Guest Author: Terry Buettner, Support Agronomist The ‘Bomb Cyclone’ that hit the Midwest on March 13th has created a huge problem for many Midwest producers. Heavy rains on frozen fields created runoff of an impressive magnitude resulting in flood damaged fields. The damaging effects of flood water on agriculture are extensive. Crop residue was washed...Read More

Even before the ‘bomb cyclone’ hit, it was a heartbreaking spring for livestock producers. I was receiving phone calls of late term abortions and lost calves and cows due to poor nutrition. Before these historic floods, Nebraska and surrounding states were already enduring unusually low temperatures and heavy snow fall. Producers were struggling with guidelines...Read More

We’ve all heard the Luke Bryan song “Rain is a Good Thing”. While it may be a catchy lyric, lack of rain can cause livestock producers to suffer from drought and heat stress issues, while too much rain can leave farmers dealing with flood damage.  This year has been especially testing from those aspects.  The...Read More

The other day while it was raining cats and dogs outside, a customer asked how that rain would affect his freshly cut alfalfa hay.  Unfortunately, rain after cutting and before bailing only decreases the nutritional value of the hay. As the freshly chopped forage lays in the field getting rained on, water soluble compounds leach...Read More