Blog

Levi Powell with ISU Digital Ag walks through calculating and setting downforce for your planter and how downforce affects your performance in the field.

With a long winter coming to an end, our focus now turns to planter setup. While we often focus on new equipment and updates to our planters, knowledge of the basic function of the planter and the role each part of the planter plays in seeding depth and spacing, as well as upkeep of these parts...

With spring temperatures arriving in Iowa, grain producers should pay extra attention to the condition of the grain in their bins.

Cold winter temperatures keep mold and insect activity low in stored grain. Rising spring temperatures can trigger spoiling of grain that is...

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is pilot testing a program that allows commercial pesticide applicators to complete some of their annual testing requirements online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is...

Due to extensive damage to corn fields last year from the derecho, volunteer corn is a looming threat for many fields this spring. Farmers intending to plant corn in these derecho-affected fields have limited options for managing volunteer corn, thus thoughtful planning is critical. I asked a...

Many pastures in Iowa were stressed in 2020 from the dry conditions, storm damage, or overgrazing. Consider improving pasture stands and forage production with either frost seeding or interseeding this spring. Proper planning and preparation are needed to successfully improve pastures, and this...

Farmers and crop advisers are invited to attend the Southeast Iowa Agricultural Research Association annual meeting, which will be held virtually this year via Zoom on Tuesday, March 4, at 8 a.m.

The annual meeting will feature the following topics and speakers: “A Review of the 2020...

Several Crop Protection Network (CPN) webinars are scheduled for this spring. Some of the best minds in agriculture will talk about ways to keep soybeans healthy.

Martin Chilvers, Michigan State University associate professor of plant pathology; Carl Bradley, University of Kentucky...

Reliance on synthetic auxin herbicides (HG 4) has increased following the introduction of dicamba and 2,4-D resistant soybean. A common question among users of these products is: “If I use one trait repeatedly and select for resistance to that herbicide, will I be able to switch to the other...

The following is a brief summary of new products available for weed control in corn and soybean in 2021. None of these are new sites of action herbicides, but are new premixes or revised formulations of existing active ingredients. With growing concerns of weeds developing resistance to...

The final February climatological outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) show a strong signal for colder than average temperatures across much of the upper Midwest, including Iowa. On the precipitation front, there is an elevated...

If you use a pesticide that requires the use of a respirator, the Worker Protection Standard requires that before you use the respirator you must first receive: 

• A medical evaluation by a physician or other licensed health care professional to determine if you are physically fit to...