Ag-Life

The latest Nebraska Drought Monitor map shows the Panhandle completely out of drought but Hamilton County in one of two areas of the state in the D4 category.

The latest Nebraska Drought Monitor map shows the Panhandle completely out of drought but Hamilton County in one of two areas of the state in the D4 category.

Drought easing, but still rated ‘exceptional’

Ron Burtz
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
While recent rains have brought some improvement to the drought impacting much of Nebraska this year, the situation is still dire and 2023 is turning out to be the driest year even older Hamilton County farmers can remember.
Keith Berns, co-owner of GreenCover Seed, gives the keynote address at the Grain Place Foods annual Field Day July 15. He discussed how to rebuild soil health through six forms of what he calls BioGrace.

Keith Berns, co-owner of GreenCover Seed, gives the keynote address at the Grain Place Foods annual Field Day July 15. He discussed how to rebuild soil health through six forms of what he calls BioGrace.

Solving the root problem of topsoil loss

Ron Burtz
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Anyone who has traveled across Iowa on I-80 has perhaps noticed an interesting display at a rest area west of Des Moines. Five outdoor pillars at the site represent in a visual way the loss of topsoil in the state in the more than 170 years since large-scale farming began there.
Ag land values and cash rental rates are going up across Nebraska, but the East District, which includes Hamilton and 15 other eastern counties, has the highest valued land in the state at an average of $9,320 an acre.

Ag land values and cash rental rates are going up across Nebraska, but the East District, which includes Hamilton and 15 other eastern counties, has the highest valued land in the state at an average of $9,320 an acre.

Nebraska ag land values, cash rent rates trending up

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
The average value of agricultural land in Nebraska increased for the fourth consecutive year, to $3,385 per acre, according to the final 2022-2023 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights report, published by the Center for Agricultural Profitability at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Randy Jensen at the controls of his new commercial ag drone. Jensen can apply chemical, fertilizer or seed to up to 40 acres in an hour with the drone.

Randy Jensen at the controls of his new commercial ag drone. Jensen can apply chemical, fertilizer or seed to up to 40 acres in an hour with the drone.

Jensen takes ag spraying to a new level

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Hampton area farmer Randy Jensen has been involved in agriculture his whole life and he’s been flying small unmanned aircraft for many years. But recently he found a way to combine those two interests into a business he hopes will fill a niche in the local market.
A truck unloads organic grain at the Grain Place Foods elevator. Tours of the farm and processing facilities will be included as part of the 30th annual Field Day scheduled for Saturday, July 15.

A truck unloads organic grain at the Grain Place Foods elevator. Tours of the farm and processing facilities will be included as part of the 30th annual Field Day scheduled for Saturday, July 15.

Grain Place planning 30th annual Field Day

Ron Burtz
Monday, July 3, 2023
When Grain Place Foods near Marquette holds its 30th annual Field Day on Saturday, July 15, the company will be celebrating an organic farming tradition in the Vetter family that goes back nearly 70 years.
FFA member Jameson Doyle holds up one of oyster mushroom he grew in the family garage and was offering for sale Saturday at the Farmers Market in Aurora.

FFA member Jameson Doyle holds up one of oyster mushroom he grew in the family garage and was offering for sale Saturday at the Farmers Market in Aurora.

Business is mushrooming for Hampton junior

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Hampton High School junior Jameson Doyle has been fascinated with agriculture as long as he can remember. Initially raised on a farm but now living in Aurora, Doyle joined FFA as soon as he could as a freshman and works as a farmhand at Triple K Cattle Company north of Hampton.
Flex-Ro, which first entered fields in 2019 to measure crop traits, can be controlled remotely and operated autonomously. It has been designed to be modular and reconfigurable, with different modes of steering ability available on the fly.

Flex-Ro, which first entered fields in 2019 to measure crop traits, can be controlled remotely and operated autonomously. It has been designed to be modular and reconfigurable, with different modes of steering ability available on the fly.

Putting ‘high-tech farm hand’ to work in the field

Guest
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
On a calm April morning, Flex-Ro ambled through a corn plot at about two miles per hour. While researchers stood by to help clear obstacles from its path, the robot moved and planted on its own.
Corn plants in a non-irrigated field east of Hampton curl in the afternoon heat last week. Dryland crops in the county are at a critical stage for want of rain.

Corn plants in a non-irrigated field east of Hampton curl in the afternoon heat last week. Dryland crops in the county are at a critical stage for want of rain.

Hamilton County falls to D4 drought category

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Despite recent showers and thunderstorms across the area bringing much-needed precipitation to some fields, the drought situation still looks grim in Hamilton County which has slipped to the most severe category on the National Drought Monitor map.
Grain Weevil co-founders, from left, Ben and Chad Johnson display the latest model of their autonomous robot that levels grain in bins and performs other tasks to prevent grain bin deaths. The machines are currently being tested in commercial applications but the goal of the company is to make them available to family farmers by next year.

Grain Weevil co-founders, from left, Ben and Chad Johnson display the latest model of their autonomous robot that levels grain in bins and performs other tasks to prevent grain bin deaths. The machines are currently being tested in commercial applications but the goal of the company is to make them available to family farmers by next year.

Grain Weevil wins innovation award

Ron Burtz
Monday, June 5, 2023
by Ron BurtzWith several national awards already to its credit, Aurora-based Grain Weevil added another trophy to its collection on Monday in Omaha.
A center pivot sprays water on recently emerged corn plants near the Platte River in northern Hamilton County. Extension Service educator Steve Melvin says it is unusual for farmers to be irrigating so much at this point in the growing season during the time when weather is usually wet.

A center pivot sprays water on recently emerged corn plants near the Platte River in northern Hamilton County. Extension Service educator Steve Melvin says it is unusual for farmers to be irrigating so much at this point in the growing season during the time when weather is usually wet.

Hamilton County in ‘extreme drought’

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
“It is a very dire situation,” said Steve Melvin, Extension cropping and water system educator for Hamilton and Merrick counties. “There’s no two ways about that.”Melvin was commenting on a map released Thursday by U.S.