Nebraska Extension Almanac | Nebraska

Nebraska Extension Almanac | Nebraska
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Monday, April 20, 2026
Testing Soil Health
Interest in soil health is growing fast in Nebraska as farmers look for ways to protect yields, manage inputs and build resilience. University of Nebraska – Lincoln Assistant Professor and Statewide Soil Health Specialist Carolina Cordova says the University is helping farmers protect and support their soil health through best practices and regular testing.
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CarolinaSoilHealth Transcript:
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. Soil health management has many key components, and Nebraska farmers are taking an interest in making sure their soil continues to be strong and healthy for generations to come. UNL statewide soil health specialists, Carolina Cordova talks about why soil health is so important.
[Carolina Cordova, UNL Specialist]
It is so important when we are managing a few, we are not like managing for like one or 2 years, we are actually trying to manage for like a long term.
And also we are considering passing these land to the next generation.
So when having that in mind, we definitely need to consider how we are protecting our soil, how we trying to reduce erosion and increase fertility.
So with that, uh, with that in mind, definitely we are thinking about like building organic matter, considering into like investing in the health of that system.
So in the future can can still like maintain its functionality and its productivity.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
The university offers farmers lots of opportunities to test their soil. And Carolina says farmers should take advantage of that.
[Carolina Cordova, UNL Specialist]
So, from our side, we're trying to engage with producers through different opportunities, and one of those is to help them assess the sole health of their system, trying to evaluate the functionality of their system, if the, that field, it can infiltrate enough water and storage below ground, is, is it like accruing organic matter or not?
So, we are offering opportunities to partner with them and assess their fields and and work with them in evaluating the soil health level of their fields.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
The natural resources and conservation service has a program designed to help farmers build up their soil health.
[Carolina Cordova, UNL Specialist]
NRCAs just recently release a new initiative, a co-shared program, uh, and it's called the regenerative uh, pilot program.
Who has uh, now uh, 58 people uh, have been selected, the ones that have applied.
It was, it was, uh, very surprising that in a social, uh, short, um, notice around more than 100 farmers from Nebraska applied to this program, and now 58 are going to get the funds to implement a new regenerative practice.
Along with that, it comes with a monitoring of the changes in sole health from the adoption of this practice.
So for us, it's very important to partner with NRCS, to train the people that are going to help farmers to do these evaluations of so-health, that is that they need to uh, uh, monitor and use the guidelines of the CEMA 216.
So it will greatly benefit us.
And I'm happy to hear that they're close to 60 producers are going to be implementing new practices, and we are able to help them to monitor in the next 3 and 5 years of these programs.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Carolina stresses the importance of soil health and testing regularly.
[Carolina Cordova, UNL Specialist]
So I will say that it is important for us to think about not only about self fertility, but about soul health, because that's the living, that's the capacity of the soul to function as a living ecosystem, not only to produce healthy food, but also to have a healthy community supporting a healthy, healthy animals.
So we should be definitely working on like protecting our soil from erosion, for the big droughts, and and have that vision, that long-term vision of protecting our system, for or future generations.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Today's program was a portion of a feature taken from the Market Journal television program. You can watch Market Journal each Saturday morning on Nebraska public media, or at the Market Journal YouTube channel, for Nebraska Extension Almanac. I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
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Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Why Storage Conditions, Not Age, Determines Hay Quality
With drought and wildfire pressures creating feed concerns, many producers are turning to older hay to feed livestock. Nebraska Extension Educator Ben Beckman says properly stored hay can remain a valuable feed resource, even if it’s older.
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BenHayQuality26 Transcript:
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. Is older, stored hay, poor quality than more recently harvested hay? Maybe, but it's not the age that is the question here, but the storage conditions, according to extension educator Ben Beckman. He says proper storage can help maintain feed quality of hay for an extended period of time.
[Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator]
Is when we start to really dive into the studies that have been done looking at hay quality and looking at impact of storage on, hey, it's not the age of the hay, it's the weathering, and basically the decomposition of the hay that's really affecting the quality.
When we're putting up hay, we are essentially trying to stop the clock on decomposition.
