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
September 19: 2026 State 4-H Outdoor Archery Championships, Heartland Public Shooting Park, Alda, NE
September 20: State 4-H Outdoor 600 Target Tournament, Heartland Public Shooting Park, Alda, NE
September 20: State 4-H Outdoor 600 Target Tournament, Heartland Public Shooting Park, Alda, NE
September 23: ServSafe Food Manager Training, 8:30am CT, O'Neill, NE https://pears.io/events/nebraskaextension/3256/
October 2: Fit and Healthy Kids One Hour Once a Month Webinar, go.unl.edu/fhkonehour
October 3: Nebraska Shooting Sports Instructor Update, Imperial, NE
October 3-4: Nebraska Shooting Sports Instructor Certification Workshop, Imperial, NE
October 12-29: Knowing, Growing, and Grazing Grass Webinar Series, Monday and Thursday evenings, 7:30pm – 8:45pm CT, https://go.unl.edu/knowing_grass
December 2: Understanding Financial Documents Workshop for Nebraska Farmers and Ranchers, 9:00am–12:00pm CT, O’Neill, NE (exact location TBD)
Chasing Shadows and Catching Curiosity
Have you ever seen a child suddenly stop in their tracks because their shadow surprised them?
One minute they’re walking along the sidewalk, the next they’re jumping, waving, spinning, completely fascinated by the shape following them around. That shadow isn’t just entertainment. It’s learning in action.
Children are naturally drawn to light and shadow. They flip light switches on and off. They shine flashlights under blankets. They notice sunlight streaming through a window or the long shadows cast by trees in the evening. These simple moments spark big thinking.
When children play with light, they’re exploring cause and effect. What happens if I move closer? What if I turn the light off? Why did the shadow disappear? They’re experimenting, predicting, and problem-solving, without even realizing it.
Best of all, light and shadow play doesn’t require special toys. A flashlight, a sunny window, or a walk outdoors is more than enough. Try shining a light on the wall and making hand shadows. Tape colored paper to a window and watch how the room changes. Step outside and see how shadows stretch and shrink throughout the day.
There’s no right or wrong way to explore. Sometimes children squeal with delight. Other times they feel frustrated when something doesn’t work the way they expect. Both reactions are important. Both are part of learning.
So, the next time your child pauses to look at their shadow, pause with them. Wonder out loud. Ask what they notice. You might be surprised at what you learn together.
Because sometimes, the smallest discoveries leave the biggest impression.
Certified Wheat Seed: What Growers Should Consider
Wheat producers continue to face tight margins, variable precipitation, rising input costs, and increasing pressure from insects, diseases and difficult-to-control weeds. Under these conditions, seed selection can play an important role in managing production risk and protecting yield potential. While saving seed may reduce upfront costs, certified seed provides access to improved genetics, verified purity and higher seed quality that can reduce risk and improve profitability. Understanding these benefits, along with the costs and considerations associated with bin-run seed, can help growers make informed seed decisions for the coming season.
Benefits of Certified Seed
Key benefits of certified wheat seed include:
- Genetic purity and variety identity.
- Higher germination and vigor.
- Reduced weed seed contamination, including troublesome winter annual grasses and broadleaf weeds.
- Access to improved disease resistance, stress tolerance and herbicide tolerance traits.
- Use of the newest high-yielding varieties released by public and private breeding programs.
Why New Genetics Matter
Modern varieties frequently provide improved tolerance to drought stress, better straw strength, stronger disease packages and traits that help maintain yield during challenging years. Certified seed is the fastest way to capture the value of ongoing wheat breeding investments.
Seed Quality and Stand Establishment
Uniform emergence is increasingly important in wheat production systems where fall moisture is limited. Certified seed lots are tested for germination and purity, giving producers greater confidence when adjusting seeding rates based on moisture conditions and planting date. During the cleaning process, many small, shrunken kernels are removed, leaving larger kernels with more stored resources and greater potential for seedling vigor.
