Saving Money on Weed Control Without Hurting Yields
A new Better Farming video, dealing with the issue of cutting the cost of your weed control program without cutting its effectiveness, is now online. Growers are looking for ways to cut production costs this year, but cutting back on your weed control program is not the right answer. According to Jim Mintert with the Purdue Center for Commercial Ag, “If you reduce yields because you have poor weed control, you will push your cost per bushel much higher, as much as $3.00 per bushel if you had a 20% drop in yields because of poor weed control.”
He says the focus should not be on cutting costs but protecting yield, “Growers should not be thinking about what they can cut but what they need to do to maximize yields by having the best weed control program possible.” He added this includes not only the right product but also good management.
Purdue Extension Weed Specialist Bill Johnson says, for soybean growers, using a residual herbicide is the best option, “We are recommending the use of residual products because for many of the products we do not have resistance issues. In addition, the patents on some of these products have expired which lowers the cost.” He urges growers who are going to cut some active ingredients out of their weed control program to make sure they are not cutting control of the weeds they know they have.
The new Better Farming video is now on-line, you can watch the complete program at HAT.com.
The Better Farming Report is made possible by Indiana soybean growers and their checkoff.