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
February 19: Nitrogen Certification Training, 2:00pm, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE
February 26: How to Transition Your Farm to the Next Generation, 10am-2pm, Broken Bow Fairgrounds Room: 4-H Building, Broken Bow, NE
February 27: How to Transition Your Farm or Ranch to the Next Generation, 10:00am, Legion Hall, Burwell
February 28: Chemigation Training, 9:30am, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 1: Holt County Market Beef and 2nd Year Bucket Calf Weigh-On-Your-Own-Days
March 1: STRONGLY ENCOURAGED DUE: 4-H and Shooting Sports Enrollment – Clover Kids, 4-H Members, and 4-H Leaders, https://v2.4honline.com
March 3: Face-to-Face Private Pesticide Training, 1:30pm, Boyd County Courthouse, Butte, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 5: Commercial and Noncommercial Recertification Applicator Training, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 6: Face-to-Face Private Pesticide Training, 9:30am, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 6: Chemigation Training, 9:30am, Antelope County Courthouse Basement Meeting Room, Neligh, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 7-8: Returning to the Farm Workshop Series, Central Community College, Hastings, NE, https://cap.unl.edu/rtf25/
March 13: Ready, Set, Spread: Manure Application Workshop, 9:00am-4:00pm, Chambers Community Center, Chambers, NE
Help Children Explore Their Curiosity
Curiosity drives children to explore, learn and discover new things. According to Dr. Bruce Perry, professor of child psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, curiosity is the beginning of a “cycle of learning.” Curiosity not only leads to exploration and discovery, but also mastery of learning as the cycle repeats itself with new curiosities and discoveries.
As children explore, their experiences fuel social, physical, emotional and intellectual development. Children with less curiosity are less likely to participate in social groups and may be harder to teach. The following are some tips for parents to help spark children’s curiosity:
- Provide healthy family lives and routines. Young children need stable homes and calm routines. When children have a sense of security and are comfortable, they are able to explore their worlds and try new things. If parents are busy or distracted, they may be less responsive or available to their children. Children who experience violence, natural disasters, abuse, stress, fear, neglect or family distress may be less curious and are less likely to explore than children who are raised in healthy, stable homes. It is important for parents to spend time with children and maintain routines.
- Encourage and support children’s curiosity. A safe and supportive environment intrigues children’s curiosity. Childproof your home and provide a variety of interesting and safe materials to increase exploration. Introduce materials gradually to engage and stimulate children’s curiosity and learning, and avoid overwhelming or overstimulating them. Understand children’s temperaments and styles of curiosity. For instance, some children explore by touching, smelling, climbing and tasting, while others explore with their minds. Pay extra attention, offer assurance and be patient to help children who are reluctant to explore. Encourage children to try again or look for alternatives to explore when things don’t turn out the way they want.
LaDonna Werth
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: LWerth2@unl.edu
- Explore curiosity together with enthusiasm. Children enjoy sharing the excitement of discovery so get involved in the process with them. This learning experience helps children build confidence and self-esteem for optimal exploration. Be careful how you respond to children’s questions and curiosity. If you don’t know the answer, let children know and help them think about how to find the answers together. Be aware of your child’s interests and listen carefully to provide a learning environment suited for their wondering and creative thinking. Exploring curiosity with your children can be fun and enriching as you introduce the world’s wonders.
Source: Nina Chen, Ph.D., CFLE, former Human Development Specialist, Jackson County, University of Missouri Extension (2018)
How to Care for Cut Flowers
Cut flowers are a welcome gift in any home, whether you receive a bouquet for Valentine's Day, a Birthday, Mother's Day, or you just decided to treat yourself to something beautiful.
When buying them from a florist, there are several things you can do to prolong the life of cut flowers.
Start with High-Quality Flowers
Flower selection is an important step. Choose flowers that are just coming into bloom before pollen is loose. When choosing flowers at the florist, avoid soft, limp blossoms and buds and discolored or drooping foliage. When purchasing flowers, select those known to have a long vase life and buy from a quality florist.
Clean Vase
Begin with a clean vase. Wash previously used containers with hot, soapy water to remove debris and destroy bacteria and fungi that may shorten the life of the cut flowers.
Keep Leaves Out of the Water
Remove all foliage that will be below the water line in the vase. Submerged plant foliage may decay and shorten the life of the cut flowers.
Amy Timmerman
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: atimmerman2@unl.edu
Make a Fresh Cut
To promote water uptake by the cut flowers, cut off the bottom ½ to 1 inch of the stems with a sharp knife. Immediately place the cut flowers in a vase. Scissors can also be used, but they are more likely to crush the end of the stem which can block some water uptake.
Add Floral Preservative
Add a commercial floral preservative to the water to prolong the life of the cut flowers. A small packet of floral preservatives comes with most cut flowers. Simply follow the directions on the packet. Avoid using home concoctions to prolong vase life, such as aspirin, bleach, lemon-lime soda, rusty nails, pennies, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, or any other ingredient. None of these ingredients or mixtures will work as well as a floral preservative; some may even shorten the vase life of your flowers.
Keep it Bright and Cool
Place the cut flowers in a cool, brightly lit location in the home or office. Keep the flowers away from heat sources and drafts.
