Agriculture Commons^™

The Growth Of Ethanol In Brazil: Sugarcane, Corn, And A Few Other Things, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

Although we can expect more ethanol produced from corn in the coming years, it is unclear whether it will keep expanding at the same pace as in recent years or how much it will contribute to total ethanol production.

One point to keep an eye on is the typical dynamics of markets. If supply and demand conditions and price movements make corn-ethanol more profitable, ethanol plants in Brazil will keep increasing their production. If it makes more economic sense to produce corn-ethanol (as it happened recently), they will use more corn to produce ethanol.

Supply and demand conditions for ethanol, …

2024 Nebraska Agricultural Custom Rates With Statewide Survey Summary, Glennis Mcclure

Cornhusker Economics

The 2024 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Custom Rates Survey indicates that rate increases are the norm since the latest survey was completed in 2022. Table 1 provides a summary and percentage change for several common custom operations from 2022 to 2024. Custom field operations such as drilling and planting show increases in 2024 from seven to twenty-seven percent and harvesting rates for various crops indicate state average rate increases from fourteen to twenty-three percent, with the irrigated corn harvest now at $47.84 per acre for the state average. Other custom services, such as spraying for weed control using a self-propelled sprayer, …

Tissue‑ And Time‑Dependent Metabolite Profiles During Early Grain Development Under Normal And High Night‑Time Temperature Conditions, Nathan Abshire, Andrew L. Hauck, Harkamal Walia, Toshihiro Obata

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background Wheat grain development in the first few days after pollination determines the number of endosperm cells that influence grain yield potential and is susceptible to various environmental conditions, including high night temperatures (HNTs). Flag leaves and seed-associated bracts (glumes, awn, palea, and lemma) provide nutrients to the developing seed. However, the specific metabolic roles of these tissues are uncertain, especially their dynamics at different developmental stages and the time in a day. Tissue- and time-dependent metabolite profiling may hint at the metabolic roles of tissues and the mechanisms of how HNTs affect daytime metabolic status in early grain development. …

From Australia To Nebraska: Researching Social Value, Marilyn R. Schlake, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Jean Ann Fischer, Michelle Krehbiel, Randy Saner

Cornhusker Economics

Globally, there is a growing body of research on social capital through the lens of social value, or how the social connections translate into actions with tangible outcomes impacting livelihoods and well-being. In the United States, social value is a relatively new perspective that will add to the social capital discussion.

Violent Conflict Drives World Hunger And Food Insecurity, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

The World Food Program (WFP) with support from the United States and other countries works to provide food to those in need as a result of conflict, adverse climate effects, poverty, and government mismanagement. It is limited in what it can do, however, by budget constraints and rising food prices. On top of the financial issues, the delivery of food assistance is particularly complicated in areas of conflict where warring adversaries often hijack food supplies intended for the other side. While it is illegal under International Humanitarian Law to use starvation as a weapon of war, Dzerowicz (2023) has identified …

Nebline, June/July 2024

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Facts Related to Drinking Water by Becky Schuerman

Tar Spot is an Emerging Corn Disease in Eastern Nebraska by John Nelson

Nutrition Education for Refugee and Immigrant Families in Lincoln by Emily Gratopp

Recipe of the Month: Biryani by Emily Gratopp

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

Sudden Wilt and Death in Tomatoes by Sarah Browning

Sun's Out, Fun's Out: Keeping Your Little One Safe This Summer by Hayley Perez

Protect Yourself from Bed Bugs by Kait Chapman

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Netsy Barent and Jessica Marsh

Nebraska 4-H Foundation Scholarship Winners

Learn …

Fabrication Of A Low-Cost Drum Seeder For Paddy, Muhammad Rashed Al Mamun, Md Rejaul Karim, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Md Janibul Alam Soeb, Md Imranul Alam

