Category Archives: Reflections
Ranching for Profit School
This past week my husband and I had an incredible experience attending the Ranching for Profit School. It’s a fairly intense business training but really more than that. He had attended the school a few years ago and we chose to go together this year so I could better understand the economic concepts we were using on the farm. It’s exciting to see how the concepts, in addition to the peer group of other businesses, is helping transform our farm!
Ranching for Profit School began in 1983 and its mission is to help create Healthier Land, Happy Families, More Profitable Businesses. I think many of us can resonate with this. Specifically, the mission is about our purpose, our “why”. I’ve had a personal mission statement for decades, but it’s important for our businesses to have a statement as well. Why? It helps us with decision making and keeps us grounded in the good and difficult times. The mission should encompass the customer value, the owner value, and core principles (values). Our vision is what we want. I appreciated how the teachers kept asking us, “What do you want?” We can’t make wise decisions if we don’t know what we want to aim for. They shared, “If you can see it in your head and feel it in your heart, you can hold it in your hand.” Every business on my team left with an action item to work on our Mission/Vision. I think that’s an important item for all of us to consider for ourselves personally as well as professionally.
For the economic concepts, we were taught a way to determine gross margin per unit. This allows us to evaluate enterprises (each crop and/or class of livestock) side by side to understand where we were obtaining the most value. If we’re going to be profitable, we need to think about the value we’re creating. It’s a way to help us consider the things we should be doing more or stop doing altogether. We also learned strategies to determine how to increase the value of each enterprise.
We were challenged to think about any paradigms keeping us from moving forward. Paradigms are a lens from which we view the world. They’re subconscious beliefs we’re often unaware of. An example many can relate to is, “Hard work leads to success”. However, how many of us work incredibly hard yet aren’t profitable? Often working even harder isn’t possible or practical. We all have paradigms that impact our daily decisions and relationships. Some paradigms can be positive, but others can paralyze our decision-making. Paradigms lead to action which leads to results. Thus, they suggested if we wanted to change our result, we needed to look at our paradigms. Sometimes we can’t see the things right in front of us that need attention because of our paradigms. This is also where it’s important to have trusted peers and advisors who we allow to speak into our lives to help us see what we can’t. One unfortunate story shared how an owner’s deeply rooted paradigm resulted in an operation going bankrupt, in spite of others speaking into the situation using the economics. It made me wonder how quickly that could happen, particularly during really tough economic times such as now in farming. It was helpful for me to become more aware of paradigms I have and hopefully this thought is helpful to you too.
If any of this sounds of interest to you, I’d encourage you to check out the Ranching for Profit website at: https://ranchingforprofit.com/. While the school was designed for ranchers with livestock and grazing/haying enterprises, there are a number of farm and other businesses who attend because of the solid business principles that can be applied anywhere.
Reflections on Gratitude
With the growing season ending and the transition to winter programming beginning, I’ve been reflecting on gratitude, and the gifts of time, health, relationships, and seasons.
My husband and I, along with many of you, were so grateful to finish this harvest season! In spite of disappointing yields, I heard several farmers say they were looking forward to gathering with family on Thanksgiving and counting their blessings. That’s a great attitude as we are truly so blessed!
Regarding seasons, I’m ironically finding much gratitude in the nights turning darker earlier to allow for rest on the farm. You don’t have to agree; I truly believe that’s a gift God gave to us in farming communities who go so hard most of the time. The beauty found in each season was recognized by a beautiful, warm day last Sunday and white snow against green evergreens this Sunday!
Many family and friends in my life are struggling with health concerns; most likely in yours too. It’s daily reminded me how easy it is to take health for granted and be grateful for the health I have. Health is more than just physical; it’s also mental, emotional and spiritual. Life is so short and not guaranteed! Relationships are so important and can be fragile. This led me to think about relationships in my life and the need to be intentional in giving time to others. It’s so easy to be “busy” but are we “busy about the right things”? I’ve written names of people to connect with and now need to be intentional in doing that. What about you? Are there people in your life who could benefit from the gift of intentional time spent catching up?
