Local Interest
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.
Dave Ostdiek, Communications Associate
Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff
Four high-school students from Scottsbluff and Bayard are spending their summers teaching elementary students, and in the process learning a few things themselves.
They are participants in the Teens as Teachers program, sponsored by Nebraska Extension and in its third year in Scotts Bluff, second year in Morrill, and a handful of other counties in Nebraska.
Karla Wilke Cow/Calf, Stocker Management Specialist
Panhandle Research and Extension Center
The July 17, 2019 breach of the Gering-Fort Laramie canal left over 100,000 acres of irrigated crops in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska without water. Without irrigation water and adequate rainfall, taking the corn to full maturity and grain production may not be the best option for the crop.
Producers with a corn crop impacted by the canal breach may want to consider making corn silage out of this year’s crop. There are several things to consider when making the decision to make silage.