The research and demonstration plots discussed in this publication are a cooperative effort by thirteen Virginia Cooperative Extension Agents and Specialists, numerous producers, local soil and water conservation districts, and many members of the agribusiness community. The fieldwork and printing of this publication is mainly supported by the Virginia Corn Check-Off Fund through the Virginia Corn Board. Anyone who would like a copy should contact their local extension agent, who can request a copy from the Northumberland County Extension office.

Corn hybrid selection is becoming increasingly challenging.  With more seed companies and more GMO options and seed treatment packages than ever before, it can be very difficult to decide which hybrids to plant.  We evaluated early season hybrids (107 day RM or less) and mid season hybrids (108-112 day RM) at 5 locations and full season hybrids (113 day RM or more) at 3 locations.  In a year where rainfall patterns in general favored later hybrids, across all locations the mid season and full season hybrids averaged 20 bushels per acre or more than the early season hybrids.  Corn producers should continue to plant hybrids across all maturity ranges as a method for spreading out risk to adverse weather.

The demonstration and research plot results discussed in this publication are a cooperative effort by six Virginia Cooperative Extension agents, extension specialists from Virginia Tech, and an assistant professor at the Virginia State University School of Agriculture.  We are proud to present this year’s on-farm small grain plot work to you.  The 2010-11 small grain season resulted in some excellent yields as timely planting, timely rainfall, and a cool, relatively dry grain fill period were all very positive for the wheat and barley crops.  With July 2012 wheat futures prices currently trading over $7.00 per bushel, the outlook for the 2012 crop is good.  We hope the information in this publication will help farmers produce a profitable crop.

The demonstration and research plot results discussed in this publication are a cooperative effort by four Virginia Cooperative Extension agents, extension specialists from Virginia Tech, and an assistant professor at the Virginia State University School of Agriculture. We are proud to present this year’s on-farm small grain plot work to you. The 2011-12 small grain season was challenging. Wet conditions in the fall hampered planting and caused stand losses in some fields. Precipitation was well below normal and temperatures were well above normal for January through mid April. Dry conditions decreased tillering and overall growth of the crop. Widespread rainfall on April 22nd basically saved the crop. Some late season diseases developed in some fields. With July 2013 wheat futures prices currently trading over $8.00 per bushel, the outlook for the 2013 crop is very good. We hope the information in this publication will help farmers produce a profitable crop.

The more than 55 million people who live in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States want to purchase processed grain foods such as bread and other dough products made from hard, or bread, wheat. 

Cereal crops are used throughout the world for livestock feed. When they are managed properly they provide excellent grazing and high-quality silage or hay.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), or scab, continues to impact small grain crops grown in Virginia. Caused primarily by the fungus Fusarium graminearum (also known as Gibberella zeae), this disease can negatively impact yield and grain quality. Grain may also contain toxins (mycotoxins) produced by the fungus and reduce the price received for grain at local mills and elevators. Corn and small grain residues remaining in the field prior to small grain planting are known to provide a place for the fungus
to overwinter and proliferate during favorable environmental conditions.

Soil electrical conductivity (EC) is a measurement that correlates with soil properties that affect crop productivity, including soil texture, cation exchange capacity (CEC), drainage conditions, organic matter level, salinity, and subsoil characteristics. This publication discusses: 1) How, with field verification, soil EC can be related to specific soil properties that affect crop yield, such as topsoil depth, pH, salt concentrations, and available water-holding capacity; 2) Soil EC maps often visually correspond to patterns on yield maps and can help explain yield variation; and 3) Other uses of soil EC maps (Table 1), including developing management zones, guiding directed soil sampling, assigning variable rates of crop inputs, fine tuning NRCS soil maps, improving the placement and interpretation of on-farm tests, salinity diagnosis, and planning drainage remediation.

There are a number of questions that must be answered before establishing a site-specific crop management (SSCM) program. Many of these questions are economic, some are agronomic and environmental, and others are technology-related. This publication is intended to discuss variable-rate devices that are available, while providing an understanding of which technologies might best fit a cropping system and production management strategy.

A forage production trial of commercial barley, oat, rye, triticale, and wheat cultivars has been conducted yearly from 1994-2009 at the Northern Piedmont AREC, Orange.  Long-term results were published in 2004 and are available on the web at http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/418/418-019/418-019.html

The following tables present results from barley and wheat varietal tests conducted in Virginia in
2009-2011. Small-grain cultivar performance tests are conducted each year in Virginia by the
Virginia Tech Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences and the Virginia
Agricultural Experiment Station. The tests provide information to assist Virginia Cooperative
Extension Service agents in formulating cultivar recommendations for small grain producers and
to companies developing cultivars and/or marketing seed within the state. Yield data are given
for individual locations and across locations and years; yield and other performance
characteristics are averaged over the number of locations indicated in parenthesis near the
column heading. Performance of a given variety often varies widely over locations and years
which makes multiple location-year averages a more reliable indication of expected performance
than data from a single year or location. Details about management practices for barley and
wheat are listed for each experimental location.

