Producers growing wheat, barley or oats may want to consider obtaining "The Small Grains Field Guide."

"Growing wheat, barley or oats profitably is like piecing together a challenging puzzle," says Joel Ransom, North Dakota State University (NDSU) associate professor of agronomy and one of the editors of the publication. "Variety selection, proper fertilization, good weed control and the ability to identify and eliminate yield-robbing diseases and pests are all pieces of this puzzle. Each piece requires attention to solve the whole puzzle profitably."

The guide is a collaborative effort of the NDSU and University of Minnesota Extension Service. Working on the guide with Ransom was Jochum Wiersma, University of Minnesota assistant professor of agronomy.

The information presented in the guide is organized around disciplines rather than around crop species to eliminate redundancy because there are many similarities among wheat, barley and oats. If differences are pertinent, specific data is presented for the crop in question.

The guide contains 10 sections: agronomic management, crop growth and development, fertility, pesticides, weeds, disease and pest management, harvesting and storage, marketing, photographs and useful Internet resources.

"One underlying theme resonates throughout the guide," Wiersma says. "If you want to control input costs, you will have to scout the crop. Only then can you make sound, economic decisions."

In North Dakota, the guide is available through the NDSU Extension Service Distribution Center, Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5655. E-mail dctr@ndsuext.nodak.edu or call (701) 231-7882.

In Minnesota, copies can be ordered from the U of M Extension Service distribution center, 405 Coffey Hall, 1420 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108-6068. Order on the Web at http://shop.extension.umn.edu, e-mail shopextension@umn.edu or place a credit card order by calling (800) 876-8636.