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Rice is a staple food crop. Bangladesh produces it extensively which raised the nation into the fourth-largest rice-grower in the world. Transplanting or direct seeding is a major task in rice cultivation where the manual transplanting method requires a huge labor cost which is beyond control in a peak season. Although mechanical rice transplanters become popularization land preparation and seedling rising as a pre transplanting task is costly and labor-intensive. On the other hand, manual broadcasting and machine seeding direct method still exist due to the above method’s problem. Considering spacing accuracies for intercultural operation, drum seeders are an easy …

Geographic Distribution: Smilisca Baudinii (Mexican Treefrog). Usa: Florida: Escambia Co., Louis A. Somma, Justin K. Anto, Jakira A. Davis

Papers in Herpetology

Geographic distribution note for Smilisca baudinii, the Mexican treefrog, from Escambia County, Florida, United States.

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, Part Iii: Outcomes And Impacts, Bradley D. Lubben, Christine Lockert, Sheila Aikanathan Johnson, Milan Chauhan

Cornhusker Economics

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) Center has existed since 2001 to help support producer-focused agricultural risk management education across the twelve-state North Central Region. The Center works together with centers in other regions of the country to implement a comprehensive program of needs assessment, regional grantmaking, capacity building, and evaluation and reporting to support projects that help producers manage risk and document the outcomes and impacts of those projects.

The last two Cornhusker Economics articles have described the Center and its activities and have highlighted the successes of some recently funded projects. This article concludes the discussion …

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, Part Ii: Activities And Success Stories, Sheila Aikanathan Johnson, Christine Lockert, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center is committed to educating American farmers and ranchers on effectively managing the distinct risks associated with producing food for global consumption. So far, we've funded 523 projects totaling over $18.7 million, benefiting more than 168,000 participants.

Part I provided an overview of the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, including its operations, priorities, service areas, and how the grant program functions. Part II details the center's activities and highlight some of the numerous projects that have been supported over 23 years since the awarding process started. In the forthcoming segment, Part …

Cereal Rye Cover Crop Termination At Or Before Soybean Planting Has Minimal Effect On Soybean Yield Across The Midwestern Us, Tatiane Severo Silva, Spyridon Mourtzinis, Anthony Justin Mcmechan, Gabriela Inveninato Carmona, Bruce D. Potter, Kelley J. Tilmon, Louis S. Hesler, Nicholas J. Seiter, Robert Wright, Shannon L. Osborne, Thomas E. Hunt, Shawn P. Conley

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Context: Interest is growing among farmers in the Midwestern US region in the potential benefits of establishing cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) as a cover crop. However, they are concerned about the implications and potential trade-offs due to this practice. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effects of cereal rye cover crop termination at or before soybean planting on soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) seed yield. Methods: Field experiments were conducted from 2019 to 2021 across 28 location-years in the Midwestern US. Treatments consisted of no cereal rye, cereal rye termination before soybean planting, and termination at planting. …

Adopting Yield-Improving Practices To Meet Maize Demand In Sub-Saharan Africa Without Cropland Expansion, Fernando Aramburu-Merlos, Fatima A. M. Tenorio, Nester Mashingaidze, Alex Sananka, Stephen Aston, Jonathan J. Ojeda, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Maize demand in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to increase 2.3 times during the next 30 years driven by demographic and dietary changes. Over the past two decades, the area croppedwithmaize has expanded by 17million hectares in the region, with limited yield increase. Following this trend could potentially result in further maize cropland expansion and the need for imports to satisfy domestic demand. Here, we use data collected from 14,773 smallholder fields in the region to identify agronomic practices that can improve farm yield gains. We find that agronomic practices related to cultivar selection, and nutrient, pest, and crop management can …

Evaluating The Yield Of Surviving Plants From Early-Season Hail Damage In Corn: A Field Survey, I. P. Lisboa, Christopher A. Proctor, R W. Elmore, A. J. Mcmechan, N. D. Mueller, J. Wilson, G. Zobeck, Aaron Nygren, A. Bastidas, Osler Ortez

