A section of field from a 99-acre plot in southwest Nebraska, which has experienced significant yield decline after terraces were built. In this article, Soil Health Exchange professionals identify some of the potential causes and solutions for low-yielding terraced fields. (Submitted photo)
The Soil Health Exchange team shares insights and potential solutions for a southwest Nebraska farmer who has observed a significant yield decline in a field after terraces were built in 2010.
Crop Budgets
Although field operation costs are projected higher for 2024, some material input costs are lower than were projected for 2023, due in part to fertilizer prices and continued improvement of application practices. (Center for Ag Profitability photo)
Now is the best time of year to begin your soybean cyst nematode management program — watch this episode of N Field to learn more about SCN testing and management best practices.
Extension Events
All sessions of the 2023 Successful Farmer Series session will be livestreamed and archived on YouTube for on-demand viewing.
Split into three sessions, the series will feature discussions on ag policy and marketing, weather and climate projections, cover crops, nitrogen and nitrate management, water quality and more.
Hosted at the Stumpf International Wheat Center in Grant, Nebraska, the Drones in Ag Workshop will include continuing education credits for certified crop advisors.
The workshop will feature presentations on drone use in agriculture, licensing requirements and regulations, aviation safety, imaging and spraying, and demos, including the opportunity for attendees to fly a small drone.
This year's program will assist producers with making decisions for the 2024 growing season, as well as renewing their private pesticide applicator licenses.
In its seventh year, Nebraska Extension's Confronting Cropping Challenges program will help producers in northeastern Nebraska with current and emerging cropping issues.
Land Management Quarterly, presented by the Center for Ag Profitability, is free to attend and recorded for on-demand viewing. Watch previous recordings here.
The final Land Management Quarterly webinar for 2023 will cover recent findings from the USDA NASS county-level cash rent survey and trends in farm programs influencing operations across the state.
For producers interested in attending both extension workshops on Nov. 30, Saving by Using Manure on Crops will be immediately followed by Confronting Cropping Challenges at the Nielsen Center in West Point.
During this interactive workshop, participants will learn the basics of how to sample manure and soil, including how to determine available nutrients in manure and calculate manure needs for next year's crop.
Free to attend, registration for the Nov. 21 workshop in Harrison is required. See details below. (Photo by Chabella Guzman)
Set for Nov. 21, the workshop will feature discussion on tools and strategies to create estate plans while avoiding common mistakes during the process.
Drought has enhanced in sections of southern and eastern Nebraska this month, but a storm early next week may bring some relief, with cooler temperatures expected by Thanksgiving Day.
Learn more about the benefits and process of direct harvesting, a method favored by a growing number of western Nebraska producers for their upright bean varieties.
Forage Production
As rain, snow and wind throughout the fall and winter can reduce cornstalk quality, it's important for producers to adjust their supplementation programs accordingly.
Extension educators review the impacts of weather on cornstalk quality and the benefits of grazing corn residue for both cattle and crop producers.
Leaving stubble at the end of the growing season is a great way to catch snow, which will provide insulation to and prevent evaporation from the soil, protecting forages in the process.
With recent land purchases, some producers are asking questions to learn more about IRS Section 180 and how it may provide tax deductions in the year of purchase.
Part one of a two-part series from Cornhusker Economics, this article describes the approach taken to understand how tractor fuel efficiencies have evolved since the introduction of EPA tiers. The second part of the series will identify the impact of EPA tiers on fuel efficiency through an econometric analysis.
Cornhusker Economics experts examine the impact of fuel efficiencies as exhaust emission standards evolved in stringency from their beginning in 1996 to today’s standard.
Dr. Dannele Peck, USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub, talks about the Grass-Cast model's development and how growers can use it to make decisions on forage production in the upcoming season.
Nebraska's David Holding sorts popcorn on a light table in his Beadle Center lab. (Photo by Craig Chandler, University Communication and Marketing)
A UNL research team has naturally bred new varieties of popcorn that outperform today’s most popular kernels in their intrinsic nutritional value and taste.
In this RFD-TV segment, Tammy Mittelstet, CASNR statewide education and careers pathways coordinator, discusses the educational programs offered across the state to prepare K-12 students for ag-related careers.
Crop Reports & AgNews
Historical crop progress data for Nebraska is available at USDA.
Soil moisture supplies and pasture conditions in Nebraska were on a downward trend as of Nov. 12. Corn and sorghum harvest remain on track, with less than 10% of each crop to be finished.
Historical crop production reports for Nebraska are available at USDA.
Nebraska crop production forecasts continue to indicate a banner year for sorghum, at a 153% increase compared to 2022. Corn, sugarbeet and potato production is also up, while soybean production is slightly down.
To submit a request for USDA FSA assistance, producers should contact their local USDA Service Center.
Can you identify henbit, field pennycress, prickly lettuce and other fall-emerging weeds? Marestail in particular may be a problem this fall and require an alternate herbicide as the majority of marestail in eastern Nebraska is resistant to glyphosate and ALS-inhibiting herbicides.
Richard Faflak, KZValve mechanical engineer, adjusts a valve at the annual Panhandle Agriculture Research and Technology Tour before a tour group goes by in June. (Photo by Chabella Guzman)
A new pivot valve, created by KZValve of Greenwood, Nebraska, has self-power generating capabilities that could potentially be used in partial variable rate irrigation.
