Talking Crop

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, speaks with Dr. Connor Sible, Research Assistant Professor of Crop Production and Physiology at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Sible is a speaker at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. His presentation is titled, "Why do we fertilize? Reviewing corn and soybean nutrient needs and best fertility practices." Dr. Sible will review the nutrient needs and distributions for corn and soybean, identify the traditional focuses, and highlight new research on 4R practices to help optimize fertilizer use efficiency and return on fertilizer investment.

You can register online for the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit at go.illinois.edu/AGSFreeport or you can call the Stephenson County office at 815-235-4125. Registration is $25 and includes lunch. Five continuing education units will be available for Certified Crop Advisors. As of last year, this program has been adopted across the state, and you can find a list of all Agronomy Summits in the series at go.illinois.edu/AgronomySummits.

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, speaks with Dan Smith, Outreach Program Manager for the Nutrient and Pest Management Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension.

Dan is a speaker at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. His presentation is titled, "Managing waterhemp with cover crops." Dan will discuss how you can use cover crops successfully in your current crop rotation to suppress weeds.

You can register online for the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit at go.illinois.edu/AGSFreeport or you can call the Stephenson County office at 815-235-4125. Registration is $25 and includes lunch. Five continuing education units will be available for Certified Crop Advisors. As of last year, this program has been adopted across the state, and you can find a list of all Agronomy Summits in the series at go.illinois.edu/AgronomySummits.

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, discusses herbicide resistance as a supplement to her presentation at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. Her presentation is titled, "Producer enemy number one: the case against waterhemp," and will profile waterhemp and detail its modus operandi (MO) to identify the best management practices that can and should be utilized to apprehend this troublesome weed species.

You can register online for the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit at go.illinois.edu/AGSFreeport or you can call the Stephenson County office at 815-235-4125. Registration is $25 and includes lunch. Five continuing education units will be available for Certified Crop Advisors. As of last year, this program has been adopted across the state, and you can find a list of all Agronomy Summits in the series at go.illinois.edu/AgronomySummits.

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, speaks with Mark Kendall, Research Agronomist for the University of Wisconsin Soybean and Small Grains Extension Program.

Mark is a speaker at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. His presentation is titled, "Foliar fertilizers: when do we see the best bang for the buck in soybean?" Mark will discuss how selecting the right nutrients and applying them at the right time are critical to gaining a positive return on investment (ROI) with lower commodity prices. His presentation will look back at the most recent 5+ years of research to see where foliar fertilizers fit best in soybean production.

You can register online for the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit at go.illinois.edu/AGSFreeport or you can call the Stephenson County office at 815-235-4125. Registration is $25 and includes lunch. Five continuing education units will be available for Certified Crop Advisors. As of last year, this program has been adopted across the state, and you can find a list of all Agronomy Summits in the series at go.illinois.edu/AgronomySummits.

In this special bonus episode of Talking Crop, host, Kathryn Seebruck, speaks with Dr. Marshall McDaniel, Associate Professor of Soil-Plant Interactions at Iowa State University.

Dr. McDaniel is a speaker at the 2026 Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit in Freeport, Illinois. His presentation, titled, "SoilBNB: How to make your soils a host for microbes and reap the benefits," will highlight the effects that soil health principles have on microbial quantity and activity in soils and the benefits to crops that this microbial activity provides.

You can register online for the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit at go.illinois.edu/AGSFreeport or you can call the Stephenson County office at 815-235-4125. Registration is $25 and includes lunch. Five continuing education units will be available for Certified Crop Advisors. As of last year, this program has been adopted across the state, and you can find a list of all Agronomy Summits in the series at go.illinois.edu/AgronomySummits.

In this episode of Talking Crop, Dr. Salah Issa, an assistant professor and Extension ag safety specialist with the University of Illinois Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss grain bin safety and the research that Dr. Issa has conducted to assess the efficacy of using compressed air as a strategy to handle out-of-condition grain.

Strategies for handling out-of-condition grain

Talking Crop Survey

Guest contact: [email protected] 
Host contact: [email protected] | (815) 986-4357

In this episode of Talking Crop, Jared Fender and Sam Leskanich, researchers with the Crop Physiology Lab at the University of Illinois, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss corn root characterization including that of short corn, as well as fertilizer placement and timing with strip till. 

Crop Physiology Lab 

Talking Crop survey

Guest contact: Jared - [email protected] | Sam - [email protected]

Host contact: [email protected] | (815) 986-4357

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, Travis Meteer, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss methods that producers can use to extend the grazing season. These include stockpiling forage, grazing cover crops, and grazing cornstalks.

Quick Guide to Cover Crops for Forage

Illinois Extension Beef Cattle Facebook Page
Illinois Extension Beef Cattle website
Extended Grazing 

Grazing Cornstalks
Spring Forage
 

Talking Crop survey

Guest contact: [email protected]

Host contact: [email protected] | (815) 986-4357

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator, Rachel Curry, Ogle County farmer Norm Deets, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy and the importance, challenges, and benefits of implementing on-farm conservation strategies.

Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership Conservation Story Map 

Illinois EPA's website: go.illinois.edu/NLRS 

Illinois Extension's nutrient loss website: go.illinois.edu/NLR  

Illinois NLRS Podcast

Illinois NLRS Blog

Talking Crop survey

Guest contact: [email protected] 

Host contact: [email protected] | (815) 986-4357

In this episode of Talking Crop, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator, Reagen Tibbs, and host, Kathryn Seebruck, discuss the effects of tariffs; changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act such as ARC and PLC, base acres, and the Estate Tax; and the Farm Bill. 

Related articles:

• Farmdoc: The New Base Acre Provisions in the 2025 Farm Bill
• Farmdoc: Impacts of the Commodity Title Changes Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) for Midwestern Farms in 2025
• US Congress: Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Agriculture and USDA’s Responses: Frequently Asked Questions

Talking Crop Survey

Guest contact: [email protected]

Host contact: [email protected] | (815) 986-4357