Returning To The Farm With Interest

YES… UNDER THESE 4 CONDITIONS:

  • 1

    YOU SPRAY WITHIN 4 WEEKS OF THE SOIL FREEZING UP FOR THE WINTER.

  • 2

    THERE IS VIRTUALLY NO CHANCE THE FIELD YOU SPRAY WILL BE UNDERWATER IN THE SPRING.

  • 3

    YOU KNOW WHICH CROP YOU WILL PLANT IN THE SPRING. For example, if you know you will plant corn in a few months, you can spray corn residual herbicides this fall.

  • 4

    YOU PLANT EARLY IN THE SPRING, SHORTLY AFTER THE FROST COMES OUT. The longer you wait to plant, the more weeds will germinate and use up your herbicide. The earlier you plant, the quicker you get to crop canopy and the more you will love fall application.

Here are the 4 big advantages to
fall spraying!

This is the biggest fear I hear from every farmer I’ve talked to who has not sprayed in the fall before. They worry if “it will work”. Not only does it work, it usually works better than spring applications, in my experience. The reason why is because you should definitely get enough rain and snow on the herbicide. For example, in my area this year, it was a dry spring, and many farmers who applied pre-emerge residual herbicides were disappointed with the results. The 3000 acres of herbicide we sprayed last fall not only worked well – for the most part, the fields were perfectly clean.

Yes, you are undoubtedly busy in the fall, but it’s so nice each spring when all you have to do is plant because your spraying is done.

Herbicide prices are always lower in the fall. Buy early. Apply early. Save money.

If you have been planting first, then spraying each spring, that comes with tremendous risk. If you don’t get the residual herbicide applied, weed control will be bad, yields will be down, and the weeds that go to seed will mean greater expense in the future if you want to keep your fields clean.

We have been applying herbicides in the fall on our farm for over 20 years, and we’ve worked with many farmers who have done the same.

However, sometimes it may not be possible to get your spraying done in the fall. Maybe you have record fall rainfall or your harvest is incredibly delayed for some reason, so by the time you are able to spray, the ground is frozen. I recommend preparing to spray, and hopefully you are able to get the job done. Worst-case scenario, you make your application in the spring.

BURNING DOWN WINTER ANNUALS & PERENNIALS

IF YOU WANT TO CONTROL EMERGED WEEDS IN THE FALL, THIS MAY OR MAY NOT WORK IN THE SAME APPLICATION AS YOUR RESIDUAL HERBICIDE. For example, let’s say you have some marestail you want to kill. My personal favorite is 1 quart of Banvel, but Banvel (and most any herbicide) doesn’t burn down emerged weeds unless the temperature is around 70 degrees or more. If you can find the right day late in the season where it’s warm so the contact killer works AND it’s late enough so you don’t have to worry about your residual herbicide degrading or getting used up by fall weeds, you can certainly tankmix Banvel with any residual herbicide you want. Otherwise, you may have to spray your contact killer first and come back a few weeks later with the residual product.

WHICH RESIDUAL HERBICIDES CAN I USE IN THE FALL?

JUST ABOUT ANYTHING YOU WANT. I never recommend atrazine in the fall due to potential leaching and loss, but otherwise, I can’t think of anything I would tell you not to spray. On my farm, we use the 3 Pre’s (yellow plus metribuzin plus Valor or Authority) if we’re planting soybeans in the spring. If we’re planting corn, my favorite mix is Sharpen plus either Harness or Zidua. Just take the same products you would spray pre-plant in the spring and apply them late in the fall, just before freeze-up.

WHY DON’T MORE PEOPLE SPRAY IN THE FALL?

TIME AND HABIT. Between harvest, trucking, tillage, and fertilizer applications, some people may not have time because they might not have the two or three days they likely need to spray the herbicide.

THE BIGGER FACTOR, IN MY OPINION, IS SIMPLY THAT NOT MANY PEOPLE HAVE DONE THIS.

It’s hard to change habits, and you certainly want to walk before you run when getting into anything new, but all I can tell you is spraying residual herbicides in the fall has been awesome for my operation, and I’m betting it could work for yours, at least on some of your acres. Unless your weed control has been perfect and your fields have been completely weed-free, why not try a few acres of fall-applied herbicide? I’m betting you will love it.