Chemical Availability

[Shaggy98]

I spoke with 2 of my local chemical vendors this afternoon and am being told they are unsure if name brand glyphosate will be available for my area this growing season. Both of them had their bulk tanks empty by December waiting for fresh deliveries in January, neither has taken delivery up to now and are being told not to expect it anytime soon. The big "M" is recommending substituting Pmax instead of 3 or 4. This works fine for most producers, but for us Plains wheat growers, the additional $ makes post wheat harvest burn downs that much more expensive. Generic is readily available, but I have not had very good luck with that in the past. I've got my name on the list so when/if they receive a shipment, I will be contacted immediately. Anyone else finding similar issues, or is it just is poor wheat farmers?

[Hobbyfarmer]

what do you mean by "name brand"?

[ECIN]

Shaggy --- IF I remember right - right after I signed on here , I sent out a PM to some on here that - that was the word , that there was a good chance of this , The fert dealer brought my chemicals yesterday . For the most part a lot of us here switched to PMax a couple years ago . We use 22 oz of Pmax vs. 32 ,42 , 48 ozs  of Buccaneer and it was just about equal in price .

As you said , I feel I was getting better results from the name brand .

Good luck , but from what my little birdy has told me , don't hold your breath on the 3 - 4 .

[Shaggy98]

The big "M" brand. Like them or not, in the heat of the summer the 6# name brand gly. did a hands down better job of controlling post harvest weeds and volunteer growth.

[Shaggy98]

ECIN, evidently I was still on your chit list back then cause I don't recall the PM. That is what I was doing with the 3 last season, 22oz mixed with D & dicamba along with all the other tank ingredients. I had about 100 gallons left over of the 4# knock off material, and all it was doing was curling the leaves, and that was at a 40oz rate. No wonder we have a resistance problem building, these knock offs are as much to blame as farm management. And yes, the name brand calculates out a little cheaper for me. Last year I was paying $16 for 3. When I hired my agronomist last fall I told him no generics, name brand is all I wanted to use.

[ECIN]

Shaggy --- What I want to know is ----- What would make you think that your still no on my chit list ???

Oh -O -- i feel a ROTFLMAO comeing on !

I just sent  it to 2 guy's on here that I knew , My birdy could have been wrong you know , but hardy ever is , lol

Hey If you can't get any P-Max let me know - i could sell you some for --for -- like 40 a gallon -- LMAO 

[Shaggy98]

I've got connections with the big M way up in the corporate office, might even bump it all the way up to Wmax. So that being said, you call me if I can be of assistance.

As far as the chit list goes, we all always have room for one more.

[farmerguy89]

Shaggy, as much as I think that you have got it together for the most part, I think your a little off here and a little superstitious about roundup mixes.

Spray conditions or misapplication could be as much to blame for poor weed control post wheat harvest as much as anything.I personally use whatever is cheapest and make sure I follow the label, as application rates vary SIGNIFCANTLY between products. I used a generic post harvest for my wheat.. but we got a lot of rain before I sprayed, and it was during the morning hours when its cool.. but I am sure your nightttime temps are very hot where you are and affect your morning/evening temps. I couldn't cope if I had 70-100F nights.. we can be closer to 50-70f in summer (max is like 20C).

Rdup works much better in the teens of the C (whats that in F, like 60?) versus in the 20-30c+ range (which is like your 70-100F range. Drought or tough growing conditions also severely affect translocation.

I wish I could find the supporting data by Dr. Sikkema on generics vs brand name, but I can't get that for you here on the internet it seems. I think you worry a little too much about spraying roundup, with your loyalty to AMS and brand names. And I can understand the need for good spray performance 100%, and I can see the anxiety this has caused you to have. Of course, weed control is second in importance to the planting pass, especially in no till; Some weeds are eliminated by tillage, and now must be eliminated chemically in this system, but with more than roundup sometimes, at least it seems that way.

Shaggy, have you considered using that roundup enhancer they got out there? Certainly would help you be more confident in your weed control. its called Eragon here in Canada and is the ultimate glyph/mix burndown for no till. It may be called Sharpen where you are? I am not sure, and I don't understand we need to rename chemicals when they cross borders.

[Shaggy98]

89, I appreciate to feedback, but I am going to stand firm on my opinion of generics vs. name brands. When I went no-till 2 years ago, I had a few locals that tried to advise me on this very issue, but I was being a tight wad and didn't listen to any of them. After seeing their results compared to mine, it was night and day difference. We compared tank mix products, and we were using the same AI of each mode of action, the only difference was the brand of the products. After seeing this for two years running, I am on their bandwagon. I'm not trying to market anyone's product, but results speak for themselves. The heat of our summer is definitely the main culprit. I was loading at 0500 with booms out by 0530, the coolest part of the day, same result. Name brand users were hitting the fields at midday sometimes acceptable results, I'm sold.

I haven't researched your chemical recs., but sharpen is something I'll probably start using this year. It is becoming more popular around here so I will have to see if it has any tank mix restrictions. I usually try to hit it with 3 modes of action on a single pass.

[sw363535]

To add to 89's thoughts--------------- It bothers me a bit when I see "herbicide resistance" used so much as an excuse and a sales tool.  But that is what it is.  We are getting hot and bothered in the sw over Kochia resistance-------- to the point that Dicamba is in short supply and we have guys applying atrazine that had gotten away from it.

On the farms I observe,  Every instance that has been called herbicide resistance has been poor conditions or bad timing of application related.

When the weeds are about to die from drought or stress, it is tough to kill them in heat and wind with a hammer and an anvil.

And once you have stunted them with chemical, but not killed them, the surviving "critter" is hard to kill in any condition.  This was true in the first years of these chemicals as well as now.  But "resistance" is an easier pill to swallow than the fact that we got there a week late.   The tough to kill weeds always were.