On Thursday, Jan. 15, the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) Agronomy team hosted the 2026 Field Advisor Forum at the University of Illinois Atkins Golf Club in Urbana. The event attracted nearly 230 in-person and virtual attendees, including farmers, Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs), researchers, industry partners, and ISA board and staff members.

The annual Field Advisor Forum isa day-long winter event designed to deliver practical agronomic information, insights from ISA-funded research and tools to improve on-farm decision-making. This year, we welcomed several expert presenters who brought insights from academia, industry and the field to help farmers and advisers navigate the 2026 growing season.

The program opened with Dr. David Kohl of Virginia Tech, who joined virtually to share an overview of the current global economy and explored ways farmers can “thrive in economic chaos.” ISA Outreach Agronomist Stephanie Porter, CCA, followed with an overview of the ISA On-Farm Trial Network (OFTN) sulfur trials, highlighting results that varied across plot locations and showed a greater sulfur response in sandy soils.

WCIA-TV (Channel 3) Meteorologist Jacob Dickey then discussed the transition from La Niña to El Niño and its potential impacts on Illinois weather, as well as seasonal and drought outlooks. To close the morning sessions, Purdue University’s Dr. Shaun Casteel explored stressors that can impact soybean emergence, including seed size and soil temperatures in the first 24 hours after planting.

At lunch, RFD Radio Network’s DeLoss Jahnke, who served as emcee for the forum, recognized this year’s Field Advisor Award winners: Karen Corrigan, who received the 2026 Master Adviser Award, and Kris Reynolds, the recipient of the 2026 Dave Rahe Excellence in Soils Consulting Award.

The afternoon featured University of Illinois faculty, beginning with Dr. Rachel Vann, who compared late-season soybean challenges to the fourth quarter of an Illini basketball game and shared how Science for Success desiccation research can help manage late-season issues such as green stem. Dr. Andrew Margenot then explored findings from his research project that looked at liming recommendations for Illinois croplands, noting that though liming is key to soil productivity, it is not directly associated with yield. The forum concluded with a panel discussion on integrated pest management (IPM) practices in Illinois featuring Dr. Boris Camiletti, Dr. Aaron Hager and Dr. Nick Seiter, and moderated by Stephanie Porter.

Those who were unable to attend the 2026 Field Advisor Forum can watch the full event recording at https://fieldadvisor.org/field-advisor-forum/.

For more information and other upcoming event details, visit FieldAdvisor.org.