Mississippi Crop Situation Podcast

Brian Pieralisi visited the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville last week to discuss the Mississippi cotton crop.  Favorable weather has come in short stints, but it has allowed a good deal of Mississippi’s cotton acres to be planted recently.  Brian, Jason, and Tom discuss some new traits, herbicide availability, nematodes and other early-season issues.   

Jason did a recent episode of the Weeds AR Wild Podcast with Bob Scott from the University of Arkansas Systems Division of Agriculture and Tyler Hydrick, a crop consultant from Jonesboro, AR.  They discuss ryegrass management, focusing on herbicide treatments, but also on some cultural practices too.  The episode is really not crop specific, but it does contain some information tailored to rice.    

Erick Larson called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to talk with Jason and Tom about the progress of corn planting across Mississippi.  Some corn acres were planted in February, and some have yet to be planted.  Problems encountered have included flooding in fields impacting corn before and after emergence, poor stands, and erosion of raised beds affecting nodal root development. 

Madison Dixon from the Mississippi State University Agricultural Autonomy Institute visited the Crop Doctor’s Podcast studio in Stoneville to talk with Tom and Jason about updated regulations for commercial operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in Mississippi.  More information on the Agricultural Autonomy Institute can be found at https://www.aai.msstate.edu.

Jarrod Hardke from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to talk with Jason and Tom about rice in the upper Midsouth.  Topics include planting progress, effects of weather, herbicide drift, and grass management when the wind dries fields out. 

Travis Faske with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to discuss his work on root-knot nematodes in soybean.  More information on his work evaluating soybean varieties for host plant resistance can be accessed at https://arkansascrops.uada.edu/posts/disease/2023-soybean-varities-rootknot-nematode.aspx

Daniel Stephenson with the LSU AgCenter is the authority on johnsongrass management in row crops in the Midsouth.  Daniel called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to share with Tom and Jason tips for controlling johnsongrass in row crops in the Midsouth.  

DREC has a “new” Ag Economist.  Dr. Steve Martin served previously as an economist and as the station head at Stoneville before holding a variety of positions with Mississippi State University, including most recently the interim Director of Extension.  Steve visited the Crop Doctors’ podcast studio to talk with Jason and Tom about the projects and programs he plans to work on now that he has permanently moved back to the Delta. 

Dave Spencer from the MSU Water Resources Research Institute in Starkville, along with Drew Gholson, visited the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to talk with Jason and Tom about preparing for irrigation for 2024.  Even though it’s early April, several tasks can be performed to ensure that when it gets hot and dry in the coming months, irrigation systems are ready to deliver the water essential to optimize crop yields in Mississippi.

Frank Carey with Valent USA and Tom Eubank with Nutrien Ag Solutions visit the Crops Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville for a deep dive on weed shifts in Mississippi over the last few years.  Frank, Tom, Jason, and Tom Allen discuss selection pressure, evolution of herbicide programs, cycles in management, etc. that have caused these weed species to become priorities over the last five years.  Please pardon the airplane noise during parts of the podcast. 

Lance Newman visited the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to introduce Alex Deason as the new Regional Extension Coordinator for the Delta Region within MSU Extension.  Alex most recently served as the Agriculture and Natural Resources and 4-H agent in Sunflower County.  After introducing Alex for his new role, the conversation ranges from the roles of county level Extension to the future of Extension efforts in Mississippi. 

Charles Downs of Downs Ag Consulting visited the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville a few weeks ago while at a meeting at DREC.  Charles has been an independent crop consultant in the Mississippi Delta for 13 years.  Charles, Tom, and Jason discuss Charles entry into the business, what a typical day looks like as a crop consultant, and the value of membership in the Mississippi Agricultural Consultants’ Association. 

Mark Silva with Mississippi State Extension visits the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to discuss the network of weather stations managed by the Delta Agricultural Weather Center, which is housed at the Delta Research and Extension Center.  Mark summarizes soil temperatures from across the state and posts numbers weekly on the Mississippi Crop Situation blog at https://www.mississippi-crops.com.  This information will be useful as planting season approaches.  The Delta Agricultural Weather Center can be accessed at http://deltaweather.extension.msstate.edu.

Erick called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to talk about corn planting. Temperatures have been unseasonably warm and fields have dried out to the point where fieldwork is possible across areas of Mississippi. Erick, Tom, and Jason discuss keys for triggering corn planting, including soil temperature and soil moisture. They also touch on cover crops and finish up with the importance of uniform corn seedling emergence. 

Drs. John Byrd with Mississippi State Extension and David Russell with Auburn University were speakers on the program at the Row Crop Short Course in Starkville in December. John and David visited with Tom Allen and Jason Bond, MSU Extension/research professors, during the short course about trends in weed management and what both of these weed scientists viewed as threats to the current systems we utilize. 

Darla Huff and George Goodwin visits with Tom Allen and Jason Bond, MSU Extension/research professors, in Starkville as Platinum sponsors of the 2023 Row Crop Short Course.  Find out more at https://www.adspipe.com.    

Bobby Golden visits with Tom Allen and Jason Bond, MSU Extension/research professors, in Starkville as a Platinum sponsor of the 2023 Row Crop Short Course.  Find out more at https://www.simplot.com.

From the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville, Tom Allen and Jason Bond, MSU Extension/research professors, discuss the recent ruling to vacate the labels for Xtendimax, Engenia, and Tavium.  On February 6, the U.S. Disctrict Court for the District of Arizona ruled to vacate labeling for the dicamba herbicides labeled for use in Xtend crops.  Topics discussed include the facts of the ruling as of February 8, 2024, and management of soybean and cotton without the availability of dicamba.

Dr. Stanley Culpepper from the University of Georgia and Dr. Larry Steckel from the University of Tennessee sat down with Jason and Tom during the Mississippi Row Crop Short Course in Starkville in December to discuss the impending changes in pesticide labeling and re-labeling under the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.  The concepts surrounding the Vulnerable Species Pilot Project and the Herbicide Strategy are complex, and the new processes threaten to become a tremendous pivot point for agriculture in the U.S.  Stanley and Larry are leading authorities on the subject, so we encourage everyone to listen closely. Visit http://extension.msstate.edu/shows/mississippi-crop-situation for more episodes.

Lawson Priess visits with MSU Extension/Research Professors Drs. Tom Allen and Jason Bond in Starkville as a Platinum sponsor of the 2023 Row Crop Short Course.  Find out more at https://www.fmc.com/en.