Panhandle Extension District News
Answers about crop varieties, fertilizer, irrigation, pest control, harvest, and many other issues are a click or two away on the University of Nebraska’s expanded and reorganized CropWatch web site. Click below to go directly to sugarbeets, dry edible beans, wheat, or potatoes. Learn about the reorganized CropWatch web site.
Harvest, hail, and winter wheat disease Wheat producers whose crop was damaged or destroyed by hail this year need to take special precautions soon to prevent viruses such as wheat streak mosaic and high plains virus from damaging the 2011 winter wheat crop, according to University of Nebraska-Lincoln specialists. Wheat producers in western Nebraska received ample precipitation this spring, leading to some of the largest yields reported in quite some time. However, for some, this precipitation also fell in the form of destructive hail. Regardless of how severe the hail damage was, it is critical to plan now to control volunteer wheat before sowing next year’s wheat crop, says Dr. Jeff Bradshaw, extension entomology specialist at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center.
Continuing to develop improved varieties of proso millet and looking for new uses for the crop, such as making ethanol, are among the top priorities of the alternative crops breeding specialist at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center. But it’s also important to keep looking for other alternative crops that will fit in farmers’ rotations in the northern High Plains, according to Dr. Dipak Santra, who has been at the Panhandle Center about 1 ½ years. Consider wheat in irrigated crop rotation More farmers in the irrigated North Platte Valley ought to consider fitting winter wheat into their crop rotation, says Drew Lyon, Dryland Cropping Systems Specialist at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center. The vast majority of winter wheat acres in the Panhandle and elsewhere in Nebraska are grown under dryland, also known as rain-fed, conditions. Lyon listed several reasons that winter wheat fits well in an irrigated crop rotation. You can’t have your cover crop and eat it, too Cover crops are getting a good deal of attention in the media and at various educational events. Dryland crop producers in the Nebraska Panhandle should be skeptical about the feasibility of growing cover crops in this semiarid and highly variable climate. With little or no direct economic return from cover crops, the water they use is difficult to justify from an economic perspective. In certain situations, some forage crops may be able to produce sufficient income to justify their water use and the typically negative effect on the subsequent crop. Read the full article by By Drew Lyon, Extension Dryland Cropping Systems Specialist, and Paul Burgener, Ag Economics research Analyst. Extension Highlights
Are You Interested in Becoming a Farmers Market Grower? The reasons for growing your own food on your acreage are numerous; however, it is just as important to grow food for your community. There are multiple reasons to become a local producer. Check out the reasons listed by the Nebraska Local Foods Network See what college students think about local foods. Check out RealNebraska.unl.edu- Weigh the benefits and strongly consider becoming a local producer. The growing local foods movement needs more local producers. If you are interested in starting a local foods business, search for more information on the Nebraska Local Foods Network website or go to the UNL Extension website on Locally Grown Food.
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