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
April 7: Holt County Shooting Sports SB Pistol Practice, 5pm, 6pm, Holt County Fairgrounds, Chambers, NE
April 7: Holt County Shooting Sports .22 Rifle Practice, 5pm, 6pm, Holt County Fairgrounds, Chambers, NE
April 7: Holt County Shooting Sports Muzzleloader Practice, 6pm, 7pm, Holt County Fairgrounds, Chambers, NE
April 8: Face-to-Face Initial Commercial/Noncommercial Pesticide Training, 8:30am-5pm, Holt County Annex, O’Neill, NE, pested.unl.edu
April 9: Private Pesticide Training, 1:30pm, Holt County Annex, O’Neill, NE, pested.unl.edu
April 10: Private Pesticide Training, 9:30am, Lutheran Church, Ainsworth, NE, pested.unl.edu
April 10: Chemigation Training, 1:30am, Lutheran Church, Ainsworth, NE, pested.unl.edu
April 10: Nitrogen Certification Training, 1:30pm, Lutheran Church, Ainsworth, NE, pested.unl.edu
April 11: Chemigation Training, 9:30am, Holt County Annex, O’Neill, NE
April 12: Nebraska 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor Update Workshop, 8:30am-12:00pm, Bassett Community Building, Bassett, NE
April 12-13: Nebraska 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor Initial Workshop, 8:30am-6pm, Bassett Community Building, Bassett, NE
April 15: Nebraska Extension Addressing Drought Prep for Cattle Producers, 7:30pm-9:00pm, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE
April 16-17: Nebraska State 4-H BB Gun and Air Rifle Championships, Christensen Field 1914 Christensen Field Rd, Fremont, NE, https://events.unl.edu/NE4H-Shooting-Sports/2025/03/15/
April 17: DUE: Registrations for the Holt and Boyd Communication Event. Entries open April 10th. https://holt.fairwire.com/ OR https://boyd.fairwire.com/
April 26-27: 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Certification Workshop, Hastings, Early bird registration (lower price in training) is April 16 https://events.unl.edu/NE4H-Shooting-Sports/ (Early Bird registration deadline is April 16, 4 pm CT. Registration fee goes up after 4pm CT on April 16 and registration will close on Friday, April 18, 4 pm CT.)
April 26: 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Update Workshop, Hastings, Early bird registration (lower price in training) is April 16 https://events.unl.edu/NE4H-Shooting-Sports/ (Early Bird registration deadline is April 16, 4 pm CT. Registration fee goes up after 4pm CT on April 16 and registration will close on Friday, April 18, 4 pm CT.)
April 27: Boyd County 4-H Communications Event, 3pm, Boyd County Courthouse, Butte, NE
April 27: Holt County 4-H communications Event, 5pm, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE
April 29: Face-to-Face YQCA Training, 7pm, Holt County Courthouse Annex,
Families Should Set Guidelines to Ensure Quality Studying
Every family needs to set their own guidelines for studying at home, according to Renette Wardlow, human development specialist, University of Missouri Extension.
“Differences in guidelines occur because of the different ages of students,” said Wardlow.
For example, younger children have less homework, but it generally requires more parent supervision. As children grow older, developing the skill of independently tackling homework without parent help becomes important.
“Children of all ages need a good place to study and a specific time to study, with minimal distractions,” said Wardlow.
Developing the proper frame of mind for studying will help reduce distractions and bring about positive results.
It is also essential to plan ahead, organize studying around a regular schedule and get materials organized. This is important in order to find what is needed when you need it, to get assignments done on time and to avoid procrastination. There are several ways to get focused and organized ahead of time.
For example, Wardlow advises that children need to plan ahead and get a good night sleep the night before they’ll have to do a lot of studying.
LaDonna Werth
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: lwerth2@unl.edu
Wardlow also recommends that children focus on their strong points. Instruct your child to “think about the things you do best in school and develop a positive self-image,” said Wardlow.
It is important for each child to study in a comfortable place that has good lighting in order to avoid eye strain and fatigue. Wardlow recommends avoiding distracting music during study times.
“It is true that some people study well with background music, and for different people different kinds of music will suit,” said Wardlow.
It is also a good idea to not watch the clock or count the pages left while trying to study, according to Wardlow. Getting together with friends to study can also be very distracting, especially when everyone is not studying the same topic.