As I reflect on this year and walk alongside of people, it seems like there’s increasing divisiveness, uncertainty, fear, anxiety, depression, and stress. For encouragement, fear and anxiety can’t succeed in the midst of gratitude. Gratitude produces Joy! When we focus on gratitude and choose joy, there’s no room for worry, discontentment, or fear for the focus is no longer on ourselves.
If we chose to live with gratitude, how would it change us and our perspectives? Would we be less prone to complain and get discouraged when things go wrong? Would we be less likely to argue and more likely to extend kindness and grace to others? How would it impact the divisiveness we see in our country, our communities, our families?
So how do we choose to live with gratitude? A start can be to intentionally seek at least one thing each day for which to be thankful. At first it can be difficult and perhaps awkward. For some, it’s hard to even think of one thing. Perhaps a starting point can be gratitude for one’s home, bed, food, vehicle, job, friend or family member, etc.? Over time of practicing this, one’s perspective can change to even finding gratitude as things go wrong. I’m not good about this all the time, but it sure helps my mindset and increases my perspective when I choose gratitude even when things go wrong. Perhaps others can relate to this?
Ultimately, my hope is that we can experience more joy each day in the everyday moments as we intentionally seek to live with gratitude. And, that this joy can be extended via kindness, grace, compassion to others around us.
Reminder of several programs this week: Organic Conference Dec. 2 near Mead, Dr. Kohl at 1 p.m. at the Bruning Opera House on Dec. 3, and the Landlord/Tenant cash rent workshop at 10:30 a.m. at the Seward Co. Extension Office on Dec. 4.
2025 Yields Part 2
York County Corn Grower Banquet will be held Thursday, November 20th at Chances ‘R in York. Social at 6:30 p.m. with meal at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved at the Extension Office at (402) 362-5508 or contacting a York Co. Corn Grower Director.
In last week’s column, we walked through the growing season providing perspectives of what may have caused yield loss. I mentioned that while people are looking for solutions, increased nitrogen rates, more fungicide applications, and tillage are not the answers for higher yields. In conversations, those were the “solutions” people were trying to provide. Several asked me for any patterns from observations and conversations I’ve had. That’s what I will attempt to share in this column. There’s a number of field situations where only 150 lb N and one fungicide application resulted in above-average yields. In those situations, correlations included balanced overall nutrition where nitrogen was reduced, TIMELY fungicide application, and not over-irrigating.
I realize quite a bit of tillage has occurred. Gently, please remember the wind events we receive each spring. I encourage you if you have tilled, to consider covering the ground with cereal rye. March 2025 was the windiest March on record in Nebraska and I remember several accidents due to poor visibility. I realize this is a hard topic. Tillage will not control southern rust as that fungus doesn’t overwinter in residue. It will help with the tar spot fungus, but there are other management considerations including hybrid and not over-applying nitrogen and irrigation.
Reduced nitrogen: It was interesting walking our on-farm research studies where we had nitrogen ramps this past year and observe the correlation between less southern rust in the lower nitrogen rates and more southern rust in the higher nitrogen rates. Dr. Bob Gunzenhauser observed the same thing this past year and posted a photo on X showing two hybrids and the variation of southern rust compared to nitrogen rates.
Timely fungicide application: There were people with better yields (250+) who applied only one fungicide while others applied two. I didn’t hear too much from those who applied three to five applications. Some applied two fungicide timings of two different generic products and did just as well as the higher priced products with one application. The key was not applying the fungicide too early so there was some later season residual. Some applied a second fungicide around late dough to early dent stage this year and that seemed to work for hybrids that were more prone to southern rust. The keys were knowing the hybrid, not having excess nitrogen, and proper irrigation management.
