Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy  November 25, 2009

            I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I know that my family sure enjoyed the company and all the good food.  It is so much fun watching Benjamin and Ada interacting with their cousins.  I wish we lived closer to them but when these kids get together there is mischief in the air!  As we drove across the county and southeastern South Dakota it was nice to see the progress that has been made out in the field.  It is always a relief to have the crop out of the field so you can sit back and be thankful. 

The first snowfall of the year is often our wake-up call for the reality that winter is on its way and is here to stay.  Since snowflakes have been in the air, we often find ourselves thinking of all the things that need to get taken care of before accumulating snow actually falls.

            If you haven’t already done it, now is the time to put up your snow fence.  If you have a driveway or access road to your property that tends to drift full in the winter, making it difficult for you to travel, then a snow fence may be a solution.  Snow fences can reduce or stop drifting all together.  Drifts are formed on roadways because an obstacle, such as a ditch or a building, has forced the wind to move around it, causing the wind speed to slow down.  As the wind slows, the snow particles carried in the air have a chance to settle to the ground.  Over time, a drift will form around the object.  Snow fences, whether they are structural, made of corn, or living provide the same results.  They cause the wind speed to slow so the snow particles in the air have a chance to rest, forming a drift.  However, the drift is now located at the snow fence instead of on the roadway or drive.

            You can purchase prefabricated snow fence or materials to make your own snow fence at many local farm supply stores or larger hardware/lumber stores.  Another consideration is planting a living snow fence next year.  Now is the time to start considering what you want to plant for this living snow fence and where you would like/need to plant it.

The appropriate height for a fence depends upon three factors: 1) how much snowfall is common for your area; 2) what type of snow fence is available; and 3) how much snow you want to trap.  Any standard size fence will help stop snow from drifting, but, the taller the fence, the more snow that will be trapped.  One row of eight-foot high fence is recommended for maximum efficiency.  However, multiple rows of shorter fence can also be used.  For driveways or access roadways, one row of four- to eight-foot tall fence is most commonly used.

For your information:  “Back to the Basics: Marketing 101 Program” which will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2009 at the Parker Community Building in Parker, S.D.  The program starts at 10:00 a.m. and will run till 3:00 p.m.  Dinner is sponsored by Temple Crop Insurance of Lennox and Davis.  Topics discussed include marketing strategies to use, what is basis, what is a call option, what is a put option, how to hedge with a futures contract, what carry in the market means, the role crop insurance plays in a marketing plan, and how to write a marketing plan.  This marketing program is open to anyone interested in learning or fine tuning their marketing skills.  There is no cost to this program but pre-registrations are required by December 7, 2009.  Send your registrations to the Turner County Extension Office, PO Box 490, Parker, SD 57053; or call at (605) 297-3112; or send an email to connie.strunk@sdstate.edu.

2009 No-Till Clinic is set for December 9 at the Davison County 4-H Fairgrounds in Mitchell, S.D.  The clinic registration fee is $ 25.  Topics covered include: fertilizer replacement and timing, plants and planting, agriculture’s financial health, precision ag questions and answers, cover crops, mixes for specific goals, and comments on no-till farming.  The program starts at 8:30 a.m. and will conclude at 3 p.m.  To register, mail payment and contact information to the Davison County Extension Office, 3200 W. Havens, Mitchell, S.D. 57301.  Call the office at (605) 995-8620 for more information.  Participants can receive up to five CCA credits for attending this clinic.  

The mycotoxin survey that I mentioned a few weeks ago is underway and I am still in need of a few samples.  If you are interested in this free assessment please feel free to contact me.  I can either come and get the samples from you (whether that is out in the field, on the farm, or at the co-op) or you could drop off your samples here at my office.  All that is required is about 5 lbs of shelled corn (gallon Ziploc bag) with a description of what field (where in the county it came from) so we can see how the mycotoxin levels play out throughout the state of South Dakota.  It would be nice if you are able to provide the variety, etc. but I will take what I can get!  I am in need of samples from Minnehaha and Turner Counties.  

For more information please feel free to contact me at the Turner County Extension Office at (605) 297-3112.