Nebraska Extension Educator - Holt/Boyd Counties - LaDonna Werth
Nebraska Extension Educator - Holt/Boyd Counties - Amy Timmerman
Nebraska Extension Educator - Brown/Rock/Keya Paha Counties - Brittany Spieker
Nebraska Extension Educator – Holt/Boyd/Garfield/Loup/Wheeler Counties – Bethany Johnston
Nebraska 4-H Assistant - Holt/Boyd Counties - Debra Walnofer
November 2-3: 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor Initial Workshop, 8:00am-6:00pm, Trenton Community Building, Workshop Information & Registration - https://go.unl.edu/08qk
November 3: Boyd County 4-H Jamboree, 2:00pm, Butte Community Center, Butte, NE
November 8-10: Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium (NYBLS), Animal Science Complex, Lincoln, NE
November 11: CLOSED - Holt and Boyd County Extension Offices
November 12: The Next Generation of Farmers & Ranchers – How to Transition Your Operation, 10:00am-2:00pm, Holt County Courthouse Annex – Register at 1-800-464-0258 or https://nebraskagrazinglands.org
November 19: Livestock Risk Management Workshop, 10:30am-2:00pm, Holt County Annex, O’Neill, NE
December 11: 2025 Landlord/Tenant Cash Rent Workshop, 1pm-4pm, Holt County Courthouse Annex. Register at 402-336-2760 - For more information: https://cap.unl.edu/land25
How Television Impacts Children
Many parents are concerned about their children’s television habits. Are they watching too much? What are they watching? How is TV affecting them? These are the kinds of questions parents should ask when making decisions about their children’s TV viewing.
Here are some facts about TV that can give parents more information:
- American children watch an average of three to five hours of television every day.
- The average child witnesses 45 acts of violence on TV every day.
- Children watching TV may see 50,000 TV commercials every year.
- Most 2- to 5-year-old children watch TV an average of 31 hours each week or more than four hours each day.
- Children’s programming has an average of 26 violent acts every hour.
- Ten percent of children’s TV time is spent watching children’s programs and 90 percent of their time is spent watching programs intended for adults.
- The average American family has the TV on for 6.2 hours every day.
- Children are more likely to be obese when they watch TV four or more hours per day.
LaDonna Werth
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: LWerth2@unl.edu
Many studies found that TV violence impacts children and teens negatively. For example, children learn that violence is an acceptable way to solve problems. Children may develop strong emotional fears, imitate the violence they see on TV, become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, and identify with certain characters, both good and bad. Studies also show that children who watch too much television may be more aggressive and violent, perform poorly in school, use drugs or alcohol, and become sexually active at an early age.
Children’s development and learning may also suffer from too much TV. Children watching too much TV don’t get as much physical activity and aren’t exposed to new experiences. One study showed that 4-year-olds who watched a lot of TV scored lower on measures of applied problem solving, language comprehension and expressive vocabulary.
Although there are negative effects of watching too much television, some studies indicate that moderate TV viewing can stimulate a child’s education and creativity. Children who watched a moderate amount of TV performed better academically than children who watched TV excessively or not at all.
Television can have both negative and positive effects on children. Like anything else, moderation is best. Parents should limit the amount of time their children spend in front of the TV and pay close attention to the content of the programs they are watching.
Here are more suggestions for parents to help guide children’s television viewing:
- Put TV sets in family areas instead of in children’s rooms.
- Monitor what your children are viewing and avoid violent or sexual content.
- Watch TV with your children and discuss the program or commercials. Ask them questions and express your thoughts and feelings. This discussion process will help children critically evaluate programs and advertisements.
- Set limits on TV viewing. For example, restrict TV during meals and before children have finished homework or chores.
- Be a good role model for your children with your own TV viewing habits. They model what you do more than what you say.
Source: Graham, J. 2008. How Television Viewing Affects Children. Family Issues Facts. University of Maine Cooperative Extension. National Institute on Media and the Family. Children and Media Violence. Oesterriech, L. 2004. Getting Along: Taming the TV. Iowa State University Extension (2018).
Hunting Rights and Land Leases
Amid market volatility, some producers may be exploring additional income opportunities. One potential option they’re considering is hunting. A common question for those leasing land is: who holds the hunting rights?
In a written cropland or pasture lease, it’s possible to specify who has hunting rights. If the lease doesn’t explicitly reserve hunting rights for the landlord, those rights typically belong to the tenant for the lease term.
In Nebraska, property owners have the right to inspect their properties to ensure compliance with the terms of the lease. This includes checking for proper maintenance of fencing, adherence to environmental guidelines, and any other lease-specific conditions. However, these inspections typically require prior notice to tenants and should be conducted at reasonable times.
In cases where the lease is unwritten, hunting rights usually default to the tenant, unless otherwise agreed upon by both parties. This principle is based on the idea that, without specific restrictions, the tenant has the full right to use the land - excluding others, including the landlord - during the lease period. This may come as a surprise to some landowners, who might assume they automatically retain certain property rights that, in reality, pass to the tenant.
Source: Shannon Sand – Extension Educator (Pasture and Forage Minute – October 15, 2024)
Amy Timmerman
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: atimmerman2@unl.edu
Fall Garden Tasks - Perennials
When autumn arrives, several things can be done to prepare the garden for winter and the following growing season.
Perennials
No Need to Clear-Cut the Perennial Garden
It is not necessary to clear-cut the perennial garden after the first freeze of the season. Leaving the leaves, stems, dried flowers, and seed heads of many perennials provides more interest through the winter months. Leaving the plant materials also provides an extra layer of protection for the crown and root system of the perennial. Plus, the dead stems and leaves collect fallen leaves, adding even more protection. Leaving the plant material in place and removing it in early spring instead of fall also helps provide food and protection to native pollinators, beneficial insects, and wildlife, such as birds.
