Loans can be used to cover the cost of replacement equipment or livestock, the reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of some debts. The declarations cover large sections of Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as counties in other states like Maine, New Hampshire and New York.

With the intense rains this past season, some areas of the state had considerable gully erosion cutting up the fields, bounced across and made visible at harvest time, especially in soybeans. Some occurred in hailed out fields where there was no crop canopy to absorb the energy of the falling rain.

Nebraska strip-tiller Jerry Baysinger discusses the benefits of pelletized lime application in enhancing pH and phosphorus levels on strip-tilled fields. Baysinger is nearing the end of a 10-year study on the effects of pelletized lime application and grid sampling a test field each fall to evaluate soil nutrients.

Strip-tilling has increased dryland corn yields 30 to 45 bushels per acre for Scott Darling of Pender, Neb., since he started strip-tilling about 4 years ago.