Soil Management

Find more information in the Soil Management to Optimize Crop Production in Nebraska section of CropWatch.

Pie charts showing two manure fertility scenarios
Figure 1. Value of the individual nutrients in surface-applied beef manure for the lower and higher value assumptions made in Table 1.

Finding Win-Win Opportunities for Manure

February 27, 2017
Land application of manure can create a win-win scenario for your farm by providing valuable crop nutrients while helping build soil organic matter. Learn more about the benefits of replacing commercial fertilizer with manure and how to get the most value when integrating an application into your soil nutrient plan.

Read more

The Long View of Nitrogen Recommendations from Nebraska Extension

January 6, 2017

At the 2017 Crop Production Clinics, the Nebraska Extension Soils Team is presenting a historical overview of how nitrogen recommendations for corn have developed and changed since the 1950s. We are also discussing what may lay ahead for nitrogen management.

Read more

Cattle grazing cereal rye cover crop near Tecumseh on April 9, 2016. (Photo by Mary Drewnoski)
Cattle grazing cereal rye cover crop near Tecumseh on April 9, 2016. (Photo by Mary Drewnoski)

Student Research: Does the Grazing of Cover Crops by Cattle Compact Soil?

November 2, 2016
Undergraduate Rebecca Clay shares the results of her study on whether grazing cover crops contributed to soil compaction at four sites in west central and eastern Nebraska. Clay, an undergraduate student in the Iowa State University Department of Agronomy, conducted the study as part of a UNL Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship in summer 2016.

Read more

While yields were high, protein content in Nebraska's wheat this year was below normal in many instances, likely due to environmental and management factors. (Photos by Cody Creech)
While yields were high, protein content in Nebraska's wheat this year was below normal in many instances, likely due to environmental and management factors. (Photos by Rodrigo Werle)

Nebraska 2016 Wheat – High Yields, Low Protein

September 1, 2016
Environmental conditions, management, and genetic differences played a role in why protein content in the 2016 wheat crop was lower than normal. Wheat protein develops as the plant converts nitrogen from the soil into amino acids. See what conditions led to low protein this season and how to address it for next year's crop.

Read more

Bijesh Maharjan
Bijesh Maharjan

New Soils and Nutrient Management Specialist Joins Panhandle REC

August 17, 2016
Bijesh Maharjan will join the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center Sept. 6 as soil and nutrient management specialist. He will conduct research and extension programs focused on improved soil productivity and precision nutrient management in irrigated, limited-irrigation, and rainfed crop and forage production systems in the Panhandle.

Read more

Project SENSE sensors in the field.
Figure 1. UNL researchers are testing the use of crop sensors and real-time N application in the field based on sensor readings. The project was started with 17 sites across the state in 2015 and will be expanded to 20 more sites in 2016.

UNL Project SENSE Expanding Research to Increase N Efficiency

May 5, 2016

When and at what rate nitrogen fertilizer should be applied are major questions for today's corn producers. Nebraska Extension is helping answer these questions through Project SENSE, which stands for Sensors for Efficient Nitrogen Use and Stewardship of the Environment.

Read more

Managing N in a Wet Spring

May 5, 2016

USDA NASS estimated 26% of Nebraska’s corn acres had been planted as of May 2, well behind last year’s pace of 45% and slightly behind the five-year average of 31%. The pace is undoubtedly being affected by the amount of precipitation across the state and the wet field conditions (Figures 1 and 2).

Read more

Nutrient Levels, Fertility, and the Price Squeeze

March 30, 2016

Current economic conditions are a challenge for crop producers to earn profits from corn, soybean, winter wheat, and milo production. Following is a discussion around how to make nutrient decisions this year. Robert Tigner is an Extension Educator focusing on agricultural economic issues.

Read more