Feed aggregator

Millet growing in the Panhandle of Nebraska. (Photo by Chabella Guzman) In the final crop water use report for 2024, Extension Educator Gary Stone shares harvest progress and an update on irrigation water deliveries for the Panhandle.

Historical crop progress data for Nebraska is available at USDA. Nebraska farmers have begun harvesting all spring-planted crops as of this week, with soybean and sorghum harvest officially underway.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Hay production has been reported to be 50% of average or less in many areas of Nebraska. The U.S. hay supply is at a 50-year low (Table 1). Couple this information with rising costs (Figure 1) and it becomes prudent to plan fall, winter, and next spring’s hay needs sooner rather than later. Inventory your feed and hay resources now to know what you need. Checking prices and availability now will go a long way to reducing the anxiety of what we will feed our cows this fall and winter.

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Monday, September 16, 2024 Net wrap is an efficient forage binding method and significantly reduces harvest and storage losses compared to twine. According to a forage binding survey conducted by South Dakota State University (SDSU), net wrap was the most preferred method of forage binding (67%) compared to twine (26%) or both (6%) depending on the crop harvested or livestock being fed. Spanish: 

Trent Benzel, left, Steve Benzel and Michael Ann Relka were co-recipients of PREEC’s 2024 Outstanding Service to the Panhandle Agriculture award. Not pictured: Carl Benzel. (Photo by Chabella Guzman) Michael Ann Relka and the Benzel brothers were honored for their outstanding contributions to Panhandle agriculture, highlighting their efforts in sugarbeet cultivation, community education, and on-farm research innovations.

Range in early June. (Photo by Chabella Guzman) The workshop will cover basic tax information on filing a Schedule F, used by farmers and ranchers to report income and expenses of the business.

Insights on using the herbicide quizalofop (FirstAct) to manage volunteer corn in Double Team sorghum.

Historical crop production reports for Nebraska are available at USDA. Record-high corn production and yields are expected this year for Nebraska, and soybean production is up 16% from a year ago.

Drought conditions may ease next week with several chances of precipitation next week, beginning Tuesday evening.

Uneven precipitation distribution caused issues across much of Nebraska in July — while areas of eastern Nebraska experienced flooding, drought intensified in the western regions.

Monitoring grasshopper populations using the square-foot method can help prevent damage to late summer alfalfa and forage crops, with insecticide treatments considered if thresholds are exceeded. Extension insights on fall alfalfa irrigation for improving yields, strategies for timing the last cutting to ensure winter survival, and grasshopper management to protect late summer forage from pest damage.

Fall-planted alfalfa needs at least four to six weeks of growth before the first frost to establish a strong root system, with proper seeding depth and weed control being key to its success. Tips for selecting suitable alfalfa varieties for successful establishment before winter, and deciding between rye, triticale, and wheat for fall seeding.

A diversity of both beneficial and potentially harmful arthropods has been found in industrial hemp grown in west-central Nebraska, and continued observation will be crucial for producers in managing pests as interest in hemp production grows.

An older Google Earth photo of the Rogers Memorial Farm with several of the cover crop studies visible. The field day will feature demos and discussion on a wide array of cover crop and soil health practices by UNL faculty and extension professionals, including a statewide study on cover crop variety selection and performance.

Members of Colfax County 4-H Team #2 diligently inspect a corn field during the 2024 Youth Crop Scouting Competition. (Photos courtesy Brandy VanDeWalle) Snagging both first and third place in this year's competition, the 4-H'ers of Colfax County are proving their reputation as agronomy aficionados once again.

When preparing winter wheat fields for late-season planting, one tactic producers should consider is narrow row spacing. Late-seeded winter wheat can yield higher than early-seeded crops, partly due to reduced disease and insect issues. This article provides tips for increasing seeding success if weather or harvest has delayed winter wheat planting.

Figure 1. Spreading and disking biochar in a sandy soil (left) and a sloping soil (right) in spring 2020 before planting corn and soybean. This article discusses third-year results of ongoing UNL research on utilizing biochar and cover crops in environmentally sensitive Nebraska soils to identify the conditions under which biochar may benefit temperate regions.

Historical crop progress data for Nebraska is available at USDA. Corn and dry bean harvest has begun in Nebraska, and winter wheat planting was at 7% as of Sept. 8.

Corn silage being cut at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center plots on Aug. 30. (Photo by Chabella Guzman) Extension updates on harvest progress in the Panhandle as the irrigation season closes out.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

With the U.S. cowherd at historic lows, the University of Nebraska—Lincoln is focusing on how to grow the cowherd while advancing the quality of female genetics that are the foundation of the U.S. beef industry.

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