Nothing is a guarantee when you’re dealing with Mother Nature. But this season, a payoff from fungicide use is close to being a sure thing, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.
“With the market we have now, we can make money nearly 100% of the time,” he says, adding that will be true for both corn and soybean crops.
Disease Battles
In corn, Ferrie says it’s always been fairly easy for farmers to get a positive response from fungicides – but not necessarily a return on investment (ROI).
Last year, he saw that change abruptly as tar spot moved into southern and central Illinois and other parts of the Midwest. The disease had devastating consequences for some growers.
“If we’d opened a jug of fungicide and sat it in a corner of the field last year, especially where there was tar spot, farmers would probably have seen the dollars,” says Ferrie, who owns Crop-Tech Consulting, based near Heyworth, Ill.
John Brien, eastern agronomy manager for AgriGold, says if you had the disease last year to plan on it for this season. The inoculum overwinters in corn residue.
“If you had a light problem, be ready for a more severe outbreak because it’s here to stay. I’m telling my growers to just be prepared for it,” he says.
Soybean Profit Maker
Historically, in Farm Journal Test Plots, Ferrie says he has seen a positive ROI about 50% of the time a fungicide was used in soybeans. Seed maturity, weather conditions and disease pressure influence whether a fungicide will pay for itself.
This year, given current prices, Ferrie says plan on using one.
“Just a 2-bushel-per-acre increase in soybean yields will make it worth your while,” he says.
Call Your Retailer
Be proactive in lining up your product and application this season, so you aren’t caught with a problem you are unable to address.
With more farmers stepping up to the plate and wanting fungicide applied, that created a product and application backlog last season. It could be worse this year.
“A lot of our retailers are not keen on making ground applications, because they’re concerned about having the manpower available to do the job,” Ferrie says.
He’s also concerned about whether there will be adequate product this season.
“There’s not enough to do many acres twice, so be proactive,” he says.
Ferrie recommends if you have only one opportunity, “pull the trigger between tassel and R3 in corn and between R2 and R3 in soybeans.”