Perennial cool-season forage grasses are the foundation of ruminant livestock production systems in Virginia. Sound management of these grasses begins with proper species and variety selection. This report is a summary of forage variety trials performed with perennial cool-season grasses at Virginia Tech Agricultural Research and Extension Centers (ARECs) from 2002 through 2004. It includes trials seeded at the Southern Piedmont AREC (SPAREC) at Blackstone and at the Tidewater AREC, Suffolk, September 2001 and harvested for three years (2002 through 2004) 

Selecting an appropriate, high-yielding variety is one of the most important management decisions that producers make. Yield potential is clearly important, but the decision is complicated by such factors as the cropping system, the need for disease resistance, end-use quality goals, year-to-year climatic variation, and the need to select multiple varieties in order to reduce risk by spreading out flowering and maturity dates.

Wheat development is affected by nutrients, water, light, and other factors; but temperature consistently determines how quickly or slowly plants move ahead in forming leaves, roots, tillers, and grain heads. The plant's development stage at any point during the season is affected very predictably by how warm or cool the season has been up to that point. This knowledge, combined with educated guesses about how the rest of the growing season will progress, can be extremely valuable information to the grower, who can then make more informed management decisions to include predicting the maturity/harvest schedule.

With adequate soil moisture, early-planted corn generally out yields late-planted corn due to its better use of sunlight during June and July. The goal for most producers is to plant as early as possible and still achieve rapid emergence and a good crop stand.

How a corn crop develops is affected by many factors: fertilization, rainfall, sunny or cloudy weather, hybrid or maturity group, etc. But these factors generally play second fiddle to temperature in determining when a corn crop tassels or is ready to harvest. Many years of observation have shown that plant development at any point during the season is affected very predictably by how warm or cool the season has been to that point. This knowledge, combined with projections about the remainder of the growing season, can sometimes be used to make mid-season adjustments in management and to predict harvest schedules.

Background Information

Performance trials of commercial corn hybrids were conducted at six locations in Virginia in 2010. The Mt. Holly location consisted of both an irrigated and non-irrigated test. All locations were planted with a Wintersteiger PlotKing
2600. All locations were harvested with a Massey-Ferguson 8XP plot combine. The Blackstone site was abandoned due to drought stress. Yields have been adjusted to 15.5% moisture. Grain test weight, moisture, and plot grain weights were
measured with a GrainGauge® manufactured by HarvestMaster. A list of the companies participating in the trials is shown in the above table. All hybrids entered in the Virginia trials were those submitted by commercial companies. The locations at which particular hybrids were entered were specified by the company. Companies entering hybrids were charged a fee for each hybrid per location to support the Virginia Corn Hybrid and Management Trials.

This report contains the results for performance trials from commercial corn hybrids produced for silage at three locations in Virginia in 2009 as well as two and three year average performance, when available. In order to avoid problems with comparisons over sites and years, multi-year yields are presented as a percentage of the total at that particular site-year combination called relative yield. All locations were planted with a Wintersteiger PlotKing 2600 planter and harvested with commercial silage equipment. Yields are presented on a dry matter and 35% dry matter basis for comparison. All hybrids entered in the Virginia trials were submitted for testing by commercial companies or by Virginia Tech. The locations at which particular hybrids were entered were specified by the company. Companies entering hybrids were charged a fee for each hybrid per location to support the Corn Silage Performance Trials.

This report contains the results for performance trials from commercial corn hybrids produced for silage at
four locations in Virginia in 2010 as well as two and three year average performance, when available. In
order to avoid problems with comparisons over sites and years, multi-year yields are presented as a
percentage of the total at that particular site-year combination called relative yield. All locations except the
Washington County location were planted with a Wintersteiger PlotKing 2600 planter and harvested with
commercial silage equipment. Washington County was planted with an Almaco 2-row cone planter and
harvested with commercial silage equipment. Yields are presented on a dry matter and 35% dry matter
basis for comparison. All hybrids entered in the Virginia trials were submitted for testing by commercial
companies. The locations at which particular hybrids were entered were specified by the company.
Companies entering hybrids were charged a fee for each hybrid per location to support the Virginia Corn
Silage Performance Trials.

Annual corn silage hybrid testing in Virginia. This report contains the results for performance trials from commercial corn hybrids produced for silage at four locations in Virginia in 2011 as well as two and three year average performance, when available.

Annual corn silage hybrid testing in Virginia. This report contains the results for performance trials from commercial corn hybrids produced for silage at four locations in Virginia in 2011 as well as two and three year average performance, when available.

The demonstration and research plot results discussed in this publication are a cooperative effort by seven Virginia Cooperative Extension agents, several extension specialists from Virginia Tech, area
producers, and agribusinesses. We are proud to present this year’s on-farm wheat plot work to you. The 2008-09 wheat season was a tough one for producers. Below normal temperatures in the fall and winter
reduced tillering, and wet conditions in the spring delayed harvest and resulted in low quality and yields in many areas. With wheat prices down considerably and input costs relatively high, wheat producers
will need to really focus on maximum economic yields during 2009-10 to produce profitable wheat.