Minnesota Crop News

By: Eduardo Garay Lagos, On-farm research manager & outreach specialist There are several upcoming opportunities for Minnesota commercial manure haulers, applicators and site managers, to attend the Commercial Animal Waste Technician (CAWT) recertification workshops. Five in-person workshops and an online course will be offered in 2026. In-person workshops will take place in Sauk Centre (Jan. 28th), at Pork Congress in Mankato (Feb. 10th), in Hutchinson (Feb. 18th), in Slayton (Mar. 4th), and at FarmFest in Redwood County (August 6th). Online training will be available June 1st through October 31st, 2026. All training must be completed by November 1st in order to get CAWT recertification for licensure through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). Cost: The registration fee is $20 for either in-person or online recertification training. For in person workshops, payment will be taken at the door by cash, credit card or check, payable to UMN Extension. Register:  z.umn.ed...

By Angie Peltier, UMN Extension crops educator, Northwest Research & Outreach Center, Crookston, MN and Jodi DeJong-Hughes, UMN Extension educator, Water Resources Center, Willmar, MN Wheel compaction. Photo Jodi DeJong-Hughes January 7, 2026’s Strategic Farming: Let’s Talk Crops session kicked off the start of this series of webinars for the year. Hosted by UMN Extension crops educator Angie Peltier, the program featured Jodi DeJong-Hughes, an UMN Extension educator that works for the Water Resources Center and specializes in the impact of tillage practices on crop yield and soil health. This webinar series runs through March.   To watch this episode visit: http://z.umn.edu/StrategicFarmingRecordings . Well-aggregated soils: key to productive crops Soil aggregates are sand, silt and clay soil particles and organic matter held together by dead and living soil microbes and the sugary compounds that roots exude into the soil. Surrounding these aggregates are pore spaces of vari...

By Tana Haugen-Brown, Extension Educator and Private Pesticide Applicator Program Manager, PSEE, and Sally Raymond, Extension Educator and Commercial/Noncommercial Pesticide Applicator Program Manager Private Pesticide Applicator Recertification A pesticide applicator in a tractor spraying a field. Photo source: Story Blocks If you have a private pesticide applicator certification that expires on March 1, 2026, you need to recertify by February 28 to keep it current. The private pesticide applicator certification is for individuals who use Restricted Use Pesticides on land or sites for the production of agricultural commodities. Unsure if you need recertification? You can check your certification status at: https://z.umn.edu/ppatcertlookup There are several options to recertify in 2026. The cost is $100, regardless of the option you choose, except for the online exam which is $120 ($100 for the course, plus an additional $20 Honorlock non-refundable fee). Option 1 - Attend a rec...

We return to first principles with a detailed discussion about nitrogen loss on today's  Advancing Nitrogen Smart Podcast . The five terms that describe how nitrogen is lost from the soil are: leaching, denitrification, volatilization, crop removal and soil erosion & runoff. But what do those terms actually mean? How does N's chemistry change during loss? Do N loss processes happen at the same speed? How do temperature and precipitation affect N loss pathways? How might farmers hedge against N loss by incorporating the 4Rs into their input planning? All of this discussion 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: Nitrogen Conference  (held annually in February; past videos are available online) Four things I’ve learned about nitrogen management for corn based on a decade of research in Minnesota Nitrogen Nuggets ...

Biostimulants—especially seed-applied biological products—continue to generate interest across soybean-growing regions. The promise is appealing: improved early vigor, stress tolerance, or yield, often layered on top of existing seed treatments. But do these products actually deliver under real-world farming conditions? A large, multi-state study led by Science for Success , a group of land-grant university soybean agronomists, set out to answer that question using an approach designed to mirror how farmers actually use these products. The study was published in the scientific journal Field Crops Research in December 2025. Seth Naeve, one of the study’s 28 co-authors and a University of Minnesota Extension soybean agronomist, describes the goal clearly: “We were really looking for which products worked in the most locations—and then trying to identify characteristics of environments products worked in—so that we could channel the use towards areas that would have a greater potential ...

Registration is now open for both the 2026 Nutrient Management Conference and the 2026 Nitrogen Conference! The Nutrient Management Conference  will take place in Mankato on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The  Nitrogen Conference  will be in St. Cloud on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. Both conferences will also be available online.  Nutrient Management Conference Tuesday,  February 3, 2026 in Mankato, Minn.  This program explores nutrient management, crop production and environmental stewardship. Current topics and new research in nutrient management will be relevant and informative for today's agricultural producers, professionals and anyone else who appreciates high-quality, research-based information. Cost:   $20 Register:  Attend in-person or virtually (Lunch is included if you attend in-person.) Presentations: C, N, and P after subsurface installations - Lindsay Pease (University of Minnesota) Soil Harnessing biologicals: Foundational concepts for...