The annual Rice and Steele County Crop Days will be on KDHL's AM Minnesota Program this week, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday thanks the Extension Educator Claire LaCanne in Rice and Steele County. It was Clair's idea to host the Crops Day on AM Minnesota instead of going virtual like so many other programs. In addition Claire lined up all the Extension Specialists after we talked about the crop production topics we wanted to cover. If you cannot listen to the programs shortly after they air they will be posted on our website as podcasts.

We should credit Brad Carlson too, who early in his career was Extension Educator in Rice and Steel County. Brad had been in Rice and Steele County just a short time when I came to KDHL. Brad said that "back in the day" there was a Rice County Crops Day and he asked if they could partner with KDHL and brink Back the Crops Day Program.  Special thank you to our sponsors Ag Partners in Morristown, Rice County Mutual Insurance in Faribault and the Kelley Insurance Agency in Nerstrand.

I believe this is the 25th annual Rice and Steele County Crops Day that KDHL had helped with and I am looking forward not just looking at a computer screen! Last year we were able to host the program normally just before things began being canceled because of COVID-19. After the program on Friday you can go to our website: kdhlradio.com and register for a Minnesota Gopher ballcap and a gift card from Cash Wise Foods if you fill out the survey. Below is the schedule, topics and guests for the three days from Claire's news release.

Tuesday’s program will feature weed updates. Mike Cruse and David Nicolai, Extension Educators, will focus on updates regarding Palmer amaranth, a noxious weed on the Minnesota Department of Ag’s eradicate list. Mike Cruse serves Houston and Fillmore counties, in which Palmer amaranth has been discovered the past few years.

Thursday will feature crop diseases, focusing on corn tar spot. Dean Malvick, Extension Plant Pathologist, will talk about this disease that was recently confirmed in Minnesota in 2019. Tar spot of corn was also confirmed in several fields in this area of Minnesota in 2020.

 Friday’s program focuses on insect pest updates. Bob Koch, Extension Entomologist, will focus on soybean aphids and pesticide resistance, and will touch on some other insect pests as well. Researchers at the University, including Bob and his students, are finding that soybean aphids have been gaining resistance to certain insecticides in recent years.

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