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Economic losses due to hailstorms acrossUS corn fields occur every year.Hailstorms result in leaf defoliation, decreasing photosynthetic area and impairing carbon assimilation and crop yield for all corn (Zea mays L.) development stages. However, more attention is often given to stand reductions rather than damage to stems or leaf defoliation. During the 2014 growing season, a natural hail event affected many areas of eastern Nebraska. Twelve affected corn fields were surveyed and included in this study. An injury score scale (1–5) was developed based on various injury and severity levels before the V6 (6-leaf corn growth stage) (six-collared leaves). …

Natural Variation In Lonely Guy-Like 1 Regulates Rice Grain Weight Under Warmer Night Conditions, Jaspreet Sandhu, Larissa Irvin, Anil Kumar Chandaran, Shohei Oguro, Puneet Paul, Balpreet Dhatt, Waseem Hussain, Shannon S. Cunningham, Cherryl O. Quinones, Argelia Lorence, Maria Arlene Adviento-Borbe, Paul E. Staswick, Gota Morota, Harkamal Walia

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Global nighttime temperatures are rising at twice the rate of daytime temperatures and pose a challenge for rice (Oryza sativa) production. High nighttime temperature (HNT) stress affects rice yield by reducing grain weight, size, and fertility. Although the genes associated with these yield parameters have been identified and characterized under normal temperatures, the genetic basis of grain weight regulation under HNT stress remains less explored. We examined the natural variation for rice single grain weight (SGW) under HNT stress imposed during grain development. A genome-wide association analysis identified several loci associated with grain weight under HNT stress. A …

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, Part I: Helps Producers Manage Risks, Christine Lockert, Sheila Aikanathan Johnson, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

Established in 2001, the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center (NCERMEC) has a long history of supporting risk management education programs serving producers in the region. Located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Economics Department, the Center is one of four regional Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) Centers located throughout the country. ERME is funded through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and was authorized by the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000. The fundamental purpose of the ERME program is to educate producers to manage risk and position their farm or ranch for future growth and …

The Casnr L.I.N.K.S. Newsletter: Learning Innovation Network For K-12 Schools, Volume 3, Edition 5, May 2024, Bailey Feit, Tammy Mittelstet

CASNR L.I.N.K.S. Newsletter

The purpose of this L.I.N.K.S. newsletter is to provide a monthly update of opportunities and resources for K-12 schools to connect with the University of Nebraska's CASNR Food, Energy, Water, and Societal Systems (FEWS²) programs and partners.

Included in this edition:

Upcoming events

2024 Discovery Days + Farmers Market

Summer Discovery Day camp, Morrill Hall

June 9-14 Big Red Camps-East Campus

June 13-Wheat Variety Field Day-High Plains Lab-Sydney, NE

July 8-12 NAYI Conference-East Campus

July 16-18-SSI-Lincoln/North Platte

August 6-Forage Field Day-Haskell Ag Lab- Concord, NE

August 7-Family Field Day-Haskell Ab Lab- Concord, NE

August 13 - Building Connections Among Nitrogen …

Sunsetting Tax Provisions: Is Your Estate Plan Affected?, Anastasia Meyer, Glennis Mcclure

Cornhusker Economics

It is never too early to begin thinking about estate planning, how you want to transfer your assets to the next generation, and how your decisions may be taxed to the next generation. Those decisions may need to be adjusted as some provisions are set to expire at the end of 2025.

Nebline, May 2024

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Weed Control in Pastures and Hayfields by John Nelson

Navigating Nutrition Information: Separating Fact from Fiction by Alyssa Havlovic

Recipe of the Month: Pepper Steak Sandwich by Alyssa Havlovic

Care for New Bedding Plants by Sarah Browning

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

Cash Rent Survey

No Matter Where You Live, Submit a Request Before You Dig! by Becky Schuerman

4-H Achievement Celebration

8 Lancaster County 4-H’ers Modeled Their Sewn Garments at Omaha Fashion Week

4-H Events Open to All Youth

Support 4-H by Eating Out, May 1 & 2

Support 4-H During “Give to Lincoln Day,” May 30 …

On-Farm Nitrogen And Irrigation Management Strategies To Protect Groundwater Quality In The Bazile Groundwater Management Area, Arshdeep Singh

