C.O.R.N. Newsletter: 2025-05
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Top-dressing Wheat with Liquid Manure
Wheat fields will be firming up across Ohio and spring top-dressing with nitrogen fertilizer will soon start in the most southern counties. Livestock producers and commercial manure applicators may be considering applying liquid manure as a top-dress fertilizer for wheat.
The key to applying the correct amount of manure to fertilize wheat is to know the manure’s nitrogen content. Most manure tests reveal total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen and organic nitrogen amounts. The ammonia nitrogen portion is readily available for plant growth. The organic nitrogen portion takes considerably longer to mineralize and generally will not be available when wheat uptakes the majority of its nitrogen before mid-June.
Most deep-pit swine finishing manure will contain between 30 and 40 pounds of ammonia nitrogen per 1,000 gallons. Finishing buildings with bowl waters and other water conservation systems can result in nitrogen amounts towards the upper end of this range. Finishing buildings with fixed nipple waters and surface water occasionally entering the pit can result in nitrogen amounts towards the lower end of this range. The contents of the ration fed to the pigs can also affect manure nitrogen numbers so don’t guess-have a manure test.
In past years, some farmers have used sow manure to top-dress wheat. Just know the nitrogen amount in sow manure will be much lower than swine finishing manure so adjust application rates accordingly or make up the needed nitrogen with a 2nd application or even applying commercial nitrogen.
Dairy manure can also be used to top-dress wheat, but it will not produce a full grain yield compared to commercial fertilizer or swine manure. It will produce suitable growth of the crop for a harvest of wheat silage. I have watched dairy manure being applied at Feeks growth stage seven and the wheat plants handled the drag hose flattening without issues.
In university research, we have used both manure tankers and drag hoses when top-dressing wheat. The concern with manure tankers is soil compaction, especially on heavy soils. The drag hose seemed to work well wherever it was used.
The typical application rate for liquid swine finishing manure on wheat is 4,000 gallons per acre. Wheat removes 0.49 pounds of P2O5 per bushel harvested. When also harvesting the wheat straw, a ton of wheat straw contains between three and four pounds of P2O5. So, a 100 bushel wheat crop with one ton of straw also removed would withdraw about 52 pounds of P2O5 per acre. This is likely about the same amount of P2O5 as 4,000 gallons of swine finishing manure would contain but review your manure test to make this determination.
When applying livestock manure to wheat it’s recommended to follow the NRCS #590 Waste Utilization Standard to minimize potential environmental impacts. This standard includes a 35-foot-wide vegetative strip setback from ditches and streams. Applicators in the Western Lake Erie Basin also need to look at the weather forecast to be certain there is not greater than a 50 percent chance of more than a half-inch of rain in the 24 hours following manure application when surface applying. Print this forecast so you have proof in the event of a surprise rain downpour.
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Spring Planting Outlook
Last autumn much of Ohio was drier than normal. Ohio saw anywhere from 60-100% of normal rainfall except far southern Ohio which was hit by the remnants of Hurricane Helene allowing for rainfall of 100-125% of normal. See Figure 1.
During the winter, we did see a slight wetting across most of Ohio except in northwest Ohio. Precipitation was generally 95-110% of normal. This allowed for drought improvement across most of the state except far northwest Ohio where precipitation was 75-95% of normal. Hence, some drought lingers in the far northwest part of the state. See Figure 2.
The weather pattern since autumn has been a rotating pattern of 2-4 weeks of warm and wet followed by 2-4 weeks of cold and dry. This rotating pattern is likely to persist into our spring planting season. The temperature forecast calls for temperatures slightly warmer than normal (0-+2F). However, there will be a lot of swings in those temperatures on a 2-4 week basis. Precipitation will also see wild variably swings from dry to wet to dry averaging zero to +1 inches above normal through May. The last freeze this year is anticipated to be about normal in the second half of April to about the first of May.
We also expect a windy March and early April before winds return to near normal conditions from middle April to May.
Since the oceans are returning to normal conditions, we expect a highly variable spring averaging not that far from normal through May. Hence, we do not see an early planting season or a really late planting season. Expect a fairly typical on-time planting season. There should be opportunities to plant in the quieter periods of the variable cycle as long as you take advantage of those opportunities.
