You won’t want to miss any of the upcoming field days hosted at the outlying Iowa State University Research Farms this summer. These field days will feature the latest information on crop production and management practices. Below is a list of the upcoming field days that will take place as well as what topics will be featured at each field day. All field days are of no cost to attendees and open to the public.

The last week or two has been refreshing with warmer temperatures and pastures beginning to green up. As that green flush appears, it can be tempting to turn animals out too early. However, many pastures across the state have taken a hit in recent years due to drought and/or flooding. As of October 28, 2024, much of the state was still experiencing drought conditions, with soil moisture deficits extending from the surface down to 1.5 feet (Figure 1).

Optimum nitrogen fertilizer rates for corn can vary by more than 100% from field-to-field and year-to-year. This variability is a product of near limitless interactions among crop genetics, management, and environment factors (weather & soil type). Among them, the amount of soil inorganic nitrogen in the soil is one of the most important (Baum et al., 2024).

The crops are coming out and it’s ALMOST time for farmers to start making fall nitrogen applications. Remember that soil temperatures should be below 50°F at a depth of 4 inches and continuing to drop before making fall nitrogen applications —ideally, the cooler, the better. It's important for farmers to check the soil temperatures in their specific fields, as many factors can influence them.