Blog

Ashley Dean
May 18, 2023 1:13 PM

Week 6 (May 7 to May 13) of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network was vastly different than the week before. Our cooperators reported 239 black cutworm (BCW) and 295 true armyworm (TAW) moths, with several significant flights occurring around the state.

Recall that we predicted...

Insects and Mites

Ashley Dean
May 9, 2023 3:13 PM

Very few moths were reported by our cooperators last week. During week 5 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network (April 30 to May 6), our cooperators reported 41 black cutworm (BCW) and 32 true armyworm (TAW) moths around the state, and there were no new significant flights of BCW to report. However,...

Insects and Mites

Rebecca Vittetoe
May 9, 2023 2:15 PM

Farmers were able to get back in the fields last week across the state and made great strides in planting. Across the state...

Crop Production

Clarabell Probasco
May 9, 2023 12:18 PM

Virgil Schmitt
May 9, 2023 12:18 PM

Many farmers across the state of Iowa found a nice, early window to get the 2023 planting season kicked off. The second week of April became busy with tillage, planting (both corn and soybeans), and herbicide passes. Unfortunately, that window closed quickly and left us with extended cool...

Crop Production

Alison Robertson
May 8, 2023 8:46 AM

Corn foliar fungicide trials were done at six locations in Iowa in 2022: ISU Northwest Research and Demonstration Farm (NWRF), Sutherland; Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm (NERF), Nashua; Northern Research and Demonstration Farm (NRF), Kanawha; Southwest Research and Demonstration Farm...

Plant Diseases

Meaghan Anderson
May 7, 2023 9:48 PM

The beautiful weather this past week means we’ll see a substantial increase in planted acres on this week’s Crop Progress and Condition Report. Farmers should carefully...

Weeds

Ashley Dean
May 3, 2023 12:10 PM

Fewer moths were reported last week than in previous weeks, but even so, the northward migration of two pest species continues. During week 4 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network (April 23 to April 29), our cooperators reported 71 black cutworm (BCW) and 85 true armyworm (TAW) moths around the...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites

Ashley Dean
April 26, 2023 11:51 AM

Even with some cooler weather last week, moths continue to migrate northward into Iowa. During week 3 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network (April 16 to April 22), our cooperators reported 83 black cutworm (BCW) and 110 true armyworm (TAW) moths around the state. Three additional significant flights...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites

Angie Rieck-Hinz
April 25, 2023 4:06 PM

Leah Ten Napel
April 25, 2023 4:06 PM

Joshua Michel
April 25, 2023 4:06 PM

Meaghan Anderson
April 25, 2023 4:06 PM

Agronomy in the Field is a workshop series for women that provides learning opportunities for forage and crop production. Focus is placed on developing agronomic decision-making skills that can be utilized on one’s own personal farm or family cropping operations, including water quality and...

Crop Production

Rebecca Vittetoe
April 25, 2023 12:41 PM

While there was quite a bit of field activity two weeks ago across the state, this last week’s cooler temperatures and rainfall across the state have resulted in minimal field activity. ISU Extension and Outreach Field Agronomists share...

Crop Production

Ashley Dean
April 20, 2023 12:04 PM

Warm weather and strong winds during the second week of moth trapping pushed many moths northward into Iowa. During week 2 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network (April 9 to April 15), our cooperators reported 95 black cutworm (BCW) and 46 true armyworm (TAW) moths around the state. Two significant...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites

Gentry Sorenson
April 19, 2023 10:04 AM

Leah Ten Napel
April 19, 2023 10:04 AM

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has completed their spring survey of subsoil moisture in northwest Iowa.  The amount of subsoil moisture is sampled in the fall and spring across northwest Iowa each year.  Sites within this survey have been sampled for decades providing a historical...