Source: Renette Wardlow, human development specialist, Christian County, University of Missouri Extension, wardlowr@missouri.edu
A Beginner's Guide to Manure Spreaders: Ensuring Even Application for Healthy Fields
Manure spreaders are essential tools for distributing nutrients to crops to improve fertility and improve soil health. Therefore, achieving an even application of manure is just as important as with commercial fertilizers. Proper placement ensures that every part of a field receives the nutrients needed, leading to healthier crops and soil biology.
This guide explains how to use manure spreaders effectively.
Types of Solid Manure Spreaders
Horizontal Beater Spreaders drop manure from the back and break it up vertically. The spread pattern is limited in width, typically not much wider than the width of the spreader.
Tips for Uniform Application:
- Narrow the gap between passes to avoid uneven coverage.
- Inspect the field visually after a few passes to ensure wheel tracks aren’t easily identified by manure gaps.
- Note: These spreaders often apply heavier rates because wheel speed must increase to reduce application rates.
Amy Timmerman
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: atimmerman2@unl.edu
Vertical Beater Spreaders and Spreaders with Bottom Spinners are designed to throw manure both to the sides and back, resulting in a much wider spread pattern. Compared to horizontal beater spreaders, it is easier to achieve uniform coverage. This style spreader is ideal for lower application rates, drier manures, and sometimes commercial fertilizer products.
Side-slinger spreaders are designed to throw manure to one side.
- Spread pattern: Typically heaviest close to the spreader
- Often used for wetter solids, slurry manures, and sludge
- Tips for uniform application:
- Narrow the gap between passes to avoid uneven coverage.
- Inspect the field visually after a few passes to ensure wheel tracks aren’t easily identified by manure gaps.
Types of Liquid Manure Spreaders
Tanker-Style Spreaders typically have a tool bar for injection of manure below the soil surface, but they can also have splash fans or drop nozzle hoses for surface application.
Injection of liquid manure into soil is preferred over application to the soil surface because ammonium nitrogen in manure is not lost to the atmosphere as easily when manure is covered with soil. Injected manure is also more likely to stay in the field where crops can utilize it rather than being lost to surface waters via runoff if a precipitation event occurs soon after application. Liquid manure applied using a splash pan creates a recognizable “rooster tail” of manure, which tends to release more ammonia gas and creates more odor. Drop nozzles, on the other hand, allow for the placement of manure directly on the soil surface which helps reduce odor.
A drawback of liquid manure spreaders is the potential for soil compaction, especially with a full spreader, due to the weight of the applicator and manure. Manure tankers are much larger today than 20 years ago and fields need to be dry to handle this weight.
Handling manure in a liquid form brings the potential danger of manure gases, especially hydrogen sulfide.
Drag-hose spreaders are equipped with toolbars that surface-apply or inject manure, though the manure is pumped directly from the source to the implement through a long hose that is dragged behind the tractor rather than being carried in a tank wagon. These toolbars can be mounted on the tractor's 3-point hitch or pulled through the field. The weight of a drag hose filled with manure necessitates a large tractor with the necessary weights.
Advantages of this style of manure applicator include:
- In-season application of manure is possible early in the growing season for some crops, such as corn, wheat, forages and cover crops.
- Variable rate application is possible by varying tractor speed.
- Application is much faster and more economical than using a tanker.
- Drag hoses can come directly from the manure pit or manure pond. The drag hose can also come directly off a frac tank filled by semi tankers.
- The size (diameter) of drag hoses has increased as larger tractors become available to pull the heavier hose. This allows for greater volumes of manure to be pumped and applied. Crossovers or manure bridges can be used to traverse roads or ditches, and booster pumps can help move manure through longer stretches of hose to further increase application efficiency.
Irrigation equipment can be used to apply manure that is primarily water, which typically comes from feedlot runoff holding ponds or the top layer of liquid in an anaerobic lagoon. However, sprinkler irrigation (i.e. pivots) must have appropriate nozzles to handle the solid particles in the manure. The big advantage of using irrigation equipment is that manure can be applied during the growing season when other liquid manure applicators cannot access the fields without damaging growing crops. This allows for application of manure when the crops need water and nutrients.
