Integrated Crop Management News Offers Timely Solutions for Growers

Apr 13, 2023

Crop producers and the crop industry can get timely updates on growing-season challenges by subscribing to Integrated Crop Management News, a web service offered by the crops team with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

A team of agronomists, plant pathologists, entomologists, weather experts and others collaborate to write timely articles and blogs that are posted to the ICM News website and emailed directly to subscribers.

The information addresses everything from pre-plant to planting concerns, growing season issues, harvest and reflections on the past growing season. Articles are timely and address real-time concerns growers are experiencing.

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“Our authors try to incorporate timely, research-based information that helps inform crop producers and the industry of their options related to crop protection, yield and profit,” said Erin Hodgson, crops team lead and extension entomologist at Iowa State. “With farming, there are a lot of things outside of the producers’ control, but we try to offer viable solutions so that producers can make good judgment calls about how they respond.”

To date, nearly 4,600 people subscribe to the ICM News service, and more than 1,600 subscribe to the ICM Blog. Anyone who wants to subscribe can enter their email, on the right side of the ICM News website: https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews.

During peak growing season, Hodgson said it’s common for multiple articles and blogs to be posted throughout the week, and subscribers receive an email each time new content is posted. All subscriptions are free.

The same website that hosts ICM News and blogs also hosts news releases and industry-specific information related to crops, soils, upcoming events and more. One part of the website, called the “Encyclopedia,” provides an encyclopedic explanation of common crop issues, A through Z.

While the primary goal is to inform producers and the industry, Hodgson said the content also sparks ideas for media and education.

The information is intended to be shared, and links to ICM news articles are strongly encouraged. Articles may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Integrated Crop Management News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If articles are used in any other manner, permission from the author is required.

Source : iastate.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.