Irrigation Management was perhaps the thing that was most frustrating for growers. We started the season off so dry after several years of being dry. So, it’s easy to be in the mindset of irrigating. Anytime non-irrigated fields yield the same or more than irrigated fields, it’s often due to over-irrigation. Irrigation events often occurred before rain events this year. This year’s relative humidity was also very high, thus, the crop didn’t use as much water. Because of that, we were keeping some soils too wet by irrigating which, both Dr. Tom Hoegemeyer and I believe, added to the crown rot and stalk rot issues we experienced. Dr. Hoegemeyer also wrote a recent article reflecting on “60 Harvests – Changes I Have Seen — Nebraska Soil Health Coalition“.
Final thoughts, there’s not one answer but a combination of factors that impacted fields this year. There’s also a lot of farmers hurting with the combination of low yields, low commodity prices and high input costs. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were lost per field in several situations. For those involved and/or interacting with the farming community, please reach out to each other and check in with each other. Please know you’re not alone and there’s always help and hope if you’re struggling. 988 is Nebraska’s suicide and crisis lifeline. There’s also a number of people who have announced retirements or will be announcing them. It’s important to be supportive. Conversations I’ve had with growers this year include: retiring to avoid taking on additional debt, wanting to scale back to reduce debt and stress, and retiring due to health reasons-both physically and anxiety/stress. It’s important for those retiring to retire “to something” by staying active in some way.
2025 Yields
This harvest was a difficult one, plagued with breakdowns, slow-going in storm-damaged corn, and disappointing yields. While there were a few reports of decent yields, the overwhelming majority of farmers and seed dealers in the area have been disappointed. Honestly, I was worn down and needed a mental break before I could address this in writing. I asked Dr. Roger Elmore, Dr. Tom Hoegemeyer, Dr. Bob Nielsen, and Dr. Eric Hunt if my reasoning was on track and for their additional thoughts and am grateful to them.
Major Point: People are looking for solutions, but increased nitrogen rates, more fungicide applications, and tillage are not the answers. What went right? Balanced nutrient management with reduced nitrogen inputs, TIMELY fungicide application, and proper irrigation management are future keys.
We began the season with dry planting conditions. I was arguing we were potentially drier than Spring 2023 with the observations about rye and pastures not growing. Crops went into the ground quickly without cold snaps. Several farmers were completely done planting in April. Irrigation began early to get moisture into seedbeds and to activate herbicide. Plant stands and emergence were uneven, evidenced again at harvest with varying ear sizes and plants with ears that didn’t pollinate. I think that impacted us more than we realized. The Memorial Day weekend rains saved us.
A relief was that rain kept falling in spite of it varying greatly in timing and amounts. Some experienced higher non-irrigated yields in corn and soybeans compared to irrigated fields. That nearly always is due to too much irrigation and timing of those irrigations, often occurring right before a significant rain event.
We had a few wind/hailstorms in July and the fairly widespread Aug. 8-10 wind/hail event, which York Co. escaped. Much of the year we received lower than average solar radiation (which includes photosynthetically active radiation or PAR). There were several periods of cloudy/hazy/smoky days. Research utilizing shade cloth revealed 25-30% potential yield loss with shading occurring from R2-R6 stages in corn. As Dr. Roger Elmore pointed out, the hybrid maize model was predicting average yields at the end of the growing season in spite of the low PAR, which would suggest biotic (living) factors being the greater issue. Photosynthetic stress on plants can also include southern rust impacts on leaf tissue and stalk rots. I’m wondering if irrigation prior to heavy rain events exacerbated the fusarium crown rot/gibberella stalk rot we saw? Dr. Tom Hoegemeyer wondered the same thing. “Photosynthetic stress and stalk rot go together like beans and weenies. Each one can cause the other. We MAY have had some early infection with Fusarium/gib due to saturated soils/etc. As you know, high N rates, lower K available and a dozen other stress sources make it worse.”
High night-time temperatures burn sugars that should go into ears to fill kernels. I mentioned my concern about this throughout July and August. By mid to late August, ears began pre-maturely drooping, cutting off the food supply to kernels. Looking at kernels in numerous fields at harvest time, they appeared shriveled/pinched at the base. Dr.’s Tom Hoegemeyer, Roger Elmore, and Bob Nielsen all attribute that to stress occurring before black layer in which the kernels prematurely died before completing the normal black layer process. I feel the greatest contributors of this were the high night-time temperatures and the stresses of southern rust and stalk rots. Dr. Eric Hunt also mentioned the high humidity, particularly in York County due to the sheer amount of irrigation which may have led to increased disease pressure including stalk rots.
