Crop Water Use for Aug. 11-18, 2026

August 18, 2026

Crop Water Use for Aug. 11-18, 2026

By Gary Stone - Extension Educator, Xin Qiao - Irrigation and Water Management Specialist

Graphic for weekly crop water use updates in the Nebraska Panhandle, featuring a close-up of a corn leaf with dew and links to statewide GDD and ET data at cropwatch.unl.edu/gdd-et and agritools.unl.edu.

Late-season irrigation decisions are coming into focus as corn begins denting and soybean advances through pod and seed development. See this week's estimated crop water use across the Nebraska Panhandle and northeast Colorado.

The estimated crop water use for Nebraska Panhandle and northeast Colorado crops for the previous week is shown in the tables below. The tables are based on data gathered and calculations made by Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator, and Xin Qiao, extension irrigation and water management specialist, both based at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Crop water use will vary across the noted areas due to variations in ET, crop growth stage, temperature, soil type, wind and precipitation events. Crop water use will assist growers with irrigation scheduling and efficient water application and use.

More Resources

Estimated water usage table for Nebraska Panhandle crops, showing crop types, growth stages, and water use.
Figure 1. Estimated crop water use for Nebraska Panhandle crops: Aug. 11-18, 2026.
Estimated crop water use chart for selected Colorado crops with data for various growth stages and locations.
Figure 2. Estimated crop water use for northeast Colorado crops: Aug. 11-18, 2026.

Subscribe to CropWatch

Online Master of Science in Agronomy

With a focus on industry applications and research, the online program is designed with maximum flexibility for today's working professionals.

Learn More
Rows of corn.

Related Links

Crop Water Use Reports

Explore our full collection of CropWatch articles.

Explore Articles