The abundant rainfall and resulting vegetation during 2019 has provided grasshoppers with more food than normal. And while it's possible that grasshoppers are still content feeding in non-crop areas, it's important to scout emerging winter wheat for feeding injury, according to South Dakota State University.

Corn in the dough stage improved from last week’s rate of 89% to 93% as of Sept. 15. This still remains behind the corn in the dough stage percentage from Sept. 15, 2018 of 99% and the 5 year average of 98%.

Soon many producers will be starting to plant small grains. For practical guidance, check out this list of important things to consider when planting wheat and other small grains in the coming weeks from the University of Illinois.

In many nitrogen-fixing bacteria, a protein called RirA plays a key role in regulating iron by sensing high levels of the metal and shutting down the production of proteins that bring in more iron. RirA contains a cluster of four iron and four sulfur atoms, which acts as a sensor for iron availability. But until now, exactly how this cluster structure detects iron levels in a cell was unclear, says the University of East Anglia.

The Trump administration has revoked an Obama-era regulation that shielded many U.S. wetlands and streams from pollution but was opposed by developers and farmers who said it hurt economic development and infringed on property rights.

The Soil Health Institute and National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition have released a report serving as a comprehensive review of each new provision and its role in advancing soil health. The report also compares funding for soil health in the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Midwest Bio-Tech, we're joined by former NRCS soil health specialist Jim Hoorman who explains how improving soil structure with no-till and cover crops can help alleviate compaction problems.

A six-legged robot that can climb hills and plod its way across open deserts, collecting data in all kinds of weather, is helping a USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and his colleagues better understand wind erosion, which is a threat to the western U.S. rangelands that beef producers depend on for grazing.

Prolonged cool weather in spring delayed the onset of wheat diseases during the 2019 growing season. This University of Nebraska Extension article summarizes strategies that can be used this fall to minimize losses during next year’s growing season.

The home stretch of this year’s U.S. corn and soybean crops is still a ways off, unlike recent years when, by this date, farmers would be preparing their combines for harvest.