Dr. Bob Nielsen: “Your description of the kernels makes me think that kernel development was prematurely halted. Although, honestly, severe reductions in photosynthetic leaf tissue prior to BL (black layer) due to southern rust etc. or early onset of severe stalk rots would also prematurely shut down kernel development. And, of course,…(large) ears with excellent kernel set create a huge demand for photosynthate during grain fill, which exacerbates the negative effects of severe loss of photosynthetic leaf tissue and predisposes the stalk and root tissue to rapid fungal rot infection and development.”
Dr. Tom Hoegemeyer summed it up: “I think we had lots of issues that caused PS (photosynthetic) stress, some of which impacted our irrigated acres worse than our dryland acres. (My home dryland area had lots of 200 to 220 bpa corn and 65 to 70 bpa soybeans. After a dry spring, we had more rain than we’ve had for years). Irrigated corn in the area often wasn’t as good as the dryland, even with more N applied. The more stressors (hot nights, light limitations, too high N for the amt of light/PS–exacerbating disease issues, multiple leaf diseases combined with high humidity, continuous corn, etc.) the bigger the yield loss. And, in some instances, I think adding water to these fields hurt more than it helped.”
Sources:
York: -21 MJ/m2
Grand Island: -9.7 MJ/m2
Lincoln: -25.2 MJ/m2
Falls City: -28.3 MJ/m2
Norfolk: -10.7 MJ/m2
Wayne: +19.7 MJ/m2
West Point: -1.3 MJ/m2″
Life is Not Guaranteed
Last Tuesday night was our first Farm Succession Program “Leaving a Lasting Legacy”. That night was an incredibly impactful night for me. We heard from two women who became widows in their 30’s with young children. They were incredibly courageous in sharing their stories of loss, grief, difficulty navigating bills and decisions, etc. I left that night with so much on my mind. My husband and I have talked much since then. I’ve also shared with my siblings as we talked through how would our next of kin be able to navigate our accounts, passwords, etc. if something would happen to us.
The ladies shared several things that I felt would be beneficial to all for me to share here.
- At minimum, have a will in place that shares your desires for who receives your belongings, guardians for your children, etc.
- All vehicles and property should be listed as “joint tenancy with right of survivorship”.
- Both widows nearly dealt with probate. One widow lost both her father and husband in a plane crash and both were part of the family dairy business. The trust had been started but never completed by the father. They were able to avoid probate on the things the father had in the part of the estate plan written down but are still paying hefty fees on the parts that weren’t written in order to keep the family business. She emphasized the importance of finishing estate plans!!! Then review them every 2-3 years.
- In the case of the other widow, the husband had an off-farm job as a life insurance agent in addition to the farm. She shared the blessing of how well he provided for her by having such a large life insurance policy that helped her pay off debt and keep/manage the farm while raising her children at home.
- All accounts need to have both people listed. For example, the family phone plan was listed under the husband. She wasn’t able to access it with the phone company since she wasn’t listed and had to start over with new phones and accounts.
- The husband’s work email was used for several accounts at home (electric, heat, etc.). When he passed, his email was discontinued and the wife had no access to the accounts, nor was she listed on them. They both shared the difficulty paying bills and keeping their homes because they weren’t listed on accounts, on top of the immense grief they experienced.
- Ensure all account usernames and passwords are in a place where your next of kin can access them. There are tools for this including Nokboxes from Dave Ramsey.
- Medical: Many lawyers have templates for this, but if not, one document tool (paper or digital) you can use is from 5 Wishes. One wife whose husband was non-responsive had no idea if he would want experimental drugs used, if he wanted to be on dialysis for the rest of his life, and then if he wanted to remain on life support. She shared how having to make those decisions for him still haunts her, especially discontinuing life support.
