Probe Extraction

The harvest season is upon us, and we wanted to give you an update on our progress on removing probes. If everything goes as expected, we should have all the probes out by this Friday. You should have a received a notification when the probe was extracted, so the best way to check is to look at the recommendations tab on your app. Once the probe has been extracted, we have posted a note to that effect on the recommendations part of the app.

Electrical Conductivity Mapping

Once harvest season has ended, we will be out mapping fields. Matt is mapping a couple of fields by Stapleton this week. If you have fields that you would like mapped with our dual EM system, let us know. As a reminder, the cost on that is $9 per acre and the zones we create can be used on only for VRI on water (scripts are free the first year after mapping, then $200 per year after that), but also for fertility, seeding and other scripts. The EC and elevation data will never change (unless you decide to do some dirt work) so it is good for the lifetime of the field. A tremendous investment. We are looking at some new software that may even enhance the ability of these maps to increase their value. More on that to follow.

Year End Summary Reports

We are now in the process of creating summary reports. Everyone will receive a summary report for each field we had a probe on. These reports have all the information in them to satisfy the reporting requirements for NRCS EQIP funding. However, we do need flow meter reading to complete those. So, if you are going to file this report, please give us the start and ending flow meter readings as soon as possible.

Yield Reports

We have had several reports on bean yields (no corn yet) and although they have overall been satisfactory, there are some yield anomalies. There have been 80 bu. plus yields, and some had yields in the lower 60’s. This is one of those years where you might see some of those yield swings not only in beans but also corn. Also, on years like what we just had, it is not unusual to see some significant differences in hybrids and varieties. So, ask your local seed dealer or neighbors which varieties have been performing the best for them. Most hybrids/varieties perform well under good conditions but what happens when high temps, low rainfall, high winds, spider mite, southern rust, compacted soils and other issues crop up?

The University of Nebraska published an article with projected maturity and yields. We were spot on with our maturity projections according to UNL. The yield estimates on corn show us to be close to normal or below normal with dryland acres included. Time will tell.

https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2020/2020-corn-yield-forecasts-end-season-forecasts-suggest-near-average-yields-region Here were last year’s yield projections for comparison

We also found a nice comparison website from Iowa State that allows you to pick some weather parameters and compare this year to the past 10, 20, or 30 years. One thing we noticed was that this year had higher nighttime temps than any year since 2013. And we know high nighttime temps are not favorable to higher yields. So, it will be interesting to see what, if any, effect that has.

https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/facts/weather-tool    It has been a pleasure working with everyone this year and we look forward to doing it again next year. So, please be safe out there.

Nick Lammers 308-380-0509 nick@precisionagronomy.com Matt Maloney 308-380-1200 matt@precisionagronomy.com Curt Maloney 308-380-5761 curt@precisionagronomy.com

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