It has been a joy to write 137 columns over the past 4.5 years for farmers, agronomists, and landowners in southeast Nebraska. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you as a local University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Educator. My last day with Nebraska Extension will be June 21. Many have emailed, called, and texted me wondering what my next endeavor will be. Starting in July, I will be the State Soil Health Specialist with U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service located in Lincoln. I have served as a Water & Cropping Systems Extension Educator for 10 years (5.5 years previously in Fremont) where I have gained valuable experience and built networks that I will carry with me into my next job. So, this isn’t goodbye, but see you later with a different hat on.
The Southeast Nebraska Water & Cropping Systems (WCS) Extension Educator Team reviewed local programming to determine what would be the best path forward for interim/transition plans in the short-term (next 6 months). Below is the short-term plan to assist clients in Gage, Jefferson, and Saline counties related to Water & Cropping Systems. The Nebraska Extension Engagement Zone Coordinators and WCS Program Leaders will be involved in plans for longer-term interim responsibilities should it be necessary to.
You should call the Extension Office in your county to be put in touch with the interim educator:
- Gage County (402-223-1384) – Ritika Lamichhane – WCS educator, office in Nemaha County
- Jefferson County (402-729-3487) – Matheus Ribeiro – WCS educator, office in Clay County
- Saline County (402-821-2151) – John Nelson – WCS educator, office in Lancaster County
Please try and contact them with your question several days before you need your question answered (if possible) given their extra workload. These interim Educator roles receive no extra resources or financial compensation from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For extra workload context, for Gage, Jefferson, and Saline counties, this is about 500 client support requests per year taking several minutes to several hours each.
The local email list through MailChimp will switch ownership to two southeast Nebraska educators in the interim. The croptechcafe.org website that I started 10 years ago will continue to be maintained and used as a regional website as it is now. Newspaper columns will be covered by several educators through ones they already write for their accountability regions.
The 2024 Southeast Nebraska Alfalfa & Wheat Expo on August 22 has been cancelled. USDA Weekly Crop Reports for Gage, Jefferson, and Saline counties from Nebraska Extension will not be completed until the position is refilled. KWBE radio recordings and interviews will continue to be coordinated by the Gage County Extension Office, just lacking an update from a WCS educator.
For inquiries regarding water and cropping systems resources from Nebraska Extension, please contact your local Extension Office. I created the following phrase 10 years ago to capture my future Extension programming and have used it ever since, so one last time… know your crop, know your tech, know your bottom line.