Author Archives: JenBrhel
Ag Week 2022
National Ag Week: As a kid growing up on the farm, I don’t remember thinking about how many jobs outside of farming are agricultural-related. Yet, one in four Nebraska jobs are connected to ag. These jobs provide food, feed, fiber, and fuel and include farming/ranching/livestock and poultry production, processing, manufacturing, transportation, advising/education, storage, inspecting, veterinary/medical, technology, sales, research and development, conservation, government, etc.
What happens in ag impacts all Nebraskans. A strong ag economy (Nebraska ranks #1 in farm cash receipts of all commodities/capita) helps Nebraska’s overall economy. This week is National Ag Week with National Ag Day celebrated on March 22. So, this week I dug into ag facts from Nebraska Dept. of Ag’s ‘Nebraska Ag Facts Brochure’ at: https://nda.nebraska.gov/publications/ne_ag_facts_brochure.pdf and 2022 Ag Facts card: https://nda.nebraska.gov/facts.pdf. Thank you to all who are involved with ag-related careers! And, for youth, there’s numerous opportunities to pursue ag-related careers in the future!
#1: Nebraska’s largest ag sector is beef production with Nebraska leading the nation in commercial cattle slaughter, #2 in cattle on feed, all cattle and calves, beef exports, and commercial red meat production. Nebraska’s beef industry generates approximately $10.6 billion in annual cash receipts. With 6.8 million head of cattle, cattle outnumber people in Nebraska more than three to one. Every part of a cow is used for a wide variety of products, including leather, fishing line, biodegradable outboard motor oil, pet chew toys and gummy candies.
#1: Nebraska ranks 1st in U.S. popcorn production with approximately 34% of the popcorn consumed in the U.S. produced in Nebraska. Popcorn is a nutritious and low-calorie snack! Nebraska also ranks 1st in Great Northern bean production, 2nd for pinto bean production and 4th in the nation for all dry edible bean production.
#2: Nebraska is #2 in ethanol production. With approximately 25 operating ethanol plants utilizing corn as the main feedstock, Nebraska produces more than 2 billion gallons of renewable fuel annually. Distillers grains, a co-product of ethanol production, is an important livestock feed. Nebraska also ranks 2nd in alfalfa hay production and 3rd in total grass and alfalfa hay production with hay grown in every county in Nebraska, which is vital to the state’s livestock producers. A surprising fact I learned is that Nebraska is also #2 in bison production.
#3: Nebraska is #3 in corn production. There are 21,500 corn farmers across the state, producing seven times more corn than in the 1920s. Today’s corn farmers grow 87 percent more corn per ounce of fertilizer than they did 30 years ago and have cut erosion by 44 percent through new tillage practices.
#4: Nebraska ranks 4th in soybean production. Soybeans are used in animal feed, human food products, renewable fuel, ink, coatings, solvents, plastics, lubricants and adhesives. 1 bushel of soybeans can make 1.5 gallons of biodiesel. Nebraska also ranks 4th in grain sorghum with it used for livestock and poultry feed, ethanol, and for human food. Nebraska is also ranked #4 in dry edible pea production.
#5-6: Nebraska ranks 5th in the nation for production of sugar beets with half of U.S. sugar production coming from sugar beets. Nebraska is 6th for all hogs and pigs on farms and in commercial hog slaughter.
Nebraska is the 11th largest wheat producing state; one bushel of wheat weighs 60 lbs on average and can make 64 loaves of bread. For potato chip lovers, Nebraska ranks 11th in potato production with 1/3 of Nebraska’s potatoes processed as potato chips.
In egg production, Nebraska ranks 14th nationally with 9.1 million birds populating Nebraska’s commercial laying facilities producing more than 2.6 billion eggs/year. Nebraska ranks 25th in total milk production from dairy cattle. There are around 78,000 sheep and lambs raised in Nebraska and Nebraska is home to more than 24,000 meat goats and around 3,500 dairy goats.
