Crop producers and agricultural professionals face a host of challenges, including pests and pest resistance concerns, agronomic issues, and soil fertility questions. The Strategic Farming program will address your crop-related concerns in a weekly, research-based webinar with specialists in the field.
Let’s Talk Crops 2024
Let’s Talk Crops webinars feature interactive discussions addressing the latest research on crop production issues. The series begins January 10 and continues through March 27 on Wednesday mornings from 9 to 10 a.m. Weekly topics include grain marketing strategies, pushing soybean maturities, maximizing herbicide efficacy, nutrient and pest management strategies, cover crops, and much more.
Can’t make the live session? No problem. Each session will be recorded and available in the resources section on this page.
You need to register only once to attend any or all of the webinars.
Strategic farming 2024: Let’s talk crops webinars
Recordings from the current series are posted shortly after they air.
Frayne Olson, crop economist and marketing specialist at North Dakota State University discusses the impact of corn, soybean, and wheat ending stocks, South American crops, and export demand on grain price outlooks.
A big data approach that integrates environmental, genetic and plant phenotypic data can be used to help solve key problems for producers, exporters and food manufacturers. Learn how studies on kernel integrity and factors affecting food quality help corn farmers in Minnesota and beyond with UMN agronomy professor Candice Hirsch and Tom Hoverstad, a researcher at the Southern Research and Outreach Center.
Green stems and uneven maturity can cause soybean harvest headaches. Join Seth Naeve, Extension soybean agronomist, and visiting scientist Anibal Cerrudo as they share the latest research regarding planting dates and pre-harvest aides, especially when pushing soybean maturity to the max.
You start by selecting the right product for your weed management situation, but what else should you consider to help ensure a successful application? Join Tommy Butts, University of Arkansas Extension weed scientist, and Tom Hoverstad, researcher at the Southern Research and Outreach Center, as they discuss herbicide product choices, nozzle selection and spray coverage, and other strategies to optimize herbicide performance.
Adjuvants, including nonionic surfactants, crop oil concentrates, methylated seed oils, buffering agents, antifoam agents, drift control agents, and fertilizers are used to enhance herbicide activity and applications. Join Joe Ikley, Extension weed specialist, North Dakota State University, and Greg Dahl, adjuvant development advisor, to better understand why we use adjuvants, how they work, and whether or not they are interchangeable (and the impacts of doing so).
There are multiple options marketed for managing soybean insects, like soybean aphid, but not all options necessarily give a good return on investment. Bob Koch, Extension soybean entomologist, discusses the latest management strategies for soybean aphid, soybean gall midge, soybean tentiform leafminer, and cloverworm.
Watch What pays for soybean insect pest management?
As we emerge from another season of drought, what have we learned about the impacts of a cover crop on moisture status in the field and impacts on our cash crop? State soil health specialist Anna Cates and Dan Smith, nutrient and pest management outreach specialist at the University of Wisconsin, discuss their recommendations for shifts in strategies based on field moisture status and the forecast.
Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist, and Jeff Vetsch, researcher at the Southern Research and Outreach Center (SROC), take a look at the recently updated fertilizer guidelines and discuss how to get the biggest bang for your buck when making fertilizer decisions. Topics include early fertilizer applications, variable rate technology, and soil nitrate tests.
Fei Yang, Extension corn entomologist, describes the current challenges in managing corn rootworm due to its extended diapause and ability to break resistance traits. He also urges producers and consultants to watch for European corn borer issues, since it has been overcoming Bt traits in neighboring Canada.
Not every fungicide works well to protect corn or soybean crops against all of the fungal pathogens that can reduce yield. Kiersten Wise, professor and Extension plant pathologist from the University of Kentucky, describes how applied research in the region is used to generate fungicide efficacy ratings.
Strategic Farming: Field notes
Field Notes is an interactive, discussion-based podcast for farmers and agricultural professionals recorded during the growing season to address crop-related concerns. Listen at your convenience.
Strategic farming: 2023 Let's talk crops webinars
Watch the recordings from the 2023 series and look over resources at your convenience.
Brian Luck, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the University of Wisconsin Biological Systems Engineering Department, discusses planter adjustments that are important to consider before planters get rolling this April. Seth Naeve, UMN Extension soybean agronomist, joins the discussion on early planting trends and reviews new national resources for soybean growers developed by the Science for Success Agronomy team.
