Ron..NE ILL..10/48 - 12/18/2009 06:29

Well, unless there's something I'm really missing, I don't see any value in merely recoup'ing expenses. I don't know of any "hidden values" in spraying beans. They didn't stand better, they don't grade better (we don't get pd for grade anyway), it just increased the expense per acre & makes you hope that beans exceed $10/bu to enable break-even. Seems dumb to me. In fact, there was a good chance that the treated beans would be wetter & potential dockage could've occurred if they were hauled directly to an elevator.

However, what it does do is gives one the ability to push his/her yields up 3.0 bu/A & converse w/neighbors on better yields while not considering costs. That does have psychological gratification. Not sure of $$/bu value there.

However, now I do have an interest in finding out just what the insecticide application will do by itself. That product cost only a few $$/A. But then, one brings in the question of stewardship & blanket kills on insect control.