Life Sciences Commons^™

Increasing Rye Cover Crop Biomass Production After Corn Residue Removal To Balance Economics And Soil Health, Sabrina J. Ruis, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Paul J. Jasa, Glen Slater, Richard B. Ferguson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Low or variable cover crop (CC) biomass production could limit CC benefits. Longer CC growing periods via late termination could increase CC benefits, especially under limited crop residue return. We studied whether early (2–3 wk before planting)- or late (at planting)-terminated winter rye (Secale cereale L.) CC maintains soil properties, crop yields, and farm income under 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% corn (Zea mays L.) residue removal in rainfed and irrigated no-till in the U.S. Great Plains after 6 yr. Early-terminated CCs produced < 1 Mg ha^-1 of biomass while late-terminated CCs averaged 1.6 Mg ha^-1 at the rainfed …

Intensifying A Crop–Fallow System: Impacts On Soil Properties, Crop Yields, And Economics, S. J. Ruis, S. Stepanovic, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Intensifying crop–fallow systems could address increased weed control costs, increased land or rental costs, reduced crop diversity, and degraded soil properties in water-limited environments. One strategy to intensify such systems could be the insertion of a short-season crop during fallow. But, how this strategy affects soils, crop production, and farm economics needs further research. Thus, we studied the impacts of replacing fallow in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L)–corn (Zea mays L.)–fallow system with a short-season spring crop [field pea (Pisum sativum L.)] on crop yields and economics from 2015 to 2019 and 5-yr cumulative effects on …

Control Of Volunteer Corn In Enlist Corn And Economics Of Herbicide Programs For Weed Control In Conventional And Multiple Herbicide-Resistant Soybean Across Nebraska, Adam M. Striegel

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

With commercialization of multiple herbicide-resistant corn and soybean cultivars, producers have new management options for controlling herbicide-resistant weeds and volunteer corn. Corn-on-corn production systems are common in irrigated fields in southcentral Nebraska which can create issues with volunteer corn management in corn fields. Enlist corn contains a new multiple herbicide-resistant trait providing resistance to 2,4-D choline, glyphosate, and the aryloxyphenoxypropionate (FOPs). Field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 at South Central Agricultural Laboratory near Clay Center, Nebraska with the objective to evaluate ACCase-inhibiting herbicides and herbicide application timing on volunteer corn control, Enlist corn injury, and yield. Glyphosate/glufosinate-resistant corn …

Quantitative Appraisal Of Non-Irrigated Cropland In South Dakota, Shelby Riggs

Honors Theses

This appraisal attempts to remove subjectivity from the appraisal process and replace it with quantitative analysis of known data to generate a fair market value of the subject property. Two methods of appraisal were used, the income approach and the comparable sales approach. For the income approach, I used the average cash rent for the region, the current property taxes for the subject property, and a capitalization rate based on Stokes' (2018) capitalization rate formula to arrive at my income-based valuation. For the comparable sales approach, I utilized Stokes' (2018) research in optimization modeling to estimate a market value for …

Improvement Of Farmers' Incomes Through Improved Processing Of Sorghum And Millets In West Africa, Ababacar Sadikh N'Doye, Bruce Hamaker, Roy L. Whistler

INTSORMIL Presentations

Purdue University and ITA are very active in the USAID INTSORMIL CRSP Program for promoting the production and the consumption of millet and sorghum in West Africa. Countries involved in this program are : Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Sénégal.

Market-oriented objectives of the INTSORMIL Program on millet and sorghum in West Africa:

Objective 1: Increase the supply of high quality grain through the introduction of new production technologies at the farmer level in West Africa.

Objective 2: Contribute to the development of the processing sector through technologies improvement , more effective technology transfer to processors, and better links …

What Is The Potential Of Substituting Legumes For Synthetic Nitrogen In Warm Season Perennial Grasses Used For Stocker Cattle Grazing?, J. Biermacher, John A. Guretzky, Ryan Reuter, Maru Kering, Twain Butler, Job Springer, James Rogers, John Blanton, Joe Bouton

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Stocker cattle grazing warm season perennial grasses is an important economic activity in the southern Great Plains. Substantial increases in the price of nitrogen fertilizer is negatively affecting forage producers’ profitability. Two alternative nitrogen management systems that use annual and perennial legumes have been developed for bermudagrass pastures. The goal of the study is to determine if the legumes systems are more profitable than the conventional practice of applying synthetic sources of nitrogen. Enterprise budgeting techniques were employed to compare the economics of the legume systems relative to the common practice. Results of the two-year grazing study show that the …

Cellulosic Ethanol: The Benifits, Obstacles, And Implications For Nebraska, Cassidee Lin Thompson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Ethanol is a biofuel that has unique capabilities to mitigate global climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously supporting rural economies and decreasing the United States’ dependence on foreign oil. Currently, the state of Nebraska depends on corn ethanol, which may be unsustainable. Cellulosic ethanol is a promising alternative but it is not without its problems, including high production costs and potential environmental damage. This thesis is an attempt to understand the benefits, downfalls, and processes of corn-based and cellulosic ethanol and the potential implications to Nebraska. This research should shed some light on the current obstacles …

Farm-Scale Production Cost Of Switchgrass For Biomass, Richard K. Perrin, Kenneth P. Vogel, Marty R. Schmer, Robert B. Mitchell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The economic potential of cellulosic biomass from switchgrass has heretofore been evaluated using estimates of farm costs based on extrapolation from experimental data and budget estimates. The objective of the project reported here was to estimate the cost of production that would be experienced by farmers on commercial production situations. Switchgrass was produced as a biomass crop on commercial-scale fields by ten contracting farmers located from northern North Dakota to southern Nebraska. Results showed a wide range of yields and costs across the five production years and ten sites, with an overall average cost of $65.86 Mg^-1 of biomass …

History, Current Status, And Collaborative Researchprojects For Bemisia Tabaci, M. R. V. Oliveira, T. J. Henneberry, P. Anderson

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Bemisia tabaci was described over 100 years ago and has since become one of the most important pests worldwide in subtropical and tropical agriculture as well as in greenhouse production systems. It adapts easily to new host plants and geographical regions and has now been reported from all global continents except Antarctica. In the last decade, international transport of plant material and people have contributed to geographical spread. B. tabaci has been recorded from more than 600 plant species and there may be many additional hosts not yet formally documented. Biotypes have been identified in different areas of the world …

Economic Effects Of Horn Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Populations On Beef Cattle Exposed To Three Pesticide Treatment Regimes, Jerome Hogsette, David Prichard, Joseph Ruff

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Horn flies could not be maintained below 50 per animal with sprays or dusts during a 21-wk study. However, weights of cows and calves and condition scores of cows were not influenced by suppression of Haematobia irritans (L.) populations. Results show that cattle in northwest Florida can tolerate average populations of >200 flies for 70 d with no adverse economic effects. Spray treatments providing the best fly control were Lintox-D and Ra-Vap. The most economical products for use were Del-Tox, Lintox-D, and Ra-Vap.