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A hog farm employee wearing a mask, hairnet, and gloves. He is inspecting a group of pigs.

COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for Essential Swine Industry Employees

America’s pig farmers doing the right things to protect people, pigs, and the planet continue, even during this challenging time.

Field of mixed cover crops containing oats.

Cover Crop Considerations for 2020

Producers across South Dakota are harvesting small grains. These crops provide an excellent window for adding a cover crop into your rotation.

Soybean plant with with yellow-chlorotic blotches between leaf veins and noticable browning due to sudden death syndrome.

Sudden Death Syndrome of Soybean

Fact sheet discussing sudden death syndrome of soybean.

soybean field with white mold

White Mold (Sclerotinia Stem Rot) of Soybean

Fact sheet of the symptoms and signs for while mold in soybean.

A lush field with corn, soybean, and forage rotation.

Crop Diversification Potential: Improving Soil Health & Farm Profitability

Two-year corn-soybean rotation coupled with heavy chemical inputs has become the routine practice of agricultural production in the Midwestern United States. According to USDA/NASS data, corn and soybean prices received by producers in South Dakota both reached the peak levels of $7.39 and $16.00 per bushel, respectively, in August, 2012.

Sample USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey output. Orange boundaries mark different soil zones on a satellite photo.

Precision Agriculture and Zone Management

Precision agriculture tools can address the variations in a production system to enhance plant growth and crop yield. Zone management controls the variable rate of inputs for optimal performance within a defined field zone.

Small group of producers in a field where cattle are grazing crop residue.

Managing Soil: Maximizing Profit Conference Set for Dec. 7

November 19, 2021

South Dakota State University Extension and the SDSU Southeast Research Farm will host a seminar for growers interested in soil health, regenerative agriculture and livestock inclusion in these systems.

several plots of alfalfa

Aphanomyces Root Rot of Alfalfa

Fact sheet on Aphanomyces Root Rot of Alfalfa

Aerial photo of a field revealing crop productivity within a specified management zone.

Creating Management Zones Using Electrical Conductivity

The first step to practicing zone management is to identify the variations that control yield. There are various methods for characterizing soil variations within a field, and among them, electrical conductivity measurement is one of the most-reliable.

A red tractor and seed drill planting in a no-till field.

Project to Study Soil Health Economics in South Dakota

Soil degradation has become one of the most pressing global issues, because of its adverse effects on world food security, environment and quality of life.