Upcoming Events:
Dec. 3: UBBNRD Project Grow Workshop, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Holthus Convention Center York, RSVP: 402-362-6601Dec. 3: Farm Bill Mtg, 9 a.m.-Noon, ENREC near Mead
Dec. 3: York County Corn Grower Annual Meeting, 6:30 social, 7 p.m. Dinner, Chances R, York
Dec. 4: Farm Bill Mtg, 9 a.m.-Noon, Ag Park in Columbus
Dec. 4-5: Integrated Crop Management Conf., Iowa State
Dec. 5: Farm Bill Mtg, 1-4 p.m., College Park in Grand Island
Dec. 5: Farm Bill Mtg, 1:30-4:30 p.m., Opera House, Bruning
Dec. 6: Farm Bill Mtg, 9 a.m.-Noon, Fairgrounds Cornerstone Building York
Dec. 9: F/R College Dr. David Kohl “Agriculture Today: It is what it is…What Should We Do About It“, 1-4 p.m., Bruning Opera House, Bruning, RSVP: (402) 759-3712
Dec. 11: Women Managing Agricultural Land, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Nebraska Innovation Campus, Lincoln
Dec. 12-13: Know Your Options, Know Your Numbers, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Fairgrounds, Ord
Dec. 16: Farm Bill Mtg, 9 a.m.-Noon, Extension Office Lincoln
Dec. 16: CSI for Youth: Ag Tour, 5 p.m., jrees2@unl.edu
Dec. 17: Farm Bill Mtg, 9 a.m.-Noon, Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg. Beatrice
Dec. 17: Farm Bill Mtg, 1-4 p.m., Fairgrounds in Kearney
Dec. 17: Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Transportation meeting, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Extension Office in Columbus
Dec. 17: Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Transportation meeting, 6:00-8:00 p.m., 4-H Bldg. Fairgrounds in York
Dec. 18: Farm Bill Mtg, 9 a.m.-Noon, Fairgrounds in Geneva
Dec. 19: Nebraska Soybean Day and Machinery Expo, Wahoo
This time of year transitions to winter programming for me. The past few weeks I’ve mostly talked about cover crop results we’ve received from our on-farm research studies. I’m pretty passionate about on-farm research! On-farm research allows us to study topics we often wouldn’t receive funding for, with minimal monetary investment while conducting them on growers’ farms. It wouldn’t be possible without our grower cooperators and I’m so grateful for them!
We have an on-farm research database at http://resultsfinder.unl.edu/ where you can click on a county or enter a keyword to search for various studies. It’s kind of picky on the wording, but it’s still a nice tool. I used this to compare cash crops planted into either cereal rye or cover crop mix for 1 year or for 3 years. Results can also be viewed via tables on my blog at: jenreesources.com.
One Year Studies: From 2008-2018, there were 7 studies in which corn or soybean was planted into cereal rye. They all showed either no yield difference or yield loss when the cash crop was planted into the cereal rye regardless of terminating pre- or post-planting. In 3 studies conducted in Clay, Franklin, and Phelps counties in 2014, either non-irrigated corn or wheat was planted into a cover crop mix. They all showed yield loss and moisture was anticipated to be a limiting factor, but no moisture sensors were used in the studies.
Three Year Studies: In three Saunders county locations where they planted cereal rye after harvest on the same strips for three successive years, there was either no yield difference or a yield increase in year three when the cash crop was planted into the cereal rye. We also have a long term study in Nuckolls county and will share more on that in an upcoming column.
We encourage growers to conduct studies more than one year where feasible. It’s especially important when looking at studies that have longer term implications to soil to maintain studies in the same location over time. Maybe some of you have tried a cover crop once but didn’t see positive yield results after year one; perhaps yield results would be different over time? The on-farm research studies summarized here don’t go into enough detail to specify why yields were the same or improved in the three studies in year three. During different meetings, some also asked about nitrogen tie-up in the cover contributing to yield loss. There are other studies showing addition of nitrogen at planting can reduce yield loss impacts due to nitrogen tie-up. Where we had information about nitrogen applied at planting, I added this to the tables on my blog. Ultimately, there wasn’t consistency in rates applied nor improved yield in all cases with these studies.
Farm Bill Meeting York Dec. 6: A reminder of the Farm Bill Meeting to be held at the Cornerstone Event Center at the Fairgrounds in York from 9 a.m.-Noon on Dec. 6. Please RSVP at: go.unl.edu/farmbill to select this or any other location. This helps us prepare and helps save time at the door during registration. If you prefer not to RSVP via computer, you can call your local Extension or FSA office and we will get you registered.
Nebraska Soybean Day and Machinery Expo Dec. 19 will assist soybean producers in planning for next year’s growing season. The expo will be in the pavilion at the Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo. The Saunders County Soybean Growers Organization will be collecting non-perishable food and monetary donations for the Saunders County Food Bank backpack program. Complimentary noon lunch will be served. Registration is available the day of the expo at the door and there is no registration fee.
The event opens with coffee, doughnuts and the opportunity to view equipment and exhibitor booths at 8:30 a.m. Program begins at 9:10 a.m. Topics include: A New Marketing Tool for Soybean Growers-The Role of Harvest Moisture (Cory Walters, UNL); Decision Making in Uncertain Times (Richard Preston, Preston Farms Kentucky); Managing Soybean Diseases with Fungicides (Daren Mueller, ISU); Managing Waterhemp (Chris Proctor, UNL); Soybean Gall Midge (Justin McMechan, UNL); and Nebraska Soybean Checkoff Update and Association Information.
