Nebraska Extension Scotts Bluff County

Local Interest

PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Pilot program has teens as teachers for elementary students

       A pair of Scottsbluff High School Students, one who graduated in 2017 and one who will be a senior in the fall, are exchanging roles this summer, becoming teachers to younger students at a Scottsbluff elementary school.

      Teens as Teachers is a pilot program that Nebraska Extension is trying in Scotts Bluff, Hall, Madison and Colfax counties. According to local coordinator Leo Sierra, Teens as Teachers is aimed at providing positive learning experiences to under-served audiences by youthful teachers who look like them.

Read more

PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES: Building strong families – making time for family

Jackie Guzman, Extension Educator
Scotts Bluff County

Now that children are home from school on summer break, parents can spend the next three months just keeping them busy, or else they can seize an opportunity to build a stronger family and maybe create new traditions.

Many families have their own traditions. As long as I can remember, every December my family’s tradition has been to make tamales together – a very labor intensive process.  Regardless, we all look forward to our annual family gathering.

Read more

Absinth Wormwood – invasive species in our area: PANHANDLE PERSPECTIVES

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

Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) is a concept to identify potential invasive species prior to or just as the invasive is becoming established. An integrated pest management (IPM) plan can be developed to manage, contain and eradicate the invasive species before it can spread further, avoiding costly, long-term control efforts.

Read more

Are you planning to direct harvest dry beans?

By John Thomas, Extension Educator, Box Butte County

In recent years more growers in the central high plains are moving toward direct harvest of dry edible beans instead of the conventional method of undercutting/windrowing, and then combining.

Direct harvest is accomplished by one pass with the combine. About half the time a crop desiccant herbicide is applied pre-harvest when direct harvesting beans.

Currently in the Panhandle more than 20 percent of growers are direct harvesting their dry beans. Other growing regions such as North Dakota, Michigan and Canada are using direct harvest for the majority of their dry bean harvest.

Read more

Five things to improve your Quicken record-keeping-Panhandle Perspectives

By Jessica Groskopf, Extension Educator

While it's still fresh in your mind, now is the time to make changes to your farm or ranch record keeping system.

There are many programs available to help organize a farm or ranch’s financial information. Nebraska Extension has been teaching Quicken courses for the past few months. Quicken is an affordable and flexible system that can easily be used for most farms and ranches. Anybody who already has Quicken can take these four steps do to improve their Quicken file for 2017.

Read more

Wildlife management along the Platte River: Panhandle Perspectives

Robert Wilson, Professor Emeritus
Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff

As the North and South Platte Rivers flow through Nebraska they have created rich riparian areas adjacent to the river. Some of these areas have been colonized by invasive weeds, some are used for livestock forage, and many are managed for wildlife.

Landowners have made substantial investments in these properties to control invasive plants. After plant suppression the challenge for land managers is to introduce more desirable plant species that can help restore the land to a more sustainable state. Introducing perennial grasses, legumes and forbs can provide forage for grazing, wildlife and competition with invasive plants. 

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

Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts honor Paul C. Hay and Randy Pryor with Water Conservation Award

Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts honor Paul C. Hay and Randy Pryor with Water Conservation Award

October 4, 2024

Lincoln, Neb. —Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts have awarded the Outstanding Water Conservation of the Year Award to Paul C. Hay (posthumous), Emeritus Extension Educator, alongside Randy Pryor, also an Emeritus Extension Educator. The two long-time educators were nominated by the Lower Big Blue Natural Resources District (NRD) for their nearly 40 years of service to agricultural sustainability in Southeast Nebraska.

Read more

4-H service project will update courthouse garden in 2025

4-H service project will update courthouse garden in 2025

October 4, 2024
The Scotts Bluff County Court House garden in Gering will be undergoing an update in the spring of 2025. Spearheading the update will be the Nebraska Master Gardeners of Scotts Bluff County with funds from A Watchable Wildlife Grant, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, or Keno Funds.

Read more

Nebraska Soil Health School: An Accomplishment of Goals Through Collaboration

Nebraska Soil Health School: An Accomplishment of Goals Through Collaboration

October 4, 2024

Lincoln, Neb. —The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) team led by Dr. Bijesh Maharjan, associate professor and extension specialist at UNL’s Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center (PREEC), accomplished another successful series of Nebraska Soil Health Schools hosted by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and UNL.

Read more

70th Annual Nebraska State Range Judging Contest Held in Chase County

70th Annual Nebraska State Range Judging Contest Held in Chase County

September 27, 2024

IMPERIAL, Neb. — Chase County hosted the 70th Annual Nebraska State Range Judging Contest, marking a milestone for one of the state’s longest-running educational contests. Organized by the Nebraska Range Judging Committee and local partners from the NRD, NRCS, and Nebraska Extension, six area contests culminated in a state contest aimed at promoting range management and conservation practices among Nebraska’s youth.

Read more