There’s so much more I could share. Life is so short. Tomorrow, our next moments, nothing is guaranteed. My hope is that this column creates conversations amongst loved ones. Do you and your spouse/next of kin have a will in place? Do you have access to each others’ bank accounts, have a place where usernames/passwords are stored, have the names necessary on all accounts?
If you’re interested in attending, we will still take people each Tuesday night for the next three weeks. Please contact the Extension Office closest to you if you’re interested. More info: https://wia.unl.edu/succession25/.
The Gift of Time
I’ve been reflecting a lot recently, particularly about time. Time can seem like an eternity when one is in a difficult situation, waiting for an answer or waiting for healing for oneself or a loved one. Time can also seem to fly by when we are enjoying people and activities, when there’s a lot going on in life, or when we want to hold on to a moment or season in life.
I was also thinking about time being a gift. While often not thought of this way, not receiving answers or resolution of difficulties can be a gift in shaping character and perspective. I’ve seen this in my life, and although none of us desires difficulties, they can result in gratitude. On the flip side, receiving an answer, resolution, or additional time in the midst of an illness can also be a gift of time.
Time can also be a tangible gift given. Whether through times of money being tight or available, my memories of time spent with family and people are some of the most precious gifts I have. Years ago I drew my grandma’s name for Christmas. That year, I wrote her a short note sharing I wanted to give her the gift of time…time to connect about life and hear her stories growing up. We spent a few hours each Sunday afternoon talking and laughing on the phone. That gift lasted for several years until she passed away. The result was precious connection and memories that I will always cherish and a book that I was able to share with family at her funeral.
As we think about gifts this Christmas season, perhaps a gift to consider is that of time? It’s easy for all of us to feel strapped for time. I think many would desire to spend more time helping others or spend more intentional time for family, but don’t know how to fit it in.
In reviewing research on the gift of time, I found some interesting results. A 2013 article in Psychological Science shared that those who intentionally take time to help or spend with others had increased feelings of “time affluence” which alleviated feelings of “time famine”. The “time” in the different studies ranged from 5-30 min. per day of writing notes, volunteering, or intentionally visiting with someone. The other group studied who didn’t use their time to help others but instead were given “various tasks” or “free time” found they wasted time and felt “time famine”. So, they titled their journal article “Giving Time Gives You Time”.
Other journal articles found that when people gave time to others, daily stress appeared to be more buffered in their lives. They also had reduced effects of social isolation. Another article found those who gave of their time had lower blood pressure, arterial pressure, and lower depression. The individuals giving of their time also reported greater self-esteem.
So as we head into this Christmas season, perhaps a gift for each of us to consider giving is being more intentional with time-whether that’s with those closest to us or with others? Perhaps whatever that gift is becomes a goal to keep for the coming year? Wishing you and your family Christmas blessings as we celebrate the Ultimate gift we’ve been given in Jesus being born to die that we might live!
Winter Program Brochures have been mailed by several area counties or will be mailed after Christmas. Please RSVP to the county office where you’d like to attend the meeting being hosted.
This is my favorite Christmas song and this rendition is so beautifully done! Merry Christmas!
Gratitude
Grateful. The past few weeks I’ve just been thinking about gratitude for where we’re at this growing season, for the fact that we’ve all received some rain at some point this spring, and for the rain in the past 24 hours. It just totally changed the outlook for this growing season from the conversations I was having prior to the rains! And, grateful for some rest on rainy days like this!
While some have been frustrated at planting delays, we’re not late. I’m grateful for how quickly acres get planted and for how many finished up this past weekend, including our family. Smaller rains have helped with soil crusting, activating herbicide, and helping with grass establishment for the number of people who are trying to improve lawns and pastures. Grateful we’re not running pivots at the same time as planting like we were last year. Grateful for red and black cows on green grass! 😊 I find the color contrast so pretty. That site didn’t exist at this time last year. It’s just such a blessing to have green grass in pastures and lawns this year! The alfalfa, rye, and wheat have been tremendous too!
