Coming Events
Nebraska Weather and Cropping Update
Planters have really been rolling in the fields this past week!
I know that many producers have finished or are near finishing field corn planting and several have started getting those soybeans in the ground! My rain gauge had about .4†of rain in it Saturday morning! We could have sure used a little more, but it came nice and is welcome. It won’t slow the planting down very much!
Last week I mentioned the soybean research that we’ve conducted the past few years, that info has been updated and is posted on crop watch along with a great podcast! That website is http://cropwatch.unl.edu or the direct link is: http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/cropwatch/archive?articleID=4795915.
Saturday I cleanup up a couple of ETgages and set them out so that as the crops begin to emerge I’ll be collecting area reference ET information and updating our irrigation hotline as well as posting it regularly in these columns! For those producers that have ETgages, I want to remind them that it’s important to replace the #54 alfalfa canvas cover and wafer regularly (yearly or every other year basis) so that you’ll be collecting accurate data. If you are in the Upper Big Blue NRD, they have the covers and wafer on hand, so you can stop by and pick them up.
I plan to read them on Friday and Monday mornings. In our area we’ve found that most producers won’t need to read the gauges more than once a week unless they want to. This year I’m also going to post ETgage readings using a grass cover for those of us that the only farming we have is our turf! We’ll see what those numbers look like compared to the alfalfa cover.
For more info about this valuable tool, check out the NAWMN website: http://water.unl.edu/web/cropswater/nawmdn we have a have a checklist for using the ETgage as well as information about ETgages or atmometers! We like to have producer across Nebraska begin posting information beginning in mid-May!
U.S. Department of Labor News Release
We’ve received several calls and question concerning proposed changes to the law for youth working in agricultural fields. The following is the news release that came out on 4/26/2012.
“The Obama administration is firmly committed to promoting family farmers and respecting the rural way of life, especially the role that parents and other family members play in passing those traditions down through the generations. The Obama administration is also deeply committed to listening and responding to what Americans across the country have to say about proposed rules and regulations.
As a result, the Department of Labor is announcing today the withdrawal of the proposed rule dealing with children under the age of 16 who work in agricultural vocations.
The decision to withdraw this rule — including provisions to define the ‘parental exemption’ — was made in response to thousands of comments expressing concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on small family-owned farms. To be clear, this regulation will not be pursued for the duration of the Obama administration.
Instead, the Departments of Labor and Agriculture will work with rural stakeholders — such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union, the Future Farmers of America, and 4-H — to develop an educational program to reduce accidents to young workers and promote safer agricultural working practices.”
For those wanting to attend a tractor training course, sessions in our area are planned for June 14-15 in Beatrice and for June 18-19 in Grand Island. For registration information go to our website: http://york.unl.edu and click on my coming events link!
“GrowEatLearn†Video Competition
For most of us here in York County and much of Nebraska, we know where our food comes and we have our roots in agriculture, but that not the case for many people across the country. You’d be surprised at how little some people know!
The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) has just launched a “Grow Eat Learn†video competition. The goal of this competition is to create engaging videos that educate the public on the food that they eat and the importance of agriculture and natural resource stewardship in feeding the world.
Rules:
1.   Videos must be no longer than two minutes.
2.   Include the GrowEatLearn.unl.edu website within the video.
3.   Load video into YouTube.
4.   Fill out the contest submission form: http://research.unl.edu/events/GrowEatLearn.php
5.   Be creative.
6.   Have fun!
After receiving all of the entries (April 23-June 15), the approved videos will be posted on the GrowEatLearn.unl.edu website on June 25, when the website is formally launched. The three videos that get the most views on YouTube by noon (CST) August 1, 2012 will receive a cash stipend of $500. There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit.
This competition is open to all Nebraska residents as well as all UNL students, faculty, staff and alumni. Videos entered into the competition may be used for future promotions as part of the GrowEatLearn.unl.edu website.
This contest is being sponsored by the “Transforming Food and Natural Resources, IANR to 2025†team who were charged by IANR Harlan Vice Chancellor, Ronnie Green to develop an integrated plan for enhancements in comprehensive student programs including interdisciplinary programs in the life sciences, NU system-wide food and natural resource literacy programming and requirements, general curriculum, minors, online options, 4-H and FFA curricula, and life-long learners curricula.
So, I hope you’ll be an advocate for agriculture and natural resource and post a video! If you have some ideas, now the time to get started! It should be fun to see the types of videos that get produced! I sure hope we’ll have a few from our area!
Yard and Garden
It’s been an unusual spring so far, it seems like we’ve been mowing the grass a lot already and it’s only May 1st! Typically now when we’re recommending applying the first fertilizer/preemergence herbicides on cool season turf! Also now is also the we just begin thinking about getting out and planting those warm season crops in the garden, so if you have not started yet, you are really not far behind! For those of you new to the area, I’ve prepared a suggested planting guide which probably is not the most accurate this year! I’ve already been harvesting radishes and spinach! This planting guide is located on the York webpage just click on the water and environment link on the left side of the page.
Another insect to be looking for earlier than normal are bagworms. This pest typically feed on juniper, spruce and pine trees, but can also feed on deciduous trees. They produce bags that kind of look like Christmas tree ornaments, but they’re sure not that. These brown bags are small one to two inches long and are made up of the needles from the trees they’ve been feeding on. They can contain between 300-1,000 eggs. We suggest removing as many of these bags as possible by the end of May and this year we may want to move that up a few weeks! It’s important to destroy these bags, if you just place them on the ground, eggs may hatch and larva crawl back to the plants after hatching.
Timing is everything when trying to control bagworms. Applications need to be aimed at the young larvae that typical hatch in mid to late June. A copy of our bagworm control NebGuide can be found at:  http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1951/build/g1951.pdf.
