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THE TOP-PERFORMER’S TOP-PERFORMER.

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Corn rootworm pressure can be extremely unpredictable. Plan ahead with SmartStax RIB Complete, which delivers multiple modes

of action for maximum control of corn rootworm and other insects, plus tools and resources to empower your risk management decisions.

ARE YOU PREPARED IF CORN ROOTWORM COMES

CRAWLING NEXT YEAR?

ARE YOU PREPARED IF CORN ROOTWORM COMES

CRAWLING NEXT YEAR?

YOUROOT

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Y UYOUOO

AA

Individual results may vary. Important: RIB Complete® are blended seed corn products that require the planting of a structured refuge in the Cotton-Growing Area. Always read and follow IRM, grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Details of these practices can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication. ©2016 Monsanto Company. smtstx3320c1-P145FR2

Ask the tough questions. Get the trait answers.Genuity.com/TraitAnswers

Follow us @GenuityTraits

Tech takes soil testing to new levelBY LORETTA SORENSEN

T ODD Hanten, Goodwin, S.D., grows soybeans, corn, wheat and alfalfa, and operates a cattle feedlot. Since

he spreads manure from the feedlot on his cropland, he constantly monitors soil nutrients.

“Using manure as fertilizer makes for great nutrient variability in our soil,” Hanten says. “We’ve been grid sampling since about the mid-1990s. We also use grid sampling because it allows us to variable-rate apply fertilizer with our air cart through our strip-till machine. We’re also variable-rate applying nitrogen as a sidedressing because we have many soil types and rolling acres.”

Hanten does his own soil sampling, starting with the iPad Soil Test Pro app, a product of Precision Ag. The software allows him to keep his soil data at his �n-gertips and wirelessly receive soil sample results from a lab within three to �ve days.

The app uses GPS to locate and �le �eld maps, and users can develop, main-tain and update a soil-sampling strategy. Variable-rate prescriptions and fertilizer strategy can be developed with the app, and sample history remains at the user’s �ngertips. Costs for the app can be as low as $4.50 per acre. “This app was recom-mended to us,” Hanten says. “I also use my SMS software, which records year-round and year-to-year data from my �elds, to store grid-sampling data.”

Hanten uses GPS coordinates to iden-tify exact locations for grid sampling in order to monitor both soil nutrient condi-tions and soil organic matter.

“In addition to GPS, we do use a phys-

ical marker to identify our grid-sampling locations,” Hanten says. “We also use an old-fashioned probe as well as the Soil Test Pro app. We want to be as exact in regard to soil-sampling locations as we can so we’re able to thoroughly monitor P and K as well as organic matter. Since we’re

using strip till, we’re as interested in or-ganic matter as anything.”

Hanten hauls manure on corn, soybean and wheat �elds, so he’s not consistently on or between crop rows. He occasionally samples both in and beside rows to com-pare two locations. “Since we strip-till, we

NUTRIENT TEAM: Todd Hanten (left) and Eric Barsness, NRCS conservation-ist, take soil samples to check nutrient levels before Hanten spreads manure.

use less fertilizer because the product is banded in that strip-till row,” he says. “We haven’t seen much soil nutrient variation between the in-row and beside-the-row locations, which tells me we’re applying the right amount of fertilizer for the crop.”

Sorensen writes from Yankton, S.D.

37Nebraska Farmer www.FarmProgress.com – December 2016 37

Crop Production

Get ready with risk management knowledge and profit protection from VT Double PRO® RIB Complete® corn blend.

Corn earworm pressure can be extremely unpredictable. Plan ahead with VT Double PRO RIB Complete, which delivers dual effective modes

of action for maximum control of corn earworm and other insects, plus tools and resources to empower your risk management decisions.

ARE YOU PREPARED IF CORN EARWORM COMES

CRAWLING NEXT YEAR?

ARE YOU PREPARED IF CORN EARWORM COMES

CRAWLING NEXT YEAR?

AREREDPRWO

Individual results may vary. Important: RIB Complete® are blended seed corn products that require the planting of a structured refuge in the Cotton-Growing Area. Always read and follow IRM, grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Details of these practices can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication. ©2016 Monsanto Company. vt2rib3321c1-P145FR2

Ask the tough questions. Get the trait answers.Genuity.com/TraitAnswers

Follow us @GenuityTraits

Tech takes soil testing to new levelBY LORETTA SORENSEN

TODD Hanten, Goodwin, S.D., grows soybeans, corn, wheat and alfalfa, and operates a cattle feedlot. Since

he spreads manure from the feedlot on his cropland, he constantly monitors soil nutrients.

“Using manure as fertilizer makes for great nutrient variability in our soil,” Hanten says. “We’ve been grid sampling since about the mid-1990s. We also use grid sampling because it allows us to variable-rate apply fertilizer with our air cart through our strip-till machine. We’re also variable-rate applying nitrogen as a sidedressing because we have many soil types and rolling acres.”

Hanten does his own soil sampling, starting with the iPad Soil Test Pro app, a product of Precision Ag. The software allows him to keep his soil data at his �n-gertips and wirelessly receive soil sample results from a lab within three to �ve days.

