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Foliar fungicides were evaluated across seven Iowa State University research and demonstration farms to determine their performance for disease and yield response on soybean in 2021.

Iowa State University’s IPM Team has monitored field crop pests for a long time. The pests have changed over the years, but the goal is the same: to help inform farmers about pest activity in Iowa. Our moth trapping efforts target migratory moths. Black cutworm monitoring is a long-standing project in Iowa, and true armyworm has been included since 2017. Since timing of arrival is variable between growing seasons, trapping these pests helps us predict when injury will occur.

Extension specialists at Iowa State and across the U.S. present this new one-hour webinar where they will walk growers and agronomists through each soybean growth stage and the common misconceptions surrounding each stage so that they can better manage their crops.

This webinar, airing on Thursday, February 24, 2022, at 11 a.m. CST is a part of a “Science for Success” initiative doing collaborative research and outreach on a variety of topics.

As we move into the final month of meteorological winter, outlooks for February continue to show a classic La Niña (LN) signature across the United States. On the temperature side, above-average probabilities for warmer temperatures are found across the East Coast and throughout much of the Sun Belt States. Elevated chances of colder than average temperatures are located over Minnesota, much of the Dakotas and into the Pacific Northwest.

In 2021, we initiated the first year of the regional corn rootworm monitoring network with the Corn Rootworm IPM working group. This working group was formed to address regional concerns as corn rootworm populations continue to overcome Bt corn hybrids and become more challenging to manage. The working group is composed of university, industry, and government personnel from at least 12 U.S. states and 5 provinces in Canada.

Since its discovery as a new species in 2019, soybean gall midge continues to be found in new counties across five states in the Midwest. For some farmers, the presence of soybean gall midge had a significant impact on soybean yield. The persistence of this new pest in existing areas and its presence in new counties highlight the need to stay up-to-date on the latest research-based information. 

Row spacing for both corn and soybean is an important decision to make for any crop producer and can lead to high yielding crops. Corn row spacing is important to maximize yield as well as to keep balanced with economic output.

Planting soybean in the same field that just grew soybean is not recommended. Soybean yield will suffer even before factoring in environmental conditions, weather, and pest/disease pressures. 

Four different studies in Minnesota and Wisconsin have shown a yield decline of at least 5% and as much as 9% for second-year soybean compared to first year and a study in North Carolina shows a 5 bu/ac penalty for second-year soybeans.

The northwest Iowa fall survey of subsoil moisture completed by Iowa State University in November shows improved subsoil moisture at nearly all locations when compared to the fall of 2020. Subsoil moisture levels are checked in the fall in many northwest Iowa counties through this survey.  The survey provides a historical perspective on subsoil moisture levels.

Farmers may be planning to grow soybeans in 2022 in fields cropped to soybeans in 2021 because of high prices and limited availability of inputs for corn production. Doing this in fields infested with the soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is always a risky proposition. But growing beans on beans in SCN-infested fields in 2022 will be especially dicey.

Cover crops can enhance soil health by capturing nutrients, slow erosion and can reduce the need for herbicides. Growers face many different decisions in the field, and the latest edition of the Cover Crop Field Guide will assist in some of those choices.

Across Iowa, the forecasted average day/night temperatures are between 30 to 40 degrees F in the coming ten days, so the time is right to cool any grain that went into the bin at higher temperatures. Good harvest conditions and warm weather early this fall mean that there is on-farm grain that likely went into storage too warm. Warm grain in most large bins (over 3,000 bushels) will hold its temperature in the center well and will need to be cooled using aeration before winter.

Following up on Meaghan’s blog post on October 5 about sap beetles in corn grain, I received a few more questions about infested bins. There are MANY insects that cause losses in stored grain and food processing facilities. Complete eradication is difficult to achieve, and therefore defining acceptable limits is a more practical way to manage pests after harvest.

The November and the meteorological winter (December-January-February) temperature and precipitation outlooks were recently released by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC). Below is a recap of what those outlooks are predicting and the potential impacts those outlooks could have on agriculture.

November weather outlook

Corn Hybrids

Choosing corn hybrids is one of the most crucial crop management decisions to be made. There are a range of factors to consider, most notably the weather, which makes it difficult as this decision is typically made months in advance of the growing season.

With rising fertilizer prices, and concerns about possible shortages, it pays to time our applications of anhydrous ammonia and manure well. When the value is high, the focus on management is even more important.

Anhydrous costs are reported to have risen to $850 or more per ton.

I have yet another weird insect situation to add to what feels like an already comprehensive list of issues for 2021. Last week, a farmer in central Iowa brought a grain sample into an ISU county extension office that was full of small, black beetles. These beetles had survived through the combine and were still present when he transferred the grain to a grain dryer.

Much of Iowa is currently abnormally dry or in some state of drought according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. If dry field conditions persist, the potential for combine and field fires this fall could continue to be a problem. Low relative humidity levels and high winds further amplify the risk of fires. All it takes is a single high-temperature source in the engine area or an overheated bearing to ignite dry plant material.

2021 has been an unprecedented year for fall armyworms, not just here in Iowa but other states as well. There have been many questions regarding how to manage fall armyworms in hayfields and cover crop fields. 

Here is some background that may help explain some later comments.

As corn has quickly reached maturity, the next hurdle of the 2021 growing season is harvest. Stalk quality will be a concern for fields across that state that experienced the stress of too much or not enough moisture. Alison Robertson recently wrote an article about stalk rots that is very good.