BASF and the SCN Coalition Announce Second Annual SCN Action Month

Oct 04, 2022

By Ally Roden

BASF will supply free soil test kits throughout October for the first 500 growers that submit their request online by October 31.

“We’re finding there are still growers who either aren’t aware of SCN or just don’t believe they have it in their field,” said Troy Bauer, BASF senior field technical representative for seed treatment – Western Corn Belt, in a release. “Soil testing during the month of October is key to this effort. When growers know their numbers, they can make a solid management plan for next year.”

Growers like Dan Ory, a grower from Earlham, Iowa, were surprised by the results from the SCN Action Month’s free soil test kit received last year.

“I had the opportunity to test my soil using one of the free test kits. I suspected we had nematodes, but I was surprised by how many,” said Ory. “It was a revelation that has changed how I’ll approach my soybean fields going forward.”

The foundation for SCN management is testing the soil, according to experts from The SCN Coalition.

“If a farmer doesn’t know he or she has SCN and isn’t actively managing it, yield potential can be lost,” said Greg Tylka, nematologist at Iowa State University. “It may be three or four bushels per acre, or it might be 23 to 24 bushels per acre. But you won’t know until you test your soil.”

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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.