Growing degree days since April 1: 2463 GDD at Springfield (Average (11 year average 2425) (From the Illinois State Water Survey Degree-Day Calculator)
4 inch soil temp: 68.2°F (10 am 4-inch soil temperature under bare soil) (From the Illinois State Water Survey Illinois Climate Network)
Spotted Wing Drosophila Update. Our spotted wing Drosophila traps continue to capture adults. We also sample various fruits on a weekly basis; we extract larvae from fruit samples and hold a second portion of the same samples for adult emergence. So far, SWD has infested nearly all the fruits we have sampled, including blackberry, elderberry, grapes, pokeweed berries, and red, black, and yellow raspberries. For more information, click here. (Dr. Rick Weinzierl, University of Illinois)
USDA Announces Final EIS on 2,4-D-Resistant Corn and Soy
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of its review to determine whether to deregulate GE corn and soybean plants that are resistant to several herbicides, including one known as 2,4-D. The final EIS affirms APHIS' preferred alternative to fully deregulate these new GE crops.
Several upcoming events that may be of interest...
- Farmers Market Regulation Webinar, August 25 (1:00-2:30 pm) and August 28 (6:00-7:30 pm) (both webinars will have the same content). To register for the webinar, see https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=10728 or call the Sangamon Menard Extension office at (217) 782-4617.
- Legal Issues Workshops (for small farms), September 2-9. 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. September 2 at the University of Illinois Extension Office in Springfield; September 3 at the University of Illinois Extension Office in Champaign; September 5 in Carbondale at the SIUC Dunn-Richmond Center, and September 9 at the University of Illinois Extension Office in Grayslake. For more information, see http://thelandconnection.org/legalissues.
- Cover Crops, Soil Health, and Value Adding with Diversity, September 4. 9:00 a.m. to noon, PrairiErth Farm, Atlanta, IL. For more information, see http://web.extension.illinois.edu/units/event.cfm?UnitID=629&EventID=66230.
Source: University of Illinois