3/13/22
Vegetative Management Considerations: This week’s article is co-written by John Hay, Extension Energy Educator and myself. Vegetative management is an important part of solar. The land below the solar panels will need to be maintained in some way. Lately, more people are looking at ways to complement vegetative management with solar to ease the land use conflict and bring more value to the land beneath solar production.
We asked several questions of the EDF Renewable representatives the night of the public informational forum. The plan from them for the time being appeared to be focused on mowing the grass below the solar panels. There seemed to be some openness to learning more about options beyond mowed grass. From the EDF K-Junction FAQ site, there is a link to a news article explaining how solar, cattle, and crops can work together: https://www.edf-re.com/project/k-junction-solar/faq/.
Regardless of what the vegetation is, should the project go through, someone will need to manage the vegetation. We were told that often 5-6 outside contractors are hired. We suggested should some local people currently be interested in this, it could provide an opportunity for them to obtain additional income or off-set a very small portion of the income lost in the ag community beyond landowners.
Grazing Options: The reality of cattle grazing is not good with solar unless the panels are elevated to a height of at least 7’ and conduit is buried underground. Sheep and free-range chickens could be options. We currently don’t have that scale of sheep/free-range chicken production in the County area. It potentially could be another income source should the project go through and a few choose to pursue this. There is an American Solar Grazing Association which is member-driven and members ask questions, conduct research, and share questions/answers with each other: https://solargrazing.org/.
Agrivoltaics is the growing of harvestable crops below the solar panels. The crops wouldn’t include traditional corn and soybeans. They could include different grasses for grazing, alfalfa, and small equipment haying (depending on panel height and spacing). They could include pollinator species. Small acres (1-10 acres or so per quarter) could include specialty crops such as hops, grapes, vegetables, fruits, woody florals. For those situations, it would entail elevating the solar panels. There’s been some research on incorporating different types of vegetable and flower production in how the plants are arranged for dealing with sun/shade at different times of the day. This resource shares more about agrivoltaics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7mN1ks0hyUneed.
Wells: There’s been a number of concerns about the wells on these irrigated pieces of land. Specific questions regarding this can be directed to the NRD. Grazing and/or use for harvestable crops under the solar array could necessitate a well.
Vegetative Screenings are the use of plants as a screen to obstruct the view of the solar panels. At the public informational meeting, we were told that landowners and neighbors would need to request this. This is something that can be written into contracts.
The above options/considerations require cooperation of the solar developer and may need changes in system design regarding the solar panel height and the ability for people to enter the solar field. Solar farms are fenced and have limited access due to electrical risk. These risks must be addressed before agrivoltaic or grazing options are possible. For vegetative management regarding vegetative screenings, grass or pollinator species, should the project move forward, we’d recommend they be established prior to construction to aid in success of their establishment.
Farm Base Acres: In talking with Kathy Anderson with the State FSA office, it’s hard to know exactly what will happen to base acres depending on how the contracts are written. It’s a possibility of a permanent loss of base acres, ultimately dependent upon how many acres of cropland there is and how many base acres were assigned to each farm. Each situation will be farm by farm. If the farm had full base (80 ac crop ground and 80 ac base), and 60 acres were being used for solar, 60 base acres of solar would be removed from that total leaving 20 base acres. If there isn’t full base (80 ac crop ground and 60 acres of base), the gap of 20 “free acres” would be put towards the acres in solar and the base would be reduced to 20 acres. If the ground was in CRP, contracts with solar are not allowed. Thus, one needs to ask the company to pay back the CRP contract if they want a CRP parcel.
JenREES 3/6/22
Estate Planning Workshop: A reminder of the estate planning workshop to be held on March 8th from 1:30-4 p.m. at Harvest Hall at the Seward Co. Fairgrounds (location changed). Even if you haven’t RSVP, feel free to still attend if you’re interested.
Seward County Ag Banquet: The 54th Annual Kiwanis Club of Seward Ag Recognition Banquet will be held on Monday, March 21 at the Seward County Fairgrounds. A social with wine, cheese, and sausage will be at 5:30 p.m. with prime rib dinner at 6:30 p.m. To reserve seats, call Shelly at 402-643-3636.
