What Are Weeds Costing You?

By: Mindy Ward

In a scene rivaling the iconic movie “Field of Dreams,” four farmers walked into the edge of a cornfield and disappeared. They were attending a Syngenta Grow More Experience field day this summer in Columbia, Mo.

Minutes later, the men reappeared through the rows, calling out numbers.

After quick addition, Brett Craigmyle, agronomist for Syngenta, proclaimed, “Twenty-seven. That is the number of giant ragweed you found in just this 600-foot area.” Then he asked the group how much those 27 weeds would cost farmers. Silence.

Craigmyle says farmers need to start doing the math on weeds; some are costlier than others.

Field-robbers
A driver weed is one that influences yield or long-term weed management plans. In corn, Craigmyle looked at three — giant ragweed, cocklebur and waterhemp. Of those, he notes that giant ragweed is making a comeback in Midwest farm fields.