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26 Thursday, September 12, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com

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4731 Barryville Rd.

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SHELLY KEHRLE-SULSER
Executiver Editor

Anyone taking a scenic drive
around the 718 square miles around
Calhoun County will likely see
seemingly countless acres of corn,
soybeans and wheat growing in the
fields.
Last year, 80,100 acres of Calhoun
County was planted with corn,
70,700 with soybeans and 5,200
with winter wheat, according to
the United States Department of
Agriculture’s National Agriculture
Statistics Great Lake Region report.
There are more than 459,000 acres
in the county.
“We are providing timely, accurate
and useful statistics to the USDA,”
explained Great Lakes Region
Director Marlo D. Johnson, whose
region includes all 83 Michigan
counties. “And, that’s committed
to our core values. We take great
pride in working together to serve
American farmers and ranches in
rural communities who all rely on
the information we produce.”
Not only does Calhoun County
produce the three major certified
crops, but it also produces a number
of specialty crops including veg-
etables, some of which end up at
farmer’s markets.
Others supply food hubs and com-
munity supported agriculture (CSA)
which sells subscription boxes to
customers such as Of the Land on H
Drive North in Battle Creek.
And then, said one area data moni-

Some crops have already been harvested in the area, like this field of winter

wheat near Scotts. In this July photo, the stalks are turned into bales of straw.

(Shopper News photo by Shelly Kehrle-Sulser)

How Calhoun County contributes to the food chain

tor, the county also can count the

bedding plant industry, such as Post

Gardens, as part of its agriculture

industry.

It’s the job of Michigan State

University (MSU) Field Crop educa-

tor Nicolle Ritchie to monitor six

area counties including Calhoun

though she is based in St. Joseph

County.

She helps growers diversify pest

management techniques while tak-

ing a whole-system approach to

resistance management and focus on

improving nutrient use efficiency and

sustainability in practical

and approachable ways,

she said.

Already this year in

Calhoun County, said

Ritchie, feed corn har-

vest (in which the entire

cob is removed from

the stalks) has already

begun, while corn grown

for grain and ethanol, for

example, happens later in

the fall.

“Feed corn just started

harvest which is pretty typical, it’s

not too far ahead,” she said last

week, “and wheat did get harvested

about two weeks earlier.”

Soybeans, however, are more

tricky due to the need for the crop to

dry before harvest.

“Soybeans, everything points to an

earlier harvest but it depends on how

quickly they able to dry out during

the fall,” she said. “Last year, it took

a long time to dry due to the wet fall

so it took long time for the farm-

ers to be able to get into the field.

Right now, it’s looking good but it is

tracking ahead but it is also weather

dependent.”

Ritchie’s primary role is to gather

information from research being

done in Lansing and pass it along as

needed directly to farmers.

“I’m outreach for the university,”

she explained. “The research doesn’t

help if it doesn’t get out so I put on

educational events to help understand

what the research is saying, what

best practices are or if someone says

‘I don’t know how to manage this’, I

can come and check it out.”

She can also take calls for help and

guidance.

One example of why she may get

a call from a farmer is due to the

appearance of a corn disease called

tar spot.

According to a Michigan Farm

News report, tar spot became a major

concern in July.

First appearing in Michigan in

2016, tar spot can now be found

statewide, with a yield impact rang-

ing from zero to 100 bushels per

acre.

Tar spot symptoms are distinc-

tive and look like specks of tar on

the leaf. The infection and develop-

ment of the disease are favored by

cool temperatures (60 to 70 degrees

Fahrenheit), humid conditions

(greater than 75-percent relative

humidity) and at least seven hours

of leaf wetness due to rain, fog, dew

or overhead irrigation, according to

Michigan Farm News.

In Michigan, tar spot typically

appears during July but sometimes

shows up in late June.

Ritchie said Tuesday, Aug. 27 that

tar spot created a “big scare” in early

to mid July.

“We thought it would be an awful

tar spot year but thankfully,” she

said, “it is in a lot of areas but not

at high pressures so fingers crossed

it’s not going to blow up and destroy

anything. A lot of measures have

been taken to prevent it from spread-

ing.”

Most other pests that emerge annu-

ally are also appearing about two

weeks ahead of schedule, she said,

but most farmers monitor such vari-

ables and adapt.

“There’s so much to be said for the

resiliency of farmers,” said Ritchie.

“Sometimes they get a bad rap but

every year is different so it takes so

much adaptation, there’s so much

going on, they often have to change

things so they’re always addressing

new problems going forward and

facing new challenges the next year.”