Local Interest

Soil health advocates say interest is growing in nurturing the health of the vital natural resource. But there’s no standard way to measure soil health or predict its potential for improvement.

Now, a soil scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is proposing a name and a concept that could help establish the parameters for measuring baseline soil health and its potential for improvement.

The COVID-19 pandemic is putting limits on public face-to-face programs, but Nebraska Extension will sponsor a variety of events in mid-June to share updates on the wheat variety trials and crop and livestock research conducted by University of Nebraska-Lincoln in western Nebraska.

In-person field-days scheduled for June 18, 2020 at High Plains Ag Lab near Sidney and June 16, 2020 at the Henry J. Stumpf International Wheat Center at Grant have been cancelled. But growers are still encouraged to visit the research plots at these two UNL research facilities beginning June 15, 2020 and view the wheat variety trials. Self-guided tours also are being offered at a number of UNL cooperators’ on-farm wheat variety trials beginning June 15 until harvest.

4-H members in the Nebraska Panhandle do not need to put their goals on hold this summer because of social distancing.

Nebraska Extension 4-H staff from around the Panhandle will be presenting six weeks of fun-filled virtual presentations to help 4-Hers build their skills and jump start their project list for county fair. Extension educators and 4-H assistants from a dozen offices in western Nebraska have been working to create a list of virtual workshops allowing youth to continue to be involved in 4-H without face-to-face contact.

By Tammie Ostdiek Extension Educator – Food, Nutrition and Health

Check out food.unl.edu for more everyday food and fitness tips.

Dry beans are always a good companion to beef, pork, chicken, or fish, but they are also a great protein source on their own. And now more than ever dry beans are the perfect staple for any pantry.

Dry beans, the mature form of legumes, include great northern beans, pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, black-eyed peas, split peas, and lentils.

Here are some of the reasons to serve beans every week.

A large majority of people who responded to a recent survey rated water quality in the North Platte Valley of western Nebraska as good or excellent.

Still, most of the survey respondents also said they are somewhat or very concerned about water quality, although usually by a smaller majority.

There was usually a gap between agricultural and residential residents on rating water quality; the level of concern water quality; water quality’s effects on quality of life; and potential sources of water contaminants.

Musk thistle is a non-native biennial forb but can behave occasionally as an annual. It reproduces/spreads from seed. Musk thistle is a prolific seed producer. Each thistle plant can produce 10,000 up to 120,000 seeds. Germination of seed and emergence of seedlings can occur anytime and are correlated with light and moisture. Optimum germination will take place in moist soil with 59° to 68°F soil temperature in the light and 68° to 86°F in the dark. Approximately one third of the seeds produced are viable. Viability of the seed varies. Water, wind, livestock, wildlife, vehicles and humans disperse seed.

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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.

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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.

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Nebraska Pulse Crops Conference scheduled at two locations

September 14, 2023
The 2023 Nebraska Pulse Crops Conference will focus on field peas, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and other pulses.

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Registration Now Open for 2023 Latino Small Business Conference

September 12, 2023
The Latino Small Business Conference is set to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit and empower Latino business owners across Nebraska during its second annual run, beginning Sept. 16. The conference, held entirely in Spanish, will take place over four weekends in four cities, from Omaha to Scottsbluff.

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