Proposed York Co. Solar Farm: I’m grateful for the public informational meeting in McCool Junction that was held by EDF Renewables in February. It’s important that people can gather and share. I’ve been asked about Extension’s role; it’s to listen, provide educational resources, and share perspectives regarding concerns and considerations. Thus, my focus of this week’s article in regards to some perspectives and considerations in relation to contracts. I plan to share on vegetative management and potential economics next week with my colleague, John Hay, Extension Energy Educator.
The big-picture difficulty about solar and wind energy in rural America is the fact that this is ultimately a land-use conflict. It’s a conflict between land used by those who make their livelihoods from farming/grazing/haying the land and land used by those who are looking at a future of renewable energy. The conflict also involves the changing landscape. With wind, the large turbines and blinking lights can be seen from a distance in addition to seen/heard by those living around them. On the land use side, 1-2 acres of land per turbine and access road is removed allowing the remaining land to be farmed. With utility scale solar, it’s not vertically visual from a distance, but changes the landscape for those who live around it. On the land use side, for a proposed 5000 acre utility scale solar farm such as this York Co. one, all 5000 acres would be taken out of typical farming production. The challenge with land-use conflicts is determining if the varying viewpoints can come together in some way or not as families, neighbors, and communities are all impacted.
As I’ve listened, the discussion isn’t so much about solar in general, but the size/scope of this proposed project and potential impacts locally. For perspective, the solar farm on the north side of the interstate west of Lincoln is 30 acres. It is a single-axis system, meaning the panels rotate as the sun changes direction during the day, similar in concept to what is proposed. The display board images at the informational meeting showed fixed axis systems not representative of what is being proposed.
Contracts: Some have chosen to sign contracts as it provided a consistent payment, provided a way to keep land in a family when there isn’t an heir to work the land, or for other personal reasons. Some have chosen not to sign because the land is their livelihood, they’re concerned about the future impacts to other aspects of the ag and local economies, or for other personal reasons. It’s important to remember there’s not necessarily a right or wrong for ‘why or why not’ regarding signing contracts, and the ‘why’ for each is based on individual/family goals and values. However, there definitely are things that need to be considered prior to signing these long-term contracts in order to ensure a fair contract and protection for the landowner.
First, for those on the fence, while you most likely feel pressure from both sides, your decision needs to be based on what aligns with your goals and values. Take the time to review and negotiate these contracts and always know that saying “no” is an option. We recommend you have an attorney who specializes in wind/solar energy review the contact. Extension has recommendations from who we’ve worked with if you’re interested. Specifically, these contracts need to include: liability, indemnification (should be insured under the company), list a maximum percent drop of acres, decommissioning, and consider adding “most favored nation” to contracts to allow for the best payment and terms. There’s vegetative management things I’ll cover next week. A group of landowners can work together with an attorney to negotiate the best contract with a company; for example, landowners within the Saline Co. windfarm did this.
Resources: This resource contains a checklist of items for contracts to discuss with the company and an attorney: https://farmoffice.osu.edu/sites/aglaw/files/site-library/Farmland_Owner%27s_Guide_to_Solar_Leasing.pdf. John Hay’s website contains more information on solar lease considerations for landowners: https://go.unl.edu/2xch. The following resource is a webinar recording on land use conflicts-wind/solar: https://uada.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=b2d87be8-6d94-48e3-a8c7-ae220131e443.
Ambiguous Loss & Farming — Views from VanDeWalle
Sharing this post from my colleague Brandy VanDeWalle with Fillmore County Extension. You can read the remainder of it by clicking on the link to her blog below.
