October 17, 2008

Drew Lyon, Extension Dryland Cropping Systems Specialist at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center: Beans are pretty much all in and some are starting on corn. Most of the corn harvested has been high moisture. Sugarbeet harvest has been going for a while and there is excitement about crop quality and prices. More Roundup Ready fields were planted and growers have been pretty upbeat about the crop. Most of the proso millet has been harvested. With good moisture with wheat is off to a good start, although there may be some winter annual grass problems. We were lucky to go as long as we did before the first freeze.

Steve Melvin, Extension Educator in Frontier County: Southwest Nebraska really hasn't had a hard freeze yet, although it came close Monday night. Harvest has been delayed due to delayed crop maturity. Moisture content is high, but we probably won't have a grain quality problem. A lot of soybeans have been harvested. Some corn and sorghum is just getting to black layer.

Bob Klein, Extension Western Nebraska Crops Specialist: Western Nebraska was thankful to get 3.25 inches of precipitation in some nice rains this week. The delayed frost and delayed harvest have been good. Most wheat stands, except those in dry areas, are looking good. As of Tuesday, about 50% of the soybeans and 10-15% of the corn had been harvested, mainly just high moisture corn.

Gary Zoubek, Extension Educator in York County: Harvest is progressing with more than 80% of the beans out. We've gotten some good rains in the last week. As of Tuesday, corn harvest was just getting started and plants are still standing pretty well. Moisture is in the low 20s and yields are looking good. Some wheat has been planted. Soybean yields were in the range of 50 to 80 bu/ac.

Tom Dorn, Extension Educator in Lancaster County: Soybean harvest is about 60-70% complete and yields have been in the mid 40s. If corn got in early, it's coming out at 15-17% moisture. Other corn is still waiting for more drydown.

Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer: About 75% of the beans east of Lincoln have been harvested and wheat has been planted in the stubble in some fields. Corn harvest is just getting started. September rains helped the longer season beans that are still in the field. We had dryland yields of 218-250 bu/ac in bottom lands on the research farm. Really good rains this year were as good as irrigation, although the dry August didn't help soybeans. Milo is about ready for harvest and wheat is just starting to come up.

Aaron Nygren, Extension Educator in Colfax County: Bean harvest is about 50-70% done with yields in the low to upper 40s for dryland or in the mid 30s where it was dry. Generally rain has delayed field work.

Wayne Ohnesorg, Extension Educator in Pierce County: We've gotten a lot of rain in the last week. About two-thirds of the beans and some high moisture corn have been harvested. Most field work stopped with the rains.

Keith Jarvi, Extension IPM at the Northeast REC, Norfolk: We've had rain in the Wayne-Concord area over the last week. About 90% of the beans have been harvested but growers are waiting for the corn to dry down. Things are doing pretty well and yields have been average.

Keith Glewen, Extension Educator in Saunders County: Soybean yields are highly variable. Some have been happy with their yields, others have been upset, and still others have been disappointed.

Gary Lesoing, Extension Educator in Nemaha County: A significant number of soybeans have been harvested the last two weeks, in between the rains. Some corn has been harvested and some wheat has been planted. Reports of soybean yields have been 40-45 bu/ac, with a much wider range of yields, depending upon planting dates, rainfall and soil type. Reports of corn yields have been 130-150 bu/ac for dryland, although I am sure corn yield ranges are wider and there are some much better yields in the area.

Dave Stenberg, Extension Educator in Dawson County: It has been wet out our way the last week to 10 days and harvest has been slow. About half of the soybean and less than 10% of the corn has been harvested. Most of the corn has gone to feedlots as high moisture corn. Our crop is now nearly 100% ready for a freeze. Moistures are running from the upper teens to mid 30s with the average in the mid 20s. Yield is running about 10% below last year. It could be a long fall for harvest.