Blog

“I don’t have 50 years of experience. I have one year of experience 50 times” – farmer

Farmers across the state took advantage of the little dry spell that occurred last week. Approximately 70% of the expected corn crop and 27% of the soybean crop in Iowa has been planted according to the May 20...

“Rain, rain, go away come again another day.” This nursery rhyme seems to be an appropriate theme song for how the weather has been this spring. The wet weather has been a major challenge for getting any fieldwork completed across the state. According to the most recent...

As everything greens up, we often receive photos of mystery plants for identification.  Typically, I get a wide range of species via email or text message.  This spring, more than any I can recall in recent history, I’ve received many photos of the same species:  purslane speedwell (Veronica...

Have you been driving in rural eastern Iowa lately? You might have noticed those choppers and wagons a few weeks ago harvesting miscanthus fields, but what have you seen most recently? Planters! You might have noticed that they don’t look like the grain planters most of us are used to seeing....

This summer, I am starting a couple of new research projects looking at cover crop pest activity that might be relevant to corn production. Shout out to Alison Robertson and Mark Licht for including me on these massive research projects! The usual cover crop pest suspects are migratory moths,...

Like #Plant18, #Plant19 seems to be off to a slow start. Approximately 21% of the expected corn crop and 3% of the soybean crop in Iowa has been planted according to the...

Corn planting progress began over the last several days, especially in the central and southern tiers of Iowa. That is good news, unfortunately, in north central and northwest Iowa field conditions remain wet putting farmers in those areas further behind and with Monday’s rain will not be making...

Each year, Iowa State University’s IPM team monitors field crop pests to help inform farmers and scouting personnel about pest activity in Iowa. This year, our moth trapping network includes black cutworm (BCW) and true armyworm (TAW), two migratory pests of crops in Iowa that are unpredictable...

Under the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) as revised in 2015, there are specific requirements for handlers when pesticide labels require the use of a respirator. Handlers are employees, owners, and family members who apply, load, unload, rinse pesticide application equipment or do other tasks...

University of Missouri's Kevin Bradley and Mandy Bish recently shared a tailored list on several principles that have been researched and verified regarding dicamba usage ahead of #Plant2019. 

Bradley and Bish's list includes five principles to remember when communicating with producers...

Hungry pests begin to emerge with warm spring weather and spread to favorite foraging spots such as trees, shrubs, gardens and even crop fields. To raise awareness of damaging pests, the United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued a proclamation making April 2019 “...