hings are finally starting to calm down for the farmers for a bit. Soybeans were still being planted all the way up to mid-July, which is about the latest that soybeans can be planted. Now that everything is growing that can be, all we can do is hope for timely rains. It got a little too dry there for a bit but recent rains and forecasts for more should carry us through a little longer.
It is also time to watch for weeds, diseases and insects as we wait for the corn to fill and dry. So far, I have seen an entire soybean field stripped from garden webworms and other fields with plenty of blister and bean leaf beetles. The diseases in soybeans are becoming an issue with our wet spring and now high humidity and warmer temperatures. Corn diseases like southern rust could take off as well, though currently I have not seen much from it despite it being detected at the Southeast Extension Center.
In addition to crop inspections scattered throughout the month, on July 8 the ag agents headed to Salina for a farm bill training. We also toured the Misty Morning Farms on July 11, letting people know about what services K-State Extension has to offer. Very early on Wednesday July 24, Ed Fields, the Crawford County Noxious Weed Director, and I provided an interview during our Wildcat Wednesday segment on KOAM letting people know about the Noxious Weed program coming up on August 8. My efforts at the end of the month is reflected around the county 4-H fairs; starting with Labette, Montgomery, and Wilson, with Crawford County’s yet still to go at the time this report was written.
August will be a month of communication and planning as ideas are put together for the programming season to come. In addition to the area farm bill program on September 3 and county farm bill programs in the weeks to follow, I am hoping to put together an agricultural technology program, a human resource program, and anything else that district producers would like to see.
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Twilight Tour, Fairs, and Farm Bill