Pre-emergent herbicides play an important role in conservation agriculture, however, crop residues on the soil surface in these systems can intercept a considerable amount of herbicide during application. Cutting crops relatively high at harvest has some advantages, such as allowing faster harvest, and this also means that there is less horizontal residue on the soil surface. This field study tested the impact of standing wheat residue height and amount of horizontal residue on the interception, leaching and weed-control efficacy of the pre-emergent herbicide pyroxasulfone in the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons.