform” Alfalfa is also showing great results in the area of relative forage quality.  Highly digestible herbage has given us very high RFV and RFQ values.  Perform has fast recovery and excellent persistence for those of you that need a longer rotation.

Dekalb 42-15 has actually placed very high in the WSU trials in Pasco and Othello for the past several years.  It has the best combination of winter hardiness and high yield with tremendous re-growth in the spring and fall.   It is a fall dormancy 4 and winter hardiness 1.5.

Precision Seed Cleaner

TSS is pleased to announce that we have signed a contract to acquire a precision cleaner for the fall season of 2007.  The cleaner will be capable of cleaning all cereals, and will be certified for organic crops.  The unit is self-contained on a 53’ step deck trailer and has its own power supply.  Those of you that desire to custom clean your own seed to save a little money, let us know, we can do it quickly and efficiently.  The unit has state of the art European equipment and has a capacity of 600 bushels per hour depending on the seed lot.  The machine has a seven deck air screen machine, two 16 foot Heid Indents and a large gravity table for density separation. 

We are also very close to being completely operational with our on-demand treater.  This patented design machine will apply any number of treatments to your seed at a rate of 2000 bushels per hour.  No longer do you have to settle for what treatment happens to be on the seed- we can customize your seed treatment to meet your most demanding needs.  Variable rate technology allows us to add or subtract components and modify the rate of each component as per your request.  Not only is this advantageous to you but it allows us to minimize the amount of treated seed we carry over between seasons^st.