KEVIN BRADLEY COLUMBIA, MISSOURI Star-of-Bethlehem is an ornamental plant that has escaped cultivation to become a weed that occurs primarily in minimum- or no-till fields (Figure 1), pastures, and lawns. This plant is a perennial from a bulb (Figure 2) that grows throughout...

IVAIR VALMORBIDA COLUMBIA, MISSOURI Black cutworm moth captures have started to show up across parts of Missouri, which is a sign that spring has officially arrived – not just for us, but for some of our early-season insect pests as well....

CHARLEY MARTINEZ KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE Ahead of next week’s USDA March Intentions report, traders are positioning for a notable shift in planted acreage. Corn acreage is expected to come in at 94.37 million acres, according to market expectations, which would represent a...

ADAM RUSSELL COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS Robert Puckett, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist and associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Entomology, has helped landowners across Texas and around the world fight red imported fire ants. He offers expert advice for getting rid...

LINDA GEIST COLUMBIA, MISSOURI  Farmers know that fertilizer prices fluctuate. They have seen a substantial shift in potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) prices, from low prices in the 2020 growing season to the highest prices in the past decade for fertilizer...

MANINDER SINGH, DR. BENJAMIN AGYEI, PATRICK COPELAND AND LORATO WOOD EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN Planting field crops takes time, and most growers manage large acreages that must be prepared and planted each season. Starting early in the spring, when field conditions are considered...

JEFFREY A. DAVIS, DR. DAWSON D. KERNS, AND DR. JAMES VILLEGAS BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA Last year, in 2025, we piloted a program to proactively evaluate insecticide efficacy to acephate amongst redbanded stink bug populations throughout the state. Acephate is the most...

CHARLEY MARTINEZ KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE This week the markets started lower across all months. There was some steam in the middle of the week, but the steam gave out Thursday and Friday. Hence, why most commodities are down this week, some more...

DR. GIOVANI PREZA FONTES, FEDERICO ROLLE AND DR. JOHN JONES URBANA, ILLINOIS Recent dust storm events in central Illinois and across the Midwest have renewed attention on soil conservation, especially after the tragic May 2023 event near Springfield that caused an...

DR. CHARLEY MARTINEZ KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE This week brought some much welcomed weather across Tennessee. Prices surged in corn and soybean spot prices and across the boards for both commodities. Given where the boards are for November soybeans and December corn, I...

JUSTIN CALHOUN BATON ROUGE, MISSISSIPPI After taking a year off, the soybean “short list” is back. Below are the 2026 Soybean Variety Suggestions developed through Mississippi State University variety testing programs. To build this list, we use harvest data from both the...

DR. CHARLEY MARTINEZ KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE This week, spot prices in the soybean market have continued to rally. I spent the second half of the week at the USDA World Ag Outlook and notable takeaways for me was the projection for farm...

DR. CHARLEY MARTINEZ KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE This week brought some much welcomed price swings in all commodities. Most notable of the price swings was in the soybean market. The futures board continued another increase this week in prices, but the spot market...

DR. CHARLEY MARTINEZ KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE This week brought some much welcomed weather across Tennessee. Prices surged in corn and soybean spot prices and across the boards for both commodities. Given where the boards are for November soybeans and December corn, I...

DR. GIOVANI PREZA FONTES URBANA, ILLINOIS There is a growing interest in wheat/soybean double-cropping systems in Illinois, extending into parts of central Illinois where wheat acreage has been limited in recent decades. USDA-NASS survey estimates that 60-80% of Illinois wheat acres...