Crop Management

Zoom training sessions will focus on pesticides for corn and soybean on March 8 and April 4, and for pastures on March 21.

TAPS is expanding its competition in 2023 with a new irrigated popcorn competition, a cover crops option for sprinkler corn, and a new location for the sorghum competition. The expansion also includes a new TAPS competition in Colorado.

“How much is this manure worth?” This is a common question from both livestock farmers who are supplying manure and crop farmers who are utilizing it. To answer this question, it is important to understand the difference between gross value and net value. The gross value of manure reflects the equivalent commercial fertilizer value of the nutrients contained in the manure. The net value considers the impacts of application method, transportation, and cropping system nutrient needs as well as intrinsic values that are much more difficult to put a number on. Therefore, this article will focus on determining the gross value of nutrients in manure.

Results from 2022 variety trial research conducted on numerous cover crop species at five UNL research stations across Nebraska.

The nearly 70 on-farm research studies conducted by Nebraska farmers in 2022 addressed fertility and soil management, cover crops, crop protection, equipment and non-traditional products, including biologicals.

For producers planning corn-on-corn this growing season, there may be a substantial opportunity to reduce nitrogen fertilizer applications, as drought and reduced yields likely left higher-than-normal residual N in many fields.

This UNL research study provides insights on the rotation of annual crops with alfalfa as a highly effective means of reducing nitrate-nitrogen contamination in groundwater.

Manure is like a slow-release fertilizer for our crops, sort of like the gift that keeps on giving. Kristen Sindelar with the Midwest Messenger shares what she learned by attending the "Saving Money by Using Manure on Crops" workshop.

Although Nebraska is best known for the commodities of cattle and corn, soybeans land in the third-place spot among the top commodity rankings in the state, according to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is adding soybean to the lineup of Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS) farm management competitions for 2024. The new soybean competition will be facilitated at UNL’s Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center (ENREEC) near Mead, Nebraska. The soybean competition will be supported by the Nebraska Soybean Board.

Fields with diverse soil types can pose distinct challenges in water management, especially under pivot irrigation. In this article, UNL experts review factors that contribute to waterlogged soil and several practices that can improve drainage issues.

This Nebraska Extension article highlights the impact of factors such as plant genetics and improved production practices to fertilizer consumption in Nebraska over numerous decades.

Inspired by an extension event survey comment, Dr. Bijesh Maharjan, associate professor and extension specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center, conceptualized the soil health cycle (SHC) as an iterative soil health management cycle to achieve agricultural sustainability.