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The USDA Nelson Service Center will be opening part-time on Sept. 19. The office will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The new location of the office is 150 West 8th St. Suite A, located in the west portion of the former nursing home building. "We are excited to be able to reopen a part-time office in Nelson," said Janet Valasek, NRCS district conservationist. "We know this is important to the producers in the area, and we are committed to providing them with the...
The weather was perfect for the Jewell County Soil Health – Conservation Tour last Wednesday.. Nearly 40 interested producers boarded a charter bus to learn about honeybees, site preparation for a rangeland burn, soil health principles, rotational grazing and cover crops. Gee Bee Honey hosted the tour for the first stop. Robin Griffeth discussed their start with honeybees. Jorge Garibay, North American Pollinator Alliance founder, explained the history of honeybees in North America – "the cre...
CPI has constructed a huge new grain storage building on the south side of Ruskin. Photo by Ava Petersen. Ava and Arlo Petersen live 3 miles south of Ruskin and can see the building from their house....
Many producers are busy swathing and baling alfalfa and forage sorghum or sudan, but it soon will be time to be in the fields with wheat drilling. There is still time to control or kill the volunteer wheat before you attempt to plant your 2024 wheat crop. Producers really don’t like the mention of volunteer wheat, but you can always count on it rearing its ugly head even in dryer conditions. Volunteer wheat is a fact of life in wheat production and no combine is perfect, so there is usually plenty of grain left in the field to produce v...
A revised statute allowing some Nebraska landowners to kill damage-causing wildlife predators became effective Sept. 2. Predators included in this statute are badger, bobcat, coyote, gray fox, long-tailed weasel, mink, opossum, raccoon, red fox and skunk. The statute allows a private landowner or tenant to kill a predator preying on livestock or poultry or suspected of causing other damage on land they owned or control. No permit from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is required. Also, a landowner or tenant, or agent of either, may kill...
Agriculture producers are encouraged to reserve their spot on the charter bus that will tour Jewell County on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 6. The Soil Health – Conservation Tour will leave 218 Delaware Street (Jewell Community Center) at 1 p.m. First stop will be at the Robin and Deb Griffeth homestead; 1848 J Road, north of Jewell. There will be information about bee keeping and honey production. Then on to view brush management and the progress made by using a late summer burn! This is located near the intersection of 10 and U Road along...
The Jewell County Farm Bureau board started the program "Beef for Knowledge" as they wanted the students to have more personal knowledge and awareness of where the donated beef or pork they are provided comes from. They wanted to provide the school district with a higher quality meat and felt if it was donated there would be no limitations on serving quality meat in their menu. Kensington Locker has been a great partnership as they are willing to move the animal up to the top of the list for the...
Jenna Gilbert, Southern Plains Extension Educator, served as the mistress of ceremonies Sunday for the 4-H Awards Night. Nathan Elledge and Chase Ostdiek, 4-H Ambassadors, led with Pledge of Allegiance and 4-H pledge. Nuckolls County 4-H clubs and independent groups were recognized: Alban, Dry Creek, Farm Friends, Lucky Buckaroos, Oxbow, Rough Riders, Shooting Sports and 4-H Friends. This year's Nuckolls County Ag Society officers are Dustin Cassell, president; Garrett Schroer, vice president;...
Much of our circulation area reports a shortage of precipitation but there has been no shortage of interesting thunderstorm clouds. This picture was taken Saturday night by Steve Houtwed. He was looking west from his farm in the Ruskin area. Fortunately we have not had to report on substantial storm damage....
The Central Kansas, Phillips-Rooks, Post Rock and River Valley extension districts will be hosting conferences this August aimed to help farmers and ranchers plan the transition of their farm. According to the 2016 Family Business Survey by the National Bureau of Economic Research Family Business Alliance, 43 percent of family-owned businesses don’t have a succession plan, yet 75 percent want the business to continue through family. Planning is key to help keep the farm legacy alive for another generation. These conferences hope to ease the p...
Corn harvest usually starts in southcentral Nebraska in October, or maybe November depending on how the year's weather went. However, here the first part of August the sight of corn fields looking like it should be November, rather than August 4 is a common sight. The field above, near Lawrence, is among the first of many expected to be seen before the month is over. The drought and the heat of July has convinced some farmers to try to salvage whatever they can by cutting the corn, plant and all...
The public is invited to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s South Central Agricultural Laboratory (SCAL) field day on Tuesday, Aug. 1. The field day includes topics focusing on improved crop production and profitability. The event is designed so guests can select the tours they are most interested in. Topics and presenters include: • Nutrient Management - Fertigation demonstration and Precision Ag Technologies for Nutrient Management. Guillermo Balboa, Research Assistant Professor, Jose Pinto, Ph.D. student and Seth Norquest, research tech...
A new training to help producers explore the transition and economics of certified organic production is set for Aug. 18 to 19, in Aurora, Nebraska, hosted by the Center for Rural Affairs, Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society, and the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). The free event is for grain, livestock, fruit, and vegetable producers, farmers or beginning farmers who have thought about starting a certified organic operation but don’t know where or how to start. On Friday, Aug. 18, a farm and granary tour with a c...
