Winter Wheat Works Initiative for East and South Central Nebraska

Winter Wheat Variety Trial near Fairbury in Jefferson County

Positioning your farm to manage manure, control tough weeds, and improve soil health are just some of the advantages to growing winter wheat in east and south central Nebraska.

Learn more about the Winter Wheat Works Initiative in a this recent Market Journal TV Episode!

What’s on this page?

Stripe and leaf rust tracking map
Top reasons to grow winter wheat in east and south central Nebraska
Important wheat resources for winter wheat for east and south central Nebraska
What’s Up This WHEAT (Week)? Signup and archive of past updates
Seeding rate calculator
Evaluating winter wheat stands publication
Recent presentations given at conferences
Soil health benefits of wheat
Step-by-step guide to growing winter wheat for new growers
Wheat Flag Leaf Nutrient Survey (2023)
Winter Wheat Variety Selection: Videos, tables, digital tours, variety profiles &more

Nebraska Wheat Stripe and Leaf Rust Tracking Map

We have launched a new effort to track the movement of stripe and leaf rust by county across Nebraska in 2020.
Starting in spring of 2024, please complete the quick survey as the growing season progresses at https://go.unl.edu/nebraska-wheat-rust-tracking-survey We do ask you to complete the survey even if you have not observed stripe or leaf rust too.
You will answer several questions and upload a high quality photo(s) as a part of this survey to track the distribution of stripe and leaf rust in Nebraska by county. Once you have completed the survey, you can see and download a PDF copy of what you submitted in your web browser and you will receive a confirmation email too. Thank you for your help in tracking the movement of stripe and leaf rust in Nebraska!
The last (June 16, 2023) weekly distribution map resulting from this survey is posted on the Disease Management of Wheat page on CropWatch.

Why grow winter wheat in east and south central Nebraska?

The winter wheat varieties planted in east and south central Nebraska today can yield 120 bu/ac to 140 bu/ac under intensive management and good weather. If you haven’t planted wheat in several years, consider today’s advanced genetics, many of which were developed through research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While the potential for top yields is important, it’s not yield alone that makes winter wheat profitable. Growers can add value through increased revenue, reduced costs, improved pest management, and spread out their workload. Adding or keeping wheat to your east and south central Nebraska cropping system can offer many other benefits:

Additional revenue in utilizing or selling the straw (1 to 2.5 tons per acre)
Added profit potential by growing more late summer and early fall forage crops
Longer planting window for cover crops
Selling grain at elevators with good basis in eastern Nebraska, often above Kansas City futures in Fremont (Scoular) and Lincoln (ADM)
Reducing herbicide cost and options for troublesome weeds like marestail, waterhemp, and Palmer amaranth, in short, disrupting weed cycles
Increases in yield and yield stability in corn and soybeans. Higher corn (10 bpa) and soybean (3 bpa) yields in 3-yr rotations in western Illinois
Increase in nitrogen used efficiency within the cropping system
Opportunity to minimize compaction during the summer by not driving on wetter soils during manure application in the fall and spring.
Opportunity to contract with feedlots/barns for manure application in the summer months
Reduce soil erosion and nutrient loss during high risk months of April, May, and June.
Improved soil health, soil structure, and infiltration due to wheat in rotation with corn and soybeans that may provide long-term profitability
Option to distribute workload on the farm differently
Possible higher cost share for conservation work during the months of July, August, and September.
Higher USDA CSP ranking score for planting winter wheat resulting in additional revenue
Demonstrated local success at obtaining high yields (100 bushel/ac)

Important wheat resources for winter wheat for east and south central Nebraska

Nathan Mueller sends out a weekly to monthly newsletter that highlights resources that are timely and relevant to growing winter wheat in east and south central Nebraska. The subject line in your email will be “What’s Up This Wheat?” and it covers five main areas:

Weather
Highlights in the News
Economics
Agronomics
Tips

You can signup for this newsletter by registering at: What’s up this Wheat?

This is part of the Winter Wheat Works Initiative, a local Nebraska Extension effort to encourage and support growers in east and south central 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.

2021-2022 Growing Season Newsletters

2020-2021 Growing Season Newsletters