While it is largely beneficial to leave the foliage in place through winter, removing plant material in the fall after it has naturally died back should be done for perennials with disease or insect pest issues during the summer. Additionally, those perennials that tend to be weedy or spread aggressively by seed benefit from late-season deadheading and clean-up to prevent them from being too weedy.
Consider a Blanket of Mulch
Leaving plant debris in place over the winter months can help shallow-rooted perennials that may frost heave. Frost heaving
Amy Timmerman
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: atimmerman2@unl.edu
happens when the freeze-thaw cycle of the upper layer of soil works the crown and root system of the perennial plant out of the ground. If more protection is needed to prevent frost heaving, apply about four inches of mulch over the crown of the plant after the ground freezes, typically by late November in much of Iowa. Do not place the mulch on too early as it can slow plants from going dormant and make them more susceptible to damage from cold temperatures. Remove the excess mulch “blanket” in early spring as soon as the top layer thaws, typically around mid-March in much of Iowa.
Protect Marginally Hardy Perennials
Tender perennials can also be protected with cages placed around the plants and filled with straw or pine needles. Avoid using leaves as they tend to mat down over winter smothering the plants. As with extra mulch, place the protective layer late in the fall season and remove it in early spring. Do not use Styrofoam cones or domes as they can cause premature warming in the early spring bringing plants out of dormancy early and making them more susceptible to cold damage.
Additionally, most plants will not fit under these cones without extensive pruning, and it is better to prune in spring rather than fall.
Source: Aaron Steil - Iowa State University Consumer Horticulture Extension (Yard and Garden - October 2024)
Winter Management Options for Weaned Calves
Many spring-born calves weaned in the fall are backgrounded through the winter prior to grazing summer grass or feedlot entry. There are many management options to consider for weaned calves depending on feed resources, labor, and subsequent management strategies.
Cornstalk residue and winter range
Cornstalk residue can be a very economical forage resource in the northern Great Plains region. However, both cornstalk residue and dormant winter range can be very low in energy and protein making it necessary to provide some supplement to achieve targeted gains. A research experiment conducted in eastern Nebraska reported a loss of body weight in 500-pound calves receiving only mineral supplementation while grazing cornstalks. Calves supplemented 3.5 pounds of a mixture of corn, molasses, and urea only gained 0.5 pound per day while calves supplemented 3 pounds of dried distillers grains gained 1.3 pounds per day. This suggests the calves needed supplemental rumen undegradable protein as well as energy while grazing cornstalk residue. Similarly, 450-pound calves in the Texas Panhandle grazing dormant native range gained 0.5 pound per day without energy or protein supplementation but gained 1.4 pounds per day when supplemented 2.5 pounds of dried distillers grains. In the Sandhills of Nebraska, 600-pound steers have been reported to gain 1 pound per day when supplemented 2 pounds of dried distillers grains while grazing winter range.
Bethany Johnston
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: bjohnston3@unl.edu
Annual forages and cover crops
In integrated cropping and livestock regions, planting winter annuals such as oats, triticale, or rye after corn silage harvest can provide high quality winter grazing for weaned calves. Research in Nebraska has shown 550-pound calves to gain between 1.5 and 2 pounds per day when grazing oats or a mix of oats and radishes from November to January.
On the southern plains, wheat pasture grazing is a common practice during the winter. Research from Texas A&M evaluated supplementing grazing steers (400 pounds) with 3 pounds of dry rolled corn or dried distillers grains. The calves supplemented with dry rolled corn gained similarly to the non-supplemented calves (2.86 pounds per day) while the calves supplemented dried distillers grains gained 3.08 pounds per day. It is important to note that after the feedlot phase, performance and carcass characteristics were not different across grazing treatments.
Total mixed ration in a drylot
For producers with integrated livestock and farming operations and limited pasture acres, growing calves on a total mixed ration may be a viable option. Silages (corn and annual forage) and distillers grains are typically cheaper energy sources than hay. Another advantage of feeding a total mixed ration is that the nutrient density and intake can be controlled better than in a grazing situation and can result in not only the targeted gain, but also more uniformity in body weight of the calves at market. Additionally, research has shown calves placed on a finishing ration shortly after weaning to be more profitable than those first placed on a growing ration. This is something to consider if the producer plans to retain ownership through finishing.
Compensatory Gain and Marketing Strategies
Supplementation strategies should always be evaluated based on the price of supplement including transportation and labor against the value of the gain derived from the supplementation on a yearly basis.
Research has shown cattle backgrounded to gain 1.5 pounds per day maintain a weight advantage through the finishing phase over cattle backgrounded to gain less than 1 pound per day. Even though cattle restricted during backgrounding experience compensatory gain once they are placed on a higher plane of nutrition, they typically only compensate about 37-38%, meaning they continue to have lighter body weight than cattle backgrounded to gain 1.5 pounds per day.
Summary
Some producers retain calves through winter while others may continue to graze summer grass with them, selling in the fall. Other producers may retain ownership through the finishing phase. Therefore, targeted gain and backgrounding resources should be evaluated against marketing strategies and the calf value. However, targeting adequate gain (1 to 1.5 pounds per day) to develop structural and muscle growth during the winter is advantageous regardless of marketing strategy.
Source: Karla Wilke - UNL Cow/Calf Systems and Stocker Management (BeefWatch – October 30, 2024)