Latest News Briefs

December 01, 2008
25th Annual 4-State Beef Conference
Area cattlemen should mark the date of January 14th on their calendars and make plans to attend the 25th Annual 4-State Beef Conference. The conference planning committee has designed an excellent program that should have something of interest to all beef producers. Speakers and their topics for the 2009 conference are as follows: Dr. Rick Rasby, University of Nebraska – “Update on Storing Co-Products.”; Dr. Darrel Mark, University of Nebraska – “Economics of Storing Co-Products.”; Dr. Vern Anderson, North Dakota State University – “Drylotting Beef Cows.”; Dr. Barry Dunn, Executive Director of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Texas A&M, Kingsville – “Whole Herd Management Strategies for Tough Times”. The conference is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th at 4:00 pm in Tecumseh, Nebraska at the Community Building. More

December 01, 2008
Diversified Ag Tour in Southeast Nebraska
On September 5th, 2008 we conducted our 3rd Annual Diversified Ag Tour in southeast Nebraska. This year we visited different enterprises in Otoe and Cass Counties. The first stop on the tour was the Dan Watermeier Farm, west of Syracuse. While Dan practices no-till and conventional practices on most of his farm, he has converted some of his farm to organic production. The conversion process requires 36 months of chemical-free production on the land to qualify for organic. Dan grows corn, soybeans and alfalfa on his organic acres. He is experimenting with crop rotations, fertility needs and tillage required for successful control of weeds. More

September 12, 2008
Now Is The Time For Wheat Control In Pastures
The fall is a good time to take a look at your pastures to see if they may benefit from a herbicide application. If winter annuals or biennials are a problem in your pastures, a fall herbicide application in the rosette stage of growth is recommended. Herbicides should be applied after rains to actively growing weeds for best weed control. Weeds that fall into this category include field pennycress, horseweed or mare’s tail, henbit, common mullein, bull thistle and musk thistle. More

August 28, 2008
Wheat - A Good Crop in the Rotation
Wheat acres have increased dramatically the past few years in southeast Nebraska, primarily due to an increase in price. Research has also improved varieties and there is potential for excellent yields that will make wheat a profitable crop. In 2007 many producers also had excellent success with double-cropping soybeans. Wheat yields in 2008 were extremely variable, depending upon variety and disease incidence. There were reports of yields of 10 bu/ac or less under severe disease pressure to yields over 50 bu/ac. As you may recall in 2007, producers that had varieties susceptible to rust and did not spray for rust had significant yield loss. Some farmers that sprayed fungicides on these susceptible varieties realized yield increases of 20 bu/ac compared to untreated fields. Other producers that had wheat varieties that were more disease resistant did not see as great of yield response from treatment with fungicides. More

August 28, 2008
Late Season Bean Leaf Beetles
What about bean leaf beetles? The last few weeks I have been scouting the sentinel and surveillance plots in Johnson, Nemaha and Richardson counties. I have found some, but not too many bean leaf beetles in these fields. I have found some younger, smaller beetles, which means they could be around for awhile. In 2005 and 2006 we have had late season infestations of bean leaf beetles in the area. More

August 28, 2008
Watch Out For Soybean Pests
Is there potential for insect pests in soybeans in 2008? What about soybean aphids or grasshoppers? More

August 28, 2008
Green June Beetles Increasing
The past couple of summers I wrote about the Green June Beetle increasing in southeast Nebraska. Well I had several reports of them showing up in Southeast Nebraska a couple of weeks ago. Some people saw the green June Beetles in large numbers, over 100 in one report. If you have been startled by a large green metallic beetle that is noisy, and that flies around you and sounds similar to a bumble bee, it is the Green June Beetle. Unlike other June or May beetles, this beetle only flies during the day. These beetles are large, 3/4'” to 1 inch long with the top side a forest green color and the underside a metallic bright green or gold. Its legs have sturdy spines that aid in digging and its head has a hornlike process on the front. I had a several people bring in specimens of these beetles this year and a larva (grub) in previous years. More

June 11, 2008
Now What Can We Expect?
With the very wet and stormy weather we have experienced this spring, it is difficult what to expect next. There are many important issues that can be addressed. The recent heavy rains and flooding of streams and rivers has many producers faced with tough decisions that need to be made. More

June 03, 2008
Watch Out For Those Pests
Summer is just around the corner and following a very unpredictable spring it is difficult to determine what type of pests we may have this year. This time of year it is important to keep an eye on trees, shrubs and ornamentals because now they may become infested with different types of pests. With the hot days of summer coming up, it is important to monitor the health of your trees and other landscape plants to reduce the impact the environment has on them. More

May 29, 2008
Sericea Lespedeza – A Noxious Weed!
The past couple of years we have been alerting you about the introduction of an invasive plant to southeast Nebraska. With farmers now identifying this plant, they are now working to control it before it gets a foothold here in Nebraska. The troublesome weed that is making its appearance in southeastern Nebraska is sericea lespedeza. It has been identified on several locations in southeastern Nebraska. This plant has been identified on CRP land, along highways and in roadside ditches, in several pastures and even on some acreages. This is a perennial legume that is a noxious weed in Kansas and has taken over in several areas of Missouri as well. Sericea lespedeza was planted by some government agencies as cover and feed for wildlife and also for erosion control. Unfortunately it is a very invasive species and has taken over thousands of acres of rangeland in Kansas and a lot of public land and roadsides in Missouri. More

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