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Bridgette Reese/realagstock Center for Agricultural Profitability experts identify 11 questions you may have about using the Agricultural Budget Program to assist with decision-making for your operation.

After being convicted of crop insurance fraud, a Nebraska producer reveals the impact on his life and operation in this new webinar.

Producers have until March 15, 2023 to enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2023 crop year.

All chemigation applicator certifications expire on Jan. 1 of the fourth years following completion of the training program. To verify the date your chemigation certification will expire, visit NDEE. For new or renewed chemigation certifications, Nebraska applicators can choose to attend one of the 17 in-person training dates in 2023 or an online program, both of which cover the same information and final exam.

As of Oct. 30, dry edible bean harvest was complete, corn harvest was at 80% and winter wheat emerged was 94%.

This course is designed to help farmers and ranchers understand their current financial position and how big decisions like large purchases, new leases or changes in production will affect their bottom line.

Photo by Craig Chandler, University Communication Extension educators assess the value of soybean residue as livestock forage and share management recommendations for grazing alfalfa to avoid bloat.

(Three to Five Years)

Image Source: Canva

The “Why” years can be rather trying at times, but what a clear sign of your child’s expanding knowledge!  This is the prime time to make memories through shared activities.   Creativity can be encouraged through art, dance, music and story-telling activities.  These activities may be one-on-one with your child or with small groups of preschoolers.

Three to Four Years

At three years of age, you may notice new skills such as matching shapes, colors and patterns or drawing simple faces. Three-year-olds may use a pencil or crayon to print large capital letters or they may cut with scissors and begin to follow simple outlines.  These are some activities you may enjoy trying with your child:

• Reading stories and poems with repeating phrases where children can join in

• Singing or dancing activities in small groups such as “Ring Around the Rosy” and “Musical Chairs”

• Reciting rhymes or finger plays with counting

• Dancing or exaggerated movements in front of a mirror

• Making collages using paper, glue, and pictures cut from magazines

• Labeling your child’s artwork using his/her own words and then letting your child “read” it

• Humming familiar tunes and encouraging your child to recall lyrics or add new verses

• Asking your child to choose a favorite storybook character to act out and discussing the character’s feelings and emotions

• Reading a familiar story and pausing halfway through to let your child recall the ending or make up a new ending

• Telling stories of grandparents, aunts and uncles when they were children

• Imitating movements made by animals (loud and fast or soft and slow)

• Imitating sounds found in nature (wind, rain, hail, thunder)

Image source: Canva

Four to Five Years

Are you starting to hear “stories” from your child that show imagination and exaggeration?  Do these stories involve lots of actions such as running, jumping and hopping?  Here are some other creative activities to try:

• Repeating sequences of three to five simple movements to fit a song or dance

• Creating child drums by using empty containers

• Making a patchwork quilt with scraps of paper or fabric

• Inserting a familiar song when telling a story or reading a book

• Drawing a character from a favorite book or drawing a self-portrait while looking in a mirror

• Observing animals and drawing them in motion

• Identifying what is missing from a drawing of a face or animal

• Bringing clipboards outside so children can draw trees, flowers, pine cones, and tall grass

• Dramatizing a story together with familiar roles and then reversing roles in the same story.

Image source: Canva

Five Years

“I can do this!”  Yes, your child will demonstrate many new skills during this year!   Physical skills may include jumping rope, playing hopscotch, doing somersaults and cartwheels and riding a bike.  Buildings made with cardboard or blocks may become quite elaborate and so will the stories that accompany these adventures.  Encourage your child’s creativity by providing opportunities to try some of the following activities:

• Making scrapbooks of favorite stories or artwork

• Writing a song together

• Telling a brief story and have your child draw or paint pictures showing emotions

• Role play a familiar chore and have your child guess the activity, then reverse roles

• Choosing a theme and have children create a mural using sidewalk chalk

• Demonstrating dance movements and then have children take turns leading the dance while the music plays

• Reciting poetry about emotions and experiences. Reciting a second time with pauses to let your preschooler provide keywords especially concerning feelings.  Encouraging your child to talk about any other feelings.

• Provide a prop box of durable items and choose stories to dramatize

For more information on developmental milestones, check out our NebGuide on Ages and Stages for 3, 4, and 5 year olds https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/g2106.pdf

Our Beautiful Day video inspires families to Go on a Nature Walk https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/12406 or here is another on playing a game of Bean Bag Toss https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/13187. Discover and Design are packed full of ideas https://fitandhealthykids.unl.edu/discover-and-design.

Linked resource:  Creative Connections:  Young Children and the Arts

By the Maryland State Department of Education, 2013

www.marylandhealthybeginnings.org

LA DONNA WERTH, EARLY CHILDHOOD EXTENSION EDUCATOR | UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

Peer Reviewed by Lynn DeVries, Lisa Poppe, and Jackie Steffen, Early Childhood Extension Educators

Make sure to follow The Learning Child on social media for more research-based early childhood education resources!

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

The drought across much of the western U.S has resulted in low hay production, high hay prices and in some cases, no hay to be bought.  Some producers may be considering using corn residue bales. Corn residue has been traditionally used as a roughage source in feedlot diets and more recently mixed with more energy dense feeds and fed to cows in confinement. However, many operations may not have the ability to mix and feed diets.

Spanish: 

Photo by Mitiku Mamo Nebraska Extension educators share recommendations for crops impacted by fire damage, highlighting grain and feed options for unharvested corn, what to expect of soil nutrient loss and techniques to avoid soil erosion.

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Forty-seven high school students from Cherry, Grant, Hooker, and Thomas counties attended the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory (GSL) Youth Science Day on October 5. Beef Systems Extension Educator, T. L. Meyer, kicked off the event with an introduction to GSL before dividing the students into two groups for lab rotation topics. The six topics included Smart Feeder technology (Travis Mulliniks and Jacki Musgrave), beef reproduction (Rosemary Anderson), fire and range management (Ryan Benjamin), precision livestock management (Yijie Xiong and T. L.

Spanish: 

Oct. 24, 2022, Emerson, Neb.—Emerson’s recently opened Post 60 Market, 109 Main Street, will hold its Grand Opening from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 29.  They invite the public to drop in for taste testing, sign up for door prizes, and check out their amazing product selection.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at noon.  Pulled pork sandwiches will be served at 11 a.m. until gone.

More than 100 government, industry and academic leaders will share insights on a wide array of topics including commodity and food price outlooks, U.S. and global agricultural trade developments, supply chain disruptions, and innovations to mitigate impacts of climate change.

Insights on the process of conditioning low-moisture soybeans while avoiding damage to grain bins, with respect to cost-effectiveness.

As of Oct. 23, soybean harvest was at 93%, well ahead of both last year and the five-year average. Dry edible beans and winter wheat are also nearly finished with harvest, while corn and sorghum are now over 50% done.

The next precipitation event for Nebraska is projected to begin on Nov. 4, with rain in the eastern part of the state and snow anticipated for the western and central regions.

Nathan Lykins/realagstock

Kallie Jo Coates/realagstock