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Be mindful of combines spreading weed seed during harvest

Farmers run the risk of spreading weeds during harvest.

University of Minnesota Extension crops educator Liz Stahl says parts of fields with dense weed pressure should be set aside.

“Combines are great vehicles to spread weed seed across a field, so if we can avoid that as much as possible.  That is one thing to be keeping in mind.”

She recommends avoiding drown out spots.

“If there’s a bunch of weeds in there, do you really even need to run the combine through?  A lot of times people will leave that because you don’t want the material to get hung up in the combine and then come out later into another field, so now you’re spreading this weed seed into other fields.”

Stahl says waterhemp is one of the most challenging weeds in the fall because it emerges later in the season and can produce more than 350,000 seeds per plant.