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Weed pressure hits yields in west-central Minnesota after spray delays

Weeds were tough to manage this season in west-central Minnesota.

Swift County farmer Harmon Wilts says they prioritized in-season nitrogen when conditions were finally dry enough to get back in the field after planting.

“Everybody focused on getting the nitrogen side-dressed, and we thought we could spray later. And there wasn’t a window to spray later for about another 10 days to two weeks, so a lot of the weeds were bigger than we wanted (them to be) when we sprayed.”

He tells Brownfield weed pressure remained despite three herbicide passes.

“The growing season created some challenges there, plus there’s some more weeds out in the field. And combining right now, when you run into a little patch of weeds and going from 65 bushel beans to 40 bushel really fast. So it is causing some yield reduction too.”

Wilts says he’s considering adding another herbicide next year to help control weeds.