Picture this scenario. A young farmer in his thirties is looking forward to taking over the family farm someday. Suddenly the father is impacted by a life-changing health incident that leaves him mentally incapacitated and unable to explain the workings of the farm or other advice for the son. Or… imagine being the wife who […]
Ambiguous Loss & Farming — Views from VanDeWalle
JenREES 2/27/22
Growing Fruit in the Home Garden: The GROBigRed Virtual Learning Series from Nebraska Extension kicked off last week with a 6-week series ‘Growing Fruit in the Home Garden’. Join us at 6:30pm CT each Thursday for two short presentations and an opportunity to ask your pressing garden questions. Register for this free program at https://go.unl.edu/growfruit. Upcoming programs include:
- March 3: Selecting & Buying Fruit Plants and Soil & Fertility
- March 10: Site Selection & Design and Edible Landscapes
- March 17: Brambles (Blackberries, Raspberries, etc) and Grapes
- March 24: Pome Fruits (Apples & Pears) and Stone Fruits (Peaches, Cherries, & More)
- March 31: Strawberries and Unusual Fruits
Soil Temperatures: With March around the corner, a reminder of our CropWatch soil temperature page at: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/soiltemperature.
Farm Bill Decisions: I shared some considerations in the following article if it can be of help as you make these decisions: https://jenreesources.com/2022/01/23/farm-bill-decisions/
Lawns and Gardens: In spite of warm stretches, it’s way too early to consider lawn fertilizer and crabgrass preventer. Wait till April when soil temperatures are expected to be 50F for at least 5 days.
Vegetable planting guide can be found at: https://go.unl.edu/pao8. Kelly Feehan, Extension Educator shares, “For vegetable gardeners, it’s time to think about cool season vegetables. Focus on garden planning, seed buying, and soil preparation, like incorporating compost, if soil is not too wet. Do not let air temperatures trick you into planting too early. It is soil temperature that to determine when to plant. Gardeners who plant too early often end up harvesting later than those who wait. And some gardeners end up replanting since seed can rot in cold soils and seedlings or transplants may be damaged by spring frost. Even if all goes well, seedling emergence can take 10 days or much longer in cold soil. For cool season vegetables like lettuce, radish and peas, wait to plant seed until soil temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, with 45 to 50 being ideal.” A meat thermometer designated for soil temperature use is a great way to check soil temperatures.
Small Grain Silage: Last year, four producers allowed me to collect small grain silage samples from rye and triticale so we could get a better understanding of quality in regards to growth stage when cut, moisture, how packed, etc. With short forage supplies, this may be of interest to those who have planted rye/wheat/triticale and have cattle. On March 17h, from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Nebraska Extension, Lallemand Animal Nutrition and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are hosting the fourth Silage for Beef Cattle Conference. Registration is free and producers have the option to either stream the conference online or attend in-person at the ENREC near Ithaca. Pre-register to join in-person or virtually at: HTTPS://GO.UNL.EDU/SILAGEFORBEEF2022. Topics and speakers will include:
- Agronomic management of small grains for silage, Daren Redfearn, UNL
- When to harvest small grain silage, Mary Drewnoski, UNL
- Sorghum silage: a solution for limited water, Matt Atkins, Wisconsin Dairy Specialist
- Why fermentation analysis is important & what it means, John Goeser, Wisconsin
- Fungamentals of silage harvest management, Becky Arnold, Lallemand Animal Nutrition
- Inoculants for small grain silage, Limin Kung, University of Delaware
- Economics & ROI on quality forage in grower & finishing rations, Jhones Sarturi, Texas Tech
- Making small grain silage work, producer and nutritionist panel
JenREES 2/20/22
I’ve so greatly appreciated the discussions and learning opportunities at meetings this past winter! We have one final cover crop meeting this Friday, Feb. 25 from 10-Noon at the 4-H Building in York. The topic is discussing the economics of cover crops. I’m often asked about this and have ideas, but don’t have answers, so am seeking a discussion around it. We know grazing often is the one way (not always, but often) where cover crops will pay. Looking forward to a deeper discussion on additional ways to look at economics of cover crops, such as assigning a dollar value to any soil changes over time. Please join us if you’re interested!
Estate Planning Workshop March 8: We’re excited to offer an estate planning workshop for farmers and ranchers from 1:30-4:00 p.m. on March 8 at the Seward County Extension Office (322 S. 14th St. in Seward). My colleague, Allan Vyhnalek, an extension educator for farm and ranch transition and succession, will offer tools and strategies to effectively plan, start and complete estate plans, offer background on common mistakes during the process, and highlight essential considerations for creating and carrying out estate and succession plans.
