Follow Product Labels to Keep Crops Market-Ready

Jun 01, 2022

Keep it Clean reminds growers, applicators and crop advisers to always read and follow the label before spraying crop protection products. Improper or off-label use of pesticides is illegal and may result in unacceptable product residues, putting market access at risk.

Before you spray, review our Product Advisory to be aware of market risks that can arise from using certain crop protection products on some crop types and always read and follow the crop protection label for application rate, timing and pre-harvest interval:

Rate: Always follow the correct application rate.
Maximum residue limits (MRLs) are established based on the product label’s application rate. Following the label’s application rate and maximum number of applications per year reduces the risk of unacceptable residues in harvested grain.

Timing: Apply crop protection products only at the recommended crop stage.
For example, glyphosate for pre-harvest weed control should only be applied once grain moisture is less than 30% in the least mature areas of the field. Applications made too early increase the risk of unacceptable residues in the grain.

TIP: Refer to the Pre-Harvest Glyphosate Staging Guide for visual examples of various crops at 30% grain moisture.

Pre-harvest interval: Stick to the product’s pre-harvest interval (PHI) – the number of days between spraying and swathing or straight-cutting the crop.
PHIs can vary greatly between products – from as little as none (zero PHI) to up to 60 days. PHIs are set to ensure a product’s active ingredient has enough time to break down in the plant and not leave unacceptable residues behind.

TIP: Canola and pulse growers can use the Spray to Swath Interval Calculator which can sync with the calendar on your smartphone.

If you require clarification about information found on the label, or have further questions, contact the manufacturer before proceeding.

Following the label is just one of our 5 Simple Tips. By taking steps to Keep it Clean throughout the growing season, you can protect the marketability of your crop and help keep markets open for all.

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Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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