Minnesota Crop News

By: MaryGrace Erickson, Postdoctoral associate (University of Minnesota); Melissa Wilson, Extension manure management specialist (University of Minnesota); Erin Cortus, Extension engineer (University of Minnesota); Amy Schmidt, Animal manure management extension specialist (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) Graphical summary Key points We surveyed farmers and advisors on their perceptions about manure use as fertilizer in cropping systems Respondents generally recognized manure benefits to crop nutrition, yields, and soil properties The most-frequently selected barriers included transportation costs, odors and air quality, and timeliness of manure application What we did  Manure is a critical link that enables nutrient recycling between crop and animal production. Despite its availability and benefits, using manure as fertilizer can pose practical challenges. Through a partnership between University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Iowa State University, and University of Minnesota, we investiga...

In this week's CropCast, hosts Seth and Dave sit down with University of Minnesota Agriculture Business Management Educator Nathan Hulinsky to discuss one of the largest input costs for crop farmers: land costs. Nathan provides current examples of typical cash rent and land costs in Minnesota and gives an overview of Extension Farmland Rental workshops scheduled for 2025 and 2026. These workshops cover local historic and projected farmland rental rate trends, current farmland values and sales, and include a worksheet Nathan utilizes to help participants create a fair rental agreement. Landlords, farmers, and agri-business professionals should plan to attend one of these informative meetings being held across Minnesota and online.  To see a list of workshop locations and times, Farmland Rental Workshops . Listen to the podcast What is Minnesota CropCast? Hosts David Nicolai and Seth Naeve discuss the progress and challenges of Minnesota's agronomic crops in this new podcast. The...

On today's episode of the Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast , Brad and Dan talk about variable rate application - and zones in particular. What's the overall point of variable rate nitrogen application? How might an initial starting N rate be determined? How do farmers' fields and equipment introduce their own variables, and how can these variables be monitored? What's the difference between a yield map and a zone map, and should farmers rely on yield maps for zoning purposes? Do the best yielding spots always need the most nitrogen? All of this and much more on today's show. Read the full transcript here Guests: Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato) Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul) Additional resources: With high nitrogen fertilizer prices and low corn prices, can you decrease your nitrogen rate for 2026?  www.cornnratecalc.org (Corn Nitrogen Rate Calculator) Is variable rate nitrogen based on yield maps a good idea? Variab...

Please take a look at the photo below and guess whether this is a well-established cover crop or just a thick, lush crop of a volunteer grain. The field was tilled once in late August, early September. The picture was taken on November 6th near Crookston.  Photo 1 - Cover Crop or Volunteer Crop? You are today's winner if you guessed a lush volunteer crop of spring wheat.  The headland immediately at the field entrance is thinner and anemic, as is the edge of the ditch.  Otherwise, this volunteer spring wheat crop checks every single box for what you would want a cereal cover crop to look like in late fall. And that is the point of this blog - this meets all the criteria of how a cover crop should look in late fall, other than it was not sown by an approved seeding operation, nor does it contain a companion species. You should know that both mechanical and pneumatic fertilizer spreaders, in combination with tillage, can qualify as approved seeding operations. It is not tha...

By: Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist I have had a few questions this fall regarding lime application. Currently we have eight trials across the state of Minnesota evaluating rates and sources of lime. Sources include quarry lime from Goodhue County, pelletized lime (“pell lime”), and precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) lime from the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative.  I will be providing an update on the lime research over the winter. One interesting thing we’ve seen so far is that a few trials have shown little to no pH change from the lime application. I would be curious to hear from retailers, consultants, and growers whether they have seen anything similar.  I still have enough lime for two field locations that I am looking to establish before the 2026 crop year. Fields and soils needed for 2026 We are looking for two additional field locations to establish trials in the fall of 2025 or spring of 2026 on farmers’ fields. The sites are around 0....

In this week's CropCast, hosts Seth Naeve and David Nicolai welcome Dr. Dean Malvick, University of Minnesota Extension Plant Pathologist for corn and soybeans. Dr. Malvick dives into the 2025 growing season to discuss the development and yield impact of key crop diseases. He provides a timely review of Southern corn rust and corn tar spot disease biology, detailing their spread across Minnesota and adjoining states this year. Dean also outlines the knowns and unknowns regarding the progression of these corn diseases in relation to weather, wind, and crop rotation. Finally, the discussion covers the complex management strategies, including hybrid selection and the critical timing of foliar fungicides. We didn’t forget to ask about soybeans. Dean touches on the widespread presence of white mold in Minnesota fields and the discovery of red crown rot. Listen to the podcast What is Minnesota CropCast? Hosts David Nicolai and Seth Naeve discuss the progress and challenges of Minnesota...