20 years ago, I began my Extension career in Clay and Webster Counties. The primary question I kept receiving was on common mullein control in pastures, which began my on-farm research journey. I still remember the tornado damage my first weekend on the job and I think of all the tornadoes, hailstorms, windstorms, flooding and drought we have dealt with since. While devastating, I’m grateful for all I’ve learned with each storm to hopefully help others the next time one occurs. There’s so much community in neighbors helping neighbors. There’s such resiliency and optimism to keep going and reliance upon one’s faith!
Reflecting, I think of how blessed I am to have served people in a lot of counties since then, for all the wonderful people I’ve met and learned from. My only regret has been being spread so thin to serve people the way I like. Grateful for this blog and media that help me share more broadly when I couldn’t always be physically present. Grateful for my mentors. Grateful for those who gave a young girl out of college a chance to prove herself looking at fields and working with them. Grateful for all the youth I’ve had an opportunity to work with through the years as well! The people of Clay County and that area will always hold a special place in my heart for how you accepted me and helped me in learning how to juggle the ag, 4-H program, and horticulture questions I received and for the grace given in the mistakes I made along the way.
I’ve always been fairly driven. Yet, I’m grateful for those, some still with us and others not, who instilled in me early on the importance of people in addition to my work tasks by making me stop to talk after a field visit or if I was in the area. While I still make mistakes, it changed my outlook early on how I approach work; everything we do ultimately impacts people and each interaction is important. I’m so blessed by all the friends who stop in when they see my truck, call/text/email me just to check in, and for the number of people who send me field updates. Grateful and blessed by all the farmers who’ve allowed me to walk alongside of them in their journeys through the years via on-farm research, who share ideas of things to try, and the farmers and ag industry professionals who invite me to look at problems when they occur-sometimes even fields without problems. Ultimately, I just feel so blessed that God has allowed me the opportunity to serve people and for the freedom I have to do so in my Extension career!
Heuermann Lecture: There may be interest for some to attend the next Heuermann Lecture on May 29 around Innovation in Ag Tech: Cultivating Tomorrow’s Farms, 3:00 p.m., Nebraska Innovation Campus, https://heuermannlectures.unl.edu/ . In the past, they’ve also been livestreamed and recorded. I can’t tell if it will be livestreamed, but check the website that day if you can’t attend in person, or to view the recording later.
A few pics through the years (avoiding all the crop damage ones). Good memories (well other than the farmers may not have thought so about the chemigation test!) but there were farmers from several counties represented in that pic. Also, for clarity, I’m not planning on going anywhere. I’m just grateful to have served in Extension for 20 years thus far.
Rest, Rejuvenate, Rejoice
Christmas blessings to all! Wishing safety with the weather, quality time spent with family and friends, and special memories. With all the preparations, may we find ways to slow down and enjoy the time with others so we don’t miss it. Life is so short, not guaranteed, and time is precious!
Was reflecting on how blessed I’ve been with all the relationships in my life. One colleague shared a Christmas greeting wishing me “time to rest, rejuvenate, and rejoice in the season”. I really liked those three “R’s” so for this column, digging into them more with the help of a dictionary and some reflection.
Rest – “Cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength”. I think of this past year with the work put in by many. The difficulty and challenges, the joy when some rain came – how many of us actually stood out in it a little while 😊, the incredible amount of learning, the character built in the midst of adversity. Even since harvest, I’ve heard from many how it’s been such a strange few months of going hard with the weather so nice. Many in various occupations have mentioned it doesn’t seem like the Christmas season with how nice the weather has been. There’s also much that people do to prepare for the end of the year and the Christmas season.
We all need rest; it may look different for each of us, but we all need times to relax and recover physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. So my hope is that we all may be intentional about finding rest in some way this Christmas through New Year season, and throughout the coming year!
Rejuvenate – “Given new energy or vigor, revitalized”. How many of us don’t want this?! And perhaps this comes as a result of resting? I think sometimes challenges and the stress at hand can provide new energy to tackle the challenge, which is helpful. But I’m mostly thinking of finding passion and interest to tackle a new goal or project. As we think about the new year, what is something you would like to try or do differently?
