Week of July 21, 2025 Local, professional reports straight from the field,
from all regions serviced by Ag Partners.
Meet this week’s featured agronomists:
Morristown, MN
Lake City, MN
Lewiston, MN
Ellsworth, WI
Ag Partners Tar Spot Tracker
Check here for your weekly update on where Tar Spot has been reported in the Ag Partners territory:
WEST
Belle Plaine – Le Center – Le Sueur – Morristown – Traverse
As we begin scouting soybeans for insect pressure, disease pressure, and staging in preparation of fungicide applications, here are a few key products we like to include in the tank with Miravis Neo and some things to keep in mind while out scouting:
Endigo ZCX: Soybean aphids continue to be our most concerning pest on soybean acres here in the central region. Typically, aphids will target the bottom side of the newest leaves of the plant. When populations are high, they’ll progress to leaves and stems throughout the plant causing significant yield loss. Products like Endigo ZCX have shown great results in providing residual and contact control on soybean pests such as aphids, Japanese beetles, stink bugs, and others.
Ascend SL: Pod retention through the later part of the summer and into the fall is crucial to maintaining and increasing our soybean yields. Ascend SL promotes an increase in cell division and leaf expansion through the reproductive phases and has proven to reduce pod abortion when facing stress. With really good internal and external data to back it up, it’s become a staple to maximizing yield potential on our soybean acres. Let’s finish out the summer strong and have a safe upcoming fall! – Sully
EAST
Goodhue – Kenyon – Lake City – Pine Island – Wanamingo
The 2025 crop is looking very good in the eastern part of the state! With the current focus on corn fungicide timing and application, we must be mindful of the soybeans as well. Many of the soybeans in our area are at the R2 growth stage. With R3 being right around the corner and that being the ideal time for soybean fungicide applications, we need to be scouting our fields. R3 is defined as one pod on one of the four uppermost nodes off the mainstem being 3/16 inch long. Current aphid populations are low, but as we all know they can multiply very fast. Adding in an insecticide to your fungicide pass is a good tool used to protect your soybean crop. I hope the rest of your 2025 fungicide season goes well and don’t be afraid to contact your local Ag Partners Agronomist with any questions! – Ethan
SOUTH
Elgin – Lewiston – Stewartville
The summer heat and humidity has arrived this week once again. The timely rain over the last couple of months has made our corn and soybeans in the area looking to be one of the best we have seen. With corn tasseling or nearing tassel, the fungicide application is well under way. With heat stress during pollination, it is always good to check how well the ear has pollinated. A common way to see how successful it was is to do the “shake test.” To do this carefully unwrap the husks and gently shake the ear. The silks that fall off indicate the future of a corn kernel. The silks that remain attached indicate fertilization is yet to occur or missed out on pollination.
Soybeans in the area are in the late R2 growth stage or full bloom, quickly approaching R3, where we can see a 3/16” of a pod on the uppermost nodes. We have seen a few aphids starting to show up on edges of fields. Be on the lookout for these and other insects as the combination of different sorts can start to put stress on the plants and start to rob the top end yield.
Another pest we have seen show up in the last week is armyworms. They have been seen in the very late planted corn, small grains, and the sorghum/sudan fields that some dairy growers planted in early June. There have been a couple of instances where they have not allowed the crop to recover after being cut for forages.
Pictured below are the armyworms and some of the damage we have seen this past week.
With a strong yield potential out there, let’s protect the crop to the best of our ability. As always, if you have any questions about what’s going on in your fields, reach out to your local Ag Partners Agronomist. – Brett
WISCONSIN
Ellsworth
Fungicide season is in full swing here in Western WI, which means lots of scouting and in season decisions to be made for our crop health. While keeping that in mind, I want to touch briefly on some issues we have been seeing this season in our soybeans that inevitably will carry into 2026. Many growers have experienced issues this season with the efficacy of a single post herbicide application, particularly on waterhemp. This beast of a weed has known resistance to 8 groups of herbicides and counting, as well as season long germination abilities, making its control extremely difficult as many have experienced. Recently, multiple and in progress studies by UW Madison and Iowa State have begun recording populations of waterhemp being resistant to 1x rate applications of 2,4-D. We saw many scenarios in the 2025 season solidifying this information. For growers with dense waterhemp pressure, one post application of 2,4-D (even when paired with a pre early on) may not be enough.
To reduce the rate of resistance development and give us the best chance for a kill, we need to consider multiple modes of action. Pairing Enlist One and Liberty in a post application, as well as a good pre early on gives us the best chance. Reach out to your Ag Partners Agronomist to start discussing the herbicide control issues and success you have seen thus far in 2025, so we can start making note of the changes needed for 2026. – Kirsten
