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Observations on the weather
By Sam Custer

5.6 inches of rain later, we are at a standstill.  There has been significant drying the past couple of days but we have a ways to go.  Remember, patience is critical now, getting on to your wet fields will cause damage for this year and next also.
 
Then came the cold.  I recorded ground level temperatures of 28.3 and 25.8 on Sunday and Mondaymorning at between 5:00 and 6:00.  Yesterday I saw signs of the frost damage in our wheat, corn and soybeans.
 
What should you do with your wheat?  Significant damage could have taken place if your wheat was flowering.  We walked the OSU Performance Trial Wheat north of Greenville and it appears that although the flag leaf was burnt by the frost, the wheat was not yet flowering.  Hopefully those of you in the southern part of the county that are flowering did not get the cooler temperatures.
 
Corn – It looks bad if it got hammered by the frost.  Remember the growing point is below the soil surface.  It will come back and be fine in the next week or so.
 
Soybeans – Burnt leaves, probably ok.  If the plant appears soft below the hypocotyl arch it is probably dead.
 
Replant?  Don’t get in a hurry.  Evaluate your fields.  I am sure some of you will need to spot plant some areas that were affected by erosion or extended periods of ponding of water.  Soybeans are very adaptive.  I have three years of research here in Darke County that show that actual plant counts of 50,000 plants per acre will yield within a few bushels of your optimal planting population soybeans will.
 
Check out this week’s CORN and Beef newsletters.  They have critical information for you to review.



 
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