Latest Updates from cropwatch.unl.edu

The TAPS Award Banquet has been shifted to a virtual announcement of the winners on social media this month, with an in-person event tentatively planned for March.

The Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS) program is looking for participants for the 2021 competition as it tailors the upcoming season to accommodate new technologies, methods and practices in farm management.

The 2021 Soils School, set for Feb. 17-18, will provide research and Extension updates on the advanced application of the principles of soil management.

Soybean harvest by the Spohn Farms combine crew near Friend, Neb. Oct. 3, 2016. Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication Photography. Nebraska Extension will hold a series of virtual landlord-tenant cash rent workshops in lieu of in-person meetings that were scheduled across the state through February. They will be geared toward current and future landlords and tenants and will cover current trends in cash rental rates and land values, lease provisions, crop and grazing land considerations and current university crop budget information.

Nebraska’s P. Stephen Baenziger has developed wheat varieties that are used on more than 50% of Nebraska’s wheat acres. Craig Chandler | University Communication

In the spring of 2020, the pesticide safety training season — like most everything else — was upended by COVID-19. Numerous in-person training sessions were canceled, and alternative training methods were devised.

Figure 1. Soybean plant with dark discoloration at the soil surface. Dissection of this area shows two larvae, assumed to be in the third instar. Since 2018, soybean gall midge has expanded its range, claiming eight new counties in Nebraska this year. With its aggressive spread, Midwestern producers are encouraged to attend a three-part webinar series featuring the latest information on this invading soybean pest.

The 2021 Nutrient Management Record Keeping Calendars are now available from Nebraska Extension. Tracking manure application rates, part of the calendar’s recordkeeping tools, is important for getting the maximum crop nutrient value from manure and documenting one’s environmental stewardship.

A drone’s eye view of UNL dry bean variety trial plots at the Mitchell Ag Lab north of Scottsbluff. Results of the 2020 variety trials for dry edible beans and field peas conducted by the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center are now available.

The 2021 Nebraska Crop Production Clinics will feature live presentations on research updates and information tailored to regional crop issues and grower interests via Zoom for nine days throughout January. The 2021 Nebraska Crop Production Clinics will feature research updates and information tailored to regional crop issues and grower interests in a new online format this year. The sessions, which will be hosted via Zoom, will cover a wide range of topics, including cropping system management, soil nutrition, irrigation, pest management, ag technology and agribusiness management.

Dipak Santra, alternative crops breeding specialist, stands in the field pea variety trial plots. Results of University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2020 variety trials for field peas have been compiled and posted in the variety trials section of the CropWatch website.

Photo by Glennis McClure

The 2021 University of Nebraska-Lincoln crop budgets include 83 production budgets for 15 crops as well as information on crop budgeting procedures, standard costs used and a production cost summary. One new spring wheat budget was added this year, No. 74, using southwest Nebraska land values.

Manure application on frozen or snow-covered soil poses a higher risk of nutrient loss through runoff. A blanket of fresh white snow and icicles hanging from the trees and fences make for beautiful winter photos. They don’t, however, make for beautiful manure application weather.

With the legalization of various hemp types across the United States, there is also interest in organic (chemical-free) production of hemp. This is especially true for those hemp types that are grown for various oils, for pharmaceutical and medical use, where chemical residues are not allowed. Weed control without chemicals can be challenging, however, one method of weed control that leaves no chemical residues in plants, soil or water is commonly known as flame weeding.