Preplant Dicamba Ahead of Corn: Why the Labels Seem Confusing

With the warm temperatures and recent rainfall across Wisconsin, winter annuals and early summer annual weeds are growing aggressively. As a result, many growers and retailers are revisiting burndown programs ahead of corn planting and asking an important question:

“Can I apply dicamba before planting corn, and if so, how long do I need to wait before planting?”

Unfortunately, the answer is not always straightforward.

Foundational Crop Scouting Training

With today’s tight margins, proper crop scouting helps farmers detect pests early, make informed and cost-effective decisions, and optimize yields. This program will give participants take-home skills in:

• Soil, tissue, and insect sampling techniques
• Identifying weeds, diseases, and insect pests in forage and field crop systems
• Understanding nutrient deficiency symptoms, crop stand counts, crop staging

Apply what you learned in the Foundational Crop Scouting Training webinars with a half-day hands-on field training at the Rock County Farm on Tues., May 19, 2026. 

The hands-on training will cover filling out crop scouting reports; stand assessment and crop growth staging for corn, soybean, wheat, and alfalfa crops; the basics of collecting sweep net samples in alfalfa; and early-season insect and weed identification.

Participants will receive alfalfa, corn, soybean, and wheat growth staging guides; field scouting supplies; and lunch and snacks. Registration is required.

Planting Green Soybean Systems: Soil Residual Herbicide Performance in High-Biomass Cereal Rye

Which soil residual herbicides are compatible with high-biomass cereal rye cover crop systems?

In other words, which herbicides are most likely to move through the cereal rye residue layer and reach the soil where they can be effective?

To address this, WiscWeeds students and staff Lukas Holderby, Sabeel Abuhakmeh, and Dr. Ahmad Mobli conducted a controlled-environment study this winter evaluating 21 single-active-ingredient corn and/or soybean herbicides. This study assumed adequate precipitation following application and simulated a condition of ~4,500 lbs of dry cereal rye per acre on soil surface; future research will evaluate how rainfall patterns influence herbicide movement through cover crop residue

Fungicides on Winter Wheat in Wisconsin

While the farmers are focused on getting corn and soybeans on the ground, fungicide decisions for winter wheat and other small grains are just around the corner. 

Drone Tools for Dairy: From Research to Real-World Use

Drones are more and more common nowadays, but what is their potential use in the Dairy Industry? In this edition of the Badger Dairy Insight Webinar you will find out how drones are changing the way dairy farmers monitor fields, animals, and environmental conditions. You’ll hear directly from researchers about real field trials, learn how drone measurements stack up against traditional methods, and walk away knowing what these findings could mean for your operation.