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Extension Educator Stephen Baenziger looks back on his 34 years of working with wheat varieties in Nebraska.

Winter wheat planting will soon be upon us in east and south central Nebraska as soybean harvest is not far off this year.

Including winter wheat in the cropping system does not appear to be a profitable decision when one only examines the production costs and expected returns. Generally, there are additional production and economic benefits that should be considered. First, we will review the cost of production and then discuss other potential benefits of including winter wheat in the cropping system.

The importance of estimating soybean yield prior to harvesting as forage is illustrated in this photo of drought-stressed soybean from Washington County, NE. With a closer look at these plants, you can see 10 to 12 pods per stem with 3 seeds per pod on a few of the plants. These soybeans are not stressed enough to consider for hay or silage. Photo courtesy of Aaron Nygren, Nebraska Extension. For some producers, the time has come to determine if soybean will be cut for forage or left for grain-this is not an easy decision. In some areas, soybean plants are still hanging on despite the continued heat and lack of moisture.

Fungicide seed treatments help to reduce losses caused by seed transmitted and soilborne fungal diseases of wheat. Some systemic seed treatment products contain a fungicide and an insecticide and offer additional protection against fall season foliar diseases and insects such as aphids which also transmit barley yellow dwarf virus.

Are you interested in how agriculture technologies can improve nitrogen management on your farm? Nebraska Extension received a $1.2 million On-Farm Conservation Innovation grant from USDA – Natural Resource Conservation Service which connects corn and wheat producers across Nebraska with access to cutting-edge technologies through on-farm research.

A few more growers and wheat acres in Nebraska became familiar with wheat stem sawfly damage during this past growing season.

Image Source: Pixels, Cottonbro

Many parents report that time is their biggest barrier to teaching their children. Because there are limited hours in the day, math is the topic that often gets left out. However, it is important to recognize that we do not have to set aside specific time dedicated only to math. Math concepts can be incorporated into activities and routines that you are already doing. These strategies can help you maximize your time, and also show children how math applies in real world settings. It takes intentional effort, but once you have made math engagement a norm, your child will initiate many of the interactions.

1. Eating

Help your child set the table. How many people are eating the meal? Each person needs one plate, one fork, and one napkin. Meal and snack time also provide a great opportunity to expose your child to mathematical language terms (Would you like more carrots? Who has the most bread?). You can also count small snacks like raisins or crackers and ask questions (How many will you have if I give you one more? How many will you have left after you eat two?).

Resources: One Gooey Layer after Another, Eating Up Patterns

2. Reading

While reading to your child, try asking math-related questions and initiating math-related conversations (How many ducks can you see? Let’s count the animals with two legs and the animals with four legs and add them up.). ,

Resources: Mighty Math Books, Maths through Stories

3. Driving

While you are in the car or on the bus, you can help your child count and compare the things that you see. Turn it into a game! “You count the red cars and I’ll count the blue cars. Then we can compare them and see if we saw more red or blue cars.” or “I noticed that car is stopped.  You look for a car that is moving.”

Resource: Get Ready for Road Trips with Our Math On the Go Printable!

4. Playing

Think about some ways that you can incorporate math into playing with your child’s favorite toys. Does your child like dinosaurs? Sort them (by color, size, etc.) and then count the groups. Which group has the most? Which group has the fewest? Then try sorting them by a different trait and compare the groups again.

Resources: Sorting Socks , NAEYC Math at Home Toolkit

5. Talking

Ask questions that prompt your child’s mathematical thinking. Sometimes your child will say things that surprise you, or respond incorrectly to a question. Rather than immediately correcting, try to find the right answer together. Ask follow up questions that help your child figure it out on their own. This is also a good strategy when your child responds correctly. Try prompting with “Wow! How did you figure that out?” or “Show me why you think there would be three.”

Resource: Talking about Math All Around Us! On-The-Go Cards The most important thing to remember when engaging your child in math is to have fun. Set an example that math engagement is a positive and enjoyable experience. The interaction should center on a positive experience with you, with math learning as an added bonus.

AMY NAPOLI, EXTENSION SPECIALIST | UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

Peer Reviewed by Lynn DeVries, Extension Educator, The Learning Child and Linda Reddish, Extension Educator, The Learning Child

Make sure to follow The Learning Child on social media for more research-based early childhood education resources!

Tuesday, September 1, 2020 Forage, pasture, and weather conditionsSpanish: 

Corn condition is rated 66% good to excellent, down from 73% the previous week, with 96% dough and 60% dented. Soybean condition is rated 71% good to excellent, down from 76% the previous week, with 98% setting pods and 5% dropping leaves.

Extension educators report on what they are seeing in the fields this week in the panhandle, Platte, Boone, Nance, Phelps, Harlan, Furnas, Gosper, Adams, Kearney and Webster counties.

Can planting cover crops in corn systems provide the dual benefits of improving soil health and be an economical source of forage? This webinar will cover lessons learned on incorporating cover crops after corn silage, high moisture corn, and dry corn harvest in Nebraska. The session will consist of short presentations with ample time for questions and discussion.

Rye in continuous corn April 19, 2018 at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Education Center near Mead. With growing interest in cover crops, it is important to understand how cover crops might impact soil fertility for the following cash crop. Nitrogen (N) provided by cover crop biomass may be used in the short-term by the following crop, and in the long-term through improving soil N content and reducing fertilizer input costs.

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Few words cause as much concern for those with pasture or rangeland as drought.  In 2012 when the latest widespread drought covered most of the state, some of the most difficult conversations were occurring between landowners with pasture and their tenants.   

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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension will host the 2020 BeefWatch Webinar Series. The webinars will take place weekly beginning on Tuesday, October 6.

The BeefWatch Webinar series is designed to highlight management strategies in grazing, nutrition, reproduction, and economics to increase cow/calf and stocker production efficiency and profitability. Each session will feature industry experts and plenty of opportunity to interact to get your questions answered. 

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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Can planting cover crops in corn systems provide the dual benefits of improving soil health and be an economical source of forage? This webinar will cover lessons learned on incorporating cover crops after corn silage, high moisture corn, and dry corn harvest in Nebraska. The session will consist of short presentations with ample time for questions and discussion.

The webinar will be held via Zoom on September 15th at 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm (central time).

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This article summarizes the simulated crop stages and yield forecasts performed on August 25 for 40 locations across the US Corn Belt using the UNL Hybrid-Maize crop model.