Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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Tips for a Successful County Fair Entry County fairs are just around the corner, and we hope you will have items to enter! Consider entering your garden and crop bounty in the open horticulture, floriculture and field crops classes at your county fair. Your entries are judged on the following criteria: freedom from injury, quality, condition, uniformity and fair preparation. This information can be found in 4-H manuals and in your county fair book. Contact your local Nebraska Extension office for these publications. See you at the fair!! Did...
As our nation celebrates Independence Day, the grocery bill for cookouts and picnics is hitting the budgets of American families harder this year. The American Farm Bureau Federation calculated U.S. consumers are paying 17 percent more for standard Fourth of July fixings than last year. Furthermore, soaring gas prices are limiting summer vacation plans and travel. It’s not just holiday expenses: American families are feeling the pain caused by the Biden administration’s failed policies eve...
The 2022 Nebraska Grazing Conference will be held August 9 and 10 at the Younes Conference Center in Kearney, NE with a program bridging grazing lands conservation and management. The conference will begin with a field tour from 9:30 am to 11:30 am at the Cottonwood Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) northeast of Bertrand, NE and move to the Linder WPA, which is 1.5 miles from the first stop. Discussion topics include conservation practices and grazing management. Scheduled speakers are producers Tim Hawk and Robert Steinbrink and Brad Krohn,...
LINCOLN – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that agricultural producers nationwide have already received more than $4 billion through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP), representing nearly 67% of the more than $6 billion projected to be paid through this phase of the program. Eligible producers in Nebraska have received $123.1 million in funding to date. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mailed out pre-filled applications in late May to producers with crop insurance who suffered losses due to natural disasters in...
Jeff Bradshaw, UNL Associate Professor, Entomology Jeff Cluever, UNL Graduate Research Assistant, Entomology Gracie Keiter, UNL Student Intern, Entomology One of the key pests in our region is the Western bean cutworm (WBC). WBC feeding can reduce the quantity and quality of dry bean and corn crops. Typically, control is achieved with a foliar application of a pyrethroid. However, unnecessary or ill-timed insecticide applications of any pesticide can be detrimental to the environment, the health of the applicator, and/or the health of the...
ST. LOUIS (June 24, 2022) — Share the story of how conservation is part of your farm operation and you could be recognized with a Conservation Legacy Award. The awards recognize farm management practices of U.S. soybean farmers that are both environmentally friendly and profitable. Are you using a reduced tillage practice on your farm? Do you grow cover crops? Have you taken steps to improve energy efficiency or water quality? These are just a few conservation practices used on some farms today that can help produce sustainable U.S. s...
The importance of a strong agriculture economy to the state of Nebraska and our entire nation cannot be overstated. Often overlooked in policy conversations, the products supplied by farmers and ranchers are fundamental to fueling our lives, filling our plates, putting shirts on our backs, and so much more. Yet, American ag producers currently face a bevy of historic crises which threaten their livelihoods and the long-term health of our economy. This comes at a time when relief for Americans...
University of Nebraska-Lincoln field pea variety trial plot tours are scheduled for June 20-22 at Alliance, Grant, and Sidney, respectively. The tours provide an opportunity for farmers and others to learn more about new varieties and other topics relevant to wheat and peas. Pea variety trials are being conducted at three sites in the Panhandle and southwest Nebraska: Box Butte County near Alliance (11 varieties), Cheyenne County near Sidney (28 varieties), and Perkins County near Grant (23 varieties). Each site is dryland. Field pea varieties...
By Brent Plugge, Nebraska Extension Beef Educator and Hannah Greenwell, Nebraska Extension Beef Educator Nebraska Extension will host a stocker/yearling systems summer meeting and tour Thursday, June 23 in Imperial, Nebraska. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. MDT and the program will kick off at 9:00 a.m. MDT at the Crossroads Wesleyan Church, Imperial. Lunch is sponsored by Merck Animal Health, followed by a tour of Wine Glass Ranch in the afternoon. The morning program will begin with a research update from Dale Blasi, beef cattle...
By Robert Klein, Emeritus Extension Professor, UNL West Central Research & Extension Center Cody Creech, Dryland Cropping Systems Specialist, UNL Panhandle Research & Extension Center Amanda Easterly, Research Assistant Professor, HPAL Wheat growers in western Nebraska are concerned about possible injury due to abnormally low temperatures that occurred several times over the past weekend. Winter wheat is in the late boot to early heading stage at the present time but has been subjected to a number of stressors this growing season. Dry planting...
By Jeff Bradshaw Extension Entomology Specialist, Panhandle Research & Extension Center The Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia, is a pest of wheat worldwide; however, the last time that Nebraska saw a serious outbreak of this pest was probably in the late 1980s following its introduction into the U.S. in 1986. However, last June there were some fields in Kimball County that had reported heavy infestations of Russian wheat aphid in their fields and some required treatment. Additionally, we...
LINCOLN — Developing communication skills to improve relationships will be the focus of a two-part virtual workshop hosted by Nebraska Extension’s Women in Agriculture program in June. The workshop, “Tools for Effective Communication: Allowing You to Enhance Your Relationship with Yourself and Others,” will hold its first session from 1 to 3 p.m. Central time on June 2. The second session is scheduled for 1 to 2 p.m. Central time on June 30. It will be facilitated by Ashley Machado, a mental...
