Ag
Connection 
Your local link to MU for ag extension and research information
October 2013
Publishing Information
Ag Connection is published monthly for Missouri
producers and is supported by University of Missouri Extension, the Commercial
Agriculture program, the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station and the MU College of
Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Editorial board: Joni Harper, Managing
Editor; Mary Sobba, Parman Green, Gene Schmitz, Heather Smith, Wendy Rapp, Todd Lorenz, Wayne Crook, James Quinn, Brent Carpenter and Kent Shannon.
Comments or Suggestions?
Please send your comments and suggestions to
Joni Harper, Agronomy Specialist, University of Missouri Extension, 100 E Newton
St., 4th Floor, Versailles, MO 65084, call 573/378-5358 or send messages by
e-mail to: rossjo@missouri.edu.
To send a message to an author, click on the author's name at the end of an article.
[This Month in Ag Connection] [Ag Connection - Other Issues Online]
Resource for Farm Labor
Compensation
A common question in extension offices
deals with what is a fair rate to compensate farm employees. The response
typically involves asking more questions and then
sharing some guidelines. The compensation depends on many things including:
responsibilities, capabilities, reliability and experience. As we move into
harvest, many farms may need some extra help.
USDA National Ag Statistics Service (NASS) each year releases a report in
the spring concerning farm labor over the past year and it includes rates
paid by region. NASS collects data periodically (typically quarterly)
throughout the year. Missouri and Iowa make up the region called Cornbelt
II. The document is over 20 pages, but does include many tables and charts
that can be skimmed quickly and offers some help in trying to determine fair
wages.
One collection period in 2012 was the week of October 7-13. The NASS survey
showed wages in the Cornbelt II region during harvest time a year ago
averaged $11.87 per hour for field work and $10.84 for livestock work.
Another interesting feature of the report is the wages paid based on gross
value of sales. For example, farms with gross sales between $50,000 and
$99,000 averaged wages of $10.05, while farms with sales of $250,000 to
$499,000 averaged $11.34.
The report is free to browse or download:
http://tinyurl.com/NASS-FarmLabor-2013
Source: Mary Sobba, Ag
Business Specialist
[This Month in
Ag Connection] [Ag Connection - Other
Issues Online]
Pearls of Production: Women in
Agriculture
An innovative and exciting new program designed to provide leadership and
hands-on training opportunities for women livestock producers in Missouri.
The program is designed to reach women who are playing larger roles and
making key decisions on the farm. This statewide women’s livestock
conference will be held on Friday November 8th and Saturday November 9th.
Cost of the program is $100.00 and includes all the meals. For more
information and to register, the conference schedule is on MU's Conference
website at: http://muconf.missouri.edu
where likely participants can click onto "Pearls of Production-Women in
Agriculture" or go to
http://muconf.missouri.edu/womenandagriculture/index.html to register.
Source: Wendy Rapp,
Livestock Specialist
[This Month in Ag Connection] [Ag Connection - Other Issues Online]
Optimizing Low
Temperature Grain Dryer Operations
Highly variable harvest moisture, late and uneven crop maturity and poor
weather conditions can expose many weaknesses in terms of grain dryer
operations. Management and equipment shortcomings can create significant
bottlenecks and frustration among farmers and elevator managers alike.
Whether you own and operate your own drying system or deliver to someone
else's dryer, long drying times frustrate everybody. The following provides
some operational tips to help farmers optimize the performance of a low
temperature grain drying system.
Before loading a drying bin, cleaning of the grain should be considered.
High concentration of fine material in the center of the bin can produce
uneven airflow. Uneven airflow produces uneven movement of the drying front
through the grain bulk. In addition, fine material tends to be wetter than
grain. Thus, the combination of lower airflow and higher moisture content in
the center result in significantly slower drying and greater potential for
spoilage in the center compared to grain close to the sidewall. Although
fines are more difficult to remove from wet than from dry corn, wet corn
should be screen-cleaned if it is to remain in the same bin for storage. A
spreader is generally the only feasible way to coming close to a level fill,
which is critical in assuring even air distribution for drying. Although
undesirable, some hand leveling may be needed at times to compensate for
uneven spreading. Utilizing a spreader to distribute fines when filling a
bin with dry corn can be less effective than combining a grain cleaner and
the drawing of a core. Drawing out dry corn multiple times while filling a
bin is even more effective than drawing a core once after filling is
complete.
The biggest mistake when operating a natural air/low temperature (NA/LT)
drying system (i.e., bin dryers operating with natural air, or air heated up
to an extra 10°F) is filling it too quickly. Drying time is directly related
to the airflow rate, which is a function of grain depth and fan power. The
optimum combination of airflow and fan power typically results in a grain
depth of 14-16 ft. However, grain depths of 18-21 ft are most typical for
NA/LT drying systems. Although more expensive initially, buying diameter is
preferable over buying depth, and results in lower operating costs and
better system performance.
If the bin is completely filled with corn above 20% in a single batch, by
the time the drying front reaches the top layer, the grain could be spoiled
and mycotoxins could develop. If moisture contents are above 20%, a drying
bin should not be filled in a single batch but rather in layers. The wetter
the grain, the shallower the layers should be. Better yet, if several bin
dryers are available, layers of grain should be spread into all of them.
Distributing the drying load over more than one bin maximizes the drying
capacity. Also, early in the season the moisture content is highest. Thus,
the wettest grain can be dried closest to the bottom of each bin where the
drying potential of the air is highest.
