Crop Day draws 20 attendees
By ALLAN TINKER
The 2014 Sheridan Asso-ciation County Crop Day had 20 attendees at their March 12 meeting at McClusky City Hall Community Room.
NDSU Sheridan Extension Agent Sarah Crimmins offered a welcome and later gave a presentation on Soybean Cyst Nematodes.
The little cysts are tough, survive long term in the soil and move with the soil, contaminating other areas.
Iowa loses ½ billion dollars to this per year, she stated. The cysts have been detected in some areas of the state.
"Once you have it in the soil, you will have it forever. The key, once infected, is then to keep the egg levels low.
The nematodes take away nutrients, and interfere with nodulations and water uptake.
The nematode life cycle is about four weeks and damage is seen later in the crop cycle. It is essential to check for the problem with soil testing and in-season digging.
Areas to check are those vulnerable to contamination: field entrances, flooded areas, low spots, fence rows, low yielding spots and alkaline areas.
Former Sheridan Extension Agent, Emily Kline, presented a session on using soil tests. The soil tests help in selecting the right crops or variety and keep from spending money on fertilizers that are not needed or not used by particular crops or are already in sufficient quantity in the particular soil. Soils can vary greatly from one location to the next.
Lori Scharmer, NDSU Fam-ily Economics Specialist, offered information and provided a workbook to help select the best health insurance for individuals and families. What works for one, might not be the best one for another situation.
