Skip to main content

Ben Beckman - Extension Educator

fall armyworm with distinctive white and dark green stripes and dots across body

Published: September 24, 2021 | Updated: September 5, 2025

Fall Armyworms in Pastures, Alfalfa, Small Grains, Cover Crops and Lawns

Authored By: Jenny Brhel - Extension Educator, Robert Wright - Extension Entomologist, Melissa Bartels - Former Extension Educator, Nathan Mueller - USDA NRCS, State Soil Health Specialist, Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Brad Schick - Former Extension Educator, Daren Redfearn - Associate Professor Agronomy

Updated By: Matheus Ribeiro - Assistant Extension Educator, David Wangila - Extension Educator, Jenny Brhel - Extension Educator

Close-up of cereal rye ‘Elbon’ on the left and winter wheat on the right growing in dry, cracked soil at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center as plants mature.

October 8, 2025

Selecting the Right Winter Small Grain Cover Crop This Fall

By Katja Koehler-Cole - Extension Educator, Andrea Basche – Associate Professor, David Scoby - Laboratory Research Manager, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Vesh R. Thapa - Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture

Alfalfa regrowth emerging from recently cut stems after harvest, showing healthy green shoots as plants mature.

October 6, 2025

Fall Alfalfa Fertility: Setting Up for Stand Success

By Ben Beckman - Extension Educator

Severely defoliated alfalfa field by fall armyworms visible on alfalfa stems throughout photo

October 6, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Fall Armyworm Recovery and Reducing Hay Storage Loss

By Ben Beckman - Extension Educator

male pheasant with bright plumage stands among corn stalk residue in a harvested field, with green grass and bare trees in the background.

September 29, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Controlling Cheatgrass, Grazing for Interseeding and Hunting Rights for Land Leases

By Jerry Volesky - Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist, Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Shannon Sand - Agricultural Economics Extension Educator

Tractor mowing alfalfa in long green windrows on a sunny fall afternoon, with trees and hills in the background.

September 22, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Using GDD for Final Alfalfa Harvest, Fall Grazing vs. Stockpiling, and Thistle Control

By Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Jerry Volesky - Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist

Pile of chopped corn silage under a blue sky with an inset photo showing southern rust pustules on a corn leaf, highlighting disease risk at harvest.

September 15, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Southern Rust Impacts on Corn Silage, Testing Hay Quality and Fall Armyworm Management

By Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Jerry Volesky - Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist, Samantha Daniel - Extension Educator

Field of green alfalfa surrounded by yellow and orange trees in autumn

September 8, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Considerations for Fall Forage Harvest, Alfalfa Irrigation and Last Cutting

By Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Todd Whitney - Extension Educator

Front-end loader piling freshly chopped corn silage in a large outdoor silage pile under a clear blue sky.

September 3, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Managing Winter Annual Forages, Verbal Lease Agreements and Corn Silage Pricing

By Jerry Volesky - Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist, Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Shannon Sand - Agricultural Economics Extension Educator

Corn field after harvest with rows of dry stalk stubble and fallen leaves, viewed at ground level under a clear evening sky.

August 26, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Considerations for Corn Silage Harvest and Following Cover Crops

By Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Jerry Volesky - Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist, Shannon Sand - Agricultural Economics Extension Educator

Tractor harvesting corn silage with a forage chopper blowing chopped material into a wagon as plants mature.

August 18, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Corn Silage Kernel Processing, Cover Crop Grazing and Pasture Weeds

By Jerry Volesky - Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist, Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Todd Whitney - Extension Educator

Cattle drinking from a stock tank with visible algae floating on the water’s surface.

August 14, 2025

Pasture and Forage Minute: Silage Inoculants, Fall Armyworms, and Managing Stock Tank Algae

By Ben Beckman - Extension Educator, Samantha Daniel - Extension Educator