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White grub with a C-shaped, white to cream-colored body, tan to brown head, 3 pairs of legs, and transparent abdomen.

White Grub Damage to Lawns

White grubs are root-infesting larvae that are the immature stages of scarab beetles. Grub-infested turfgrass may turn brown and die from drought stress due to the inability to take up water from loss of roots.

Brown roots with white spots on them. The white spots are SCN cysts that contain eggs. Smaller image shows a broken cyst with eggs coming out of it.

Test Your Soil for the Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) This Spring

The soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a major soybean pathogen that causes significant yield loss. Fields that were not tested for SCN last year can still be sampled this spring to determine the presence of SCN or SCN population changes if testing was done in the past.

Trichomoniasis: A Tricky Cause of Reproductive Failure in Beef Cattle

Trichomoniasis in cattle is caused by a protozoal organism that lives indefinitely in the sheath of infected bulls. Once transmitted to a cow or heifer, it causes an inflammation in the female reproductive tract that results in the eventual loss of the pregnancy.

A swift fox with her young sitting in a grassy patch of rangeland.

Swift Fox Status on South Dakota’s Grasslands

The swift fox (Vulpes velox) is a small fox native to the short and mixed-grass prairies of the Great Plains. In 2014, I began my master’s research at South Dakota State University monitoring the population of swift foxes around Badlands National Park in southwestern South Dakota. This population has recently declined, possibly due to various biotic and abiotic factors.

a shrub-like plant green leaves and dark purple, grape-like fruit

Honeyberries: A New Fruit for Your Garden

Honeyberries, shrubs with fruit resembling elongated blueberries, are gaining in popularity in northern climates.

Small group of cattle at the SDSU Cow-Calf Education and Research Facility.

Basis for Lighter-Weight Feeder Cattle

With higher overall price levels, the price differences across cattle of different weights have also increased. As a result, producers may want to revisit some pricing rules reflected in price slides and in basis levels for lighter-weight feeder cattle.

Small, green teardrop shaped insects on a green, soybean stem with pink flower.

It’s Time To Scout for Soybean Aphids

While scouting soybeans last week, we observed small populations of soybean aphids. These populations suggest that the infestation was recent. In 2025, we observed similar small infestations that took a long time to increase.

A healthy, growing soybean field. Farmyard in the background.

Minnehaha Soybean Cropping Systems Tour Set for Sept. 8

August 16, 2021

The South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council along with South Dakota State University Extension will be hosting a cropping systems tour in Minnehaha county on Sept. 8.

plant seeds in moisture-proof foil bags stored in bins on a shelf

Healthy Seeds Make Healthy Plants

Saving seeds is a fun and economical way to produce plants for the next year. There are concerns however when saving seeds about seed-borne diseases.

A patch of western wheatgrass with ergot fungus growing throughout.

Ergot in Western Wheatgrass and the Potential Effects for Winter Grazing

2019 has been a year fraught with challenges for ranchers across South Dakota. Abundant precipitation is usually a blessing, however, wet conditions coupled with a cool spring followed by warmer temperatures has caused another problem across the rangelands of South Dakota: ergot poisoning.