MI Ag Ideas to Grow With webinar highlights mysteries from the field on March 6

Madelyn Celovsky<celovsk2@msu.edu> and Nicolle Ritchie<ritchi67@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - January 21, 2025

Improve your field crops sleuthing skills! Hear from MSU Extension educators about what stumped them in 2024 and the tools they used to figure it out.

Stunted soybeans growing in a field. — These soybeans were mysteriously stunted. Find out why during the MI Ag Ideas to Growth With webinar field crops track. Photo by Nicolle Ritchie, MSU Extension.

Did you see something in the 2024 growing season that stumped you? Maybe it was a weed that just didn’t want to die, no matter what you threw at it. Or maybe it was crop damage from a mystery pest you had never seen before? Well, you aren’t alone.

Michigan State University Extension educators respond to calls about seemingly inexplicable things happening in farmers’ fields. We show up on the scene of a crime (a farmer’s field where something isn’t quite right), investigate (ask about a million questions), look for clues and (hopefully) find the culprit. Seems simple, right? Not always! Some trails go cold.

This year in the field crops track for MI Ag Ideas to Grow With, we will take on “Mysteries from the Field.” Hear from your local Michigan State University (MSU) educators about mysteries from past growing seasons and the resources that helped solve them, and learn for yourself the diagnostic steps to solving a field mystery. The MI Ag Ideas to Grow With field crops track will be March 6 with online sessions at the following times:

8-9 a.m. Slugs and Bugs
- Jenna Falor and Monica Jean will discuss two fields that had some unusual munching activity. One ended up having a single little culprit, the other field had two culprits exacerbating the problem. What is the common pest? Slugs! We will discuss some of the factors that led to the issue and some ways to mitigate the risk.
9-10 a.m. Case #43— The Mystery of the Stunted Soybeans
- Eric Anderson and Nicolle Ritchie will go through real life cases of stunted soybeans, the steps they took to determine the cause(s), and how to respond to your own crop mysteries (soybeans or otherwise).
10:30-11 a.m. Challenges and Opportunities in Growing Canola
- What happens when you want to go beyond corn, soybean and wheat? Brook Wilke from the Kellogg Biological Station will share about his experience growing canola at the Long Term Agroecosystem Research Station, including challenges with planting, harvest and emerging pests and diseases.
11-11:30 a.m. Challenges and Opportunities in No-Till
- What happens when you take away tillage? Christine Charles will share some lessons learned from farmers’ experiences in transitioning to no-till.
11 a.m.-12 p.m. Digital Agriculture and Precision Technologies: Precision Conservation Strategies
- Look into the crystal ball and you will see that the future of ag is digital. Precision ag technology can offer powerful insights for making decisions that increase farm profitability and reduce environmental impact.

MI Ag Ideas to Grow With is a webinar that features irrigation, animal agriculture, food preservation, fruit, vegetable and other agricultural topics. Register at the link below and you will be sent Zoom information for all sessions. Once you are registered, you will receive a link for all sessions. You can join for the whole morning or attend only sessions that interest you.

For the field crops track, four restricted use pesticide (RUP) and four certified crop adviser (CCA) credits have been applied for. You receive the credits only for the sessions you attend.

Register for MI Ag Ideas to Grow With

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