Start Clean and Stay Clean by Scouting Fields This Spring

May 05, 2025

By Meaghan Anderson and Wesley Everman

Rain and wind has impeded getting fieldwork done this spring, but it looks like the weather forecast is heading for drier conditions. This will allow farmers to get the remaining corn and soybean fields planted across Iowa prior to when yield potential starts to drop off in mid-May. The latest USDA Crop Progress Report estimates that 34% of our corn is planted and 25% of the soybean crop is planted.

The forecast appears to have nearly ideal wind speeds to make effective, on-target herbicide applications in the coming days. Before spraying pre-plant or preemergence herbicides, consider scouting fields before spraying in order to:

Determine if the crop hasn’t emerged before a herbicide application goes on if the field was planted already; and
Make sure that your planned herbicide program can manage any weeds that have emerged.

In corn, many herbicides are labeled for both PRE and early POST application timings. One important caveat is that once the corn starts to emerge, most labels prohibit the inclusion of UAN as a carrier for POST applications due to the risk of damaging young corn plants. You can read more on that topic in the article “UAN and herbicide applications on emerged corn.”

In soybean, restrictions are stricter and the risk of injury is very high if many PRE herbicide products are applied to emerging or even soybean that are beginning to create cracks in the planted row. I’ve already received images this spring of the burning injury from HG 14 products that washed onto newly emerged seedlings (Figure 1); minor injury from HG 14 products is not unexpected, but off-label applications may result in severe, stand-reducing injury. Read the article “Look before you leap: Cautions for delayed preemergence applications in soybean” for more information.

In addition to the risks of crop injury, be aware of the presence of emerged weeds that might not be controlled by the planned herbicide program. I have observed numerous summer annual weed species emerge in the past several weeks – giant ragweed, common lambsquarters, velvetleaf, ivyleaf morningglory, and several others. Most importantly, agronomists in Iowa have noticed waterhemp emerging as well (Figure 2). While a standard burndown herbicide application with glyphosate may manage a variety of other species well, it is unlikely to control emerged waterhemp. Depending on the planned crop and whether it has been planted yet, numerous burndown herbicide options are available that are still effective on waterhemp like paraquat, 2,4-D, glufosinate, and saflufenacil.

Prior to spraying, scout fields and check herbicide labels to determine whether your planned herbicide will be sufficient to manage emerged weeds, avoid unnecessary crop injury, and adjust accordingly to make sure your fields start clean and stay clean this summer.

Source : iastate.edu

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.