A Nebraska 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Certification Workshop is scheduled for early October near Ashland. It will be held October 7-8 at the Ashland Gun Club near Ashland. The early bird deadline to register for the Ashland session is September 27th, 5 pm and in Kearney on October 28- 29 at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds. The early bird deadline to register for the workshop is October 18th.
Volunteers have the opportunity to become certified as an adult (21 years and older) or apprentice (14-20 years old) leader in the Shotgun discipline. There is a minimum number of participants required to offer this workshop. Workshop participants will learn under expert instruction from members of the Nebraska State 4-H Shooting Sports Training Team.
Local Interest
Hay quality varies depending on when it was cut, growing conditions and how it is harvested and stored. While we had more rain this year, hay quality tests on some meadows appear to be lower in crude protein than expected. Accurately sampling and testing hay is the only way to get an accurate nutritive value to make sure cows are meeting requirements and to minimize hay waste. Central Sandhills Area Extension loans out hay probes for ranchers to collect hay samples. Call 645-2267 if you would like to borrow one or just have questions on sampling hay.
Beef Quality Assurance is a voluntary, producer-driven program based on recommended national guidelines and research. Currently the program influences the management of more than 80% of U.S. cattle today. To attend an in-person training or get certified online, please visit https://bqa.unl.edu/ or call TL Meyer, beef educator, at the Central Sandhills Area Extension office. Upcoming trainings include October 23 in Bridgeport, October 24 in Hyannis, October 26 in O’Neill, and December 14 in Ogallala.
Nebraska Extension will host a six-session webinar series on Monday and Thursday evenings beginning October 3 through November 9 from 7:30 - 8:45 p.m. CT that will explain the basics of knowing, growing and grazing grass. Topics will include id of key grass species, factors influencing grass growth, calculating stocking rates, developing grazing and drought plans, using the USDA Web Soil Survey, and understanding Pasture Range and Forage insurance. Cost is $85/person and includes a copy of Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains and a resource notebook with Nebraska Extension NebGuides and Circulars. The course will be limited to 25 participants.
It’s that time of year again and we’ll be hosting the 19th annual Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium (NYBLS) here at the Animal Science Complex on November 17 – 19, 2023. More details about the symposium, the 2022 recap video and the application link can be found at go.unl.edu/nybls. Please note the application deadline of October 1st. If an individual is selected to participate, a $75 registration fee will be collected at that time.
More details at: https://go.unl.edu/nybls
Planning for winter feed, marketing the calf crop, or other management decisions? Looking for information to help with those decisions? You can find a wide range of resources at https://beef.unl.edu/ or contact T.L. Meyer, your local Nebraska Extension beef systems educator at 308-645-2267, tl.meyer@unl.edu, or in-person. You can also follow her daily posts on social media by searching Central Sandhills Beef Educator.
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