Asian soybean rust is a topic of great interest among Iowa soybean growers and agribusiness. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the Iowa Soybean Association and Promotion Board, and Iowa State University have formed the Iowa Soybean Rust Team and have developed a system in Iowa whereby soybean samples that are suspected of possibly being infected with soybean rust can be examined and passed through a sequence of trained personnel to offer Iowa soybean growers rapid and accurate identification of the disease.

Trained agronomists are the best qualified to watch for symptoms and signs of rust on a daily basis throughout the growing season across the millions of acres of soybeans in Iowa. So, the Iowa Soybean Rust Team is recruiting Certified Crop Advisers, Certified Professional Agronomists, and independent crop consultants in Iowa to serve as "First Detectors" for soybean rust.

Five training sessions for Iowa soybean rust First Detectors were held throughout the state July 6-9, 2004, but numerous individuals with interest in receiving this training were unable to attend one of the sessions. A final, make-up Iowa soybean rust First Detector training session is being held on Friday morning, December 3, 2004, at the Iowa State Center Scheman Building. At this session, attendees will receive details about the state-wide detection system and hear the industry and regulatory perspectives on Asian soybean rust as well as training on identifying soybean rust and distinguishing it from other commonly occurring soybean diseases. Three Certified Crop Adviser Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in the Pest Management category will be earned for participating in the training. More information about the training session can be found here. Preregistration is required. This can be completed online with a credit card at the above Web site. Registration is $20. Check in on the day of the training begins at 8:30 a.m., and the program runs from 9 a.m. to noon.