The likelihood of palmer amaranth becoming a problem in the Eastern Corn Belt is increasing and Jason Luckey who farms near Humboldt, Tennessee says the weed could be transported from infested areas on equipment, like combines, or possibly in manure.
“The way we trade equipment back and forth and ship our soybeans up north to the chicken houses and turkey houses, it’s just inevitable,” said Luckey, who’s been dealing with palmer amaranth since 2008. “I’m glad you guys haven’t had it to this point, but I feel some day it is going to show up.”
Audio: Jason Luckey, farmer, Humboldt, Tenn. (4:35 MP3)
Jeff Wuebker of Darke County, an area with a lot of dairy farms that use cotton seed, shares Jason Luckey’s concern of bringing palmer amaranth to Ohio. And after seeing it firsthand last summer in the Bootheel, Wuebker says it’s a weed we don’t want in Ohio.
“We need to put a solid program together that includes residuals on every soybean acre in the state and don’t cheat on your burn down,” Wuebker said. “We’ve got to focus in on keeping these fields clean and not letting any of these weeds get past our burn down applications.”
Audio: Jeff Wuebker, farmer, Darke Co. Ohio (4:35 MP3)
Latest: 
