Virginia soybean producers are at risk to two new pests, soybean aphid and Asian soybean rust. In response to these threats, a soybean aphid and rust monitoring program was implemented in 2004. Seventy eight fields in 33 counties were scouted bi-weekly from June through September. Twenty fields contain small areas of "sentinel plots", which were maturity group III varieties planted in late April or early May. Sentinel plots, full-season, and double-crop soybean fields were included in the monitoring program; therefore, a wide range of soybean development stages were present at any given scouting date. Whole plants were sampled in six areas of each field. If the scout could not visually identify the insect or disease in the field, samples were collected and returned to the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center for further examination by specialists. Soybean aphid was discovered in late June and reached threshold populations in six percent of the fields surveyed, all located in northern Virginia counties. For the first time, over 3,000 acres required insecticide treatment to prevent loss to aphids. No soybean rust was found in 2004, but "look-alike" diseases were common in many fields. In 2005, the program was expanded to approximately 100 fields, including 30 sentinel plots, and was scouted weekly. Rust observations were forwarded to the USDA soybean rust surveillance and monitoring network.