When it comes to buying corn seed, one way to save money is to ensure you are not investing in GMO insect protection traits you do not need for your particular farm or field. This guide can help you determine which traits you need where.
Figure 1. Standing residue captures snow across this no-till field, reducing blowing snow and erosion. (Photos by Paul Jasa)
No-till November, a USDA NRCS campaign, encourages farmers to park their tillage implements this fall, in favor of keeping crop residue on the soil surface. Using no-till as a system reduces erosion, runoff, and soil moisture evaporation.
Figure 1. Field of early-planted corn that burned up due to drought conditions during the early season in 2017. (Photo by Strahinja Stepanovic)
Results from a one-year study in western Nebraska to evaluate the effects of planting date on dryland corn and whether seeding rate recommendations should be reconsidered for late planting dates.
The Nebraska Crop Production Budgets have been revised and updated for 2019 with 78 budgets covering different management systems for 15 crops. The largest cost increases from 2018 were for nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers.
Try this three-step method to develop a crop income projection for 2019 based on average yield estimates, commodity price projections, and direct cost and overhead. The 2019 crop production budgets can be used as a guide.
Are you considering some late 2018 purchases? Three factors can help you and your tax preparer determine whether they meet the Internal Revenue Service requirements for a prepaid expense.
How does what you paid for harvest labor compare with what others in the Northern Plains Region paid during the October survey week. For 2018, the average was $15.49, up 7% from 2017. Laborers worked an average of 47.4 hours that week.
The extra agricultural production from irrigation across the High Plains Aquifer (HPA) was worth about $3.5 billion in 2007, $2 billion of which was produced in Nebraska. This research analyzed annual crop production and weather information for 1960 to 2007 for each of the 205 counties overlying the HPA.
If you use GIS to help with your farm management decisions, check out the new shapefiles being offered by the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Individual shapefiles are available for over 500 map options.
While diseases are one of the three biggest yield-limiting factors of sunflower production, there was little information on how to identify and manage them until university plant pathologists joined in a collaborative effort to conduct research and develop educational resources.
This week's Market Journal includes an interview with UNL's Clyde Ogg about label-specific pesticide changes for 2019 and recommendations to avoid pesticide drift. Other segments cover the forecast for next week and Crop Residue Exchange.
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture encourages growers to be mindful of mycotoxin levels in corn being fed to livestock this winter. Summer drought in some areas couple with wet harvest conditions created a high risk for mycotoxins to grow.
Perennial favorite David Kohl, agricultural economics professor emeritus at Virginia Tech University, will present the first of four programs in the Farmers and Rancher College series. Kohl will speak Nov. 27 at the Bruning Opera House.