In the short term, we will see a parade of storms the next 2-3 weeks with a gradual wetter period and wild swings in temperatures from below normal to above normal and back and forth. Temperatures the first half of next week will at least reach into the 60s in much of the state.
A quick look to summer indicates possibly a drier June followed by a normal to slightly wetter July/August and temperatures leaning above normal.
In summary, a slightly warmer and wetter spring is forecast followed by a slightly warmer summer with near normal rainfall but a highly variable summer rainfall pattern. Expect more variability this year over last year (lots of swings).
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Register for the upcoming Water Quality Wednesdays webinar series!
Join OSU Extension’s water quality team on March 26th for their fifth annual webinar series, Water Quality Wednesdays. This webinar series is held from 10:00AM to 11:30AM on the last Wednesday of the month, via Zoom. Each webinar offers a standalone topic and speakers focusing on a different aspect of water quality and agriculture. Live webinars will offer 1.5 CEUs to Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs), and relevant webinar topics will provide CEUs to Certified Livestock Managers (CLMs). All webinars will be recorded and posted to the OSU Agronomy Team YouTube channel, though recorded webinars will not provide any continuing education credits. Visit go.osu.edu/WQW25 to receive the connection link. See flyer here.
The March 26th webinar will focus on a newer conservation practice: blind inlets. All webinars will be recorded and posted to the OSU Agronomy Team YouTube channel for later viewing.
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Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference March 11-12
Don’t miss this year’s Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference March 11-12, 2025, (Tuesday-Wednesday) at Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio. Connect with other great farmers and CCAs, experience new ideas, and increase your net income.
The theme is “Getting More from Less.” Cutting costs is key following a year where corn and soybean yields were reduced for many farmers. And crop prices are barely breakeven. We don’t know what the weather will be in 2025, but commodity prices are projected to stay low.
Fred Yoder, no-till farmer at Plain City and former president of the National Corn Growers Association, will be the opening keynote speaker and will appear two more times on the program. He’ll discuss economic benefits of continuous no-till. Also, he will share insights into the new USDA leadership and the Farm Bill.
Jeff Duling, Putnam County, will discuss how he works with Mother Nature to increase yields with no-till and cover crops. Part of his farmland is Paulding clay, considered the worst soil in Northwest Ohio. He has increased corn yields on it by 50 to 75 bushels per acre. He is sponsored by Pioneer.
Connor Sible, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, will share his research on various methods of “Managing Residue (from high-yielding corn): Mechanical, Chemical, and Biological.” He is sponsored by Calmer Corn Heads.
Etienne Herrick-Sutton, University of Missouri, will speak on the Regenerative Agriculture Outlook. Rodrigo Werle, University of Wisconsin, will present information on Managing Waterhemp in Soybeans. The full conference program is available at ctc.osu.edu
With about 60 speakers total, the Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference gives plenty of opportunities to gain valuable information. The program features four faculty from Midwest universities and more than 20 OSU Extension Educators and campus faculty.
The opening General Session will start at 8:30 a.m. March 11. Master Farmer Awards and the Ohio CCA of the Year will be announced. Four concurrent sessions will begin at 10:00 a.m. The Tuesday sessions include: Soil Health, Cover Crops and No-till; Nutrient Management; Agronomic Crops Management; and Precision Ag & Technology.
The four sessions on Wednesday will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end about 4:30 p.m. Sessions include: Soil Health, Cover Crops and No-till; Agronomic Crops Management; Water Quality; and Regenerative Agriculture. Take advantage of the opportunity to discuss one-on-one with speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and other participants. Bring a friend and/or family members.
Registration will be a flat rate $100. Register online at https://www.allenswcd.com/cttc/ or call Albert Suniga at 419-222-0846 x1005. (Registration after February 25, or on-site, will be $150.) If you are planning to stay overnight, take advantage of available but limited rooms at discounted rates at “The Inn “at the Ohio Northern University. To take advantage of this promotion, call 844-535-2805. (When reserving, mention CTTC)
Crop Observation and Recommendation Network
C.O.R.N. Newsletter is a summary of crop observations, related information, and appropriate recommendations for Ohio crop producers and industry. C.O.R.N. Newsletter is produced by the Ohio State University Extension Agronomy Team, state specialists at The Ohio State University and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). C.O.R.N. Newsletter questions are directed to Extension and OARDC state specialists and associates at Ohio State.
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