Nebraska Extension Educator - Holt & Boyd Counties - LaDonna Werth
Nebraska Extension Educator - Holt & Boyd Counties - Amy Timmerman
Nebraska Extension Educator - Holt, Boyd, Garfield, Loup, & Wheeler Counties - Bethany Johnston
Nebraska Extension Educator - Brown, Rock, & Keya Paha Counties - Brittany Spieker
Nebraska 4-H Assistant - Holt & Boyd Counties - Debra Walnofer
April 19: Holt County 4-H Shooting Sports Practice: BB Gun, Air Rifle, Archery, SB Pistol, .22 Rifle, Holt County Fairgrounds, Chambers, NE
April 24: Brake for Breakfast Drive-Thru Event Cancer Prevention Promotion, 7am – 9am, Cherry County Hospital West Parking Lot, Valentine, NE
April 30: ServSafe Food Handler Training, 8:30am, Holt County Extension Office, O’Neill, NE, ServSafe Food Handler Registration
May 14: Private Pesticide Training, 9:30am, Phelps County Extension Office, Holdrege, NE
May 14: Private Pesticide Training, 1:30pm, Phelps County Extension Office, Holdrege, NE
May 18: Face-to-Face YQCA Training, 7pm, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE
June 1: DUE: Holt County Shooting Sports 4-H Invitational Shoot Registration
June 4-5: 2026 Tractor & Equipment Safety Training, AKRS Equipment Solutions, O’Neill, NE, Tractor and Equipment Safety Training Registration
June 6-7: Holt County Shooting Sports 4-H Invitational Shoot, Holt County Fairgrounds, Chambers, NE
Helping Children Deal with Anger
We all get angry - anger is a natural and useful emotion as it lets us know that something needs to change. It is how we deal with our anger that gives the emotion a bad reputation. Children learn how to deal with anger by watching the adults in their lives, so it is important to learn how to express anger in appropriate ways. Here are some things parents can do to help children express anger effectively:
- Anger is a natural emotion
Let children know that it’s OK to feel angry, but it’s not OK to hurt someone because you are angry. - Teach children to use their words
Young children may not have the words to express how they feel. Help children learn how to express their anger by giving them words to say, like “I don’t like it when you…” - Acknowledge your child’s anger
Let your child know that you understand his or her anger or frustration. Validate feelings by saying something like “I see you are very angry.” - Encourage your child to share feelings
Teach your child to recognize and talk about angry feelings in a positive way. Give your child your full attention and help them by having them repeat your words. You could say something like “It really made me mad when you…” - Be a good role model
Show your child appropriate ways to deal with anger through your own behaviors. What you do may be more important than what you say.
- Help your child calm down
Teach your child some ways to calm down when angry. For a young child, redirect his or her attention to another activity. For older children, try having them draw or write down their feelings. - Set clear limits
Let your child know what behavior is acceptable when he or she is angry and what behavior is not acceptable. You could say, “Saying you are mad or spending time alone is OK, but hitting is never OK.” - Focus on good behaviors
Reward your child with attention and acknowledgement when he or she deals with anger in a positive way. - Use empathy
Think about how your child may be thinking and feeling, and look at the situation from your child’s point of view. If your child’s anger has to do with another person, teach empathy to your child by pointing out how the other person might be feeling. You could say something like “How would you feel if…” - Teach through books
Read children’s books to your child on dealing with angry feelings. A couple of good anger books include:
“When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry” by Molly Bang
“I Was So Mad” by Mercer Mayer
Source: Kim Allen, Ph.D., M.F.T., director, Center on Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Parenting, state specialist, HDFS, University of Missouri Extension & Christina Crawford, M.A., former extension associate, HDFS, University of Missouri Extension
Adapted from Connecting For Families curriculum.
Dry Conditions Tighten Surface Water Supplies Across Nebraska Irrigation Districts
Key Takeaways
- Surface-water supplies are tightening across Nebraska, with some irrigation districts already planning reduced allocations, delayed starts, or shorter delivery windows.
- The Platte River Basin faces the most immediate pressure, with low snowpack and Lake McConaughy near 51% capacity limiting available water.
- In the Panhandle, late starts and shorter irrigation seasons may impact crop emergence and early growth, increasing yield risk.