Yield Advantage
Multiple surveys have found that wheat planted with certified seed yielded 1.2–3.5 bushels per acre more than wheat planted with bin-run seed (1985 Georgia Crop Improvement Association Small Grain Drill Box Survey; Knudson, M and L Hansen 1991). One of those surveys also found that 62% of bin-run seed samples collected from drill boxes had severe seed damage or varietal purity problems Bin-run seed may also carry pathogens that cause diseases such as scab or smut, allowing them to carry over into the next growing season. In some cases, these disease-bearing kernels lead to total field losses as rots damage the growing wheat.
Hidden Costs of Bin-Run Seed
Costs commonly include storage, cleaning, conditioning, labor, shrink from damaged kernels, seed treatment and the risk of reduced germination or varietal mixtures. These costs should be factored in when comparing bin-run seed with certified seed.
Source: Cody Creech - Dryland Cropping Systems Specialist, Amanda Easterly - Research Associate Professor, Katherine Frels - Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture (Cropwatch – September 1, 2026)
Consider Leaving Some Corn Standing for the Cows When Combining
Corn harvest is just a few weeks away for those picking high moisture corn and with dry conditions and heat, traditional harvest may start sooner than what is typical. With severe drought conditions impacting large portions of the state, forage production on rangeland and pasture has been significantly reduced. Hay production has also been impacted by the drought, leading to yields that in many places are only a third to half of the long-term average and in some places farther west even less. This means for many cow-calf producers, there will be very little fall and winter grazing available. Hay also will be in short supply. Corn residue grazing, especially on irrigated pivots, is going to be in high demand. In fact, demand for corn residue grazing will exceed supply in many locations.
While forage prices are high, corn prices are currently near the cost of production. When both forage and other feed options are considered, corn in many cases is the most economical energy source available for feeding the cow herd. This sets up a scenario where purposefully leaving some corn standing in the field to be gleaned directly by the cows while also grazing residue could be a way to significantly increase the number of grazing days a field could provide.
A rule of thumb is that for every 100 bushels of corn yield that is in a field, there are approximately 25-30 grazing days available of husks and leaves for 1300-pound cows. However, if with corn residue, cows are given 11 pounds of corn per day of standing grain through strip grazing, the number of days of feed available could be increased by 1.5 to 2 times. In this situation, the harvested area of residue needed could be allocated along with a daily delivered strip of standing corn. In addition, a supplement could be provided daily in a pound or more of a feed that contains the ionophore monensin along with vitamins, minerals, and additional protein. Under these conditions, supplementing non-protein nitrogen in the form of urea would be an option to meet rumen degradable protein needs of the cows, as the microbes in the rumen could effectively utilize the nitrogen with the readily available energy from the corn.
Cows coming out of drought-stressed pastures are likely going to be thin and would benefit greatly from this type of feeding scenario to gain weight going into the fall and winter and put on body condition prior to calving. Having corn standing in the field also provides a readily available feed resource that will stick out above the snow should the winter bring much needed precipitation. Cow owners could calculate how much corn will be needed and buy bushels of standing corn by the acre from the farmer they rent corn stalks from.
The Economics of Leaving Strips of Standing Corn
When considering the economics of grazing strips of standing corn with residue, there are several questions that need to be asked.
- What is the cost of the next alternative feed option of comparable quality delivered to the cow compared to grazing standing corn and residue in the fall or winter?
- What are the benefits of reduced expenses by harvesting standing strips of the crop with cattle versus combining and hauling the grain? For example, the 2026 Nebraska Agricultural Custom Rates report states harvesting irrigated corn is $0.32 per bushel and hauling is $0.15 per bushel for a total of $0.47 per bushel or $94 per acre for harvesting costs if the crop yields 200 bushels per acre.
- What is the value of grazing and recycling nutrients being consumed from grain and stover back on the field as fertilizer (manure and urine) at today’s prices? Around 0.70 lb of nitrogen, 0.31 lb of phosphate, 0.27 lb of potassium, and 0.6 lb of sulphur are in one bushel (56 lb) of corn grain.
Quick math for an irrigated corn crop grazed in the fall and winter with dry cows.
A 200-bushel corn crop at $5.00 per bushel and corn residue grazing at $35 per acre generates a gross value of $1035 per acre.
