Nebraska Extension Scotts Bluff County

Local Interest

PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Did You Know? Goss’ wilt of corn and bacterial wilt of dry beans both re-emerged in Nebraska at the same time after long absence

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

Goss’ wilt and leaf blight is a destructive bacterial disease of corn, caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskense. It was first identified in 1969 from Dawson County near Lexington making it a true Nebraska native.

Over the next decade, it was identified from at least 53 other counties in Nebraska and also spread into Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, and Colorado. The disease was eventually identified from additional U.S. corn-growing states before disappearing in the mid-1980s just as suddenly as it first appeared. 

Read more

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?

Read more

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.

Read more

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?
Read more

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.

Read more

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

Read more

Local Resources

Local Events

Follow Us on Facebook



Nebraska Extension Scotts Bluff County

Local Events

Search Local & National Extension Resources

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources News

Latest from ianrnews.unl.edu

Grocery Industry Summit to address retail technology, competition

Grocery Industry Summit to address retail technology, competition

September 16, 2024
The Nebraska Cooperative Development Center and Nebraska Grocery Industry Association are hosting the second annual Grocery Industry Summit on Oct. 3 in Kearney.

Read more

FFA students gather information on the Ag industry and careers at field day

FFA students gather information on the Ag industry and careers at field day

September 12, 2024
FFA youth from around the Panhandle came together on Wednesday, Aug. 28, for the WESTCO-UNL FFA Field Day in Gering and at the Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff.

Read more

Nebraska in the national news: August 2024

Nebraska in the national news: August 2024

September 4, 2024
A trio of University of Nebraska–Lincoln political scientists were interviewed by national media outlets in August. The stories were among 30-plus national news stories featuring Husker faculty, staff, centers and programs during the month.

Read more

Nebraska Extension’s program receives NIFA Grant to support STEM Education for at-risk youth

Nebraska Extension’s program receives NIFA Grant to support STEM Education for at-risk youth

August 29, 2024

Lincoln, Neb. — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension has been awarded a five-year grant from the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through the Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk (CYFAR) Program. 

CYFAR is a national initiative developed to meet locally identified needs, through quality research-based programs for vulnerable, at-risk, low-income, and low-resource children, youth, and families to promote positive life outcomes. 

Read more