- Central Platte districts are taking a defensive approach, delaying canal charging and conserving storage for peak summer demand.
- The Republican River Basin faces the tightest constraints, where drought conditions are compounded by interstate compact requirements.
Dry conditions across much of Nebraska are creating mounting uncertainty for surface‑water irrigation districts as the 2026 irrigation season approaches. While groundwater remains widely used and available in many regions, surface‑water systems are facing reduced storage, early operational decisions, and - in some cases - meaningful cutbacks.
Irrigation districts’ responses vary sharply across Nebraska’s three primary surface‑water basins: the Loup River Basin in north‑central Nebraska, the Platte River Basin stretching west to east across the state, and the Republican River Basin in southern Nebraska. Differences in hydrologic drivers, storage capacity, water right seniority, and interstate compacts are shaping how districts assess risk and manage limited supplies this year.
Loup River Basin: Calm Vigilance
The narrative in the Loup River Basin is one of calm vigilance. Unlike snowmelt‑driven river systems, the Loup is hydrologically distinct. The flows of this basin are primarily sustained by the vast groundwater reserves of the Nebraska Sandhills, acting as a natural “sponge,” slowly releasing water to the river network. This baseflow has historically allowed the system to withstand short‑term drought shocks better than many other basins. However, managers across the basin are increasingly aware of what they describe as a “drought lag.” After several consecutive dry years, there is growing concern that prolonged moisture deficits may finally be catching up to the system.
The dominant drought response for 2026 across the basin has been earlier than normal startup. The Farwell Irrigation District has already begun diverting water from the Middle Loup River and filling Sherman Reservoir approximately three weeks ahead of schedule. This early fill strategy is designed to capture available flows before potential mid‑season declines and to ensure the reservoir reaches full pool to meet collaborative agreements with neighboring districts. Sherman Reservoir also serves as a critical buffer; for Farwell, storage provides a safety net that allows deliveries to continue even if river diversions are later restricted by senior water rights.
Similarly, the Middle Loup Public Power and Irrigation District is advancing their startup dates by roughly one to two weeks. The objective is to provide early irrigation water for crop emergence in dry soils while river levels remain high.
For now, allocations remain stable across the basin. For instance, Twin Loups Irrigation District, which serves more than 56,000 irrigated acres, is holding at its traditional 18‑inch‑per‑acre allocation, and no seasonal curtailments are planned. With roughly 80% of acres under center pivots, delivery efficiency helps reduce risk. Still, managers emphasized that streamflows are being monitored closely as summer approaches.
Platte River Basin: Storage Pressure and Growing Urgency
Tracing the Platte River from the Wyoming border east toward Nebraska’s central plains reveals a sense of urgency. This basin depends heavily on the “frozen bank account” of mountain snowpack, which remains well below average. Compounding concerns, Lake McConaughy - the state’s largest storage reservoir - entered the season at roughly 51% capacity, nearly 30 percentage points below typical levels.
Upstream Districts Face Limited Supply
At the upstream end of Nebraska’s Platte River system are three closely connected districts operating on opposite sides of the North Platte River — Pathfinder Irrigation District on the north side, and Goshen and Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation Districts on the south side. All three districts are part of the historic North Platte Project, commissioned in 1902 under President Theodore Roosevelt and administered by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Pathfinder Irrigation District is navigating one of its tightest seasons in memory. As of late March, Pathfinder reported only about 25 days of available water in its reservoirs. With large uncertainty in mountain runoff, the district is preparing for a reduced allocation of 0.90 feet per 80 acres, down from the normal 1.0 foot. Strict enforcement of pivot nozzle standards and accurate water measurement will be required to distribute limited supplies fairly.
On the south side of the river, Goshen Irrigation District and Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation District (GFLID) have reported about 38–41 days of water supply, including 17 days carried over from 2025.
Like Pathfinder, both districts emphasize uncertainty tied to spring weather and mountain runoff. No firm start date has been announced, with decisions expected after May 1, once updated Bureau of Reclamation forecasts are available.
Panhandle Impacts Emerging
Another water provider in the region, Farmers Irrigation District, has warned producers that 2026 could be a water‑short year, with a possible mid‑ to late June startup and an uncertain total number of irrigation days. Managers have indicated that rotation of laterals will likely be needed again to stretch limited supplies.