He also asked Tom Fehringer, an attorney based in Columbus, to present during the workshop. Fehringer specializes in estate planning, business planning and trust administration, among other areas of practice. It’s just a great opportunity to learn more and ask questions (especially of an attorney) for free! Please RSVP by March 7th at 402-643-2981.
K-Junction Solar Project Public Meeting Feb. 24: EDF Renewables is inviting the public to a meeting to learn more about the K-Junction Solar Project on Thursday, Feb. 24 from 5:00-7:30 p.m. at the Stone Creek Event Center in McCool Junction. Food and beverages will be provided.
Results of Xyway™ LFR® Fungicide in Furrow: Last week at the on-farm research update, three area farmers and I presented the results of our on-farm research Xyway™ LFR® studies. This fungicide, applied at planting, translocates within the plant providing disease protection for a period of time. In 2021, Xyway™ LFR® was tested at 8 on-farm locations in Buffalo, Hall, York, and Seward counties. Emergence counts taken at 4 locations in Buffalo/Hall counties showed better emergence with Xyway in one of the locations and slower emergence with Xyway in the other three locations. Early season stand counts were taken at all 8 locations. Of these, one location showed better stand with Xyway compared to the check, two showed less stand with Xyway, and the others showed no differences. Three of the 8 locations showed a yield reduction with Xyway compared to the check while the other five locations showed no difference. Half of the locations showed reduced profitability while there was no difference in the other half. At the two York locations, I also did disease ratings. In spite of it being a low-disease year, in one of the two locations, Xyway reduced gray leaf spot pressure on the plants compared to the check. At neither location was there a difference in overall southern rust severity. In general, the growers who tried this felt it was helpful from the standpoint their fields are near towns or powerlines where it’s difficult for arial applications. FMC recommended during the meeting to move the Xyway™ LFR® product away from the seed for those trying it in 2022.
Our Crop Science Investigation Youth (CSI) group worked with Jerry and Brian Stahr on their Xyway study as part of the Nebraska Corn Board’s Innovative Youth Challenge. It was a great way for youth to utilize the scientific method while learning about crop scouting and participating in on-farm research! The youth won first place and share their results in the following video: https://youtu.be/B87xqr0pWMk. If you know of youth interested in science and plants who may want to join us for CSI, please let me know! We meet monthly throughout the year. Next meeting is Mar. 15.
JenREES 2/13/22
This week sharing on a variety of questions received. Also a reminder of our On-Farm Research Update meeting on Feb. 17 with closest one in York at Cornerstone Event Center at 9 a.m. (registration at 8:30 a.m.). It’s an opportunity to hear from the growers about their on-farm research studies. RSVP at 402-362-5508 or jrees2@unl.edu.
Nitrogen Models: Follow-up to last week’s column, for those interested in comparing a nitrogen model to your grower rate via on-farm research this year, please let your Granular certified service agent or Adapt N rep know in addition to your local Extension educator. We’ll set up a meeting to discuss study design for the prescriptions.
Temperature effects on storage of pesticides: With pesticide shortages and people wanting to get the products in hand, received a question on what happens if the product freezes in non-heated shops. Ultimately, the pesticide label will specify any impacts to efficacy when extreme temperature conditions occur. Another resource that may be of interest is this University of Missouri website which has a table towards the bottom which allows you to scroll through various fungicide, insecticide, herbicide products and see what the label shares: https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g1921.
Spring planted cover crops: During our practical cover crop management discussion last Friday, we talked about oats and other small grains being known to help reduce the incidence and severity of soil-borne soybean disease pathogens causing sudden death syndrome and soybean cyst nematode in soybean. We also know small grains help with reduction in white mold with the hypothesis being the terminated cover helps intercept the spores being released from the soil surface into the canopy. The question was asked if oats planted this spring could also help if a small grain wasn’t planted in the fall. Research from University of Minnesota found spring planted oats did help with reducing SDS severity, so that could be a consideration as another tool to help.