Big gun style irrigation equipment can also be used to apply manure with the big advantage being the ability to handle larger solid particles. However, a big disadvantage of big guns is the spray pattern which throws liquid manure into the air further, increasing potential odor problems for neighbors and losing larger portions of ammonium nitrogen.
Ensuring Even Application
To achieve an even spread with solid manure spreaders, follow these steps:
- Field Inspection: Visually check the field for consistent manure distribution after several passes.
- Use Calibration Tarps:
- Place one tarp directly in the spreader’s line of travel, ensuring the vehicle does not run over it.
- Position another tarp to the side to catch manure thrown laterally.
- Make a round or two with the spreader making sure the tarp catches any potential overlap, then weigh the manure collected on the tarps.
What to Look For:
- If the manure weights from both tarps are similar, the spread pattern is even.
- If the tarp to the side is lighter, reduce the spacing between passes and repeat the process.
- If the tarp to the side is heavier, increase the spacing between passes and repeat the process.
Bonus Tips:
- A 22-square-foot tarp provides an easy way to calculate application rates: the weight of manure on the tarp (in pounds) equals the application rate in (tons/acre).
- A small sample of manure collected from each of the tarps during calibration activities is ideal for sending in to a laboratory for nutrient analysis.
To calibrate liquid applicators with toolbars, use buckets under each knife and run the pump at the settings intended for application. Comparing the amount of manure collected in each bucket allows you to determine whether there are similar volumes of manure coming through each knife. If not, make adjustments.
- Verification of application rates for liquid spreaders is most frequently done using a flow meter; however, rain gauges can be used to verify irrigation equipment application rates. Be sure to use multiple gauges and average the results for the most accurate rate determination.
- When hauling slurry manure, agitation of the manure pit or earthen basic is needed to improve the consistency of the manure nutrients and ensure that solids are not allowed to build up in the bottom of the storage. When stirring or agitating a manure storage, be sure to adequately ventilate barns and anywhere people or animals might be. Be aware that hydrogen sulfide released during manure agitation is heavier than air, which can allow the dangerous gas to accumulate at ground-level if atmospheric conditions are right.
Importance of Maintenance
Proper maintenance of manure application equipment is important. When weather and soil conditions allow for manure application, properly maintained equipment is more likely to perform as expected and needed. Equipment breakdowns increase the opportunity for mishaps as people can get frustrated and take more chances when things don’t go right.
For liquid manure spreaders, uniformity depends heavily on the pump. Regular maintenance and monitoring are essential to ensure even application. Anytime the applicator toolbar deviates from being level, the distribution among discharge ports will be skewed with greater discharge from the “lower” ports and less discharge from the “higher” ports.
For solid manure spreaders, consistent operation and adjustments to spreader settings or driving patterns can greatly improve results.
For all manure spreaders, be sure to note what settings (gear and speed) are being used so when spreading multiple days or with different drivers, the spread pattern and rate stays consistent each day.
Conclusion
Manure spreaders are powerful tools for improving soil health and nourishing crops, but proper application techniques are vital for success. By using the right spreader, adjusting field passes, and verifying results with calibration, farmers can ensure their fields receive an even distribution of nutrients and organic matter. Thoughtful manure application not only benefits the current crop but also enhances soil biology for years to come.
Source: Leslie Johnson - Animal Manure Management Extension Educator; Amber Patterson - University of Nebraska–Lincoln; Amy Millmier Schmidt - Livestock Bioenvironmental Engineer; Glen Arnold – The Ohio State University (CropWatch – April 3, 2025)
Rangeland Grasshoppers in 2025
Grasshoppers have been recognized as a periodic problem in Nebraska for many years. Pasture grasshopper species that are most damaging are found in areas with less than 30 inches of annual rainfall. Two-thirds of Western Nebraska fall into this rainfall category. With the occurrence of consecutive years of drought, grasshopper outbreaks are possible. The past several years southwestern, southcentral, and western Nebraska have experienced below normal precipitation. This type of weather pattern can play a large role in rangeland grasshopper outbreaks.
The 2025 Rangeland Grasshopper Hazard Map (Fig 1) indicates ten counties (red) in Nebraska that had fall adult grasshopper numbers averaging over 15 per square yard. These data are based on the 2024 adult survey, which is a good indicator of possible grasshopper issues for the summer of 2025.
