Cropping Issues in Northwest Minnesota

Planting intentions and variety selections for 2020 were likely made several months ago in 2019. Perhaps the decision about whether or not to get your seed selections treated with a seed treatment have not.  Unlike in the dent corn world, where it is a difficult task to find untreated seed to purchase, there are more seed treatment options to consider for soybean. Making a fungicide seed treatment decision depends upon from which pathogen(s) you are trying to protect your soybean seeds and seedlings. Some soybean seed treatment fungicide active ingredients have efficacy against true fungi like Rhizoctonia solani , Fusarium species and Phomopsis species while others have activity against water molds like the Pythium species and Phytophthora sojae . To complicate matters a bit more, not all seed treatment fungicides that have efficacy against Fusarium species, are effective against Fusarium virguliforme , the pathogen that causes sudden death syndrome. To aid folks making fung...

This article was written and posted to the Iowa State University Integrated Crop Management webpage by ISU Extension field agronomist Aaron Saeugling. Planting season will soon be upon us, despite the current pandemic. This ICM Blog will discuss a few key things to focus on regarding planter set-up as we approach the 2020 planting season. For a video version of this article, see Planter Maintenance and Set-up . Proper planter set-up is critical for optimizing plant spacing no matter the color, age, or size of your planter. While newer equipment may allow us to plant in less than ideal conditions, I sometimes see those fields later in the year with interesting results—some good and some not. If you have not made adjustments to your planter set-up in the past few years, things to keep in mind include the following:

Provided that they are not combing remaining corn from the 2019 growing season, most farmers in the Red River Valley are making preparations for the 2020 growing season as they wait for temperatures to warm, snow to melt and soils to dry. While relatively few Americans have yet been sickened with the coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease called Covid-19, all have had to make adjustments to their daily activities in an effort to slow the spread.  Below are a list of upcoming Covid-19-related webinars geared specifically toward crop producers and other agricultural professionals. Note that all times are listed in central time.

The USDA's Farm Service Agency is debuting a Soil Health and Income Protection Program (SHIPP) Pilot program in 2020, a program geared towards producers in the prairie pothole states of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. This program will provide partial rental payments on for up to 50,000 acres. Interested producers can check out this FSA Fact Sheet and ask questions or apply for this program at their local USDA Service Center.

According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), "Any persons wishing to grow or process industrial hemp in Minnesota must obtain a Hemp Program license. The deadline to apply for a 2020 license is March 31". As the application process to obtain a license is a detailed one, including fingerprinting and a background check, do not wait until the last couple of days to apply. More information about the Minnesota Industrial Hemp Pilot Program, answers to frequently asked questions and instructions for  applying for a license are available at an MDA site devoted to the topic, which can be accessed here: https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/hemp .

Record-setting rain in September and October 2019 led to an extremely challenging fall for Red River Valley farmers.  Many corn fields were not harvested before snow began to accumulate and many acres of sugar beets and potatoes stayed in the ground.  Fall field operations (tillage, fertilizer application, harvest in some cases) have been added to spring’s to-do list. While many would like to put the 2019 behind them, farmers will be fighting 2019 soil compaction for years to come. Join University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota Wheat Growers and your friends and neighbors at a Residue, Ruts & Regrets workshop.  Learn about what the latest research may suggest regarding equipment options to help you manage residue and fill ruts. •    March 10, 9 AM to 11 AM , Bede Ballroom, University of Minnesota – Crookston, Crookston . See UMC map for information about where Bede Ballroom is located and where to park to avoid a ticket. Spillover parking is ava...

This winter members of the University of Minnesota Extension's crop team presented five webinars. Topics included, 1) A back to basics approach for nutrient management, 2) Soybean management for 2020 and beyond, 3) Cover crops: Matching your management strategies and goals, 4) New pests and pathogens complicate corn and soybean production and 5) Hot topics in weed management: Putting the pieces together. There is a definite benefit to being able to watch a webinar live.  Participating in a live webinar allows you to interact with the presenters in real time to ask question and walk away with an answers. You can learn from the discussion generated by other people's questions.  However, if you were not able to attend a live webinar, recordings of all but last to be recorded are now available on the Strategic Farming website . If you have a question for one of the presenters that was not asked and answered in the recording, find contact information for each presenter here ....

The Extension plant pathologists that produce the scouting guides and fact sheets available on the Crop Protection Network website have developed quizzes for certified crop advisors (CCAs) on 22 different topics available on the website. CCAs can earn up to 11 integrated pest management continuing education units (CEUs) by reviewing the prepared fact sheet or webinar and taking and passing (70% or higher grade) a quiz. CEUs are available for the following topics: Bacterial leaf streak of corn: Fact sheet , Quiz  Charcoal rot of soybean: Fact sheet , Quiz Considerations for selecting soybean varieties: Fact sheet , Quiz Cover crops do's and don't's: Fact sheet , Quiz Ear rots of corn: Fact sheet , Quiz Factors to consider before using a soybean seed treatment: Fact sheet , Quiz Frogeye leaf spot of soybean: Fact shee t, Quiz Fungicide resistance in field crops FAQs: Fact sheet , Quiz Goss's bacterial wilt and blight of corn: Fact sheet , Quiz Mycotoxin FA...