Planting season is right around the corner and so are the pests.
Soybean cyst nematode causes problems for growers every year. A researcher explains why they are so hard to eradicate.
“The worm is about 100th of an inch long, and it’s confusing to people, perhaps also because it goes into the root and attaches to the vascular tissue of the soybean root, but then it swells up. The adult female eventually gets so big that she pops out of the root, and you can see her as a little white dot on the surface of the root. In fact, that’s one way we advise farmers and agronomists to check fields for SCN. Wait till five or six weeks after planting, and then, pretty much, through to August, maybe mid-August, dig roots and look for those little white females,” said Dr. Greg Tylka.
He warns nematode resistance will be a challenge in the future. The current resistance took around 20 years to fall apart.
Dave Kestel, a farmer from Will County and member of the Illinois Farm Bureau, joins us to share a boots-on-the-ground update on the 2025 corn harvest.
October 03, 2025 02:30 PM
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American Coalition for Ethanol’s Ron Lamberty shares the significance of California’s approval, opening up the country’s largest gasoline market to a cleaner-burning, often lower-cost fuel option.
October 03, 2025 01:12 PM
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated this week that the government will intervene to help, following China’s withdrawal from the U.S. soybean market. One trader says the industry will remain in a holding pattern until Tuesday.
October 03, 2025 01:04 PM
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University of Illinois Ag Economist Gary Schnitker says early projections indicate soybeans will be more profitable than corn in 2026.
October 03, 2025 11:53 AM
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Dr. Beetham outlined the background of the EU’s decision to modernize seed regulations and where the process stands today, and its impact on global agriculture and food security.
October 02, 2025 01:24 PM
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In a final rule published in the Federal Register, the Department states that it will no longer base wage rates on the Farm Labor Survey.
October 02, 2025 11:20 AM
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