Blog

Bob Hartzler
April 18, 2017 12:27 PM

Erin Hodgson
April 18, 2017 12:27 PM

Alison Robertson
April 18, 2017 12:27 PM

Laura Jesse Iles
April 18, 2017 12:27 PM

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is helping Iowa farmers manage weeds, insects and diseases in their fields.

Pest management is key to high yields and quality grain. ISU Extension and Outreach specialists are working to provide the tools and resources farmers need to manage...

Insects and Mites, Plant Diseases, Weeds

Brent Pringnitz
April 18, 2017 12:09 PM

Warren Pierson
April 18, 2017 12:09 PM

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is offering a Field Scouting Basics Workshop on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, at the Field Extension Education Laboratory (FEEL) near Boone, Iowa. 

Crop Production, Insects and Mites, Pesticide Education, Plant Diseases, Weeds

Bob Hartzler
April 17, 2017 3:54 PM

A common question regarding cover crops is will interception of preemergence herbicides by the cover crop reduce the activity of the herbicides. If this was a consistent problem, it would make sense to apply the preemergence herbicide in a separate application from the burndown after much of the...

Weeds

Bob Hartzler
April 13, 2017 1:03 PM

Two Canadian weed scientists1 recently published a paper ranking their top 10 herbicide-resistant weed management strategies.  The following is my paraphrasing of their list:

10)  Accurate recordkeeping
  9)  Strategic tillage
  8)  Site-specific weed management...

Herbicide Resistance

Mark Licht
April 11, 2017 1:03 PM

Corn planting season is almost upon. Okay, for some there is already corn in the ground. Planting is one of the most important, if not the most important, field operation of the year. Now is a good time to think about planting considerations. Often I get asked what planting date is the best. In...

Crop Production

Erin Hodgson
April 10, 2017 11:32 AM

I recently posted an ICM News article about how scouting for alfalfa weevils in southern Iowa. It doesn't take too many accumulated degree days for them to start moving around...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites

Bob Hartzler
April 10, 2017 10:27 AM

The primary impact of herbicide resistance for most Iowa farmers has been an increase in expenditures for herbicides.  I decided to do a quick analysis of this by using ISU Extension’s annual Estimated Costs of Crop...

Weeds

Daren S Mueller
April 5, 2017 11:42 AM

Adam Sisson
April 5, 2017 11:42 AM

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has published the Field Crop Scouting book as an online learning tool for students and ag professionals in Iowa. This interactive textbook allows individuals to acquire knowledge about crop scouting topics such as corn and soybean growth stages,...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites, Plant Diseases, Weeds

Erin Hodgson
March 30, 2017 8:27 AM

Yesterday, the EPA announced it will not proceed with any restrictions for a commonly-used insecticide, chlorpyrifos. This includes no changes to chlorpyrifos tolerances in the U.S. In 2015, a petition to revoke chlorpyrifos was submitted to the EPA by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites

John Sawyer
March 27, 2017 11:33 AM

The regional Corn Nitrogen Rate Calculator (CNRC) website was recently updated with a revised Iowa N response trial database that includes data through the 2016 crop year. Last year the CNRC website was revised and the url changed to (...

Soil Fertility

Daren S Mueller
March 23, 2017 4:24 PM

Adam Sisson
March 23, 2017 4:24 PM

The Iowa State University Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program is pleased to present the 7th annual Crop Scouting Competition for Iowa youth.


High school students (those completing grades 9-12) from Iowa are invited to compete and showcase their crop scouting...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites, Plant Diseases, Weeds

Bob Hartzler
March 12, 2017 12:52 PM

Since I inducted the FeXapan advertisement into the Herbicide Ad Hall of Shame for proclaiming to be the answer to resistance, I feel obligated to do the same with TeeJet's recent ad in Wallaces Farmer.  Proper nozzle selection is critical for:  1) minimizing off target movement of the new...

Herbicide Resistance

Bob Hartzler
March 9, 2017 11:33 AM

ISU's student newspaper recently published a story on Dr. Ada Hayden, the first woman to earn a Ph.D. from ISU (1918).  While preserving Iowa's disappearing prairie was her passion, she also documented the rapid spread of Canada thistle across Iowa.  In a 1934 paper published in the...

