Badger Crop Connect Filter

▶ Spring Grazing Checklist

Jason Cavadini, UW–Madison Extension grazing outreach specialist, provides a comprehensive checklist for spring grazing, aimed at optimizing forage production and extending the grazing season.

▶ Forage Insect Pest Update

Dr. Emily Bick, assistant professor and extension specialist for field and forage pests in the UW–Madison Department of Entomology, provides an update on forage insect pests, focusing on alfalfa weevils, potato leaf hoppers, and slugs.

▶ May 8 Wisconsin Ag Weather Update

Join Josh Bendorf from the Wisconsin State Climatology Office as he provides an update on Wisconsin’s weather and considerations for ag professionals.

▶ Manure Nitrogen Credits: What do we know, and what’s next?

Dr. Natasha Rayne discusses the concept of manure nitrogen credits and their importance in agricultural nutrient management, how nitrogen credits are calculated, the variability in nitrogen content across different types of manure, and the factors affecting nitrogen availability.

▶ April 2025 Farm Economy Update

Paul Mitchell provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the farm economy in spring 2025, focusing on net farm income, crop margins, and farm financial information.

▶ Watch: 2025 Crop Input Cost Expectations

In the October 23, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Dr. Paul Mitchell — a professor in the UW–Madison Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, extension state specialist in cropping and environmental management economics, and director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute — discussed expectations for 2024 crop input costs. Dr. Mitchell explains projected input costs through current fuel, technology, and overhead expense data.

▶ Watch: Fall 2024 Corn and Soybean Outlook and Situation

In the October 23, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Dr. Brenda Boetel — professor and department chair in the UW–River Falls department of agricultural economics and extension state specialist in agriculture economics and marketing — discussed current market trends and data related to corn and soybean pricing in the 2024/25 marketing year. Dr. Boetel gives recommendations for the beginning of the 2024/25 marketing year for corn and soybeans as well

▶ Watch: Soil Health Decision Tool

In the October 23, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Dr. Jeff Hadachek — assistant professor in the UW–Madison department of agricultural and applied economics — discussed his ongoing economic research related to cover cropping and water quality issues. Dr. Hadachek revealed a Soil Health Decision Tool, which allows farmers to simulate and experiment with several variables to determine if agronomic practices, like cover cropping, produce an economic return on investment by improving soil health.

▶ Watch: Wisconsin Ag Climate Outlook Oct. 23

The October 23, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Bridgette Mason, Assistant State Climatologist, who discussed the latest Wisconsin ag climate outlook. Bridgette talked about the ongoing lack of rain and its impact on agriculture, particularly corn and soybean harvests. Bridgette ends with an outlook for future weather through November.

▶ Watch: Wisconsin Ag Climate Outlook Oct. 9

The October 9, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Bridgette Mason, Assistant State Climatologist, who discussed the latest Wisconsin ag climate outlook. Bridgette talked about the recent lack of rain and its impact on agriculture, particularly soil loss and corn and soybean harvests. Bridgette ends with an outlook for future weather through October.

▶ Watch: Selecting Suitable Corn Hybrids

In the October 9, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Dr. Harkirat Kaur, assistant professor and extension specialist in corn agronomy, discussed the 2024 corn performance trials and their harvest progress and outlined selection criteria for successful corn hybrids in Wisconsin cropping systems.

▶ Watch: Soybean and Winter Wheat Selection

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.

▶ Watch: Biological Nitrogen Products

In the September 25, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Dr. Steven Hall, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in the UW–Madison Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, discussed the context, challenges, and potential opportunities for biological nitrogen fixation products in cereal crops.

▶ Watch: Wisconsin Ag Climate Outlook Sept. 25

The September 25, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Josh Bendorf, ORISE Research Fellow with the USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub, who discussed the latest Wisconsin ag climate outlook. Josh talked about recent rain, its effect on soil moisture content, and current outlooks for late September and early October 2024.

▶ Watch: Fall Cover Crop Selection

In the September 11, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Dr. Matt Ruark discussed cover crop species most likely to establish successfully when planted in mid-September and later, as well as cover crop termination, timing, biomass accumulation, and nitrogen uptake.

▶ Watch: The Fourth Quarter Plan for 2024 Corn Silage

The August 14 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Dr. John Goeser, Animal Nutrition Lead for Rock River Lab; Consultant for Cows Agree Consulting; and adjunct assistant professor in the UW–Madison Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences. ​Dr. Goeser reflects on the corn silage growing season to this point and offers late season and harvest management options.

▶ Watch: Alfalfa Persistence Is Profit

The August 14 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Scott Newell, alfalfa outreach specialist with the UW–Madison Division of Extension. This year (2024) has been very challenging to manage alfalfa with rain throwing many cutting schedules off the rails, leaving producers with lower quality forage than expected and trying to catch up with higher quality harvests. Scott Newell discusses the potential implications of this and the importance of managing for persistence in alfalfa to maximize overall productivity.

▶ Watch: Wisconsin Ag Climate Outlook Aug. 14

The August 14 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Bridgette Mason, Wisconsin Assistant State Climatologist. Bridgette gave an update on growing degree day accumulation, effects of cooler days in early August 2024, and trends in precipitation and soil moisture lately.

▶ Watch: Wheat and Soybean in 2024: When grains do the hokey-pokey

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.