Reporting from the North Delta is Billy Price, Charleston
5/20/13 – Wheat has started to turn, yields will be all over the board but I think we have above average crop. Army worms started showing up about ten days ago but so far they are on the ground and very little head clipping.
Corn is over with and is a mess on some farms, still trying to get herbicides out and trying to get fertilizer out also. Suggest some of you listen to this comment, WE, as a group, need to get involved with the new farm bill. We have a number of farmers who have already filed preventive planting on their corn and cotton acres. These fields will lay out for 2013 season and depending on their coverage they will receive a pretty decent check. We need to see if there is something out there for us.
Cotton is still being planted on acres that crop insurance wasn’t purchased but it looks like heck especially the older cotton, we are treating cutworms on thin stands. We can’t let cutworms take any plants. We received 2 to 4.5 inches of rain late last week and more to come, this is 46 seasons I have been in the field and have never seen a spring like this one.
I hope thing are better in your area, we had more farmers in our area to tell us more cotton would be planted before the weather moved in, so things can turn south fast. Will start to worry about things I have control over because this mess is out of my hands.
Reporting from the South Delta is Trent LaMastus, Cleveland
5/20/13 – Corn- very low insect pressure and from V5 – V10 growth stage. We’re getting the last of our herbicides and Nitrogen applications out now. Most of my area missed last week’s rain and we actually started the first irrigation today (Monday).
Soybeans- about 35% planted, maybe 60% of that is to a stand, VE to V3 growth stage. The wind is making herbicide applications difficult. Overall beans look ok, only one field replanted so far.
Cotton- I may have 200 acres up to a stand, scheduled to check it Tuesday for the first time. The rest is being planted now or still in the sack. There is talk of some cotton to follow wheat.
Wheat is turning, looks fair to very good.
Reporting from South Mississippi is Trey Bullock, Hattiesburg
5/21/13 – Peanuts are now 70% planted. I think there are 60 acres out of the ground. Peanuts will be 100% planted by Thursday/Friday. 900+ acres/grower planted in a week will make for a tough harvest season. We will need a good harvest season and will have to start early. Peanuts are coming up to a good stand in 7-8 days.
Cotton is 40% planted. Moisture is still good and more efforts will be put towards cotton starting Thursday if rain holds off on Wednesday. A good shower, as hard as it is to believe, wouldn’t hurt. Many acres of pre’s have been applied and need to be rained in.
Wheat has changed a lot in last week. Hot weather and no rain has been just what we needed on wheat. May have some ready to cut middle of next week.
Corn is looking good for the most part. Still areas in corn fields where water stood for a while that corn is still yellow, but most has a good color and has recovered from anaerobic conditions. Corn ranges from V-7 to V-11. One grower has planted 500 acres of corn this week.
Let’s keep the Oklahoma tornado victims in our prayers.
Reporting from the South Delta is Donny Adams, Greenville
5/21/13 – We’re planting cotton – some is up and some not. Oldest has 1 true leaf. There will be some replanting but we’re not concerned at this time. This spring seems like 199. Hopefully this crop will turn out to be a record breaker like that year. We’re picking up thrips (and western flower thrips) and will probably treat at the end of the week or early next week.
Soybeans – just planting and up to V3 with no insect issues at this time.
Reporting from East Mississippi is Phillip McKibben, Maben
5/21/13 – Our emerged crops look really good; it’s the other 75% that we are concerned about.
We’ve had corn replaced by beans, now being replaced by cotton as intended crops. One thing for sure about our cotton. We WILL plant this cotton in May… even it stretches out until May 40th.










Consultant Commentary – Up-to-Date Information from Mississippi’s Crop Professionals
Reporting from the North Delta is Tim Sanders, Sarah
5/21/13 – Cotton: Until last week there were only a few hundred acres planted and that had to be replanted. Last week a lot of cotton was planted and most of it was emerging yesterday and today. There have been some fields planted into weeds with good intentions but now we have a few messes to clean up. Fortunately most of this is LL or Widestrike cotton.
Soybeans: Beans are from just planted to 3 trifoliates. Insect pressure is light. Weed control in most fields looks very good for now. We are planting into more and more fields that already have residual herbicides down, which is much better than in the past.
Rice: Rice is just planted to ready for flood. The older rice is fairly clean but we have been unable to apply preflood herbicides. Hope to get that done soon. Most rice gets glyphosate/Command, but there are some fields we have been unable to get sprayed due to neighboring crops and winds.
Corn: Corn has really jumped after last week. A lot of nitrogen went out and we were still getting some herbicides out. Oldest corn is over 30″ tall, and the youngest is about 2 leaf. Insect pressure has been light, but we are spraying some stinkbugs in some that had wheat cover crop residue.
Overall, we are behind on acres of all crops and behind on the calendar. As I write this we are getting another flood rain. Hopefully, we can keep what is planted and continue to slip seed in the ground.
Reporting from East Mississippi is John Clark Cook, Vaiden
5/21/13 – Cotton: 75% planted, starting checking first stands Monday no insect pressure at this time. Weed control is horrible, hopefully will get some herbicides out this week.
Soybeans: 50% planted, range from just planted to V2, no insect pressure but like cotton weeds are horrible.
Corn: finally finishing up with herbicide and fertilizer and hoping this corn will pick up the fertilizer soon. I have never seen so many streaks across fields, you can diffidently see the rows where the knives were closer to the plants. Insect pressure has been very high this year. Have treated more acres for chinch bugs and stink bugs than I ever have. For the past several years my biggest pest has been sugarcane beetles but they have been few and far between this year. The southern corn rootworm has been a problem in some areas this year.
Wheat: finally starting to turn, doubt I will have any cut before the second week of June. Looks to be an average crop.