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Although it has been uncharacteristically cold recently, it is officially springtime in Iowa and many insects are coming to life. One of the first things the field crop entomologists do each year is coordinate the Iowa Moth Trapping Network. Usually, these traps catch the specific species we are interested in, but there can also be a lot of bycatch.

Soil temperature is one of the most important factors to guide planting decisions. The rule of thumb is to wait until the upper 4 inches reach at least 50 degrees, with a warming temperature trend in the forecast. One way to track soil temperatures across Iowa is by using the soil temperatures map compiled by the Iowa Environmental Mesonet at Iowa State University. Updated daily in the spring, this map provides current measured and estimated soil temperatures for each county in Iowa.

With a warm-up in the forecast, spring fieldwork like cover crop termination will begin when fields are fit. While some farmers may opt to use mechanical methods of cover crop termination like tillage or roller-crimping, chemical termination is the most common and often most effective way to kill a cover crop in preparation for the following cash crop. With the high cost and tight supply of inputs, we’ve compiled some tips to make cover crop termination is effective.

The 2022 moth trapping season is underway, and most of our volunteers placed traps the week of March 27. Black cutworm (BCW) monitoring is a long-standing project in Iowa, and true armyworm (TAW) was added in 2017 (Photo 1). Both of these pests are migratory, making it difficult to predict where populations will establish year to year.

This is the final article in a 3-part series for private pesticide applicators.  Part 1 focused on remaining continuing instruction courses to maintain certification requirements.  Part 2 focused on methods to renew your certificate if it has expired.

Determining the appropriate glyphosate rate is probably more important this spring than in previous years. Between high herbicide prices, reduced supply, and possibly using a different glyphosate product, it is worth checking to make sure you’re applying the optimum rate for efficient control.

2022 offerings of Agronomy in the Field

Spring planting season will soon be here across the state of Iowa. Whether you’re on the tail end of your spring equipment preparations or just getting started, we wanted to remind you of some past articles and videos that may be useful as you prepare for the 2022 planting season.

An unprecedented amount of data is being collected on soybean fields thanks to advances in sensing technologies and cost-efficient computing, yet these data

This is part 2 of a three-part series of reminders for private pesticide applicators. Part 1 discussed remaining continuing education course opportunities.  Part 2 will discuss how to renew your certification if it has expired.

On March 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the label amendments that further restrict the use of over-the-top dicamba in Iowa and Minnesota. These changes came after the reports of high numbers of off-target dicamba injury incidents in Iowa and Minnesota in 2021.

Iowa private pesticide applicators are required to be certified to apply pesticides if they are using restricted-use pesticides.  Initially, to get certified, applicators need to take and pass an exam.

As the snow melts and planters are made ready for spring, it is also time to think about crop scouting. The Crop Protection Network has many resources for new crop scouts or summer interns. These resources can also provide a refresher to help seasoned scouts before they walk back into a field. Check out the following videos and web tools to get started:

Small grains, like oats, seeded in the spring can be another forage source for livestock producers. While using small grains, like oats, as a forage source is not something new, there is very limited data available on potential forage yield or nutritional quality.

To help provide some data, ISU Extension and Outreach partnered with Amana Farms in the spring of 2021 for a spring-seeded annual forage variety trial.

Shortage of key herbicides, glyphosate and glufosinate, in 2022 has emphasized the need to implement integrated weed management (IWM) strategies in corn and soybean. It is time to consider adding more tools in the weed control toolbox. In the previous blog post, we discussed alternative herbicide programs (Tool# 1) available for weed control in 2022 to stretch glyphosate and glufosinate over more acres.

As emphasized during the Crop Advantage Series presentations and other ISU extension meetings across Iowa in January/February, two key herbicides, glyphosate and glufosinate, are in short supply to many of the corn and soybean producers. Therefore, the 2022 growing season is going to be different from any normal year and we need a game plan! Currently, glyphosate and glufosinate are the two most widely used herbicides in corn and soybean.

Frost seeding is the easiest and least expensive method for adding new legumes to a pasture. And now is the perfect time to be doing frost seeding.

Many across the US have set aside February 20-26 as Grain Bin Safety Week in order to grow awareness of the hazards associated with grain storage. Many of the ways to increase safety when working and living around grain storage involve basic safety practices, but more education and enforcement is needed on the farm.

One of the label requirements for the dicamba products labeled for over-the-top use in soybean (Xtendimax, Tavium, Engenia) is that applicators must complete a special dicamba training annually. If you need to complete this training, go to the Agribusiness Association of Iowa website, and you will find links to the companies’ websites with their training information. Note that the links are found under the heading “Product Labels and Information, see image below.

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.