In the spring, as producers move from the farm office to the field it becomes even more important to access timely crop production information. For more than ten years now the Crop Observation and Recommendation Network (C.O.R.N.) newsletter has been providing written crop recommendations. As more producers (and their families) have taken advantage of mobile personal music players, it is now possible to take music, a book and even crop observation suggestions to the field.

Starting last fall with a grant and the purchase of eight Apple iPods, the Communication and Technology office of OSU Extension has been posting the C.O.R.N. newsletter to a university webpage (http://classcast.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/weblog/osuext/) as well as on Apple's iTunes site. Access to the audio version of the newsletter from the Extension Agronomic Crops Team webpage: http://agcrops.osu.edu.

Team training has been conducted on two occasions as an introduction to the use of the iPods and the audio newsletter. Contributors to the C.O.R.N. newsletter have been trained and encouraged to read their own articles for the audio version. State specialists have also seen the advantages of adding photos to their text for viewing on the enhanced video iPods. Having an iPod, with video capabilities, in the field during scouting shortens the time for connection between spoken word and visual problem identification.