As I think of the farming community I serve, too many told me this past year that “farming is no longer fun”. I mentioned this in a talk this December – almost the entire room of people raised their hands in agreement. That’s just sad to me. The stress I see and feel from those I serve has been exponential in the past 5-7 years. If you resonate with that statement, may I ask us all to think about our “Why” before next growing season? Why do we do this?-and perhaps write it and place it somewhere to remind you during challenges next year. Why is farming no longer fun and what would make it fun for you again? Some examples from conversations with me included the need to try something different on a few acres, giving up some ground, spending more time with family, diversifying an enterprise, focusing on increasing the quality on one piece of ground, changing a crop enterprise, learning a new skill. Would encourage us all to set a goal around something that would rejuvenate us.
Rejoice – “Feel or show great joy or delight”. What we rejoice in or about can differ for us all. As I looked around my house, I realize many of my Christmas decorations have a “Joy” theme. As we think of Christmas, with my faith, I’m rejoicing in God’s rescue plan of humbling himself to be born as a baby who would live a perfect life, die, and rise again conquering sin and death so that in believing and receiving, we could have hope of eternal life with him! You may believe in something else that gives you joy and may have a different belief surrounding this time of year. Another way to rejoice is to think about gratitude. As we reflect this Christmas season of all we’ve been given and blessed with, of the people in our lives, of the people who have passed on who impacted our lives, may we all find reasons to rejoice!
So as my friend wished this for me, here’s wishing us all, “time to rest, rejuvenate, and rejoice in the season”!
It’s also Extension reporting season. If you would be so kind to share any comments on how the Extension work I did impacted you this past year, I’d appreciate it. Thanks!
Participants can vote at Slido.com with #4EXT
Thoughts for 2023 Season
A week ago I was out east visiting family. Sunshiny daffodils were blooming in medians and we saw cherry blossoms and magnolias blooming at the National Arboretum in D.C. As I look in my backyard today, green leaves of tulips and daffodils are poking through. Rye, wheat, and lawns are greening up-the green this time of year is so stark in contrast to the brown. I’m so grateful to live in a place with seasons to see creation on display throughout the year!
March flew by and April is here. Another growing season will soon be upon us. I wasn’t mentally ready for another growing season. I’ve thought a lot about this and have heard this from others as well.
I knew I needed time in March to get my mind back into facing another one. I think of so many of you and there’s not been much break. Every spare moment of a ‘decent’ weather day this winter has been spent repairing/replacing pivots, buildings, bins, homes, or dealing with livestock.
I encourage us all to take some time to reflect on the blessings we’ve been given to work in agriculture, to be stewards of this land, and provide food for our families and the world. Reflecting on my purpose, “my why” for my Extension career and how blessed I am to get to serve many in this role, has reinvigorated my excitement for a new year. Perhaps reflect on “your why”? We have, we are, and will continue to face challenges as we aren’t in control of so much, especially the weather. But producers and those in ag careers are some of the most optimistic and resilient people I know. My hope is that we can all find some renewed joy and excitement for a new growing season!
Cover Crop Termination: For those who did plant small grains, the question of termination timing always comes up. The following are some thoughts to consider for planning. The temperature and year will determine how quickly a small grain will die.
- Termination timing considerations: https://jenreesources.com/2021/03/28/jenrees-3-28-21/.
- Photo gallery: https://jenreesources.com/2022/04/03/cover-crop-termination-including-planting-green/
- Can use only 20-22 oz/ac of Roundup Powermax (even when headed). Vetch + small grain: vetch will survive the Roundup application allowing it to produce more nitrogen. Can kill with post-app containing a Group 27 herbicide (like Callisto) later.
- Clethodim vs. glyphosate: clethodim provides a slower kill allowing the rye/wheat to stay greener longer for weed/erosion control. Benefit for farmers who need to terminate prior to corn or seed corn planting. Clethodim rates: most use 10-12 oz/ac. For corn, clethodim needs to be applied to the small grain to kill it at least 7 days prior to planting corn. For soybeans, can apply anytime after planting/emergence.
