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April 30, 2020
In This Edition:
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Deadline May 15!
Register now for the new Michigan Wheat Yield Contest
As we announced in last month’s Wheat Wisdom, the Michigan Wheat Program (MWP) has launched the first Michigan Wheat Yield Contest to recognize outstanding wheat growers in the Great Lakes State.
If your wheat is looking good this spring and you want to put it to the test, enter before May 15 for the opportunity to become one of Michigan’s outstanding “wheat warriors.”
 The Michigan Wheat Yield Contest is modeled on the successful 5-year-old National Wheat Yield Contest sponsored by the National Wheat Foundation (NWF). Click here to read more about the Michigan Wheat Yield Contest on its new web page.
We know Michigan wheat farmers produce much more than the national average of 49 bushels per acre, particularly in 2016 when Michigan had an average 89 bushels per acre yield!
What we don’t know, is which farmers grew it best in Michigan and what they did to achieve those yields.
The Michigan Wheat Yield Contest offers Michigan growers an opportunity to compete against one another, as a way to inspire creative thinking to solve production challenges in Michigan. Winners will be chosen as a straight-up highest per bushel yield in irrigated and dryland wheat for both red and white wheat.
 How to Enter. To make contest entry easy, the Michigan Wheat Program has partnered with the NWF to utilize their contest registration form and entry process. Michigan farmers’ data will be used by the Michigan Wheat Program to determine the home-state winners.
If you are a Michigan wheat farmer, you pay into the Michigan Wheat Program check-off so you do not have to pay NAWG dues. Since the Michigan Wheat Program is a member of NAWG, your NAWG membership is waived.
To sign up for the Michigan contest and the National Wheat Yield Contest (they must go together), click here to visit the NAWG website. The registration and $125 entry fee are due May 15, 2020. This is the final deadline for the 2020 harvest.
Usually, the entry fee will be covered by one of the ag businesses you work with. Questions may be directed to your ag business representative. National sponsors of the contest that also cover registration fees are: Bayer/WestBred, BASF and Corteva/Pioneer. If you are utilizing one of these companies, complete your registration form but do not pay. The registration fees will be covered after the rest of your registration is submitted.
What You Can Win. Michigan’s top winners will receive free registration and lodging at the Great Lakes Crop Summit in Mt. Pleasant January 27-28, 2021. Also, recognition and awards at the Michigan Wheat Program’s Annual Meeting in March 17, 2021; and will be highlighted in a special publication honoring Michigan’s top yielding farmers.
We call those top yielders “wheat warriors!” and by winning one of the categories in the state contest, they become members of that special “wheat warriors” club. As the contest develops, there will be more opportunities for those growers.
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Sponsorship opportunities for Michigan Wheat Yield Contest
Click here if you’d like to be a sponsor of the Michigan Wheat Yield Contest and our new “Wheat Warriors” club.
With the new contest, comes new opportunities for sponsors to show their support of Michigan’s outstanding wheat farmers. The board of the Michigan Wheat Program seeks sponsors to support the top winner in irrigated and dryland red and white wheat production.
The sponsorships are requested to cover trips and awards for the four winners at the following levels:
- $1000 – Level sponsorship
- $500 – Level sponsorship
If your organization would like to support Michigan’s “wheat warriors” contact executive director Jody Pollok-Newsom at jody@miwheat.org or by calling the wheat office at 517.625.9432. Your support will be greatly appreciated, especially as we launch this new program.
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Notes from Pennington:
Freeze damage in wheat
 By Dennis Pennington, MSU wheat specialist (pennin34@msu.edu)
There have been widespread reports of frost damage in wheat in the southern and central US. Here in Michigan, we experienced a hard freeze overnight on April 21st with temperatures dipping down to 21 degrees F. Temperatures remained below freezing for as long as 12 hours.
Yield impacts from freeze damage are highly dependent on wheat growth stage. Up to Feekes 6, the growing point is below the soil surface if the wheat was seeded at proper depths.
Even with very low air temperatures, the soil protects the growing point from damage. It is true that soil temperatures have decreased over the past 2 weeks, but they are not even close to freezing.
At Feekes 6, the developing head is located at the top of the first node visible above the soil surface. As the plant elongates to two, three and four nodes (Feekes 7, 8 and 9) the head is pushed farther from the soil surface, making it more vulnerable to frost.
When assessing wheat stands, make sure you check your growth stage. Most or all of the wheat in Michigan is not yet at Feekes 6, keeping it pretty safe from frost damage.
If you are at Feekes 6 or later, dissect the main stem and locate the head. If you can find ice surrounding the head, you may have cause for concern. It may take a week to 10 days for wheat to come out of frost damage.
Go back then and dissect more plants and assess how many heads survived. This will give you a better idea how much damage has been done.
Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado have reported significant frost damage on wheat. On April 21, wheat there was between Feekes 6 and 9. This is where the most yield damage occurs.
Typically in Michigan, we avoid frost damage because our wheat is not yet at the later growth stages. You may see some tip burn on leaves from freeze damage, but it is mostly cosmetic and will not hurt yields. Varietal response to freeze is also variable.
 Click here to access the Michigan State University Enviroweather system and learn more about temperatures and look up weather data for your area. The site allows you to find your nearest weather station and run reports on temperature, rainfall, soil temperatures and more.
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Early season disease management: Time to start scouting for wheat diseases
 By Ricardo Costa Silva, MSU field crops educator (costasil@msu.edu)
Even though disease pressure is not at its peak at this time, scouting is recommended for early disease detection, especially because of the increased moisture levels due to the amount of rain and snow in the last few weeks.
How to scout for diseases
When scouting, choose a representative area of the field, or if possible, scout the whole field. Make sure to walk through the field every 7 to 10 days.
Stop regularly to examine plants, looking closely for symptoms in the upper and lower crop canopy. Pull out some plants to inspect for root or crown discoloration, which are symptoms that might be caused by soilborne fungal pathogens.
What to look for when scouting
In Michigan, early-season wheat diseases to pay special attention to are Septoria leaf spot and powdery mildew.
Symptoms of Septoria leaf spot first appear on lower parts of the plant, with lesions showing irregular shapes with a tan center and yellowish margin. When favorable conditions occur, such as cold, humid weather, and frequent rainfalls, lesions acquire a rectangular shape with the presence of black dots in the center of the lesions and without the clear yellowish margin, spreading up to the upper leaves and stems and also to nearby plants.
 Powdery mildew (pictured here) also starts on the lower parts of the plant, where high moisture remains for more extended periods. Powdery mildew can be plentiful in the lower canopy, but not visible on the top of the wheat crop. The main characteristics of this disease are white, cottony patches on the plant surface. Later in the season, the white spots turn dull gray-brown.
Because both diseases start in the lower parts of the plant, it is imperative to look in the lower canopy when scouting.
How to manage these diseases
It is recommended to scout for Septoria leaf spot (bottom photo) and powdery mildew in April and May, but to hold off treatment until the wheat begins to joint. Both diseases will not start actively growing until wheat reaches Feekes 6 stage (jointing). Fungicides have little activity on dormant fungi.
Depending on the disease levels, treatment might not even be necessary, especially if weather conditions are dry and hot since Septoria leaf spot and powdery mildew both require moist, humid and mild temperature conditions to thrive.
Overall, choosing resistant varieties is the best approach for managing Septoria and powdery mildew. Planting wheat following another small cereal grain can encourage fungal disease development because of the “green bridge.” Also, excessive rates of nitrogen fertilizer can lead to overly dense stands that tend to promote leaf diseases.
If your variety is susceptible to any of these diseases, a fungicide application between flag leaf and head emergence (Feekes 8 to 10.5) will provide very good control. Most of the available fungicides are equally effective against both infections.
To see the list of available products, please refer to Fungicide Efficacy for Control of Wheat Diseases.
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Musings from Martin:
Growth stage 6 signals "game on!"
 By Martin Nagelkirk (nagelkir@msu.edu)
In the development of wheat, Feekes growth stage 6 (a.k.a. 1st joint) is the point where plants have progressed beyond the vegetative state and the real work of producing a crop begins. Everything prior to this point has been dedicated to laying a foundation for what begins at jointing when the plant diverts its attention to its ultimate mission: Producing seed.
Wheat’s rate of development depends mostly on temperature. As for calendar date, the occurrence of growth stage 6 (GS 6) occurs around May 1st – give or take five days – in central Michigan and a few days earlier in southern Michigan.
The date of seeding also matters. Generally, wheat sown in September may reach growth stage 6 (GS 6) several days ahead of a crop seeded a month later.
 The best evidence of GS 6 is a joint (node) emerging above the soil line (see illustrations). This structure represents the developing head aboard multiple nodes. Eventually these nodes will separate, all the while pushing the head upward.
Prior to this, growers’ management focuses on building the crop’s foundation through practices largely related to seeding and fertilization. From GS 6 until grain maturation, the plant is mostly left to do its thing while growers’ efforts are largely restricted to playing a defensive role to stave-off potential pests including weeds, pathogens and insects.
 Perhaps the biggest advantage to identifying GS 6 is that it is a useful reference to gauge the timing of various production inputs or practices.
Once growth stage 6 is reached, any micronutrient deficiency should already have been addressed; and at least the bulk of the nitrogen fertilizer should have been applied. In addition, herbicides including Powerflex, Osprey and growth regulator products (2,4-D, dicamba, MCPA and Curtail) should no longer be used.