Watch the recorded webinar: Getting your planters ready for spring
Bob Koch, Extension entomologist, discusses new and old insect pests in soybean. Is the new leaf miner a big deal? How about soybean gall midge? Get a status update on these new pests and the old, including soybean aphid.
Watch the recorded webinar: Soybean pests: What's up with the new and old - are they a big deal?
Additional resources
Soybean gall midge: Learn more about soybean gall midge identification, its impact on soybean, and potential management strategies.
Soybean aphid: Learn more about soybean aphid identification, its life cycle, and scouting and management.
Keep an eye out for a potential new pest: Soybean tentiform leafminer - MN Crop News
Insecticide resistance management in soybean: Learn more about how insecticide resistance develops and strategies you can use to prevent it or slow it down.
Managing alfalfa weevil larvae has become more complicated with increasing pyrethroid resistance issues and the loss of chlorpyrifos as a management tool. Join Craig Sheaffer, Extension forage agronomist, and Anthony Hanson, Extension crops educator, as they discuss these and other challenges, including winter injury potential.
Watch the recorded webinar: Alfalfa weevil and other alfalfa management challenges
Tar spot of corn was problematic in portions of Minnesota last year. It can spread rapidly, develop quickly, and cause significant yield loss. Since tar spot is a relatively new disease, it’s one to watch for. Dean Malvick, Extension plant pathologist, and Darcy Telenko, Extension field crop pathologist from Purdue University, tackle questions from tar spot basics to management.
Watch the recorded webinar: Corn tar spot: Distribution, development and management
Additional resources
Tar spot distribution map: Map from ipmPIPE showing where tar spot has been confirmed and real-time scouting reports.
Fungicide efficacy for control of corn diseases: Fungicide efficacy ratings developed by the Corn Disease Working Group of the Crop Protection Network.
Tar spot of corn: Description of the corn disease and management guidelines from the Crop Protection Network.
Jochum Wiersma, Extension small grains specialist, discusses the benefits of including small grains in your crop rotation and the challenges of using winter cereals as cover crops.
Watch the recorded webinar: Expanding your rotation with small grains
Can I cut N rates if I plant a cover crop? Will planting green hurt my cash crop? How do I best fit cover crops into my cropping system? Anna Cates, State soil health specialist, and Monica Schauer, Research specialist at University of Wisconsin-Madison, discuss key FAQs around cover crops and more.
Watch the recorded webinar: Let’s talk cover crops FAQs
Weeds take the top spot as the most problematic pest problem farmers manage. Debalin Sarangi discusses the current state of herbicide resistance as well as new and traditional weed management technologies.
Watch the webinar: Weed management in an era of increasing herbicide resistance
Additional resources
Products that claim to make nutrients more available, reduce crop stress, stimulate microbial activity and more – what does the research show us? Join Seth Naeve, Extension soybean agronomist, and Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist, for a discussion around the logic of biologicals in corn and soybean.
Watch the recorded webinar: Biologicals on corn and soybean
Rex Bernardo, UMN maize breeder, and Aaron Lorenz, UMN soybean breeder, discuss U of MN research on semi-dwarf corn and the advantages this corn might provide. Breeding efforts around soybean cyst nematode (SCN), a major yield robber in soybean, will also be discussed as field populations of SCN adapt to our current tools.
Watch the recorded webinar: Short stature corn and SCN breeding efforts
Nitrogen is a dynamic nutrient. Nitrogen availability and fertilizer need are heavily influenced by environmental factors like soil type, rainfall, and temperature. Join Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist, and Brad Carlson, Extension educator - water, as they discuss how current climate factors are influencing our nitrogen management strategies.
Watch the recorded webinar: Climate factors and nitrogen management
Additional Resources
- Nitrogen smart offerings
- The fundamentals of nitrogen cycling and management
- MN Crop News
- For list of all Strategic Farming sessions: https://z.umn.edu/strategic-farming
Join Anthony Hanson, Extension educator - crops, and Bruce Potter, IPM specialist as they discuss how to plan for corn insect pests in 2023 and manage insecticide resistance concerns.
Watch the recorded webinar: What's bugging my corn? An outlook on corn rootworm and more
Additional Resources:
Ed Usset, U of MN Extension grain marketing economist, and Assistant State Climatologist Pete Boulay from the DNR look ahead to 2023 and discuss weather, economic and supply chain forecasts.
Watch the webinar on YouTube: Forecast for the season: Weather, economics and supply chains
Additional resources
- U. S. Drought monitor - University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- USDA 2022 Crop production summary
- World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE)