SDSU Extension publishes the South Dakota Pest & Crop Newsletter to provide growers, producers, crop consultants, and others involved in crop production with timely news pertinent to management of pests, diseases, and weeds in South Dakota.
SDSU Extension in collaboration with the Soil & Water Conservation Society will be hosting a workshop in Sioux Falls on Dec. 3 at the Taopi Hall (102 E. 3rd St., Colton, SD 57018).
Whether due to planting delays, a cooler growing season, or an unexpectedly early frost, stress factors sometimes result in crops that do not meet standard test weight requirements. So how does reduced test weight affect the feeding value of corn and cattle performance?
![A green tractor planting seeds in a no-till field. Courtesy: United Soybean Board [CC BY 2.0] via Flickr](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2019-10/W-00433-00-no-till-planting-soybeans-field.jpg?h=b2774bcf&itok=jiH6qh1t)
Implementing diverse crop rotations and no-till practices are common suggestions to reduce erosion, control pests, and improve yields. These practices can also improve soil health through an increase in soil carbon levels.
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a tall, native, prairie grass that is often seeded on marginal lands in South Dakota. It has gained growing popularity over the past decade not only as a source of biofuel and feed, but also as a method to improve soil properties.
Planting cover crops and returning crop residues (stover) to the soil both adds nutrients and improves overall soil quality. These practices are common with producers across South Dakota and have been recently studied by researchers to identify how they impact the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
An integrated crop-livestock system can provide an alternative management strategy that benefits producer’s income, soil health, and the environment—all while increasing production.
Corn ear rots are one of the last diseases to scout for in the corn growing season, and sometimes they are ignored or forgotten entirely. Ear rots can cause yield loss in the form of grain quality at harvest, but also cause losses during storage.
For most of us, wheat is wheat. However, there is a distinct difference between spring and winter wheat, even though the vegetative characteristics of these two wheat types are very similar.
October 09, 2019
With many flooded and saturated fields in South Dakota this fall, harvesting silage before corn dries past desired moisture levels or frost occurs may be a challenge for some producers.