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Harvest

Staying Safe During Harvest

Farmers and auto drivers must work together to ensure safe roadways for all this harvest season.

Preventing Weed Seed Distribution from Combines

Weed seeds accumulate in different parts of a combine during harvest, encouraging weed growth in new fields; however, weed seed distribution can be reduced by targeting specific areas of the combine for a quick clean-out at the end of the day.

Burned combine — Due to Nebraska's intense drought conditions, which increase the risk for combine fires, Nebraska Extension urges producers to take every precaution available to harvest safely this year.

Preventing and Responding to Combine Fires

As crop residue starts the majority of combine fires, it's vital to clean equipment every day after harvesting, allow it to cool off before storing inside a machine shed, and avoid harvesting when conditions are at peak fire risk.

harvested soybeans in a grain trailer — United Soybean Board

The Economics of Corn and Soybean Harvest Moisture

When to send out the combine represents a critical decision every producer across the nation faces. At first glance, the simple answer is “whenever the grain dries down enough,” but producers know it comes down to much more than just moisture.

Herbicide Management

Comment Period Closes Oct. 7, 2022 for U.S. EPA’s Herbicide Atrazine Mitigation Docket

The public has until Oct. 7 to provide feedback on proposed changes to atrazine restrictions, to inform the EPA of knowledge gaps, considerations or concerns that they would like addressed.

CropWatch Podcast

Subscribe to the CropWatch Podcast

Nebraska Extension Educator Katie Pekarek and her research partners share insights on a new UNL project that explores the process of interseeding cover crops in late season corn.

Weather Outlook

Weekly Agricultural Weather Update — Sept. 20, 2022

After widespread precipitation in the latter part of this week, dry weather and temperatures returning to the 70s and 80s should dominate the last full week of September through the first full week of October.

Forage Production

Pasture and Forage Minute: Monitoring Hay Quality and Pests, Early Cornstalk Harvest

Extension educators cover the variables involved in testing hay quality and what pests may sneak in with your imported hay — plus, why harvesting some corn a little early might be a good strategy for grazing this year.

IANR & Extension

Crop Insurance Workshop Oct. 19 in Grand Island

Topics covered during the daylong workshop will include livestock risk protection, expectations for the 2023 Farm Bill, outlooks for crop and livestock markets, how crop insurance fraud is investigated, macroeconomic trends and climate trends.

Santosh Pitla and Flex-Ro — Santosh Pitla poses with the Flex-Ro autonomous tractor in June 2019. (Photo by Greg Nathan, University Communication)

Collaborative Project Seeks to Protect Agricultural Technology from Cyberattacks

The research team is investigating the security and hackability of autonomous farm vehicles and precision ag equipment using Flex-Ro, an ag robot created by UNL's Biological Systems Engineering Department.

Crop Reports & AgNews

Crop Progress: Half of Nebraska Pastures, Range Remain in ‘Very Poor’ Condition

With drought persisting across Nebraska, there has been no improvement to pasture and range conditions, which are currently 50% very poor. Crop conditions remained relatively stable as of Sept. 18.

Free Farm and Ag Law Clinics Set for October

There are four dates scheduled for free, in-person farm and ag law clinics in October.

In Case You Missed It...

2022 Corn Yield Forecasts: End-of-season Forecasts Suggest Below-average Yields for the Region

The final corn yield forecast for the season suggests below-average yields in rainfed corn in Nebraska. For many irrigated sites across the state, yield is anticipated to be slightly closer to average.

Cattle grazing cornstalks — Safely grazing drought-stressed cornstalks can be accomplished with an appropriate grazing plan and fencing precautions.

Pasture and Forage Minute: Grazing High Nitrate Cornstalks, Late Summer Weed Control

Extension Educator Todd Whitney reveals techniques to safely graze drought-stressed cornstalks — plus, more on late summer weed control and planting small grains for spring forage.