KADOKA PRESS - Pioneer Review

Agriculture … April 18, 2013 • Kadoka Press • Page 10
Winner Regional Extension Center
Bob Fanning, Plant Pathology Field Specialist • 605-842-1267
Cropping Choices and Water
Use Relationships
The precipitation from the recent
snow storm provided welcome
relief in terms of soil moisture.
Standing stubble certainly showed
its value as fields with stubble
caught a uniform layer of snow
that will help replenish dry soils
with an inch or more of valuable
moisture.
Depending on what moisture is
received over the next month or so,
farmers may be wise to consider
the water/yield relationship for
various crops as they are making
planting decisions this spring. The
USDA-Agricultural Research
Service has conducted research exploring
the moisture needed to
produce the first bushel of grain
and the bushels per inch of moisture
for various crops. This information
can be highly valuable
when making cropping decisions
when moisture is limited.
Corn is very efficient in using
water as it can produce just over
10 bushels per additional acre
inch, but also requires just over 9
inches of water to produce the first
bushel. Grain sorghum, or milo, is
also relatively efficient in producing
bushels once the initial requirement
is met, at 9 bushels per
additional acre inch, but takes
only 6.5 inches to produce the first
bushel. That is why grain sorghum
has historically been a popular
crop in marginal rainfall areas.
Grain sorghum lost some popularity
in the 1990s, partially due to a
volcano eruption that resulted in
cool summers for several years,
above average rainfall during the
same period of time (which favored
corn production), and improved
drought tolerance in corn hybrids.
Summer temperatures have returned
to higher levels in more recent
years, and the uncertainty of
rainfall may bring resurgence in
the interest in sorghum.
Sunflower requires slightly
more water to produce the first
bushel/pound of grain than
sorghum at 6.9 inches, and fewer
equivalent bushels (6.3) per inch of
additional water. Sunflower is
marketed on a different price per
unit structure than corn and
sorghum, so it’s not directly comparable
on a bushel/pound basis
regarding yield.
Wheat, millet and soybean are
fairly similar in both their water
requirement to produce initial
grain yield and efficiency in
bushels per additional acre inch of
water. To produce the first unit of
grain, wheat requires 5.2 inches,
millet 3.5 inches, and soybean 3.7
SD Stockgrowers,
Cattlewomen offer
$1,000 beef industry
scholarship
The South Dakota Stockgrowers
Association and the South Dakota
Cattlewomen are currently accepting
applications for a $1,000 scholarship
in memory of Guy E. Ham.
The scholarship is available to any
South Dakota student having completed
at least one year of post-secondary
education and pursuing a
career in an agricultural or agribusiness
related field.
This $1,000 scholarship is made
possible by the generosity and gift
of the Guy E. Ham Beef Industry
Scholarship in memory of Guy
Ham and his commitment to the
future of the agriculture industry
in South Dakota.
Application information and details
can be found by visiting
www.southdakotastockgrowers.org
or by contacting the SD Stockgrowers
Assoc. at 605-342-0429. Applications
will be accepted until
August 1, 2013 and the scholarship
will be awarded during the Stockgrowers
Annual Convention on
September 28, 2013.
Donations to the Guy E. Ham
Beef Industry Scholarship are
gratefully accepted by the SD
Stockgrowers Association for the
purpose of continuing this scholarship
program. Please contact Silvia
Christen for more information
about contributing to this scholarship.
To Report A Fire:
Kadoka . . . . . . . . . .837-2228
Belvidere . . . . . . . .344-2500
All others call . . . . . . . . . .911
inches. With each additional inch
of moisture, wheat will produce
about 4.7 bushels, millet 4.2
bushels, and soybean 3 bushels.
Again, the price per bushel of each
crop varies, and if one were to evaluate
each crop fairly regarding
water use efficiency, this would
need to be taken into account.
According to this research, field
peas are a remarkable crop in that
they require less than 1 inch of
water to produce grain. They can
produce 3 bushels of grain for each
additional inch of moisture.
These numbers are not exact
and each crop will perform best if
moisture is available at the right
time and suffer if it is short at a
critical time, like corn at pollination
and soybeans at flowering.
This information could prove
valuable as producers are making
cropping plans while they watch
the skies and weather reports for
more precipitation, which will be
necessary for a successful growing
season.
Calendar
4/24/2013: Drought Management
Webinar, 10:00 a.m. CST, SD Regional
Extension Centers
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