University of Nebraska Extension - Holt/Boyd News Column for the Week of June 30, 2024

LaDonna Werth, Extension Educator Phone: 402-336-2760 E-mail: LWerth2@unl.edu

Let’s Preserve!

With summer temperatures heating up and gardens producing an abundance of great produce, you may be wondering how to keep the produce that you are not able to eat right away or share with others. Nebraska Extension is able to help! https://food.unl.edu/food-preservation is a great resource for all of your food preservation needs. You can learn about canning vegetables, fruits, tomatoes and tomato products, as well as pickles, jams and jellies, and meat, poultry and seafood. The website also has information on refrigerator and freezer storage, and drying food.

Nebraska Extension has videos that can help you with everything from getting ready to can; learning about elevation in home canning and the boiling water bath canning video. These can be accessed at https://food.unl.edu/food-preservation-videos.

Unfortunately, not all the recipes that you find on-line are safe methods of preserving the food. That is why it is important to search for research-based recipes when planning to preserve your food. To get started, you can take a quiz: How Savvy are YOU with Home Canning? It is located at: food.unl.edu/resources/how-savvy-are-you-with-home-canning-activity.pdf

When looking for a recipe, know that you can trust food.unl.edu or the National Center for Home Food Preservation, https://nchfp.uga.edu Nebraska Extension has Food Nutrition & Health Extension Educators throughout the state who can help answer your food safety questions. To locate a Nebraska Extension Educator near you, refer to https://epd.unl.edu

Source: Kayla Hinrichs - Food, Nutrition and Health Extension Educator (UNL For Families – July 1, 2024)

Poison Hemlock

Have you noticed tall weeds with umbrella-like white flowers in pastures, ditchbanks and along the roadsides? It may be poison hemlock, a toxic plant to both people and livestock.

Poison hemlock is one of Nebraska’s top 10 poisonous plants. It thrives in wet or moist soils along streams, roadsides and pastures. Hemlock has distinctive fern-like leaves and purple spots on its stems. A biennial plant, it grows as a rosette in its first year and produces a stalk with white flowers in the second.

So, how can you manage this weed? Avoid overgrazing pastures containing hemlock. When there's plenty of forage, animals will eat the healthy, palatable plants and avoid hemlock. However, if grass gets short, even unpalatable poisonous plants might be consumed. This includes turning hungry animals into fresh pastures with hemlock; desperate animals may eat the first green plant they encounter. Ensure plenty of water, salt and minerals are always available. Animals deprived of these essentials may eat abnormally, increasing the risk of consuming hemlock. Just five pounds of foliage can be lethal for cows, and only two pounds can be deadly for horses.

Fortunately, hemlock is usually not palatable to most livestock. They won’t eat much unless it's the only green plant around or if the plant has been altered. Do not attempt to control hemlock during the grazing season by mowing or spraying. This can increase its palatability, making it more likely for animals to consume enough to be poisoned. Instead, control poison hemlock in early spring or fall when animals are not in the pasture, or fence off large patches if necessary.

Options for herbicide control may include 2,4-D + Dicamba; Graslan L®; Chaparral®; Cimarron Plus®; DuraCor®; Escort XP®; and Streamline®.

Source: Ben Beckman - Extension Educator (Pasture and Forage Minute – June 20, 2024)

Vegetable Issues

Cucumbers not setting fruit, tomatoes and zucchini developing brown bottoms, and questions about how to avoid squash plants collapsing like they did last year. These are some questions Extension horticulturists are hearing.

On vine crops, especially cucumbers, there have been questions about plants not setting fruit or fruit falling off when it’s a few inches long. On cucumbers that have many flowers but no fruit, a little patience may be all that is needed.

Some plants, like squash and cucumber, have separate male and female flowers on the same plant. When plants first begin to bloom, only male flowers are produced. This is why we see flowers but no fruit. Plants soon develop female flowers and fruits begin to develop.

If two- to three-inch-long fruits are falling off, this is due to pollination issues. With poor or incomplete pollination, fruit will begin to develop but if not fully fertilized development stops and small fruits drop off.

Pollination issues can occur if plants are over fertilized with nitrogen, nighttime temperatures are above 75 degrees Fahrenheit, or there is extreme heat or water stress. Applying insecticides while plants are blooming can also lead to poor pollination.

In most cases, cucumbers and squash will continue to develop flowers that eventually will be fully pollinated; and fruits will reach adequate size for harvesting.>

As tomatoes and other fruits like zucchini and peppers develop, the bottoms may turn brown and leathery or soft. This is the disorder blossom end rot and it is caused by a lack of calcium in the fruit. While there is a spray sold to supposedly solve this issue, using sprays to provide calcium only makes the gardener feel better.

Calcium is a macronutrient, meaning plants need it in larger quantities than some of the other nutrients. Calcium is also considered less mobile; making it difficult to transport through plants.

Soils are rarely deficient in calcium and most plants have plenty of calcium. It is just not reaching the fruit as plants first begin to set fruit. To aid transport into fruits, the soil needs to be kept evenly moist with adequate irrigation and mulching. Patience and correct watering are the best solutions.

When squash plants suddenly wilt and die, they are likely infested with squash vine borer which is white caterpillar. It is the immature form of a clear-winged red and black moth who lays eggs at the base of squash stems.

