Monthly Archives: August 2023
JenREES 8/27/23
Quite the Year: What a blessing to have a cooler weekend! Some in the area I serve also received decent rains to help pastures or to end irrigation. The labor, time, financial, and mental/physical/emotional aspects of irrigating have taken a toll. Likewise, not having access to irrigation has taken a toll on farmers with non-irrigated ground. I think the extra irrigating (having to start after planting) also unfortunately aided more soil-borne diseases in soybeans this year such as Fusarium and Phytopthora root rots, sudden death syndrome, and white mold. I’ve never seen soybeans baled for forage till this year. Each field varied in how far gone it was, but wondering (for beans not taken for forage) how recent rains in the southern counties will potentially cause beans to try to regreen?
Several shared they feel this year is even harder than last year. It feels harder to me too, but I almost wonder if it’s more compounded by several rough years in a row? We’re still blessed in numerous ways and it’s good to think of gratitude each day! Continue to hang in there! Even if you can get away from the area for a day or night-such as going to the state fair-it’s amazing how just a quick break from the norm can help with reset and perspective. At least it’s been helpful for me.
Corn Ears Drooping: The high heat coupled with moisture stress in various fields played a role in corn ears drooping down last week. Typically, ears remain upright till they reach black layer. A loss of turgidity in the ear shank which feeds the ear can create the ear shank to droop creating a pinchpoint restricting water and nutrients to the ear. If the flow is completely shut off, grain fill to the ear ceases and the kernels will prematurely reach black layer.
What can you do now? Note places in fields where this occurs, particularly in irrigated fields (look for soil compaction, root restrictions, crown rot, etc.). Also note hybrids as genetics can also play a role. Looking at hybrid plots may also be of interest. Scout fields with drooping ears to determine percent milk line. At the beginning of dent, kernel moisture is at 60% and kernel dry matter is only 45% of the final.
In estimating potential yield loss, if the ear droops during early dent when the milk line is hard to differentiate, yield loss could be up to 40% if the flow of carbohydrates is completely shut off. If the ear droops at the end of the dent stage, when the milk line is close to the tip of the kernel, then yield losses could be up to 12%. Identify the development stage in which the ear drooped then you can multiply the percentage of ears affected (in a known area like 1/100th or 1/1000th of an acre) by the estimated yield loss per ear (depending on the growth stage utilizing the 40% to 12% loss estimations). Also watch the integrity of the ear shank and plan harvest accordingly to reduce the potential of ears on the ground pre-harvest.
Lawn Renovation: John Fech, Extension Educator shares the following, “There are 3 categories of lawn reseeding: 1-Total renovation – if less than 50% of the lawn is comprised of desirable species, 2-Lawn Overseeding – if 60 to 70 % is desirable, and 3-Lawn Thickening – if the current lawn is mostly desirable, but just a little thin.
With total renovation, step 1 is to spray the entire lawn with a non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate. Once the herbicide has taken effect, you can move on to Step 2. Step 2 is powerraking to create a seedbed. It’s wise to think of this step as the platform on which the new grass will grow.
Step 3 is to rake off the debris. As hard as it may be, it’s well worth it in terms of creating a seedbed that facilitates seed to soil contact. Step 4 is to apply grass seed with a drop spreader; seed is light and can easily be carried off site with a light wind. Divide the amount of seed in half and apply it in a north/south direction and then an east/west path. For Kentucky bluegrass turfs, apply a total of 2 -3 lbs of seed per 1,000 sq. ft. and 9-10 lbs of seed for turf type tall fescues lawns.
To create a suitable environment for germination and initial growth, it’s best to irrigate several times per day and keep the upper inch moist, but not soggy or dry. For Kentucky bluegrass lawns, this will take about 3 weeks; for turf type tall fescue, about 2 weeks. It’s very important to keep watering lightly and frequently until all the seed has germinated, or else the resulting lawn will be thin and clumpy. After the new turfgrass plants are a half inch to an inch tall, apply a starter fertilizer at label rates to encourage thickening and provide for the next few weeks of establishment.
If lawn overseeding is called for, the procedure is much the same as it is for renovation, except that the spraying of the lawn is skipped. In the case of caring for a mostly desirable, but slightly thin lawn, apply 0.5 to 0.75 lbs of a slow release nitrogen fertilizer product and spot spray broadleaf weeds that may have invaded due to the voids in the lawn. Products such as Weed-Free-Zone, Weed B Gone Maxx or Trimec are suitable for this purpose. Please read and follow all label directions.”
Something that brings me joy is to see youth continue to learn and develop life skills such as identifying plants! I’m blessed to work with an incredible group of youth in Crop Science Investigation (CSI) who enjoy learning. They also practice and compete in plant ID at county and state fairs. So proud of them!
