Japanese Beetle and Food Safety Update
Japanese Beetle Control: This week I had an increasing number of calls about Japanese beetles. In crops, watch silk clipping in corn. Tasseled corn threshold: three or more Japanese beetles per ear, silks have been clipped to less than ½ inch, and pollination is less than 50% complete. Soybean threshold is 20% defoliation once flowering occurs. It’s been interesting seeing beetles defoliating palmer, waterhemp, smartweed, etc. Too bad we couldn’t train them to just eat the weeds!
For homeowners, it’s best to avoid the beetle traps as they actually attract beetles to your location. There’s a number of organic and conventional control products sold in local farm stores, lawn/garden centers, Wal-Mart, and Ace locally.
First, Please Read the Label on any product before you purchase it to make sure:
1: the product says it controls Japanese beetle adults
2: the product is labeled for where you wish to apply it (vegetables, trees, ornamentals, fruit trees, berries, etc.). For example, there are two types of “Sevin” with different active ingredients. One says you can apply it to Virginia creeper and Boston ivy and the other does not. Because of this, using the wrong insecticide has caused damage and even death to plants when they weren’t labeled. Also, applying an insecticide to vegetables when it’s not labeled for vegetables can result in you not being able to safely eat produce from your garden.
3: follow all pre-harvest intervals (PHI) for when you can safely harvest vegetables, fruits, and berries after a product is applied.
4: seek to apply pesticides when there’s lower risk to pollinators such as
I reposted the blog that I wrote a few years ago regarding the local products I found that help with Japanese beetle control. It’s not an exclusive list, but hopefully it’s a start to help. It can be found at: https://jenreesources.com/2022/07/05/japanese-beetle-organic-and-conventional-products-found-locally/. Know that many products applied to flowering plants to kill Japanese beetles can also impact pollinators. Beetles are also effectively controlled by knocking them off into buckets of soapy water, particularly around dusk or dawn.
Even after applying pesticides, beetles will continue to emerge and fly in from grassy areas (ditches, lawns, pastures) for a good 4-10 weeks. Plants that are being chewed on elicit responses signifying they’re in trouble. It’s those responses that signal other beetles to come. Even though linden, fruit, and other trees and plants are rapidly defoliated, they should not die.
Safe Handling of Produce: This is from our UNL food safety team, “While concerns about contamination are understandable, we shouldn’t let fear keep fresh produce off our plates. Fruits and vegetables are vital to a healthy daily diet; instead of avoiding them, we simply need to practice safe handling and proper washing. Fresh produce may become contaminated with dirt and bacteria at any point during its journey from farm to table. Washing produce before preparing and eating can remove bacteria that may cause foodborne illness. Simply use running water and gently rub with your hands or a produce brush to remove soil from produce. Using soap, bleach and other non-food grade chemicals may make you sick and is NOT recommended. For more information: https://go.unl.edu/handlinggroceries.
National Meeting Reflections
I was gone a few days last week serving as the National North Central Vice Chair for Agronomy at our National Association of County Agricultural Agents conference. It is always an uplifting time to interact with colleagues throughout the U.S. and to reflect on “my why” for being in Extension.
Often it was reiterated the importance of 4-H and FFA in shaping the future agriculture workforce. It was emphasized by USDA and Industry speakers in addition to the keynote speaker Temple Grandin that we need to be intentional in providing youth opportunities and be thinking about where that could lead in 10 years when they leave for college. I think about how 4-H was such an important part of my life. It was through 4-H that I learned the importance of public speaking, leadership, healthy competition, and plant ID skills. I desire to instill that love of plants and science into youth as well! It would be good to consider ways to partner with others in agriculture to speak into youth.
Artificial Intelligence was a topic of conversation from the USDA and Industry speakers. We also discussed dealing with unintended consequences of AI. The reality of a wrong answer being provided by AI and Chat GPT is real and I saw that first-hand with wrong herbicide applications this year to non-liberty tolerant corn. Companies are racing to train their own AI tools using data and technical sheets with the power of google in the background. While I consider myself fairly innovative in the things I try, I’ve been much more hesitant to jump on the AI bandwagon, even though I recognize there are many positive tools to help. My concern is the need to balance information from a tool with still talking with people to fact-check. Yet, we were also challenged that if our research-based information is not showing up when people query AI, then we’re not making our information known in a world that is constantly adapting to technology.
Dr. Temple Grandin is a distinguished professor of animal science at CSU and a highly functioning autistic. She shared the importance of visual, mathematical, and verbal thinkers and how we need all of them. She also shared that we need to provide youth opportunities for different experiences so they can better explore their interests. If it wasn’t for her aunt having a farm and Temple spending some summers on it, Temple wouldn’t have learned an appreciation for livestock and most likely wouldn’t have pursued a career in animal science. She shared there was scene in the HBO movie made about her life that is the most powerful scene to her. It’s when she walked up to the man and handed him her business card asking if she could write for his publication. She shared how that launched her career in allowing her to share about animal behavior and livestock facility design. It allowed her to begin building credibility and respect.
