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.
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Strong export demand supports feed grain prices, but drought risk and seasonal patterns favor disciplined early-year marketing.
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Roger McEowen with the Washburn University School of Law joined us to provide legal insight and context on these issues facing agriculture. Today, he discusses pesticide litigation.
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Corn export strength remains a key demand anchor, while China’s continued involvement in soybeans and sorghum bears close watching for price direction.
January 06, 2026 01:12 PM
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Strong crush demand and rising ethanol production are pressuring feedstocks, as traders monitor storage risks and supply chain uncertainty and await the upcoming January WASDE report.
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