Approximately 50 species of grasshoppers are found on rangeland in Nebraska; though, generally fewer than 10 species ever reach economic levels, accounting for 95 percent of the damage. Grasshoppers defoliate grass by direct feeding on leaf and stem tissue and by cutting off leaves or stems.
Life Cycle
The developmental stages of all grasshoppers include the egg, nymphal, and adult stages. Most species winter as eggs. Normally, grasshopper eggs will remain in the overwintering stage until the ground temperature reaches 50°to 55° Fahrenheit. Newly hatched
Bethany Johnston
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: bjohnston3@unl.edu
grasshoppers look like miniature adults except they lack wings, and their sex organs are not developed. As young grasshoppers grow, they shed their skin (molt). Depending upon the species they might molt four to six times, with five molts being the average. The rate at which nymphs develop is influenced by temperature and food quality. Most species reach the adult stage, 30 to 50 days after hatching.
Impact
Grasshoppers consume up to 50% of their body weight every day in forage. Another way to look at it is an acre with 2.7 grasshoppers/yd2 equals 12,971 grasshoppers. An acre with 69.7 grasshoppers/yd2 equates to the consumption of forage by one cow per day.
Economic thresholds for grasshopper densities in rangeland vary from 8 to 40 grasshoppers per square yard. The thresholds are influenced by several factors, including the cost of control product, projected forage yield, and the value of forage considered for treatment.
Monitoring
As we move closer to late spring, livestock producers and landowners should visit their pasture sites and look for the possibility of small grasshoppers.
One of the better methods for determining grasshopper density is to count the number of grasshoppers using the square foot method. With this method sample at multiple sites about 50 to 75 feet apart. Select a point several feet away and visualize a one-foot square area around the point. Walk toward the point counting any grasshoppers you see in or jumping out of this area. Repeat 18 times, total the number of grasshoppers and divide by 2. The resulting number will be the number of grasshoppers per square yard.
A request for technical assistance to evaluate the need for grasshopper control in rangeland may be submitted to USDA-APHIS, by contacting David Nielsen at (402) 434-2348 or by email at David.Nielsen@usda.gov
Source: Dave Boxler – Nebraska Extension Educator (BeefWatch – April 1, 2025)
News Release
Nebraska Extension Addressing Drought Prep for Cattle Producers April 15
On going drought conditions will require delayed turnout on pasture, reduced stocking rates or alternative sources of feed for cattle this summer. To provide producers with information on options for managing and mitigating the impacts of drought, Nebraska Extension will offer an evening webinar program with the option to attend host site locations on Tuesday, April 15 from 6:30-8:00pm MT / 7:30-9:00pm CT.
Drought Preparation Program Topics include:
- Conditions and Outlook - Dr. Eric Hunt, Nebraska Extension Agricultural Meteorologist,
- Rangeland Response to Drought - Dr. Mitch Stephenson, Range Management Specialist,
- Annual Forage Options - Dr. Jerry Volesky, Range & Forage Specialist,
- Summer Dry Lot Feeding Pairs - Dr. Karla Wilke, Cow-Calf Management Specialist,
- Programs for Producers - Laura Baker, CED Kimball County Farm Service Agency.
The program will focus on delivering key information for producers to consider, with time for questions from those in attendance.
There is no cost to attend the program, but local host sites would appreciate
pre-registration to plan for the number of those attending.
- Kimball - Aaron Berger, Kimball-Banner Extension Office, 209 East Third, 308-235-3122;
- O’Neill - Bethany Johnston, Holt County Annex Building, 128 N 6th St., 402-336-2760.
- Rushville - Brock Ortner, Sheridan Office, 800 South Loofborrow St., 308-327-2312;
- Scottsbluff - Dr. Mitch Stephenson, PREC Bluestem Room, 4502 Ave I, 308-632-1355;
- Thedford - T.L. Meyer, Upper Loup NRD Meeting Room, 39252 NE Hwy 2, 308-645-2267;
For those planning to attend remotely, please contact Aaron Berger, aberger2@unl.edu, to register and receive Zoom connection information.
Questions about the program? Contact Aaron Berger at 308-235-3122.
Not able to attend the live session? The program will be recorded and archived for those not able to attend in person or online.