Crop Progress: Nebraska Harvest Continues at Near Average Pace

Oct 12, 2021

For the week ending Oct. 3, 2021, there were 5.5 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 7% very short, 36% short, 55% adequate and 2% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 12% very short, 41% short, 45% adequate and 2% surplus.

Field Crops Report:

Corn condition rated 5% very poor, 8% poor, 19% fair, 42% good and 26% excellent. Corn mature was 85%, near 89% last year, but ahead of 80% for the five-year average. Harvested was 21%, near 20% last year and ahead of 16% average.

Soybean condition rated 2% very poor, 6% poor, 20% fair, 49% good and 23% excellent. Soybeans dropping leaves was 95%, near 96% last year and 91% average. Harvested was 34%, behind 51% last year, but ahead of 28% average.

Winter wheat planted was 82%, ahead of 77% last year and near 79% average. Emerged was 44%, ahead of 30% last year and near 43% average.

Sorghum condition rated 9% very poor, 15% poor, 28% fair, 34% good and 14% excellent. Sorghum mature was 84%, near 85% last year, but ahead of 76% average. Harvested was 21%, ahead of 16% both last year and average.

Dry edible beans dropping leaves was 95%, near 96% last year. Harvested was 72%, behind 81% last year.

Pasture and Range Report:

Pasture and range conditions rated 14% very poor, 16% poor, 52% fair, 17% good and 1% excellent.

Source : unl.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.