Note: click on photo to enlarge or see caption. Crop maturity. As corn plants require heat in order to grow and develop, the...

University of Illinois Extension has released a new smartphone app to assist applicators with many of the calculations that are used when setting up and calibrating a sprayer. Pesticide Spray Calculator, or "Spray Calc", was developed by...

Registration is now open for the 2014 Women in Agriculture Conference on March 21 in Rock Island, IL. University of Illinois Extension co-sponsors this event which focuses on bringing useful information to women that farm.Along with a general session, conference attendees select among breakout...

Tracking migrating insects. Some important corn pests such as black cutworms, armyworms and corn earworms survive the winter in more southerly regions, migrating northward each spring with the aid of weather systems. Each year, members of the University of Illinois Extension...

According to the USDA, net farm income is expected to decline by 26.6 percent in 2014. This will put net income at its lowest level since 2010. Given these projections, farm operators will be looking for ways to trim expenses in the coming year(s). Five-part series: Controlling Costs with...

On rainy days this time of the year thoughts center around how quickly the rain will end and grain dry, how quickly soil will dry enough to be fit for harvest to get back into full swing. Other thoughts might be on grain drying, marketing and storage. It may be time well spent to check out "...

The challenge. Now that soil temperatures have begun warming, in many fields weed seed germination and plant establishment has begun. Herbicide resistant weeds are complicating weed management throughout the Midwest. Throughout the past 40 years, more than 140 unique cases of...

Planting Operations are Underway. Now that soil temperatures have become more favorable for seed germination, Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center (NWIARDC) Research Agronomist Brian Mansfield and Research Specialist Marty Johnson have been hard at...

Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center Superintendent and Research Agronomist, Brian Mansfield, recently started a Facebook page.He plans to use this page to post pictures and updates of the farm throughout the growing season.To access this page, visit the...

Temperature, snowfall and precipitation data listed below were collected at a weather station located a little more than 4 miles from the Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center (NWIARDC), while soil temperature probes are located at the NWIARDC. Air...

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Tom Vilsack released key information on the USDA website today regarding the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage crop insurance programs in the...

Japanese beetles were a topic of conversation throughout West-Central Illinois last summer for many people: homeowners concerned about their ornamental plants, farmers and home g

Historical weather data. The Monmouth weather station has been in operation since 1893, meaning that average temperature, precipitation and snowfall data have been collected for each of the last 122 Februarys. Temperature, snowfall and precipitation data listed below were collected...

Temperatures NWIARDC - Monmouth. Average high and low air temperatures for the month of January were well below the 30-year average (Table). The average high temperature was 8 degrees below average and the average low temperature was...

Each year a corn planting date trial is established at the Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center. Planting date studies can provide us with valuable information. For example, in a given year, with its unique weather conditions, we can find out which planting date...

Corn plants emerged unevenly in some fields at the Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center (NWIARDC) in 2014. The picture above shows uneven emergence in a field that was cultivated on April 16 and seeded 1.75 inches deep on April 22 (Figure). ...

Registration is now open for the 2015 Regional Crop Management Conferences. These 2-day conferences provide a forum for discussion and interaction between participants and university researchers and are designed to address a wide array of topics pertinent to crop production in Illinois: crop...

Each year the University of Illinois Extension’s 2-day Extension Crop Management Conference series brings 13 hours of training to farmers, Certified Crop Advisors and other professionals working in agriculture. Extension personnel captured audio of three speakers presenting four different topics...

The Illinois Pesticide Licensing Act requires licenses for anyone using restricted use pesticides or applying either restricted or general use pesticides as part of their job. There are five different license types and 17...

Trait selection. When selecting a soybean variety to plant there are many traits in addition to yield potential that may be important to consider. Producers focus on planting soybean varieties with different disease resistance traits depending upon pathogen and disease prevalence...