Soy Rust Hotline available offers new service

(PRINCETON, KY) – The Soy Rust Hotline is available for the second year as a tool in the fight against soybean rust. By calling 888-321-6771 you will hear a daily report with the most current information on soybean rust in Kentucky. Dr. Don Hershman, Extension Plant Pathologist with the University of Kentucky provides daily or as needed updates, which include location of the disease, management steps that need to be taken and points for possible prevention.

“The hotline proved to be a successful tool in keeping up with the location of rust last year,” said Randy Mann, KSPB Chairman and soybean producer from Auburn. “This year we are moving a step forward and offering a new service that documents Dr. Hershman’s daily messages and makes them accessible as audio files, online in a database. The messages are archived on the KSPB website and can be heard beginning this month.”

“The documentation of the messages being heard on the hotline may be vital in later development of the disease, continued Mann. “If the disease hits farmers relying on crop insurance will be able to have hard documentation on what the experts were saying at the time critical production decisions were made. This documentation can support their production practices on whether they sprayed or did not spray fungicides for soybean rust management. Good record will be essential in the event a soybean rust related crop loss claim is filed.”

Dialing 888-321-6771 can access the hotline. Daily messages can be heard at www.kysoy.org.

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