Nebraska CropWatch

In this podcast I discuss the prospects for a mild week ahead, chances for rain and/or snow for parts of the state late next week, and the chance for early February to cold, possibly very cold for parts or all of the state. Also discuss why parts of southwestern Nebraska haven't seen any degradation on the U.S. Drought Monitor even though meaningful precipitation hasn't fallen since before Thanksgiving.

In this episode, I review 2024 temperatures and precipitation across the state and the signal we are seeing from climate change in those stats. I talk about corn yields and a report issued earlier this week by Corteva's Mark Jeschke. Followed up by a summary of the week's weather, including some snow in the western Panhandle later and cold for all of us for the next several days. Finish up with thoughts on possibly getting into a more active pattern toward the end of the month with increased chances for snow.

Brief discussion of 2024 being the warmest on record, recent cold and snowfall (or lack thereof in some places), upcoming cold, and the possibility of a more active pattern opening up later this month into February. I discuss the possibility of drought improvement in the Western Corn Belt this spring and drought getting worse in western Nebraska. Finally I go into the possibility of a hot, dry summer across the region.

In this episode Dr. Tom Hoegemeyer, former CEO Hoegemeyer Seed and professor of practice at UNL, joined today to talk about the history of the Nebraska Soil Health Coalition, the long-term ecological and financial benefits of regenerative agriculture, how much water can be stored in healthy soils, the need for a stronger producer-to-producer network, and the benefits of programs like TAPS that allow farmers to experiment without incurring financial losses.

Discussion of #ice and #rain potential in eastern NE tomorrow evening/night. Mild to start to the week before more cold air moves in mid-week. No #drought relief in sight for western sections of NE.

Update on #precipitation and soil moisture, drought improvements, and the possibility of a White Christmas. Then I discussed the probability of a colder than average January-February in the north central U.S., wetter than average spring in the eastern Corn Belt. Finally I discussed the historical precedent of #drought in the summer after a warm, dry fall and why next growing season could be a challenge.

#dry and roller coaster temperatures expected across the state in the next week. #Drought and #soilmoisture update.

In this episode of the Weather Ready Farms series, Quentin Connealy joins to talk about changes they are making toward sustainability, including no-till and cover crop adoption, his embrace of technology and process he uses for adopting new technology, and the financial challenges young farmers face getting into farming. We also got a little bit of volleyball chat in.