I was reflecting on that too in how blessed I’ve been that 22 years ago, a few area newspaper editors allowed me to write a weekly column for them. They gave me a chance to share what I was seeing in the fields and in providing timely agricultural and horticultural information. I am grateful to those editors for that opportunity! And, I’m grateful to those of you who read this column. It’s something that I find so humbling….when there’s so much information available to people to choose from, there’s still people who will take the time to read what I write. That gets back to “my why”. I joined Extension to serve people…to help people everyday to the best of my ability. It can definitely be challenging with the assortment of calls received and in being spread so thin, like many are. Since March, beyond the normal assortment of questions, I’ve received questions about planting cover crops for forage in wildfire and hail damaged areas, questions about decisions after hail, and field visits for three weeks on herbicide damage complaints. I’m grateful people utilize Extension with their questions and also don’t take that for granted. It does take a lot out of a person and it was good to get away for a few days just to be encouraged to keep going in serving people. Ultimately, at a time when University and Extension budgets are challenged, I just wanted to thank those of you who find value in and support Extension.
Considerations at Tasseling
Happy 250th Birthday America!!! Grateful for the wisdom and vision of our forefathers. We are truly blessed! May we reflect on our blessings and remember that freedom isn’t free!
With tasseling beginning or nearing for most fields in the area, sharing a few reminders of questions I typically receive. Some of you saw uneven corn emergence, thus plant stages vary in some fields. Pay attention to fungicides/insecticide pesticide labels regarding adjuvants/surfactants that can be used and their timing to avoid any potential crop injury. Not all plants in a field may be at tassel, thus waiting till brown silk/milk if no disease/insects are present can help the later plants be at tassel while also potentially reducing the chances of needing another fungicide app.
Fertigating during pollination: I’m sharing this based on what we knew from previous corn genetics, but I’m unsure if pollen shed from weaker tassels in some of today’s hybrids may be impacted by any products applied during pollination. With that note, we have said fertigation during pollination is ok and generally should be still. Dr. Tom Hoegemeyer had shared that pollination mostly occurs between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Heat kills pollen when the temperature is 90°F to 95°F and is seldom viable past 2 p.m. That leaves lots of time to run pivots, apply N, etc. when it won’t harm pollination. The UNL recommendation for fertigation is to use 30 lb of N with 0.25″ of water or 50-60 lb of N with 0.50″ of water. With a high capacity pump, you can apply up to 60 lb of N in 0.25” of water.
Western Bean Cutworm: It’s been time to be scouting corn for western bean cutworms. When scouting, we typically find western bean cutworm egg masses on upper leaf surfaces of corn leaves with masses containing 50-85 eggs. Normally we’re taught to look at the upper portion of the plants closer to the tassels, but with silks emerging prior to tassels most of the time, I tend to also find masses on leaves around the ear leaf and sometimes directly on the husks (especially during periods of high heat). Egg masses are white and raised when newly hatched; they turn a purplish color when they’re getting closer to hatching. Links to light trap data are below:
- West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte
- South Central Agricultural Lab, Clay Center
- Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center, Mead
Japanese Beetles in crop fields: Adults emerge from grassy areas (lawns, pastures, road-side ditches for at least 4-6 weeks (up to 10). Even if you treat, they can come back. Threshold is 30% defoliation on vegetative corn. Upon silking, the threshold is 3 or more beetles/ear with silks clipped to less than ½ inch and pollination is less than 50% complete. Soybean threshold is 20% defoliation at reproductive stages; sometimes defoliation looks bad but regrows quickly even when not using an insecticide. Usually the beetles congregate in borders first or areas in the field and not whole fields. Some consider a border app. Spidermites can also be flared upon insecticide applications.
Annual Forage Insurance is a precipitation risk management tool available for annual forages planted on cropland with intended use as livestock feed or fodder. With so many impacted by drought, wildfires, and now hail, wanted to share on this opportunity. The insurance is available in all counties of Nebraska. It is a rainfall index product much like the popular Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance. The sign-up period for annual forages planted from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 is currently open until July 15, 2026. A recent webinar discussing this opportunity can be found here: https://cap.unl.edu/annual-forage-insurance-webinar-2026/.
