Iowa State University Extension

Crops Highlights

The Integrated Crop Management Newsletter is now delivered on the Web. It offers current, non-biased, reasearch-based crop production information.

Iowa State University and Iowa Farmer Today offer the CropWatch Blog. The Website features agronomy specialists from Iowa State and industry partners of ISU’s Corn and Soybean Initiative. They report on crop conditions, weed problems and disease and pest threats as they arise in fields across Iowa.

Check out these links for information on some ISU Extension initatives: crop management resources, Iowa Learning Farm, Pesticide Management and the Enviironment,  Value-Added Agriculture and  water quality

View the latest Corn and Soybean Initiative newsletter and other newsletters from ISU Extension.

Some of the most popular publications sold by ISU Extension are crop publications. They include:
Soybean Growth and Development (PM 1945)
How A Corn Plant Develops (PM 1282)
Pasture Management Guide for Livestock Producers (PM 1713)

The Iowa Crop Improvement Association performs crop performance tests for alfalfa and forage crops, corn, soybean, winter wheat, and oats and barley.

There are hundreds of additional crop publications available from the ISU Extension Online Store.

This new Corn Nitrogen Calculator helps calculate economic return to N application.

The Seed Science Center offers testing services.

The Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory offers soil chemical analysis.

Crops News

5/8/2008 - ISU Extension Audio: Interviews for the Week of May 5
Listen to interviews about patience during planting season, La niña and corn and soybean yield, farm sector prosperity and the rural economy, and more.

5/7/2008 - How Much Corn Planted in Iowa Depends on Location
According to a new USDA report, 18 percent of Iowa’s corn crop has been planted, well behind the 42 percent that had been planted a year ago and the five-year average of 64 percent. However, those percentages don’t explain where the corn has been planted, say Iowa State University Extension specialists.

5/6/2008 - Iowa State University Hosts 2008 Biobased Industry Outlook Conference
Sept. 7-9 event will showcase crops, cropping systems and equipment at the new ISU Century Farm.

5/5/2008 - Integrated Crop Management News Is Online and on Time
When crop research news happens, Iowa farmers and agribusiness professionals want to know — and now they know a lot faster, thanks to the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) News Web site.

4/30/2008 - ISU Extension Audio: Interviews for the Week of April 28
Listen to interviews about getting into wet fields at the start of the 2008 growing season, La Niña and potential yields for corn and soybeans, mitigating air emissions and more.

4/24/2008 - Midwest Composting Course Offered in Iowa
The school focuses on a combination of hands-on training, lecture and discussion, facility operator panel discussions and problem solving.

4/23/2008 - ISU Extension Audio: Interviews for the Week of April 21
Listen to interviews about weather conditions during planting, land values, the health of manufacturing, Iowa States’ sesquicentennial and more.

4/17/2008 - Agritourism Producers Encouraged to Register Operations on Visit Iowa Farms Web Site
Agritourism producers are encouraged to list their agritourism operations on a central Web site hosted by Iowa State University Extension, www.visitiowafarms.org.

4/16/2008 - Wet Weather, Soil Temperature May Delay Spring Planting
If it doesn’t dry out soon, planting will be delayed in some places in the Corn Belt, ISU Extension climatologist says.

4/16/2008 - ISU Extension Audio: Interviews for the Week of April 14
Listen to an interview with a NASA specialist about living your dreams, as well as interviews about farmers’ corn planting intentions, the Clay County Fair, options for gardeners and more.