Blog
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Meaghan Anderson
February 3, 2016 7:52 AM
Last fall, I collected common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) seed to establish some plots on a farmer cooperator's land over the winter. My plan was to seed directly into a standing cool-season grass adjacent to a crop field and determine the effectiveness of this method for plant...
The weed control results from 2015 are now available. The report includes experiments and demonstrations conducted at several of the Iowa State University Research Farms, as well...
Mahdi Al-Kaisi
January 13, 2016 2:34 PM
Folks will have the opportunity to learn about building healthy soils on Feb. 2-3 at the Scheman Building in Ames, Iowa at the Inaugural Iowa Soil Health Conference.
Producers, agronomists, faculty, scientists, students, and...
Bob Hartzler
December 22, 2015 7:46 AM
Many people have high expectations for the new herbicide resistant traits, but it’s important to remember that these products are not the next “silver bullet” for successful weed management. A group of weed scientists in the eastern United States evaluated glyphosate resistant (GR) waterhemp and...
Kristine Schaefer
December 17, 2015 7:28 AM
In August of 2015, EPA rolled out their proposal to revise the Pesticide Applicator Certification rule. This was placed in the Federal Register with comments open until November 23, 2015. In September and October; industry, state regulators, and pesticide safety educators across the country...
Micheal D.K. Owen
December 16, 2015 3:30 PM
Bob Hartzler
December 16, 2015 3:30 PM
The new 2016 Herbicide Guide for Iowa Corn and Soybean Production publication provides information on product and management updates, the role of preemergence herbicides in...
Paul Kassel
December 14, 2015 9:34 PM
It looks like the month of March has arrived in December.
There have been rain amounts of 1.3 to 2.3 in the area. I know that is not much compared to the 3-4 inches of rain in central Iowa. However, it looks really wet in the area. There is water standing in the fields and water running...
Elizabeth Buffington
December 14, 2015 1:56 PM
On November 2, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final rule of the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) regulation. Due to the major changes in the regulation, EPA is allowing extra time for employers, trainers, and regulators to adjust to the new...
Bob Hartzler
December 9, 2015 3:34 PM
Interest in cover crops has dramatically increased due to their many potential benefits. In addition to conservation purposes, cover crops can provide forage for livestock producers. It is important for livestock producers to consider restrictions on labels of herbicides used earlier in the...
The 2015 Integrated Crop Management Conference came to an end on Dec. 3, 2015, after two full days of workshops and seminars from Iowa State University faculty and extension specialists, and invited speakers from around the United States.
Continuing education...
Mahdi Al-Kaisi
December 1, 2015 10:46 AM
The upcoming soil health conference in Ames, Iowa, February 2-3, 2016 is fast approaching. This Inaugural Soil Health Conference will provide a unique opportunity to Certified Crop Advisers (CCA) who are seeking soil and water credits. The conference has been approved for a total of 17 soil and...
Paul Kassel
November 25, 2015 12:16 PM
By: Paul Kassel
The question comes up from time to time-‘is there an alternative to the Roundup Ready based seed and herbicide system for soybeans?’ Of course there is-we have conventional varieties with conventional herbicides and there is the Liberty Link seed and Liberty herbicide. ...
Bob Hartzler
November 23, 2015 12:22 PM
By: Bob Hartzler
In the past 10 years, herbicide resistance has grown into a significant problem that is limiting the ability of farmers to effectively control weeds. Farmers have relied on simple weed management in the past, but weeds have grown resistant to simple management systems....
Paul Kassel
November 19, 2015 8:09 AM
By: Paul Kassel
The weather has turned really wet in much of my area. We are not use to seeing water running out of fields, water...
Paul Kassel
November 10, 2015 10:30 AM
By: Paul Kassel
Iowa State University has conducted a survey of subsoil moisture since 1955. It is my understanding that there were some very dry conditions in the 1950s – and the ISU Agronomy department and ISU Extension responded by assessing soil moisture to help farmers...
Mahdi Al-Kaisi
November 9, 2015 12:16 PM
By: Mahdi Al-Kaisi
Soil tillage increases the potential for soil erosion and reduces water infiltration and subsoil recharge. Keeping crop residue on the soil surface this fall along with...
Paul Kassel
October 30, 2015 1:41 PM
By: Paul Kassel
Soybean harvest has been complete in northwest/north central Iowa for a couple of weeks.
Corn harvest is wrapping up also. I would guess that there is about 15% of the corn that is yet to be harvested.
We have experienced a very warm and dry harvest season....
By: Rachel Klein
New online options were introduced in October 2015 for the Manure Applicator Certification Program to help applicators across the state become...
By: Greg Brenneman
In the past couple of weeks a lot of corn and soybeans went into storage with temperatures in the 60s. With grain this warm, moisture migration within the grain mass and spoilage can occur very quickly, even with fairly dry grain.
With average daily temperatures...
Clarke McGrath
October 20, 2015 2:45 PM
Mark Hanna
October 20, 2015 2:45 PM
By Clarke McGrath and Mark Hanna
It’s always difficult to forecast weather, but if dry field conditions persist, the potential for combine and field fires this fall will continue to be a problem. There have already been dozens of significant field fires around the state,...
Clarke McGrath
October 16, 2015 11:02 AM
By: Clarke McGrath
It’s NH3 season, so here are some safety reminders from a guy who has seen how badly NH3 can injure people, first-hand. We work around it so much that sometimes we forget how caustic and dangerous it is.
Mahdi Al-Kaisi
October 14, 2015 4:26 PM
By: Mahdi M Al-Kaisi
The Inaugural Soil Health Conference “Strategies for Building Healthy Soils” will be February 2-3, 2016 at the Scheman Building in Ames, Iowa. The goal of this conference is to increase awareness and understanding of soil health as a pivotal measure to...
Rebecca Vittetoe
October 14, 2015 10:05 AM
By: Rebecca Ahlers
As a field agronomist, you see all sorts of interesting things in fields and never know what you may come across. I've seen and heard of slug injury early on in soybeans, but snails?
...
Clarke McGrath
October 9, 2015 4:44 PM
By: Clarke McGrath
In running plots and talking with growers the last week or so, the shift to more “fall-like” temperatures has people thinking, “Maybe I can run some fall NH3 while (if) I am held up waiting on trucks, grain drying, or other typical fall delays.”
Having been...
Clarke McGrath
October 7, 2015 4:24 PM
By: Clarke McGrath
Stalk rot issues have only gotten worse in recent weeks; in some cases, a lot worse. Stalk rot and resultant standability challenges have reportedly been issues across much of the state, and are not hard to find in most of southwest and west central Iowa.
...