During the recent Mid-South Farm & Gin Show in Memphis, Noal Lawhon presented the winners of the 2006 Delta King Seed Co. SoyDiesel Essay Scholarship Award. Pictured from left are: Noal Lawhon; K'Ann Dorris, Pontotoc, Miss.; Mary Kathryn Campbell, Cooter, Mo; Logan Whittington, Oak Grove, La; James Vaulx Fussell V, Jonesboro, Ark.; and Holly Hopper, Hornbeak, Tenn. The winning essays can be read by visiting the Delta King Web site, www.deltakingseed.com. A total of $12,500 will be awarded to these five high school seniors, with each winner receiving an individual scholarship amount of $2,500. The Delta King Seed SoyDiesel Essay Scholarship Contest is designed to fund higher education and to promote the development and use of SoyDiesel in the United States.

Pyrethroid touts new formulation
Bayer CropScience announces a new formulation in Baythroid XL insecticide, which delivers the pyrethroid control growers have come to expect with strong residual based on multiple trials. Baythroid XL is now registered by the EPA for immediate sale and use within the United States.

“The new formulation has a broad spectrum of activity,” says Jon Mixson, product manager, Bayer CropScience. “Growers will be pleased with this activity and long-lasting performance, and especially with its quick knockdown performance.”

For all labeled crops, apply Baythroid XL when target pests and insect populations reach the low end of insect thresholds, says John Bell, product development manager, Bayer CropScience.

“Lower rates are generally adequate for low to moderate insect pressure, but those threshold levels require careful scouting and may require more frequent applications,” Bell adds. “Use higher insecticide rates for moderate and heavy insect pressure.”

Baythroid XL is an emulsifiable concentrate formulation and controls piercing and sucking pests through contact action and ingestion. Good spray coverage of the crop is needed for the highest level of control. The product comes in packaging options of one-half gallon, one gallon and 15 gallon multiple trip containers.

SoyDiesel Webinar educates legislators
More than 1,000 legislators/staff members from seven states – Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Illinois and Kentucky – on both the state and Federal levels – were invited to the recent Webinar called “Don’t Drill for Oil, Plant It...SoyDiesel.”

This Internet meeting, which focused on the benefits of SoyDiesel as a renewable fuels alternative, was presented by Mid-South Clean Fuels Coalition and sponsored by Delta King Seed Co.

David Fraser, the Fraser Group, notes that the Webinar’s objective was to present educational information regarding SoyDiesel’s benefits and impact on three critical areas: energy policy, environmental policy and economic policy. View the complete Legislator SoyDiesel Webinar at www.deltakingseed.com.

New center pivot choice announced
Valmont Irrigation is introducing structure choices as the new 7000 series joins the proven 8000 series in Valley performance.

The 7000 series structure is designed to be a choice for less demanding fields while offering the durability of Valley gearboxes, cams control panels and communication options, with the same Valley warranty. A lighter structure, the 7000 series does not fit every application but offers strength and durability similar to the competition.

The Valley network of dealers has been trained to design an irrigation pivot choice suitable to fit specific field conditions and customer demands. Current energy costs and water restrictions require the best possible solution for every producer.

To learn more, visit www.valmont.com.

South Carolina soybean yield contest
Johnny Houser of Bishopville, S.C., won top honors in the 2005 South Carolina Soybean Yield Contest. The Lee County grower planted Garst 4512RR/N soybeans to achieve his winning entry of 69.3 bushels per dryland acre, outperforming even the irrigated state yield.

4512RR/N is a mid-Group V, high yielding Roundup Ready1 variety with a key trait package, including resistance to Phytophthora Root Rot and moderate resistance to Sudden Death Syndrome and stem canker.

The South Carolina Soybean Yield Contest is an annual state competition to emphasize and demonstrate the practices necessary to produce maximum yields and to encourage the production of high quality soybeans. The South Carolina Soybean Board sponsors the contest.

“It is exciting to see a Garst customer do so well in the South Carolina competition,” says Mike Schaefer, soybean product manager for Garst Seed Company. “Garst evaluates more than 800,000 soybean research plots that help us to continually enhance our breeding efforts and provide our customers with new technology to further boost their soybean yields.

“We deliver soybeans adapted for specific growing areas, like here in the Southeast. Garst is proud to be a part of this grower’s success.”

Lepidoptera pest control offered
DuPont’s Steward EC is a new formulation for 2006 replacing Steward. In soybeans and peanuts, Steward EC controls key Lepidoptera pests.

This insecticide is registered in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.