Extension Update by Gary L. Zoubek - Extension Educator
Coming Events
Oct. 2-8, 2011 – National 4-H Week
Oct. 8, 2011 – IANR Tailgate, 3:00 – 7:00 p.m., East Campus Union, Lincoln
Oct. 13-14, 2011 — Animal Science Overnight, UNL Animal Science Department, Lincoln
National 4-H Week
This is National 4-H Week and I want to say “Thank You†to the many 4-H leaders, volunteers, fair board members and parents that take time to work with our youth.
I know many people associate 4-H to the county or state fair, but it’s more than just that! 4-H is the youth development program across the United States that is coordinated by land grant universities such as UNL Extension.
Recent findings from Tufts University’s indicate that young people in 4-H are three times more likely to contribute to their communities than youth not participating in 4-H. Notably, the Tufts research discovered that the structured learning, encouragement and adult mentoring that 4-H’ers receive play a vital role in helping them actively contribute to their communities.
The 4-H pledge explains what 4-H is all about! The 4 H’s stand for: Heads to clearer thinking; Hearts to greater loyalty; Hands to larger service; Health to better living….for our clubs, communities, country, and world.
I hope this week you’ll take a little time to thank a 4-H leader for their investment into our youth or you will encourage young people that you know to get involved in the 4-H program. If you’d like information about the many opportunities for 4-H youth, contact me ag gzoubek1@unl.edu, or call me or other staff at 402-362-5508, or visit our website at: http://york.unl.edu and click on the 4-H link. We have many different project available, so please check it out!
This month, young people from all around the nation will conduct an experiment on 4-H National Youth Science Day, which is this Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011. The 2011 National Science Experiment, Wired for Wind, will introduce young people to the possibilities of using wind as a clean, widely available, and low-cost source of renewable energy! Our office has four kits and if you would contact me, I’d be happy to bring this experiment to your group. We’ll also soon be organizing our robotics club for the coming year, so give me a call for more information.
Animal Science Overnight Planned
The UNL Animal Science Department is hosting an Animal Science Overnight event October 13th and 14th, at the Animal Science Complex in Lincoln. If you or your youth are interested in Animal Science, this would be a great way to learn about the department and experience campus life. Applications and other information is available on their website. Check it out at http://animalscience.unl.edu. Registrations are due soon, they need to be postmarked by Oct. 5th or faxed by Oct. 10th! Return to Alli Raymond; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; C201 Animal Science Building; PO Box 830908; Lincoln, NE 68583-0908 or fax to (402) 472-6362.
Questions regarding the 2011 Animal Science Overnight can be addressed by phone at (402) 472-0204 or by email (animal-science2@unl.edu).
University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Tailgate Party
To celebrate UNL’s move to the Big 10, IANR is hosting a tailgate party four hours prior to kick-off of the Ohio State Game. It will be this Saturday, October 8th prior to the Nebraska vs Ohio State football game from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Great Plains Room in the Nebraska East Union. The Nebraska East Union is located on the East Campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and parking is available in the lot north of the Nebraska East Union accessed off of Fair Street.
This tailgate is for everyone! UNL Alumni, CASNR students, prospective students, IANR employees, FFA & 4-H members, stakeholders, and our peers from Ohio State are all welcome to take part in the festivities!
I hope you’ll consider attending, it should great! Food, Football, Fun and Free Parking plus Shuttles to and from the Stadium. It’s a great chance to network with alumni, current students, and potential students. If you do not have a ticket to the game, you are welcome to watch the pre-game and entire game in the Nebraska East Union as well!
Additional information:  http://ianrhome.unl.edu/web/ianr/2011tailgates. I hope you can make it!
Cropping Update
It’s been great to see several fields of soybeans being harvested this past week. I’ve visited with producers and seen dryland and irrigated yields that have varied from 50 to 80+ bushels/acre. I’m guessing that yields of both corn and soybeans will vary considerably from field to field depending upon the varieties, planting dates and amount of wind and hail that your field may have received. We’re hoping to take out the UNL RoundUp Ready Soybean plot this afternoon (Monday October 3, 2011), so we’ll see how it’s going to do!
I mentioned it last week, but want to remind producers that as you harvest your soybeans this season, if you find areas or fields that don’t yield as you would have hoped, consider testing for soybean cyst nematodes (SCN). SCN has long been one of the most economically damaging pest to soybeans. This nematode or tiny worm has spread to 50 counties in Nebraska. UNL studies have shown that in SCN-infested field, yields can be reduced by over 30 percent without visible above-ground symptoms.
It’s easy to test for this pest, just collect 15-20 cores of soil from the top eight inches of your field or area. They’ll need at least two cups of soil for best analysis. The Nebraska Soybean Board has been providing sample bags and free analysis the last several years. We have sample bags available from our office, so stop by and pick some up so you’ll have them when you’re ready to collect some samples. Sampling instructions are in the bags that we have.
