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Minnesota corn farmer: tar spot becoming “very prevalent” problem

Tar spot remains a problem for corn growers in southern Minnesota.

Rose Karau farms near St. James.

“We had tar spot come into the area in the last few years and become very prevalent.”

She tells Brownfield fungicide plans changed during the growing season after issues with the sprayer.

“We actually incurred extra costs to do flyover fungicide, and for our operation that really did make a difference in the fields that got (fungicide) versus those that didn’t. So grateful for that, but again it’s another added expense that each farmer has to make (the determination) if it’s going to pay for itself or not.”

Karau says fields that received a timely fungicide application ended up with above average yields.