2020 Soybean Management Field Days - Videos: Recent Episodes
None
The field days are moving online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the in-person field days will not be offered in 2020, research is active at the Soybean Management Field Days locations. Information and updates from the sites will be shared with growers through virtual field day presentations. The field days are sponsored by the Nebraska Soybean Board in partnership with Nebraska Extension in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and are funded through soybean checkoff dollars. The efforts of the checkoff are directed by the United Soybean Board promoting progress powered by U.S. farmers.
2020 Nebraska Soybean Management Field Days Update: Research is ongoing and information will be shared virtually
Interseeding Cover Crops in Soybean: Key Considerations for Success - Chris Proctor, Nebraska Weed Management Extension Educator. Learn about: Overcoming challenges to cover cropping in a corn/soybean system; Interseeding Options; and Key Considerations for Interseeding Success (Timing of Planting and Cover Crop Selection)
Thank you for tuning in and viewing the 2020 Nebraska Soybean Management Field Days. Please don't forget to take a look at the grower booklet on the website. And please consider completing the evaluation - it helps in planning future field days. Thank you!
Precision Ag Technology: What are the Economics? - Taro Mieno, UNL Department of Ag Economics Assistant Professor discusses on-farm trials to find the best site-specific seed rate.
An Overview of the New Ag Budget Calculator - Glennis McClure, Nebraska Extension Extension Farm and Ranch Management Analyst provides a brief look at the new UNL Ag Budget Calculator with an invitation to beta test the program
Scheduling Late Season Irrigation in Soybean - Steve Melvin, Nebraska Extension Educator, Cropping Systems discusses late season irrigation scheduling is very important in soybean because our goal should be to apply enough water to produce top yields while leaving the soil profile as dry as possible. The reason we want to leave the soil dry is to prevent soil compaction from harvest equipment and allow as much water storage room as we can to hold off-season precipitation.
SMFD Research on Soil Water Use with Cover Crops in Irrigated Soybeans - Aaron Nygren, Nebraska Extension Educator, Cropping Systems discusses the following: In research conducted in 2018-2019, SMFD plots had significant differences in soil water content between a rye cover crop and no cover crop at planting time. However, after planting, rainfall has exceeded crop water use for a few weeks while the plants were small and refilled the soil profile, resulting in little to no differences in soil water content between a rye cover crop and no cover crop. Most years on irrigated land in the eastern half of Nebraska, the water used by cover crops over the winter and into the spring on irrigated land will not reduce the stored soil water for the soybean crop.
Interseeding Annual Ryegrass and Wheat into Soybean - Chris Proctor, Nebraska Weed Management Extension Educator discusses the field demonstration evaluating soybean variety, herbicide timing, and soybean population on V3 interseeded annual ryegrass and wheat cover crops
Chris Proctor, Nebraska Weed Management Extension Educator looks at how to improve the understanding of the effects that soil management practices (conventional tillage, no-till, and no-till + cover crops) have on weed control, residual herbicide fate and crop productivity in a corn-soybean crop rotation.
Cover Crop Water Use and Planting Considerations in Irrigated Soybeans - Aaron Nygren, Nebraska Extension Educator, Cropping Systems discusses the following: Like any crop, cover crops require management to maximize their benefits. • When managing cover crops for water use, focus on termination timing depending on the weather conditions at planting; When using cover crops in a center pivot irrigated system, make sure that the center pivot is ready to apply water if needed; and Other than a few specific times, irrigation scheduling for soybeans with cover crops is similar to fields with no cover crops.
Soil Water Use Considerations with Cover Crops in Irrigated Soybeans - Aaron Nygren, Nebraska Extension Educator, Cropping Systems discusses the following: Wetter soil profiles typically seen in irrigated fields may present an opportunity for cover crop use to reduce deep percolation of water and nutrients. He also looks at water use by a cover crop in an irrigated soybean system in the eastern half of Nebraska is likely to be replenished by rainfall during May and early June in most years.
