With most of the corn crop in Nebraska planted in late April and early May, and most of the soybeans planted in early May, Nebraska is on track for an ideal corn and soybean crop this fall — despite a wet start to the season this spring. Here's a look at how things are shaping up across the state:

East-central

EARLIER PLANTING PAYS: Corn has been tasseling for about three weeks in southeast Nebraska. "Around the Fourth of July I saw cornfields tasseling, and we've been going strong since then, but a lot of that corn was planted early," says Tyler Williams, Extension cropping systems educator in Lancaster County.

In Washington and Dodge counties in east-central Nebraska, corn progress varies, although most of it is in the R1 silking to R2 blister stage. "For corn, it's anywhere from late-planted in river bottoms at V11, but most of the crop is at V18 to R2," says Nathan Mueller, Extension cropping systems educator in Dodge and Washington counties. "The early April-planted corn is already blistered. Corn planted in the first week of May is just starting to pollinate."

Soybeans in the region range from V2 at around 5 inches tall to plants setting pods at R3 — although most soybean acres are at R2, full bloom. "Overall, going into the end of July we're sitting pretty good on soybeans," Mueller says. "If we have a good August, we could have some pretty good soybean yields."

Like much of eastern Nebraska, this part of the state hasn't dealt with many issues relating to soil moisture — with up to 6 inches of rain in portions of Dodge and Washington counties on the night of July 18, and 1 to 2 inches of rain July 11. The average in these counties for July was about 3 to 5 inches before that 6-inch rain, which was in an isolated band. However, those who caught that rain received nearly 10 inches in July.

The main challenge this year, Mueller says, is the wind and hail — resulting in green snap in corn in east-central Nebraska. Mueller notes one wind event on July 5 saw about 213 square miles of damage in Dodge County. "Because we had such good growing conditions, when the 60- to 80-mph winds came through, it caused a lot of green snap," Mueller says. You can view Mueller's recent mid-July crop tour at croptechcafe.org. 

Southeast

In southeast Nebraska, most of the soybean acres are flowering or starting to flower, while corn has been tasseling for three weeks. "Around the Fourth of July I saw cornfields tasseling, and we've been going strong since then, but a lot of that corn was planted early. For those that planted early this year, it paid off for them in a pretty good way," says Tyler Williams, Extension cropping systems educator in Lancaster County. "Soybean is where there were problems planting early, and that's why we're seeing soybean progress scattered all over the place. They're catching up, but soybeans have been a little slow getting to canopy. So there has been concern about loss of yield potential and weeds coming in."

This part of the state caught enough timely rains to limit drought stress, but less than the amount of rain that's fallen on Dodge and Washington counties to the north — with about 2 to 5 inches of rainfall in July. While a few growers saw some nitrogen deficiency after heavy rains earlier this spring, it hasn't been very widespread. In addition, some cornfields experienced heat stress in mid-June, but this didn't result in any drought stress. "In the end or middle of June, we saw the leaves starting to curl a little bit," Williams says. "We knew it wasn't stressed much because there was soil moisture down there — it just had to go get it."

At the moment, the biggest challenge is weed pressure in soybeans. "I think a lot of people are evaluating their weed control programs, especially in soybeans," Williams says. "I think a lot of people need to think about a fall application as part of their herbicide program."

South-central

In south-central Nebraska, most of the corn acres are in the R1 to R2 stages of pollination, while soybean acres are more variable — from late flowering at R2 to late podding at R4.

Moving westward and southward, rainfall has been sporadic since May, and some areas are experiencing water stress, notes Jenny Rees, Extension educator in York and Seward counties. "There are pockets that still haven't received much rain since May," Rees says. "It's amazing how well the crop has been hanging on in spite of that. For the most part, if growers have irrigation, it's not a problem. Otherwise non-irrigated acres have been showing some stress in situations where we haven't gotten much rain."

In mid-June, corn in several parts of the state was showing signs of heat stress. Fortunately, at that point, there was adequate moisture available in the soil profile. However, after last week's "heat dome" in Nebraska, drought stress is becoming more of a concern. "At this point in the season, those acres that have had very little rainfall since May are depleting those top 2 feet rapidly," Rees says. "Corn roots have moved down, and that's what's helping. I don't know how much longer that's going to keep carrying us. We might keep seeing stress show up."

With the amount of growth this year combined with high winds, another concern for corn growers in south-central Nebraska has been green snap. "There has been some green snap that's affected the corn crop. And the percent varies quite a bit, depending on the area of the field, the hybrid-seed corn inbred and the growth stage," says Rees. "It was mostly due to rapid growth coupled with the high winds we had a few weeks ago."

West-central

With the late snow in April in west central Nebraska, most growers planted corn in the first and second week of May. For the most part, corn is now tasseling — from VT to R1. Meanwhile, most soybeans were planted in mid-May, and are now flowering, from R1 to R2.

"We have been getting pretty decent rain. Our dryland corn actually looks outstanding this year," says Rodrigo Werle, Extension cropping systems specialist at the West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte. "Some of the dryland corn is putting on secondary tillers and multiple ears. Because of the larger space between plants and the extra water, the dryland corn is in really good shape."

Like the rest of the state, west-central Nebraska received an abnormal amount of rainfall this spring, and in some places, into June and July. "Some growers already ran their pivots, but there hasn't been a big need for water yet, which is pretty typical for western Nebraska," says Werle. "Now, for the week of July 18, we're looking at 100 degrees plus, and are going to lose some moisture to higher evaporation and transpiration rates."

In the coming weeks, Werle advises growers to go out and scout their soybean fields for weeds before canopy closure. "At this point, if you have weeds, the damage due to competition is already taking place — but you can't let those plants produce seeds, because then next year you're going to have an even bigger problem. Make sure you suppress those weeds as much as you can to reduce seed production for next year."