Friday was a great day for the 2023 edition of Jewell County Plow Day. Joe Eilert, organizer, was glad to see the plows, tractors and operators that kept showing up all morning. At one time there were 20 tractors working in the field and 21 were registered for the event. Operators came from communities like, Beverly, Denmark, Downs, Glen Elder, Ionia, Jewell, Salina, Tonganoxie and Zenda in Kansas plus Guide Rock, Martell and Red Cloud in Nebraska. They came to plow, just like in yesteryear....
A description often given, many times in jest. However, at times, like 2023, it is true. Average rainfall for south central Nebraska is about 22 to 24 inches of rain . . . in good years. 2023 is shaping up to be not quite as good. Reports from the Little Blue NRD system give the following information for rainfall from January 1, 2023 to June 26, 2023: Clay Center 2.2" Oak 3.5" Pauline 5.0 Rosemont 6.0" Blue Hill 6.0" Superior 6.5" Lawrence 11.1 No reports from Nelson The year is almost one-half...
The election of responsible agricultural producers to FSA county committees is important to all farmers and ranchers with large or small operations. The county committees are a direct link between the farm community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They help deliver FSA farm programs at the local level. Farmers who serve on committees help decide the kind of programs their counties will offer. They work to make FSA agricultural programs serve the needs of local producers. This year’s Jewell County election will be held in LAA 1 which e...
The combines and farm trucks are rolling in the wheat fields of North Central Kansas. The 2023 wheat crop has been through a variety of conditions during the growing season. Here is an update on Post Rock Extension District Wheat Demonstration Plot Tours that were held the end of May. Annually, the Post Rock Extension District conducts face-to-face tours of the wheat demonstration plots around the district. This was held on Wednesday, May 31 at two locations in Jewell and Smith counties. The...
Tom Vilsack, agriculture secretary, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting more than 1 million acres in this year’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General signup. This is one of several signups that USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is holding for the program. The signup resulted in the acceptance of 24,609 CRP acres in Nebraska. “This year’s General CRP signup demonstrates the value and continued strength of this voluntary conservation program, which plays an important role in helping mitigate climate change and con...
The Little Blue Natural Resources District (LBNRD) distributes a newsletter quarterly to all residents in the district. The Spring 2023 issue just came out and it contained some interesting information. The first page of the publication gave information about the 2023 Spring Static Water Levels. The essence of the information was that if 2023 “drought” conditions continue, the possibility of groundwater allocations are very real. The introduction included the following information: “This spring the water levels were completed in the month of Ap...
A barn is under construction at the Nuckolls County Fairgrounds. It will used to house the fair's poultry and rabbits exhibits. It will also be used for the poultry and rabbit show. The location of the building is roughly the same as the old one it replaces. The building, 160 square feet is 20 by 80 feet. This building will have a concrete floor. It is a wood structure with tin siding and roofing and no windows. However, it will have a bird screen two feet below the roof line to provide air...
Post Rock Extension is hosting an evening to learn all about tomatoes. Discussion will be how to get the most success out of summer garden tomatoes. Cassie Thiessen, horticulture agent, will provide resources for growing the perfect tomatoes. Jamie Rathbun, Family and Community Wellness agent, will discuss the health benefits of vegetables and show how to make a healthy tomato pasta recipe. It is at 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 7, at the Sylvan Grove Public Library. Topics include: How to care for tomatoes, Trouble shooting tomato problems, Health...
The 2023 Post Rock Extension District Wheat Plot Tours will be Wednesday, to view more than 25 varieties in each of the wheat plots with two stops according to Sandra L. Wick,, Post Rock District crop production agent. Unfortunately, like all producers, the wheat crop has had many challenging things this year, so it just is looking pretty rough and very thin and short. The wheat tour day will only have two stops because of the poor wheat stands with limited growth. Many wheat fields have been released through insurance. The first stop will be...
Reinke Manufacturing Co., is participating in a $30 million Series C financing round for CropX Technologies. The investment will be used to continue developing the CropX agronomic farm management system. By combining farm data, real-time conditions, and agronomic knowledge, Reinke and CropX provide the grower with insights and advice for their agronomic operations. Chris Roth, Reinke president said, “Reinke is expanding the offerings to meet the increased demand of the customers. Using Reinke precision irrigation and the CropX agronomic farm m...
Is our wheat condition because of drought, fertility or disease concerns or all the above? Well, the old myth, “Wheat has nine lives!” may be on the tail-end, as some of our wheat fields may be destroyed or simply left and not taken for grain! Unfortunately, these dry conditions are the worst in the history of the state for drought conditions. However, some wheat fields look fairly decent considering the growing condition. So, if your wheat fields are turning yellow or dying, what are some of the causes? Let’s start with the obvious cause...
The market value of agricultural land in Nebraska increased by 14 percent over the prior year, to an average of $3,835 per acre, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2023 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey preliminary report. This marks the second-largest increase in the market value of agricultural land in Nebraska since 2014 and the highest non-inflation-adjusted statewide land value in the 45-year history of the survey. The report is issued annually by the university’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Center for...
