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What Your Plant Tissue Samples are Trying to Tell You

Every year, across Wisconsin and the Midwest, thousands of plant tissue samples are pulled from corn and soybean fields. They are bagged, labeled and shipped to the lab, and then a report comes back with results. And too often, that is where the story ends. Plant tissue testing is not just about measuring nutrients. It is about making decisions.

Vegetable Pest & Disease Forecasting with the VDIFN Tool: User Tutorial

Managing vegetable pests and diseases can be a challenge, especially when patterns and outbreaks vary from year to year. The Vegetable Disease and Insect Forecasting Network (VDIFN) helps take the guesswork out of management by providing data-driven risk forecasts for your farm. This guide walks you through key concepts behind pest and disease models, VDIFN basics and navigation, step‑by‑step examples for insect pest and disease forecasting, and resources for integrated pest and disease management.

▶ Can Clover Cover Crops Provide Nitrogen Credits to Corn?

Chris Bandura explores Wisconsin research on berseem clover and other legume cover crops, how nitrogen credits are calculated, and what farmers should consider when using cover crops to support crop nutrition and improve nitrogen use efficiency.

▶2026 Mid-Season Wisconsin Ag Weather Recap and Outlook

Josh Bendorf gives a mid‑summer weather update that reviews spring temperature and precipitation trends, drought conditions, crop progress, soil moisture levels, and what current forecasts could mean for the rest of the growing season.

The Cutting Edge Podcast Episode #56: Saffron Production and Marketing

A conversation with Dr. Margaret Skinner, Research Professor and Extension Entomologist, and Dr. Richard Bamford, Research Scientist, of the University of Vermont about growing and marketing saffron. Resources North American Center for Saffron Research & Development – University of Vermont