Memories of a country dirt road come crawling back with every warning about the arrival of an epic surge of fall armyworms.
Pamela Smith
Crops Technology Editor
Pamela Smith joined DTN/Progressive Farmer staff as Crops Technology Editor in 2012. She previously was seeds and technology editor for Farm Journal Media. In addition to writing, reporting and photography, Pamela served as the writing coach for the magazine staff. An Illinois native, she started her career as a field editor for Prairie Farmer magazine and has freelanced for a multitude of farm, food and travel magazines.
Pamela is a two-time winner of the American Agriculture Editor's Association Writer of the Year honors. In 2009, she received the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism award for a series on soybean rust. She was the first agricultural journalist to receive that coveted prize, often referred to as the Pulitzer of business journalism. In 2011, she received a second Neal award as part of a team covering the legacy of passing down the farm through the generations. She has also been named the journalist of the year by the American Phytopathological Society (plant pathologists) and the Weed Science Society of America. She was awarded a national food writing award for her profile of Father Dominic Garramone, a bread-baking priest. Four generations of her family farm in central Illinois.
Recent Blogs by Author
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The colorful, but very destructive spotted lanternfly has traveled farther west to Indiana. Farmers are asked to keep an eye open for the pest.
More From This Author
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab farmers talk about why they'd rather be safe than sorry and give a review of the growing crop.
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Scout for Fall Armyworm
Farmers are being urged to scout for fall armyworm, which has been chomping away in crops in several states.
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Croplink
It's a good time of year to sneak up on soybean cyst nematode (SCN).
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Croplink
A new website includes an interactive map of rootworm sticky trap results for both Northern and Western corn rootworms.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab farmers in Iowa and Texas report their crops could use a drink and talk about what they are scouting.
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Pen Palmer Pigweed Before It Bolts
Learn how to sort Palmer Amaranth from other weedy troublemakers by using these quick tips for identification.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab farmers find the cotton shivering while the corn cooks as they discuss infrastructure issues in rural areas.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab farmers find themselves in fair-to-middling weather conditions, while juggling lots farm activities.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab farmers find themselves in fair-to-middling weather conditions, while juggling some good and not-so-good farm stress.
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Spot SCN Females Now
It's a good time of year to start scouting for SCN activity in soybean fields by doing a simple root dig.
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View From the Cab
DTN's View From the Cab farmers discuss challenges of getting goods, ponder the pandemic and report on how the crop is shaping up.
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View From the Cab
Summer is in full swing for DTN's View From the Cab farmers as hot, dry conditions continue to challenge crop production in Iowa and Texas.
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Hail Hurts
Hail events are rarely welcome and recent strong storms have been taking a toll on midseason crops.
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Best Blog of the Week
Checking in on corn after the wind requires some patience and waiting to see if it will stand back up.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab farmers from Texas and Iowa find themselves wishing for more moisture but celebrating some golden moments as wheat harvest begins.
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Wild Parsnip Warnings
The noxious weed called wild parsnip packs a dangerous punch to humans who come in contact with the sap.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab talks about weather worries and about the legacy of having fathers who farm as they look forward to Father's Day.
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Soybean Gall Midge Alert
The soybean gall midge is a relatively new soybean pest, and a monitoring program is warning some farmers that treatment may be necessary.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab farmers talk about crop progress, balancing stress and the importance of personal protection from a threat most farmers face every day -- the sun.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN's View From the Cab farmers head to the field to feed a hungry crop and prepare for forage and wheat harvests.
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Croplink
These two farmers share plenty of common ground. This growing season, these Iowa and Texas farmers will be telling their stories through our "View From the Cab" feature.
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View From the Cab
DTN's View From the Cab farmers talk about small town values, crop progress and how they handle farm stress.
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The Skinny on 20-Inch Rows
Two decades of shaving row widths serve up lessons in Indiana.
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View From the Cab
This week DTN View From the Cab farmers have their fingers crossed for more rain and they talk about crop emergence.
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View From the Cab
Crops, cows, conservation practices and kids keep life lively on this Dayton, Iowa farm that DTN is following for this season's View From the Cab series.