The prevalence of soybean fields with plants infected with Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) in Iowa is assumed to be random, because the primary source of the virus is SMV-infected seed. Data collected from 2,500 soybean fields sampled over a 3-year period as part of the Iowa Soybean Disease Survey (2005 to 2007) were used to evaluate this assumption. SMV was first detected in early June of each year but counties in which it was first detected varied among years. Prevalence at the county scale at end of season was 32.3, 27.3, and 89.9% in 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively. End-of-season incidence of SMV within SMV-positive counties was 1.5 to 25.0, 1.7 to 24, and 1.8 to 58% in 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively. The number of fields in which plants infected with SMV were detected increased at the linear rate of approximately one new field every 2 days in 2007, compared with one new field every 22 days (2005) and 21 days (2006), with coefficients of determination (R2) of 93.2 to 96.8% using the linear model. Weak spatial dependence for end-of-season SMV incidence was detected using Moran\u27s Index, indicating that the risk for SMV incidence at the county scale within Iowa at the end of the growing season is not random
