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Ralph D Kulm, Extension Educator in Holt and Boyd counties: Producers have been taking advantage of generally dry conditions to finish up corn planting and move well along with soybean. Emergence is slow due to cool weather and emerged corn is very yellow. Warm season pastures and alfalfa are also very slow due to earlier frost/freeze and continued cool weather. Powdery mildew can be found in most winter wheat fields. It is heavy enough in some fields to warrant treatment with a fungicide.
Keith Glewen, Extension Educator in Saunders County: April 27 was a day many acres of corn were planted in eastern Nebraska, however, due to rains and soil conditions it may have not been the best day to plant corn as some replanting has occurred and pivots have been used to break the crusted soil conditions. Corn has been struggling with the cool, cloudy weather, but Thursday night temperatures were above 60 and it was the first night the corn grew. Pivots are being used to incorporate pre-emergence herbicides. If we see a problem with pre-emergence herbicide effectiveness this year for whatever reasons it will likely provide incentive to plant more glyphosate tolerant corn acres in the future.
Paul Hay, Extension Educator in Gage County: Grazon P&D is an excellent pasture weed and tree control herbicide choice; however, if you’re careless with its application, be prepare for off-target payments from acreage trees and neighboring alfalfa and soybean fields, regardless of whether it was a ground or air application. Unfortunately we usually average two to three claims per year, and already had two last week.
Gary Lesoing, Extension Educator in Nemaha County: There was a significant rain a week ago Monday over most of southeast Nebraska that cause quite a bit of erosion in tilled fields, but very little erosion in no-till fields. Since then, it has been dry. Corn is essentially planted and soybeans are more than 80% planted. Corn is growing well with the warmer temperatures, but soybeans could use some rain to aid emergence. Wheat is a mixed bag -- some fields look pretty good, while others have wheat streak mosaic virus. There was some powdery mildew in wheat, but the warm weather of the past week has helped clear it up. Pastures are currently o.k. but need rain. The first cutting of alfalfa began this week.
Aaron Nygren, Extension Educator in Colfax County: Corn planting is nearly finished and about 50% of the acres have emerged. Pivots are running to incorporate herbicides and nitrogen. Some soybeans still need to be planted as some producers were waiting for warmer weather. The first cutting of alfalfa is beginning. The top layer of soil is quite dry due to warm weather and hot wind.
Ralph Kulm, Extension Educator in Boyd County: It's dry here -- the alfalfa looks good where there is water. About 60+% of the corn and 10% of the beans have emerged. In the alfalfa there are lots of pea aphids and very small weevils. The first cutting of alfalfa is beginning. This is earlier than normal, and may be an attempt to prevent field pennycress and downy brome from going to seed. Pastures are very dry – producers want to put in cows, but should wait. Most of the wheat has powdery mildew. and many fields have been treated with a fungicide.
Tom Hunt , Exension Entomologist at the Haskell Ag Lab, Concord: It is dry. The corn crop is planted and most of the beans were planted this week. A few pivots are running in the area. I have not seen many alfalfa weevils or bean leaf beetles in the alfalfa and there have not been any reports of cutworms in corn, but producers should continue to scout for early season pests.
Dave Stenberg, Extension Educator in Dawson County: The corn is planted and most soybeans are in. We have received only an inch of rain since November, except for big snows in March and December. About half of the pivots in Dawson County have run at least once. Some producers who put cows in pastures have pulled them out. Grasshopper surveys show populations are not bad at this point, but grasshoppers are still expected. About 10% of alfalfa has been harvested, and about 20% is down. Hay is in short supply because of the drought conditions. Wheat has begun going downhill the last couple of days.
Drew Lyon, Extension Dryland Crops Specialist at the Panhandle REC, Scottsbluff: Normal precipitation in April and May is about 5 inches, but we’ve only had 1 inch so far. Wheat condition in the southern Panhandle is deteriorating with this week's warmer temperatures and wheat in southwest Nebraska looks bad. (See more on the wheat situation.) People are holding back on planting sunflower and millet because the soil is so dry. Runoff from the mountains is not what was expected based on snow fall amounts. Some water was released early from the reservoirs. Now there are worries about adequate water being available for late season irrigation. Planting of dry beans is still a couple of weeks away, but there are worries about whether there is enough moisture in the soil to get the crop up without irrigating. We lost some sugar beets to cold temperatures and wind and there has been some replanting. There was little serious damage to wheat from the cold temperatures.
Bill Booker, Exension Educator in Box Butte County: Conditions in the northern Panhandle are better than in the southern Panhandle. Wheat is reaching boot stage. Soil moisture and precipitation levels are below normal. When it was cool, we didn’t realize how dry things were. Smaller irrigation systems may not be able to keep up with the water demands of wheat as it enters reproductive growth stages. Pastures conditions are marginal because of the drought. Corn went in well and sugarbeets are all planted.
Del Hemsath, Extension Educator in Dakota, Dixon and Thurston counties: Corn is planted, probably 50% emerging, but needs some heat units. Soybeans are still going in, probably 90% was planted by this Friday. Some first cutting of alfalfa is underway. Oats are looking good. Winds have really dried out the soil surface, even saw a center pivot running this past Wednesday, likely to incorporate herbicide. In general, things look pretty good.
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