Local Interest

As shoppers adjust their holiday gift-buying strategies due to supply chain issues, they might want to think about retooling their holiday meals, too.

Just as consumers are feeling the supply chain headaches, so too are farmers, food processors and shelf stockers. Nearly everything from fertilizer for fields, feed ingredients for livestock to harvesting fresh produce has been impacted by shortages that have slowed the supply chain to a crawl.

Erkut Sönmez, associate professor of supply chain management and analytics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, said these issues are not going to go away anytime soon, due to a number of factors. Supply chains are complex and even just one issue going wrong can impact the rest of the process.

USDA Introduces New Insurance Policy for Farmers Who Sell Locally

WASHINGTON, Oct 6, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is rolling out a new insurance option specifically for agricultural producers with small farms who sell locally. The new Micro Farm policy simplifies record keeping and covers post-production costs like washing and value-added products. 

USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) created this new policy based on research directed by the 2018 Farm Bill, and it includes feedback from producers who grow for their local communities. The policy will be available beginning with the 2022 crop year. 

Kearney, NE (September 30, 2021) Nine lucky winners were selected out of the thousands of participants in the first year of the Nebraska Beef Council’s Good Life Great Steaks Beef Passport program. 

Mary Jo Keenan of Hastings was the grand prize winner, receiving a $500 beef bundle from Custom Pack Inc. and a Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner Cabela’s Cooler. Submitted passports with at least 11 stamps were eligible for the top prize. 

“I was excited to hear that I won,” said Keenan. “I’m looking forward to hosting friends and family for dinner and enjoying more fantastic beef.”

Scholarship Letter

On Behalf of the Nebraska Association of Fair managers, we would like present the Don and Martha Romeo Scholarship to one qualifying 4-H male and to one qualifying 4-H female who are graduating seniors in the State of Nebraska and who plan to continue with post high school education for the amount of $500 each. The scholarship will be awarded at the annual NAFM convention in January.

The selection of the scholarship recipients will be made by the NAFM Scholarship

Fall Armyworms Fields decimated by ravenous insects might bring to mind images of biblical plagues of locusts, but across eastern Nebraska, another pest is leaving a similar trail of destruction; the fall armyworm. Fall armyworms, (Spodoptera frugiperda) are a species from the southern U.S. that does not overwinter in Nebraska. Bob Wright-Nebraska Extension Entomologist, Nathan Mueller- Nebraska Extension Crops Educator, and Melissa Bartels-Nebraska Extension Crops Educator share that; as populations build up during the summer, moths fly north often reaching the Midwest later in the summer or early fall — hence their common name.

Local Resources

Local Events

Follow Us on Facebook



Nebraska Extension in Otoe County

Local Events

Search Local & National Extension Resources

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources News

Latest from ianrnews.unl.edu

Unveiling of Historic Knorr-Holden Plot Signboard

September 25, 2023
Started in 1912, the Knorr-Holden Plot near Scottsbluff is perhaps the world’s oldest irrigated continuous corn research plot. It was recently commemorated with a sign to mark its significance to both Nebraska history and agricultural research history in Nebraska.

Read more

Nebraska Equine Extension to host a second “Race Nebraska” Seminar

September 22, 2023
The passing of the Racetrack Gaming Act through a Nebraska 2020 ballot referendum has caused an expansion in horse racing. A series of educational seminars by Nebraska Extension’s equine program have been developed to help those interested in becoming more involved in the industry.

Read more

Poll: Rural Nebraskans are increasingly pessimistic about present, future

September 18, 2023

Twenty-seven percent of respondents to the 2023 Nebraska Rural Poll indicated they are worse off than they were five years ago, up from 21% last year and 11% in 2021.

Read more

Jansen discusses farmland valuations with RFD-TV

September 18, 2023

In Nebraska, ag land values are up about 14 percent over last year, mirroring a nationwide rise in ag real estate prices. Click through to watch Jim Jansen, an agricultural systems economist with Nebraska Extension, talk with RFD-TV about the impact of valuations.

Read more