Farmers are finishing up planting, but some crops have been slow to emerge. Cooler nighttime temperatures may be delaying emergence. In most cases, moisture has been adequate but highly variable. However, summer has arrived and very soon hotter and drier weather conditions may prevail. The last two years plus this year look like a hot June. Last year, moisture was very short in May. This year, farmers have some moisture at the surface, however, subsurface moisture is very low. When it gets hot and possibly dry this early in the growing season, what can a farmer do? Crops' roots are still shallow and the crop is not well developed yet. Early planted crops appear to be in better condition to survive higher temperatures and possibly drier soil conditions because they have more developed roots. First, try to terminate cover crops and weeds quickly to save moisture. Second, reduce or avoid tillage because each tillage pass dries out the soil .5-1.0 acre-inch of water. Dry soil tends to ...

Late summer and early fall are great opportunites to plant cover crops and improve soil health. Days are shorter, but with ample sunshine left and a little rain, cover crops grow quickly. Both summer annuals which die with the first frost and winter annuals can be grown. Legumes and clover which add soil nitrogen, all types of grasses for carbon, and brassicas to reduce soil compaction and reduce weeds all grow well at this time. After wheat, either bale or chop the straw and spray the weeds. Baling straw makes you more money than chopping straw. The high carbon content in wheat straw can reduce cover crop establishment and the by-products upon decomposition may be toxic to germinating cover crop seedlings. If possible, spray weeds with gramoxone (a dessicant) rather than glyphosate. Glyphosate reduces soil health and biology for several weeks and causes oxidizing microbes to make manganese unavailable while promoting Fusarium root diseases and weed resistance. Oats do the opposite, pr...