For major crops in the Panhandle, the very likely late and shortened water delivery implies yield reductions across all major crops (corn, sugar beet, dry beans, and alfalfa), particularly to sugar beet and alfalfa, which rely on early water for emergence and establishment.
Central Platte Districts Conserve Storage
Moving east from the Panhandle to Dawson County, the Cozad Ditch Company faces more acute pressure. Cozad typically relies on natural river flows to supplement its purchased storage water from Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). With natural flow essentially absent this year, internal projections suggest the system could run out of water by approximately Aug. 20, roughly two to three weeks earlier than normal. That potential early cutoff poses significant risk for late‑season soybean yield and complicates decisions about system startup and operating rates.
The situation becomes more defensive for the Thirty-Mile and Southside Irrigation Districts, also located in Dawson County. As junior water‑right holders, these districts are among the first to be curtailed when supplies tighten. In an unprecedented step, management is keeping canals dry as long as possible this spring to preserve limited storage for peak summer demand. The district manager described the start of 2026 as the most difficult he has seen in nearly 50 years of operating the system.
Within this central Platte corridor, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) plays a critical role in surface‑water management, both in terms of delivering irrigation water to more than 75,000 acres in Dawson and Buffalo counties and in supporting hydroelectric generation and cooling water supply for the Gerald Gentleman Station. NPPD is very aware of and concerned about current hydrologic conditions. At this time, NPPD believes it will be able to provide a full surface‑water supply to its irrigation customers if central Nebraska receives a few timely rains.
Republican River Basin: Drought Plus Compact Constraints
The Republican River Basin represents the most complex management environment in Nebraska, where climatic drought is compounded by legal obligations under the Republican River Compact with Kansas and Colorado.
For the Frenchman–Cambridge Irrigation District (FCID), the 2026 season has already been reshaped by a mandatory 35‑day bypass of reservoir inflows earlier this year to meet interstate obligations, causing FCID to lose a significant portion of potential storage at a critical time.
The operational impacts have been substantial. FCID has decided to keep one of its canals entirely shut down this year and severely limit operations on another canal, as available water supplies are simply too thin. Two other major canals of FCID have allocations set at 7-8 inches per acre. At these levels, traditional gravity irrigation is largely impractical.
To manage these tight constraints in recent years, many producers have transitioned from gravity irrigation to center pivots. Today, roughly 90% of FCID acreage is under center pivots. Additionally, the district has invested more than $8 million in canal automation and a suite of flexible management tools. Producers can pool surface‑water allocations, combine surface and groundwater use, and participate in a water‑banking system that allows buying and selling water among neighbors.
This adaptive, data‑driven approach is essential in a year when total available surface water is extremely limited. Even with aggressive efficiency measures, FCID officials emphasized that drought combined with compact compliance leaves little margin for error.
Looking Ahead
Across Nebraska, surface‑water irrigation districts are entering the 2026 irrigation season with heightened awareness, early operational shifts, and in some cases, significant reductions. While the Loup River Basin currently benefits from groundwater‑sustained flows, Platte River districts are confronting storage limits and runoff uncertainty, and Republican River systems face the added burden of interstate obligations.
Common themes include earlier starts where surface flows are still strong, delayed canal charging and reduced allocations where water is limited, stricter efficiency requirements, and close communication with producers. As one manager noted, “If we could predict the weather, everything would be good.” For now, Nebraska’s surface‑water systems are balancing experience and caution while hoping for timely rainfall to stabilize an increasingly tight year.
We sincerely thank the managers of the irrigation districts who generously shared their time and experience, helping us understand the evolving dry conditions and how they are shaping operational decisions across Nebraska’s river basins.
Source: Saleh Taghvaeian - Biological Systems Engineering Associate Professor, Xin Qiao - Irrigation and Water Management Specialist, Gary Stone - Extension Educator, Abia Katimbo - Assistant Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, Derek Heeren - Irrigation Engineer
Managing Burned Pastures After a Wildfire- How to Graze
Wildfires can leave producers wondering how to manage burned pastures, but the good news is that perennial grasses are resilient and will recover.
How Wildfires Affect Grasslands
- Dormant Season Fires (Winter/Early Spring): If a wildfire occurs when grasses are dormant (like in late February), the grass buds that sprout in spring should be unharmed.