| Extension Job Opportunities Do you enjoy helping people, learning, teaching, being objective, and enjoy each day not being the same? If so, Extension may be a great career opportunity for you! We’re seeking team members for Platte County and Adams County. Applications can still be submitted after the deadline (case of Adams Co.) as the search committees can continue to review applications until the position is filled. Platte Co: https://employment.unl.edu/postings/100978 Adams Co: https://employment.unl.edu/postings/100656 Minimum Requirements: Master’s degree in agronomy, crop science, plant sciences, or a closely related field (extension educator) OR bachelor’s degree in agronomy, crop science, plant sciences, or a closely related field (extension instructor). If hired as an instructor, the incumbent will be expected to make satisfactory progress toward and complete a master’s degree within the initial five-year appointment period. Demonstrated knowledge of production agriculture, cropping systems, water management and irrigation, agronomics, precision/digital agriculture, and/or agricultural sustainability. Strong teaching, communication, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to translate research-based information into practical educational programming for diverse audiences in formal and/or non-formal educational settings. Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver educational programs, outreach activities, applied training programs, and educational content through presentations, publications, digital resources, web-based platforms, and/or social media. Ability to work collaboratively with producers, Extension specialists, industry partners, community stakeholders, and multidisciplinary teams. |
Hail Damage Father’s Day Weekend 2026
Been praying for those impacted by this weekend’s storms and my heart has been heavy for you all. It is so hard to see beautiful crops destroyed so quickly, especially right now with sidedressing, cultivating, and post-season herbicide apps applied. It’s also difficult to see the damage to homes, buildings, bins, pivots, vehicles, and livestock. I haven’t personally seen the damage yet, so am sharing some experiences and things to look for based on the photos some have shared with me. This is a longer article, but sharing what I’ve learned from earlier season hail storms in 2022-2024. This week’s cooler weather could slow any plant recovery, but that will be something to watch for until insurance adjusters can come and assess crops.
Helpful Resources
- HailKnow Website (has 6 sections including assessing damage): https://cropwatch.unl.edu/hailknow
- Webpage: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/hail-know/assess-my-damage
- Infographic: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Hail/Images/HailKnow-Damage-Assessment.png
- Assessment Video: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/hail-know/video-hail-damage-assessment
- Corn GDD Tool: https://mrcc.purdue.edu/tools/corngdd
- Bean Cam Replant App: https://ipcm.wisc.edu/apps/beancam/
What to Do Now
- Look at fields to see damage extent. Know what growth stage the field was in at time of the storm.
- Call crop insurance.
- Call an agronomist or review resources to anticipate what to look for in plant recovery.
- Flag plants in the field to assess recovery. This greatly aids in learning and has helped me tremendously! Taking a picture now and a week later of the same plants also helps.
- Hand plant some soybeans in the ground in the next few days at depths from 0.5-2″ to assess how they react to herbicides in corn fields.
- Consider options on what to do if the crop is totaled or not including herbicides applied, crop rotation restrictions, marketing and crop insurance, weed control going forward, etc.
Assessing Damage to Corn
Hearing a range of damage from plants that are stubs to broken off plants. The growth stage of the plant will be key in these decisions in addition to the amount of damage to the crops. It’s important to know the growth stage at the time of the storm. You may have an idea on the growth stage from crop scouting reports. You can also do this yourself by finding the tallest plant standing in an area and dig it up (if available). What I describe here is the agronomic method of counting collars and nodes which is different from the leaf method that crop insurance will use. Slice open the plant to view the growing point. Every leaf on a corn plant is attached to a node. There’s 4 nodes where the first 4 leaves attach in a triangle at the base of the plant. Then there’s a small gap and you will see a line that marks node 5 followed by a larger gap and a line that marks node 6. Because of the cooler soil temps this year, I’m finding smaller gaps between nodes 4 to 5 (nodes are closer together than the photo below). Pulling collard leaves back, they will snap off at whichever nodes they are attached to (which can help you in determining the more advanced growth stages from 6 to 8 leaves). The growing point doesn’t come above ground till typically V5-V6. Corn in the area is mostly past this stage at the V8-11 stages.
Next take stand assessments by counting 1/1000th of an acre. I actually feel corn plants at the base as I count to see if they feel firm (likely to survive) or mushy (not likely) and only count plants which appear most likely to survive. I also keep track of which ones are questionable. It will also be important to look for plants that have bacterial top rot set in. In the past, we’ve had to talk with crop insurance adjusters to not count those plants; many adjusters are more aware of this, but sharing so you can have that discussion if needed.
From the 2022 and 2023 hailstorms, we were using a factor of 10 bushels/ac for each plant that we felt would survive. Depending on the situation, we were often keeping stands of 15-20 plants (15,000-20,000 plants/ac even in irrigated fields). I know in the end, some wished they would’ve replanted and others were pleasantly surprised with the yields. Honestly, harvest was sickening in many fields with the amount of palmer present. Weed control is the most difficult and a layby of a residual herbicide using drops could be helpful, depending on residual load already in the field. We also had some growers interseed cover crops like brassicas and annual ryegrass to help keep weeds down. It does provide a different look than most want, but it kept weeds down and produced some nice forage (again depending on herbicides). That is a discussion with crop insurance but interseeding is allowed in the RCIS rules and can help with uptaking excess nitrate and with weed control.
