Nebraska Extension Scotts Bluff County

Local Interest

PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: The Mullen and Cameron Peak wildfires and potential effects on Nebraska

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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PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Growing Together Nebraska provides food, education

Dave Ostdiek, Communications Associate UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center

The COVID pandemic of 2020 has contributed to increased food insecurity for many Nebraska families.

In response, communities have pitched in to help. And some of the donated food is produce that has been grown this year at community gardens around Nebraska, which leverage local volunteers with grant funds from Growing Together Nebraska (GTN), part of Nebraska Extension’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) program.

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PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Windrow grazing annual forages to extend the grazing season

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.
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PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Blister beetle in alfalfa

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).

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Unsolicited seeds in mail? Contact USDA APHIS office in Lincoln

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.

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PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Leafy spurge – invasive plant of western Nebraska

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.
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Building Bridges in Conservation: Nebraska hosts inaugural natural resources workshop

Building Bridges in Conservation: Nebraska hosts inaugural natural resources workshop

April 15, 2024
Overlooking the iconic Platte River, over 100 natural resource professionals and students met to build and foster new collaborations at the first Natural Resources Conservation Connecting Points Workshop.

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Engaging Agriculture: Embryology a classroom springtime favorite

Engaging Agriculture: Embryology a classroom springtime favorite

April 1, 2024
Spring is here, and Nebraska elementary students are busy learning about embryology.

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Conference Focuses on Entrepreneurial Development in Nebraska Communities

Conference Focuses on Entrepreneurial Development in Nebraska Communities

March 29, 2024
Sidney is welcoming community development professionals from across the country for the 6th annual Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference May 1-2.

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Nav Ghimire is appointed as Associate Dean of Nebraska Extension

Nav Ghimire is appointed as Associate Dean of Nebraska Extension

March 25, 2024
Nav Ghimire has been appointed as the associate dean, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) focus of Nebraska Extension at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, pending approval by the NU Board of Regents. He will start in June 2024.

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