What’s Up This Wheat? March 15

Hello All,

First 2019 installment of What’s up this Wheat? Weekly highlights and resources for producing winter wheat in Eastern Nebraska.

Weather – Sad state of affairs

• Major flooding in most areas in eastern Nebraska as measured by USGS and Nebraska Department of Natural Resources stream gage. Worst flooding in recorded history measured at some stream gages at Uehling, Waterloo, Plattsmouth, etc.
• Record snow fall during the month of February – View historical data by station the High Plains Regional Climate Center
• Over 3 inches of precipitation in the past few days – View at NOAA Quantitative Precipitation Estimates
• Check out real-time weather readings at the 26 Nebraska Mesonet Weather Stations in eastern Nebraska

Highlight(s) in the Media

• Nebraska Farmer Magazine: 2019 wheat harvest prices should improve
• Progressive Farmer: Prospective 2019-20 Canadian Wheat Stocks
• The National Wheat Foundation announces the opening of the 2019 National Wheat Yield Contest

Economics

• USDA-ERS Wheat Outlook, March 12 – Despite Improving Price Competitiveness, U.S. Exports Are Trimmed
• Nebraska winter wheat seeded area for 2019 is estimated at 930,000 acres, down from last year’s seeded area of 1.10 million acres, according to the USDA-NASS
• New cropland data layer available at CropScape for 2018. Wheat acre changes from 2017 to 2018 by cropping reporting district
  • Northeast: 2018 at 2,983 acres, 2017 at 3,192 acres
  • East Central: 2018 at 6,010 acres, 2017 at 5,402 acres
  • Southeast: 2018 at 38,135 acres, 2017 at 37,276 acres

Agronomics

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension CropWatch Articles
  • Save the Dates: Wheat and Pulse Crop Field Days
  • Effect of Rye or Oat Cover Crop on Corn Growth and Development in a Rain-Fed, Wheat-Corn Rotation
  • Wheat Disease Update: Bacterial Streak and Black Chaff
• K-State Agronomy eUpdates
  • Kansas Wheat Update – March 8
  • Topdressing wheat with nitrogen: Timing, application methods, sources, and rates
  • New extension publication on chloride fertility of winter wheat: Chloride in Kansas: Plant, Soil, and Fertilizer Considerations
• South Dakota State University Articles
  • Effects of Snow on Wheat
• Crop Tech Cafe – Winter Wheat Cafe for Eastern Nebraska
  • New 1-page how-to on evaluating winter wheat stands later this spring

Tips

• Save the Date – Wheat and Pulse Crop Field Day on June 18, 2019 at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead
• Tell a friend to sign up for this weekly email, What’s up this Wheat? Details on how to sign up at Join the Eastern Nebraska Winter Wheat Grower Email Group

Please feel free to email me and other wheat farmers in eastern Nebraska that are a part of this email group with comments or questions!

You can view previous weekly emails at https://croptechcafe.org.

This email is part of the Winter Wheat Works Initiative, a local University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension effort to encourage and support growers in Eastern Nebraska to move from a strict corn-soybean rotation to a successful flex-rotation where some winter wheat acres are considered each year and strategically integrated into their cropping system.