If the 2025 season felt like the “same old, same old” for your weed control program — it shouldn’t. When farmers have the mindset that every year is just like the last, it’s easy to fall into the decision paralysis of: “It worked OK last year, so I’ll just do the same thing again.” That approach can leave money on the table and weeds in the field, reports Meaghan Anderson, Iowa State University Extension field agronomist.
She says the ongoing battle with broadleaf weeds and grasses should encourage farmers to re‑evaluate their control program for next season, especially in fields that ended up weedier than expected.
Start With Your Weediest Field
Anderson says a useful exercise right now is to ask yourself: What was my weediest field this year—and why?
“Most corn and soybean growers can point to at least one field that stood out,” she tells Farm Journal. “In many cases, the same herbicide program was used across multiple fields, but it failed in that one.”
Anderson says that’s a clear signal something needs to change in that field for next year—whether that’s:
- Using a stiffer preemergence program
- Spiking a premix with more active ingredient effective on key weed escapes
- Adjusting your application timing or adding layered residuals
“Dollars invested in a strong preemergent herbicide, especially in known problem fields, is almost always an investment that pays for itself,” she adds.
Other key considerations for the 2026 season: If grass weeds were a problem this year, consider whether you could benefit from using products more targeted to specific species. Also, plan to monitor fields ahead of post applications to catch weed escapes early.
Three Specific Issues To Look For Next Season
1. Expect more volunteer corn. Some fields in Iowa and other Midwest states were “carpeted” with dropped ears of corn by harvest time this fall, Anderson says.
Two questions she says farmers who had a lot of ear loss can benefit thinking through are: How much corn hit the ground but didn’t germinate this fall? How much will survive this winter and emerge next spring?
“We’ve seen this movie before — volunteer corn can quickly become a major issue if it’s not addressed,” Anderson says.
2. Winter annuals are prevalent. Anderson notes that winter annuals like henbit, marestail, and pennycress had an excellent start in soybean stubble this fall. Where fields looked green late into the fall, farmers can expect to see them show up again next spring and will want to be proactive early with control measures:
- Aim for late March to early April burndown applications (spray even earlier if it’s an unusually warm spring).
- Wait until plants are green and actively photosynthesizing, with day and night temperatures warm enough for good herbicide activity.
Timing control measures can be a bit tricky. “By the time winter annuals are flowering in the spring, it’s usually too late for effective control,” Anderson notes.
3. Look for herbicide-resistant weeds. Cross-resistant and multiple-resistant Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, Italian ryegrass, barnyardgrass, and others are on the rise in row crops, researchers report.
Just this month, dicamba-resistant waterhemp was confirmed in Missouri, according to Kevin Bradley, University of Missouri Extension weed scientist.
Where To Spend Money If Margins Are Tight
With the outlook for high input costs and lower commodity prices, the impulse for farmers is to cut their herbicide spend across the board.
Anderson says a better strategy would be to shift investment from products to planning and scouting. She offers four recommendations that can help improve your weed-control ROI next season:
- Spend more time scouting and truly understanding which fields are your problem acres.
- Do the math on herbicide programs, compare prices, and tailor rates and products to field history and weed spectrum.
- Consider using a full residual + strong post program on your worst fields.
- Pull back some where fields are consistently clean and not building a weed seed bank.
This approach doesn’t necessarily slash costs per acre dramatically, but it can chip away at your total herbicide program costs without sacrificing control—or future profitability, Anderson says.
She adds that “thoughtful analysis, targeted programs, and timely applications are the real ‘new chemistry’ most farms need” going into the 2026 season.
