Aaron Berger, Extension Educator
In many areas of Nebraska, drought conditions have resulted in reduced forage production on rangeland and pasture. This is resulting in a shortage of feed for many producers and a need for forage between now and when cornstalks are available for grazing. Windrow grazing annual forages allows producers to cut the crop at an optimum time for quality and increase harvest efficiency through strip grazing the windrows.
Local Interest
By Gary Stone, Extension Educator Invasive Resistant Pest Issue Team
Last year in another state, 14 horses died and another 100 were sickened from hay that contained blister beetles. Usually Blister beetles are not a problem, but growers should be aware of the insect and what to scout for in their fields.
The Pest: The blister beetle (scientific name Epicauta spp., order Coleoptera, family Meloidae) includes several species: ash-gray blister beetle (Epicauta fabricii), black blister beetle (Epicauta pennsylvania), three-striped blister beetle (Epicauta vittata), and spotted blister beetle (Epicauta maculata).
Anyone who receives a package in the mail with unsolicited seeds from China is encouraged not to plant them, but to contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) office in Lincoln.
According to John Thomas, Nebraska Extension Educator based in Alliance, Extension has been receiving some inquiries about the seeds, and has received the following guidance from the Lincoln APHIS office:
Anyone receiving the seeds should call the Lincoln APHIS office at (402) 434-2346 for additional instruction.
Leafy spurge is a non-native perennial forb. Leafy spurge is not a single species, but an aggregation of closely related, perhaps hybridized, taxa.
Leafy spurge reproduces from seed and vegetative root buds. It is an erect plant 1 to 3 feet tall with blueish-green leaves with round edges.
Flowers are surrounded by heart-shaped yellow-green bracts which hold three round to oblong seeds. They are located in clusters near the top of the plant. Flowers develop in mid-June, but flowering can occur through fall. Each stem produces an average of 140 seeds.
John Thomas, Extension Educator, Box Butte County
Jeff Bradshaw, Extension Entomologist, Panhandle Research and Extension Center
Karen DeBoer, Extension Educator, Cheyenne County
As winter wheat harvest progresses in the Nebraska Panhandle, it is becoming clear that 2020 is another year of significant wheat stem sawfly infestation and cutting. Infestations are moderate in the north and heavier in the south.
Robert M. Harveson, Extension Plant Pathologist
Xin Qiao, Water and Irrigation Management Specialist
University of Nebraska, Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff
On July 13, 2020 we found symptoms characteristic of Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) on lower leaves of sugarbeets from research plots at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center at Scottsbluff.
CLS, a foliar disease of the beet, has long been a problem for sugarbeet production in more humid areas of the United States. But it has been a sporadic, but potentially severe problem for us in western Nebraska. The disease is caused by the fungal pathogen, Cercospora beticola, and is spread by spores moving in wind currents throughout and among fields.
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Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts honor Paul C. Hay and Randy Pryor with Water Conservation Award
October 4, 2024
Lincoln, Neb. —Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts have awarded the Outstanding Water Conservation of the Year Award to Paul C. Hay (posthumous), Emeritus Extension Educator, alongside Randy Pryor, also an Emeritus Extension Educator. The two long-time educators were nominated by the Lower Big Blue Natural Resources District (NRD) for their nearly 40 years of service to agricultural sustainability in Southeast Nebraska.
4-H service project will update courthouse garden in 2025
October 4, 2024
The Scotts Bluff County Court House garden in Gering will be undergoing an update in the spring of 2025. Spearheading the update will be the Nebraska Master Gardeners of Scotts Bluff County with funds from A Watchable Wildlife Grant, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, or Keno Funds.
Nebraska Soil Health School: An Accomplishment of Goals Through Collaboration
October 4, 2024
Lincoln, Neb. —The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) team led by Dr. Bijesh Maharjan, associate professor and extension specialist at UNL’s Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center (PREEC), accomplished another successful series of Nebraska Soil Health Schools hosted by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and UNL.
70th Annual Nebraska State Range Judging Contest Held in Chase County
September 27, 2024
IMPERIAL, Neb. — Chase County hosted the 70th Annual Nebraska State Range Judging Contest, marking a milestone for one of the state’s longest-running educational contests. Organized by the Nebraska Range Judging Committee and local partners from the NRD, NRCS, and Nebraska Extension, six area contests culminated in a state contest aimed at promoting range management and conservation practices among Nebraska’s youth.