Jenny Rees, Extension Educator in York County:  We’ve received various rainfall totals in this area of the state with some fields ponding right now. (Please see Corn Survival in Ponded or Flooded Fields.)  I was seeing minimal germination and emergence problems in corn and soybeans planted prior to April 25 before cold snap later that week.  A few fields showed concerns with fertilizer burn to corn radicles from both fall- and spring-applied anhydrous that were shallow applied with deeper planted corn; recent rains may have alleviated any additional concerns from deeper strip-till applications. 

A number of diseases are occurring in wheat right now but we’re getting close to the point of fungicide application shut-off in fields approaching 50% flowering.  It’s important farmers are aware of which fungicide options are labeled for their wheat's growth stage. They can find this information at:  https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2017-CW-News/2017-images/wheat-diseases/NCERA-184-wheat-fungicides-2017.pdf. See my full wheat update with photos at  http://jenreesources.com. (5/19/17)

Wayne Ohnesorg, Extension Educator in Madison, Pierce, and Antelope Counties: The weekend of May 6 planting resumed in earnest. Rain on May 10 of 0.65 inches stalled planting until May 12. The evening of May 15 we received 0.55 inches of rain which will likely stall field work long enough for additional forecasted rains to arrive. Corn is likely around 90% planted with soybean around 50%. Producers have been pushing hard to finish ahead of forecasted rain this week. I have yet to see a field with emerged corn or soybean in my area. All rain totals are from my rain gauge. (5/16/17)

Charles Shapiro, Extension Soils Specialist at the Haskell Ag Lab: Here in northeast Nebraska, we’re not worried about replanting as we’re still worried about planting. We have been cool and wet up here. With warmer, drier conditions farmers were busy planting over the weekend and we’re in the process of getting our research plots in; however, last night we got ½ inch of rain, which is likely to slow planting some. Corn hasn’t emerged yet up here. (5/16/17)

John Wilson, Extension Educator in Burt County: Planting made great progress in the last week and growers may have set a record in how much they planted between rain events. We got 1.5-2 inches late last Tuesday and Wednesday and 0.5 inch last night. Lots of growers are nearly done with corn and have a good start on soybeans. About 80% of the corn is in and about 35% of the soybeans with planting progressing rapidly. (5/16/17)

Tamra Jackson-Ziems, Extension Plant Pathologist: Here in southeast Holt County, conditions are high and dry and most have finished with corn and soybean planting and some corn has emerged. A little further west where they’ve had more storms, some haven’t even started yet. I’ve seen little evidence of seedling disease in corn in the last 7-10 days so it may not be the issue we were fearing. I’ve heard more reports of cork screwing of seedlings belowground. Last week we sampled a field and everywhere he had a skiff, we dug it up and it was due to corkscrewing rather than hypocotyl decay. (5/16/17)

Nathan Mueller, Extension Educator in Dodge County: Planting is progressing quickly, now with 80-90% of the corn in (10% emerged) and 50-60% of soybeans planted. Some growers decided to plant and then spray and that will be a problem. Beans are coming up and they haven’t had a chance to spray for marestail yet. One farm service applicator said they are currently 7,000 acres behind. We’ve got a number of our research plots planted, including seeding rate studies, on-farm studies, winter wheat variety trial and others. Our winter wheat variety trial was at flag leaf stage Friday.(5/16/17)

Tyler Williams, Extension Educator in Lancaster County: Most of our corn and about half of our soybeans are planted. A lot of corn has emerged and we’ve had a few spotty showers. I’ve been getting random calls on wheat diseases, mostly rusts. (5/16/17)

Todd Whitney, Extension Educator in Phelps County: While we’ve had some planting delays due to rain (1.5 inches 10 days ago and 0.75 inch last night) planting is progressing well and a lot of corn has emerged. Corn will be at various growth stages this year. A lot of our wheat is heading. There was some freeze injury from the late April storms with heavy snow that matted down some of the fields, but the wheat generally appears to be recovering well. There will be some lodged stems likely due to shallow planting. We’re seeing a lot of fungicide spraying in wheat for tan spot, leaf rust, but no stripe rust yet. Last year spraying was a good call to protect yield. (5/16/17)

Chuck Burr, Crops and Water Extension Educator, North Platte: In Perkins County and south, wheat heads are emerging. Most corn has been planted and growers have a good start on soybeans. We got 0.5 inch of rain a week ago and a shot last night. (5/16/17)

Karen DeBoer, Extension Educator in Cheyenne County: Our wheat crop is looking pretty good, although we’re seeing some wheat streak mosaic virus, likely due to volunteer wheat from hailed areas creating a green bridge for insect vectors to carry it forward to this crop. Warm temperatures last fall may have easily allowed for mite movement. I haven’t received any reports of stripe rust yet. Wheat is starting to head, definitely head of average. Peas look good. Corn planting is well underway and growers are getting ready for planting proso millet, grain sorghum, and a little later for dry beans. (5/16/17)

Robert Tigner, Extension Educator in Red Willow County: Probably about two-thirds of our irrigated corn is planted and some non-irrigated is going in now. One agronomist has reported wheat damage as high as 75% damaged stems from storms, but I haven’t found that level of damage and am seeing more in the range of 10-15%. Damage levels will partly depend on wheat growth stage at the time of the storm, but I haven’t heard of anyone abandoning or tearing out fields due to damage. Some have contacted their crop insurer to evaluate damage. We have good soil moisture in the area, which likely is a factor in letting the fields play out to maturity. Fungicide is going on wheat, likely to avoid the losses to wheat stripe rust that some experienced the last two years. (5/16/17)

Sarah Schlund, Extension Educator in Dawson County: With good heat late last week and over the weekend, corn popped out of the ground. Most of our corn is planted and a lot is up, most now at V1 and a little at V2. A lot of soybeans were planted last week. Hay came back pretty well from the damage it sustained a couple weeks ago. We had some crusting in corn, which seemed to resolve with a light irrigation. Tonight’s rain should help too. We’re not seeing too much insect damage. (5/16/17)