By Chabella Guzman, PREEC communications / Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator
Temperatures will remain very high throughout the middle of next week (Aug. 7). “Chances of precipitation will be slim until the monsoon moisture returns,” said Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator.
The hard red winter wheat harvest is mostly done in the Panhandle, and the dry pea harvest is underway.
“We’re a little bit early because of the heat. It has kind of pushed everything forward,” said John Waston, a grower in Box Butte County. Watson grows yellow field peas. “The peas are better than I expected.” He had some irrigated peas and some dryland, which didn’t get enough rain and didn’t do as well.
“On average, we’re getting 80 bushel with a high of 93 bushel, so far,” he said.
Watson likes to plant peas, complimenting the wheat he plants behind them. “They don’t use as much water as (dry) beans, and there is a month of fallow before we put the (winter) wheat in the ground.” He thinks there is a symbiotic microbiome between the peas and the wheat, which helps the wheat.
The other crops in the Panhandle continue to do well, including sunflowers and millet. Irrigation water deliveries continue across the North Platte Valley, with Pathfinder and Goshen / Gering-Fort Laramie irrigation districts diverting approximately 1,400 cfs, respectively.
Assisting growers with monitoring their crop’s water profile is the – Estimated crop water use for July 29-Aug.4. The table information includes the estimated crop water use for Nebraska Panhandle crops for the previous week and the upcoming week. The table is based on data gathered and calculations made by Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator, and Dr. Xin Qiao, Extension Irrigation and Water Management Specialist, both based at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff.
Crop water use will vary across the Panhandle due to variations in ET, crop growth stage, temperature, soil type, wind, and precipitation events. Crop water use will assist growers with irrigation scheduling and efficient water application and use.
Register and receive a weekly TEXT message with the table information at https://phrec-irrigation.com/#/weekly_crop_water_usage
The AgriTools App can provide easy access to location-specific climate and weather information to the agricultural industry in Nebraska https://agritools.unl.edu/