GS 6 is also useful as a reminder that the cut-off for using some other crop protection products is only one to two weeks away (again, depending on air temperatures). That is, before the end of growth stage 7 (two nodes without the flag leaf tip being visible) applications of herbicides including Affinity, Harmony, Huskie, and Quelex; and the growth regulator Palisade must be completed in order to avoid crop injury or an off-label application.
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Wheat acreage planted in Fall 2019
By Martin Nagelkirk (nagelkir@msu.edu)
 According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service Office in Michigan, the state’s farmers sowed 520,000 acres of wheat last fall, about 20,000 acres less than the previous year’s level.
That said, harvested acres may not be this far off the mark. Last year an estimated 60,000 acres were destroyed prior to harvest, whereas this spring the wheat stand is much stronger according to MI Wheat Watchers, (a group of growers and ag business contacts that report crop information to Martin Nagelkirk).
Consequently, Michigan may lose only about 40,000 acres this spring. Generally, cover crops and winter damage subtract 30,000-60,000 acres from Michigan’s planted wheat acreage each season.
Furthermore, it’s a fair bet that our yields will be stronger in 2020 so that Michigan’s total bushels of production may exceed that of 2019. Stay tuned!
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Michigan Wheat Program Summer Field Day is on the calendar, but may look different
 As you all know, things are looking different given social distancing. Michigan State University has mandated no public meetings certainly not of the size of our field day, so that means that we need to change our summer field day format.
We will still be having a summer field day, but we do not yet know what it will look like or how it will be delivered to you. Stay tuned and keep June 10 on your calendar!
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Pesticide certification changes per Gov. Whitmer's COVID-19 Executive Orders
 Private pesticide applicators can temporarily renew certification by phone.
To help ensure that Michigan’s private pesticide applicators (farmers applying restricted use pesticides on their own land or crops) comply with the law during COVID-19 restrictions, MDARD is temporarily making phone renewals available for new and renewing certificate holders.
The Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) allows an oral fact-finding interview to be administered by an authorized representative of MDARD. The interview will consist of multiple choice and/or true/false questions based on the National Pesticide Applicator Certification Core Manual.
Questions will be read by an MDARD representative, applicants must respond orally and get 70% correct to pass. This opportunity is only available for the private applicator Core Exam. The option is not available to commercial applicators.
To schedule an oral interview, contact Lisa Graves by phone at 517-284-5653, or by email at GravesL@michigan.gov.
 MDARD continues to work with the administration and federal government to explore options for both commercial and private applicators to certify and perform essential tasks for agricultural production to meet the food and feed industry needs of the people of Michigan and beyond.
Prepping for the test.
MSU Extension has announced an online National Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) Core Review class for those preparing for the telephone certification/re-certification descried above. The class was videotaped with many of the MSU Extension field crops educators and will be available for those wishing to take a core review class prior to their exams.
Click here to view the 4 hour 20-minute video. There are no RUP credits available at this time for watching this video review.
Expiration date for applicator licenses extended.
In a later-breaking news item, Gov. Whitmer has released an additional Executive Order (EO) in conjunction with MDARD to extend the licenses of pesticide applicators.
The EO says that “all three-year certificates for commercial applicators, private applicators, and registered applicators issued pursuant to NREPA that expired on December 31, 2019, must be deemed unexpired and will not expire until 60 days after the end of the declared states of emergency and disaster.
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Michigan Wheat Program issues call for research proposals
The Michigan Wheat Program (MWP) board has issued its annual call for proposals from researchers at Michigan State University, MSU Extension and elsewhere. Research has been a priority of MWP since Day #1 to keep the state’s wheat farmers on the leading edge of innovations in production and fulfill the needs in the marketplace.
 Research has been funded in the areas of:
- Breeding/genetics
- Cover crops
- Diagnostics
- Disease
- Double crop soybeans
- Health
- Marketing
- Nutrient management
- Quality
- Rotation
- Variety trials
- Weeds
“In the last eight years, the Michigan Wheat Program has invested nearly $3.2 million in about 130 research projects,” said David Milligan, the Michigan Wheat Program board chairman from Cass City. “Again this year, we’re looking for projects that address the productivity, profitability and quality of wheat grown in Michigan’s unique climate. The board is emphasizing collaborative projects that reflect researchers’ abilities to leverage the expertise of other researchers, other universities and leading-edge wheat producers in on-farm research projects.”
In addition to the research areas noted above, the MWP board is also interested in market-driven projects that focus on current domestic and export wheat opportunities, value-added applications, nutrition and other new uses of winter wheat.
“We need research results that are available to wheat farmers right now to help them with the challenges they are facing in their fields and with their bottom lines,” said MWP executive director Jody Pollok-Newsom.
The full Request for Proposal (RFP), proposal template, priority research areas, the budget submission form and the final report template can be found under the Researcher tab up in the corner of the website at www.miwheat.org. Proposals must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, August 14, 2020, for review at the MWP August board meeting.
