This week was much like past weeks with a lot of scouting. I did learn how to look for some new things in corn this week which were grey leaf spot and western bean cutworm. We are very dry down here and a lot of the corn just needs water. This summer I have become pretty confident with identifying a majority of the common weeds I see in most fields especially before they have been sprayed. I learned my growth stages for corn, soybeans & wheat. I learned how to identify quite a few insects and insect feedings. I also learned about some of the diseases in the crops and am still working hard to learn those as they start showing up. I have also placed a lot of focus on my intern project and tracking the results. I have done some research about my project when I had a few moments to spare this week. Mostly I have been scouting and will continue to do that the rest of the summer and can’t wait to see what other things I will learn.
Author Archives: abeauchamp20
Week 11 at Crop Production Services
This week was much like most weeks. I did a lot of crop scouting, mainly on soybeans. I also had to start putting up field signs on some of the growers fields. I learned how to check for spider mites in soybeans and have been doing that in every field of soybeans. In any spare time I’ve had I have been reading different articles and research papers that relate to my intern project. Our company had a name change on July 1st so they changed the sticker on my truck this week, we are now Nutrien Ag Solutions. We had an airplane come into spray some of the corn that is too tall to use the sprayers for. I won the stand count contest last Friday for having the most stand counts of all the interns in our region. I’m sure next week will be a lot more scouting as well.
Week 10 at Crop Production Services
This week has been another busy one with a lot of scouting as well as Monsanto Dealer Development day. Monday and Tuesday I did a lot of scouting of corn and soybeans. Thursday I did a few soil samples and tissue samples as well as some scouting. On Wednesday I went to Mason, MI with my fellow interns to Monsanto Dealer Development Day. They had 8 different tents set up where I got to hear about some soybean diseases, some corn insect, some spraying tips, about a new app that helps predict white mold in soybeans and the products that DeKalb and Asgrow sell. It was cool to be able to hear so many new things and meet so many different people. I did learn a new weed when scouting this week that I haven’t seen before called smartweed. I like when I learn new things that I will not be able to apply throughout my professional career.
Week 9 at Crop Production Services
This week was another busy one. In the beginning of the week I continued scouting like I have for most of the summer. Today I learned how to grid sample off of our companies scouting app. It was interesting to see how the app ran the grid sampling as well as how it printed off the sheets that need to be sent into the lab. People have started cutting wheat in our area so all I have left to scout is soybeans, corn, and specialty crops. Next week the other interns and I will be going to Plant Diagnostics day in Mason, MI. I think it will be a great learning experience. I have gotten very comfortable with my weed identification and am now starting to identify different grasses. I can’t wait to see what I will learn in the coming weeks.
Week 8 at Crop Production Services
This week was much like other weeks, I did a lot of field scouting on corn and soybeans. On Wednesday the other interns at my location and I went up to MSU for weed day. We got to see different treatments on the crops and what they did. I learned about a new weed this week which I hadn’t seen before (Common Mullein). I learned the name of the weed because I saw one of the weeds and took a picture of it, when i came back to the office I tried to use the internet to find it but was unable too. I got out or wood book and flipped through and then I finally found it. I like when I look up the weeds myself rather than asking my co-workers because I remember it better. Next week I will be scouting more, I have already received a list from my boss. I will be scouting soybeans, corn, and wheat. I haven’t scouted wheat in awhile so it will be interesting to see what new things I will see and learn about.
Week 7 at Crop Production Services
This week was a typical week for me at Crop Production Services. I did a lot of scouting, this week i scouted mostly soybeans as well as some corn and a little bit of green peppers, cabbage, pumpkins, and watermelons. On Thursday we had a presentation at our test plot where representatives from 4 different companies spoke to us about their products as well as some agronomy related topics. We had people from a bunch of neighboring locations come down to our presentation to listen to the speakers. When out in the field I have done a lot of stand counts to see the current population of the plants as well as using the scouting app to document and weeds or problems with the plants I find in the fields. I did learn about a couple new weeds that I hadn’t seen before that I feel more comfortable identifying now that i have seen them a couple times. Next week we will be attending Weeds Day at MSU and I can’t wait to see what else I can learn and do next week.
Week 6 at Crop Production Services
This week was an extremely busy one. I was scouting all week and walked around 8 miles a day. I did get to scout carrots for the first time. The grower actually grows his carrots for Campbell’s. I mostly spent the week scouting corn and soybeans for a few different growers. I did do a little bit of soil sampling and tissue sampling as well. I did get more comfortable identifying a few different weeds that I haven’t seen much of before. Overall there wasn’t much new stuff learned this week, but I did walk a lot and was very tired at the end of this week.
Week 5 at Crop Production Services
This week has been extremely busy, but that made the days go by fast. On Monday I scouted a lot of soybeans and a little bit of corn. On Tuesday it was a little slower I scouted but not as many fields as on Monday. On Wednesday I scouted a lot of soybeans and a little bit of corn which was about 15 fields. On Thursday I got to scout some green bell peppers which I have never scouted before so I got to learn about that as well as scouting corn, soybeans, and wheat. On Friday (Tomorrow) our first regional internship contest ends for who has the most fields scouted by that date, I also plan to do more field scouting. I have learned a lot about different weeds and insects. This week I saw a few weeds I have never seen before as well as a couple insects I’ve never seen before. Since I scout so much I get a lot of miles walked every day. On a slower day I walk about 5 miles, on a busier day I walk about 7 miles, and this week on Wednesday I made my record for most miles walked in a day at 9.5 miles. I definitely get a lot of walking done and a lot of fields done every day. With scouting that much I learn a lot of things every day because every field is different. The different fields every day makes the job very exciting and the days go by very fast.
Week 4 at Crop Production Services
This week was a very busy week at CPS. With all the rain we have had farming has went into full swing and everyone is extremely busy. I got to scout different crops, tissue sample, and make some farm deliveries.
I was mainly out scouting, while scouting I learned more about some insects found in corn and soybeans. I also took a lot of tissue samples. I learned about some cabbage things to look for when scouting as well as taking cabbage tissue samples. I also got the opportunity to make a few deliveries to some farms where I was able to interact with customers.
Overall despite the busy craziness we had going on I was able to learn a lot and have a great week. While at work the days fly by. When I am out scouting all day I typically walk around 6-7 miles a day. I am enjoying the internship a lot and can’t wait to see what else the next few weeks will bring.
Crop Production Services Weeks 1-3
This week I finished my third week at Crop Production Services.
My first week one of our sales reps took me out to a field to show me things I need to look at while out there. I also had an intern meeting where the other two interns at my location went to a meeting with some other local interns where they taught us more about using the scouting app and we go to meet some helpful people in our division.
My second week I did a lot of scouting and learned a lot more about agronomy topics as well as helping to plant our test plot where we plant different varieties of corn seed and soybean seed to compare them throughout the summer.
This week (my third week) We have had a lot of rain down here so the beginning of this week was very slow, but later in the week I started going out and spending all day scouting. This week I saw wheat, corn, soybeans, and cabbage. This was my first time scouting cabbage so one of our sales reps took me out to look at it and taught me a lot about what to look for.
Overall my summer is off to a great start. I have already learned so much and am sure that I will learn a lot more over the next couple of months. I have already made some great connections and can’t wait to see who else I will meet and what else I will learn.
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