Regarding fungicides, we don’t recommend them from the standpoint that hail doesn’t create fungal diseases. At some point, they could be helpful to aid in stalk strength. However, if you’re considering this in the next few weeks, consider proving it to yourselves with on-farm research this year so we do have data for the future. All you do is spray fungicide in enough width so two 2 combine passes can be obtained. Then skip an area for at least 2 combine passes. Then treat again and repeat across the field. Fungicide Protocol for Hailed Corn and Soybean. Please let your local Extension educator know if you’re interested in this!
Timing of fungicide app: ISU did a study to simulate hail damaged corn at tassel stage within an average of 3 or 8 days post-hail. They didn’t find the timing to provide any yield effects. They also didn’t find a statistical yield increase (90% confidence level) in fungicide application to hail damaged plants vs those which weren’t hailed although they also reported a numerical increase in 12 of the 20 fields. They also interestingly found that hail damaged crops had less foliar disease than non-hail damaged crops in their 3 year simulated hail-damage study.
Replanting Corn
For those who end up with totaled fields and need to replant corn back to corn based on herbicide restrictions and/or contracts, I’ve put together a chart for Clay Center data using the GDD tool developed for the MidWest as a partnership through several Universities. This tool can be found at: https://mrcc.purdue.edu/tools/corngdd and can be used with weather station data closest to any of you reading this. Just select your area, alter the Planting Date, Relative Maturity, and look where the full black layer line occurs compared to the average 30 year frost line.
Achieving 150-200+ bu/ac replant corn is possible with these shorter-season hybrids. Things to be aware of: Replant corn will struggle with late-season insects and disease. We saw earworms severely damage replant corn in 2022 and the damage resulted in increased ear molds, particularly fusarium. Be aware of this for any food grade corn that you have on contract to reduce potential problems with mycotoxins like vomitoxin. We also had early frost in 2022, so much of the corn did not achieve black layer prior to frost (was anywhere from 1/4-3/4 starch line). Anticipating this, I drove a route prior to frost to document where the starch line was in plants and documented what happened in the coming weeks. The plants will prematurely form the black layer. We’re often told that premature black layer formation would impact test weight of the kernels. I also did an informal, anonymous survey where growers shared where their corn was at the time of frost and what their moisture and test weight was at harvest. Surprisingly, test weights were mostly above 52# at moisture from 17-22% that had been 1/2 starch or beyond at the time of frost. When dried down to 15.5%, test weights ranged from 55-58#. Food grade white corn that was beginning dent to 1/4 starch at time of frost was the most affected with test weights at 45-52#. I didn’t hear of any Coops not honoring the contracts because of this, but am unsure of dockage for individual situations. I’m not saying what was found for us regarding test weight will always be the case, but it’s good information to know what was experienced in our situation with more recent hybrids. Replant corn for high moisture corn or silage for livestock feed is also an option.
| Clay Center, Ne Data Avg. 28F frost Oct. 24 | Relative Maturity | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 |
| Planting Date | GDD to R6 | 960 | 1917 | 2038 | 2159 | 2280 |
| June 28 | Sept. 18 | Sept. 27 | Oct. 7 | Oct. 20 | ***Nov. 12 | |
| July 1 | Sept. 23 | Oct. 3 | Oct. 14 | ***Oct. 31 | *** | |
| July 5 | Sept. 30 | Oct. 11 | Oct. 26 | ***Dec. 1 | *** | |
| July 10 | Oct. 11 | ***Oct. 26 | ***Dec. 1 | *** | *** | |
| ***Date is beyond average 28F frost event of Oct. 24. |
***indicates the black layer date is beyond the average 28F average first frost of October 24.
Data from Corn GDD Tool: https://mrcc.purdue.edu/tools/corngdd
Assessing Soybean
Soybeans were in the late vegetative to early reproductive stages with today being the longest day of the year. I know people want to write them off now, but it’s incredible what they will do with some sunshine and 7-10 days. Soybean is incredibly resilient because there’s multiple growing points available on the plants (depending on the height and the damage to the outside of the stems). Each field is a field by field assessment, though. UNL and University of Wisconsin recommend leaving stands of 50,000 plants/ac. The bigger issue is weed control. Check out this cool app from University of Wisconsin on replanting bean decisions: Bean Cam Soybean Replant App.