The drying front must be monitored closely. Often layers of higher and lower
moisture content grain are added on top of each other. As the drying front
moves up through the grain, moisture is added to some layers and removed
from others. Monitoring the top layer of the grain mass has to occur over
several days. A reading of 18% moisture on one day may increase to a reading
of 20% the next day as the drying front pushes through the different
moisture layers. When the moisture readings remain consistently below 16-17%
for several days, drying is nearing completion.
Finally, low temperature drying cannot always be completed by December. As a
matter of fact, after the middle of December the drying potential of the air
is too low in most parts of the Midwest. Thus, after the top layer has
dropped below 18% moisture and the grain temperature below 30-35°F, the
drying fan can be turned off. Fan operation should subsequently occur about
once a week for 4 to 6 hours on dry, cool days until the weather turns
warmer again in March. Drying to 15% can then be completed by running the
fan continuously in the spring. To assure that the top layer is below 18%
moisture by mid-December; supplemental heat may be needed in a poor drying
year.
Material for this article was obtained from a Purdue University Publication
- Optimizing Grain Dryer Operations -
http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/GQ/GQ-15.htm This
publication also discusses the operation of other grain drying systems such
as: medium temperature in-bin drying, high speed column dryers, and
combination drying systems.
Source: Kent Shannon,
Natural Resource Engineering Specialist
[This Month in Ag Connection] [Ag Connection - Other Issues Online]
Taxation Tidbit: The Capital Gain Tax Maze
The income tax calculation for long-term capital gains is getting to be a
maze. Not only have the base rates been expanded (0%; 15% or 20%); now
additional tax liability
(3.8%) can result from the “Medicare surtax on net investment income”. To
add injury to insult, for taxpayers in the highest ordinary income tax
bracket of 39.6%, the effective marginal rate on their long-term capital
gain will likely be increased another 1.2% due to the phase-out of person
exemptions and itemized deductions.
Thus, for 2013 the effective marginal federal income tax rate on long-term
capital gains will be one of the following rates, depending on the level of
income: 0%; 15%; 18.8%; 20%; 23.8%; or 25%.
The “Medicare surtax” will impact joint income tax filers with adjusted
gross income greater than $250,000 ($200,000 single). The phase-out for
itemized deductions will impact joint filers with taxable income over
$450,000 ($400,000 single).
Many taxpayers won’t know their exact capital gains tax rate until their tax
return is finalized. The capital gain tax maze is one of the reasons tax
preparation software has become so popular and why most taxpayers should
consider utilizing a professional tax return preparer.
Source: Parman R. Green, MU
Extension Ag Business Mgmt. Specialist
[This Month in Ag Connection] [Ag Connection - Other Issues Online]
Spotted Wing Drosophila, a destructive pest
for fruit growers
Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) is a
small vinegar fly (about 0.1 inches in length) that for the last two years
has been causing economic damage to berries, grapes, and
softer-fleshed fruit such as peach in several areas of the US including the
Midwest. Now, SWD has appeared in Missouri and made its presence felt by
fruit growers.
What sets the SWD apart from other types of vinegar flies is the serrated
ovipositor that females have. They can attack healthy fruit by cutting
through the skin of the fruit and inserting their eggs. The ovipositor
breaks through the fruit’s skin, which opens the door for fungus, bacteria
and molds to enter the fruit. Also, SWD is able to attack some vegetables
such as tomatoes and peppers.
The adult SWD lives for about two weeks and each female can lay more than
300 eggs. The larvae hatch and feed inside the fruits, causing them to rot.
This insect reproduces so quickly that a few adults can give rise to
thousands of flies in just a couple of months.
Use of effective insecticides that are well timed and have good coverage can
control SWD through harvest. However, there is a potential for rapid
population increase by SWD. Therefore, active management, by monitoring
flies and fruit infestation, is critical.
Once the egg is inside the fruit you can’t spray to kill the maggot. If you
have infested fruit, then sanitation is a big issue. It’s important to
remove and destroy all infested fruits. That includes all dropped fruit,
where overwintering adults can live. Leaving it under the tree will mean the
flies will be there the next season.
For more information about monitoring and managing spotted wing drosophila,
see the Aug. 2013 issue of Missouri Environment & Garden at ipm.missouri.edu/meg
Lincoln University Cooperative Extension also has resources at www.lincolnu.edu/web/programs-and-projects/ipm
Source: Jaime Pinero, Lincoln University, State IPM Specialist
(573-681-5522, or pineroj@lincolnu.edu
) and Bruce Barrett, University of Missouri Extension Entomologist
[This Month in Ag Connection] [Ag Connection - Other Issues Online]
Jared Decker appointed genetics
specialist
[This Month in
Ag Connection] [Ag Connection - Other
Issues Online]
Jared Decker has been appointed Beef
Genetics Extension Specialist at the University of Missouri. The position
was most recently held by Bob Weaber. Decker will also serve as animal
breeding and genetics specialist on the Commercial Agriculture Program's
Beef Focus Team. Decker received his B.S. from New Mexico State University,
graduating with top honors. He majored in Animal Science with a minor in
Biology. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri in Genetics, with
a Ph.D. minor in Statistics.
On the Extension side, Jared Decker writes a blog about whatever strikes him
as interesting in genetics and livestock production. The name of the blog is
steakgenomics.blogspot.com
.
Asked about his responsibilities with the new appointment, Decker replied,
"I will be providing our regional specialists with the information they will
need in order to work with the producers integrating new products. My
initial approach will be to create internet content for producers to
reference as they try to understand the new technologies.
"We are at a point where the technology used to analyze DNA is rapidly
changing. The tools we use in animal breeding are also changing. My main
focus will be to educate beef producers on how to utilize the new
technologies to increase their profits."
Author: Michelle Proctor, Senior Information Specialist
Ag
Connection - Ag Connection Newsletter, October 2013