Whenever we're putting up a forage, you know, whether that's silage, you know, in that case, we're putting into an amaerobic state, and stopping microbes from decomposing, when we do hay, we're drying it out, getting it to a point where the moisture content is solo, that microbes are no longer going to be decomposing it like they would if we just let that grass or alfalfa or whatever we have in that bale out in the natural environment and just left it spread out.
And so how we have those microbes continued to be stopping, whether we get moisture back onto that bail and they start to decompose again, or whether we have that bail in a totally, you know, dry and isolated condition, really makes a difference when it comes to what the quality of that is versus exactly how long that bail's been there for.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Ben says there are different storage techniques that will help hay remain viable and nutritious for quite some time.
[Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator]
We're trying to get the hay to a dry point so microbes can no longer be decomposing.
And so the best and ultimately top storage method when we're looking at ways to store haze to, you know, put it inside under under a roof and keep it from getting any moisture on it at all.
And you can see that, you know, if you know anybody that puts up really high quality alfalfa hay a lot of times, you know, they do have a storage shed and, you know, they're keeping it a fair distance so they can get airflow through that and keep those bales, you know, and humid conditions dried out still, you know, they're basically regulating the moisture around those hay bales.
The type of bale that we have makes a big difference.
Our large squares really need to be protected a lot more, say like a round bail would be because those squares don't have that outer covering and the way that they're put together, moisture penetrates into them a lot easier than they do in a round bail.
And even when we're looking at round bales, the difference between grass hay and alfalfa hay and round bale is different as well, and how that sheds water and keeps precipitation from coming into it.
So basically, the big thing is how can we keep precipitation or moisture or anything from getting into that bail, whether it's putting it under storage, putting a tarp over it and keeping it dry that way, and then also keeping it up off the ground, if we can do that as well, so we don't get moisture wicking up into the bail from the bottom.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
One of the biggest spoilers of baled hay is moisture. Ben says bales exposed to weathering will quickly lose quality.
[Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator]
Um, so there's a lot of different things that tend to happen.
The 1st thing that we usually look at is TDN or measure of energy.
And that really has to do with the soluble carbohydrates that are locked in those plants.
And when the animal eats that and it's either going through the gutter, the rumen, you know, depending on what sort of animal's eating it, that's where a lot of those energy compounds are getting released from.
But that's also what the microbes are using for energy as well as, as, you know, they're growing and basically decomposing that bail.
And so TDN is usually where we see pretty steady drop when we have a bale that's exposed to weathering.
So as soon as we get moisture in their microbes, fungi, those sorts of things start to become active again and they start to use those soluble carbohydrates as energy sources, and so that energy level in those bales starts to drop.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Stay tuned to future almanac programs where Ben continues this discussion about, hey, quality, to read the detailed article about this topic, go to extension's beef website at beef.unl.edu, or download the entire interview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, for Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Leveraging Summer Annual Forages in Today’s High Cattle Markets
Tight margins in the cattle markets might get a bit tighter with production costs on the rise. Nebraska Extension Assistant Educator Connor Biehler talks about how producers can stay ahead of some of these issues to stay profitable.
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ConnorCattleMarkets26 Transcript:
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.
The cattle market has been hitting historic highs recently, but is also facing a few serious issues this season, including a smaller herd, input costs, and feed shortages. Extension assistant educator Connor Beeler talks about these issues, and now producers can stay profitable.
[Connor Biehler, Extension Assistant Educator]
We currently have the lowest cattle numbers that we've had since the 1950s.
So with that, we've actually improved our technologies and genetics, so we can produce more beef per animal, but we still have tight supplies.
Um, you know, the drought hasn't really improved on the planes, and so the retention that we thought we were going to see.
We necessarily haven't seen quite as much of.
And I think with these fibers and the lack of forage out in Western Nebraska and parts of Kansas.
I think that's going to continue to increase these prices, you know.
We're not getting cattle across the Mexican border currently, which that's over a 1000000 head per year that we put on feed.
And so uh, feed lot space is uh, getting hard to fill and uh, trying to find those margins and uh, get those cattle at an affordable price to where you can put some uh, uh, some cost-effective gains on them.
I think converting traditional row crop acres into annual forges is a good risk management and profitability strategy.
It sounds like nitrogen still hard to come by.
