Talking Crop

In this episode of Talking Crop, Trent Ford, the Illinois State Climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss severe weather in Illinois both this season and beyond, El Nino, and the big three climate trends in Illinois and their effects on agriculture.  Episode links: State Climate Office CoCoRaHS Host contact: seebruck@illinois.edu | (815) 986-4357 Guest...

In this episode of Talking Crop, Dr. Nathan Schroeder, Associate Professor of Nematode Anatomy and Biology in the Department of Crop Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss soybean cyst nematodes, their pest status and control, as well as free SCN testing available to Illinois producers. Free SCN Testing SCN Coalition Guest contact: nes@illinois.edu...

In this episode of Talking Crop, Dr. Alison Robertson, Professor of Plant Pathology and Microbiology and Extension Field Crops Pathologist with Iowa State University, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss southern rust, tar spot, and the invaluable field crop disease resources from the Crop Protection Network. Will southern rust be a problem on corn in 2026? Statewide evaluation of foliar fungicides...

In this episode of Talking Crop, Dr. Patrick Tranel, Professor of Weed Molecular Biology and Genomics in the Department of Crop Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss Dr. Tranel's research in weed genomics and herbicide resistance as well as the implications of metabolic resistance as it relates to the future of weed control.    ISA Webinar: Unders...

In this episode of Talking Crop, Dr. Giovani Preza-Fontes, Extension Field Crop Agronomist in the Department of Crop Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss this year's planting and early-season growing conditions as well as Giovani's work on soybean performance in conservation cropping systems. Farmdoc Crop Central article, "Update on corn planting...

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, speaks with Dr. Connor Sible, Research Assistant Professor of Crop Production and Physiology at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Sible is a speaker at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. His presentation is titled, "Why do we fertilize? Reviewing corn and soybean nutrient needs and bes...

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, speaks with Dan Smith, Outreach Program Manager for the Nutrient and Pest Management Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. Dan is a speaker at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. His presentation is titled, "Managing waterhemp with cover crops." Dan will discuss how...

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, discusses herbicide resistance as a supplement to her presentation at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. Her presentation is titled, "Producer enemy number one: the case against waterhemp," and will profile waterhemp and detail its modus operandi (MO) to identify the best management practices tha...

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, speaks with Mark Kendall, Research Agronomist for the University of Wisconsin Soybean and Small Grains Extension Program. Mark is a speaker at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. His presentation is titled, "Foliar fertilizers: when do we see the best bang for the buck in soybean?" Mark will discu...

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, speaks with Dr. Marshall McDaniel, Associate Professor of Soil-Plant Interactions at Iowa State University. Dr. McDaniel is a speaker at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. His presentation, titled, "SoilBNB: How to make your soils a host for microbes and reap the benefits," will highlight the eff...

In this episode of Talking Crop, Dr. Salah Issa, an assistant professor and Extension ag safety specialist with the University of Illinois Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss grain bin safety and the research that Dr. Issa has conducted to assess the efficacy of using compressed air as a strategy to handle out-of-condition grain. Strategies for h...

In this episode of Talking Crop, Jared Fender and Sam Leskanich, researchers with the Crop Physiology Lab at the University of Illinois, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss corn root characterization including that of short corn, as well as fertilizer placement and timing with strip till.    Crop Physiology Lab     Talking Crop survey   Guest contact: Jared - fender2@illinois.edu | Sam - sjl15@ill...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, Travis Meteer, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss methods that producers can use to extend the grazing season. These include stockpiling forage, grazing cover crops, and grazing cornstalks. Quick Guide to Cover Crops for Forage Illinois Extension Beef Cattle Facebook Page Illinois Extension Beef Cattle websi...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator, Rachel Curry, Ogle County farmer Norm Deets, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy and the importance, challenges, and benefits of implementing on-farm conservation strategies.   Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership Conservation Story Map   Illinois EPA's website: go...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator, Reagen Tibbs, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the effects of tariffs; changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act such as ARC and PLC, base acres, and the Estate Tax; and the Farm Bill.  Related articles: Farmdoc: The New Base Acre Provisions in the 2025 Farm Bill Farmdoc: Impacts of the Commodity...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois affiliate professor, Dr. Marty Williams, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss Dr. Williams's recent research on how weather conditions before, during, and after herbicide application can affect herbicide efficacy.    Articles discussed in the episode: Searching for consistent postemergence weed control in progressively inconsistent weather   W...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Wisconsin-Madison corn agronomy Extension specialist, Dr. Harkirat Kaur, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss wildfire smoke effects on corn, drought, the implications of slow GDD accumulation, and silage corn as it relates to mycotoxins, short corn, and tar spot.    Dr. Kaur's "CORNversations with Kaur" blog: https://badgercropnetwork.com/tag/cornvers...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension soil fertility specialist, Dr. John Jones, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss updates to corn nitrogen rate recommendations, the soil supplying power of nitrogen, and work being done to update phosphorus and potassium recommendations.   Corn nitrogen rate calculator: https://www.cornnratecalc.org/   Dr. Jones IFCA Spring Webinar: h...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Agricultural and Consumer Economics professor, Dr. David Bullock, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the Data Intensive Farm Management Program (DIFM). With the use of precision technology and the DIFM.farm cyberinfrastructure, this program enables farmers to conduct precision experimentation on their farms with multiple variable levels and...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension Commercial Agriculture Specialist, Steven Brand, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss tar spot identification, conditions that are favorable to disease development, and best practices for tar spot prevention and control.    More information on tar spot conditions: Conditions favorable to tar spot development are milder, wet weather....

In this episode of Talking Crop, Associate Professor of Soil Science in the Department of Crop Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Andrew Margenot, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the Illinois Centennial Soil Archive Project as well as Dr. Margenot's work to update the phosphorus and potassium recommendations in the Illinois Agronomy Handbook.  Illinois Centennial Soil Arc...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension Commercial Agriculture Educator and Illinois Representative for the Midwest Cover Crop Council, Nathan Johanning, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss cover cropping goals, planting methods, planting date, termination, and more. Midwest Cover Crop Council: https://www.midwestcovercrops.org/ MCCC selector tool: https://www.midwestcove...

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension Digital Agriculture Specialist, Dennis Bowman, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the evolution of technology use in agriculture, its benefits and drawbacks, and the application of drones, robots, and artificial intelligence in ag. Illinois Center for Digital Agriculture: https://digitalag.illinois.edu/

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension Watershed Outreach Associate, Nicole Haverback, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy and how farmers can be affected by and contribute to nutrient loss reduction.  Episode links: IEPA Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy: go.illinois.edu/nlrs (You access the biennial reports here) Li...

In this episode of Talking Crop, Resource Conservationist with the Winnebago County Soil and Water Conservation District, Katie Peterson, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the difference between the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Soil and Water Conservation Districts, they cover cost-share programs that the Soil and Water Conservation Districts offer in addition to some offered by th...