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Wild parsnip is a biennial that was introduced to North America by the earliest European colonists, it is documented to have been grown in Virginia as early as 1609 as a food crop. In his 1913 book The Weed Flora of Iowa, L. H. Pammel described wild parsnip as ‘common on roadsides in every part of Iowa.’ Thus, this weed is not new to our state.

For those of you that are in need of some extra Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) Continuing Education Units (CEUs), you can earn up to 9.5 total CEUs simply by visiting the Crop Protection Network (CPN), and testing your knowledge of various pest management topics, such as plant diseases and management, pest resistance and mycotoxins. 

Staging crops is an underappreciated but incredibly important skill. One very important reason to know how to stage your crops is because herbicide products may have limits on what growth stages of the crop they can be applied. This ICM Blog will discuss staging corn and soybean as well as share resources that can be used to double check herbicide labels prior to spraying your crops.

The Forecast and Assessment of Cropping sysTemS (FACTS) webpage has been updated to include regional scale forecasts. These regional scale forecast cover the three I-states providing weather, soil water, and soil N mineralization information. Additional crop information will become available with future updates.

With planting (and replanting) starting to wind down, farmers are turning their attention to post herbicide applications, sidedressing, and putting up hay. Weed management challenges and thistle caterpillars in soybeans have been some of the big issues across the state this past week. Check out what Iowa State University Extension and Outreach field agronomists are seeing and hearing in fields from their respective regions across the state.

Northwest Iowa

Summer has arrived, and temperatures are heating up. Agricultural and natural resource workers endure long days spent outdoors or running field days. Summer outdoor activities are in full force for many including festivals, fairs, sports, farmer’s markets and much more! Time spent outside in the heat, humidity, and blazing sun does not go without risk.

This year I’ve had a few people ask for tips on scouting for common stalk borer. The larvae are moving from brome to corn throughout Iowa and it is a good time to scout for timely management. Thanks to the help of Warren Pierson, coordinator of the FEEL, I have some photos to share.

Hope this helps with your scouting efforts this season!

Join the ISU Weed Science Program at the 2019 Herbicide Research and Demonstration Program Field Day on Thursday, June 27!

I’ve been hearing about and seeing a variety of caterpillars in seedling crops this week. In soybean, you notice thistle caterpillars feeding and making webbed cavities from the leaves. They can be easy to find in early-vegetative soybean but rarely build up to economic populations. Read more about thistle caterpillars in this ICM News article. 

Miscanthus has to be harvested all at once and must be stored for later use every season.  Standing miscanthus fields are harvested with a forage chopper or self-propelled mower conditioner (as previously discussed in our Miscanthus harvest concludes! blog) and therefore handled and stored in two different ways, i.e. Ag-Bag or bales. Storing miscanthus in Iowa is easily accomplished using proven methods readily available to any size producer.

Mother Nature was more cooperative this past week, allowing planting and other field activities like cutting and putting up hay, sidedressing, and herbicide applications to occur. According to the June 10, 2019 USDA-NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, approximately 93% of the expected corn crop and 70% of the expected soybean has been planted.

This #Plant19 season has been a tough and complicated one, filled with difficult deadlines, unconventional practices and budget constraints. And while it might be seem easier to just give up, it's seasons like these that teach us important lessons about farming, and give us the opportunity to develop new crop management strategies and solutions.

#plant19 has been a year to remember, and not necessarily in a good way. A couple of days ago we talked about anthracnose leaf blight on corn. Although we suggested there was little reason to fret, there have been some conversations around whether to apply a fungicide at growth stage V5, to mitigate the disease and perhaps stalk rot later on.  In addition, you’ll be spraying an herbicide, so why not throw a fungicide into the tank as well?

Corn planting has been start and stop, and generally delayed this spring.

Mother Nature has not been a friend to farmers this spring, making the 2019 planting season a challenging one to say the least. According to the June 3, 2019 USDA-NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, approximately 80% of the expected corn crop has been planted and 58% has emerged across the state. On the soybean side, approximately 41% of the expected soybean has been plated and 17% has emerged across the state.

Summer trip?! Undergraduate students commonly take trips during the summer that consists of hiking in the mountains, relaxing on the beaches, or experiencing a new culture in a foreign country. However, one group of students from Furman University in Greenville, SC broke the mold and chose something different. Dr.

Farmers across the state took advantage of the little dry spell that occurred last week. Approximately 70% of the expected corn crop and 27% of the soybean crop in Iowa has been planted according to the May 20 USDA-NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach field agronomists share reports on what they are seeing and hearing in their respective regions across the state with field conditions and planting progress.

We have always told extension clients and students that the best tool for identifying an unknown weed is a good book, other than finding somebody who already knows what the weed is.  We never thought much of the early weed ID apps that were developed for mobile devices. 

“Rain, rain, go away come again another day.” This nursery rhyme seems to be an appropriate theme song for how the weather has been this spring. The wet weather has been a major challenge for getting any fieldwork completed across the state. According to the most recent USDA-NASS Crop Progress Report, 48% of Iowa's expected corn crop has been planted and 13% of Iowa's expected soybean crop has been planted.

As everything greens up, we often receive photos of mystery plants for identification.  Typically, I get a wide range of species via email or text message.  This spring, more than any I can recall in recent history, I’ve received many photos of the same species:  purslane speedwell (Veronica peregrina).