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Anne Dorrance, an Ohio State University Extension expert on soybean rust, was smiling when farmers approached her at this year's Farm Focus Field Day in Van Wert.

The reason, she said, was that the closest soybean rust has been found is in Alabama.

"There's a very good chance folks that we're going to miss this thing this year," she said.

Dorrance said the winter freeze that knocked out power in much of Ohio during the holidays also prevented rust from overwintering in the southern United States.

"All that cursing you did, you have to take it all back now," she said.

Paulding County farmer Bob Stoller said Dorrance confirmed what soybean farmers in the area had suspected.

"I didn't expect there to be a problem this year," he said. "The concern at this point is pretty low."

Teams will begin monitoring sentinel plots in Ohio the last week of July and the first two weeks of August to see if Hurricane Dennis transported soybean rust to the state. It takes at least 10 days after rust spores are deposited to see any signs of the disease.

Dorrance said it's likely the storm dropped most of the spores in Mississippi and Alabama.

As of print time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that soybean rust has been found on soybeans at three sites, one each in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Rust has been found on kudzu in seven counties in Florida.

During the field day event, farmers examined nonliving soybean rust samples to learn how to monitor for the disease.

"If you've got your hand lens and you don't see any cream colored spores, its not rust," Dorrance said.

Farmers who suspect they have rust in their fields can send samples to the C. Wayne Ellet Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic at Ohio State University for confirmation. The cost is covered by the soybean checkoff.

Dorrance said now that rust is in the United States, farmers are going to have to follow the same routine every year of watching and waiting to see how far north the disease spreads.

"You start with a low level of inoculum and over the course of the season, that keeps multiplying," she said.

"We've got a lot of confidence in the monitoring system that we're going to be able to let you guys know when risk is really high and really low and when it's going to multiply exponentially," she said.

Caption: It's possible the only place farmers will see soybean rust in Ohio this year is in an inch-thick, glass slide.