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.