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
March 12: Land Application (Manure) Training, 9am-4pm, Platte County Extension, Columbus, NE, https://water.unl.edu/lat/
March 13: Ready, Set, Spread: Manure Application Workshop, 9:00am-4:00pm, Chambers Community Center, Chambers, NE
March 18: Face-to-Face Private Pesticide Training, 9:30am, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 18: Chemigation Training, 1:30am, Holt County Courthouse Annex, O’Neill, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 20: Land Application (Manure) Training, 10am-5pm, Mid-Plains Community College, Valentine, NE,https://water.unl.edu/lat/
March 20: Face-to-Face Private Pesticide Training, 1:30pm, Bassett City Building, Bassett, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 27: Face-to-Face Private Pesticide Training, 1:30pm, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Spencer, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 27: Face-to-Face Private Pesticide Training, 1pm-4pm, Walter Larsen Senior Center, Creighton, NE, pested.unl.edu
March 27: Face-to-Face Private Pesticide Training, 6pm-9pm, Walter Larsen Senior Center, Creighton, NE, pested.unl.edu
April 1: DUE: Holt County 4-H and FFA Market Beef and 2nd Year Bucket Calf ID Sheets, Holt County Extension Office, O’Neill, 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 11: Chemigation Training, 9:30am, Holt County 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/
Helping Children Build Self-Esteem
Children's self-esteem may be thought of as a collection of pictures they carry with them that reflects how they feel about themselves. Children begin developing this collection early in life, and parents have a great influence on how they come to view themselves. Children who grow up with a healthy self-esteem have parents who believe in them and give them opportunities to succeed. These children know that the adults in their lives love and accept them. Children who grow up with a healthy self-esteem welcome new opportunities and learn to take risks as they grow older. While parents cannot give their children self-esteem, there are ways that parents can nurture development of healthy self-esteem in their children.
What do children need to develop a healthy self-esteem?
- Commitment from adults who care for and believe in them;
- Communication with adults who show interest in what the children are doing, thinking, and feeling;
- Reasonable and consistent boundaries (rules for behavior) that are understandable and developmentally appropriate;
- Appreciation that enhances children's sense of self-worth;
- Coping strategies such as sharing, managing anger, resolving conflict, and dealing with stress to see them through the tough times in life; and
- Positive role modeling from adults who demonstrate positive self-esteem.
LaDonna Werth
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: LWerth2@unl.edu
What can I do to help my child build a healthy self-esteem?
- When your child misbehaves, focus on the behavior, not the child. Let your children know you care about and that you accept them, no matter what.
- Give encouragement with words and hugs.
- Praise children's efforts honestly and sincerely with specific comments rather than just general ones such as "Great job!" Instead say, "I like the way you helped me get everything ready for our picnic." "I know you really worked hard on your art project."
- Let your child know you value his or her individuality. "I love you just the way you are."
- Help children explore opportunities to find out who they are, rather than persuading them to be who you think they should be.
- Provide many different opportunities for children to experience success that are challenging but not too difficult.
- Offer a variety of activities to allow children to express their ideas and feelings creatively.
- Let children do things for themselves that they are capable of doing safely, such as helping you to prepare a meal, folding laundry, and washing the car (even if you can do these things faster and better).
- Listen to your children and be supportive of their ideas and concerns.
- Be a positive model for your kids by showing you have good self-esteem.
- Don't rescue children from difficult situations. Although you should be available if they need your help, allow them to work through their own problems. This helps children to build self-confidence.
- Balance your need to protect children with their need to take risks and test their abilities to meet new challenges.
- Show respect for children by giving them choices when appropriate and then respecting their decisions.
- Offer unconditional love and the gift of your time with them.
Are there some things I should not do that might harm my child's developing self-esteem?
- Distinguish the child's misbehavior from the child herself. Let your child know you still love him or her, even though you don't like the crayon drawings on the wall.
- Don't call children names or label them with negative words.
- Don't use sarcasm with children because they often interpret words literally.
- Avoid compliments with added critical comments such as "You did a nice job cleaning your room, but it looks like you forgot to dust the bookshelf."
- Avoid talking about your child when he or she is within hearing.
- Avoid comparing your child to other children; each child is unique and should be valued just the way he or she is, with unique strengths and weaknesses.
- Avoid trying to mold children into who you think they should be instead of offering them opportunities to explore and find out who they are for themselves.