After hatching, larvae burrow into stems to feed. This damage cuts off the supply of water and nutrients to the plant. The base of the plant at ground level is often weak and full of holes with sawdust. If you slice open stems, the white caterpillar may be found.

This insect is hard to manage. Once inside stems, insecticides are no longer effective. During egg laying from late June into July, monitor squash plants for the moth. Squish any eggs that are found. The base of plants can be treated with insecticides like bifenthrin or permethrin labeled for use on vegetables. These only kill larvae before they burrow into the stems so application timing is critical.<

Source: Kelly Feehan - Extension Educator

Considerations for Beef Producers Following a Flood Event

Floods can be one of the more challenging weather events to prepare for. Weather monitoring websites and tools can be used to aid in monitoring flood levels. If there is a lot of predicted precipitation in the forecast, and your cattle herd is located in a lower area of land, you may want to be proactive and consider moving the herd prior to the weather event. In the aftermath of a flood event, there are different items to be considered for beef herds.

Cattle Safety

Whether your cattle herd is located out in a pasture, a feedlot, or confined space, you want to make sure they can get to dry, high ground. Additional hay and bedding may be needed depending on the circumstances. If cattle are located in low-lying areas, you should consider relocating animals to avoid your herd getting trapped in the path of flood waters.

Record the inventory and condition of your herd and document if any animals are missing. Be sure to note the number of cow/calf pairs present, as calves are more susceptible to being lost in flood waters. Keeping records can help determine how many cattle were lost during the event and their health status. In certain situations, cattle may have been carried with floods downstream and could be located many miles away from where they are supposed to be. Cattle severely affected by flood debris may require immediate veterinary attention or euthanasia. If cattle become deceased during this time, be sure to read the Guidelines for Livestock Carcass Disposal in South Dakota or refer to the guidelines for your state. There are different types of Livestock Loss Assistance Available and additional information about Livestock Indemnity Programs that should be reviewed depending on your situation.

Cattle Health and Nutrition

During any major environmental event, cattle herd health can become compromised. The stress caused by the event, combined with the lack of nutrition, can result in immunological challenges that can have long-lasting impacts. In addition, cattle may be injured from the flood event and require additional vaccination (such as tetanus boosters; see Tetanus: A Storm Aftermath Problem for Animals). Be sure to investigate ways of Preserving Your Ability To Care for Your Animals When Flooding Occurs.

Finding clean water following a flood can be a challenge. Flood waters are oftentimes contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and they may also be contaminated with fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides. Testing water resources can help identify safe drinking water to ensure adequate hydration of cattle. While you can Perform a Field Test for Livestock Water Quality initially following the weather event to have a rough estimate of your water quality, it is highly recommended to send water tests in for further analysis, because you may not be able to determine specific contaminates in the water. For additional testing, please visit the available Feed and Water Testing Laboratories for our region.

Cattle out on pasture should be supplemented with hay or other feed resources if they are not able to graze. A key step that should be practiced prior to any threat of adverse weather events is to place feed resources on high ground and not in low-lying areas. In general, wet feeds can be a safety hazard (including risk of fire) and can become moldy, which can be toxic to animals. Feed resources affected by flooding can pose exacerbated concerns because of water submersion, as well as exposure to potentially contaminated water resources. Do not feed resources affected by flood waters until further analysis is conducted. Some feed resources may be too far gone to utilize, while some can be salvaged following a feed test. For feed testing information, please visit the available Feed & Water Testing Laboratories for our region. Consult with your nutritionist or SDSU Extension field specialist to determine the best course of action.

Other Considerations

If feed resources are shipped in routinely, you need to consider if there is a safe route to your operation. You should also inspect feed bays or bins for damage to infrastructure. If you are not able to receive feeds routinely, you may need to consider making ration modifications. However, consult with your nutritionist or SDSU Extension field specialist prior to making changes.

Manure storage areas should be inspected and documented. There are emergency management options, and these can vary depending on where you are located. In the state of South Dakota, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations have twenty-four hours from the time the producer first became aware of the discharge to report an incident. If flooding has affected your manure storage area, consider strategies for Dealing with Emergency Manure Runoff.

Fences and facilities affected by floods can have long-lasting implications. Inspecting and documenting infrastructure damage is critical for insurance purposes. Fences in areas affected by flood water should be fixed and freed of any debris. In extreme cases where fences are entirely destroyed by land that has caved away or is located where gullies or ravines are now present, it is wise to fence around these areas. Be cautious when inspecting and fencing these areas, as the land still has the potential to cave away.

Summary

There are many items to consider following any major environmental event. These events not only create challenges for animals but can create challenges for their caretakers. While caring for and tending to livestock in flood situations is a top concern for livestock producers, ensuring the producer’s own safety and their family’s safety is a priority. Having a flood plan in place prior to these events and monitoring weather events can help mitigate extreme scenarios in adverse conditions.

Visit the SDSU Extension Flood Page at https://extension.sdstate.edu/flood for more information on all topics related to flooding.

Source: Erin DeHaan - Assistant Professor and SDSU Extension Beef Specialist (SDSU Beef – June 28, 2024)