Illinois Leopold Conservation Award Finalists Selected
Three finalists for the 2024 Illinois Leopold Conservation Award have been announced. This prestigious award celebrates farmers and forestland owners dedicated to exceptional soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat management. The winner, to be announced at this summer’s Illinois State Fair, will receive $10,000 and have their conservation story showcased in a video and other outreach.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Does Late Planting Mean Delayed Yields?
The 2024 planting season has been marked by significant variability, especially in planting dates. This raises the question: should soybean fields planted in mid-May be managed like those planted in April? According to IL Soy Envoy Drew Beckman, the answer is yes, and he provides reasoning in his latest blog.
ISA Mentorship Program Builds Confidence in ICC Students’ Career Aspirations
Andrea Knack, an Illinois Central College student, recounts her journey in Illinois Soybean Association’s mentorship program, where she found a passion for soil conservation at the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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