And so these annual forges, they use about a 3rd of the nitrogen that traditional corn plants would probably use.
And so it's a good way to decrease your input costs and uh, taking a look at, you know, is there another way that we can put some gain on cattle or could we do a grazing lease if we're not particularly the cattle owners?
Um, several years ago, uh, the corn, when corn was up around $7, uh, we saw a lot of fields with uh, nice fences around them start to get tilled up and I think this year in particular with uh, maybe weaker corn prices than we've seen traditionally and improved prices of beef.
This could be a good way to increase your profits on a whole farm profitability scale.
I think the most important thing is taking a pencil, the paper, and looking at what your input costs for both systems could be, be that row crop production or forge production, and then pencil out your expected outputs as well.
And just kind of figure on a per acre basis where you can get more profit.
And also another thing to take a look at there would be the amount of time that you're going to be spending.
One thing a lot of producers don't do is they don't pay themselves for their time.
They just look at the bottom line of the actual input costs.
So if this system is less expensive, and it requires less input of labor.
I think it's definitely a valuable thing to take into consideration.
The best time to plant this forge is going to be mid-May to early June, that time frame.
And then so you're looking at about 30 to 45 days to where it's actually established enough to where you can graze it on the sorghum sedan varieties, you're going to want to wait until they're at least 18 inches tall.
Prior to that, there's going to be some prussic acid that can cause some toxicities to the cattle.
Other varieties that are going to produce less forage, such as a pearl millet maybe.
You can start grazing those at about a 12 to 18 inch range.
One thing I would say the producers should consider in these current times is that these high costs, reward, low input costs.
So, uh, if you can reduce that cost again and reduce your feeding of harvested or stored feeds, I think that's a good way to get ahead of this curve and put lower uh, costs again on these cattle.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
For Nebraska extension almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
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Thursday, April 23, 2026
Roundup/Glyphosate Replacements
Bayer the maker of Roundup has recently removed glyphosate, a controversial active ingredient from all its products intended for residential use. University of Nebraska - Lincoln Director of Landscape Services Jeff Culbertson clears up some of the confusion surrounding Roundup and offers a few replacement suggestions.
Not Your Mothers Roundup
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JeffRoundupReplace26 Transcript:
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. A popular, yet controversial, non selective herbicide glyphosate has been associated with the brand name roundup. Recently, the roundup brand has changed its formulation that is glyphosate free and all of its horticultural products. UNL director of landscape services, Jeff Culbertson, talks about how roundup has a new formulation with different ingredients.
[Jeff Culbertson, UNL Director of Landscape Services]
One of the products, roundup, historically, has been really synonymous with the chemical glyphosate.
So maybe in years gone past, people would have said, get some roundup and spray that weed with roundup, and they were talking about using glyphosate.
Currently, round up, that brand round up now is really made up of several different chemicals.
So it can be many different products, so it's really when you pick up a bottle that says round up on it, that you look at the label closely, and look at the plants or pests that it may control to make sure that you're getting the right product, because no longer is glyphosate in the recipe for roundup products.
And again, so it's important to look at that label, look at some of the restrictions that those many different chemicals now will have when you're using some of these combination products that round up now produces.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Jeff says there are other products that contain non selective herbicides that are a replacement for the traditional glyphosate roundup.
[Jeff Culbertson, UNL Director of Landscape Services]
There are, however, other versions of non selective herbicides out there.
And again, there's, when you go to the, to the nursery and look at your products, there's really a lot of things to choose from.
There's some that may be advertising that it's a more natural product that may contain certain salts or oils, and certain products like that.
So again, while they may sound very friendly to us, and they may be.
Again, it's really important to look at the label, look at some of the restrictions, make sure that you're applying it to the right plant, and that it works well for your particular situation.
So, again, there's products out there that are easy for us to use.
They come in ready to use format, which is very convenient.
And there are just really a lot of variety of parties out there on the shelf today.
So it's important to look at the labels carefully and not just look at the brand of it.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Finally, Jeff talks about how using common yard tools to control weeds is also very effective.
