A full moon lights the way for this river bottom field in Richardson County to be harvested Tuesday. As of Monday, 34% of the state's corn and 54% of the state's soybeans had been harvested. (Photo by Laura Thompson)
Crop insurance is typically thought of as protecting against low yields and/or revenue, but it can also protect against low quality. With soybeans four types of discounts are considered.
Quality issues with soybeans this year are leading some growers to seek alternative markets. Damaged or discolored whole, raw soybeans can be a good protein source for cattle and provide a market option for growers.
Soil Fertility
Figure 1. Drilling cereal rye into corn stubble in Dodge County, October 19, 2018. (Photo by Katja Koehler-Cole)
In trials conducted at three research stations in eastern, northeastern and south-central Nebraska, researchers investigated rye productivity and its ability to scavenge N when grown as a cover crop between full-season corn and soybeans.
For successful marestail management in the fall, apply herbicides after harvest while weather conditions remain favorable (air temperature above 50°F). Effective control now may negate the need for an early spring burndown application.
Figure 1. Due to plenty of soil moisture this fall, marestail emergence was relatively early and over a longer period, leading to variable sizes of marestail plants that needed to be controlled before planting winter wheat. (Photos by Amit Jhala)
Researchers studied waterhemp populations in eastern Nebraska to evaluate the efficacy of PRE and POST herbicide applications and the mechanism of atrazine resistance. Here's what they found and take-home messages to apply to your operation.
Pulse Crops
Graph showing tillage effects on yield of chickpea and field pea at Grant, Nebraska in 2018 study.
Research conducted at Grant found that spring tillage prior to planting caused faster germination and better yield of field peas and chickpeas as compared to no-till during the above-average wet and cool 2018 growing conditions.
Fields of field pea, lentil, and chickpea in Nebraska; photo taken June 12, 2018.
Do growers want a pulse crop checkoff? That's one of the questions being asked through a survey on how the Nebraska pulse crop industry might be represented and collectively promoted.
On this week's Market Journal: the proposal to sell E-15 year-round, the Oct. 31 Weed Science School, and upcoming Farm Service Deadlines.
New research from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln suggests companies can actually profit by giving away their genetic modification technologies to hunger-stricken areas.
University research shows that lowering the price of genetic modification technologies in hunger-stricken areas can actually help agricultural biotech companies profit. In other words, these companies can actually do well by doing good.
