Growers Always Reminded Farming Also Is a Business

Ask any grower why he or she went into farming and you’ll hear them say they love working outdoors, tilling the soil or producing food or fiber to feed or clothe the world.

Being a businessperson is probably far down the list. Yet, growers are always reminded that farming is a business. Seemingly every day, they’re making countless economic decisions. Growers certainly can’t escape this fact at the height of the growing and harvest season. Of course, you often don’t know if a grower makes a right call until after the harvest.

 

Here’s a great example relayed by almond field scout Jenna Horine. With the really hot weather back in the San Joaquin Valley, we’ve seen a flare-up in mites around almond orchards. Many have cut off irrigation about a month ago are preparing for harvest and shaking the nuts of the trees.

Grower is spraying in a local almond orchard.

One grower is ready to shake his trees. However, he’s worried about mite damage. Here’s his quandary: Spend big dollars for the chemicals and labor to treat his orchard or live with some mite damage to his nuts – perhaps risking early defoliation.  We really haven’t seen economic damage from defoliation in August.

This is where the business of crunching the numbers – accounting for things such as the size of the operation and labor costs – farm experience and old-fashioned gut instincts come into play. In this case, Jenna reports, the grower is inclined against treatment and live with any mite damage to his almonds. We’ll check back later with the grower.

Almonds are ready for the harvest.

Meanwhile, Jenna says mites and ants are the major pest concerns in almonds right now. Some growers have finished shaking their trees while others are about to begin, depending on the nut varieties and local environment, including areas that have had plenty of water during the season.

In cotton, field scout Carlos Silva reports growers are at the final irrigation of the season. We’re pretty much at cut out, with plants at three to five nodes above white flower which means 95% of the yield is set. Carlos has spotted one field with crack bolls already. Ten days beyond cut out is the point beyond which  growers shouldn’t have to worry about lygus.

In cotton, field scout Carlos Silva reports growers are at the final irrigation of the season. We’re pretty much at cut out, with plants at three to five nodes above white flower which means 95 percent of the yield is set. Carlos has spotted one field with cracked bolls already. Ten days beyond  cut out is the point beyond which  growers shouldn’t have to worry about lygus. One grower, however, did run into lygus issues as the pest traveled into his cotton from a neighboring safflower field. He wound up treating for the lygus.

Cotton plants are full of bolls.

The good news is growers participating in the San Joaquin Sustainable Farming Project are using softer materials that are friendly to the environment and beneficial insects. These growers are staying away from the 13 most toxic chemicals used in cotton production. That's great news. We need to remain good environmental stewards.

So far, Carlos is finding more aphids and whiteflies lately, but for the most part the counts haven't reached the treatment threshold. He did find one field with increasing numbers. While there are plenty of beneficial insects such as lady bugs in that field, they don't seem to be getting an upper hand on the pests. The grower plans to consult with his pest control advisor to decide on the next step. 

An airplane is treating a Valley cotton field for pests.

In general, growers are staying vigilant with their pest monitoring and holding off with spraying as long as possible.

Carlos says alfalfa growers are preparing for their fifth cutting of the season. Dr. Pete Goodell of UC IPM confirmed the aphids he found a couple weeks ago in a two fields in the Dos Palos area were spotted alfalfa aphids. He hasn't run across these pests elsewhere during his scouting rounds in the Valley. The more common pest around here has been the pea aphid. Overall, aphids appear to be under control.