Rebecca Vittetoe
Rebecca Vittetoe is an extension field agronomist in southeast/south central Iowa. Educational programs are available for farmers, agribusiness, pesticide applicators, and certified crop advisors.
Areas of expertise include agronomy, field crop production and management of corn, soybeans, and IPM/crop scouting. Vittetoe joined Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in April of 2015.
Subscribe to the Southeast/South-central Iowa Crop Connection newsletter for current topics and agriculture events in the area.
Subscribe to RSS FeedIt has been a slow start to #Plant18 in Iowa. The cooler and wet weather has kept many farmers out of the fields despite the fact that it is getting to be the end of April. Spring finally seems to have arrived (or at least for parts of Iowa), and with that farmers are not wasting anytime getting...
Green cover crop fields are slowly starting to appear across the state. Despite the recent snow that fell across the state, #plant18 is right around the corner. Farmers should have a game plan in place for how they plan to terminate their overwintering cover crop. Killing cover crops with a...
Farmers and agriculture suppliers will want to attend the Southeast Iowa Agricultural Research Association annual meeting at the Johnson County Extension office in Iowa City on Thursday, March 1, 2018 beginning at 10:00 a.m., according to association president Jeff Ellis.
Following a...
There have been many reports of corn along the edge of the fields yielding drastically less than the remainder of the field. In many cases, the yield loss is most obvious on the southern edge of the field, but it has been observed along the west, east, and north sides of fields this year. This...
Fall is usually not a time I expect to get questions about armyworms, but last week I received several questions about fall armyworms in cover crops, particularly in cereal rye, triticale, or wheat cover crops. In Iowa, fall armyworms can be pests in corn, hayfields and pastures, but this is the...
Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been doing stalk rot assessments at several of the ISU Research Farms including the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm, the McNay Research Farm, and the Ames Farm. While the plants seemed to be standing well, minus where the raccoons had fun in one of...
As the 2017 growing season winds down, ISU Extension and Outreach field agronomists share how the crops are progressing and finishing out the season in their repressive regions across the state.
Northwest Iowa
...Iowa State University Extension and Outreach field agronomists report crop conditions in NW, NE, and SE Iowa.
Northwest Iowa
#Drought17, late season hail damage, weed escapes, and soybean aphids seem to be the big issues ISU Extension field agronomists are seeing in fields across the state this past week. Read on for more information about your region's crop progress and field conditions.
Northwest...
The dry and droughty conditions, spider mites, soybean aphids, and dicamba drift are common issues ISU Extension field agronomists are seeing across the state. Read on for more information about your region's crop progress and field conditions.
Northwest Iowa
Rainfall continues to be scattered across the state. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 64% of the state is abnormally dry, 34.7% is in a moderate drought, and 1.6% is in a severe drought. ISU Extension...
Observations across several counties in southeast and south central Iowa show that, despite some recent rain events and high humidity, twospotted spider mites are persisting in both corn and soybean fields across the area. These insect-like pests can be very difficult to identify, so we’ve got...
We’ve got the terrible too’s in weather extremes across Iowa. Parts of northeast Iowa received too much rain and experienced flash flooding while many other parts of Iowa are in desperate need of rain and have seen too little rain. Iowa University Extension and Outreach...
The spotty rain and dry weather saga continues in many parts of the state. The U.S. Drought Monitor has just over 47% of the state as abnormally dry and 16% of the state in a moderate drought.
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Parts of the state are still quite dry and could use some much needed rain. Some of these areas did receive some much needed rain Monday night (July 10)/early Tuesday morning (July 11). Well some areas of the state are very dry other areas have been hit hard with storms, with the most recent...
Farmers, ag retailers, and certified crop advisers gathered at the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm on June 22 for the research farm association’s annual spring field day. Myron Rees, farm superintendent, kicked off the field day by sharing a farm and crop update with everyone. Some...
Despite June typically being one of the wettest months of the year, it is ending to be much drier than normal across much of the state. Besides drier conditions, other common issues showing up in Iowa crop fields include weed management concerns, herbicide drift, nutrient deficiencies, and...
Some much needed rain fell across parts of the state last week, but with the rain came some strong winds and hail in parts of the state. Other areas could still use some rain. Iowa State...
The USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report showed that Iowa's corn crop is 96% emerged and gave Iowa’s corn crops a 77% good to excellent rating. Soybean...
The USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report showed that Iowa's corn crop is 90% emerged and gave Iowa’s corn crops a 77% good/excellent rating. Soybean planting...
Armyworm feeding has been observed in several fields in northeast and southeast Iowa. Most of the fields with the feeding had cereal rye planted last fall and were terminated this spring.
Now is the time to be scouting for armyworms. Look for feeding on leaves....
Currently 92% of Iowa’s corn crop has been planted and 62% of the soybean crop according to Monday’s USDA Crop Progress Report. However, the wet weather...
Cooler and wetter conditions can effect corn germination and emergence, but they can also provide a favorable environment for seedling diseases.
One research study being conducted by ISU is taking a closer look at seedling diseases in corn. The goals of the...
#Plant17 is progressing across Iowa. Following a period of cooler and wetter weather, most farmers have been able to get back in the fields over the weekend and either resume or start planting. According to Monday’s USDA Crop Progress report, Iowa had 52% corn planted and 19% of soybeans for the...
Fall is a great time to take soil samples and test the soil to see where the nutrient levels are. The results of soil tests can help make critical management decisions for the next growing season. Soil testing starts with the soil sample. The small sample of soil collected serves as the basis...