By Richard C. Snell

Barton County Extension Agent, Agriculture

Too much risk and not enough profit! That is probably how I would title an economics seminar on agriculture. However, Kansas State University's Department of Agricultural Economics is simply calling their's a 2-day Risk and Profit Conference.

The conference and trade show will be held Aug. 11 and 12, at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan. This is about the 10th year or so for the conference and I have always taken a lot home from it when I have attended. Economics Makes You Money is the theme for this year's conference and it is based on the idea that the Ag Economics Department at K-State provides cutting edge educational opportunities to ag producers and agri-business professionals through extension outreach and educational programs. I recommend this event for farmers, ranchers, lenders, landowners, consultants or anyone involved in agribusiness. They are building on the success of last year's program and are featuring a trade show. The trade show will be open the entire conference. The costs for exhibitors is $300 for a 6 foot table or $550 for a booth.

What will be the topics at the conference? Breakout sessions to select from include: Risk and Insurance; Land Ownership and Retirement; Successful Family Business Transitions; No-Till, Short and Long-Run Economics; Impact of Farm Programs; Everything You Wanted To Know About Labor Management, Entrepreneurship and Transition in Agriculture; Time To Sell the Double-Wide and Buy a Winnebago?; Economics For Fun and Profit; Productivity and Farm Size, Efficiency and Livestock Production; Valuing Cattle On Beef Tenderness; and Canadian Beef Issues.

The cost of the conference is $185 at the door, which includes several meals and the conference proceedings notebook. However if you are thrifty like me you will look for the bargains. If you register before August 6, the price is just $160. If you have additional members from your farm or business, it's only $125 in advance. Another way you can save money is by having four or more people paid by the same check. That will only costs you $140 per person.

Friday morning's general session will feature Extension Marketing specialists Jim Mintert and Mike Woolverton who will share their outlook on the grain and livestock industries. A highlight of every year is the Friday luncheon's unveiling of an informal producer survey conducted at the conference. Prior to that, the Thursday evening banquet will entertain those attending with Mark Mayfield, a K-State graduate and former National FFA president and now well known public speaker and comedian. The conference concludes late Friday afternoon.

We have registration brochures at the county extension office or you can do it on the web at www.agmanager.info/events. Further questions should be directed to Deborah Goins at 785-532-1504 or 785-532-5823.

Don't let weeds take the moisture

I am seeing quite a few fields where broadleaf weeds are taking over stubble or worked fields. It is important to control these weeds now to save valuable moisture.

This fall's Wheat seed bed doesn't need a lot of moisture but it does need to be timely. Often times, we don't get much rain in this area between Wheat harvest and planting.

With fuel costs soaring and chemical prices, these are two more reasons to spray herbicide rather than do tillage. A treatment of 2, 4-D and glyphosate (Roundup or generic) or Fallow Master, which is Roundup and Dicamba (Clarity or Banvel) should take care of volunteer Wheat and grasses as well as broadleaves. They should even help on bindweed control.

What is the secret of good weed control? Well, with Roundup products, hard water is bad, that's why using ammonium sulfate and surfactants are important, especially with dusty conditions. If you can use rain water or distilled water it helps.

Another key factor is using enough active ingredient per acre of the product. Larger weeds need a higher rate. Follow the label.

Having good soil moisture so that the plant is actively growing is critical. If it is bone dry, you are probably wasting your time and money. The perfect time to spray is one or two days after a good rain or as soon as the ground will hold you easily.

Remember that you need to kill volunteer at least by the end of August and it will take about 10 days for the glyphosate to completely kill it.

Rotate those crops

I saw way too much in the line of rye, jointed goat grass, and the cheat grasses (downy brome, Japanese brome and cheat) this year. My thoughts are that crop rotation to a summer crop is your best bet to avoid these problems. I saw so much of it that if I was an elevator manager I wouldn't want the stuff.

You probably need to be out of Wheat for two years or more. If you are a small producer, you may feel you can't plant a summer crop which is not true because many people use a drill to plant soybeans, forage sorghum, millet and milo. These will help break the weed cycle.

If you absolutely won't plant a summer crop, your next option is to summer fallow and try to control these things with atrazine or Roundup. If you continuous crop, you need to use herbicides that control these in the wheat, such as Olympus, Beyond or Maverick.

Date: 7/21/05