Midsummer Scouting for Downy Mildew and other Soybean Diseases

Summer soybean disease scouting is revealing some interesting finds due to several years of unusual weather. This is the third year in a row that Iowa has had a cool summer. The summer of 2006 was cool, but not wet; this year and last year, cool and wet

Rhodes Research and Demonstration Farm field day

The annual Iowa State University (ISU) Rhodes Research and Demonstration Farm field day will be held Tuesday, July 9, from 4:30-8:30 p.m. This event gives farmers, ranchers, and other ag professionals a firsthand view of current research and demonstration projects. Barry Dunn, a range livestock production specialist, South Dakota State University, is the keynote speaker. He will present Factors that Make a Difference in Cow-Calf Profits

Evaluation of Varieties, Fertility Treatments, and Red Clover Underseeding for Certified Organic Flax Production

Flax (Linum usitatissimum (Linaceae) – Linen family) is an ancient crop that had been grown in Iowa for many years. Flax has many uses, including industrial oils from oilseed flax, food quality flaxseed oil, and linen products, fiberboard, and paper products from the straw. Flaxseed oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are associated with lowered risk of heart disease and lowered blood cholesterol levels. Flax has a 50-day vegetative period, a 25-day flowering period, and a 35-day period to maturity. Seeds are produced in bolls that contain 6–10 seeds. Seed color can be brown, golden, or yellow. Early seeded flax generally produces the highest yields, using the same planting dates as small grains. Frostseldom kills flax seedlings. Non-uniform maturity and ripening is a problem in late-seeded fields. With the introduction of an organic flaxseed oil processing facility came a need for increased organic flax production in Iowa

Evaluation of Flax Varieties for Certified Organic Production - Neely-Kinyon Trial, 2004

Flax, Linum usitatissimum (Linaceae—linen family), is an ancient crop that had been grown in Iowa for many years, but has been displaced by the emphasis on commodity corn and soybeans. Flax has many uses including industrial oils from oilseed flax, food-quality flaxseed oil, linen products, fiberboard, and paper products from its straw. Flaxseed oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are associated with lowered risk of heart disease and lowered blood cholesterol levels. Flax has a 50-day vegetative period, a 25-day flowering period, and a 35-day period to maturity. Seeds are produced in bolls that contain 6–10 seeds. Seed color can be brown, golden, or yellow. The seed is covered with a mucilaginous coating. The flax crop responds to up to 50 lb/acre nitrogen, similar to organic small grains. Mycorrhizal association may increase the ability of flax to take up phosphorus from the soil, so growing flax after mycorrhizal wheat rather than after nonmycorrhizal canola may improve phosphorus uptake by flax. Early-seeded flax generally produces the highest yields, using the same planting dates as small grains. Frost seldom kills flax seedlings. Nonuniform maturity and ripening is a problem in lateseeded fields. Organic flaxseed oil can now be processed in Iowa to be sold around the world. With the introduction of this processing facility comes a need for increased organic flax production in Iowa

Evaluation of Varieties, Fertility Treatments, and Red Clover Underseeding for Certified Organic Flax Production - Neely-Kinyon Trial, 2005

Flax (Linum usitatissimum [Linaceae]—linen family) is an ancient crop that had been grown in Iowa for many years, but was displaced by the emphasis on commodity corn and soybeans. Flax has many uses, including industrial oils from oilseed flax, food-quality flaxseed oil, linen products, fiberboard, and paper products from the straw. Flaxseed oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are associated with lowered risk of heart disease and lowered blood cholesterol levels. Flax has a 50-day vegetative period, a 25-day flowering period, and a 35-day period to maturity. Seeds are produced in bolls that contain 6–10 seeds. Seed color can be brown, golden, or yellow. A mucilaginous coating covers the seed. The flax crop responds to up to 50 lb/acre nitrogen, similar to organic small grains. Mycorrhizal association may increase the ability of flax to take up phosphorus from the soil, so growing flax after mycorrhizal wheat rather than after nonmycorrhizal canola may improve its phosphorus uptake. Early-seeded flax generally produces the highest yields, when using the same planting dates as small grains. Frost seldom kills flax seedlings. Nonuniform maturity and ripening are problems in late-seeded fields. With the introduction of a processing facility, organic flaxseed oil can now be processed in Iowa and sold around the world. There is, in turn, a potential for increased organic flax production in Iowa

