Gary Zoubek, Extension Educator in York County: We received about 2 inches of rain the past week so planting progress was slowed, however the moisture was welcome! Producers have made good progress and will be finishing up corn planting in the next 10-14 days. Some have started planting soybeans. Field conditions are generally good!
Karen DeBoer, Extension Educator in Cheyenne County: Producers in our area are summer tilling their ground and preparing for planting summer crops like millet and sunflowers.
Gary Lesoing, Extension Educator in Nemaha County: Corn planting in the area is on the downward side with most producers making good progress. Some are done with corn while others are finishing up. Dry weather allowed farmers to get a lot of corn planted the previous week, but last week some days of cold and wet weather slowed planting down. The rain we received last weekend was welcome as previous rain showers have been quite variable this spring. There are some dry areas in the county, but most areas have decent top soil moisture. Most no-till fields in the county have good moisture down a couple of feet.
Soybean planting is just getting started and will progress steadily as fields dry up and temperatures warm up in May. Wheat is quite variable in the area. Some is showing evidence of disease. As reported in the previous "Crop Watch", Wheat Streak Mosaic, Soil Borne Mosaic and Tan Spot were identified in fields here in Nemaha County. Recently Wheat Streak Mosaic has been identified in 3 more fields in Nemaha County and 2 fields in Otoe County as well. We are still waiting on the Soil Borne Mosaic results. Other wheat fields look very good and are growing well. Alfalfa fields look good. Pastures should start to grow better with the latest rains.
Dave Baltensperger, Extension Crop Breeding Specialist at the Panhandle REC, Scottsbluff: Wheat looks relatively good, although there are some areas that show wind erosion damage. We have received a little moisture which delayed spring work slightly. A couple days of sun will let producers catch up in a hurry. At the higher elevations, they're still having frosts at least every four days.
Bill Booker, Extension Educator in Box Butte County : The Panhandle is still short of soil moisture despite recent precipitation. Yesterday it snowed off and on, and at times visibility was quite low. Most of the beets are planted. Corn is less than half planted.
Drew Lyon, Extension Dryland Crops Specialist at the Panhandle REC, Scottsbluff: We are getting a little moisture, but need more. Temperatures have been cool. A couple of weeks ago we had a freeze that burned leaf tips in wheat but probably did not damage the heads. The second planting of beets is beginning, as is corn planting. The mountain snow melt predictions are not as high as we thought they might be earlier in the spring.
Dave Stenberg, Extension Educator in Dawson County: Received a little moisture in the last series of storms. Last week was a big one for planting – about 90% of the corn is in (up from 40% last Friday). Producers are now shifting to planting soybeans. Alfalfa looks good, and pastures are greening up even though it has been dry.
Andy Christensen, Extension Educator in Hamilton County: The last couple weeks have been wet, which has delayed planting. Producers are not too worried about the delay yet. There is some corn left to plant, and producers are beginning to plant soybean.
Gary Zoubek, Extension Educator in York County: Received about 2 inches of rain in the last two weeks which has slowed planting. Planting progress is mixed. Some guys are done with corn, others are just getting started. It is also quite variable in who has been able to plant due to soil conditions. Corn that is in the ground needs a few sunny days. Some guys are starting to plant beans.
Ralph Kulm, Extension Educator in Boyd County: Planting has been slow because of cold, dry conditions. The larger operations have been busy planting, but smaller producers are waiting. In orchard country soybeans have been planted, but most have not started planting soybeans. The recent freezes may have slowed alfalfa and pasture growth.
John Hay, Extension Educator in Pierce and Wayne counties: Received almost 3 inches of rain in April. Most of the large operations are finishing corn planting and getting started on soybeans. Smaller operations are just beginning to plant corn. I have not seen any corn coming up yet.
Aaron Nygren, Extension Educator in Colfax County: Most of the corn in the valley is planted and is coming up. The hills still need to be planted. Precipitation has slowed planting for a few days but it is getting back up to speed again.
Tamra Jackson, Extension Plant Pathologist, Lincoln: The cool, wet weather is favorable for pythium diseases in corn, soybean, and alfalfa, and for phytophthora diseases in soybean. The two ways to avoid these problems are to delay planting or use fungicide treated seed. Over 90% of corn seed is treated with effective fungicides now.
Bob Wright , Extension Entomologist, Lincoln: The cool soils and slow emergence will be a good test for seed insecticide treatments, especially for wireworms. Pea aphids have been found in alfalfa in northeast Nebraska and alfalfa weevils are beginning to hatch. Cowpea aphids have not been seen yet.
Mark Bernards, Extension Weeds Specialist, Linocln: In south central Nebraska, where we were establishing some research areas this week, there was little planting underway due to the rain. Corn that was planted two weeks ago was starting to come up. Field pennycress and tansy mustard are the two most common weeds noticed in no-till fields this year.
Del Hemsath, Extension Educator in Dakota, Dixon and Thurston counties: Corn planting progressed rapidly as high winds helped dry out the fields. About 50-75% of the corn has been planted. There has been little to no soybean planting. The area had about 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain over the last weekend of April. The topsoil is adequate for water as is the subsoil. Pastures are growing fast with the rains giving the grass a boost. Alfalfa is ahead of growth with no reported insects problems. Winter annuals survived the winter well and have created an early weed problem. Dandelions are doing very well in some areas.
Keith Glewen, Extension Educator in Saunders County: In Saunders County we now have a full profile of soil moisture four to six feet deep. Only 40% of the corn is planted. A handful of growers are planting soybeans and we have some growers who have not yet planted a kernel of corn. We need sunshine and warmer weather. This year is a carbon copy of the past three or four years: warmer temperatures in April and wet and cold in May or at least cold in most places. I suspect we will see problems show up in crops as a result of getting back into fields that are still too wet.
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