Extension Update by Gary Zoubeck [June 27, 2013]

Coming Events

• June 27, Southeast Nebraska Wheat Tour, 7:00 p.m., west of Wilber (Go seven miles west of Wilber on Highway 41, then go one mile south on County Road 1500, turn right (or west) on County Road Q, proceed 0.2 mile.)
• July 2, Weed Management Field Day, 8:30 a.m., SCAL, Clay Center,  http://scal.unl.edu/Field_Days.shtml.  Call 402-762-4403 to register. 

Weed Management Field Day Planned
It’s hard to believe that July 1 is just a week away!  I want to remind area producers about the Weed Management Field Day planned for Tuesday, July 2, at the UNL South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.  Tour topics will include soybean and corn weed control as well as resistance management.  For more details go to: http://scal.unl.edu/Field_Days.shtml.  Lunch will be included, but please RSVP to 402-762-4403 so that adequate meals will be available.

Cropping Update
As I mentioned last week, area corn and soybeans are really starting to take off with the warm weather.  Hopefully you were able to receive some of the rain that fell in the York area over the weekend and Monday morning.  It was a pleasant surprise to receive about 1.47” on Saturday/Sunday and as I prepare this column on Monday morning, we receive another .15”.

The ETgages I monitor in York, east of town as well as south of town dropped about 2.00” for the week and the grass covered ETgage dropped 1.45”.  So for the week, turf used about 1.45” or about what we received for the week in rain here in York, while corn in the V8 stage used about 1.00” for the week.  So up till now, pasture and turf has been using more water than corn and soybeans, but that won’t be for long.

What a difference a year can make.  The earliest planted corn and soybeans near my ETgage sites this year vary from V7-V8 for the corn and V3-V4 for the soybeans.  Last year the earliest planted corn was at V14 and soybeans where at R2.  For this past week, corn at V8 has a crop coefficient is .51 for a crop water use of 1.02” (2.0  x .51 =  1.02) while last year at this time the crop coefficient for the V14 corn would have been 1.01 for a crop water use of 2.02” (2.0 x 1.01 = 2.02”).

So as our crops continue to grow, the crop coefficients will continue to increase, V10 – .69, V12 – .88; V14 – 1.01 and for much of the season the crop coefficient will be 1.1.  So, you’ll multiply your ETgage change by the appropriate crop coefficient.

I’ve been installing Watermark sensors in several corn and soybean fields this past week have been finding good moisture down to three feet in most of our fields.  I have seen differences from field to field depending upon tillage systems, the stage of growth and rainfall received.  In some of the earliest planted fields, the top is getting dry, but we still have good moisture at the second and third foot depths. I did not read any sensors Monday morning since most of the fields received good rains over the weekend, but they’ve been reading in the 30’s or less.  The top sensor in some of the earliest planted crops in areas not receiving much rain are  reading in the 50’s; if they’re reading 60, we’ve used about .47” of the moisture from that depth.

Late last week several pivots were running, and I’m not sure why.  The corn looks stressed because of the high winds, high temperatures and the roots not being down in moisture, but under those conditions, it the crop could be standing in water and still look stressed.  We know that rainfed corn always roots down and in most of our irrigated fields there’s plenty of moisture available at the second and third foot depths based on our Watermark sensor readings.

This past week, a couple of producers called in and asked about the rooting depth of corn at various stages.  Corn with 8 leaves with collars exposed should have roots at 18” while corn with 12 leaves should have roots to 2’ or so, so we would recommend allowing your crops to continue to root down to uptake deeper moisture and nitrogen.

So, if you’re unsure and really think you need to irrigate, how about conducting and of farm study?  Irrigate three quarters of your field and leave one or two pie wedges and see if you can see a difference at harvest time?  With today’s yield monitors, you should be able to see if that extra inch applied early in the season makes a difference in your final yield.  I’d be glad to help you if you want to give it a try.

Finally, if you have sensors installed in your field and have any questions about the readings, give me a call at 402-362-5508 at 402-326-8185 or email me at gary.zoubek@unl.edu.  I’d be glad to visit with you about them and what the numbers mean.

York County Fair Just Around the Corner
It’s hard to believe, but the York County Fair is a little more than one month away.  We’re always looking for volunteers that would like to assist the many Superintendents in the youth and open classes as well as the many activities and events during the week.  If you’re interested, give me a call at 402-362-5508 or email me at gary.zoubek@unl.edu.

One of the things that I really enjoy at the fair is having a burger and a homemade piece of pie at the 4-H Food Stand!  The last couple of years we’ve run a little short on pies, so we need your help.  Are you a 4-H Alumni family? Do you like baking pies? Or do you simply want to help out the 4-H program?  If you’ve answered yes, would you like to donate a pie or two to the 4-H Food Stand?  If so, you can simply bring them to the 4-H Building Thursday – Saturday that week or contact our office at 402-362-5508 for more details.  The 4-H program and all the visitors to the 4-H Food Stand will THANK YOU.

I’d also like to thank all the businesses that help sponsor the Special Premiums to our York County 4-H & FFA exhibitors each year.  I know that a letter from the York Area Chamber of Commerce Agri-Business Committee is going out for this week, and I hope you’ll continue to support this effort.  Thanks again for your past support, and I hope you’ll be able to support this effort again this year!