Crop Production, Soils

Ashley Dean
April 12, 2023 12:55 PM

The 2023 moth trapping season is underway, and our volunteers began placing traps the week of March 26. Black cutworm (BCW) monitoring is a long-standing project in Iowa, and true armyworm (TAW) was added in 2017. Both of these pests are migratory, making it difficult to predict where...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites

Rebecca Vittetoe
April 12, 2023 8:08 AM

And it seems like spring is finally here, and with that field activities are starting to pick-up across the state. ISU Extension and Outreach Field Agronomists share a quick update on what conditions look like and what activities are...

Crop Production

Daren S Mueller
April 11, 2023 10:28 AM

Crop scouting performed by farmers and Ag professionals is one of the most important steps towards predicting possible issues and diagnosing existing problems with health of a field- informing critical management decisions.  

Made possible by partnering with Integrated Pest Management (...

Plant Diseases

Prashant Jha
April 10, 2023 7:49 PM

With the onset of planting season, it is necessary to watch for winter annuals and early emerging summer annuals in corn and soybean fields. Consider applying burndown herbicides to control those weeds when temperatures are above 55 F to improve the effectiveness of herbicide application.

...
Weeds, Herbicide Resistance

Beth Reynolds
April 10, 2023 3:28 PM

Erika Lundy-Woolfolk
April 10, 2023 3:28 PM

Denise Schwab
April 10, 2023 3:28 PM

Calves, robins, geese, vultures… all signs confirming spring’s arrival in Iowa. The green up can feel like it arrived in hours, and it really is changing by the hour. Rye is among the first species to break winter dormancy and grows when temperatures reach 38 degrees F. While how fast the growth...

Crop Production

Mark Licht
April 7, 2023 7:30 AM

When is the best time to plant? Somewhere between April 10 and May 31 for corn and for soybean April 10 (southern Iowa) and April 15 (northern 2/3 of Iowa) to June 15. Those are according to crop insurance dates. By now you know I don’t like talking about planting dates. The calendar date doesn’...

Crop Production

Aaron Saeugling
April 5, 2023 5:41 PM

With April now here, the talk of planting will be a daily talking point for farmers across Iowa. With new genetics, more seed treatments, better tile drainage, farmers are pushing the planting date earlier for corn and soybean in Iowa. For 2023 the early crop insurance date is April 10th...

Crop Production

Mark Licht
April 4, 2023 3:56 PM

This post is not to explain what corn edge effect is or what is causing the phenomenon but rather throw out a couple thoughts on possible solutions. Briefly, corn edge effect is when yields around the outside...

Crop Production

Rebecca Vittetoe
April 3, 2023 11:57 AM

Clarabell Probasco
April 3, 2023 11:57 AM

Virgil Schmitt
April 3, 2023 11:57 AM

Join us on May 17th for a Crop Scout School at the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Crawfordsville. ...

Crop Production

Meaghan Anderson
April 3, 2023 11:35 AM

The warmer weather forecast has me thinking about new beginnings and the resurrection of our dormant overwintering cover crops. While some will let the covers grow for some time yet, those covers in fields going to corn this spring will likely be terminated in the next few weeks. Regardless of...

Crop Production, Weeds

Daren S Mueller
March 30, 2023 11:39 AM

A Masters of Agronomy student, Kelsey Richie, is conducting a survey in hopes of getting a better understanding of how tar spot may affect farmers' decisions around fungicides.

Plant Diseases

Clarabell Probasco
March 27, 2023 8:03 PM

Meaghan Anderson
March 27, 2023 8:03 PM

As pastures begin to green up, unwanted weeds may start to pop up too. Early spring is an excellent time to clean up biennials, winter annuals, and some perennials present in pastures. This article will focus on management considerations for weeds we might find in the early spring.

...

Crop Production, Weeds

Rebecca Vittetoe
March 13, 2023 10:43 AM

As we look ahead and gear up for the upcoming growing season, ISU Extension and Outreach Field Agronomists share a quick update on what conditions look like across the state in their respective regions.

North Central Iowa

Crop Production

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