Timely and important crop management ideas and recommendations will be discussed at upcoming Iowa State University research farm field days in June.

The Spring Field Day Tour at ISU’s Southeast Iowa Research Farm near Crawfordsville is June 28. The annual Northeast Iowa Research Farm Field Day near Nashua is June 27.

“Farmers and those who advise farmers will want to attend our June 28 field day at Crawfordsville,” says Rebecca Vittetoe, ISU Extension field agronomist. It will begin at 12:30 p.m., with the tour starting at 1 p.m. First stop is a farm and crop progress update by Myron Rees, ISU Southeast Farm superintendent.

This field day will also feature the following stops: measuring soil health hosted by Marshall McDaniel, associate professor of agronomy at ISU; cereal rye termination timing demonstration for corn planting by Alison Robertson, ISU Extension plant pathologist; and a dicamba management update from Bob Hartzler, ISU Extension weed scientist.

New rules, tools for dicamba use
The 2018 growing season is viewed as a make-or-break season for over-the-top dicamba applications on Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean crops engineered to tolerate the herbicide. The Environmental Protection Agency gave the three new dicamba formulations designated for over-the-top use on Xtend crops a two-year registration, bringing them under review at the end of this year.

After a significant number of complaints about off-target dicamba drift injury to susceptible crops occurred last year, EPA imposed the new label requirements this year, designating the new dicamba herbicides as restricted-use pesticides and required mandatory training and new recordkeeping requirements for applicators.

Herbicide manufacturers spent last winter providing equipment, training and technology geared to help farmers avoid problems with dicamba drift and off-target movement.

CCA credits available
For the afternoon session of the Southeast Iowa Research Farm Tour, continuing education credits for certified crop adviser are available. Those wishing to obtain an additional three soil and water management CCA credits can come at 9 a.m. for a training session on soil health concepts and measurements.

ISU’s McDaniel will provide an overview of what soil health is, measuring soil health and associated challenges. The morning session will also include a field demonstration of ways to measure soil health.

Fee for the morning session is $50, which includes lunch. The afternoon tours are free and open to the public.

Register by June 22 for the morning CCA session and the noon lunch online or call the Johnson County ISU Extension office at 319-337-2145.

To reach the farm, follow U.S. Highway 218 1.75 miles south of Crawfordsville, then 2 miles east on county road G-62, and then 0.75 mile north. Signs will be posted to guide you to the event.

For further information, contact Vittetoe at 319-653-4811 or [email protected] or Josh Michel at 319-523-2371 or [email protected].

Northeast Iowa field day June 27
Another field day will be June 27 at ISU’s Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua in northeast Iowa. “Our field day will highlight the agricultural weather forecast for the rest of this growing season, along with sessions discussing soil and crop management,” says Terry Basol, ISU Extension field agronomist at Nashua.

The field day at ISU’s Northeast Research Farm, 3321 290th St., will run 1 to 4:15 p.m.

ISU Extension specialists will present throughout the afternoon. Elwynn Taylor, ISU climatologist, will kick off the program in the Borlaug Learning Center, with insights on crop weather for the 2018 growing season. Mahdi Al-Kaisi, ISU Extension soil management specialist, will provide updates on various strip-till and no-till studies at the research farm.

Attendees will then convene outside for a tour of the farm field plots. On the tour, John Sawyer, ISU Extension specialist in soil fertility and nutrient management, will share information on corn nitrogen fertilizer management, including application rates, application timing and nitrogen sensors. To finish the tour, Brian Lang, ISU Extension field agronomist, will demonstrate crop scouting techniques for insect pests.

The Nashua field day is free. CCA credits will be available to those who need them. For more information about the event, contact Terry Basol at 641-426-6801 or [email protected].

Source: Iowa State University