Replanting Soybean
If changing from corn to soybean in the replant decision, maybe it’d be wise to poke some soybeans in the ground now just to see how they fare with the herbicide that’s been applied? And maybe you try poking them in at different depths? We normally recommend planting 1.75-2″ based on UNL research, but when we’ve replanted after hail, we’ve typically recommended to plant around 1″ to hopefully be above any herbicide band that moved into the soil (if planting into a corn field) and to hopefully get the beans out of the ground quicker.
The following article shares considerations for soybean when planting mid-June or after: https://go.unl.edu/20ry. In summary of it, for maturities, UNL recommends to stick with as similar maturity as possible till around June 15 and then consider switching to 0.5-1.0 maturity group less. Different thoughts on row spacing. Drilling or 15″ can close canopy sooner but the tradeoff can be potential for white mold if you have a history of that disease. 30″ also allows for cultivation for weed control with application date restrictions on certain herbicide-tolerant bean traits. Wider rows should hopefully close canopy unless the beans get hit with off-target herbicide. Seeding rates are also debated. Many sources recommend to increase them by 10% (up to 20% if drilling) after early June if normally seeding 140K or less (Iowa State didn’t find a yield benefit to increasing seeding rates if seeding more than that in late June). Also, a fungicide seed treatment can be helpful when replanting soybean as phytophthora in particular tends to show up, regardless if you’re planting into a corn stand or a bean stand. If you’re debating whether or not to replant into an existing soybean stand, you could also consider replanting some areas at an angle and leaving some areas as an on-farm research study. Please reach out to your local Extension educator if you’re interested in this.
Other Options
Should any fields be totaled, some may be interested in planting cover crops for grazing or just weed/erosion control in them. Looking at the herbicide labels and also the Weed Guide for rotation restrictions can help with making planting decisions for different species. Planting a cover crop in spite of that restriction is the risk the producer takes as to if the seed will germinate and survive or not. We’ve learned a lot regarding herbicides and tolerance to cover crops after working with growers with interseeding research and after numerous hail storms. We often recommend utilizing mixes to allow for diversity and aid in something growing. Regarding grazing restrictions, the herbicide grazing restriction technically stays with the crop it was applied to…so any corn or soybean plants/residue would have the grazing restriction. It’s important to be aware of these restrictions before considering seeding an annual forage crop to ensure you’re not grazing a field off-label. Warm season cover crop species and/or mixes can be used this time of year. For crop producers who are not familiar/comfortable with livestock, I’ve tended to recommend pearl millet because it doesn’t have the prussic acid risk with frosts like sorghum species due. However, there’s now prussic acid free sorghum sudangrass hybrids that can be purchased that doesn’t carry that risk during frost. There are a number of warm season cover crop mixes available from cover crop dealers depending on your specific goals and needs.
I truly wish everyone the best with decisions. This amount of loss takes a huge toll. Each situation is unique in damages received, crop insurance taken, amount of grain forward contracted, and other life things occurring. What I know for me is that my faith in God, my belief that He is in control, and His continued faithfulness to me is what has sustained me. Tears can be healing. Just would encourage you to also find a healthy way to take care of yourself such as talking to a trusted friend, prayer, journaling, exercise, or participating in a hobby. Wishing you all the best as you assess damage and make decisions for the remainder of the growing season.
Wellbeing Tips:
(Adapted from: Gilbert Parra, PhD; Holly Hatton-Bowers, PhD, and Carrie Gottschalk, LMHP, MS)
How Much Time do You Have?
2 Minutes:
- Breathe
- Stretch
- Laugh
- Doodle
- Acknowledge one of your accomplishments
- Say no to a new responsibility
- Look out the window
- (adapted) Faith based prayer
5 Minutes:
- Listen to music
- Have a cleansing cry
- Chat with a co-worker, friend, or family member
- Sing out loud
- Jot down dreams
- Step outside for fresh air
- Go for a brief walk
- Enjoy a snack or make a cup of coffee/tea
- (adapted) Read faith-based devotional
10 Minutes:
- Evaluate your day, Write in a journal
- Call a friend
- (adapted) Meditate, Prayer, Devotional
- Tidy your work area
- Assess your self-care
- Draw a picture
- Listen to soothing sounds/music
- Read a magazine
Additional References to Previous Articles with Photos
Early Season Tar Spot 2026
Tar spot of corn was found in several Nebraska counties this past week. You can see the full map at: https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/maps/tar-spot-of-corn. Samples can be sent in to the UNL Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab if you’re unsure and want to confirm. So far we’re only seeing it at low incidence of a few lesions on plants.
In this week’s UNL CropWatch, our Extension Plant Pathologists shared, “We do not recommend fungicide treatment at these early stages. Results from multi-state fungicide trials summarized on the Crop Protection Network show that treatment during the vegetative stages — V6 through V11 — was not economical even though disease had already begun.