Check and Change the Water
Regular water changes are one of the most effective ways to prolong the vase life of your cut flowers. Check the water level daily and add water when necessary. Completely change the water if it becomes cloudy or begins to smell.
Source: Aaron Steil – Iowa State University Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist (Iowa State University Yard and Garden – February 2023)
Wintering Growing Calves Using Corn Residue: The Value of Bypass Protein
Corn residue is an outstanding forage resource for wintering cows, but is also an option for backgrounding calves or growing heifers. Given the typical rental rates for corn residue and the cost of distillers’ grains, these two feed resources together make one of the lowest cost growing rations. To understand why distillers’ grains are such a good supplement for growing calves, one must first understand a little about how protein is used in ruminant animals. In ruminant diets, not all protein is created equal, and this is particularly apparent for animals with high protein requirements such as growing calves.
Ruminally degradable protein is used by rumen microbes to grow (eventually, rumen microbes become a source of protein for the animal called bacterial crude protein). Ruminally degradable protein supplied in excess of the microbes’ requirements cannot be used by the animal as a source of protein. When the animal’s protein need is high, bacterial crude protein does not meet the animal’s demand, thus a source of ruminally undegradable protein (or bypass protein) is needed. Providing more ruminally degradable protein will not help in this instance.
A good example of this concept is the comparison of urea as a source of protein vs distillers’ grains for growing calves grazing corn residue (Tibbits et al., 2016). Urea is 100% ruminally degradable, whereas the protein in distillers’ grains is only 37% ruminally degradable, meaning that 63% of the protein bypasses the rumen (is not degraded in the rumen) and can be absorbed and used as a source of protein for the animal itself. When a similar amount of energy (3.1 lb TDN/d) and protein (0.9 lb CP/d) were supplied by corn plus 5% urea (4 lb DM/d) vs. distillers’ grains (3.0 lb DM/d), the gain of calves receiving distillers’ grains (1.32 lb/d) was more than double that of the calves receiving the corn plus urea (0.53 lb/d). The difference in gain with urea and distillers’ grains emphasizes the value of bypass protein (or ruminally undegradable protein) for growing calves.
Bethany Johnston
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: bjohnston3@unl.edu
Distillers’ grains have consistently been the lowest cost source of bypass protein in the Midwest. In addition, distillers’ grains are very high in energy (greater than corn). Thus, distillers’ grains make an ideal supplement for calves grazing corn residue. A pooled analysis of several studies reported in the 2017 Beef Report (Welchons and MacDonald, 2017) illustrates the amount of distillers’ grains that would need to be fed to achieve various rates of gain. Their data suggests that for a targeted ADG of:
- 1.1 lb/d, calves would need to be supplemented with 1.8 lbs of DM, which is 2.0 lbs of dry distillers or 3.6 lbs of modified distillers.
- 1.5 lb/d, calves would need to be supplemented with 3.6 lbs of DM, which is 4.0 lbs of dry distillers or 7.2 lbs of modified distillers.
- 1.9 lb/d, calves would need to be supplemented with 6 lbs of DM, which is 6.7 lbs of dry distillers or 12 lbs of modified distillers.
In forage-based systems, similar performance is observed with dry, modified and wet distillers’ grains as long as the same amount of dry matter is fed. It is important to note that the estimates are based off of calves being fed in a bunk. Feeding on the ground will increase waste and thus, increase the amount of distillers grains needed to be provided. In trials evaluating the waste with ground feeding, waste of 5% was measured for modified distillers, 20% for wet distillers and as much as 40% for dry distillers when compared to bunk feeding.
If you are looking to background calves or grow replacement heifers this winter grazing corn residue and providing supplemental distillers may be a system to consider.
Source: Mary Drewnoski - Nebraska Extension Beef Systems Specialist (BeefWatch – January 30, 2025)
News Release
‘Returning To the Farm’ Workshop to Help Farm and Ranch Families Planning Transitions
The Center for Agricultural Profitability at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will present Returning to the Farm 2025, a workshop series for families who are in the transition process of bringing members back to the farm or ranch. It will begin with a two-day workshop in for multi-generational families on March 7 and 8, at Central Community College in Hastings, 550 S. Technical Blvd. The series also includes two follow-up workshops, to be held virtually after the in-person meetings.
The workshop will assist families and agricultural operations with developing financial plans and successful working arrangements to meet their unique needs. It will guide families in developing estate and transition plans, setting personal and professional goals and improving the communication process between family members.
“Returning to the Farm gives families the tools and resources to have a successful transition with more family joining the business,” said extension educator Jessica Groskopf. “We really want to have two or three generations come to this together and take that time, as a family, to sit down, learn together and start these important processes.”
Presenters will include extension experts as well as agribusiness and legal professionals. During the program, participants will:
- Learn communication strategies
- Set both personal and professional goals
- Develop a farm or ranch transition plan
- Identify estate planning issues and develop effective strategies for planning
- Review financial feasibility and financial tools
The workshop fee is $75 per person if registration is completed on or before Feb. 28. On March 1, the fee increases to $85 per person. Registration includes dinner on March 7 and lunch on March 8. It also includes two follow-up workshops, to be held virtually (dates/times TBD). Hotel accommodations are not included.
More information and registration are available on the Center for Agricultural Profitability’s website, cap.unl.edu/rtf25.