JenREES 8/20/23
Two weeks’ worth of articles to share here. Lots happened with weather for fields, vegetables, trees.
Water use till maturity for Corn: Dough 7.5”; Beginning Dent 5”, ¼ milk 3.75”; ½ milk 2.25”; ¾ milk 1”.
Water use till maturity for Beans: Beg. Seed 6.5”; Full Seed 3.5”; Leaves beg yellow 1.9”.
Silage: With higher nitrates in drought-stressed corn, for those cutting the corn for silage, please be aware of silage gas (nitrogen dioxide) which is toxic. National Ag Safety Database shares, “Shortly after ensiling green plant material, oxygen is used in fermentation and the nitrates in the plant are released as nitric oxide (NO). This gas quickly escapes from the silage and combines with oxygen in the air to form toxic nitrogen dioxide. The lethal gas is yellowish-brown and smells like some laundry bleaches. After more oxidation, it forms N2O5, which then forms highly corrosive nitric acid when combined with water. Since oxidation may occur in the lungs, nitrogen dioxide can produce permanent lung damage.” Nitrogen dioxide is denser than air so it hangs out in low-lying areas around the bunker or pile (stay out of these low lying areas to reduce exposure). It’s worse the first 12-60 hours after ensiling. More info: https://nasdonline.org/901/d000741/watch-out-for-silage-gas.html.
Grazing: Grazing drought-stressed corn or harvesting the corn and grazing the residue can still be safely done in spite of higher nitrates. The key is to remember the nitrates are highest in the stalk, particularly the lower foot of the stalk. Thus, for those choosing to graze drought-stressed corn instead of harvesting, the cattle will pre-select for ears first followed by husk and leaf tissue which are low in nitrate concentrations. The same goes when grazing harvested fields high in nitrates. As long as the cattle aren’t forced to eat much more than any grain, leaf, husk, one can better manage for nitrates.
In both cases, since grain will be present at this point, there’s increased risk of acidosis due to potentially higher grain in the cow’s diet. Strip grazing can help limit the amount of grain cattle are allowed to consume at one time. Also, adapt cattle to grain by feeding two to three pounds per day and slowly move up to 10-15 pounds per day over approximately 10-14 days. Turn cattle out that are full and make sure plenty of fresh water is readily available. Also consider feeding high quality hay as a supplement and then moving to the corn field for a period of time during the day. Cross fencing and strip grazing areas will help limit intake and reduce trampling while turned out on drought-stressed corn. I realize many probably won’t strip graze or allocate acres. Stalk trampling can provide ground cover. The problem is when cattle are forced to eat the trampled stalks and end up with portions of stalks higher in nitrates. Those are the concerns to watch for.
Some asked about grazing drought-stressed soybeans where pods quit filling/didn’t develop. From what I understand (please check with your insurance), crop insurance rules don’t allow the soybeans to be released till they’re brown. However, ask them if you can leave strips and you should be able to utilize the rest for forage. Soybeans were originally developed as a forage crop and they have value when they’re green with low bloat risk. Once they turn brown, the quality becomes like sawdust in feed value. Don’t let young calves graze beans with seeds due to problems with high oil content. We wrote more about this topic in this article: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2023/soybeans-forage. One final important thing is not to provide access to blocks, tubs or supplements that contain urea when allowing access to raw soybeans. Raw soybeans contain urease that can rapidly turn urea into ammonia and cause ammonia toxicity.
Final consideration: I realize this sounds crazy in the midst of drought, but I’m also thinking about soil erosion if we get wind again. Perhaps consider a cover that will winter kill like brassicas/spring cereals to get some roots in the ground where silage is being chopped or in the wildfire damaged areas. I know winter cereals like rye took a lot of moisture in a drought year and got a bad rap-they did hold the soil in place. Some are hoping to plant wheat after silage. Just a consideration; it will rain again one day.
Soybean Problems: White mold, sudden death syndrome, and gall midge have also been hot topics for several weeks. For white mold and SDS, aim to irrigate deeper and less frequently. Gall midge is popping up more in Seward Co. and there’s still too much unknown about it. Will share more next week.
Corn Grower Banquets: Aug. 28: Hamilton Co. Corn Growers 5 p.m. plot tour-field ¼ north of 6 road and J near Giltner; 6 p.m. meal and program Giltner Community Center with featured speaker KAAPA Ethanol. Aug. 29: York Co. Corn Growers 6 p.m. seed dealers share, 6:30 p.m. social, 7 p.m. meal and program with featured speaker Sentinel Fertigation (all at Stone Creek in McCool Junction). Cost $15 for beef and chicken meal and appetizers. RSVP to 402-362-5508 or any corn grower director.
