U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. This program, as required by the 2018 Farm Bill, creates a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the United States. “At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we […]
According to NASS, Illinois producers harvested 36 percent of the corn crop and 52 percent of the soybean crop by October 20. That’s still behind the average pace of harvest, but harvest continues in many areas this week, and as it progresses, fields in many areas are becoming available for fall field work to begin. […]
Freezing temperatures are on their way for most of Nebraska. These freezing temperatures will play a key role in determining what can be grazed or hayed safely for your livestock. With many of Nebraska’s acres in cover crop mixtures due to prevented planting, taking a quick check before grazing or using them is key. These mixes may […]
Abundant rain the last couple of months in much of eastern Nebraska has promoted the relatively early emergence of winter annual weeds, particularly marestail (Figure 1). Marestail, also known as horseweed in the eastern Corn Belt and as Canada fleabane in eastern Canada, is a winter or summer annual weed in Nebraska. Historically, marestail was […]
The 2018 Farm Bill produced a rare setback for natural resources conservation policy. The current suite of conservation programs are all built out of the landmark Food Security Act of 1985, which created the Conservation Reserve Program and conservation compliance; policy that is rooted in the response to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and […]
Heavy rainfall or snow has prevented wheat from being harvested in parts of North Dakota this fall, leaving producers wondering what to do with their crops. Vomitoxin is one of the concerning issues. Vomitoxin, also known as deoxynivalenol (DON), is a mycotoxin that occurs predominantly in grains such as wheat, barley, oats, rye and corn. […]
Harvest is well underway and once the soybeans are off the fields this provides some time to sample soil for the SCN populations. The SCN Coalition theme for the next few years is What’s your number? Do you know which fields have SCN and what the current population is sitting at? If its high, then there […]
With fall harvest underway across Nebraska, rains have left fields soft and ruts are being cut into the soil in some areas. These ruts leave the soil surface rough and have severe compaction below them. This compaction can impede the crop’s roots next season and increase runoff because of reduced infiltration. Grain carts and the […]
2019 was certainly a year we are all looking forward to wrapping up, and many are starting to do just that throughout the state. Our lab started harvesting both beans and #corn about a week ago and on my trip today I saw several combines cutting corn and beans. As I mentioned last year, tar spot […]
If you have never applied herbicide in fall to burn down winter annuals, or done it only infrequently, this might be the year to make an investment in fall herbicides. Fall treatments are an integral component of marestail management programs. They also prevent problems with dense mats of winter annuals in the spring, which can […]