July 13, 2007

Del Hemsath, Extension Educator in Dakota, Dixon and Thurston counties:Corn is progressing rapidly and tasseling is beginning. Pollination is close and the cooler weather will surely help that key component. Soybeans are blooming. Rainfall is needed in this area. There has not been any significant rain for over a month and all crops are showing stress during the heat. Alfalfa second cutting is completed. Most field activities are completed, except for oat harvest which will start soon.

Thomas Dorn, Extension Educator in Lancaster County: Depending on planting date before or after rains, corn is in the 10-13 leaf stage or tasseling. About two-thirds of the fields will be shedding pollen this week. Soybean growth stage varies more than corn. Soybeans vary from V1 to V3. I would expect to start seeing blooms in the most mature fields this week. Quite a few farmers are planning to try double crop beans after wheat. After a couple of exceptional wheat years, in 2005 and 2006, this was not the year to plant wheat. I have heard of several fields in the 30-40 bushel range but have not heard of any fields over 50 bushels.

Ralph Kulm, Extension Educator in Holt and Boyd counties: Corn is tasseling with early planted fields shedding pollen. Insects and disease are at low levels in corn and soybeans. Wheat harvest is over half complete with variable yields of 30-50 bushels dryland and 60-90 bushels irrigated being reported. Big varietal differences are being reported — probably due to disease response. The second cutting of alfalfa is well underway. Meadow and native hay harvest is also progressing well with good yields.

Duane Lienemann, Extension Educator in Webster and Clay counties: Well over 85% of the wheat in Webster County has been harvested with yields pretty much all over the board. We have reports of light test weights in many fields, mostly because of the outbreak of fusarium head blight and perhaps the Easter frost and from the rust that had hit prior to and during heading. Yields seem to be dictated by 1) variety of wheat, 2) previous crop, and 3) even when the wheat was planted. We had several good yields of 60 plus bushels with 60 plus test weight, a few yields of less than 20 bushels with under 50-55 test weight but a lot of average yields in a year that should have had above average yields.

About 90% of the irrigated corn is tasselled with 50% of those acres pollinating. We had some earlier corn that tasselled almost two weeks ago and already pollinated. The dryland corn is a little behind with about 40% tasselled and we should see some pollination occuring in the near future in these fields. Some later planted dryland corn fields are only about waist high at this point. We have missed out on some good rains over the last couple of weeks and the dryland crops — with corn in particular — starting to show some stress and the pivots and gravity wells are running on irrigated acres. Some producers have indicated that they didnt think that the corn had rooted down and foresee some problems with that.

Soybeans are of differing maturity across the area from small seedlings to fields that have canopied, due to when farmers could get in the field last spring. Some sphinx moth larvae were brought in a couple weeks ago and a lot of armyworm moths were flying three to four weeks ago. There are reports of insect pressure from potato leafhoppers and some pea aphids in alfalfa. Unfortunately we are having reports of some disease persisting in alfalfa. We have had quite a bit less than stellar tonnage from alfalfa fields but have had good reports of grass hay baled. Pastures are starting to show some stress from heat and lack of moisture and we have many reports of overly weedy conditions, including a bumper crop of musk thistle, cocklebur and mullein.