[Jeff Culbertson, UNL Director of Landscape Services]
And then, you know, never forget that, uh, like, Terry likes to promote the use of a weed knife, that's really your simplest, safest way to get rid of weeds, and sometimes it may seem a little much to go out and dig up a bunch of dandelions, but I can tell you, once you've spent 15 or 20 minutes, you'd be surprised how many dandelions you can dig up and get them out of there, and you won't have to worry about them again.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
The best way to ensure you are using the right product is to first identify the weed pest that needs controlling. Second step is to understand what active ingredients are in the product you want to use. Making sure it is applicable to your yard and garden.  And finally, if you are going to use chemical products on your lawn garden, make sure you thoroughly read and follow the label instructions for specific application techniques and guidelines. You can ask your garden center professional or local extension educator for help when it comes to these products. For Nebraska Extension Almanac. I'm Brad Mills.
Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
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Friday, April 24, 2026
Hay Storages Impact on Quality
Hay storage plays a major role in maintaining quality. If bales are stored outdoors with little protection, weather exposure can reduce both nutrition and overall value. Nebraska Extension Educator Ben Beckman talks about proper hay storage techniques.
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BenHayQuality226 Transcript:
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. On our previous program, extension educator Ben Beckman talked about how storage conditions play a huge part on the quality and shelf life of hay. He says exposure to weather, heat, and water can quickly spoil Hay's nutritional quality. On today's program, he begins by talking about how certain factors affect the aging and protein content of stored hay.
[Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator]
So if you weigh a bail at the same moisture, you know, that's always the critical point here and difficult to do, but if you weigh a bail, the same moisture content that you had initially when you harvested it.
And then if you left it outside for a season or a year and had it at the exact same moisture content and waited again, it's going to weigh less because that decomposition process released some of that energy as gas.
And so it's or leached it out through moisture or things like that.
And so we actually have less bail, we have lower energy content that is pretty typical across the board.
Now, when we look at things like crude protein content, things get a little bit more interesting, we should say.
Crude protein doesn't behave in exactly the same way.
Usually the biggest loss that we see in that is through leeching or through physical loss.
So like if we've gotten alfalfa bale, you know, leaf shatter, the leaves hold a lot of the protein content, and alfalfa, and so if we're moving those bales around, you know, we get that dust of of the leafs that have been pretty much pulverized, and that leads to a loss of protein content.
So we can lose some in that way.
But however, crude protein, as we measure it is a percent of the total amount of that bail.
And we just said that as a bale decomposes or weathers, it actually shrinks and we get, you know, less dry matter.
And so we can actually run into circumstances where we have less protein loss than we lose dry matter from the bail, and we can actually sometimes increase crude protein content, just because the total percentage of protein in that, and it's kind of counterintuitive, but the total percentage of protein hasn't really dropped that much compared to how much we've lost in dry matter and energy and things like that.
So crude protein can be a little bit different and interesting.
The one really big caveat to that is sometimes we can have heating.
So when that bail gets warm either through microbial activity or fungi or things like that, as it's decomposing, those proteins can be denatured.
And so we can run into a point where we basically get a browning reaction and the protein no longer is going to be able to be useful to the animal, but it's still there.
It's just in a different shape and form.
And so our typical protein test will pick it up and still count it as protein, but we have to do a heat damage protein test, basically, to show, yeah, they're here, but they're not usable for the animal to actually have during digestion and be useful to the animal.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
And says farmers should be aware of any problems like mold before feeding the cattle.
[Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator]
You know, when we think about how we use these bales, again, testing them is always going to be the best way to kind of determine quality.
If we've got something that's really well weathered, We do have a potential for having things like mold. You know, there's bacteria, a lot of fungi that are gonna be in the outer layer of those bales, just from the decomposition part.
And so need to keep an eye out.
You know, a lot of times we don't have things like mycotoxins or stuff show up, but if we do get some weird colors, always something to run a test for or have something that you're a little bit questionable about.
But a lot of times animals aren't going to really enjoy that hay, they might have some refusal from it, especially if we give them a chance to sort if we're feeding it by rolling that bailout or putting it into a feeder or something like that.
And so there's some trade-offs.
Yeah, they're not going to consume as much, but they're going to get the more high quality parts of it and actually utilize the better part of the veil.
So just how we feed that can be an important thing.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
To read the detailed article about this topic, go to extensions beef website at beef.unl.edu or download the entire interview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.
For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
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