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Nebraska heat, drought taking toll on crops, farmer says it’s costly season to irrigate

A Southwest Nebraska farmer says it’s already been the most expensive season to irrigate his crops and it could be several weeks before he stops.  

Don Batie of Lexington tells Brownfield diesel fuel and electricity might double last year’s expenses.  “We know it’s going to be a huge bill this fall, but it’s better than having dead corn.”

USDA says 50 percent of corn is rated good-to-excellent with three percent dented and 91 percent silking. “We’re probably a little behind yet because of a late spring. Corn is all silked and milk stage.”

He says he started pivots in April ahead of planting and has been watering corn nonstop since July. “Soybeans – we just started pushing water hard on them the first of August.  We’ll be going hot and heavy on that through the first of September and maybe through the middle of September.”

 Soybeans are rated 54 percent good to excellent with 95 percent blooming and Batie says if there’s water, there’s a crop. “Beans are setting pods and filling pods.  As long as we can irrigate it, crops are looking pretty good. The dryland pivot corners and some of the dryland fields are looking pretty bad.  I’m not sure if they’re going to make a crop or not.”

tie says the cost of repairs have increased, too. “Everyday something else is broken.  Today it’s an alternator went out. Yesterday a valve went out. You never know what’s going to break. Every morning it’s like a surprise what’s not going to be running when we get to the field.”

Only 9 percent of pastures are rated good-to-excellent.

Dry edible beans are 60 percent good-to-excellent and Sorghum is seen at 25 percent good-to-excellent.

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