Local Interest

Nebraska Extension and the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture have launched a new student gardening competition to take place this summer in 2020. The Biggest Grower competition offers Nebraska high school students the opportunity to learn how to start their own garden and small growing operation. Students will plant, grow, cultivate, harvest and distribute their own fresh specialty crops in a garden space or in containers. Participants will be placed in virtual teams with one team chosen as The Biggest Grower and each team member will be awarded a $50 Amazon gift card. Additionally, one high school junior or senior will be awarded a College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Department of Agronomy and Horticulture scholarship of $1,000.
Many cow-calf producers in Nebraska have become accustomed to using distillers grains as a source of both protein and energy to help meet the nutritional needs of lactating cows from calving until green grass is available. Due to the ongoing distillers shortage, many producers are considering including corn silage in the ration to help alleviate some of the energy shortfall in their hay resources. However, concerns have been expressed that silage in the diet will result in diarrhea or scours in their calves.

New plans for the tractor safety training courses that were originally scheduled around the state, including Gering, are designed to protect the health of the students and trainers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students will take the first day of the course online through the eXtension Foundation Campus website. After successfully completing the online course and testing, the required driving test will be offered at five locations across Nebraska July 27-31, 2020.

By Dr. Saundra Frerichs, Nebraska Extension 4-H Youth Development

How can someone like me cope with something so unexpected? As I searched for this answer, I read recommendations for different groups of people: individuals living alone, families, children with special needs, empty nesters, and seniors. I found suggestions that can help all of us cope. 

Create a routine.

Consistency and structure may be calming during times of stress.  This is true whether we are creating a work and learning schedule for the whole family, or creating routines for ourselves when we are home alone.  Use routine to create reasonable expectations for yourself and others.

With time on your hands and extra helpers at home, creating a beautiful and functional rain garden in your home landscape is an ideal family project. A rain garden collects water from your roof through a downspout and holds it in a shallow depression like a bathtub, until it soaks into the ground within 48 hours. The garden is planted with native and adapted perennial plants and small shrubs that can thrive in wet soil, attract pollinators, and provide year-round color in your yard. Installing a residential rain garden is a do-it-yourself home project that all in the family can enjoy.

Field bindweed is also known as small bindweed, European bindweed, and Creeping Jenny. Its scientific name is Convolvulus arvensis L, of the family Convolvulaceae (Morning glory family).

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UNMC, Nebraska Extension announce annual hazardous occupations safety courses for teens across Nebraska this summer

March 23, 2023
Nebraska Extension and Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, have announced dates for the annual “tractor safety” training courses scheduled at sites across Nebraska in early June.

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Research technologist played part in research history

March 23, 2023
In the past 45 years, Rex Nielsen has been part of important research projects at the UNL Panhandle Research, Extension, and Education Center (PREEC) in Scottsbluff.

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Panhandle Perspective: A Plant Disease Changes Sugar Beet Production in Nebraska

March 23, 2023
Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) has long been problematic to sugar beet production throughout the eastern and Great lakes production areas of the United States and is considered to be the most important and destructive foliar disease for this crop.

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PREEC welcomes new communications specialist

March 23, 2023
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff welcomed Chabella Guzman, as its new communications specialist. She will be responsible for news media, social media, web content, video content, meeting technology, and other communications roles related to the Panhandle Center and Extension in western Nebraska.

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