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

Increasing groundwater nitrate (NO₃-N) contamination has raised significant environmental and health concerns in the irrigated sandy soils of Nebraska. Four studies were conducted to evaluate the impact the impact of 1) static (NE Yield Goal) vs. dynamic nitrogen (N) recommendations tools (Maize-N, Canopy Reflectance Sensing, Granular, and Adapt-N), 2) three N (optimum, suboptimum, and low) and irrigation rates (farmer’s full irrigation (FIT), 80% FIT, and 60% FIT), 3) conventional N sources vs. enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs), and 4) multiple N splits (2, 3, 4, and 5-N splits) on agronomic (maize yield), environmental (NO3-N leaching), and economic returns (return …

Establishment Of Wildflower Islands To Enhance Roadside Health, Ecological Value, And Aesthetics, Jackson Ebbers

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

Roadsides provide an abundant opportunity to increase connectivity of fragmented landscapes with diminishing floral resources for pollinating insects. The ecological value of these sites is often overlooked as quality habitat for pollinators, particularly monarch butterflies, which have been experiencing severe declines due to loss of habitat and loss of milkweeds that provide food for their larvae. Land managers across the nation are realizing the potential of roadsides to provide high quality floral resources for the benefit of insects and other wildlife. Current wildflower seed mixes used by state transportation departments are often low diversity and may only be implemented following …

5-Year Strategic Direction, 2024–2028: Institute Of Agriculture And Natural Resources, University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, Institute Of Agriculture And Natural Resources University Of Nebraska-Lincoln

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources: Institute Publications

IANR: Integrating Learning, Discovery, and Engagement for an Even Better Nebraska

Includes an introduction, description of the components of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the IANR pillars, stratgeic aims for 2024–2028, and a section on implementation.

Stories Of Motivation And Values Of Small-Scale Farmers In Jamaica And The United States, Raquel Taylor

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Small-scale farmers add to global and local food systems through various means such as connecting communities to local food and support economies. Small-scale farms can address issues related to food and nutritional security. However, farming can be a challenging career to engage in, especially for those who are small-scale farmers. Matters related to succession, higher paying off-farm employment, policies, and more can make it challenging to engage in farming. Leaving the question of what would motivate someone to engage in small-scale farming. Motivation can be viewed through multiple lenses; this study chose to use self-determination theory to understand the motivations …

Proposing Urban Agroforestry Designs For Lincoln, Nebraska: A Model From Berlin, Germany, Noah Johnson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Given the threat of a worsening climate crisis, there is a strong need for community and ecosystem resilience. Diverse urban agroforestry systems have the potential to accomplish both and meet many of the objectives outlined in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska’s climate action plan. Additionally, Berlin, Germany could provide an effective model for Lincoln in this regard given the city’s extensive history of established urban agroforestry systems. The objective of this study then is to develop a design for an urban agroforestry site modeled on Berlin’s allotment gardens and tailored to Lincoln’s needs. The methods for creating this design included …

Impact Of Strategic Postweaning Supplementation On March- And May-Born Yearling Range Heifer And Calf Growth And Performance In The Nebraska Sandhills, Josie Nicole Crouch

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Three experiments were conducted at the Gudmundsen Sandhills laboratory near Whitman, Nebraska. Experiment 1, a retrospective regression analysis, evaluated the impact of heifer percentage of mature body weight (BW) at breeding on heifer performance, subsequent pregnancy rates, and calf production. Overall pregnancy rates were greater (P < 0.01) for heifers at 60 to 70% of mature BW than 50 to 55%, with no differences in pregnancy rates (P ≥ 0.15) after 2-years of age. Heifers at 50 to 60% of mature BW had a greater (P = 0.05) proportion give birth in the first 21-d. A higher percentage of mature BW at breeding resulted in greater (P < 0.01) BW at birth and weaning for offspring.

