Minnesota Crop News

On this episode of Advancing Nitrogen Smart , Brad and Dan take some of the mystery out of variable rate nitrogen. What are we trying to accomplish when we use a variable rate management practice? What kinds of field conditions might benefit from VRN, and which conditions should be avoided with VRN? How might the other 3 R's (Timing, Source & Placement) play a part in variable rate decision making? All that and more on today's show.  TRANSCRIPT Guests: Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato) Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul) Additional resources: Is variable rate nitrogen based on yield maps a good idea? Variable rate nitrogen: What farmers should know Making sense of Minnesota’s corn fertilizer guidelines: Frequently asked questions and answers Fertilizing corn in Minnesota Nitrogen Smart --- Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes. For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Man...

Ryan Miller, Extension crops educator, and Tony Cortilet, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Palmer amaranth found in Yellow Medicine County in 2016. Palmer amaranth was added to the Minnesota Noxious Weed List in 2015; plants that earn a place on the noxious weed list have the potential to be or are known to be detrimental to some aspect of the common good. The full details on Minnesota’s noxious weed law can be found here.   Plants making it on the noxious weed list are placed in one of five categories: prohibited-eradicate, prohibited-control, restricted noxious, specially regulated plants, or county noxious weeds. Palmer amaranth was placed in the prohibited-eradiate category. This category contains weeds not known to exist in Minnesota or weeds not widely distributed in the state, and weeds in this category must be eradicated. In 2016, there was a significant introduction of Palmer amaranth to Minnesota; this came with a conservation seed blend that had sourced some of t...

by Robert L. Koch and Arthur V. Ribeiro Soybean gall midge larvae were found infesting soybean plants in a field near Rosemount in southeast MN on July 15, 2025. This is the first detection of this insect in Dakota County, which continues the eastward expansion of the known range of this pest . The infested plants were mainly located on an edge of the field adjacent to a corn field. The level of infestation on the edge of the soybean field was relatively low, with only 3.2% of soybean plants infested with soybean gall midge larvae. The infested plants showed the typical darkened lesions at the base of the stems near the soil surface, but none of the plants were wilting or dying. We will continue to monitor this field and others in the area.   As summer progresses (through August), it typically gets easier to detect soybean gall midge infestations because more plants become infested and infested plants become more symptomatic (wilting, dying and lodging, in addition to the darkened...

Today on the Nutrient Management Podcast  we discuss nutrient management for irrigated crops in Minnesota. How many irrigated acres are there in Minnesota? What are some of the benefits and risks of irrigation? In what ways can risks be mitigated - through timing, cover crop adoption and / or other general soil health practices? What should growers know about the latest irrigation research in Minnesota? If a farmer is considering adopting irrigation practices, what should they focus on first? This and much, much more on today's episode. TRANSCRIPT Guests: Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul) Carl Rosen, Extension irrigation specialist, Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate (St. Paul) Vasu Sharma, Extension irrigation specialist, Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate (St. Paul) Additional Resources: Irrigation Research shows precision irrigation technology can improve irrigation water productivity in corn Could adding irrigation to Minnesota corn fields ...

By: Anna Cates, Extension soil health specialist and Seth Naeve, Extension soybean agronomist A field day on September 9th will highlight some unique long-term drainage plots managed by the University of Minnesota since 2012. On rented farmland near Wells, MN, the plots have been used to investigate how varying tillage, fertility, and other soybean management practices perform on fields with and without drainage.  Researchers from UMN Extension are partnering with local Soil and Water Conservation Districts from Waseca, Faribault, and Blue Earth counties to present a field day for farmers to showcase these results and highlight the carbon intensity (CI) scores of various corn and soybean management practices.  Participants will have a chance to walk through the plots and see how the 2025 growing season is shaping up, as well as do soil health assessments in tilled and untilled plots. “Every year has been different,” says Seth Naeve, Extension Soybean Agronomist and Professor i...

Angie Peltier, UMN Extension crops educator, Northwest Research & Outreach Center, Jeff Coulter, UMN Extension corn agronomist and Anna Cates, UMN Extension soil health specialist The following information was provided during a 2025 Strategic Farming: Field Notes session. Use your preferred podcasting platform or listen online to a podcast of this Field Notes session hosted by UMN Extension IPM educator Anthony Hanson. Minnesota’s corn progress and condition Minnesota’s corn in early July is progressing similarly to the 5-year average for crop progress and just slightly ahead of 2024, with the most recent USDA crop progress and condition report indicating that 6% of the crop is silking. Much of the corn in Minnesota is about 10 to 12 days away from silking and has entered the critical period of growth and development, which ranges from about 12 days before silking to 3 weeks after silking. Heat or drought stress before silking can cause a delay in silk emergence relative to pollen...