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Merino sheep grazing on grassy pasture.

Lamb Bonanza to showcase sheep industry Jan. 7 during SDSU Jackrabbit basketball game

January 06, 2023

Jackrabbit fans who attend the Jan. 7 South Dakota State University women’s basketball game can also sample lamb and wool products as part of the 31st Annual Lamb Bonanza.

SDSU cheerleader holding a yellow lamb pelt with the SDSU mascot

33rd Lamb Bonanza to showcase sheep industry during SDSU basketball game

January 02, 2025

The 2025 Lamb Bonanza is Saturday, Jan. 11, at First Bank & Trust Arena on the SDSU campus in Brookings. The game starts at 2 p.m. and features the SDSU women versus the University of Missouri-Kansas City Roos.

Three grassland insects. From left: white grub, dung beetles and Dakota Skipper Butterfly.

Rangeland Insects Are Critical Indicators of System Health

Insects, in general, may offer more indication of rangeland health than any other type of organism. They serve as key building blocks that other organisms depend on.

Small, brown insect with tail.

Springtails Are in My Home

During the last few weeks, we have been receiving an increased number of questions regarding very small insects that jump very far. It didn’t take long to determine that the hordes of small insects are springtails.

A portion of a soybean field with soybean plants maturing with the soybean leaves turning yellow with the leaves and stems drying down. The plants in the middle of the picture were also found with charcoal rot.

Charcoal and Fusarium Rots Observed in Early Senescing Soybean Plants

The drought conditions in South Dakota have led to early soybean senescence in some areas. However, some of the early senescing may be due to dry-season diseases, such as charcoal and Fusarium rots.

Gray beetle with long antennae that are alternating white and black pattern on green leaf petiole.

Will Dectes Stem Borers Be an Issue in 2020?

Every year, there is a risk that sunflower in South Dakota will be infested by Dectes stem borer larvae. At this point in the season, adults are active, and females have likely been laying eggs in sunflower plants.

An unplanted field with weeds growing throughout.

Managing Weed Seed in 2020

Producers need to plan in advance on how to deal with bare fields that contain an overabundance of weeds. Weeds in these fields have deposited significant amount of seeds on the soil surface, which can easily germinate when adequate moisture and temperature are available.

SDSU Extension Winter Wheat Variety trials. One plot is showing more yellowing and stress than other plots.

Low Temperature Effects on Winter Wheat

Low temperatures during the early morning hours of May 9–11, 2020 may have had detrimental effects on winter wheat in some areas of South Dakota. However, cooler spring temperatures that have slowed the winter wheat development this year may have actually been beneficial to S.D. producers, as later-maturing wheat is not as susceptible to injury from freezing temperatures.

Tanks of anhydrous ammonia being pulled to a field for fertilizer application.

Determining an Economically Optimal Nitrogen Rate for Corn in 2022

While we can't know what the prices of corn and nitrogen fertilizer will be next year, it is very important to understand how the level of both prices will influence corn profitability for 2022.

Small-flowered columbine in bloom in a wooded area.

Native Plants to Know: Small-Flowered Columbine (Aquilegia brevistyla)

Aquilegia brevistyla, or small-flowered columbine, is a native, perennial, herbaceous plant in the Ranunculaceae (buttercup family) that grows in cool, shaded, canyons in the Black Hills of South Dakota.