Fungicide applications made between VT–R1 through R3 (milk) or occasionally early R4 (dough) stages were the most effective at controlling tar spot and had the best chance of generating a favorable net return. In those experiments, fungicide applications made to corn before tar spot severity exceeded 5% on the ear leaf by early R4 were still economical. Applications made after disease on the ear leaf exceeded 6% at application were not economical. Additionally, products with a mixture of active ingredients from two or more fungicide classes were most effective.”
You can see a photo of what 5-7% disease severity looks like at https://jenreesources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/when-to-spray.png. There’s also a yield/price/fungicide risk assessment tool that allows you to compare the ROI of a fungicide application: https://connect.doit.wisc.edu/cpn-roi-tools/.
Considerations for now:
1-Scout fields and wait till a 5% threshold on leaves before applying fungicide
2-Observe fields as to which hybrids have more tolerance to tar spot
3-When irrigating, consider less frequent and deeper irrigations, https://go.unl.edu/vipj
4-Consider plant nutrition instead. I will focus on a series of plant nutrition articles in the coming weeks. Please contact me in the meantime if you’re interested in knowing more about this option.
The fungus that causes tar spot prefers temperatures in the 60-70F range, leaf wetness of at least 7 hours, and relative humidity above 75%. That’s why we can see it early in the growing season and then again later in the growing season. We will continue to see this favorable environment for the coming week. Once the environment (especially higher temperatures) is no longer favorable, the fungus isn’t able to grow and reproduce and that’s why we didn’t see lesion development throughout the summer in 2025. Susceptible host, pathogen able to infect, and the correct environment all have to come together at the same time for disease development.
SCAL Weed Science Field Day: Just a reminder of the Weed Science Field Day at SCAL near Clay Center on June 24. Attendees will see weed control options for corn, soybean, and sorghum with chemical and cover crop tools. The Ecorobotix machine will be showcased as another precision spraying tool. No charge, walk-ins are welcome, but RSVP is preferred for meal count to: https://agronomy.unl.edu/fieldday.
Farm and Ranch Transition Workshop
Farm transition, succession, and estate planning are some of the most important topics I feel we face in agriculture, yet they are too often not prioritized. Life is so short and there’s no guarantee of tomorrow.
Communication is one of the most important first steps in this process, but sometimes we all need a little help in how to communicate with family members and what topics to communicate about.
An upcoming program called “Returning to the Farm or Ranch” is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 26 at the Extension office in Lincoln, 444 Cherrycreek Road. Participants will hear from agricultural law, tax and financial professionals, while also engaging in activities focused on communication, goal setting and long-term planning. The event is part of ongoing efforts by the Center for Agricultural Profitability and the Nebraska Land Link program to support agricultural producers, landowners and beginning farmers across Nebraska.
“Transition planning in agriculture often involves more than legal documents and financial decisions,” Anastasia Meyer, Extension Ag Economist said. “It also requires families to communicate openly about goals, expectations and the future of the operation. This workshop will provide practical guidance for those beginning the process, as well as those looking to strengthen an existing plan.”
Topics will include: Estate and transition planning; Family communication strategies; Goal setting for the operation and family; Building a professional transition team; Financial and legal considerations; and Identifying next steps for succession planning.
Returning to the Farm or Ranch is intended for farm and ranch families at all stages of the transition process, including operations without a formal succession plan already in place. Families are encouraged to bring all relevant stakeholders to the workshop. The registration fee is $85 per person if pre-registered, or $100 at the door. Lunch will be provided. Registration is open through June 26 at: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xAPQGhOJLkyxIGKu-ItszXfqsJvZFaJJsPVUUVntov5UMlFWV0ZRTU05TTBRUEMxMkpLSEVIRFBOSS4u.
Introductory Farm/Ranch Transition Workshops:
Prior to Returning to the Farm or Ranch on June 26, families are encouraged to attend Getting Started with Estate and Succession Planning, a one-hour pre-workshop designed to help agricultural families better understand the estate and succession planning process and navigate conversations around the future of their operation. There is no additional cost to attend the one-hour workshops and they are open to anyone, regardless of whether you plan to attend the full-day program on June 26.
The free introductory Getting Started with Estate and Succession Planning workshop will be offered online and in-person in Lincoln on two different dates, with registration required:
- Virtual Workshop: Getting Started with Estate and Succession Planning, Wed., June 17, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Central Time. Register for the virtual workshop.
- In-Person Workshop: Getting Started with Estate and Succession Planning, Thurs., June 25, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Central Time at the Extension office in Lancaster County, 444 Cherrycreek Road, in Lincoln. Register for the in-person workshop.
Water Quality Impacts Pesticide Performance
Grateful for the rain! With the anticipation of many post-herbicide applications occurring this week, just a reminder to make sure you know the specific herbicide traits each field has to avoid incorrect products applied and potential crop damage. The remainder of this column will be about the importance of water quality in pesticide applications, but is a brief overview. Additional resources are mentioned at the end. Water quality including pH, hardness, bicarbonate, and turbidity can make a difference on the efficacy of the pesticide. One always needs to read the pesticide label to determine what pH is best for the spray solution and also any other factors it mentions about water quality for the most effective pesticide application.
For example, do you check the pH of the final pesticide solution before it gets sprayed on the field? As a quick reminder, a pH of 7.0 is neutral. Above that is alkaline (basic) and less than 7.0 is acidic. Many of us have well water that is more alkaline. For example, my well water has a pH of 8.0. In general, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides perform best in slightly acidic water (if the label doesn’t mention a specific pH assume between a pH of 5.5-6.5). Many herbicides are formulated as weak acids. Reading the pesticide label is important, though, because some pesticides like sulfonyurea herbicides and copper fungicides need slightly alkaline solutions.
Why is the pH important? The pH of the pesticide solution can impact the product performance including rapidly reducing the pesticide half-life. The half-life of a pesticide is the time it takes for that product’s active ingredient to degrade 50% in the environment. For example, a herbicide’s half life can go from just 10 minutes in a pH solution of 9.0 to 16 days at a pH solution of a 5.0. That’s one of the reasons why one should check the pH of the water using a pH meter before a buffering agent and any pesticide is added to the tank. It’s good to test the pH as various products are added to the tank and before the final solution is sprayed onto the field.
Water hardness can also impact pesticide performance by creating a poor mix, not allowing the product to dissolve in water, or reducing the pesticide half-life. Water hardness mostly indicates the amount of calcium and magnesium in the water, but aluminum, iron, sodium, and potassium are also positive ions that can bind to the pesticide potentially forming precipitates. Water hardness should in general be below 342 ppm. Water quality can be tested by sending a water sample to a laboratory.
The following are some corrective measures from North Carolina State University that can be taken to help correct poor water quality in pesticide solutions:
- “Add buffering solution to correct for improper solution pH.
- Add acid or buffering solution to correct for high alkalinity.
- Add ammonium sulfate (AMS) or 30% nitrogen to correct for hard water. (Generally, add 8.5 to 17.5 lbs dry AMS per 100 gallons water or 1.25-2.5% by volume of liquid fertilizer such as 28%N, 32%N, or 10-24-0).
- Mix pesticides in the field and apply within two hours.
- Filter turbid water or water with high organic compounds.
- Find an alternative water source if mitigation is not feasible.”
For those who’ve asked about using citric acid to adjust pH, University of New Hampshire shares, “Citric Acid (granulated): A food-grade acidifier. Example: 2 oz per 100 gal typically lowers pH from ~8.3 to ~5.4 (always test to confirm).” This guide from Purdue University on Water Quality and Pesticide Performance can also be a helpful resource that goes into more detail: https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ppp/ppp-86.pdf.
June 2026 Events
Wheat Variety Tours: Due to drought and frost impacts to wheat throughout the State this spring, the tours have been modified this year. Full details in this article: https://go.unl.edu/bm7f. Tours still occurring for those of you who receive this column include: June 10 for Jefferson County, Knobel Seeds (5 p.m. CT); June 15 for Hitchcock/Red Willow County, Peters Seed Farms (5 p.m. CT); and June 16 for Perkins County, Stumpf International Wheat Research Center (9 a.m. MT). Also a note, because certified wheat seed will be in short supply, it’s recommended that you reserve wheat seed as soon as planting intentions are determined for next year’s cropping season.
Water to Yield Workshop June 11: Farmers and agribusiness professionals are invited to attend a Water to Yield Workshop to be held at the Davenport Community Center in Davenport from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (registration begins at 9:30 a.m.). The goal is to help producers better manage water and nitrogen resources for enhanced water quality and quantity. Topics include research from UNL’s South Central Ag Lab on irrigation scheduling with limited water, a free app for irrigation scheduling, subsurface drip irrigation, fertigation, in-season nitrogen management, and updates from the Little Blue NRD. Farmers will also share their insights on managing irrigation and in-season nitrogen on a farmer panel. There is no charge to attend, but registration is requested for a meal count. Please RSVP to the Clay County Extension Office at 402-762-3644 or at https://go.unl.edu/dnci.
Summer Stocker/Yearling Tour will be held on June 23 near Broken Bow, offering cattle producers an opportunity to learn from Nebraska operations managing through ongoing drought conditions and explore current research and management strategies for stocker and yearling systems. Registration will be held from 9 to 9:30 a.m. CST at the Custer County Fairgrounds 4-H Building, 44100 Memorial Drive in Broken Bow. Tour participants will visit operations managed by Rodney Lamb at Lamb Farm and Feedyard and Mike Tierney, where discussions will focus on drought management, grazing strategies, forage conditions and decision-making during challenging environmental conditions.
Lunch will be served at noon at the 4-H Building and will include a presentation from UNL beef systems specialists on a new vitamin and mineral balancing tool designed to support producer decision-making and herd performance. The cost to attend is $20, which includes lunch. Registration is due June 19. Participants can register online at go.unl.edu/summerstockertour or by calling 308-268-3105. The tour is sponsored by Merck Animal Health.
Weed Science Field Day will be held on June 24 at UNL’s South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Registration at 8:30 a.m.). The field day showcases chemical comparisons for weed control in corn, sorghum, and soybean. I also appreciate how Dr. Amit Jhala is always looking at alternative options for weed control or system’s approaches that include chemicals and cover crops. New this year is an evaluation of the Ecorobotix ARA Precision Sprayer for targeted weed management. Row spacing of 15” vs. 30” with overlapping residual on palmer control and seed production will be shared. Also, hairy vetch termination timing for control of palmer amaranth in sorghum and popcorn will be shared. There is no charge to attend, but registration is requested to: https://agronomy.unl.edu/fieldday/.
Sprinkler Packages and Wind
Grateful for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and to their families left behind. May we never forget that freedom isn’t free! This week sharing excerpts of an article that my colleagues wrote on sprinkler packages in windy conditions. The full article is here: https://go.unl.edu/f90p. “Efficient irrigation relies on minimizing water losses and maximizing the portion of applied water that reaches the crop root zone. …Past UNL research has shown that evaporation losses are often less than 4% of the applied water, though potentially approaching 10% with sprinklers on top of the pipe under high pressures, creating small droplets. In contrast, wind drift can lead to larger losses than evaporation by physically moving water droplets away from the intended target area. This not only reduces irrigation efficiency but can also create uneven water distribution across the field.
…a field evaluation was conducted recently at the UNL’s South Central Agricultural Laboratory (SCAL) near Clay Center, Nebraska. The evaluation was conducted with sustained winds of 10-15 mph and gusts reaching 20-25 mph, conditions that are not uncommon during the irrigation season in Nebraska. The sprinkler industry offers a wide range of sprinkler packages designed to meet different irrigation goals. In this test, three sprinkler configurations from Nelson Irrigation Corporation were tested: 1) Orbitor with blue plate (large droplet design). 2) Sprayhead with tan bubble-wide plate (bubbler-style). 3) Sprayhead with purple plate (fine droplet design).
All these sprinklers were mounted on drops at 9 feet aboveground. Each configuration was assessed based on observed wetted diameter, droplet size and behavior, and overall performance under windy conditions. In addition, a catch-can test was conducted to evaluate how closely the applied water matched the target depth programmed into the system.
The Orbitor sprinkler performed consistently under windy conditions and maintained a stable water distribution pattern. It also produced a relatively large wetted diameter: approximately 40 feet in the direction of the wind. This broader coverage can help reduce application intensity and thus, the risk of generating surface runoff.
Sprayhead with Tan Bubble-Wide Plate: The bubbler configuration produced larger droplets and demonstrated strong resistance to wind drift. The wetted diameter was less than half of Orbitor’s at approximately 18 feet in the direction of the wind. These characteristics make this type of sprinkler particularly effective at delivering water to the intended area when wind is a concern. However, some localized ponding was observed during the test, even at a relatively low application depth of 0.25-inch. This suggests that the higher application intensity associated with a smaller wetted diameter may increase the risk of runoff, particularly in soils with lower infiltration rates or in fields with slope.
Sprayhead with Purple Plate: This configuration produced the smallest droplet size and, under calm conditions, would be expected to create a relatively narrow wetted pattern. However, under the windy conditions during the test, performance was significantly compromised. The fine droplets were highly susceptible to wind drift, to the extent that the boundaries of the wetted area could not be clearly identified in the field. …this type of sprinkler configuration may result in reduced irrigation efficiency and non-uniform water distribution when used in windy environments.
The results of this field test reinforce a key point: sprinkler selection plays a critical role in determining how effectively irrigation water is delivered under windy conditions. In windy conditions, droplet size matters. Sprinklers that produce larger droplets are less likely to be carried away by wind, improving the likelihood that water reaches the soil surface where it is needed. There is a tradeoff between drift and application intensity. While larger droplets reduce drift, they are often associated with smaller wetted diameters and higher application rates, which may increase the risk of ponding or runoff. …Producers are encouraged to evaluate their current systems, consider how they perform under windy conditions, and work with irrigation professionals to select and maintain sprinkler packages that align with your field conditions and water management goals.”
JenResources 