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Clinic set for combine cleaning, limiting weed seed spread Aug. 30
Extension Weed Scientist from UW-Madison will help lead the clinic at 10 a.m.
combine cleaning
Seeds and plant material can hitchhike and be spread by combines. The back end of this combine shows how easily plant materials can be lodged in it.  A Combine Cleaning Clinic is planned for August 30 east of Monticello.

MONROE — Farmers and custom operators welcome to a combine cleaning clinic at 10 a.m. Aug. 30 at Tim and Bryon Feller’s farmstead, N6437 Schneeberger Road, Monticello. 

Dr. Rodrigo Werle, an Extension Weed Scientist from UW-Madison, will help producers understand the many ways seeds are spread, the different amounts of seed each weed produces and the length of time seeds are viable in the ground. Dan Smith, Southwest Regional Specialist for the Nutrient and Pest Management Program will show the steps needed to clean combines. Cleaning combines is a good way to stop the spread of weed seeds.

The top two weeds farmers in Wisconsin are most concerned with are giant ragweed and water hemp, according to a 2018 Wisconsin Cropping Systems Weed Science Survey.  These troublesome weeds have been tested to be herbicide resistant, which means that one mode of action for controlling the weed doesn’t work anymore.  

These weeds are often spread during harvest of the commodity crop they are growing in.

The clinic should conclude around noon. The event is free and open to the public. 

For more information contact Tonya Gratz with the Green County Land and Water Conservation Department at 608-325-4195 extension 121.