Another question/discussion topic that continues to surface is if there’s ability to grow nitrogen prior to corn this spring. Potentially, if one thinks about herbicides differently, gets plans together now, and is willing to terminate the cover crop a little later. And, maybe one just tries some strips of this instead of whole fields? Nitrogen production is directly related to biomass growth and based on what I see in journal articles, nutrient release from cover crops occurs around 6 weeks after termination. Options for planting in March include peas, lentils, clovers. These can be terminated by herbicides or as a green manure. I’m unsure on rolling. For those who planted hairy vetch last fall, a York county producer shared that he’s had good luck using glyphosate as a burndown which kills any grasses but leaves the vetch. That allowed the vetch to keep growing to produce more biomass and thus, more nitrogen. He kills the vetch with his post-pass as HPPD chemistries (Callisto, etc.) will kill it. There’s also a few guys kicking around the idea of planting corn into a living mulch like clover. University of Wisconsin did research on kura clover but in talking with Keith Berns with Green Cover Seed, seed production is difficult so it’s hard to get that seed. Some producers in Europe have a system kind of like our on-farm research network, and are using white clover before wheat and then grazing sheep in their system. It would be interesting to try some of the clover crosses available locally or even try with red clover and see what happens in small areas of fields. If anyone is interested in trying something like this, please let me know. We’ll probably discuss more this Friday, so if you’re interested in our Practical Cover Crop Management discussion of Feb. 18 on Interseeding cover crops from 10-Noon in 4-H bldg. in York, please RSVP at 402-362-5508 or jrees2@unl.edu. The Nature Conservancy is providing lunch for that meeting for anyone who RSVPs to allow the discussion to continue over lunch.
JenREES 2/6/22
Nitrogen Rate and Nitrogen Model Studies: One topic that has much discussion at winter meetings this year is nitrogen rates. I know many people did what they could to get fertilizer applied last fall. Yet for those who are still planning on applying spring and/or in-season nitrogen, there’s also much discussion about rates. This is one of our on-farm research focuses for this year: to compare nitrogen rates. We’ve done quite a bit of research with timings and inhibitors. I think there’s more to learn when it comes to rates. And, I think there’s opportunity for all of us to work together to learn more.
One option to study this is to compare full-length strips across the field of a grower rate to 50 lb +/- that rate (or if that’s too scary, 30 lb +/- that rate). For example, if the grower rate is 180 lb N on corn/corn ground, also comparing 230 lb N/ac and 130 lb/ac. I shared the data from 5 nitrogen rate/timing studies conducted in York/Hamilton counties in a previous blog post. The data showed in 4 of the 5 studies, no more than 7 bu/ac less yield with 50 lb less N/ac and in all 5 of the studies, no more than 7 bu/ac yield increase by adding 50 lb N/Ac. This was very interesting to the grower and has been interesting to others who have commented on the studies.
Another option for comparing rates is to use precision ag tools and compare what models such as Granular, Adapt N, Maize N recommend vs. a grower rate. Nitrogen ramps (varying nitrogen rate blocks of 50 lb N/ac differences) can also be included. That may sound complicated but is less so with precision technology using prescriptions and then harvesting using yield maps. These prescriptions could also be built by zones in the field comparing a grower rate vs. a nitrogen model rate if the grower preferred. There’s a number of ways to compare nitrogen rates. We just feel this is an excellent time to try some of these things. And, on-farm research provides a way to try this on a smaller number of acres before trying it larger scale on more acres.
There is also a financial stipend for trying precision nitrogen studies via a USDA grant that Nebraska on-farm research received. So, would encourage farmers, and crop consultants/ag industry professionals to consider working with a farmer(s) to try some of these in the future. To learn more, go to: go.unl.edu/PrecisionNitrogen. For those interested in field scale nitrogen rate strips across your field, please contact me or your local Extension educator. And, if you’re interested in learning about the results of all the nitrogen studies from 2021, consider signing up for the on-farm research meeting in York on Feb. 17 at: GO.UNL.EDU/2022ONFARMRESEARCH.
