Blogs

Taming the Dust: Proven practices to combat erosion and dust storms in Central Illinois, Part 2

August 2, 2024

This blog post continues a series analyzing the local dust storms that have occurred across the area recently. Part one looked at the specific causes of wind erosion and dust storms and their impacts on agriculture. This second part examines practices that producers can implement on their...

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Guide available on handling pesticide drift complaints

July 29, 2024

Pesticide News

Pesticides play an important role in managing pests, but they must be used responsibly and according to label directions so that they don’t endanger people, pets, livestock, plants, and the environment. While there is much work done to educate pesticide users about safety, and most applications are...

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Considerations before consuming produce following a pesticide misapplication

July 29, 2024

Pesticide News

Every summer Extension Pesticide Safety Education Specialists are asked the same type of question repeatedly by home vegetable gardeners. The details leading up the situation at hand vary, but in the end the basic question is the same. Their vegetable plants have accidentally or mistakenly...

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Roadside view of dust storm over corn field.

Taming the Dust: Proven Practices to Combat Erosion and Dust Storms in Central Illinois, Part 1

July 26, 2024

Farm Focus

Many parts of Central Illinois, including Logan County, experienced high winds on May 21st, which caused large amounts of dust to be kicked up. These high winds and dust storms prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a Dust Storm Warning. This Warning stretched from Pekin to Decatur,...

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Beyond the monoculture: Why we need biodiversity in agriculture

July 24, 2024

Field Notes

Driving through the country this time of year, you’re likely to see two things: corn and soybeans. In 2023, 11.2 million acres of land in Illinois were planted in corn and nearly 10.4 million acres in soybeans. These two crops make up the vast majority of our agricultural production in...

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Changes may come to federal pesticide regulations after Chevron ruling overturned

July 23, 2024

Pesticide News

This past month, the supreme court overturned Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (1984) with the recent Loper Bright V. Raimondo (2024) decision. Chevron v. NRDC, also known as the Chevron deference, granted federal agencies leniency in interpreting ambiguous laws based on the idea...

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DriftWatch map for Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall, and Putnam Counties.

Online mapping tools help connect growers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators

July 17, 2024

Field Notes

Pesticides are essential for commercial growers to control weeds, insects, and disease, and are an integral part of an integrated weed management (IWM) regimen. However, the use of...

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Household hazardous material collection events scheduled for fall 2024

July 16, 2024

Pesticide News

Now is the time to get rid of any old or unwanted pesticides in your chemical storage area. The Illinois EPA one-day household hazardous waste collection schedule for this fall has been released to the public. Please note, all one-day collections require pre-registration. More information can be...

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Extension + IVCC Research Plots update

July 10, 2024

Field Notes

The growing season is underway at the University of Illinois Extension + Illinois Valley Community College Agriculture Research and Demonstration plots. On the IVCC side, plots were planted with multiple varieties of corn and soybeans donated by Channel Seed. These plots will be used to...

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adult spotted lanternfly on tree-of-heaven

Here’s what to do if you find spotted lanternfly

June 21, 2024

Pesticide News

In a summer when many feel like they have been ambushed by cicadas, it’s easy to forget that the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) has made its way into our state. Infestation status has been established in Cook County with no sightings documented yet in the rest of the state....

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