Nebraska Extension Scotts Bluff County

Local Interest

PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Stress and young children

Jackie Guzman, Extension Educator Scotts Bluff County

How are your children doing?

In recent months our state has experienced several natural disasters with flooding, storms causing hail damage to property and crops, and most recently the collapse of a tunnel in the irrigation canal serving Wyoming and Nebraska farmers impacting thousands of acres of farm land. Anyone who was not directly impacted by a disaster this year probably knows someone who has, teaching us that we are not immune to such events.

These events can cause heightened anxiety and stress in adults. So what are the implications for children?

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PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Did you know? The dry bean bacterial wilt pathogen can be different colors

Robert M. Harveson, Extension Plant Pathologist
Panhandle R&E Center, Scottsbluff

Bacterial wilt of dry beans, caused by Curtobacterium flaccufaciens pv. flaccumfaciens (Cff), has historically posed sporadic but often serious production problems in dry beans throughout the irrigated High Plains since its first report from South Dakota in 1922. In the early 1980s, the disease mysteriously disappeared, appearing only periodically on cull seeds at the processing plants, but with little economic damage.

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PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES - Dry edible beans as livestock feed when hit by drought, hail

Dry edible beans such as pintos, great northern, and black beans are a very valuable commodity raised in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming, ranking Nebraska second, and Wyoming eighth in national dry bean production. However, hail and drought can easily reduce bean quality and the feasibility of harvest for the rigorous human consumption standards. So the question becomes, when dry edible beans are not suitable for human consumption, what options are available?
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PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Wild cucumber and Virginia creeper are problems this year

By Gary Stone, Extension Educator, Panhandle R&E Center, Scottsbluff

Nebraska Extension has been receiving many calls this summer about two weedy vines that have been found in shrubs, trees and fences. If left un-managed, they can smother out shrubs and trees by preventing the tree leaves from photosynthesizing and eventually killing them, especially evergreen trees.

The first is Wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata), also known as balsam apple or mock cucumber.  Wild cucumber is a native plant, an annual with a shallow root system that reproduces by seed. The vines are bright light green in color and will attach and climb on anything they can.

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News release from Nebraska Extension in the Panhandle: Rural stress

Rural Stress

Stress has become a fact of life for farm families. A number of factors are behind this: low commodity prices; shifting international trade outlook; and damage and obstacles created by storms, floods, and other natural disasters. There’s added stress this summer in Scotts Bluff and Goshen counties from the loss of irrigation water to more than 100,000 acres of crops due to the collapse of the Fort Laramie Canal tunnel. But there are resources to help farm families address problems caused by stress.

Susan Harris-Broomfield, Nebraska Extension Educator, Rural Health, Wellness, & Safety

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PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Study sheds light on how pinto beans help reduce cholesterol

A recent study into how pinto beans help lower cholesterol was a collaborative effort among several departments at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that spanned the state from west to east.

Results of the study are reported in the June issue of the Journal of Nutrition (JN), a publication of the American Society for Nutrition. JN has drawn attention to the journal article by featuring it in a news release distributed universally on the World Wide Web.

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Tractor Safety course educates next generation of agriculturalists

Tractor Safety course educates next generation of agriculturalists

June 28, 2024

Lincoln, Neb. —

Tractors are part of rural life. They are agricultural equipment that can be spotted in fields, dirt roads, and highways. Typically driven by adults, farm families often hire their teenage children or their neighbors' teens to help with planting, harvesting, and other work. Each Spring across Nebraska, Tractor and Equipment Safety courses are held for 14-and 15-year-olds looking to be employed on farms and ranches.  

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Nebraska Extension projects look at viability and economics of mint in Panhandle

Nebraska Extension projects look at viability and economics of mint in Panhandle

June 26, 2024
Two recent projects at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff involved growing peppermint and spearmint, doing it well, and saving money and greenhouse gasses.

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Lead and Succeed webinar series continues leadership development discussion

Lead and Succeed webinar series continues leadership development discussion

June 19, 2024

Lincoln, Neb. — Rural Prosperity Nebraska, the community development arm of Nebraska Extension, announces the inaugural session of its “Lead and Succeed Lunchbox Series,” a summer-long webinars series focused on revamping community leadership development in rural communities. The first session will take place on June 27.

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MarketReady webinars help farmers expand market reach

MarketReady webinars help farmers expand market reach

June 14, 2024
Rural Prosperity Nebraska and the Heartland Regional Food Business Center, a multi-state organization focused on strengthening farm and food enterprises, are kicking off a summer-long series of market-ready webinars, beginning June 20.

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