- Don't wait until your child accomplishes a task or masters a new behavior to demonstrate your love. Children need to hear and feel a parent's love regardless of what the child does.
Source: ParentLink, 4-H/Youth Development, University of Missouri-Columbia
Pasture and Forage Minute: Fall Dormancy vs. Winter Survival in Alfalfa
The time for spring planting alfalfa is just around the corner, and selecting the right seed is crucial. Two traits we should take extra time to consider are fall dormancy and winter survival. These traits are often treated the same but are different - let's take a look.
Fall Dormancy
Fall dormancy is a measure of an alfalfa plant’s ability to regrow in the fall after harvest and spring following winter. It is scored on a scale ranging from one to 11, with one being most dormant and 11 the least. Higher dormancy means a harvested plant will focus its resources in the fall on building reserves to survive the winter and less on new growth.
This tendency toward slower regrowth manifests throughout the year, with less dormant varieties typically recovering faster in the spring and producing overall higher yields. Another role dormancy plays is keeping plants from starting growth during the random warm-ups in the fall and winter months. Plants that break bud during these periods are subject to winterkill.
Finally, fall dormancy can impact the harvest timetable. Lower dormancy rated alfalfa plants will regrow slower after harvest as well. This translates into more time to remove forage from the field before “windrow disease” and field traffic become a concern.
In the past, fall dormancy traits were linked with winter survival. With new varieties, this isn’t always the case, so fall dormancy needs to be evaluated on its own.
Amy Timmerman
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: atimmerman2@unl.edu
Variety selection depends upon your management, production goals and ability for a stand to make it through winter without sacrificing additional yield. If you have regular issues with stand winterkill, a lower rated variety with improved dormancy is our best bet. In Nebraska, we recommend dormancy ratings one through five.
Winter Survival
Winter survival or winter hardiness is the ability for an alfalfa plant to make it through winter without injury, once the plant goes dormant. This is different than the fall dormancy rating that measures the alfalfa’s ability to prepare for and recover from dormancy. Winter survival is measured on a one to six scale, with one being extremely hardy and six not hardy. For Nebraska, a winter survival rating of three is about as high as we want to go.
As temperatures drop and days shorten, alfalfa plants change their physiology to survive freezing temperatures and make it through winter. While increased hardiness can result in reduced yield potential, for a high dollar perennial forage, having a full stand year after year is better in the long run.
In the past, winter survival traits were linked with fall dormancy. With new varieties, this isn’t always the case, so winter survival needs to be evaluated on its own.
We want to pick a winter survival ranking that will get us through winter without compromising yield. Where you are in the state plays a big role in what to pick. Winter temperatures affect the choice but maintained snow cover is also important. As snow can help insulate the ground, parts of the state that regularly have open winters may need as high or higher survival rating than colder locations with winter-long snow cover.
Bottom line for Nebraska — a winter survival rating of three is about as high as we want to go and areas with open winters or regularly colder temperatures should be even lower.
Source: Ben Beckman – Extension Educator (CropWatch – March 6, 2025)
Five Ways to Reduce Unit Cost of Production in a Cow-calf Enterprise
Unit cost of production is a ratio where costs in the numerator are divided by the units produced in the denominator.
There are five ways to reduce unit costs of production in a cow-calf enterprise.
- Decrease costs while keeping production the same. An example of this would be to sell unneeded equipment or reduce equipment expense while keeping calf production the same. Costs decrease while production is maintained, decreasing unit cost of production.
- Hold costs the same while increasing production. The use of hybrid vigor in cow-calf production is an example of this strategy. Research shows that a crossbred cow will be more productive over her life than the females of the straight bred contemporaries used to create her. An example of this would be an F1 Hereford X Angus cross cow. Costs of production would likely be the same, but productivity is expected to increase, decreasing unit cost of production.
- Decrease costs while increasing production. An example of this could be the moving of a calving date for a cow herd to better match the availability of significantly lower cost feed resources. This move of calving date could also potentially improve calf survivability if weather is more favorable, resulting in an increase in the number of calves weaned. Costs decrease while production increases, reducing unit cost of production.