An invasive and noxious weed surveying project, which will focus on waterways in Western Nebraska, is set to begin this week. The Panhandle Research Integration for Discovery Education, otherwise known as P.R.I.D.E., is heading up the surveying project to get a grasp and head start on invasive and noxious weeds in the area’s precious waterways. Helicopters will be utilized in Sheridan, Box Butte, Deuel, Sioux, Dawes, Cheyenne, and Garden counties to locate areas of noxious and invasive weeds t...
LINCOLN – For nearly 100 years University of Nebraska-Lincoln students have been evaluating the cuts of meat for differences in composition and quality as part of the Meats Judging Team. The UNL Meats Judging Team hit the ground running in that first year —1926 — winning the First International Livestock Exposition Meat Judging Contest. The success continued throughout the years as they received multiple team and individual awards at numerous contests. The team went through a recent slow spell...
The Panhandle Research and Extension Center is pleased to announce the promotion of four faculty members in 2022. Jeff Bradshaw and Karla Wilke earned promotion to full professor. Nevin Lawrence and Bijesh Maharjan earned promotions to associate professor and granted tenure. Jeff Bradshaw was promoted to professor. Bradshaw started working for UNL in 2010 and was granted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2014. He earned his Associate of Arts and Sciences in biology at Illinois Central College, a Master of Science degree in zoology at...
More than 700 elementary students from western Nebraska got a hands-on education recently about Nebraska agriculture during the Agsplosion event that was held in five different locations in the Panhandle. The young learners spent the day rotating through eight stations about a variety of agriculture commodities that were presented by Nebraska Extension educators and assistants. The students learned about the livestock and crops that are raised and grown in the Panhandle as well as across the state. Some of what the students learned include:...
LINCOLN (May 6, 2022) – Nebraska Farmers Union (NeFU) applauds the appointments of four additional members to the Nebraska FSA State Committee. They join Roy Stoltenberg of Cairo who was appointed to the State Committee November 1, 2021 and John Berge who was appointed to serve as the USDA Nebraska FSA Executive Director December 29, 2021. The State Committee is responsible for the oversight of farm programs and county committee operations. The State Committee hears appeals from ag producers unsatisfied with county decisions. The Committee a...
As Nebraskans know well, we are the beef state. We have every segment of the supply chain from cow-calf producers, to backgrounders, to large and small feed yards and also three of the four big packers in the state. The livestock industry contributes $13.8 billion to Nebraska’s economy annually. It is without a doubt the economic engine of our state. Recently, there was a legislative hearing on my bipartisan bill The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act in the Senate Agriculture C...
Inspect, Connect, Direct, Select -the four steps of the Water Sense Sprinkler Spruce Up. First, inspect and replace clogged, broken or missing sprinkler heads. Second, check for leaks where heads and pipes connect and tighten if needed. Third, direct sprays on the landscape. And fourth, select the proper watering schedule or employ a weather-based irrigation controller. Sparingly and Caringly. Fertilizer is the largest pollutant in stormwater runoff and spawns large algae blooms, nutrient overload, and hypoxic (or Dead zones) in ponds, lakes,...
By John Thomas; Crops Extension Educator, Box Butte, Dawes, Sheridan, and Sioux Counties Karen DeBoer; Crops Extension Educator, Kimball, Banner, and Cheyenne Counties John Smith; Retired Machinery Systems Engineer, PREC, Scottsbluff High winds lasting for multiple days combined with long-term dry conditions have created the “perfect storm” for soil erosion to develop across Nebraska. The erosion is visible in moving and drifted soil (Fig 1) and should be controlled before more topsoil and cro...
There’s an old wives’ tale in farming: Seven years of drought and seven years of good conditions. Galen Roebke, Seward farmer, said the current drought timeline makes him wonder if it’s true. He said he’s starting to notice how dry his farm is after not having drought be a concern the past few years. “You sometimes think about those things, that we might have a prolonged dry time,” Roebke said. “Our last few years, we’ve been blessed with adequate rainfall. Sometimes, you almost think it’s too...
Those interested in learning about current trends in cash rental rates, lease provisions, and crop and grazing land considerations should make plans to attend an upcoming workshop in Rushville. A Farmland and Pasture Lease workshop will be held April 29, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Sheridan County Extension Office (800 S Loofborrow Street, Rushville). To register call the Sheridan County Extension Office at (308) 327-2312. The program is free and open to the public. This workshop is designed to provide up to date information on management str...
Whether it’s a reptile wrapped around a wrist or a cool splash in the Middle Loup River, Adventure Camp about the Environment (ACE) has something to offer this summer. Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) are now accepting registrations for ACE Camp June 26-29, 2022, at the State 4-H Youth Camp near Halsey, Nebraska. Nebraska’s 23 NRDs encourage middle school students interested in the outdoors to sign up for this educational, action-packed camp. To qualify, students should have completed sixth, seventh or eighth grade in the 2021-...
By UNMC, Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, Omaha What do you want to protect? That’s the first question Purdue University College of Agriculture’s Fred Whitford advises farmers to ask when considering how to make their farm site safer. “With all of today’s rules and regulations, farmers may find it challenging to add another task,” Whitford says. “Right now may be a good time to make your site more secure. Theft and vandalism tend to increase during cycles of high fuel and chemical prices. But set up something you will u...
Scottsbluff native Brittany Fulton has been appointed as Communications Specialist for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center at Scottsbluff. She will be responsible for news media, social media, web content, video content, meeting technology, and other communications roles related to the Panhandle Center and Extension in western Nebraska. Her appointment was announced by Mitchell Stephenson, interim director of the Panhandle Center, where she is...
