Drought Makes Planning Tough

The 2012 drought is making for some tough decisions for growers planning for next season. Brent Wilson, DuPont Pioneer technical services manager says many producers use the past season as a guide for planning for the next one, but making product selections based on one year of experience alone may not be a sound strategy. He says instead it’s best to plan for next year by looking at the long-term weather trends. They should also look at several seasons to make decisions.

As far as fertilizer application for 2013, most growers planned for a larger crop than they realized, says Wilson, and they should use grain removal as a guide for phosphorous and potassium application. Due to the drought, there may be opportunities to take nitrogen credits going into next year.

Wilson says after a drought year, herbicide carryover may be a big concern, but is often difficult to predict. He says growers need to review their records and herbicide labels to determine which chemicals might have carryover.