Cooperatively Exploring Dry Edible Beans as a Value Added/Alternative Crop Dry Edible Beans

Driven by the desire and interest in finding a value-added marketable alternative crop a group of 24 producers in central Iowa recently tackled the formidable challenge of evaluating potential alternatives for their farming operations. Having witnessed other alternative crop projects come and go this group approached the process with a unique attitude of cooperation. Through a cooperative approach the risks, rewards and resources were shared for the purpose of more quickly reaching project resolution and at a scale that would reflect realistic market potential. Initial grower meetings narrowed the project down to two potential dry edible beans and established a protocol for risk management. Producers were encouraged to grow these dry edible beans with the mindset of research and experimentation. Individual growers were encouraged to utilize their existing cropping practices and commit to no more acres than they were willing to put at risk. To provide consistent evaluation data, the growers performed all production tasks and absorbed all personal production costs, however, all harvesting was done by a common machine and operator. Based on acres of production revenue from sales would be divided equally to all producers. This protocol was developed for the first year of production only and for the purpose of evaluating crop profitability as well as establishing a baseline of production practices

Testing for Plant-parasitic Nematodes that Feed on Corn in Iowa 2000-2010

The Iowa State University Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic analyzes soil and root samples for plant-parasitic nematodes. The results of samples associated with corn that were submitted from 2000 through 2010 were summarized. One or more genera of plant-parasitic nematodes were found in 92% of the samples. Spiral nematode and root-lesion nematode were most commonly found. Other nematodes recovered were dagger, lance, needle, pin, ring, and stunt nematodes. Nematodes recovered at damaging population densities were dagger, needle, ring, and spiral nematodes. An average of 15 samples were submitted per year from 2000 to 2004. Sample numbers increased nearly threefold since 2005, but overall sample numbers were low every year from 2000 through 2010. Samples were received from 53 of the 99 Iowa counties, and most samples were received in June and July, which is the recommended sampling time. Nematodes that have been associated with corn in Iowa in the past that were not recovered from the samples were sheath, sting, and stubby-root nematodes. The methods used to extract the nematodes from soil and roots and how the samples were handled during collection and processing may have affected the species and population densities recovered. Much more frequent and widespread sampling is needed in Iowa for plant-parasitic nematodes that feed on corn

Rhodes Research and Demonstration Farm field day

The annual Iowa State University (ISU) Rhodes Research and Demonstration Farm field day will be held Tuesday, July 9, from 4:30-8:30 p.m. This event gives farmers, ranchers, and other ag professionals a firsthand view of current research and demonstration projects. Barry Dunn, a range livestock production specialist, South Dakota State University, is the keynote speaker. He will present "Factors that Make a Difference in Cow-Calf Profits."</p

Midsummer Scouting for Downy Mildew and other Soybean Diseases

Summer soybean disease scouting is revealing some interesting finds due to several years of unusual weather. This is the third year in a row that Iowa has had a cool summer. The summer of 2006 was cool, but not wet; this year and last year, cool and wet.</p

Evaluation of Flax Varieties for Certified Organic Production - Neely-Kinyon Trial, 2004

Flax, Linum usitatissimum (Linaceae—linen family), is an ancient crop that had been grown in Iowa for many years, but has been displaced by the emphasis on commodity corn and soybeans. Flax has many uses including industrial oils from oilseed flax, food-quality flaxseed oil, linen products, fiberboard, and paper products from its straw. Flaxseed oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are associated with lowered risk of heart disease and lowered blood cholesterol levels. Flax has a 50-day vegetative period, a 25-day flowering period, and a 35-day period to maturity. Seeds are produced in bolls that contain 6–10 seeds. Seed color can be brown, golden, or yellow. The seed is covered with a mucilaginous coating. The flax crop responds to up to 50 lb/acre nitrogen, similar to organic small grains. Mycorrhizal association may increase the ability of flax to take up phosphorus from the soil, so growing flax after mycorrhizal wheat rather than after nonmycorrhizal canola may improve phosphorus uptake by flax. Early-seeded flax generally produces the highest yields, using the same planting dates as small grains. Frost seldom kills flax seedlings. Nonuniform maturity and ripening is a problem in lateseeded fields. Organic flaxseed oil can now be processed in Iowa to be sold around the world. With the introduction of this processing facility comes a need for increased organic flax production in Iowa.</p