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Nebraska farmer says additional moisture needed ahead of growing season

An eastern Nebraska farmer says a lack of moisture could be problematic for spring planting.

Tanner Hoffman tells Brownfield dry conditions have been in place for the past two to three months.

“I think that may come to roost as we hit planting. We’re going to need some moisture again to get the crop out of the ground.”

He says drought also leads to challenges with weed control in soybean acres.  

“We need to layer on a pre and a post-residual to try and knock these pigweeds and waterhemp back and without moisture, those products don’t activate.”

Variable weather extremes throughout 2024 resulted in Hoffman adjusting crop rotations mid-year. As spring approaches, he says he’s focused on risk management options.

I think there are some really interesting new products on the insurance side, like SCO and ECO, that I need to understand more effectively. So sitting down with our insurance agent, making the right decisions based on the upcoming year and what we expect to happen, I think is more important now than ever,” he says.

Hoffman, who farms near Valley, says he typically grows equal acres of corn and soybeans but is strongly considering a shift to more corn acres in 2025.

AUDIO: Tanner Hoffman, Associate Vice President, CLUTCH