Douglas Anderson, Extension Educator in Keith, Arthur and Perkins counties: With the increased rains dryland corn looks good and should be able to pollinate. Beans are coming on. Wheat harvest is about over. An average yield will be about 23-26 bu/ac, with a range from the single digits to the low 40s. Protein level looks good and test weight is acceptable, just not as much yield as we’d like. Pastures are slowly greening up, and alfalfa is just okay. It will be a short hay year but not as short as first thought in the spring – the rains have helped a lot. While there are no real disease or insect problems, the grasshopper population is high in some areas.
Karen DeBoer, Extension Educator in Cheyenne County: We are at least 85% complete with wheat harvest in Cheyenne County. Yields have been better than expected in many cases, but still at or below average for our area. There has been some damage from hail recently. The below average yields have been attributed to drought, heat and freeze damage.
Del Hemsath, Extension Educator in Dakota, Dixon and Thurston counties: Crops are looking great with the ideal weather conditions this past week. Temperatures have been normal to slightly above normal and moisture is still short but not too bad. Corn is tasseling in some areas with much of the corn in the flag leaf stage. Soybeans are in the R1- R2 stage, with just a few reports of disease problems. Alfalfa second cutting is almost complete. In sandy areas, irrigation systems are running.
Ralph Kulm, Extension Educator in Holt and Boyd counties: Scattered showers over the area have helped some producers, but most are still waiting for rain. Dryland row crops are hanging on but need moisture soon to prevent major losses. Irrigated crops look good. Producers are now finishing their second cutting of alfalfa. It ranged from hardly worth cutting to almost normal. Regrowth will be negligible without further moisture. Wheat harvest began before the 4th of July with the poorer fields being cut first due to the shortage of moisture. Irrigated fields probably won't be cut before July 10. Cattle producers are concerned that many pastures will be out of grass before August.
Aaron Nygren, Extension Educator in Colfax County: Crops look pretty good, although some moisture stress is starting to show up on dryland crops. Corn is growing rapidly, with a few fields starting to tassel, so moisture is needed quickly to prevent yield losses. Soybean height varies widely, with some irrigated fields in wide rows canopying, while most dryland fields are still quite short. Farmers with furrow irrigation are cultivating and ridging soybeans to start irrigating. So far no major insect problems have been reported in the area other than some corn rootworm problems on refuge areas. Second cutting alfalfa is ongoing.
Gary Lesoing, Extension Educator in Nemaha County: Wheat harvest was completed this past week in southeast Nebraska. Wheat yields were quite variable although for the most part they were very good. Some wheat was not harvested due to severe infection of wheat streak mosaic. Wheat yields were reported from 40 bu/ac to a high of 90 bu/ac, with a lot of it in the 50-65 bu/ac range. A few producers had wheat that was infected with common bunt. Most of second cutting alfalfa has been harvested. In general it was short due to the lack of rainfall. Corn is tasseling and soybeans are beginning to flower, but some later planted soybeans are short and need rain. Rainfall has been very spotty all spring. Many fields of corn are showing drought stress. The high humidity and heavy dews have been beneficial to the plants and the recent calmer days and cooler day and night temperatures have also been good for crops. Soil moisture is being depleted rapidly at a time when crops, especially corn, need a lot of water. If we don't see some rainfall soon, corn yields will be reduced significantly in many parts of southeast Nebraska.
Jennifer Rees, Extension Educator in Clay and Webster counties: Rainfed wheat harvest yields ranged from 20 bu/ac to 40 bu/acre and irrigated yields averaged 75-80 bu/acre. Some fields had higher yields than this, particularly summer fallow or no-till fields. Corn is between beginning tassel and silking and most soybeans are at a beginning flower to R2.stage. We haven't had major disease or insect issues in any crops this year although western bean cutworm moth counts are high in the South Central Ag Lab (SCAL) light trap. Irrigators are running pivots continually. We have two new common mullein control sites this year with Dr. Mark Bernards, Extension weeds specialist. These sites are near Bostwick and Red Cloud.
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