- Growing Season Fires (May–August): If a wildfire burns during the growing season, grasses suffer more damage because they are actively growing.
- Drought Conditions: If pastures experienced drought last year and dry conditions continue this spring and summer, recovery will be harder. May and June rainfall is critical for regrowth and should guide range management decisions. More conservative measures may need to be taken if wildfire is coupled with drought.
- Increase in Annual Weeds: Following a fire, an increase in annual weeds is common. This is normal and temporary.
Grazing Strategies After a Wildfire
“Recommendations for grazing after a wildfire used to be a lot more conservative,” says Jerry Volesky, Nebraska Extension Range Specialist. Recent research suggests that grazing restrictions do not need to be as strict as previously thought. However, these key strategies should be followed:
Protect the Soil
- Fire increases the risk of wind and water erosion.
- Residual (standing dead plants) and litter (dead plants covering the soil surface) are removed in a fire, which increases the amount of bare ground following a wildfire or prescribed burn.
- The goal is to build up biomass in the pasture to protect the soil from wind/water erosion.
- Recent research in the eastern Nebraska Sandhills (Barta Brothers Ranch) evaluating dormant season prescribed fire (not the same as wildfire, but similar response) has not seen differences in grass growth in the summer following a fire. According to Mitchell Stephenson, Nebraska Extension Range Specialist, the big difference is the amount of carry over plant material (standing dead and litter) which increases the amount of bare ground following a wildfire or prescribed burn.
Delay Grazing & Reduce Stocking Rates
- Wait as long as possible before grazing to allow residual plant material to rebuild and protect the soil.
- In a normal precipitation year, delay turnout by 1–2 months.
- Reduce stocking rates by 20–40% in normal years and even more during drought conditions.
- The longer you wait to graze, the less you need to reduce stocking rates. If you wait until September or later, you can graze at full stocking rates since plant residual/litter has been established to cover bare soil.
Monitor Rainfall in May & June
- Good early-season precipitation helps grasses recover quickly, often making burn areas hard to spot by mid-summer.
- Continued drought will reduce grass production, requiring more conservative grazing practices.
If your pasture is dominated by cool-season grasses (like smooth brome), a quick grazing in early spring, sometimes called a “flash grazing” can help knock down smooth brome and promote growth of warm-season grasses.
Next year in 2027, pastures should return to normal grazing rates, pending drought conditions.
Assistance Programs
Emergency or disaster programs for wildfire recovery may be available through your local NRCS or FSA office. Contact them to express interest and check for available support.
Source: Bethany Johnston, Nebraska Extension, Livestock Systems Educator; Jerry Volesky, Nebraska Extension, Range & Forage Specialist; and Mitch Stephenson, Nebraska Extension, Range Management Specialist (BeefWatch – April 1, 2025, Updated March 19, 2026)
News Release - Brake for Breakfast Coming to Valentine: Free Drive-Thru Event Promotes Cancer Prevention
Community members in Valentine and across north central Nebraska are invited to “Brake for Breakfast,” a free drive-thru event focused on cancer prevention, on Friday, April 24, from 7 to 9 a.m. in the west parking lot of Cherry County Hospital.
Hosted locally by Nebraska Extension, Cherry County Hospital and the North Central District Health Department, the event offers a quick and convenient way for community members to grab a healthy breakfast while learning about important cancer screenings.
“Cancer screenings and early detection can save lives, but knowing what screenings are needed and when can feel overwhelming,” said Brittany Spieker, Health & Wellbeing Educator with Nebraska Extension. “We also understand that cancer can be a scary topic. This event helps take some of that fear out of the process by making prevention simple, approachable, and easy to access in our community.”
Brake for Breakfast is part of a statewide initiative led by Nebraska Medicine and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center to raise awareness about early detection and reduce the cancer burden across Nebraska.
During the event, volunteers will provide a free grab-and-go breakfast—including a breakfast burrito, apple, and milk - along with:
- A “Check Yourself” cancer screening checklist
- Resources to help individuals schedule or access screenings
- A fun swag bag with items such as lip balm, a magnet, and other small health and wellness items
Supplies are limited, with meals and swag bags available for the first 150 attendees.
The drive-thru format is designed to be quick and accessible for busy schedules - no appointment is necessary.
For more information about Brake for Breakfast Drive-Thru Events or view the Facebook Valentine Event Details.