Chris Proctor, Nebraska Weed Management Extension Educator discusses the following: Carryover of residual herbicides can limit productivity of subsequent crops in a rotation. He also discusses persistence of residual herbicides is greatly influenced by soil properties such as texture, organic matter, water content, organic matter content and temperature regimes
Row Width - im Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Most data to date suggests that soybean yield is greater as the row width is narrowed, particularly in later planting dates, but not so much when soybeans are planted in early May. Surveys of NE soybean producers indicate that the predominate planters are 30-inch or 15-inch, with the former dominating in irrigated production systems. Planting soybeans on the farm quicker in the spring is more likely to enhance yield making a row-spacing choice.
Soy Varietal Maturity Group – Cover Crop - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Inserting a Winter Annual Cover Crop into a soybean-corn crop rotation involves two considerations, the first of which we have already discussed (delaying the soybean planting date to allow more CC dry matter), but one must also consider using an earlier varietal MG to permit better establishment of the CC after soybean harvest. Let’s consider some tools for making decision to use an earlier MG.
Seeding Depth and Rate - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Examination of seeding depth in NE indicates that most optimum depth is about 1.75 to 2.0 inches when averaged over a range of seeding rates. Surveys of NE soybean producers indicate a preference for seeding rates of a 135,000 seeds/acre, which is higher than the recommended rate of 120,000 seeds/acre. Three seeding rates are being examined at the four 2020 SMFD sites and this data will be reported after harvest.
Soy Planting Date – Varietal Maturity Group Choice - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Inserting a Winter Annual Cover Crop into a soybean-corn crop rotation involves two considerations, the first of which we have already discussed (delaying the soybean planting date to allow more CC dry matter), but one must also consider using an earlier varietal MG to permit better establishment of the CC after soybean harvest. Let’s consider some tools for making decision to use an earlier MG.
Soy Planting Date – Now vs. Then - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Nebraska soybean producers have (on their own) recognized the yield potential of planting soybeans earlier in the spring. Let’s examine the change in soybean planting progress each spring over the past 40 years, for which it is clear that producers have advanced the planting date by almost ½ day per year.
Soy Planting Date – Vegetative and Reproductive Duration - Cover Crops - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Preceding a soybean crop with a cover crop will necessitate delaying the soybean planting date from May 1 to May 15. Let’s examine the impact of this delay on soybean main stem node number accrual and the shorter duration of the soybean reproductive period.
Soy Planting Date – Vegetative Growth and Reproductive Duration - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Soybean vegetative growth and reproductive development follows a predictable pattern in which main stem nodes accrue at a rate of one new node every 3.7 days from V1 to R5, with seed number and size established from R1 to R7. Let’s take a look at how soybean planting date influences the start and duration of these two phases.
Soy Planting Date – Transpire Water- Cover Crop - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Much of the seasonal water supply needed by a soybean crop comes from water stored in the soil prior to soybean planting, in addition to rainfall occurring during the growing season. Inserting a cover crop prior to a soybean crop (including delaying soybean planting) results in water use by the CC, which in some dry springs could be problematic for planting the soybean crop. Let’s examine this possibility.
Sun Capture - Cover Crop - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: When a winter annual cover crop (CC) precedes the soybean cash crop, the CC can capture sunlight from about Apr 15 (when it greens up), but the CC must continue to capture sunlight from May 1 to at least May 15. Let’s examine how the soil health benefit of an April 15 - May 15 CC is offset by the cost of a lower yield when delaying soybean planting from May 1 to May 15.
Soy Planting Date – Transpire Water - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: In all crop plants, photosynthesis (uptake of CO2) and transpiration (loss of H20) are inextricably linked, which means crop yield and transpiration are highly correlated. A soybean crop yielding 75 bushels per acre in NE will generally require about 20 acre-inches (27,154 gallons per inch) of seasonal water. Let’s examine how and why.
Soy Planting Date –Sunlight Capture - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: Crops must capture solar radiation to produce plant and seed dry matter. By planting the crop earlier in the spring, more sunlight can be captured during the growing season. Let’s examine how this happens.
Soybean Planting Date - Yield - Jim Specht, UNL Emeritus Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture covers the following: What is the relationship between soybean yield and planting date? On average, delaying planting after May 1 results in a yield reduction of about 0.5 bushels per acre per day! Let’s look at the data.