- When the small grain is greater than 12”, increase gallonage to 15-20 gal/ac for better coverage.
- When planting corn green into a small grain on subsurface drip irrigation (SDI), need the ability for higher capacity well to get moisture up to the seedbed. Potential yield loss otherwise.
- When planting soybeans green, the goal is often to off-set the PRE herbicide cost with the cover crop seed and application cost. A residual is necessary at some point either at time of termination or up to a week after termination when planting soybean green. Plan on 0.5-0.75″ irrigation/rainfall to get residual to the ground, especially on small grains taller than 12”.
- For those rolling small grains, roll twice if needed. And, plan on using a variety instead of VNS in future to help with evenness of maturity.
My key points for planting green include: plan on some form of nitrogen at planting if planting corn green into a small grain, have the pivot ready to go if need moisture for the seedbed, don’t use a PRE in soybean if can’t get seed vee closed, plan to water residual application as soon as label allows to get residual to ground, and if non-irrigated, consider seedbed moisture for termination timing. Have a Plan A, B, C.
2022 Reflections, 2023 Renewed Hope
I’ve been reflecting a lot since harvest. There were many hard things, particularly in agriculture, that happened in 2022. Quick recap list were: Dec. 15, 2021 tornadoes and wind storm that began pivot destruction, dry winter and spring, high input costs and difficulty finding chemicals, wildfires, endless wind and dust storms, dry and cold planting season, numerous hailstorms, replanting crops, pivots throughout state needing replaced, drought, more wildfires, more wind, avian influenza, deep cold, and blizzards out west. There were also those who lost loved ones or had family/friends get sick or hurt. It seemed to be the year that kept on giving.
There were many blessings though too! Good crop prices and the benefit of insurance to help with homes, buildings, vehicles, crops were large blessings. Family and friends pulled together to cleanup destruction, patch homes, and get crops in the ground. For those who replanted crops, we witnessed a miracle in the fact that an entire growing season was re-started in mid to late June in two weeks! Seriously, think about that. With all the moving parts in ag, how chem was in short supply, the large area impacted, it truly was a miracle. I was so proud of how ag industry pulled together to make that happen! This year was taxing on mental health, and I heard and watched people reach out to each other to talk through the difficulties of the year. I’m also so grateful for our livestock and ethanol industries in Nebraska as markets for our crops. The feedlots were an extra blessing with the wet corn that was prematurely froze. There also was much learned, in spite of the fact it may not be what most of us set out to learn for the year!
Many of us have wanted to get to the end of 2022 and it’s now here. We each dealt with the year in different ways. Did we finish well? Each year will have its challenges and opportunities. How we choose to work through them can help us with perspective and build resilience for future hard times.
In reflecting on the way home from church one day, the word ‘character’ came to mind. 2022 was truly a character-building year!
Those thoughts were reinforced as I walked into the grocery store to find two farmers discussing the year with one mentioning the exact same thing. I googled the definition of character. It said, “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.” I’ve thought about the good things built in my character from the difficulties of 2022 and also areas I need to improve for the future. Reflecting on 2022 has helped me with personal and professional goal setting for 2023.
As you reflect:
- How did your character build in 2022?
- What areas could use improvement?
- What did you learn in 2022 about yourself and the situations you went through?
- How can you use what was learned in 2022 to plan for 2023?
Wishing you and your family blessings in 2023; a new year with new opportunities and renewed hope!
End of Year Reporting: The end of the year also means report time for those of us in Extension. Each year we need to justify the things we do in trying to help people. This year, I’d particularly appreciate any comments if you felt my blog posts or farm visits helped in regards to the hail damage. I know we get bombarded with surveys! So, if you’d consider taking time for this 5 question survey I’d greatly appreciate it. For those of you who’ve responded in the past, re-reading your comments encourages me throughout the year. Thanks! https://app.sli.do/event/tPSXB8muP9hDm8M42qkRER
JenResources 