Hail-stripped corn in central Nebraska.

Hail-damaged corn in a field near Gering in the Nebraska Panhandle. (Photo by Gary Stone)

Hail pummeled this ready-to-harvest wheat field in south central Nebraska. (Photo by Ron Seymour)

Troy Ingram, Extension Educator in York County: Crops look pretty good. Soybeans are at V2-R2, corn is at V12-14 (some at Vt), and growers are taking their second cutting of alfalfa. A lot of replanted corn is at V4. Monday night we received 0.5-0.75 inch of rain. Irrigation is in full swing on sandy soils, even though we received 8-10 inches of rain last month. Moisture sensors indicate the top foot of soil is rapidly drying out, but that there is good moisture below 1 foot.  Last week when temperatures were in the 90s corn on the sandier areas started showing signs of stress such as leaves rolling up. (7/8/14)

Todd Whitney, Extension Educator in Hamilton County:  Recent rains, for the most part, have been pretty variable across the county, ranging from 0 to 0.40 to 0.60 per event.  A lot of corn here is ready to tassel, although replanted fields are a long way from that. Most folks haven't done much irrigating and are just starting to look at it. (7/8/14)

Ron Seymour, Extension Educator in Adams County: Corn and soybeans are growing rapidly and doing well. Corn is chest/head high and starting to tassel. Soybeans are blooming. Growers are finishing up hilling and laying out irrigation pipe; a few have started irrigation. We received some rain Monday night and there were some reports of hail in northern Adams County.(7/8/14)

Jennifer Rees, Extension Educator in Clay County: There was rain and hail in northern Clay County two mornings this week. Hail stripped plant leaves. Corn is at or about to tassel, soybeans are flowering, and wheat is being harvested. The last six weeks were quite beneficial to wheat and I've heard reports of some pretty good wheat yields.  Some irrigated yields were in the 70 to mid 80 bu/ac; dryland was reported at 25-45 bu/ac. There's been a lot of discussion about diseases and potential misdiagnoses.  There's some gray leaf spot, but a lot more northern leaf spot; also common rust and Goss's wilt.  Dectes stem borer has been showing up in soybeans the last few weeks. (7/8/14)

Gary Zoubek, Extension Educator in York County: You can find corn at all stages, from 4-5 leaves to just staring to tassel. Soybean is at V2-V4 to full bloom for the earliest planted fields. Most wheat has turned and harvest is expected to start this week. We didn't get too much rain from recent events. The  ET gage dropped 1.50 inches last week. The topsoil is drying, but sensors show deeper moisture.  A few pivots starting running Monday. (7/8/14)

Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, Lincoln: Wheat harvest at the UNL Rogers Memorial Farm east of Lincoln started this week. Corn is just starting to tassel and soybeans are closing canopy.  Volunteer corn is a problem in a number of soybean fields in eastern Nebraska. There's little grain sorghum in our area, but what there is looks good. (7/8/14)

Gary Lesoing, Extension Educator in Nemaha County:  We received 0.70 inch of rain last night and fortunately no hail. Our Et gage indicated 1.3 inches of water use last week. So far rain has been keeping up with crop water use for the week. Near Nebraska City where there's been a lot of rain and soils are saturated, a company is flying on nitrogen urea. Corn is tasseling and starting to pollinate; soybeans are at R1-R2. The little wheat in the area has been harvested and growers are taking their second cutting of alfalfa. We will be hosting a cover crop field day Aug. 2. (7/8/14)

Nathan Mueller, Extension Educator in York County: About 10% of the corn has started to pollinate, most of this in the Platter River valley.  Most corn acres are at the V14-V16 growth stage and in fair to good condition. Replanted corn in the northeastern part of the county is at V6. We're seeing quite a bit of nitrogen deficiency now with some growers starting to fertigate (fertilizer applied through the pivot) with 30-50 lb N/acre. Gray leaf spot and common rust are present in a few fields at low levels.

Soybean Management Field Day plots south of Snyder are in full bloom and 2 ft tall with most soybeans in the county at the R1-R2 stage; replanted soybeans at V2. Some soybean acres are still being sprayed this week given the lack of days suitable for field work in June. Waterhemp and volunteer corn will be tougher to control given their size. About 150 people attended the Herbicide-Resistance Management Field Day in Fremont where a glyphosate-resistant waterhemp population exists. Soybean bacterial blight seems to be less severe this week.  There are about 100 acres of wheat in the area that growers are planning to cut this week. Growers are taking their second cutting of alfalfa. To read more visit http://croptechcafe.org (7/8/14)

John Wilson, Extension Educator in Burt County:  Some heavier soils are still water logged and looking at a nitrogen deficiency. With drier weather most growers may be applying some nitrogen. We received 0.5-1.5 inches of rain last week. There's a lot of variation in crop growth stages due to late and replanted acres. Corn is tasseling in a few fields, but late-planted or replanted corn may only be at 6-leaf. We aren't seeing much disease in corn, just the occasional lesion of gray leaf spot. Soybeans are at the 4-5 leaf stage to blooming.  The second cutting of alfalfa is underway and keeping it up has been a challenge in this high humidity. As temperatures fluctuate, growers should be checking their stored grain condition and aerating as necessary. A lot of corn in this area was stored at 16% moisture, dried to 15%, and should be regularly checked to avoid losses. (7/11/14)

Charles Shapiro, Extension Soil Scientist, Concord:  We have a lot of uneven fields where water set after heavy rains, the most recent of which was Saturday night when we got 2 inches. Corn ranges from dead to good, with some indicating nitrogen leaching.(See CW articles on nitrogen uptake in corn and stalk damage from hail.) (7/8/14)

Wayne Ohnesorg Extension Educator in Madison County: We've been almost precipitation free since June 30, which is allowing fields to dry down a little. A few pivots are applying nitrogen. I haven't seen a field tasseling yet.(7/8/14)

Tyler Williams, Extension Educator in Phelps County:  Crops are looking pretty good here. With warm, dry weather over the weekend, a number of pivots were started on Monday. Some are fertigating, some are irrigating. Soybeans are looking better than in June, but have a lot of volunteer corn. Not sure if they're waiting for a one-pass treatment. Wheat harvest is moving up from the southern part of the county. One producer baled his wheat and planted corn, which is now ankle high.(7/8/14)

Julie Peterson, Extension Entomologist, North Platte: Corn is coming on quickly and is at V8-V12. A lot of irrigation and some fertigation are underway. Soybeans are at early V5 or less. Wheat was harvested at UNL's Stumpf Family Wheat Research project in Perkins County Monday.  Quite a few fields of yellow field peas are just about done blooming and moving to pod fill. Fields near Brule that suffered hail damage a couple weeks ago appear to be bouncing back well. We're finding western bean cutworm moths and egg masses in Dundy County.

Robert Wright, Extension Entomologist, Lincoln:  Western bean cutworm are appearing in different areas of the state. Soybean stem borer beetles have been evident the last few weeks and egg laying was detected at the UNL Agricultural Lab at Clay Center Monday.  There has been a lot of interest but little success in controlling the beetle.  These beetles are active and lay eggs over a long time.  (See stories on managing western bean cutworm and soybean stem borer in this week's CropWatch.)

Corn is at variable growth stages, particularly where there was replanting, and growers should be watching for late season insects -- earworms and corn borers. One stage may become a trap crop for rootworms later in the season creating more of a problem next year. Likely to get lodging reports from rootworms later this summer.