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Fire prevention tips during harvest from ISU Extension

  The following is reprinted with permission from Iowa State University Extension. Joshua Michel, Field Agronomist in northeastern Iowa, Iowa State University Extension Harvest season has started across most of the state and according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor , the majority of the state is abnormally dry with pockets of moderate drought in northeastern and southwestern Minnesota. These abnormally dry conditions could enhance the potential for combine and field fires this fall. Low relative humidity levels and high winds will further increase the risk of fires. Fires cause millions of dollars in property damage, including loss of machinery, crops, and time. Unfortunately, injuries to farm workers and firefighters may also occur. Modern combines are powerful machines, which means they can produce excessive amounts of heat. All it takes to start a fire is a single high-temperature source in the engine area or an overheated bearing to ignite some dry plant material. While it’s im
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Fall manure application: Optimal strategies for Minnesota farmers

In this episode of Advancing Nitrogen Smart, Melissa Wilson, Extension manure management specialist joins Brad Carlson to discuss fall manure application. What are the most important dos and don'ts of fall application? How much time can nitrification inhibitors buy you after application? What's the optimum soil temperature for application, and what if you can't wait? What are characteristics of manure from different sources, and how can they work to your advantage?  TRANSCRIPT Guests: Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato) Melissa Wilson, Extension manure management specialist (St. Paul) Additional resources: Nitrogen availability of different manure types: What we know and what we are researching Tips for fall manure application and how to avoid nutrient loss Nitrification inhibitors and manure: Do they work? Introducing ManureDB: A new way to view manure variability and trends  Everything manure: Midwest experts answer common questions heading into fall  --- Click h
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Winter camelina: A new oilseed crop for Minnesota

 Matt Leavitt, Agronomy specialist, UMN Forever Green You may have read about the small seed making a big stir in Minnesota , winter camelina. Winter camelina is a winter-annual broadleaf oilseed crop in the mustard family (Brassicaceae).  Its small seed size and excellent winter hardiness across all of Minnesota makes it a useful and economical cover crop alone or in mixture with other species, like winter rye. It is also increasingly in demand as a biofuel feedstock with unique properties for low carbon jet fuel. In fact, the first airplane fueled in part by sustainable aviation fuel took off from MSP airport on September 24 marking a dramatic step forward for Minnesota-grown renewable biofuels. Cargill is making significant investments in winter camelina as a crop in the upper Midwest, piloting 2000 acres in Minnesota & North Dakota in 2023-2024 and offering contracts to significantly expand acres in 2024-2025 across Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. W
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Nitrogen availability of different manure types: What we know and what we are researching

By: Melissa Wilson, Extension Specialist in Manure Management Have you heard the phrase “manure is the gift that keeps on giving”? It refers to many different aspects of manure, but the gift of nitrogen is one of them. The phrase refers to how quickly, or not so quickly, the nitrogen releases over time. This depends on several factors but there are still some things we are looking into through our research. Animal species and storage Manure nitrogen can come in two broad forms: organic and inorganic. The inorganic form is primarily ammonium, which is immediately plant-available once land-applied, similar to a chemical fertilizer. The organic form is nitrogen that is tied up in organic matter and carbon. It has to be decomposed and released by microorganisms in the soil before it transforms into inorganic, plant-available nitrogen. Thus, organic nitrogen is more “slow-release” – the gift that keeps on giving! When we test manure for nitrogen content, we find different ratios of organic
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If your 'hair isn't on fire' regarding SCN, it should be! Get free sample analysis and management recommendations

Angie Peltier, Extension educator - crops Figure. Soybean roots. Yellow arrows point to swollen female SCN; white arrow points to a  larger nitrogen fixing nodule. Photo: Angie Peltier Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a microscopic worm that is attracted to and infests soybean roots where it uses the water and sugars that the soybean plant takes up to develop leaves, flowers, pods and beans (Figure) for its own growth and development. Capable of causing significant yield loss without alerting a producer of its presence, SCN caused an estimated $7.32 million in lost yield in 2023 in Minnesota (Crop Protection Network, 2024), making it the top yield-limiting pathogen of soybean in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest. One of the most sickening feelings is to visit a field to assist a farmer or crop consultant with diagnosing a soybean production issue only to have to break the news to the unsuspecting that the field is infested with SCN. The reasons my 'hair is on fire' regarding
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Your optimal N rate: Understanding its impact on yield, water quality, and the bottom line

In this episode of the Advancing Nitrogen Smart series, we discuss probably the most important topic for many farmers - rate. What makes both over-application and under-application of nitrogen counter-productive in terms of yield? How does a Maximum Return To Nitrogen (MRTN) rate approach differ from a yield-based approach? What are long-term environmental consequences of over-application, and how does this relate to a farmer's operation? What are some ways to address in-field variability when determining rate? TRANSCRIPT Guests: Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato) Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul) Additional resources: Maximum Return To Nitrogen (MRTN) rate calculator  Are you overspending on fertilizer? Best practices for nitrogen management Nitrogen Smart (online course) --- Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes. For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast
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MN CropCast: Grain marketing is simple - just not easy - with Ed Usset

Ed Usset, Grain marketing economist at the University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management, was the guest for episode 39 of Minnesota CropCast. Since 2001, Ed has been writing and executing marketing plans for two virtual farms; a corn and soybean operation in southwestern Minnesota and a wheat farm in the Red River Valley of northwestern Minnesota. Throughout the discussion, Ed emphasizes the importance for grain growers to forward price their grain based on an understanding of seasonal market patterns after harvest, especially during times of lower commodity prices. He also reviews some of the common mistakes in marketing in terms of timing grain sales. Finally, the discussion covers how national production and international demand factors may impact the 2024-2025 marketing year. 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. They are joined
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