Weeds

Bob Hartzler
March 6, 2017 1:12 PM

A bill has been introduced in the Iowa legislature that proposes classifying Palmer amaranth as a primary noxious weed.  The weed law gives counties the authority to fine landowners who fail to control noxious weeds, and, if necessary, enter...

Weeds

Daren S Mueller
March 1, 2017 10:55 AM

Adam Sisson
March 1, 2017 10:55 AM

Jody Korthaus
March 1, 2017 10:55 AM

The new crop season is right around the corner, and we want you to be prepared!

Two publications have new bundle discounts—the Weed Identification Field Guide, 2nd Edition, and the new Corn and Soybean Field Guide, recently published in fall 2016.

Deals...

Plant Diseases, Weeds

Bob Hartzler
February 26, 2017 8:13 AM

It has been several years since I’ve added anything to the Herbicide Ad Hall of Shame, but I feel DuPont’s sales sheet for Fexapan warrants inclusion.  At a time when nearly everyone realizes we are painting ourselves into a corner with herbicide resistance, it is disheartening to see a...

Herbicide Resistance

Erin Hodgson
February 21, 2017 11:06 AM

In 2011, brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) was first confirmed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Since then, live detections have been confirmed in 19 Iowa counties. These stink bugs have been found in and around human structures, mostly homes in urban areas. I don’t know of any BMSB specimens found in...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites

Bob Hartzler
February 12, 2017 9:47 AM

The University of Illinois Plant Clinic recently published results of their 2016 herbicide resistance screening program.  For a $50 fee the...

Herbicide Resistance

Bob Hartzler
February 11, 2017 11:09 AM

Micheal D.K. Owen
February 11, 2017 11:09 AM

Planning on attending the Commodity Classic in San Antonio in March?   Have experience with herbicide resistant weeds?  

If you are involved in crop production in Iowa, the answer to the second question is yes.  The Weed Science Society of America is sponsoring a listening session at the...

Herbicide Resistance

Warren Pierson
February 6, 2017 10:15 AM

Brent Pringnitz
February 6, 2017 10:15 AM

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will offer a Field Crop Scout School on Saturday, Mar. 25, at the Scheman Building in Ames. Designed for beginning crop scouts, the day-long course features sessions on crop growth and development, weed, disease and insect identification, along with...

Crop Production, Insects and Mites, Pesticide Education, Plant Diseases, Weeds

Mahdi Al-Kaisi
January 27, 2017 8:04 AM

The second annual Soil Health Conference will be held in Ames, Iowa at the Scheman Building at Iowa State University on February 16-17, 2017.


This two-day soil health conference will host a number of renowned scientists, agronomists, farmers, and agriculture...

Soils, Soil Management

Angie Rieck-Hinz
January 25, 2017 2:39 PM

“History is largely a record of human struggle to wrest the land from nature, because man relies for sustenance on the products of the soil. So direct, is the relationship between soil erosion, the productivity of the land, and the prosperity of people, that the history of mankind, to a...

Soils

Bob Hartzler
January 20, 2017 1:30 PM

I've been asked several times at meetings this winter if it would be possible to identify Palmer amaranth in conservation plantings at this time of year.  My response has been 'I think so, but I've never tried'.  To avoid having to use that answer in the future, I went to a field planted to...

Weeds

Brent Pringnitz
January 19, 2017 3:14 PM

John Sawyer
January 19, 2017 3:14 PM

Making sound soil fertility management decisions is an important part of successful crop production, on both an economic and environmental level. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will be offering a two-day short course focusing on principles of soils, soil fertility and nutrient...

Soil Fertility

Mark Licht
January 18, 2017 5:57 AM

Daren S Mueller
January 18, 2017 5:57 AM

If you grow soybean your help is needed. We are asking for yields and management information that is used for your soybean fields. The goal behind this project identify key factors that prohibit soybean farmers from obtaining yields that are potentially attainable on their respective farms. Or...

Crop Production

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