Search

Field pennycress, common ragweed, and kochia weeds emerging in early spring.

Early Emerging Weeds and Effective Management

Managing early emerging weeds before crop planting or emergence is important to minimize early season competition, which can lower yield potential, even if the weeds are managed later in the season. Learn some tips for getting started.

Tractor spraying pre-emergent herbicide in a bare field.

Preemergence Herbicide Application Considerations for 2024

Preemergence herbicides control germinating weeds, which minimizes early-season competition with crops to keep yield potential higher. Learn what factors influence their effectiveness and what can be done to avoid control failures and unintended crop injury.

A small black bug with tan margins on its wings resting on a grass seed head.

Keep an Eye on Black Grass Bugs This Spring

In South Dakota, black grass bugs are a common spring pest of forage grasses. This native insect first appears in late April and May when grasses emerge from dormancy.

Tan grasshopper with light colored stripes on its back sitting on the soil surface.

South Dakota Grasshopper Prediction for 2024

In 2024, grasshoppers are likely to cause problems in areas of South Dakota due to large populations that were present in 2023 and the relatively late first hard freeze date observed in much of the state.

A mother cow with her calf in a field of tall grass.

Preparing the Beef Calf for Weaning

One fact on which cattlemen, veterinarians, and animal scientists can agree is that of all the events in most calves’ lives, weaning is the most stressful of them all. If a calf can weather this stress unscathed, they have cleared a major hurdle to a productive future in the feedlot or as a replacement in the breeding herd.

A dark bodied insect with large wings and red eyes sitting on a tree twig. There are green leaves behind it and many tan insect shells.

I heard cicadas are having a big year. Are they coming to South Dakota?

Cicadas are making headlines—specifically the periodical cicadas in Brood XIII and Brood XIX. Both both broods are in the Midwest and are geographically close together. Find out where you can expect to see them this spring.

Several, U.S. fancy-grade peppers in a yellow bin.

Did the Deer Persevere? 2023 Evaluation of Clover Cover Crops as a Living Mulch for Pepper Production in Eastern South Dakota

Research report analyzing the relationship between four different clover species and four different soil management practices and their effects on pepper growth and yield as well as weed suppression.