Practical Cover Crop Management: I so appreciated Keith Berns sharing at our Practical Cover Crop meeting last Friday! The discussion and questions throughout that time is what I was hoping for with this meeting in all of us learning from each other and together. I’m not recording them and my goal with these meetings is the discussion/interaction/connections, so if you’d really like the information, it’d be most helpful to attend in person. This next meeting on Friday, Feb. 11 from 10-Noon at the 4-H Building in York will be on termination timing of cover crops, including planting green. I’ve asked a number of farmers to share their experiences as each does things slightly differently in their corn/soybeans with tillage practices, timing, herbicides/lack of. This is very informal with just discussion and please come with your questions and willingness to share as well! It is helpful for me to have RSVP at 402-362-5508 but I do allow for walk-ins.
Save the Date! Two newly scheduled upcoming meetings include an Estate Planning meeting in Seward at the Extension Office on March 8th at 1:30 p.m. Also, a small grain silage conference on March 17th at ENREC near Mead: HTTPS://GO.UNL.EDU/SILAGEFORBEEF2022.
JenREES 1/30/22
It’s been so great to see people at winter programs again and January just flew by! Last winter was different teaching via zoom and I’ve appreciated the interaction and discussions at meetings this year. This week sharing a few answers to questions I received and also a few additional February programs.
Weed Guides: For those who needed private applicator recertification, you were mailed a sheet of paper which shared how you can purchase a weed guide. On the paper it says that shipping is free, but I was told that’s not the case if you order it via Marketplace. In order to have free shipping, you need to mail the piece of paper with your $25 to the Pesticide Office via the address on the paper. For anyone who doesn’t need the 2022 Guide but would be ok with a 2021 Guide, please let me or your local Extension educator know and we can arrange for you to get a copy of last year’s for free.
Extension Meeting Updates: Just a note to please RSVP when attending Extension events as not everyone is as flexible as I’ve been! This helps for meals and also any covid requirements.
Update on Soil Health Conference Feb. 2: There’s now a virtual option. They are not allowing walk-ins, so regardless if you plan to attend in person or virtually, you can register at: https://go.unl.edu/vn85.
Reminder of Ag Update at Fairgrounds in Aurora this week on Feb. 2 which also qualifies for UBBNRD nitrogen certification credits. Registration at 9 a.m. with program from 9:30-4 p.m. RSVP: 402-694-6174.
Also reminder of my first of a series of meetings on Practical Cover Crop Management on Feb. 4th from 10 a.m.-Noon at the 4-H building in York. This week we will hear from Keith Berns on basics of how to get started with cover crops. We will also hear from additional farmers in how they started using cover crops in their operations. RSVP to 402-362-5508.
Feb. 8 Building Farm and Ranch Resiliency in the Age of Financial Uncertainty is the last of the Farmers and Ranchers College meetings this winter. It will be held at the Fairgrounds in Geneva with registration at 8:45 a.m. and program from 9 a.m.-Noon. The workshop will cover cash rental rates, land values, leasing strategies, landlord/tenant communication, farm and ranch succession planning and an overview of farm programs for landowners. There’s no charge and please RSVP to 402-759-3712.
Feb. 17 On-Farm Research Updates for our area will be held at the Cornerstone Event Center at the Fairgrounds in York from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (registration at 8:30). Meetings like this, to me, are the most powerful as they provide an opportunity to hear directly from the growers who conducted on-farm research. Replicated, field-scale comparisons were completed in growers’ fields, using their equipment. If it wasn’t for these growers, often, I wouldn’t have the information I do to share on the various questions asked of me. Attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the 2021 Research Results Update book, which contains results from on-farm research studies, including studies on products such as Xyway in-furrow fungicide, Pivot Bio PROVEN, nitrification inhibitors, and non-traditional products. Production and technology studies include ones on hydraulic downforce, soybean practices, starter fertilizer, nitrogen rates and timing, crop models for N management, and cover crop and soil health. The Nebraska On-Farm Research Network is a statewide, on-farm research program that addresses critical farmer production, profitability and natural resources questions. Growers take an active role in the on-farm research project sponsored by Nebraska Extension in partnership with the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, the Nebraska Corn Board, the Nebraska Soybean Checkoff and the Nebraska Dry Bean Commission. Please RSVP at: GO.UNL.EDU/2022ONFARMRESEARCH. This meeting also qualifies for UBBNRD nitrogen recertification credits.
