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Pasture conditions plummet, dryland crops ‘slipping’ away from drought in Nebraska
Most crops in Nebraska benefited from cooler and wetter conditions last week.
But, South Central Nebraska farmer Andy Jobman, says time is running out before his dryland crops are lost for the year. “Our dryland crops keep slipping every day. There is some dryland that is done and probably won’t produce any grain.”
The USDA says corn condition is rated 54 percent good-to-excellent with 84 percent silking. Soybeans are 57 percent good-to-excellent with 85 percent blooming.
Jobman says if growers don’t get behind irrigating crops, then they’re in good shape. “We’ve avoided most of the damaging hail and windstorms, so that’s fantastic.”
He tells Brownfield severe drought has created additional pressure to have higher-than-average yields at harvest for other crops. “We really need our irrigated acres to preform well this year. With all of the extra irrigation that’s been going on, that obviously increases the cost on that line item for us on top all of the other costs that have been going up, too.”
More than 90 percent of the winter wheat has been harvest.
Sorghum condition is rated 36 percent good-to-excellent.
Pasture and range conditions are rated 13 percent good-to-excellent.
