Unfortunately it seems that most of the full crop grain sorghum fields are or are becoming infested with the Beet Army worm. So far they have confined themselves to the 6 to 8 inch sorghum locating themselves in the whirl, such as it is on such a small plant. It is significant that it seems to be the Beet Army worm since they are known to have a resistance to the pyrethroid chemical group ( such as Grizzly, Bathroid, Warrior, Mustang Max, etc.

I went back to some of those fields that I did not find the aphids on earlier in the week.....but did find them now in the same locations within the fields that I had looked at previously.  The aphid infestation on canola is picking up steam, and you might want to make plans to spray it.

Canola:  Had reports from just west of here of cabbage aphids in the canola and I have found a few in our area. 1 field out of 10 so far.  They will congregate around the flowers and pods, (see pictures below).  They start off very “spotty” in the field and are most often prevalent, early, on the edge of the field facing the most prevalent wind (south), then spread through the field. There is no need for panic on this one yet, just vigilance.  At some point I suspect most of ...

Aphids: We are starting to see the aphid population explode. Most are Bird Cherry Oat aphids (black) but all colonies have some Greenbugs mixed in. At the same time the beneficials such as the parasitic wasps and the lady bug larvae and lady bug are also increasing in population.

I found wheat that was at the stage of first hollow stem today in southern Grant county. It was Billings wheat planted at the end of September, ungrazed, and in a high fertility enviroment. I had checked it Monday and it was not there and checked it Wednesday evening and there it was big as life and twice as ugly.

I found small Alfalfa Weevils in two different producers’ alfalfa fields today. This is very early for the weevils to get started, but there they were! The weevils were very small and mostly buried in the bud of the plant but you might want to be alert for this pest.

Happy Valentines Day.......for your well being I hope you did not forget YOUR valentine. I generally do not post anything on this blog unless something is happening in the agronomic world.  I can't imagine me telling you how I spent my day looking at the various crops and my inner thoughts on how I feel about it would interest you. Usually my post will be about agronomics and occasionally I get inspired to "cast philosophical" and write something, but  "Pioneer...

View from Kim’s Korner Canola: The majority of the winter canola seems to be in good shape. Big enough to survive a reasonable winter, but not so big we have wasted growth. Don’t forget the leaves you see right now are not the leaves the plant will use this spring.

Be at war with your vices; at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. Mark Twain Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while. Kin Hubbard I have had a lot of calls and questions about “yellow” wheat and what might be the cause.