Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit

Producers faced another challenging crop growing season this year with dry weather and added weed pressure. “The short yet intense periods of drought this year, although mitigated by timely rainfall, made for an interesting growing season,” stated Kathryn Seebruck, U of I Extension Crops Educator, “it taught us a lot about the importance of setting the crop up for success in defense against these types of adverse conditions.” 

 

To address these growing season challenges and more, the University of Illinois Extension is pleased to announce the annual Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit that will be held at Highland Community College Conference Center in Freeport, IL, on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, with the program running from 10 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.

 

The theme for this year’s conference is Updates in Nutrient, Weed, and Soil Health Management, with University of Illinois and University of Wisconsin-Madison specialists discussing strategies for weed, nutrient management, and plans to build soil health. 

 

Topics for the day include:
 
Practical Nitrogen Management for Corn
Nitrogen is the most yield-limiting nutrient for corn production. This talk will review results from U of I research trials including rate, source, time of application, cover crops, etc.
Giovani Preza Fontes, Field Crops Agronomist, U of I Extension

Understanding Biologicals for Row Crops
The biological product market available to corn and soybean growers has exploded recently with new technologies and management tools designed to enhance fertilizer use, reduce crop stress, stimulate soil microbial activity, manage crop residues, and improve soil health. Key questions for growers, however, are which products work best and under what conditions of crop management.  This presentation will highlight our efforts to categorize biological products based on their active ingredients and modes of action and will summarize our ongoing research findings on which product types work, where they work, why they work, and most importantly, what other management practices help to realize the full economic benefit of biologicals.
Connor Sible, Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Crop Physiology Department, University of Illinois

Navigating the Inevitability of Herbicide Resistance
The continuing evolution of herbicide resistance is one of the most challenging issues that agronomic crop producers face. Our understanding of resistance is not keeping pace with the frequency of resistance evolution, making it increasingly difficult to mitigate. A rise in non-target-site (NTS) resistance is further convoluting our understanding of this phenomenon, and common practices historically relied upon to prevent resistance are falling short. This presentation will explore herbicide resistance evolution, discuss the rise in NTS resistance, and illustrate the importance of utilizing multiple methods of control to ensure that weed seed production is prevented.
Kathryn Seebruck, Crops Educator, U of I Extension

Building Soil Health in Northern Climates
Is building soil health while maintaining crop yields possible in Northern Climates? Over the past five years, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been exploring the possibilities of incorporating reduced tillage and winter rye into corn and soybean crop rotations. This work has proven very successful and we will discuss these results in this presentation.
Dan Smith, Southwest Regional Specialist, Nutrient and Pest Management Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 
Highland Community College research plots update and research results
Justin Ebert Highland Community College Agriculture Instructor

To register or for more information about the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit, visit us online at go.illinois.edu/jsw or call U of I Extension at (815) 235-4125. Registration is required to attend. Registration cost is $25.

CEUs for CCAs will be available: 1 in Nutrient Management and 1 in Crop Management.

To view additional ag programs offered by University of Illinois Extension serving JoDaviess, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties, visit https://extension.illinois.edu/jsw/agriculture
The latest version of our Ag Newsletter can be found on-line at: https://go.illinois.edu/agnewsletter