Phytophthora In Your Fields? Why You Need to Start Planning for 2025
After several weeks of heavy rain, Stephanie Porter, CCA, has been receiving calls about sparse soybean stands in certain fields. If hail, slugs, herbicides, or human error aren’t to blame, what else could be causing the problem? Find out in our latest blog post.
Should You Apply a Fungicide?
Halfway through the growing season, many farmers are debating fungicide application despite low commodity prices. What do our IL Soy Envoys and Certified Crop Advisers think? Tune in for their latest crop updates, Hurricane Beryl rainfall reports, Illinois record crop predictions, and more!
Staging Soybeans for Fungicide at the R3 Growth Stage
When scouting soybeans for fungicide application, it's important to first check the growth stage across the field. Stephanie Porter, CCA, demonstrates how to identify the R3 growth stage in soybean plants and how to inspect for diseases such as Septoria brown spot and insect damage.
Suspect Red Crown Rot in Your Soybeans? Get a Free Diagnosis Now.
Researchers are on the lookout for Red Crown Rot (RCR) across Illinois. If you suspect RCR in your fields, send your diseased samples to the USDA-ARS lab in Urbana for free. Help us monitor and identify new areas in Illinois where this pathogen has spread.
Well…How’d You Do?
As IL Soy Envoy Craig Grafton monitors the development of this year's crop and reflects on the recent planting season, he emphasizes the importance of evaluating successes and areas for improvement. In this blog post, he shares his approach to planting and assessing plots as the season unfolds.
And the Bad News Is?
After a week's break, the IL Soy Envoys have returned to provide their latest field reports. They cover precipitation levels—or the lack thereof in some regions—and discuss the emergence of tar spot and other potential diseases.
Weed Management in Double Crop Soybeans
Double the crop, half the weed control – that’s part of the allure of following wheat harvest with a second planting of soybeans. However, this approach involves different weed spectrums, residual herbicide timing decisions, and spray cut-off dates to consider.
Understanding Surfactants: A Key Partner for Effective Weed Control
Herbicides require specific surfactants to achieve optimal performance. Why does this matter? In this blog, IL Soy Envoy Karen Corrigan explains how the right surfactant can enhance an herbicide's effectiveness in controlling targeted weeds. Using the correct surfactant can prevent many herbicide failures.
IL Crop Conditions Getting Worse?
On the latest episode of the ILSoyAdvisor podcast, the Soy Envoys discuss Illinois crop conditions, emergence issues, "floppy corn," ongoing weed scouting, and pest concerns such as slugs, Japanese beetles, and stinkbugs.
Crop/Livestock Integration In Practice: Farms Share Their Experiences
During this field day in Iroquois County, the integration of crops and livestock will be showcased, highlighting the grazing of crop residues, cover crops, and annual forages. Host farmers will demonstrate how livestock integration operates on their farms and discuss its benefits for both soil health and the balance sheet.