Bethany Johnston
Extension Educator
Phone: 402-336-2760
E-mail: bjohnston3@unl.edu
- Increase costs with an expected greater percentage increase in production. The strategic use of a protein supplement for spring-calving cows grazing low-quality forage is an example of this. The protein supplement can increase the ability of cows to utilize low-quality forage, resulting in improved body condition scores at calving, greater survivability of calves, greater calf weaning weights and increased pregnancy rates for cows. The percent increase in productivity exceeds the cost of the protein supplement, reducing unit cost of production.
- Significantly decrease costs with a smaller percentage decrease in expected production. An example of this would be the decision to select for a genetically adapted cow that better fits her environment and requires fewer supplemental feed inputs. Pounds of calf produced would likely decrease with the cow requiring fewer inputs, but the cost to produce those pounds of calf is expected to decrease at a proportionally faster rate, resulting in a decrease in unit cost of production.
For producers weighing opportunities to reduce unit cost of production, evaluate the potential ripple effects of the proposed change to the whole cow-calf production system. Some questions to ask in evaluating the possible impact of those changes include:
- Does this proposed change increase the vulnerability of the cow-calf production system to extreme weather events?
- Does the proposed change build greater resiliency to the production system or increase risk?
- What may be some of the unintended consequences of this change?
- Who are people that have already made these changes or have the proposed production system in place that I can learn from?
- What impacts do the proposed changes have on the expected price to be received from products produced?
Think creatively about how you might address unit cost of production in your cow-calf operation. Sometimes a little “out of the box thinking” can open the doors to changes that can significantly impact unit cost of production.
Would you like to grow your knowledge base and skill set in understanding unit cost of production for a ranch operation? In person and on-line workshops are being planned for the fall and winter of 2025-2026. If you would like more information about these programs contact Aaron Berger at 308-235-3122 or aberger2@unl.edu.
Food Connects Us: Celebrating National Nutrition Month®
March is National Nutrition Month®, and this year’s theme, “Food Connects Us.” Food is much more than something we eat - it’s a bridge that connects us to our families, communities, and cultures. Whether it’s sharing a meal with loved ones, celebrating a cultural tradition, or supporting local food producers, food has the ability to nurture relationships and create meaningful connections.
The Power of Food to Bring Us Together
Think about the meals you’ve shared with family and friends - those moments spent around the table, talking, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company. Food plays an essential role in creating and strengthening these bonds. It’s the memories tied to holiday meals, the traditions passed down through generations, and the simple act of breaking bread together that deepens our connections with those we care about.
In today’s fast-paced world, we may sometimes overlook the importance of food in our social lives, but National Nutrition Month® is the perfect time to pause and reflect on how food truly connects us -not just physically, but emotionally and socially.
Celebrating Food in Meaningful Ways
Let’s think about how we can embrace the theme “Food Connects Us” and use food to strengthen our connections to one another. Here are a few ideas to help incorporate this theme into your life:
Brittany Spieker
FNH Extension Educator
Phone: 402-387-2213
E-mail: bspieker2@unl.edu
- Share meals with loved ones: There’s something special about gathering around a table, whether it’s a casual weeknight dinner or a festive celebration. Sharing a meal is one of the most powerful ways to connect with others. If it’s been a while since you’ve shared a meal with family or friends, this is the perfect time to reconnect and make time for those moments.
- Try new foods and recipes: Food is a great way to explore other cultures and traditions. Trying recipes from different parts of the world can open your mind and expand your culinary horizons. It’s a fun and delicious way to learn something new. You might even find a new favorite dish!
- Support local farmers and food producers: By choosing to purchase locally grown food, you’re not only helping to strengthen your community, but you’re also getting fresh, seasonal ingredients. Whether it’s from a local farmer’s market or a nearby grocery store, buying local creates a deeper connection to the food you eat and supports the livelihoods of local producers.
- Cook together: Cooking with family, friends, or even neighbors is a wonderful way to build connections. The process of preparing food together - chopping vegetables, stirring a pot, or setting the table - creates opportunities to bond. Plus, it’s a great chance to teach younger generations about the joys of cooking and the importance of healthy eating habits.
Nourishing Both Body and Community
While food nourishes our bodies, it also has the power to nourish our relationships. By focusing on eating a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and dairy, we can stay energized and healthy, allowing us to fully enjoy the connections that matter most in our lives. National Nutrition Month® reminds us that food is not just about what’s on our plate - it’s also about the relationships we build through food.
Together, let’s embrace the theme “Food Connects Us” and celebrate the power of food to bring us closer, one meal at a time.