Experiments 2 and 3 were 3-year studies that evaluated the impact …

Artificial Insemination And Fetal Programming In Beef Production Systems, Dempster M. Christenson

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pregnancy to artificial insemination and late gestation fetal programming of the next calf crop are central to genetic development, reproductive longevity, calf crop productivity, and efficiency of cow/calf ranching. The purposes of this research are to find methods to improve pregnancy rate to artificial insemination, the growth and reproductive health of pregnant heifers, and the productivity of their offspring. In the first of four studies we found that extending the period of progesterone administration in an estrus synchronization protocol did not significantly hasten estrus response or increase pregnancy rate to artificial insemination, but timing of estrus within the melengestrol acetate …

Adding Parasite Resistance To A Hair Sheep Breeding Objective, Robert M. Forbes

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The United States Hair Sheep Index was designed to increase total weight of lamb weaned per ewe lambing (TW) using estimated breeding values (EBV) for direct (DWWT) and maternal (MWWT) weaning weight, and number of lambs born (NLB) and weaned (NLW), as selection criteria. Producers are interested in adding post-weaning fecal egg count EBV (PFEC), an indicator of parasite resistance, to the index to achieve genetic change in both TW and PFEC.

First, the effects of adding PFEC alongside TW to the breeding objective of indexes that used either phenotypes or EBV as selection criteria were studied. Since MWWT …

Feeding Dried Distillers' Grains With Solubles To Lactating Dairy Cattle: Whole Animal Energy Utilization And Manure Biogas Production, Grant Michael Fincham

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

When DDGS are fed to lactating dairy cattle, the observed response in energy supply, milk production, and methane production varies among studies. One potential reason for these observed discrepancies is the nature of the diet formulation itself. Furthermore, little research has been conducted to examine how dietary changes can affect dairy cattle manure composition and methane production in an anaerobic manure digester. In order to gain a better understanding of these topics, we conducted two experiments. The first experiment was conducted to test how the manipulation of lactating dairy cattle diets affects energy utilization, milk production, methane production, and manure …

The Future Of The Organization Of The Petroleum Exporting Countries, Mikayla Gross

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a multinational and intergovernmental organization that dictates the petroleum exportation policies of 13 countries: Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela (About Us, 2023). The mission of OPEC is to ensure a stable supply of petroleum through its shared policies for its Member Countries and consumers (Our Mission, 2023). Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela founded OPEC in 1960 under the foundations and principles that dictated the international world order. Those foundations and principles …

Utilization Of The NuTrack System To Objectively Evaluate Changes In Active And Passive Behaviors Of Group-Housed Nursery Pigs Exposed To An Endotoxin Challenge, Aaron Holliday

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study aimed to evaluate the changes in activity of group-housed, newly weaned pigs challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). At weaning, pigs (n = 192, 5.73 ± 1.8 kg) were stratified by sex, litter, and body weight (BW) and randomly assigned to one of three treatments (16 pigs/pen, 4 pens/treatment): 1) Saline-injected (SAL), 2) 50% challenged [50%-LPS) – only half of the pigs in a pen (8 pigs) were challenged with LPS and 3) 100% challenged (100%-LPS) – all pigs in a pen were challenged with LPS. Pigs in the SAL and 32 in the 50%-LPS treatment received a 3.0 …

Next-Generation Crop Monitoring Technologies: Case Studies About Edge Image Processing For Crop Monitoring And Soil Water Property Modeling Via Above-Ground Sensors, Nipuna Chamara

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced rapidly in the past two decades. Internet of Things (IoT) technology has advanced rapidly during the last decade. Merging these two technologies has immense potential in several industries, including agriculture.

We have identified several research gaps in utilizing IoT technology in agriculture. One problem was the digital divide between rural, unconnected, or limited connected areas and urban areas for utilizing images for decision-making, which has advanced with the growth of AI. Another area for improvement was the farmers' demotivation to use in-situ soil moisture sensors for irrigation decision-making due to inherited installation difficulties. As Nebraska …