In January, Dr. Mark Bernards presented at a Better Beans event. His presentation topics included:

1. Planting soybean “green” – what are the benefits and costs
2. Pennycress – a potential cash cover crop for West Central Illinois – how might it fit into and benefit a soybean-corn rotation?
3. Soybean weed management – lessons learned on the WIU Agronomy farm

Mark Bernards is a Professor in the School of Agriculture at Western Illinois University (WIU). He earned his Ph.D. at Michigan State University, and M.S. and B.S. at Brigham Young University. Prior to joining WIU in 2011, he worked as an Extension Weed Specialist for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Each year, Mark teaches Principles of Crop Science, Integrated Pest Management, Weed Science, No-tillage Farming, and Crop Ecology and Management. He advises the Agronomy Club and coaches the WIU Weed Science and Crop Science Teams. Mark directs agronomy operations at WIU’s Agricultural Field Laboratory where he conducts weed management and agronomic research in corn, soybean and pennycress.

This presentation was featured at the Quincy Better Beans event on January 25, 2023.