Registration Opens for 2024 Illinois Youth Crop Scouting Competition
The Illinois Youth Crop Scouting Competition offers high school teams the opportunity to showcase their field expertise. Held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign South Farm fields, student groups of 2 to 5, accompanied by an adult coach, move through 10 outdoor stations. They engage in hands-on activities covering topics like weed, insect, and disease identification, corn and soybean growth stage assessment, abiotic injury evaluation, pesticide application, and integrated pest management.
You Think Your Soy Has the Blight: Now What?
In this blog, Stephanie Porter, CCA, of Illinois Soybean Association, explores the deeper issue of soybean seedling blight and urges farmers to consider the underlying causes and how to manage it.
Spring Moth Trapping Update
Kelly Estes of the IL Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Program provides an overview of spring moth trap results and forecasts for the upcoming weeks.
Registration Open for 2024 Field Days
ILSoyAdvisor is committed to addressing the diverse soybean production challenges across Illinois. Join us for our summer field events, Field Talks and Tailgate Talks, where agronomic experts will provide region-specific advice and the latest agronomic information.
IDOA Updates “Frequently Ask Questions” for Dicamba Use in Soybean for 2024
The Illinois Department of Agriculture released a "Frequently Asked Questions" document outlining the specifics regarding dicamba use in soybean for the 2024 season. This comprehensive document addresses key dates, policies, restrictions, and more.
EPA Publishes Update on Herbicide Strategy Progress
The EPA issued an update on the Herbicide Strategy, including more options for conservation measures and improved mapping to identify areas requiring practices. By using four tiers to describe mitigation effectiveness, the EPA aims to reduce the areas mandating specific conservation practices. The agency plans to release the complete strategy by August 30th.
What on Earth(worm) Are Those Brown Things?
Stephanie Porter shares more about identifying earthworm egg cocoons, emphasizing their role in soil health. She explains how lack of earthworms in a field doesn't always signify poor soil quality, and factors like soil type, pH, and moisture levels impact earthworm populations in agricultural fields.
Illinois Dicamba Label and Recordkeeping
As the 2024 growing season begins in Illinois, the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (IFCA) reminds applicators that the dicamba use restrictions mandated by the Illinois Department of Agriculture remain unchanged from those in 2023. Annual dicamba label training remains a prerequisite before applying dicamba over-the-top of soybeans.
Can Henbit Serve As A Host Away from Soybean?
Illinois Soybean Association Outreach Agronomist, Stephanie Porter, CCA, shares the challenges of winter annual weeds, highlighting henbit and purple deadnettle as alternative hosts of soybean cyst nematode. Research suggests that managing winter annuals in the fall, applying residual herbicides, and removing winter weeds before planting are crucial strategies for management.
Learning From the Integration of Soil Health, Water Quality and Climate-Smart Agriculture
A multi-year Illinois Soybean Association project led by Dr. Andrew Margenot is benchmarking tillage and cover crops effects for soil health and water quality. Results will inform farmers of tradeoffs among soil health, carbon credits, and water quality.
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