The app uses GPS to locate and �le �eld maps, and users can develop, main-tain and update a soil-sampling strategy. Variable-rate prescriptions and fertilizer strategy can be developed with the app, and sample history remains at the user’s �ngertips. Costs for the app can be as low as $4.50 per acre. “This app was recom-mended to us,” Hanten says. “I also use my SMS software, which records year-round and year-to-year data from my �elds, to store grid-sampling data.”

Hanten uses GPS coordinates to iden-tify exact locations for grid sampling in order to monitor both soil nutrient condi-tions and soil organic matter.

“In addition to GPS, we do use a phys-

ical marker to identify our grid-sampling locations,” Hanten says. “We also use an old-fashioned probe as well as the Soil Test Pro app. We want to be as exact in regard to soil-sampling locations as we can so we’re able to thoroughly monitor P and K as well as organic matter. Since we’re

using strip till, we’re as interested in or-ganic matter as anything.”

Hanten hauls manure on corn, soybean and wheat �elds, so he’s not consistently on or between crop rows. He occasionally samples both in and beside rows to com-pare two locations. “Since we strip-till, we

NUTRIENT TEAM: Todd Hanten (left) and Eric Barsness, NRCS conservation-ist, take soil samples to check nutrient levels before Hanten spreads manure.

use less fertilizer because the product is banded in that strip-till row,” he says. “We haven’t seen much soil nutrient variation between the in-row and beside-the-row locations, which tells me we’re applying the right amount of fertilizer for the crop.”

Sorensen writes from Yankton, S.D.

37Nebraska Farmer www.FarmProgress.com – December 2016 37

Crop Production

Upper Niobrara White NRD focuses on weekly water use

BY CURT ARENS

WATER is the key to agriculture, especially if you are farming and ranching in the northern Ne-

braska Panhandle and Pine Ridge. With annual mean precipitation at about 15 inches per year, water is monitored closely within the Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District, which includes all or part of Sheridan, Dawes, Sioux and Box Butte counties. In fact, the entire NRD has been designated as a Groundwater Man-agement Area since 1990.

Since that time, irrigation has become more closely monitored for farmers in the region, says Lynn Webster, UNWNRD assis-tant manager. Today, nearly 250,000 acres within the NRD boundaries are irrigating a wide range of crops including corn, dry edible beans, sugarbeets, alfalfa, potatoes, sun�owers, wheat and �eld peas, just to name a few.

Webster notes that among the irrigated areas of the NRD, about 191,000 acres are included in higher groundwater manage-ment subareas, where there are speci�c irrigation allocations. NRD technicians have been closely monitoring static well-water levels across the district, along with irrigation water use. Although irrigation amounts vary year to year, depending on the weather and precipitation, Webster says that usage has not exploded and, in some years, has actually declined.

The UNWNRD board of directors re-cently approved a new allocation within the subareas of 65 inches over a �ve-year period. This allows irrigators to more easily plan their crop rotations and pro-jected crop water use over a longer period, so they can incorporate the planting of low water-use crops like �eld peas, to offset heavier water-use crops like corn across the �ve-year time period.

Crop water-use reportSheri Daniels, UNWNRD conservation pro-grams coordinator, started developing a weekly crop water-use report over the summers when she was hired 17 years

ago. The weekly reports have become so popular now, that irrigators and other pro-ducers will call into the NRD of�ce to get the numbers, Daniels says.

“One of the goals of the reports is to provide producers with additional infor-mation to be used in deciding when and how much to irrigate,” she says. “These decisions can lead to savings in both water and money.”

“We are working with 11 producers who volunteer their information within the ir-rigation areas,” says UNWNRD resources technician and project coordinator, Nevin Price. “They call in with their readings on Monday mornings and the report goes out on Monday afternoons.” The weekly reports are sent to several media outlets, including local newspapers and radio sta-tions, as well as through an email list and a weekly post on the NRD website.

“The report information is based on evapotranspiration gauges located in the �elds of the cooperators, in combination with an estimate of general crop growth stages across the NRD as well as local precipitation readings,” says Price. “We start with the reporting over the Memorial Day weekend and go on through Labor Day weekend.” The reports cover the

average water use by speci�c regional crops, as well as lawns and a projected use for the current week. It also includes rainfall across the district and average ET gauge readings for the previous week. In addition, two soil moisture monitoring stations provide information about water availability at varied soil depths, under speci�c soil types and cropping systems.

Real field conditionsWhile the numbers may not match up per-fectly for each grower in the district, Price says they offer a glimpse at real �eld condi-tions across the region.

“The challenge for me sometimes is to estimate crop growth stages across the district, because the crops are at dif-ferent stages in different parts of the dis-trict depending on weather events,” Price says. “I do the best I can to come up with an average that is useful to everyone.” Precipitation numbers come from those reported by weather watchers through the Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network, or NeRAIN project with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, he adds.

Learn more about the weekly crop water use reports by going to unwnrd.org.

Key

Poin

ts

■ The district has been reporting crop water use for 17 years.

■ About 191,000 irrigated acres in district are under allocations.

■ Soil stations provide information about water availability.

REPORT TEAM: Monitoring groundwater supplies is crucial for Pine Ridge irrigators, so a team of technicians from the UNWNRD work to monitor groundwater and report weekly on crop water use across the four-county district. Pictured here are Lynn Webster (left), UNWNRD assistant manager; Nevin Price, resources technician; and Sheri Daniels, conservation programs coordinator.

3636 www.FarmProgress.com – December 2016 Nebraska Farmer

Crop Production