Research Updates

checking grain moisture

Device to Measure Grain Bag Moisture

March 20, 2017
USDA scientists have developed a new way to determine the moisture content of grain stored in bags. Together with Kansas State University colleagues, Paul Armstrong, an agricultural engineer with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Manhattan, Kansas, developed a hand-held meter that measures the relative humidity and temperature of the air within the grain. A DIY build for approximately $75.

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Patricio Grassini and a field of corn
Patricio Grassini and a field of corn

UNL Corn Yield Model Verifies as Reliable Larger Scale Predictor

June 13, 2016
Collecting basic agricultural data from a mere 45 sites can provide enough predictive power to reasonably estimate crop yields within a 10-state swath of the U.S. Corn Belt, says a new study led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The study compared actual corn production from 2011 through 2014 against best-case projections from the UNL Hybrid-Maize model that accounts for weather, soil properties and planting practices.

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