If you want to hone your soybean scouting skills, it’s now as easy as turning on a computer.  The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture has partnered with the United Soybean Board and the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board using soybean checkoff dollars to create a Virtual Soybean Scout School.  Currently the school consists of four brief video presentations, each led by UT Extension specialists, which can be viewed at www.UTCrops.com or http://www.tnsoybeans.org.  The presentations focus on key areas of soybean scouting and include the following topics:

• Soybean Growth and Development (how to stage soybean) (Dr. Angela McClure)
• Identifying and Managing Weeds (Dr. Larry Steckel)
• Using a Sweep Net and Insect Scouting (Dr. Scott Stewart)
• Identifying and Managing Soybean Diseases (Dr. Melvin Newman)

The videos cover much of the material presented at the traditional UT Soybean Scout Schools that are offered at various locations throughout the state during the summer, and plans are to add more content next year. “With this online resource, producers and scouts now have another option when it comes to keeping informed of crop management issues,” says Dr. Scott Stewart, UT Extension entomologist, “and the information is presented in a format that is easy to access on your own schedule.”