Without insulating snow, wheat plants are exposed to freezing conditions, damaging their crowns and roots. Assessing stands in the spring will help producers determine if their crop has survived and is strong enough for a good yield.
In the October 9, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Dr. Shawn Conley, professor and extension specialist in soybean and small grain agronomy, discussed the 2024 UW Winter Wheat Variety Performance Program and how to use data to select top-yielding varieties.
The July 24 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Dr. Shawn Conley, Extension Soybean and Small Grains Agronomist and Professor in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison. Shawn discusses preliminary results from 2024 Wisconsin winter wheat performance trials including yield, test weight and disease presence data; cover crop challenges in 2024; and the status of soybean stands across Wisconsin.
Harvesting small grains or processing crops in the summer months provides a great opportunity to plant a variety of cover crop species that can achieve several different benefits or goals such as soil erosion protection, nitrogen (N) supply to subsequent grain crops, and weed suppression.
DON (deoxynivalenol or vomitoxin) is a mycotoxin produced by the fungus responsible for Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a common and economically important disease in small grains. DON is a problem because it is toxic to humans and animals. Grain grown on-farm and fed to livestock should be managed properly to avoid negative effects.