Don’t Miss Out On The 2026 Field Crops Scouting School

May 05, 2026

By Nicolle Ritchie

The third annual Michigan State University Extension Field Crops Scouting School starts in just a few weeks on May 21! It will be held at the MSU Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center, 3775 S Reese Rd, Frankenmuth, MI 48734. If you have interns or entry level scouts, send them to this scouting training that will cover all the basics of scouting, plus tips and tricks from experienced crop scouters. The past two years, 100% of participants who completed the post-survey said they would recommend this program to their employers or fellow co-workers.

Scouting School extends over three dates during different parts of the growing season to give participants timely, in-season training with the pests they will be seeing in the field around that time. Keep in mind that no two seasons are the same. Throughout the three sessions, MSU Extension field crops educators with years of scouting experience will be helping and teaching in addition to MSU Extension specialists.

Participants will move through this three-part training program in a cohort throughout the growing season.

Source : msu.edu

Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies