A special thank you to the Nebraska Extension team who shared during today’s hail damage meetings! They were well attended with nearly 120 participants between the two locations. Hopefully the information was of help as you talk with your crop insurance adjuster and know what to expect going forward. Below are the resources we provided and additional items including presentations that were discussed.  Contact information for the speakers is listed at the bottom of this post. We will continue to add resources to this page if you’d like to check back. Thanks!

Presentations:

• Dr. Justin McMechan’s Presentation: Corn and Soybeans Hail Panel 2018
• Jenny Rees Presentation: StormDamageDiscussion-8-13-18
• Steve Melvin Irrigation Information: Irrigation Scheduling for Hail Damaged Crops

General Hail Damage Resources:

UNL Extension Hail Know web site: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/hailknow

Hail Damage Videos:

• Hail Damage Evaluation and Management in Soybeans
• Hail Damage Evaluation and Management in Corn
• Weed Management Considerations Following Hail

UNL CropWatch Storm Damage: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/storm-damage-response-information

Irrigation:

Corn at Beginning Dent needs 5” of water; ¼ milk = 3.75”; ½ milk (Full dent) = 2.25”; ¾ milk = 1”. Soybean at beginning seed (R5) = 6.5”; R6 full seed = 3.5”; leaves beginning to yellow = 1.9”.

NebGuide Predicting the Last Irrigation of the Season. Use the last page to walk through an example of how much water you may need to finish out the crop for crop insurance purposes. Also realize that severely hail damaged plants may progress more rapidly than the number of days for each growth stage listed in this NebGuide and that damaged plants may not use as much water as mentioned here. http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/g1871.pdf

Crop coefficients chart by growth stage: https://nawmn.unl.edu/GrowthStageData

Forages:

If anyone is taking hail damaged corn for silage, Dr. Mary Drewnoski is interested in samples prior to and after ensiling and is willing to help with sample analysis cost. Even if silage has already occurred, we’d be interested in samples after ensiling. Please contact her if interested (contact info. at bottom of this post).

The three links below are the ones that answer specific questions. The first article answers a few questions regarding forage considerations for hail-damaged corn and soybean. The over-riding decisions will be based on planting date. Sudangrass or sorghum x sudangrass crosses and millets are still appropriate until August 15, although seed supplies of these are dwindling.  After that, we are looking at oats/turnips.  Drilling these directly into the stubble is the best option for planting. There was also a great discussion regarding earlage and we need to create an article regarding that topic.

https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2018/forage-cover-crop-considerations-after-hail-corn-and-soybean

This article addresses nitrate concerns when grazing forage cover crops: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2018/reducing-nitrate-concerns-when-grazing-forage-cover-crops

This article addresses cover crops:
https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2018/cover-crops-soil-health-storm-damaged-fields

Other Forage Considerations

Grain Quality/Mold/Mycotoxins/Grain Storage:

Diplodia ear rot is perhaps the most common with these types of storms. Good news, Diplodia does not have a mycotoxin associated with it. Bad news is this fungus explodes on an ear creating light-weight ears and explodes in grain bins.

It will be wise to assess which fields/portions of fields are affected the worst with mold. Consider not storing any of that grain as it will be difficult to manage and keep from getting worse in storage. You will also need to assess which fields have increased risk of stalk rot by using the pinch test (Use your thumb and first finger to pinch the stalk internode above the soil line. If it easily crushes, the plant has stalk rot). Consider harvesting those portions of fields or fields most affected by stalk rot first.

Ear Rot Diseases and Grain Molds: http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/ec1901.pdf

Stalk Rot Diseases: http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/ec1868.pdf

Sprouting of Corn Kernels: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/sprouting-corn-kernels-hail-damaged-ears

Tips for Testing Storm Damaged Corn (Veterinarian perspective): https://cropwatch.unl.edu/storm-damaged-corn-tips-testing-and-using

Grain Storage Resources: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/grain-storage-management

Crop Insurance Questions:

Every field situation may vary. If you have hail insurance, the insurance adjuster should evaluate ear damage in addition to percent defoliation and stalk breakage.

Ask your insurance adjuster how they assess grain quality damage.

• What are their rules?
• Do they go by the COOP results for mold/mycotoxin/dockage?
• Do they require the insurance agent to come out and take a sample for mold/mycotoxin?
• Do they require you to call them before you put grain into your bin? (This is especially the case if aflatoxin may be of concern. We don’t anticipate that being a problem with this storm damage. However, if they require a sample for mold/mycotoxin in general, they may ask you to call them to take a sample before the grain gets put into a bin).
• If you do have presence of mold and/or mycotoxin, it’s best to have it documented before the grain goes into the bin. If the grain gets out of quality and the mold and/or mycotoxin increases in your bin by spring, if it wasn’t documented at harvest, you may not get compensated.

Mary Drewnoski                          Daren Redfearn                            Justin McMechan
Extension Beef Nutritionist       Extension Forage Specialist       Extension Crop Systems
402-472-6289                                 (402) 472-2662                               (402) 624-8041
mary.drewnoski@unl.edu         dredfearn2@unl.edu                   justin.mcmechan@unl.edu

Steve Melvin                                 Jenny Rees
Extension Educator                    Extension Educator
(308) 946-3843                             (402) 440-4739
steve.melvin@unl.edu               jrees2@unl.edu