by Ben Nuelle AUDIO: Money Matters 8-24-16
Two Kearney Nebraska farmers agree even with irrigation wells running, crops still need a drink of rain.
Scott Mercer grows corn and soybeans east of Kearney.
?Basically we?ve been really dry in this part of Buffalo County. To the West and North of us, they have got some timely rains. This is kind of where the dry streak starts which runs down through Southeast Nebraska.?
Mercer says they?ve also had insect problems this year.
?Western bean cutworm is starting to be a real problem for us right here in the valley [along] the Platte River. It seems like whatever we use they?re like the weeds [and] becoming resistant to it too.?
Brent Henderson also grows corn and soybeans near Kearney.
?Haven?t had a whole lot of rain but the fields we could get irrigated with gravity, they look pretty good. We had some trouble getting the rows through since we haven?t had a lot of rain once we got the beans hilled. The corn is kind of the issue [with] a lot of green snap in the corn. We had one rain earlier and had a lot of green snap in a few fields.?
Green snap is when corn is damaged by high winds.
Both Mercer and Henderson are also concerned about this year?s low commodity prices and how they can make a profit.
Crop scouts made our way through southeast Nebraska Tuesday on the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour sponsored by DuPont Pioneer. Today scouts will travel north to Spencer through western Iowa finally ending in Rochester, Minnesota Thursday night.
