Weekly highlights and resources for producing winter wheat in eastern Nebraska.
Pictures submitted May 14 to 24 by eastern Nebraska wheat growers and agronomist in Dodge, Gage, Jefferson, and Lancaster counties. Email me to have your wheat picture featured next week!
Weather
- NWS Quantitative Precipitation Estimates: 7-day totals range from 1 to 6 inches
- USDA Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin: May 19
- Nebraska Mesonet soil moisture monitoring: 4″ soil moisture recharged in areas, still some drop pockets in east central (select from dropdown, 4, 10, 20, and 40″ depths)
Highlights in the News
- Nebraska Wheat Board Crop Report: May 20 – Southeast – Wheat in the southeast corner…
- Kansas Wheat: Estimates wheat crop at 284.4 million bushels after virtual tour
- Science Mag: Breeding a fungal gene (for Fusarium Head Blight) into wheat
Economics
- Local Cash Bids on May 26, 2020 (July futures, $4.44)
- ADM Lincoln at $4.44
- Scoular Fremont at $4.41
- Rock Valley Mixed Hay and Bedding Sale Results, May 21; $90 to $120 per ton for large round straw bales
- U.S. Wheat Associates: Check out their Price Charting Tools
Agronomics
- Review of Wheat Growth Stages:
- From north to south in eastern Nebraska plus variation in planting dates, growth stage likely range from Feekes 8 to Feekes 10.5.1 (beginning of flowering).
- UNL CropWatch
- K-State Agronomy eUpdate, May 22:
Tips
- Complete the new Nebraska Winter Wheat Stripe and Leaf Rust Tracking Survey! You will answer several questions and upload a high quality photo as a part of this survey to track the distribution/movement of stripe and leaf rust in Nebraska by county.
- Digital tour and self-guided tours are being planned for UNL variety trials in eastern Nebraska. More information will be shared in the coming weeks.
- Send me pictures of your wheat to be highlighted in the next newsletter and keep sending me pictures this growing season! Email to
Please feel free to email me () and other wheat farmers in eastern Nebraska that are a part of this newsletter group with comments or questions!
You can view previous newsletters at croptechcafe.org/winterwheat/
This newsletter is part of the Winter Wheat Works Initiative, a local University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension effort by Nathan Mueller, Cropping Systems Educator, 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.
