Utilizing Annual Crops for Forage in Western South Dakota

Perennial forages provide most of the livestock feed in western South Dakota. However, frequent droughts in the past years have resulted in a shortage of feed, driving up demand for alternative feed sources. Annual crops can be of great value in developing a yearround forage system. They can provide early grazing before perennials are available, extend the grazing period, or increase hay and silage production. Annual crops differ in growth habit and in forage quality. Selection of a particular crop for forage should be based on intended end use. A brief production summary for some annual crops with potential for forage production is given here, but detailed information on yield and quality of some of the forage species is missing. Further research and adaptation studies under local conditions are required

Camelina Production

Hisotry and Description Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] is an oilseed plant currently being researched as a potential new crop for South Dakota. It is a member of the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family, which includes mustard, canola, rapeseed, Crambe, broccoli, and several other vegetable crops. Cam¬elina is commonly known as gold-of-pleasure or false flax. It originated in Northern Europe and Central Asia, where it has been grown for at least 3,000 years. It was grown as an agricultural crop in Europe and the Soviet Union through World War II. European production dwindled after the 1950s, as rapeseed/canola production increased. Camelina has been grown on a commercial basis in Montana for the last several years. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service office in Helena, Mont., 22,500 acres of camelina were planted in 2007 and 12,200 acres in 2008. Camelina is a cool-season crop. Seeds are very small (less than 1/16 inch), oblong, with a ridged surface. They germinate at low temperature (34-36°F), and young plants are very frost resistant. Young plants form a rosette of foli¬age close to the ground, and then stems elongate (bolt) and become heavily branched before flowering. Small pale-yellow flowers bloom in clusters at the top of the branches. Plants are 2–3-feet tall at maturity. Seedpods are pear shaped and contain 8–10 seeds. Camelina is more resistant to seed shatter than canola

Row Spacing and Seeding Rate Effects on Soybean Seed Yield

Soybean growers in the northern latitudes of the United States plant the crop in a wide range of row spacings although there has been a shift toward wider rows (>50 cm) in some Upper Midwest states in the last 5 years. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of row spacing and seeding rate on the performance of soybean and to determine whether these management practices interact to influence soybean yield. A row spacing study was conducted at Aberdeen and Beresford, South Dakota, USA, in 2014 and 2015. The study had two row spacings (19 and 76 cm), four seeding rates (247,000, 333,500, 420,000, and 506,500 seeds ha−1), and two soybean varieties at each location. Soybean had greater stand establishment in 19 cm rows (6–10% higher) compared with 76 cm rows. Soybean in 19 cm rows yielded 0.8–10% more than in 76 cm rows depending on the location or year. Seed yield increased with increasing seeding rate with the highest seeding rate of 506,000 seeds ha−1 yielding greatest. The increase in seed yield due to the increase in seeding rate ranged from 3 to 7%. At each location, the longer duration soybean variety yielded higher than the shorter duration variety

2006 Winter Wheat Variety Yield Results and Planting Tips

It was a tough year for winter wheat in South Dakota in 2006. The major winter wheat growing areas in the central and western part of the state suffered serious drought from planting until harvest. Most areas were very dry at planting, which delayed germination until rain came later in the fall. This led to plants with small crowns and little fall growth. Conditions did not improve in the spring with several locations having the driest January to June on record. Yields from the Crop Performance Testing Program averaged 47 bu/A statewide, but many locations were not harvested due to the drought. Trials at Selby, Bison, Hayes, and Kennebec were too poor to be harvested for yield. Trials at Watertown, Platte, and Dakota Lakes had too much variation for yield results to be reported. The top performing varieties in East River in 2006 were NuDakota, Wesley, Nekota, Alliance, and SD98102; while Hatcher, SD98102, NuDakota, Harry, and Wahoo were best in West River

2008 Winter Wheat Variety Yield Results and Planting Tips

2008 turned out to be an excellent year for winter wheat production in most of South Dakota. Though conditions were very dry for planting last fall, most of the central and eastern part of the state had good rains in Oct. to get the wheat off to a good start. There were areas in the west central and northwest part of the state that did not get rain in the fall, and in those areas the wheat did not make it through the winter. From May on through the summer most of the state had plentiful rainfall and cool conditions, which led to excellent wheat yields — with reports of some fields exceeding 100 bushels per acre. The main problems in 2008 were tan spot early in the season, rust that came in later in the season in the central part of the state, and the difficultly getting the crop harvested with the rainy humid conditions in July and early Aug

2010 Winter Wheat Variety Yield Results and Planting Tips

Conditions were very dry for planting last September for the western and central part of the state. And while there were good rains in early October, the cold temperatures led to a slow start for the wheat. Fortunately November was warmer than average, which allowed most locations to get decent fall growth. The northwest part of the state suffered a hard freeze on May 8th causing some freeze injury to the crop. Spring and early summer conditions were wet for most of the state, favoring increased disease pressure. The north central part of South Dakota was dry in June, which caused some drought stress in those areas. Harvest was hampered by rainy and humid conditions in July and early August. This made it difficult to get the grain dry enough to harvest and frequent rains on the ripe grain caused lower test weights in some areas. Yields from the Crop Performance Testing Program averaged 59 bu/A statewide, ranging from 28 bu/A at Bison to 84 bu/A at Selby. The results for Winner and Martin are not reported due to heavy weed pressure at Winner and high yield variation at Martin. Locations with higher than ideal trial variation (CV\u3e14) were Bison (dry fall, freeze injury), Kennebec (cheatgrass), Brookings non-intensive (disease pressure) and Beresford (storm damage). The top performing varieties at East River locations in 2010 were Expedition, Art, Settler CL, Overland and Lyman; while Hatcher, Lyman, Wesley, Camelot, Millennium and Wahoo did the best in West River locations. The varieties Overland, Expedition, Smoky Hill, Lyman, Wendy, Millennium, Wesley and Darrell had the best three-year statewide average yields. 2011 variety recommendations are included in this publication. Changes include: dropping NuDakota (not tested in 2010) and Arapahoe (poor yield performance) from the recommendations moving Harding down from the recommended to the acceptable/promising list, moving Lyman and Smoky Hill up from the acceptable/promising to the recommended list and adding Art and Settler CL to the acceptable/ promising list

2004 Winter Wheat Variety Yield Results and Production Tips

Winter wheat yields in South Dakota were a study in contrasts in 2004. The statewide average yield in the Crop Performance Testing Program was 59 bu/A, which was similar to last year’s average. However this does not reflect the fact that many locations in the western half of the state were not harvested. Extremely dry conditions in West River in the fall of 2003 caused poor emergence, and the continuing lack of moisture through spring left much of the wheat in poor condition. Testing locations at Martin, Oelrichs, Hayes, and Kennebec were abandoned because of poor stands and drought stress. Bison wheat was killed by freezing (20o F) temperatures in mid May