The 24^th Edition of The Illinois Agronomy Handbook is hot off the press. It has been seven years since the last version of this guide to crop production in Illinois was published. I have now been working for University of Illinois Extension for over 28 years and am rapidly approaching "geezer" status and have seen many revisions of the handbook. Prior to 2000, the Illinois Agronomy Handbook was revised every two years and the changes from issue to issue were pretty small. That is not the case with this edition!

Every chapter has re-written based upon the most recent research data, information and guidelines. Some chapters were totally dropped. The result is a very usable concise guide to crop production in Illinois.

The overall "look" of the new version has been improved too. There is color in this edition. The tables and graphs make use of color to quickly communicate the concept being illustrated. Color photographs are used throughout the publication improving the look and usefulness of the handbook, especially in the insect, weed and disease chapters.

There is a whole new chapter just on Nitrogen Management. This is one area that has seen significant changes since the last edition. The old version still used the "1.2" recommendation system for determining corn nitrogen fertilization rates. The new book explains the new system that takes into account fertilizer and crop prices. This system maximizes profit rather than just focusing on yield alone.

Unfortunately, the new version of the Handbook will not be downloadable on the Internet. Because of special funding, the chapters of the previous version were available as "pdf" files. That funding is no longer available. However some of the special calculators and tools that were developed in that project will still be available.

The new handbook costs $35. You can order it online with a credit card day or night from Pubs Plus at pubsplus.illinois.edu, or you can call Information Technology and Communication Services at 1-800-345-6087 or 333-2007.