Soybean Aphid Populations Persisting And Increasing

Jun 30, 2017

By Adam J. Varenhorst

Figure 1. Soybean aphid colony.

While scouting soybean last week, we noticed that aphid populations near Volga, SD were steadily increasing from the previous week (Figure 1). Although the soybean aphids in the field are still well below the economic threshold of an average of 250 aphids per 20 plants, there were a few hotspots that will be monitored in the following weeks. Our peak count was 376 soybean aphids on a single plant. However, the average for the field was 39 soybean aphids per plant. Soybean aphids are typically more of an issue later in the season (July-August), but their populations are already present and steadily increasing. It will be important to not delay and start scouting within the next week to prevent any surprise outbreaks from occurring.

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Border View Farms is a mid-sized family farm that sits on the Ohio-Michigan border. My name is Nathan. I make and edit all of the videos posted here. I farm with my dad, Mark and uncle, Phil. Our part-time employee, Brock, also helps with the filming. 1980 was our first year in Waldron where our main farm is now. Since then we have grown the operation from just a couple hundred acres to over 3,000. Watch my 500th video for a history of our farm I filmed with my dad.

I started making these videos in the fall of 2019 as a way to help show what I do on a daily basis as a farmer. Agriculture is different from any other industry and I believe the more people that are showing their small piece of agriculture, helps to build our story. We face unique challenges and stressful situations but have some of the most rewarding payoffs in the end. I get to spend everyday doing what I love, raising my kids on the farm, and trying to push our farm to be better every year. I hope that I can address questions or concerns that you might have about farms and agriculture.