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Agronomist says Mother Nature isn’t providing Southwest Nebraska farmers with many options
The first pockets of exceptional drought have developed in Nebraska and an agronomist says farmers could be waiting awhile for relief.
Jeff Wessels with Frenchman Valley Coop tells Brownfield most hope is lost for this year’s crop in the southwest area. “There’s no dryland corp. The corn, soybeans, anything and even millet – there’s thousands of acres of millet planted out here – and it’s not in very good condition.”
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shoed that extreme an exceptional drought either developed or expanded across Nebraska.
Wessels says extreme heat drastically affected pollination. “I’ve seen ears that are two-thirds failing. The top-third is not even attempting to fill. There’s a lot of unevenness out there under the pivots. Then, you’ll get into a pocked that’s maybe 5-10 miles that got some rain that look fabulous.”
He tells Brownfield says irrigated corn could lose at least 15 percent of top-end yield or more. “There will be areas where the corn is four feet tall and there’s areas where the corn is 18 inches tall and falling over.”
