The 2014 harvest season has started and should be in high gear within the next week. As producers begin harvest they will need to be thinking about many management plans for next seasons crop. Herbicide programs and weed management strategies will be one of those topics that producers need to consider this fall as harvest wraps up this current growing season.

A strain of genetically modified wheat never approved for sale or consumption in the United States was discovered growing in Montana in July, officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday.

We have been getting a lot of questions about the bugs shown in the photo. Folks are seeing lots of them in soybean fields. This photo by Patty Lucas shows a nice assortment of the nymph stage (immature) green stink bugs. It is quite common to see aggregates of these near the end of the season. They are generally noticed because they are near the tops of plants, and leaves are beginning to drop.

Herbicide options for burndown of existing weeds prior to planting of no-till wheat include glyphosate, Gramoxone, Sharpen, and dicamba.

Much of the 2014 Nebraska corn crop has experienced repeated and prolonged stress and wounding. While most of the corn crop looks good, we are beginning to see early evidence of problems developing. In particular, stalk rot diseases are beginning to develop in various areas across the state. Producers should strongly consider monitoring their fields for stalk rot diseases and weakened stalks as corn dries down and harvest approaches.

We’ve pretty much wrapped up this season in terms of insect control. Below are the last few reminders as we close out this year’s crop.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today issued its decision deregulating Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist corn and soybean traits in the United States, concluding one of the most thorough reviews of a biotech trait in history.

Accurate identification of weedy Amaranthus species during early vegetative stages can be difficult. However, identification of the various species becomes much more reliable when reproductive structures are present.

Soybean variety selection is the earliest routine management decision farmers make and one of the most important.

As the fall is approaching and crop harvest plans are being made, it is important to continue to assess disease issues in corn and soybean.