Due to budget limitations, the board will only consider research requests at its August board meeting for the 2020-2021 crop year.
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A new way to get wheat and crop information: "Virtual breakfast" with specialists online Thursday mornings
Again this year, MSU Extension field crops specialists and educators have teamed up to bring agribusiness professionals and farmers a series of Thursday morning “virtual breakfast” meetings.
These 30-minute online meetings will start your day with discussions of current field and weather conditions, timely crop production tips, and the latest information on emerging issues.
The live online meetings will run 7-7:30 a.m. most Thursdays through September. Each call includes a 15-minute weather outlook by Jeff Andreson. Click here to review the program flyer.
One of the best parts of this series will be the opportunity to shift attention to major challenges that may be occurring across Michigan such as severe weather effects, insect damage, or opportunities for crop treatments.
There's no charge, join from your own home via computer, or if you're on the road join via cell phone.
Computer Zoom connection. Participating is easy and free! You can join the live meeting via Zoom using a computer, tablet, mobile device or regular phone line. If you are new to Zoom, simply download the Zoom app at https://zoom.us/download, and you will be ready to join online every week to see visuals shared by presenters.
Click here to sign up to receive each “virtual breakfast” Zoom link, which are sent out separately. If you are unable to sign up online, call the Lapeer County MSU Extension office at 810.667.0341 to receive instructions on how to join.
Or listen by cell phone. A call-in by phone option is also available but it still requires that you complete the registration form above.
Archived recordings. If you cannot join at 6:30 am on Thursdays, the presentations will be recorded and made available through the MSU Extension Field Crops website for on-demand access at http://www.canr.msu.edu/field_crops/.
You can also stay up-to-date on what is happening in Michigan field crops by ‘liking’ the MSU Extension Field Crops Team Facebook page, or by following us on Twitter @MSUEFieldCrops. You can also see what the MSU Extension Field Crops Team is up to via Spotify (click https://open.spotify.com/show/5tDpZAfaqeKewZDEzV1usu); YouTube (click https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPxaNf0IATV_B7MJdBxMH1w), and Apple Podcasts (click https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/michigan-field-crops/id1461704431).
2020 “Virtual breakfast” schedule
- May 7 - Soil fertility issues with Kurt Steinke
- May 14 - Post-emergence weed control with Erin Burns
- May 21 - Wheat issues for 2020 with Dennis Pennington
- May 28 - Dry bean planting with Scott Bales
- June 4 - Alternative forages with Kim Cassida
- June 11 - Sugar beet Cercospora and BEETcast with Daniel Bublitz
- June 18 - Drainage design considerations with Ehsan Ghane
- June 25 - Farm stress with Eric Karbowski
- July 2 - Organic field crop production with Vicki Morrone
- July 9 - Insects taking flight with Chris DiFonzo
- July 16 - Stored grain with special speaker
- July 23 - Tar spot and white mold with Martin Chilvers
- July 30 - Cover crops after wheat with Dean Baas
- Aug. 6 - Irrigation and diseases with Lyndon Kelley and Martin Chilvers
- Aug. 13 - Alfalfa autotoxicity with Kim Cassida
- Aug. 20 - Grain marketing with Aleks Schaefer
- Aug. 27 - Wheat planting with Dennis Pennington
- Sept. 3 - Corn silage mycotoxins with Manni Singh
- Sept. 10 - Industrial hemp with Kurt Thelen
The “virtual breakfast” calls are organized by Phil Kaatz, MSU Extension educator in forage management and field crops in Lapeer County. For more information, you may contact him directly at kaatz@msu.edu<mailto:kaatz@msu.edu.
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MSU agricultural technology survey: Earn up to $75 by participating!
 In partnership with the Michigan Wheat Program, researchers at Michigan State University and the University of Florida are studying how Michigan producers make decisions about choosing new agricultural technologies they want to use on their farms.
For participating, you will receive a $25 Amazon gift card with up to an additional $50 that can be earned based on your decisions in the survey. You can complete the survey on any internet-connected device.
If you’re a Michigan grower and are interested in participating please click on the link below to register and researchers will send you the survey! Click here to register for MSU Technology Adoption Survey
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Calendar of events
With the ban on public meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s not much on the events calendar.
Due to the shut-down of MSU and MSU Extension until the fall, our Summer Field Day will not occur in the traditional format. The Michigan Wheat Program board, staff and research team are working to find the best virtual format to present the research plots and provide interaction with growers.
If you’re aware of events of interest to Michigan wheat farmers, please email Jody Pollok-Newsom at jody@miwheat.org. Also email Jody to request her or a Michigan Wheat Program board member speak or attend a future event.
- June 10 – Michigan Wheat Program Field Day, format to be determined.
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