Vegetables: Many questions on vegetables. Basically, the humidity allowed for a number of fungal diseases to get started. Most vegetables with blemishes can still be eaten or used (just wash and remove the blemishes). One can’t use green beans with rust and it’s not recommended to can tomatoes with certain diseases (tomato ringspot virus, lateblight fungus) as they can change the pH.
Brown leaf clusters: Every August, oak trees (but sometimes others such as hackberry, honeylocust, elm, linden) get a cluster of brown leaves towards the ends of branches. This damage is caused by twig girdlers or twig pruners, different types of beetles. Adult beetles chew a circle in the bark between where the old and new wood occurs on a twig. This girdles the twig, cutting off the water and nutrient supply causing its death. Eggs are then deposited and larvae hatch, tunnel, and survive in the dead twigs. Twigs girdled by any of these insects may stay attached to the main branch for several weeks or be broken out of the tree by wind. Tunneling in the twigs may not be evident in the fall if twigs fall out of the trees before the insect eggs have hatched. Mature trees with heavy infestations can look bad, but the damage isn’t a serious health problem to the tree and no chemical control is recommended. Burn or discard infected twigs in the fall and spring that contain developing larvae to minimize the impacts for the future.
JenREES 8/6/23
Thank you to everyone who made the 150th York County Fair a success! It was a fun fair celebrating the 150th with displays of previous exhibitors and fairs through the years, special events like alumni showmanship, ice cream, and the special awards. These milestones are quite a legacy and perhaps the current 4-H/FFA youth will be able to celebrate 200 years one day? Wishing everyone the best with the Seward County Fair this week as well! This week sharing on some upcoming events in August.
Cover Crop & Soil Health Field Day will be held Aug. 9th from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m at the 4-H Building in York followed by field tours at Bob Bettger’s farm. Topics include: Progressive cover cropping in a corn an soybean rotation; exploring perennial cover crops in a corn and soybean rotation; presentation from The Nature Conservancy; full season cover crops for row crop acres; and assessing soil health on your own (which is part of the field tour). The event is free, but please RSVP for the meal to Nate Pflueger with Pheasants Forever at 402-646-5426.
Soybean Management Field Days will be held this week: Aug. 8 near Rockville, Aug. 9 near Concord, Aug. 10 near Mead, and Aug. 11 near DeWitt. This year is 25 years of SMFD with topics including sprayer cleanout and setup; disease and insect management; cover crops and soil health; irrigation & technology; and grain markets. The event is free thanks to the Nebraska Soybean Board but please RSVP for meal count to https://enreec.unl.edu/soydays or to 402-441-3240.
Soil Health and Cover Crop Field Day will be held Aug 22 at Eastern NE R&E Center near Mead from 9 a.m.-2:50 p.m. (Reg. 8:30). The field day is co-sponsored by UNL and Cargill with topics on assessing soil health and summer cover crops. Equipment demonstrations will include a Highboy interseeder and roller crimper in the field followed by a tour of the UNL biochar study. No charge. More info. and RSVP for meal at: https://go.unl.edu/bosp.
Southeast NE Alfalfa & Wheat Expo will be held Aug. 24 from 8:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (Reg. 8 a.m.) in Crete. The morning topics are focused on wheat while the afternoon ones are focused on alfalfa. Wheat topics include: UNL breeding program, seed treatments, wheat production, round table discussion. Alfalfa topics include: variety selection and planting dates, insect management, alfalfa as protein supplement in fall. More info. at: https://croptechcafe.org/alfalfawheatexpo/.
Corn and Soybean Clinics will be held Aug. 29 in North Platte and Aug. 31 at ENREEC near Mead from 9:30-3:20 p.m. (Reg. 9 a.m.). The clinics are designed to walk through the growing season addressing critical agronomic developmental events in corn and soybeans in addition to diseases, weeds, insects, nutrients, and irrigation management while being out in the field. 4.5 CCA credits are available. More info. and RSVP: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/enreec/nebraska-corn-soybean-clinic/
Hamilton Co. Corn Growers will have their plot tour on Aug. 28th at 5 p.m. near Giltner (1/4 North of Rd 6 and J). A meal sponsored by Bayer Crop Sciences will follow at 6 p.m. at the Giltner Community Center. Featured speakers are Chuck Woodside, CEO KAAPA Ethanol with updates from Nebraska Corn and Hamilton Co. FSA.
York Co. Corn Grower plot tour and annual banquet will be held on Tuesday, August 29th beginning at 6 p.m. at Stone Creek Event Center in McCool Junction. Please save the date and plan to attend as we combine our plot tour with the annual banquet! Everything will be held at Stone Creek. At 6 p.m., seed reps will share on the hybrid entries they submitted in the plot followed by a social time at 6:30 p.m. and prime rib meal and program at 7 p.m. Cost is $15 for the meal. Please RSVP to York Co. Extension (402) 362-5508 or any York Co. Corn Grower director.
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