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Strategic Farming: Let's talk crops focused non-chemical weed control

Phyllis Bongard, Extension content development and communications specialist, Tom Peters, Extension sugarbeet agronomist, Debalin Sarangi, Extension weed specialist, and Eric Yu, Extension educator-crops As herbicide resistance continues to expand and challenge producers, using an integrated approach will help maintain herbicide effectiveness. Dr. Tom Peters, Extension sugarbeet agronomist, Dr. Debalin Sarangi, Extension weed specialist, and Dr. Eric Yu, Extension educator-crops, joined moderator Ryan Miller, Extension educator-crops, to discuss emerging and familiar weed management strategies in the February 5, 2025, session of Strategic Farming: Let’s talk crops . View recordings of this and all Strategic Farming sessions at https://z.umn.edu/StrategicFarmingRecordings Setting the stage Status of waterhemp herbicide resistance Managing waterhemp is increasingly difficult as populations develop resistance to an expanded number of postemergence herbicides. How extensive is the issue?...
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Some private pesticide applicator recertification options for 2025 end soon

By Tana Haugen-Brown, Extension Educator and Private Pesticide Applicator Program Manager, PSEE Pesticide application. Photo source: StoryBlocks  Private pesticide applicators who need to renew a certification that ends on March 1, 2025, have to do so by the end of February to keep their certification from expiring. It’s not too late to register for a 2025 recertification workshop! In-person and Zoom recertification workshops end on February 28. Not sure if you need to recertify in 2025? Check the front of your applicator card or look up your license at the MDA’s website here . Advance registration is still available for the Sauk Centre, Jackson, Belle Plaine, Arlington, Braham, Lamberton, Worthington, Olivia, Foley, and Farmington, as well as two Zoom recertification workshop options. Remember, advance registration closes three days before a workshop, so sign up now ! Walk-in registration is also welcome at all in-person recertification workshops. Be sure to have a photo ID, your ...

‘All about phosphorus’: Feb. 18 Nutrient Management Conference will focus entirely on P management

The 17th annual Nutrient Management Conference will be held in St. Cloud, Minn. on Tuesday, February 18. For the first time, the conference will focus entirely on one nutrient: phosphorus. "There is a lot of research on phosphorus being conducted in Minnesota and across the Midwest, so we thought that this year it would be an ideal time to dive deep into this nutrient and hear about all the great research that is being done with this nutrient," said Fabian Fernandez, U of M Extension nutrient management specialist and co-organizer of the event along with the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center. The conference will be available in-person in St. Cloud (lunch included) or online. The cost to attend is $20. Register now: in-person or online The conference is divided into three parts: P fertilizer sources and soil testing, recent P studies from across the Midwest, and P research in Minnesota. There will be a farmer panel and presentations from experts from around the co...

Variable rate nitrogen: What farmers should know

Today we’re talking all about variable rate nitrogen. What underlying information do we need to make decisions about VRN? What areas in the field might be prone to N loss? Should you only add extra N to high-yielding areas, or could a low-yielding zone also show positive responses? What effect could your overall management strategy have on a variable rate response? All this and more on today's episode. TRANSCRIPT Guests: Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato) Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul) Additional resources: Variable rate nitrogen and nitrogen advisory tools: Do they work? Nitrogen Smart Understanding nitrogen in soils --- Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes. For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcast . And don't forget to subscribe to the Minnesota Crop News daily or weekly email newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like UMN Extension Nutrient...

New nationwide soil health project looking for Minnesota farmer participants

United States map of soil colors at a depth of 25cm (credit: NRCS) A new nationwide project called “Probing Our Country’s Soil Health” has launched, and Minnesota farmers are now able to participate. The project centers around improving a tool called the Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (or SHAPE). “One of our nation's greatest resources is our soils,” said Fabian Fernandez, University of Minnesota Extension nutrient management specialist, who is co-leading the project in Minnesota. “The more we know about our soils, the better we can manage them.” SHAPE is an online tool designed to interpret soil health measurements, monitor soil health change, and offer management practice alternatives for improving soil health. The goal of the project is to collect 13,000 soil samples across the U.S. (~6,000 fields) from different soil, climate, and management conditions. The SHAPE tool will be available as a free web-based app for easy soil health scoring. Minnesota farmer parti...

Over-the-top dicamba products are not available for use in Minnesota in 2025

By Naworaj Acharya, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Reviewed by Sally Raymond, Extension Educator and Commercial/Noncommercial Pesticide Applicator Program Manager, and Tana Haugen-Brown, Extension Educator and Private Pesticide Applicator Program Manager, PSEE. On February 6, 2024, the U.S. District Court of Arizona vacated the federal registrations of three over-the-top (OTT) dicamba products, XtendiMax® (EPA Reg. No. 264-1210), Engenia® (EPA Reg. No. 7969-472), and Tavium® (EPA Reg. No. 100-1623). These products were previously registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for over-the-top (OTT) use on dicamba-tolerant (DT) soybeans and cotton. The court decision makes it illegal to sell, distribute, or use these products in the United States for the 2025 growing season. As a result of the court decision, XtendiMax®, Engenia®, and Tavium® products are no longer registered for use in Minnesota in 2025. Minnesota's Pesticide Control Law prohibits the sale, distr...

Strategic Farming: Let's talk crops! session talked soybean modeling to help farmers make better decisions

By Angie Peltier, UMN Extension crops educator and Seth Naeve, UMN Extension soybean agronomist, and Anibal Cerrudo, UMN visiting professor, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics On January 29, 2025, Seth Naeve, University of Minnesota Extension soybean agronomist and Anibal Cerrudo, a visiting professor for the last 3 years in the Naeve lab joined UMN Extension crops educator Angie Peltier for a discussion about how using crop modeling can help soybean producers in Minnesota gain important insights into how their management choices could impact yield. This was the fourth weekly episode of the 2025 Strategic Farming: Let’s talk crops! webinars. The series runs through March. To watch this and other episodes: http://z.umn.edu/StrategicFarmingRecordings The Naeve Lab is working on two types of modeling Crop modeling incorporates weather, soil condition, crop genetics and management practice data together to estimate crop yield with the end goal of helping farmers make data-driven de...