Local Interest

Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension Educator Water and Cropping Systems

This the first in a six-part series of articles covering basic water law in the United States, predominately in the western part of the country, and how it affects this finite resource.

Water law has a long history. It can be traced back to Roman times and also has roots in English common law. Across the United States, it varies from state to state, and from East to West.

When conflicts arise the courts usually determine the outcome, unless there are state or federal laws or previous case studies to resolve the issue. Exceptions to the law can arise from differences in each state’s water laws.

Whether or not we work in agriculture, in rural Nebraska and other farming and ranching areas, agriculture provides us with some of the first signs of spring. We have all smiled at newborn baby calves bucking, head butting each other, and running with their tails sticking straight out. But those who aren’t farmers or ranchers, or otherwise involved in agriculture, might wonder what “calving season” is and why it is such a big deal to the men and women of agriculture. Driving by those playing calves, they might not realize all that goes into making sure those babies get a good, healthy start.

Aaron Berger, Beef Educator Nebraska Extension

When beef producers look at annual cow costs and doing an economic analysis, three categories tend to make up the largest percentage of total costs: feed, labor/equipment and cow depreciation. Other expenses, such as breeding expense and veterinary costs, tend to be significantly less than the “Big Three.”

To conduct an economic analysis of a ranch, first break the ranch into enterprises to understand where value is being created and costs are occurring. Land ownership, hay production, cow-calf and replacement heifer development are four of the major enterprises on many ranches.

Feed

Nevin Lawrence, UNL Integrated Weed Management Specialist
Mitch Stephenson, UNL Range Management Specialist

 

This article appears in the November BeefWatch online newsletter at UNL’s beef production website, https://beef.unl.edu. A new BeefWatch is posted every month, and interviews with the authors of BeefWatch newsletter articles become available throughout the month of publication and are accessible at https://go.unl.edu/podcast.

Two recent articles on rangeland weed control were published on CropWatch which may be of interest to Nebraska ranchers.

By Tammie Ostdiek
Extension Educator – Food, Nutrition and Health

Preparing for holiday meals this year may look different for many people, as we consider celebrating in smaller family groups due to COVID-19. Some people may be preparing turkey for the first time. Follow these basic turkey recommendations for food safety. 

Things to do ahead of time:

Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension Educator
Crops & Water Team

The wildfires that took place late this summer and early fall in Colorado and Wyoming are almost completely controlled, but they still might affect agriculture throughout Nebraska next growing season, and for years to come.

Why? Both of these fires as a whole or in part affect the Upper North Platte River watershed. Causes are uknown at this time for the Cameron Peak fire, west of Fort Collins, Colo., and the Mullen fire, west of Laramie, Wyo.

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