Your corn has emerged and your beans are planted, but it is not time to take a break yet. There are many pests that have been waiting for you to finish planting, so they can begin their spring feeding in the fresh buffet you have just provided for them. Your job is scouting your crop so you know what pests are present and whether to do something about them.

Extension entomologists strongly encourage corn producers and agricultural advisors to check early emerging cornfields for the presence of flea beetles, southern corn leaf beetles, and other early-season insects, as well as signs of their feeding injury. The corn flea beetle is a small (~1/16 inch long), oval, shiny black beetle with enlarge hind legs that enable them to jump when disturbed. The southern corn leaf beetle also is small (~3/16 inch long), and is dark brown, often covered with bits of soil. The prothoracic shield just behind the head has three "teeth" on each lateral edge.

Flea beetles injure corn by feeding of the epidermis of leaves, resulting in small feeding streaks or windowpane feeding patches. This injury infrequently results in economic losses, with one obvious exception. A few years ago when soil moisture was less than plentiful and corn flea beetles were abundant, the injury caused by the flea beetles killed corn seedlings in western Illinois.

The other concern with flea beetles is the potential for their vectoring the bacterium that causes Stewart's wilt. Most dent corn hybrids are resistant to the wilt phase after they develop beyond the 5-leaf stage. However, many hybrids remain somewhat susceptible to the leaf blight phase of this disease.

Southern corn leaf beetle adults feed on the stems and chew out notches on the edges of leaves of corn seedlings; injured plants appear ragged. Occasionally the adults occur in such large numbers that injured plants die, especially if the beetles chew through the stems.

Treatment for corn flea beetles on seedling corn may be warranted if you find 5 or more beetles per plant before the V5 stage of growth, especially if the plants are suffering from environmental stress (e.g., lack of sufficient moisture, slow growth due to cool temperatures). Don't over-react to the presence of flea beetles, but don't sit on your hands, either. You may have to make a judgment call, depending upon the environmental conditions.

Even though the 2003 U.S. corn crop was record large, and 1.146 billion bushels larger than the 2002 crop, stocks on March 1,2004 were only 139 million bushels larger than on March 1,2003. Use of U.S. corn for all purposes during the first half of the 2003-04 marketing year totaled 5.929 billion bushels, 491 million above use during the same period last year and 318 million above the previous record use in 2001-02.

The USDA now projects year ending stocks of U.S. corn at a meager 856 million bushels, or 8.3 percent of projected use. According to the USDA's Prospective Plantings report released on March 31, U.S. corn producers intend only a modest increase in planted acres in 2004, contrary to market expectations of a 1.5 million acre increase. At the intended level of plantings, and assuming a trend yield, the 2004 crop will be about the same size as the 2003 crop, pointing to a continuation of very tight stocks through the 2004-05 marketing year.

The USDA projects the 2003-04 marketing year average farm price in a range of $2.45 to $2.65 per bushel. The midpoint of that range would require a $3.00 average price received from April through August 2004. Expect prices to be well supported through much of the growing season, with new highs likely if periods of weather/crop concerns develop. Producers have the best forward pricing opportunity since 1996. In 1996, harvest delivery bids in central Illinois exceeded $3.00 from March through mid-September, peaking over $3.50 in July.

More of Dr. Good's thoughts about the corn market can be found at: http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/marketing/grainoutlook/html/041504/041504.html

- Darrell Good

The USDA's March Grain Stocks and Prospective Plantings reports contained modest surprises for the soybean market. March 1 soybean inventories were larger than expected and producers reported intentions to plant more acres of soybeans than expected. At the same time, estimates of the size of the South American crop continue to decline and a sharp reduction in the U.S. soybean crush this spring and summer still appears to be needed. As if that is not enough uncertainty, the usual uncertainty about potential U.S. production will persist through August.

After moving steadily and significantly higher from late summer 2003 into early spring 2004, old crop soybean prices became extremely volatile in early April, declining as much as $1.00 from contract highs. Volatile prices are expected to continue well into the growing season. New crop prices remain well below old crop prices as more acreage and higher yields in the U.S. in 2004 will go a long way towards alleviating the shortages experienced in 2003-04.

The mid-point of the USDA's projection of the average farm price during the 2003-04 crop year is $7.60. That average implies that the average price from April through August will be near $8.65. If the 2004 crop makes satisfactory progress, prices are expected to decline into the harvest period. If a trend yield is reached this year, November futures might be expected to decline to the low $6 range. Forward pricing opportunities have unfolded early this year and may remain attractive for several more weeks.

More of Dr. Good's thoughts about the bean market can be found at: http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/marketing/grainoutlook/html/041604/041604.html

- Darrel Good

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will offer soybean producers the opportunity to request a referendum on the Soybean Promotion and Research Order as authorized by federal law. The request for referendum will be conducted at local FSA offices. To be eligible to participate, producers must certify and provide documentation that shows that they produced soybeans and paid an assessment on the soybeans during the period of Jan. 1, 2002, through Dec. 31, 2003. Only those producers who desire a referendum on the order will participate.