Gross Value per Acre of Grain Harvest and Grazing Residue $1035
Reduced Harvest Expense of not Combining and Hauling Corn ($94)
Estimated Value of Corn Grain Nutrients Retained (30% of N, 80% of P,K,S) ($110)
Value per Acre of Standing Corn to Equal the Value of Crop After Credits $831
$831 per Acre / 200 Bushel Corn = $4.16 per Bushel or about $0.07 per Pound of Corn
Cow Costs per Day
11 pounds of corn at $0.07 per pound = $0.77
20 pounds of residue at $0.02 per pound = $0.40
2 pounds per day of protein/mineral/ionophore = $0.50
Total feed per day per cow = $1.67
Spring calving cows with calves having been weaned would be estimated to be gaining around 1.5 pounds per head per day on this feeding plan. The old saying, “The eye of the master fattens the ox” applies to this situation. The amount of area needed will vary depending on cow body condition, residue in the field and weather as grazing progresses. For comparison, providing cows an average grass hay at $200 per ton, having a TDN energy value of 55% and crude protein at 8%, along with 3 pounds per head per day of a DDG cube at $375 per ton, would have similar performance and cost about $3.75 per head per day.
What are the Logistics?
How could this work? Let’s assume an irrigated cornfield with a 200-bushel yield. If the farmer harvests all the corn on an acre, there are approximately 50 to 60 days of grazing per acre of husks and leaves for one 1300-pound cow. If in addition to residue, 11 pounds of standing corn is targeted to be allocated per day per cow, 1/1000 of an acre of 200-bushel corn yield would provide the desired amount of grain. If corn is planted on 30-inch rows, 17 feet, five inches is 1/1000th of an acre. For 100 cows, being allocated 11 pounds per day of 200-bushel corn, 0.1 acres of standing corn is needed. If the 100 cows are provided with 20 pounds of leaves and husk to go along with the corn, approximately 1 acre of harvested corn residue should meet this need along with the corn husk and leaf available from the grazed standing corn. Because of the corn being supplied, cows can be expected to eat a greater percentage of the corn residue in the field, utilizing more of the cobs and corn plant tops and still achieve acceptable performance. This level of residue utilization is greater than what would be targeted if only corn residue without grain was being grazed. Cows should be worked up to 11 pounds of corn over a 7-to-10-day period, increasing the amount of corn the cows are consuming daily to reduce the risk of acidosis.
Strategic planning of where standing corn strips are to be left in the field in relation to the water source and prevailing wind can help make the most of this opportunity. After harvest, when standing corn strips are left, calculate the area needed daily for the allocation of standing corn and use a tractor with a front-end loader or a UTV to lay down alleys. This allows for building temporary fence across standing corn rows, so cows can see the wire and keep standing corn from being knocked down into the temporary electric fence.
In terms of fencing for strip grazing, quality geared reels with polywire or braid, step in posts, and solar chargers are tools that are beneficial to make this practice effective. This scenario is also one that would lend itself well to the use of virtual fence technology. The outside traditional boundary electric fence would still be needed, but cows could be moved internally with virtual fence collars, being given the desired amount of standing corn and harvested corn residue daily.
The thought of purposefully leaving strips of standing corn in the field for cows to graze directly may be a bit of a mental stretch for both the farmer and cow owner. However, with current prices for corn and the market value of limited hay and other forages, it looks to be one of the most cost-effective options available for putting weight on cows, stretching corn residue resources and getting cows fed through this fall and winter.
Source: Aaron Berger - Nebraska Extension Educator (BeefWatch – September 1, 2026)
Your Canning Questions Answers
It’s that time of year when fresh produce is abundant. In-season foods range from tomatoes, peppers and corn to watermelon, cantaloupe and apples. This is when families turn to home food preservation to save their harvest and enjoy the spoils year-round.
A Nebraska Extension activity sheet called “How Savvy Are YOU with Home Canning?” challenges home food preservers with 11 questions about common canning myths and practices. Let’s talk about a few of these questions; some answers may surprise you.
One common question Extension receives is whether it’s safe to can green beans in a boiling-water canner. The answer? No. Green beans are a low-acid food and can harbor Clostridium botulinum spores, which can lead to a serious illness called botulism. Because of this risk, green beans and other low-acid foods need to be pressure canned. Pressure canning allows the food to reach temperatures higher than the boiling point of water, providing the processing conditions needed for safety.
