According to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, one in four jobs in Nebraska is related to agriculture. This signifies the importance of agriculture to Nebraska’s overall economy.
A review of studies in the Nebraska On-Farm Research Network on the impacts of cover crops on subsequent corn and soybean yields at various locations in Nebraska.
As the end of corn harvest nears, some producers will soon be turning their cattle into corn stalks or cover crops to graze. Before taking this step, take time to review the labels from in-season and fall-applied herbicides for any grazing restrictions.
A review of 2016 growing conditions across Nebraska sheds light on a number of factors that may have contributed to reduced yield in individual fields. An understanding of these factors may be helpful when selecting seed for 2017.
Ear rot diseases have been observed and stalk rot diseases are becoming increasingly common. It’s important to scout for stalk rot diseases now to determine which fields are at greatest risk of lodging and should be harvested first. Although it is unknown if ear rot diseases are widespread, it’s also important to scout for ear rot diseases to know how to better handle affected grain at harvest to prevent or minimize impacts on grain quality.
Nebraska soybean producers are being asked to answer a survey about their soybean fields and contribute to a benchmark study of current soybean production in Nebraska. Researchers from 10 north central states, including Nebraska, are collecting the data to identify factors that may be impeding growers from reaching full yield. See what they've learned in the first two years of the study and how they hope to use the information.
End-of-season yield forecasts for irrigated and dryland corn across eight states in the Corn Belt indicate above average yields for 2016, but not the record-breaking yields predicted by USDA in their September forecast. While two states are forecast to have yields below the 10-year average (-1% to -4%), the remaining states showed above average yields ranging from 1% to 21% above the 10-year average.
The Sept. 7 corn yield forecasts show a majority of the irrigated sites expected to produce above normal, but not record-breaking yields. Forecasted yields for rainfed sites are more variable, although most are expected to be near normal. Above average yields are expected for 11 of the 37 sites studied and below-normal yields are forecast for five sites.
