Update:
1. The herbicide mode of action publication, and weeds to watch poster have been printed and each participating state is receiving approximately 1500 copies of each. Magazine advertising for the Take Action initiative is nearing completion and will be use during the late fall and winter season.
2. Bill Johnson and Kevin Bradley traveled to St. Louis in July to meet with O and B and go over the printed pieces discussed above.
3. Most of the group met in Lafayette, IN in September to discuss several different applied weed management issues including our progress on this project
4. All co-PI’s are conducted field research and demo trials this spring and summer to develop management recommendations for herbicide resistant weeds and new herbicide resistant crop technology. Field days and summer extension meetings were held in all states
5. Over 50 newsletter articles and 8 video’s were produced on the identification, biology and management of herbicide-resistant weeds.
6. Over 250 field days and extension meetings were conducted by the PI’s on herbicide resistant weeds, herbicide mode of action, herbicide application technology, and management of herbicide resistant weeds.
7. Most of the co-PI’s met in Lafayette, IN on September 10th and 11th discuss pertinent weed management issues from this past growing season and progress on this project and next steps. We decided to produce 1 page fact sheets on the identification and control of each of the weeds on the weeds to watch poster. We hope to complete these by late fall to use in winter meetings. Factsheets on waterhemp and marestail have been submitted to Osborn and Barr for formatting and printing. We hope to have the rest of the fact sheet (11 total) submitted and printed January. We are also developing a pigweed identification poster and hope to have that printed for use during the winter meetings.

In summary, after year one of this project, we feel that our major accomplishments include the following:
1) Development of branded messages with the “Take Action” logo and 4 pillars. Our next step is to deliver the message to farmers through our activities and the activities of our cooperators with the basic manufacturers.
2) Development of a herbicide mode of action chart for the major agronomic crops of the Midwest and Southern U.S. soybean growing regions. Our next step is to deliver to growers and teach them how to use it.
3) Development of the “Eleven that Threaten” poster regarding the worst herbicide resistant weeds, which includes images and the sites of action that the individual weeds are resistant too.
4) We feel that we have increased awareness of herbicide-resistant weed issues and the need to rotate herbicide sites of action.
5) We have effectively leveraged USB funds as evidenced by the number of meetings, field days, diagnostic training events, and applied research trials conducted in cooperation with industry and University Extension. A conservative estimate is that USB funds were leveraged approximately 1:1 based on conservative estimates of Co-Pi’s.