Until May 28, 2004, producers may obtain a form to request a referendum from the FSA office either in person or by sending a request by mail or facsimile. Forms may also be obtained via the Internet at http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/mpb/rp-soy.htm.

Individual producers and other producer entities may request a referendum at the FSA office where their administrative farm records are maintained. For the producer not participating in FSA programs, the opportunity to request a referendum will be provided at any FSA office where the producer owns or rents land. Mail in requests must be postmarked by May 28, 2004, and received in the county FSA office by June 7, 2004. All other requests made by facsimile or in person, must be received in the county FSA office by May 28, 2004.

USDA will conduct a referendum on the order if a least 10% of the 663,880 soybean producers request a referendum, provided that no more than one-fifth be producers from one state.

The request for referendum is mandated by law. The act requires that the secretary of agriculture conduct a request for referendum every five years after the initial referendum, which was conducted in 1994.

Although most applicators keep pesticide records because it makes good agronomic sense to do so, there are legal reasons to keep these records as well. The type of information you are legally required to keep depends on your type of business and the type of pesticide you use.

According to federal law, all private applicators (those who apply pesticides to their own land) must maintain records of restricted use pesticide (RUP) applications. The following information must be recorded within 14 days of the RUP application (note later in this article that the WPS notification requirements are more strict) and maintained for 2 years: (1) certified applicator's name and certification number; (2) date of application (M/D/Y); (3) pesticide product name and its U.S. EPA registration number; (4) amount of chemical concentrate applied (for example, pints, quarts, gallons, pounds); (5) crop, commodity, stored product, or site treated; (6) size of the area treated (acres, bushels, animals, etc.); and (7) location of application (any system that accurately identifies the location of the application). For a spot application, simply enter "spot application" and a short description of the location.

Many view pesticide records as a good "insurance policy" against false accusations. Although not required in Illinois, it is a good idea to record (on-site) wind direction and speed during the application, should you find yourself the subject of a drift complaint.

Because no standard forms are required for any of the records listed here, you can use any system you like--as long as the required information is included, and it is legible and accessible to those who have a legal right to see it.

Many pesticide companies, suppliers of personal protective equipment, and other organizations offer record-keeping sheets or notebooks. In addition, many companies offer software (some for free) for computerized record keeping. The University of Nebraska Web site lists several software packages.

If you have not heard of the USDA publication Recordkeeping Manual for Private Pesticide Applicators, take a look. The publication is free, but don't let the price fool you. This 8.5-by-11-inch, spiral-bound notebook provides ample guidance and room for notes. Moreover, it streamlines the RUP and WPS record-keeping requirements and allows flexibility. Due to popular demand (Illinois leads the pack!), the USDA is working on a third printing, which is expected to be available later this spring. Because of this delay, a prototype was scanned and is available online at: (www.pesticidesafety.uiuc.edu/facts/facts.html).

Feel free to print these documents and create your own three-ring record-keeping binder(s). For further information about these laws, contact the Illinois Department of Agriculture (217-785-2427).

The agricultural community in Illinois now has a new Internet tool to track growth cycles of agricultural pests and Illinois crops using daily degree-day totals. This collaborative effort between scientists from the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.sws.uiuc.edu), a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Integrated Pest Management Program, Department of Crop Sciences (http://www.cropsci.uiuc.edu) at the University of Illinois, combines daily weather data and pest information to generate Web pages that show current degree-day totals in Illinois associated with pests and crop development.

Growth of pests and crops in Illinois can be tracked and projected by maintaining an account of the 'heat' accumulated during each growing season. This process involves comparison of daily maximum and minimum temperatures to a base temperature, specific for a particular pest or crop, above which development of the pest or crop will occur. Computer algorithms were developed for tracking 30 agricultural pests and also determining growing degree-day totals for corn and cold weather crops.

Degree-day accumulations for some pests, regardless of their location in Illinois, have a specific calendar day when heat tracking begins, such as January 1 each year. Local accumulations for other pests and those for crops are tied to specific, user-provided events: first spring trapping of adult pests, sighting of insect eggs, planting date, etc. One- and two-week degree-day projections, based on climate records at each site, also are included. The tool also produces maps of degree-day totals and projections for the entire state where appropriate.

This information is computed from data collected at 19 weather sites across Illinois and is specific for those locations. These data are valuable in helping users determine when to monitor their fields for approaching stages of pest development and with the subsequent operational decisions that follow.

All degree-day information is computed from data collected through the day just prior to the day each user accesses the system. In general, up-to-date information will be available by 4:00 a.m., seven days a week. The URL iswww.sws.uiuc.edu/warm/agdata.asp.