Crop Progress: Corn Harvest at Finish Line, Sorghum Close Behind

Nov 19, 2024

For the week ending Nov. 17, 2024, there were 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 21% very short, 41% short, 37% adequate and 1% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 27% very short, 46% short, 27% adequate and 0% surplus.

Field Crops Report:

Corn harvested was 97%, near 94% last year and 93% for the five-year average.

Winter wheat condition rated 7% very poor, 20% poor, 39% fair, 28% good and 6% excellent. Winter wheat emerged was 91%, behind 100% last year and 99% average.

Sorghum harvested was 90%, near 94% last year and 92% average.

Pasture and Range Report:

Pasture and range conditions rated 33% very poor, 26% poor, 26% fair, 14% good and 1% excellent.

Data for this news release were provided at the county level by USDA Farm Service Agency, UNL Extension , and other reporters across the state.

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.