Weather impacts
Drought
Drought stress on corn (July 28,2021)
How drought stress affects pollination, ear and kernel development and yield.
Two-spotted spider mites in 2021 in Minnesota crops?
How the hot, dry conditions have favored infestations this season.
Dry conditions during corn pollination
- How heat and temperature stress affects corn
- How water stress affects corn during pollination
Forage issues during drought
Harvesting drought-stressed corn for silage
Check ear development, harvest moisture and nitrate concentrations
Things to consider before putting soybeans up for forage.
Forage supplies are tight: Preserve what you have!
Take precautions now to help minimize storage and feeding losses.
Nutritional value of weeds, antiquality and nitrate toxicity concerns.
Navigating nitrate toxicity in feedstuffs
Symptoms of nitrate toxicity and practices to reduce risk.
Alfalfa during drought
Crop water use, alfalfa's tolerance to drought, drought effects on establishment and existing stands.
Feeding dairy cattle in a drought
Steps you can take to acquire the forage you need or stretch the current forage inventory.
10 tips on managing drought-stressed horse pastures
Managing drought-stressed cool-season grass pastures in the Midwest can help ensure pasture longevity and maximize growth when rainfall comes.
Digital Crop Doc
The UMN Extension crops team is launching a new program to help you with disease diagnosis in several crops:
- Corn
- Soybean
- Small grains
- Sugarbeet
- Forages
Visit the Digital Crop Doc, where you can tell us more about your field situation and submit photos. After you submit the form and photos, one of our team members will contact you with a diagnosis, a request for more information, or a suggestion to submit the samples to a plant disease clinic.
Emerging issues
Soybean gall midge
Soybean gall midge is a new pest of Minnesota soybean. It was first identified in Rock County in August 2018 and since then has been found in several counties in southwestern Minnesota.
Learn about:
- Identification.
- Life cycle.
- Impacts on soybean.
- Scouting and management.
Palmer amaranth
Palmer amaranth found in Goodhue County
- Identification
- Sources
- Status in Minnesota
Preventing Palmer amaranth in Minnesota
- Why it's a threat.
- How to identify it.
- What to do if you find it.
- How it spreads.
- How to prevent it from getting established.
Highlighted resources
Strategic Farming: Field Notes podcast
The Field Notes program is designed for farmers and agricultural professionals as a weekly podcast addressing the season's crop-related questions in an interactive, discussion-based format.
Listen to the latest episodes in your web browser or subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Google podcasts
Insecticide options for resistant soybean aphid
Insecticide rotations are an important part of insecticide resistance management for pyrethroid-resistant soybean aphid. Learn about suggested rotation options when the treatment threshold has been reached:
- Suggested insecticide groups for the 1st foliar application depending on whether or not a seed treatment was applied.
- Re-treatment suggestions based on 1st foliar application and seed treatment.
Herbicide mode of action and sugarbeet injury symptoms
- In-depth information on eight herbicide families.
- Injury photos for individual herbicides within each of the families.
How to do research on your farm
- How to set up your experiment.
- How to interpret your results.
- Tips for successful on-farm research.
Reviewed in 2021