Dave Morgan, Extension Safety Engineer: Frustration with harvest delays can be turned to good use by checking and maintaining equipment to avoid later breakdowns. Temporary repairs made during the rush of starting harvest can be fixed more permanently to avoid later delays. Following recent rains, watch for washouts, soft spots, and sinkholes that can contribute to accidents. In some areas where corn is down and snouts are close to the ground, remember to slow down and take it safe. Also, with the recent rains there may be a tendency for combines to plug. ALWAYS turn off the engine before trying to unplug crop debris.
Gary Lesoing, Extension Educator in Nemaha County: The past two to three weeks have been good for harvest in Nemaha and surrounding counties. During the last part of September considerable corn was harvested in the area. Yields have been extremely variable. Some of the very poor corn was harvested as silage and had little grain. Some fields were appraised at less than 10 bu/ac while no-till fields on bottom ground yielded as high as 160 bu/ac east of Auburn. A lot of the corn is yielding 80-120 bu/ac in the southern part of the county. About 75% of the beans are harvested with yields of 40-50 bu/acThe number of wheat acres planted is the highest in 15 years.
Bob Klein, Extension Cropping Systems Specialist, West Central REC: Soybean harvest is about 70-80% done, but not much has been harvested this week because of the rains. Much of the corn is waiting to be harvested. Subsoil moisture levels are decent east of North Platte, but west of North Platte the profile is still pretty dry.
Steve Melvin, Extension Educator in Frontier County: Soybean harvest is dragging on and is one of the more frustrating harvests in recent history because of the cool, wet weather. Not only has it taken a long time, it has been hard on combine equipment. Most of the corn and grain sorghum is still in the field. The winter wheat that was sowed looks good, but the delayed soybean harvest has delayed much of the wheat planting.
Ralph Anderson, former Extension Educator in Buffalo County: Wet weather has delayed harvest. Lodged corn has been a huge frustration – combine speeds in down corn are very slow, 1-1.5 mph. Corn yields seem to be down from Kearney to Columbus, but okay from Kearney to Holdrege. In the lab we are seeing a lot of low soil nitrogen tests. Stalk nitrate tests are average or above. Extra nitrogen may have moved out of the profile because of the wet weather.
Jenny Rees, Extension Educator in Clay and Webster counties: Most of the soybeans are harvested, but a lot of corn has yet to be harvested. A lot more winter wheat is being planted in this area. Corn yields are down about 5-10% from last year. Stalk rot is not as severe in Clay County as it is further north.
Gary Zoubek, Extension Educator in York County: Soybean harvest is easy compared to corn harvest. Corn yields are down and stalk quality is poor. A lot of the crop has gone down and producers are only able to harvest in one direction. Downed corn is field/variety specific and may be related to irrigation amount. Soybean yields are 60-70 bu/ac.
Al Dutcher, Extension State Climatologist: Soil moisture readings indicate that in the area south of I-80, between Holdredge and Lincoln, there will be a full soil moisture profile by planting, provided that winter precipitation is normal. If the forecast holds and spring rains are typical, wet fields may be an issue at planting. The next month will be cooler and wetter than normal. The long-term forecast does not favor heavy snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, unless the El Nino system dies in time for normal March and April storms.
Charles Shapiro, Extension Soils Specialist at the Haskell Ag Lab, Northeast REC: Harvest is going okay. A lot of the beans are out with average yields. August rains made a huge difference for soybean yields – fields that farmers thought were a loss are yielding well. We have had a hard freeze the last two nights, and a lot of people are cutting alfalfa.
Ralph Kulm, Extension Educator in Boyd County: We have not received much moisture lately. About 90% of the beans and 30% of the corn are harvested. Yields are variable, but producers have been pleasantly surprised by bean yields. Potato harvest is ending and growers are trying to plant groundcover. Wheat is being planted after soybeans and a lot of alfalfa is being cut.
Aaron Nygren, Extension Educator in Colfax County: In areas where the corn went down, harvest is very slow. Producers have expressed concern about cattle grazing fields with lots of corn still on the ground. Bean yields are good – 45-50 bu/ac. Winter wheat is being planted. Fields are already greening up with winter annuals and producers should treat early to avoid the problems we saw this spring.
Mark Bernards, Extension Weeds Specialist, Lincoln: We'll be watching two Nebraska weeds — marestail and Palmer Amaranth — to see if they have developd resistance to glyphosate and will address control recommendations in an upcoming CropWatch.
Bob Wright , Extension Entomologist, Lincoln: Syngenta is marketing a new corn rootworm Bt technology which contains a slightly different Bt toxin than other products (Herculex and YieldGard). Syngenta is awaiting approval for a new Bt for cornborer. Rootworm control with the new Bt insecticide was very good in trials at Clay Center. Information on refuge plans for this event have not been announced.
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