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Aaron Saeugling
May 31, 2023 9:46 PM
The choice to foliar feed crops is a management decision each farmer needs to make based on personal preferences. Before considering these products, we need to first consider the return on the investment and chance for success.
When considering foliar fertilizing corn and soybean we need...
Rebecca Vittetoe
May 31, 2023 4:16 PM
With turning the calendar to June, now is the time to be seeding warm-season annual forages like sorghum, sorghum-sudangrass, sudangrass, millets, and teff. These forages can help to fill in the gap with the summer slump or provide some extra forage when your perennial forage supply may be short...
Alison Robertson
May 30, 2023 8:00 AM
It’s a great time of year! The weather is finally warming up enough to wear shorts and green stripes are finally occurring across the landscape as corn (and beans) emerge. USDA reports 85%...
Ashley Dean
May 25, 2023 10:23 AM
Moth flights into Iowa slowed down a bit during Week 7 (May 14 to May 20). Cooperators for the Iowa Moth Trapping Network reported 147 black cutworm (BCW) and 130 true armyworm (TAW) moths, with three new significant flights of black cutworm. More details on significant flights and cutting dates...
Ashley Dean
May 25, 2023 7:54 AM
Erin Hodgson
May 25, 2023 7:54 AM
Alfalfa growth is off to the races in many parts of Iowa, and we have heard reports from around the state that insects are very active in alfalfa as well. Field agronomists, especially in southern Iowa, have...
Rebecca Vittetoe
May 23, 2023 12:57 PM
Planting is starting to wind down across the state as 95% of the expected corn crop and 84% of the expected soybean crop has been planted according to the ...
Ashley Dean
May 19, 2023 11:03 AM
Erin Hodgson
May 19, 2023 11:03 AM
Western and northern corn rootworms are serious corn pests in Iowa and the Corn Belt. These pests readily adapt to management tactics, especially in continuous corn production. The larvae consume corn roots, thereby reducing nutrient and water uptake, and cause stalk lodging. The adults may also...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 (...
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.
...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...
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’...