Coming Events
- September 3, 11:00 a.m., Hamilton County Corn Growers Association tour located on the Mike Oswald farm located 4 miles west of Aurora on Highway 34; or east of the IAMS plant just south of Highway 34
- September 9-11, Husker Harvest Day, Grand Island
- September 18, 6:30 p.m., A Celebration of Our American Heroes, Seward Ag Pavilion, Seward
- September 22, 7:30 p.m., Extension Board Meeting, Extension Office, York
Hamilton Co. Corn Grower Plot Tour
We had a smaller than normal turn out last Thursday for the York County Corn Grower Plot Tour with it looking like rain, but had some good discussion on several topics including an update from most of the ten seed company representatives with entries in the plot. Ron and Ray shared a summary of their cropping practices along with the dates of the four hail events they’ve had this past summer along with a chart of their irrigation/rainfall events. In addition, Aaron Nygren, UNL Extension Educator, and I shared information about several irrigation apps that we’ve developed for irrigators along with a summary of the last four years ETgage or atmometer weekly changes. ETgages along with your crop stages of grow can do a very accurate job of estimating corn and soybeans crop water use. We’ve really had some extremes the past four years.
We also had a little discussion about the Waters of the United States proposed rule that is intended to clarifying protection under the Clean Water Act for streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources. Information about it can be found at: http://www2.epa.gov/uswaters. The document describing the changes is 88 pages long.
Whether you live in town or on the farm, we do need to continue to work at conservation and keeping the nutrients out of our streams and runoff. Many farm groups have expressed concern regarding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed expansion of their agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increasing farming practices control relating to compliance with USDA NRCS programs.
Some are concerned that if a practice fails to comply with the standards of a discharge to a water of the U.S., a Clean Water Act permit may be required. In question is the redefinition of “tributaries†seemingly includes any ephemeral stream or ditch.
So if you want to learn more about the “Waters of the United States Proposed Ruleâ€, check out the links above and plan to also attend the Hamilton County Corn Grower Plot Tour tomorrow Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 11:00 a.m. on the Mike Oswald plot located 4 miles west of Aurora on Highway 34; or east of the IAMS plant just south of Highway 34.
Featured speaker – Vanessa Silke – Aqua Lawyers who will be presenting information about the “EPA proposed new definition for waters of the U.S.â€
Cropping Update
I’m pretty sure that we’re going to see a lot of irrigation pipe pulled the next couple of weeks. I’ve recorded over 8.5†of rain last week and hopefully a considerable amount has soaked in and not all runoff.
Also, as soon as it dries off some, it would also be a good time to pull the Watermark Sensors as well as ETgages and get them put away until next season. As seed corn, soybeans, and corn harvest begins, it’s time to be thinking about potentially planting some cover crops to protect the soil or as a feed to supplement forages and increase livestock production in our area. Grazing the stalks and cover crops can help reduce the amount of residue in the field as well as protecting the soil. In Bruce Anderson’s latest radio program, he shared some thoughts about cover crops that follow:
“After silage harvest or combining corn or early beans, ground that lies bare has two things working against it. One is exposure to wind and water erosion. And two, it isn’t growing anything. Cover crops might help you overcome both problems.
But what should you plant? That depends primarily on what you want to achieve with your cover crop. For example, hairy vetch and winter peas are good cover crops if you want to improve your soil by planting a legume that will produce nitrogen for next year’s crop. Or maybe use a deep-rooted radish to breakup some hardpans.
Are you still hoping for some feed this fall? Then oats, spring barley, annual ryegrass, and turnips might be better choices because these plants have the greatest forage yield potential in the fall. Oats and barley also will die over winter so they won’t interfere with next year’s crop. But, dead residue from oats and barley is not very durable, so it provides less effective soil protection and for a shorter duration.
For better soil protection, winter rye is the best choice among the cereals. And cereal rye can provide abundant grazable growth early next spring to get cows off of hay sooner. Wheat and triticale also can be good cover crops. Of course, wheat then can be harvested later for grain while triticale makes very good late spring forage.
What is becoming especially popular is planting a mixture of several types of plants to reap some of the benefits of each one. Cover crops can preserve or even improve your soil, and can be useful forages as well. Consider them following your early harvests.â€
If you’re think about seeding some cover crops, how about doing an on-farm research study so you can compare the area with and without cover crops? I’d be glad to help design a study, just give me a call 402-362-5508 or email me at gary.zoubek@unl.edu.
As you are getting ready for soybean harvest, I’d like to remind growers that it’s important to be timely when harvesting soybeans. Several years Andy Christiansen and I collected 115 loads of soybean data that were harvest that year and delivered to the elevators. Of those sampled, about 5% were less than 8.9% moisture; nearly 14% were between 9-9.9%; 28% were between 10-10.9%; 27% were between 11-11.9%; 29% were between 12-12.9%; 9% were 13-13.9% while about 3% were 14-14.9% moisture.
So what does harvesting and selling beans at 8 or 9% mean to your bottom line? If you sell your beans at 8% moisture you’re losing about 5.43%; 4.4% at 9% moisture; 3.3% at 10%; 2.25% at 11%; and 1.14% at 12%. So for a field that’s yielding 75 bushels/acre at 13%, harvesting them at 9% results in selling 3.3 less bushels/acre or at $10/bushel about $33.00.
So what can you do? We know that it is impossible to harvest all your beans at exactly 13%, but that should be your goal. Some soybean harvest tips to consider include:
1. When harvesting tough or green stems, make combine adjustments and operate at slower speeds.
2. Begin harvesting at 14% moisture. What appears to be wet from the road may be dry enough to harvest. Try harvesting when some of the leaves are still dry on the plant; the beans may be drier than you think. Soybeans are fully mature when 95% of the pods are at their mature tan color.
3. Harvest under optimum conditions. Moisture content can increase by several points with an overnight dew or it can decrease by several points during a day with low humidity and windy conditions. Avoid harvesting when beans are driest, such as on hot afternoons, to maintain moisture and reduce shattering losses.
4. Avoid harvest losses from shattering. Four to five beans on the ground per square foot can add up to one bushel per acre loss. If you are putting beans in a bin equipped for drying grain, start harvesting at 16% moisture and aerate down to 13%.
5. Harvest at a slow pace and make combine adjustments to match conditions several times a day as conditions change.
Finally, I know it’s too late for this season, but we mentioned it last year also, select your varieties and schedule your planting to spread out plant maturity and harvest. Good luck and hopefully you’ll harvest an excellent crop of 13% moisture soybeans. Safe harvesting!
A Celebration of Our American Heroes
I received some information from Kerry Hoffschneider about “A Celebration of Our American Heroes†planned for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 18, at the Seward Ag Pavilion. The celebration is to honor everyone who has served our nation and to connect with veterans who are already involved in agriculture and those who dream to do so. The doors open at 6:00 p.m., with dinner by Chances R at 6:30 p.m. and music by the Jason Earl Band at 7:30 p.m.
Proceeds from this event will stay in Nebraska to assist veterans through the Farmer Veteran Coalition to be used for:
1) Provide micro-grants that help existing farmers with start-up costs, equipment costs or educational opportunities
2) Promote the Homegrown by Heroes label that is establishing veteran products in a multitude of markets state-wide
3) Provide equipment adaptation for veterans with disabilities
4) Acquire equipment for veterans who are needing tools to jump start their Ag Business
5) Help veterans gain access to business planning service such as legal, food safety or other resources
Tickets are $30.00 and can be purchased from Kerry at 402-363-8963.
