"Sixty to 65% of the yield we lose in a season comes from stress," South Dakota native Jason Schley told the crowd at Commodity Classic. "Our industry is so focused on offense, but the biggest bang for your dollar is defense."
- Janelle Atyeo
When south central Nebraska farmer Jordan Uldrich makes decisions for planting season, he’s not thinking just about what will give him the best yields. He wants to do whatever he can to build soil health.
- Kristen Sindelar
Ever feel like you’re a pawn when trying to decrypt all the different agricultural programs and incentives? Sometimes it seems like just when you're about to make a move, the rules of the game change. Instead of landing on “payday,” you’re sent back to square one.
- Janelle Atyeo
Late last June, Zach Mader’s farm north of Grand Island soaked in a 7-inch rain overnight. It left parts of the city under water, but it didn’t stop Mader from his work.
- Kristen Sindelar
Having the capability to broadcast residual herbicides while simultaneously spot spraying non-residual herbicides can increase yields by as much as 18 bushels per acre.
$1M available for producers who demonstrate nitrogen efficiency
- Janelle Atyeo
Ahead of planting season at his south central Nebraska farm, Jordan Uldrich was tackling some maintenance and fencing projects.
- Janelle Atyeo
“It would be very challenging if this were year one.”
- Katelyn Winberg
Commodity Classic’s general session drew record attendance Feb. 26 in San Antonio, Texas, as agricultural leaders gathered to discuss policy priorities, technology and market opportunities.
- Kristen Sindelar
One company is eliminating guesswork around fungicide application through its biosensing capability that is rooted in the plant’s physiology.
The Nebraska Soil Health Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing soil health across the state, honored soil scientist Ray Ward, PhD, by naming a legacy award for him and making him the inaugural recipient.
- Sue Roesler
A wet year in 2025 led to increased white mold pressure in crops throughout the region, especially in soybeans and dry beans, and BASF is launching Zorina fungicide as a protective fungicide to control white mold.
- Kristen Sindelar
Three years ago, hundreds of gardeners across Nebraska rolled up their sleeves and dug deep into soil health. They volunteered to dedicate a 100-square-foot portion of their gardens to the Nebraska Urban Soil Health Initiative (NUSHI), a research trial offered in partnership through the Univ…
- Kristen Sindelar
Three years ago, hundreds of gardeners across Nebraska rolled up their sleeves and dug deep into soil health. They volunteered to dedicate a 100-square-foot portion of their gardens to the Nebraska Urban Soil Health Initiative (NUSHI), a research trial offered in partnership through the Univ…
- Kristen Sindelar
The very land that Dan Gillespie so carefully tended as a farmer in Madison County became the classroom setting for the FFA members to conduct on-farm research about soil health practices in depth.
The Nebraska Soil Health Coalition (NSHC) recognized University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Educator Jenny Brhel as the first-ever recipient of the Alan Moeller Pillar Award during the Green Cover Nexus Conference Feb. 11 in Omaha.
- Janelle Atyeo
Learn more about the Nebraska Soil Health Coalition and the work they're up to with this new monthly feature of the Midwest Messenger.
- Crystal Reed
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Conservation practices affect different farms in unique ways and make different demands of the farmer depending on their operation.
- Kristen Sindelar
Run into a farmer at the local coffee shop or parts counter, and conversation invariably turns to the weather. But in 2025, discussions gravitated to the surmounting problem in fields: fungal disease.
- Katelyn Winberg
Researchers across the Upper Midwest are keeping a close eye on soybean tentiform leafminer, an insect that’s recently been confirmed in soybean fields across several states – including Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and the Dakotas. So far it has not been detected in Wisconsin.
Nebraska Extension will offer commercial pesticide training for initial certification and recertification at the West Central Research, Extension and Education Center in North Platte.
- from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service
Researchers released a new spring wheat germplasm line with resistance to Fusarium head blight. This challenging fungal disease leads to significant annual economic losses in cereal crop production, estimated at $2.7 billion between 1998 and 2000, and poses health risks to consumers.
- Kristen Sindelar
A corn field is rare on the Tucker farm. Their mainly dryland acres are like a personal pantry of small grains and pulse crops: sorghum, millet, peas, barley, chickpeas, oats, rye, triticale, wheat, sunflowers and flax.
- Kristen Sindelar
If you’re sitting on a stockpile of subpar hay that is undervalued, rest assured you’re not alone.