Farm Bill Decisions
Farm Bill: Been receiving questions on farm bill since before Christmas and just hadn’t taken time to dig into it till this week. Viewing charts is helpful to me, so I’ve added some to jenreesources.com, including one from Robin Reid from K-State which is helpful in understanding how program payments are triggered. If you missed the UNL/FSA farm bill webinar, you can view it at: https://go.unl.edu/x0i9. I am not running simulations this year and don’t recommend that you do it either. The Texas A&M tool is a very good tool, but it will show you a range of probabilities beyond what is realistic for this 2022 decision, barring some type of trainwreck. If you’d like to very easily see for yourself what yields and prices would be necessary to trigger program payments, download the spreadsheet from K-State (and I have an example on my blog): https://www.agmanager.info/ag-policy/2018-farm-bill/tradeoff-between-20222023-arc-and-plc.
Looking at any potential payments for the 2021 crop, projected prices are substantially above the PLC price payments for crops like corn, soybean, wheat, and sorghum grown in Nebraska and would take a 23-33% price reduction to trigger a PLC payment. They’re also substantially above (30-47%) the price and would take a 30-40% county yield loss to trigger ARC-Co. I’m unsure counties with more substantial wind damage from July 9, 2021 wind storm had enough county average yield loss to trigger and ARC-Co payment…and many may have chosen PLC corn last year with the prices at the time anyway.
Decisions for 2022 need to be made by March 15, 2022. For 2022, neither ARC-Co nor PLC would be anticipated to trigger for corn, soybean, wheat, sorghum with current USDA projected prices (which are just numbers at this time). K-State does a nice job of compiling the different sources of 2022/2023 MYA prices and updating them every month here: https://www.agmanager.info/crop-insurance/risk-management-strategies/projections-and-sources-myaprices-arc-and-plc-commodity. Different election decisions (ARC-Co or PLC) can be made for crops in different FSA farm numbers if you’d like to spread risk. Fields with higher yields would be more favorable for your PLC decisions.
A consideration for ARC-Co for corn, soybean, wheat, or milo would be if a county has a lot of non-irrigated acres and one anticipates a drought event in 2022. That may look additionally favorable if the county has the opportunity to split crops into irrigated and non-irrigated decisions.
For soybean, ARC-Co is potentially a little more favorable than PLC, but still most likely won’t trigger a payment. The Soybean MYA price would need to fall below $8.40 to trigger a PLC payment and below $7.84 to trigger an ARC-Co payment with an average yield.
For corn, the MYA price would need to fall below $3.70 to trigger a PLC payment and below $3.18 to trigger an ARC-Co payment with an average yield. Robin Reid with K-State shares, “Strong export demand currently would lead us to believe that PLC payments are unlikely, but again, much uncertainty exists. A farmer could select PLC for the downside price protection or, if they are optimistic that current high prices are here to stay, selecting ARC-County would give them a higher likelihood of payment if county yields are low. In the case of irrigated corn, the likelihood of a yield loss large enough to trigger an ARC-County payment is less, so irrigated base may lend itself more to PLC.” I would note, this is true unless the county has a history of major storm events which traditionally have impacted county average yields, thus making ARC-Co irrigated also an option.
For wheat, PLC has been favorable in the past, but current prices are well above the $5.50 reference price. And for sorghum, PLC has also been favorable in the past with a $3.95 reference price, but again, current prices are well above this.
Bottom line, it’s not anticipated that either PLC nor ARC-Co will trigger program payments for 2022 at this time. I think many farmers would prefer good crops and decent prices. ARC-Co and PLC are tools for risk management and perhaps crop insurance tools will play an even bigger factor in managing risk for this coming year.
JenResources 