Speaking of botulism, can you tell if a food contains botulinum toxin? No. It can’t be seen, smelled or tasted. This is one of the reasons following tested canning procedures and recipes is so important. You can't rely on your senses to determine whether a food is safe or not. That said, if you notice your cans bulging, leaking, or showing other signs of spoilage, do not delay—throw them away
Another common question is whether you can adjust canned salsa recipes. Typically, it’s recommended to stick to the tested recipe since we know it’s safe. Changing amounts of tomatoes, peppers, vinegar, and onions is not recommended as it can change the acidity level of the salsa and potentially make the product unsafe. Spices may be adjusted, but my recommendation is simple: stick to the recipe. You can always add ingredients after opening the jar and preparing it to eat.
What if you need to watch your sodium intake? Can you leave out the salt when canning vegetables? Yes, you can. Salt is used to enhance the flavor of canned vegetables. It’s not used as a preservative in this case, so it can be left out if you prefer.
What about adding sugar when canning fruit? Is it necessary? No, it’s not. You can forgo the sugar since it’s not needed to keep the product safe. But it does help keep the fruit looking more appetizing for longer.
Another common question is whether you can safely use generational canning recipes. Unfortunately, it’s not generally recommended. Our food safety knowledge has expanded, pathogens have changed, and the science of canning has evolved dramatically over the years. That recipe your great-grandmother, your grandmother or your mother used may no longer be a safe way to preserve food. But that doesn't mean grandma's recipe needs to be forgotten. Instead, look for a current, tested recipe that provides a similar product. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a great place to find tested and safe canning recipes.
These topics are just the beginning of the many food preservation questions we receive at Nebraska Extension. If you have a question, are uncertain about a food preservation practice, are looking for a new recipe or need your pressure canner tested, give me a call.
I’m Brittany Spieker, Health & Wellbeing Extension Educator and you can reach me at 402-387-2213 or by email at bspieker2@unl.edu.
Food Safety Starts with Knowledge
If you work in a restaurant, school kitchen, café, grocery store, catering business or another food-service operation, you may have heard the term ServSafe®. But what exactly is ServSafe®, and why does it matter?
As a Health & Wellbeing Extension Educator serving North Central Nebraska, I often work with individuals and businesses looking for information and training to help promote safe food-handling practices. ServSafe® is one program that can provide food-service professionals with the knowledge and practical skills needed to help prevent foodborne illness and keep food safe.
While passing a food-safety inspection is an important accomplishment, food safety is more than checking boxes. It is about protecting customers, coworkers and the reputation of a business.
In Nebraska, food establishments are regulated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. The Nebraska Food Code addresses a wide range of food-safety practices, from proper handwashing and food storage to requirements related to certified food protection managers.
According to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, generally speaking, at least one person for each permitted food establishment should be a certified food protection manager. The Nebraska Food Code recognizes certifications obtained through an accredited food protection manager certification program. For food-service establishments and employees who need this type of training, a program such as ServSafe® can meet those requirements.
ServSafe® Manager training covers practical food-safety skills and knowledge for food-service managers and employees. Topics include food microbiology, sanitary food handling and storage, personal hygiene, housekeeping, pest control and other food-safety procedures.
Food safety also starts with basic everyday practices. These include washing your hands thoroughly and at the appropriate times, keeping raw foods separated from ready-to-eat foods, using clean and sanitized utensils and equipment, maintaining safe food temperatures, staying home when experiencing certain illnesses, and making sure employees understand and consistently follow food-safety expectations.
For restaurant owners, managers, employees and others interested in working in the food-service industry, the first step is to determine what training is required for your specific position and establishment.
If ServSafe® is the right program for you, finding a class in our area is straightforward. Visit BKR.unl.edu to see what courses are currently being offered in person. You can also contact me, Brittany Spieker, at (402) 387-2213 for more information.
It is important to note that the full-day ServSafe® Manager certification course and the half-day basic food-handler course are not the same. Make sure you register for the level of training required for your position or establishment.