Crop Progress: Nebraska Wheat Harvest at 87% Complete

Aug 08, 2023

For the week ending Aug. 6, 2023, there were 4.3 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 12% very short, 28% short, 57% adequate and 3% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 19% very short, 32% short, 47% adequate and 2% surplus.

Field Crops Report:

Corn condition rated 4% very poor, 12% poor, 23% fair, 42% good and 19% excellent. Corn silking was 95%, ahead of 90% last year and near 94% for the five-year average. Dough was 46%, near 42% last year and 49% average. Dented was 3%, equal to last year and near 5% average.

Soybean condition rated 6% very poor, 12% poor, 26% fair, 42% good and 14% excellent. Soybeans blooming was 91%, near 94% last year and 92% average. Setting pods was 68%, near 64% last year and equal to average.

Winter wheat harvested was 87%, behind 95% last year and 92% average.

Sorghum condition rated 1% very poor, 8% poor, 29% fair, 44% good and 18% excellent. Sorghum headed was 60%, ahead of 47% last year, but near 64% average. Coloring was 4%, equal to last year and near 5% average.

Oats harvested was 79%, behind 91% both last year and average.

Dry edible bean condition rated 0% very poor, 3% poor, 37% fair, 52% good and 8% excellent. Dry edible beans blooming was 72%, equal to last year. Setting pods was 42%, near 46% last year.

Pasture and Range Report:

Pasture and range conditions rated 4% very poor, 9% poor, 31% fair, 41% good and 15% 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.