AgSource Laboratories now has feed and forage sample drop boxes throughout south and central Idaho. Locations can be found online or by calling (208) 324-7411.

The weekly Haywatch Report examines the performance of hay samples cut from selected fields.

A tiny Asian fly that feeds on pasture grasses showed up in Georgia two years ago, the first time the species was documented in the Western Hemisphere. It's now moved to Florida and possibly other Southern states. In some north Florida counties, as much as 20 percent of the late-summer hay harvest has been damaged, said Tim Wilson, a University of Florida Extension agent in Bradford County.

Atherigona reversura calls Japan, Indonesia, India and even Hawaii home. It was confirmed for the first time on the U.S. mainland in a bermudagrass pasture in Pierce County, Georgia, near Savannah in the fall of 2010, said Will Hudson, an entomologist with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, at the 5th annual Southeast Hay Convention.

University of Missouri (MU) Extension agronomy specialists have been closely monitoring true armyworm activity in various crops in Missouri this year. This comes after reports of significant damage to forages and crops in northern Arkansas. Click here to read about armyworm activity in Arkansas.

To date there have been evidence in sections of southwest Missouri of armyworm activity on fescue, bermudagrass, wheat and corn. Some high numbers of moth counts have been observed in southern Missouri monitoring traps in the last month.     

Tim Schnakenberg, an agronomy specialist with MU Extension based in Galena, Missouri, has received reports of true armyworms from Barry, Cedar, Dade, Stone and Christian counties in the last few days.

The University of Illinois announced that Monsanto Company pledged a $250,000 grant to be put towards an initiative between the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and the College of Media. The initiative will help establish an Agricultural Communications Program endowed chair that will strengthen communications for agricultural and rural development. The James F. Evans Endowed Chair in Agricultural Communications will provide leadership for the joint program between the College of ACES and the College of Media by serving current and future agricultural communicators through courses, service initiatives, research and relationship building.

What began as a few outdoor garden beds showcasing North Carolina’s agricultural legacy will soon blossom into a living, thriving exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. The museum is partnering with Syngenta, located in Research Triangle Park and Greensboro, to make the exhibit grow.

The chronological exhibit History of the Harvest will connect the state’s agricultural past with today’s cutting-edge research and development by universities and companies such as Syngenta.