Bean Expert Says Quality Could Suffer With Harvest Delay

Oct 03, 2019

Harvest of crops such as soybeans and dry beans is well below the average for this time of year.

Manitoba's soybean harvest is sitting at about 11 per cent complete while dry beans are at 35 per cent complete. That compares to the three-year average of 48 and 60 per cent respectively for the first week of October.

Cassandra Tkachuk is a production specialist with Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers.

"I would say for crops like dry beans that have already been undercut or swathed, the ones that are sitting in the ground, you're at a higher risk of quality loss," she said. "Although some reports have come in saying that the seed is still looking OK. As long as we could finally have some drying weather and get those ones off, some of them might still be OK."

Tkachuk says there are soybeans that are just reaching maturity, which seem to be handling the wet weather better than others that have been ready to harvest for a while.

"If they're still standing you'll have seeds and pods drying down and you might have some harvesting issues, not just for dry beans for soybeans as well. I think for the ones that have been ripe and sitting there for a long time, the quality might start to go down a little bit."

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.