On November 10, 2004, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced that Asian soybean rust has been confirmed near Baton Rouge, LA. The fields where the rust was found are located on research farms belonging to Louisiana State University. No information was given on the stage of plant growth in the fields. Most of the commercial fields in Louisiana have been harvested. X.B. Yang, Iowa State University plant pathologist, is one of the leading experts in the world and has flown down to Louisiana as a member of the USDA soybean rust detection assessment team to evaluate the rust outbreak.