Lincoln, Neb. —
Amid the high temperatures in western Nebraska, wheat harvest has been going on.
“We’re right in the middle of wheat harvest,” said Cody Creech, Nebraska Extension dryland cropping specialist at the UNL High Plains Ag Lab in Sidney. “The rest of the state has wrapped up, and we’ll be completing harvest this week.”
Typical for most growers, weather has been a big factor in wheat yields. The yield reports in the Panhandle vary depending on whether the fields were hit by hail or not. “The hail was sporadic this year, where it didn’t wipe out a crop but impacted the yield from field to field,” Creech said.
He added another timely rain would have been good to push the wheat before harvest, but overall wheat yields have been strong across the state.
Temperatures will remain high throughout this week, and there will be better chances of precipitation.
“Crops are doing well with the warm temperatures,” said Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension Water and Cropping Systems Educator. “The replanted beans are responding quickly.”
Irrigation water deliveries continue across the North Platte Valley, with Pathfinder and Goshen / Gering-Fort Laramie irrigation districts diverting approximately 1,630 cfs and 1,425, respectively.
Assisting growers with monitoring their crop's water profile is the - Estimated crop water use for July 15-21. The table information includes the estimated crop water use for Nebraska Panhandle crops for the previous week and the upcoming week. The table is based on data gathered and calculations made by Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator, and Dr. Xin Qiao, Extension Irrigation and Water Management Specialist, both based at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff.
Crop water use will vary across the Panhandle due to variations in ET, crop growth stage, temperature, soil type, wind, and precipitation events. Crop water use will assist growers with irrigation scheduling and efficient water application and use.
Register and receive a weekly TEXT message with the table information at https://phrec-irrigation.com/#/weekly_crop_water_usage
The AgriTools App can provide easy access to location-specific climate and weather information to the agricultural industry in Nebraska https://agritools.unl.edu/
