Now is the time to plant summer annuals especially due to welcome rains. Summer annuals are typically warm season grasses planted in western Nebraska prior to June 1st to provide grazing or harvested as feed for beef cattle. Todd Whitney, Nebraska Extension Forage Agronomist.

As pastures begin to green up, now is the time to scout pastures for two persistent problems—leafy spurge and nonnative thistles like musk, plumeless, and Canada thistle. Both are Nebraska noxious weeds, and early spring is the best opportunity for control.

Managing pastures that contain both cool- and warm-season grasses takes a bit of strategy, but done right, it can result in productive and healthy pastures across the grazing season. Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Forage Systems Educator.

Smooth bromegrass and other cool-season grass hay fields are growing rapidly with seedheads beginning to appear. When do you typically cut your grass hay? Ideally, cutting your grass hay so the grass nutrient content matches with the nutritional needs of your livestock is best.

The 2025 rangeland grasshopper risk map from the USDA indicates there may be increased grasshopper activity in the eastern panhandle and southwestern Nebraska. Keeping an eye on fields this spring and summer can help mitigate economic loss from grasshopper feeding. Samantha Daniel, Nebraska Extension Crops and Water Educator.

Cereal grain crops, including rye, triticale, and oats can be harvested as forage silage and wheat as wheatlage. Compared to traditional haying, spring silage systems provide earlier forage harvesting with higher moisture content. Todd Whitney, Nebraska Extension Forage Agronomist.

It is close to the ideal time to plant a summer annual grass, maybe to replenish your hay supply or have some extra grazing. Which one will you plant? Jerry Volesky, Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Systems Specialist.

Spring is busy getting crops in the ground, but if much needed moisture keeps you from the field, take some time to maintain your haying equipment and prevent costly downtime later. Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Forage Systems Educator.

The time for turn out to our primary summer pastures is coming soon. A couple of important questions are what date to turn out, and which pastures should be first? Jerry Volesky, Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Systems Specialist.

Ideally, spring alfalfa growth begins with a full soil moisture profile. However, our drier winter and Spring moisture conditions have triggered some earlier irrigation in some Nebraska locations. Todd Whitney, Nebraska Extension Forage Agronomist.