Crop Production

The production of crops is the heart of Nebraska's economy. Water is essential to all plant growth. Thus Nebraska's economy relies on a plentiful supply of water to produce crops – in both rainfed and irrigated environments. Several factors involved with producing crops interact with either water supply or water quality issues – or both.

The Soil Health Exchange: Terrace Effects on Soil Fertility and Yield

The Soil Health Exchange team shares insights and potential solutions for a southwest Nebraska farmer who has observed a significant yield decline in a field after terraces were built in 2010.

Crop Progress: Soil Moisture, Pasture Conditions Decline

Soil moisture supplies and pasture conditions in Nebraska were on a downward trend as of Nov. 12. Corn and sorghum harvest remain on track, with less than 10% of each crop to be finished.

Irrigation Varies Amid One of Wetter Seasons in TAPS History

This article provides a brief summary of the irrigation decisions made in the TAPS sorghum, popcorn, SDI corn and sprinkler corn competitions this year.

UNL, Nebraska Company Collaborate on New Value for Pivot Irrigation

A new pivot valve, created by KZValve of Greenwood, Nebraska, has self-power generating capabilities that could potentially be used in partial variable rate irrigation.

End of Season Flooding Effects on Soybeans, Harvest

October has had a wet start in most of the state, with some areas receiving several inches of rain. Considering potential impact on yield and ability to harvest these fields will be critical in the next few weeks.

Soil sampling for better fertilization decisions

Recommendations for collecting soil samples to ensure the quality results needed for good management decisions about fertilizer, manure and lime application rates.

Harvest and Irrigation Outlook for Fall in Western Nebraska

Harvest updates for sugarbeets, dry edible beans and corn in western Nebraska, and insights on the availability of water in reservoirs for the 2024 growing season.

Impact of R Stage-timed Single Irrigation Events on Soybean Seed Number and Seed Mass

Results of a three-year study investigating the impact of mitigating water stress during soybean reproductive stages on the two components that comprise yield — seed number and seed mass.

Roots, Another Important Aspect of Cover Crops

Researchers involved in a UNL-USDA NRCS study on cover crops highlight the importance of species selection, as each type of cover crop has a unique root system that contributes differently to soil health.

Nebraska 4Rs Nutrient Stewardship Field Day Featured Crop Nutrient Management Research

Throughout the field day, educators shared insights and conducted live demos on optimizing management of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, including via sensor-based fertigation.

Nebraska Soil Health School: A Success Story of Collaboration and Learning

During its inaugural year, the Nebraska Soil Health School educated more than 200 producers and ag industry stakeholders on the latest research and practices for healthy soils to increase crop productivity.

Trading manure and crop residues, considerations for a fair trade

With harvest around the corner, you might be considering trading manure for cornstalks or vice versa. In many ways, it’s easier to pay cash for either product, but there are advantages to trading. This article will focus on what kinds of things to consider to be sure any deal made is a fair trade.

Cover Crops a Focus at Annual WREEC Water and Crops Field Day

Producers at the field day swapped ideas and observations about cover crop production, and heard from extension educators and agronomists about best practices for their agricultural regions.

Soil and Water Conservation Society Honors 2023 Award Winners

Four leaders in Nebraska resource conservation and the Nebraska Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) were honored by the International SWCS this year.

Irrigation Season to End in September

A review of this year's irrigation season in the Panhandle and crop water use expectations for Aug. 28-Sept. 3.

Manure Spreader Calibration is Not Just for Research Plots

Just like a spreader used for commercial fertilizer, a manure spreader must also be calibrated. If you don’t know the rate you’re applying, how can you possibly calculate the nutrients you’ve applied? And if you’re not factoring in the nutrients in the manure, you’re wasting money. And who wants to do that?

Optimize Those Last Few Irrigations

Scheduling the last few irrigations of the season deserves extra attention because the goal is not only to focus on keeping the crop wet enough to produce optimal yields, but also on using up stored soil water. Leaving the field a little drier at the end of the season will save irrigation costs, decrease leaching losses, improve soil conditions for harvest traffic, and save water for future years. Growers also don't want to miss out on capturing off-season precipitation.

Irrigation Scheduling Application to Conserve Water Resources

Agriculture today is not what it was a decade ago. We are at an interesting pace of agricultural technological innovation and development in sensors, controls, robotics and technology, including irrigation scheduling applications. The declining quantity and quality of freshwater resources in many parts of the world, including the United States, imposes significant challenges for producers, managers, advisors and decision-makers to produce more yield with less water. It is necessary to promote sound management strategies to improve irrigation efficiency and conserve water resources. By using irrigation scheduling applications, producers can make more informed decisions that can lead to higher yields with fewer irrigation inputs. Nebraska is one of the top states that produces maize under different irrigation methods, in third place after Iowa and Illinois. The total irrigated area in Nebraska reaches about 9.3 million acres. More than 85% of the total irrigation areas use the center pivot irrigation system, while about 15% is covered by furrow irrigation and less than 1% is managed by subsurface drip irrigation systems (see fig. 1). A new irrigation scheduling application is being developed to improve irrigation scheduling that can have a substantial impact in using limited water supplies more effectively and increase yield per unit applied of irrigation water and sustain agricultural productivity. At the request of Irriga Global, Lutry, Switzerland, a field test was initiated for the 2022 growing season on maize fields to evaluate the irrigation scheduling application in one of the Irrigation Today.

More Roots = Increased Soil Health

During the Soil Health School, presenters will cover many aspects of the science related to soil health, including foundational soil health principles, the evaluation of soil health management practices, and get to experience many hands-on soil health investigations and demonstrations. As a bit of a sneak preview, this article highlights what Leslie Johnson, Nebraska Extension Statewide Manure Educator will be sharing that day. Of course, she’ll be talking about how manure can impact soil health, but the role she’s the most excited about because it will be the most hands-on, is getting to show different ways of determining root growth.

The UNL Animal Manure Management Team Produces Monthly Graphics on Manure Application

Every month the UNL Animal Manure Management Team produces graphics on the benefits of manure application and manure best practices and we want your help sharing them. The graphics are for educational purposes and for use by the public. Oftentimes the graphics we create include a link to an article featured on the UNL manure website, manure.unl.edu.