Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) is the most prevalent virus infecting soybean (Glycine max) in the United States; however, the temporal and spatial dynamics in BPMV at varying spatial scales has not been elucidated. To quantify the temporal and spatial dynamics of BPMV at a field scale, a quadrat-based method was developed in which six soybean rows, each consisting of 30-cm-long quadrats, were established within soybean cv. NE3001 field plots (i.e., 150 quadrats per plot) in BPMV-inoculated and non-inoculated plots. Quadrats were sampled by selecting the youngest fully expanded leaflet from each of four plants within each quadrat beginning 25 days after planting, and continued at 8- to 11-day intervals until crop senescence. Leaf sap was extracted from each 4-leaflet (bulked) sample (from each quadrat), and tested for presence of the BPMV by ELISA. Quadrat position (plot, row, and quadrat number) and the date of sampling that each quadrat first tested positive for BPMV was recorded and mapped. The rate of BPMV incidence in 2006 ranged from 0.09 to 0.12 logits/day, indicating that BPMV incidence was doubling every 5.3 to 7.7 days in 2006. Doubling times for BPMV incidence in 2007 were slower, ranging from 17.3 to 34.7 days. Analysis of spatial patterns using ordinary runs revealed that BPMV-infected quadrats were predominantly clustered within both BPMV-inoculated and non-inoculated plots throughout both growing seasons. In addition to within field plot studies, a three-year statewide disease survey (2005-2007) was conducted in Iowa to quantify county and field scale BPMV prevalence and incidence by systematically selecting 30 plants/soybean field (8 to 16 soybean fields per county). Leaf samples were then tested for BPMV by ELISA and county-level BPMV incidence maps were generated using ArcGIS software. End-of-season BPMV prevalence was 39/96 counties in 2005 (40%), 90/99 counties in 2006 (90.1%), and 74/99 counties in 2007 (74.7%). The incidence of BPMV within Iowa counties ranged from 0 to 100% and BPMV incidence significantly increased statewide from north to south. Spatial autocorrelation (dependence) analysis using Moran’s I revealed clustering for BPMV incidence among Iowa counties, indicating that BPMV incidence among counties was not random. The elucidation of the within-field temporal and spatial dynamics of BPMV and the statewide geographic distribution of BPMV in Iowa has important implications with regards to sampling, plant disease forensics, BPMV management, and risk prediction of BPMV.