Extension Update by Gary Zoubek [August 2, 2012]

Coming Events
August 2-5, 2012 – York County Fair, check it out at: http://www.yorkcountyfair.com/

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2
5:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Farmer’s Market Opens
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hypnotist Mike Prochnow
6:00 – 8:00 pm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pork BBQ
6:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Watermelon Feed
7:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-H/FFA Awards & Style Show
7:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Lawn Mower Races, Grandstand
8:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BINGO
9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teen Dance & Photo Booth
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3 Click here for details of Friday’s events »
5:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beat Street Barbershop Quartet
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .York Dance Center
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beat Street Barbershop Quartet
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beef BBQ
7:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pioneer Farm Family/Ag Hall of Fame
7:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . .Antique Tractor Parade & Olympics, Grandstand
8:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BINGO
8:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. . . . . Rock with the Stock Dance & Beer Garden,
Featuring music by Cactus Hill, NASCAR Simulator
SATURDAY, AUGUST 4 Click here for details of Saturday’s events »
11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. . . . . Kids’ Fun Day with the String Beans Band
1:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kids Pedal Tractor Pull
1:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free Hayrack Rides
2:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Geocaching
4:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sweet Corn Feed
5:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kirby’s School of Dance
6:00 – 6:30 pm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baby Olympics
6:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Figure 8 Races, Grandstand
6:30 pm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Minute to Win It
8:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BINGO
8:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karaoke & Beer Garden with
NASCAR Simulator
SUNDAY, AUGUST 5 Click here for details of Sunday’s events »
10:00 a.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Inspirational Services
11:00 a.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Large Animal Round Robin
1:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clover Kid & PeeWee Show
2:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kids Ranch Rodeo & Mutton Busting

August 22, 2012 — UNL South Central Ag Lab Field Day near Clay Center, 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
August 23, 2012 – York County Corn Grower Plot Tour, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. located West of your on Highway 34 – ¾ miles north of Hwy 34 and Road I intersection!

It’s Fair Time
Hard to believe, but it’s York County Fair time again!  I hope you will plan to attend and how about bring an open class, 4-H or FFA item to be exhibited and evaluated?

Check out the York County Fairboard website for entry details: http://www.yorkcountyfair.com/.  Click on the fair book link and then department O for the open class division.  Entries for open class will be taken Tuesday between 6-8:00 p.m. and Wednesday between 8 to 11 am.

All articles must be the work of the exhibitor, or must have been made by the exhibitor within the last two years.  Exhibitor will not be permitted to make more than one entry per class number.

In the fine arts area, I was asked to remind participants that all pictures must be 5″ x 7″ or larger, matted, mounted or framed, and provided with an adequate means of hanging.  It is suggested that photos not be covered by glass. All pictures, paintings, and sketches MUST have hangers attached.  NO POP CAN TABS.  If the exhibit does not have a hanger attached, the exhibit will be lowered a ribbon.

All dolls should be mounted on a stand. NO MODELS OR ROCKETS WILL BE ACCEPTED!
Should any article be entered in the wrong class and the error discovered prior to judging, the superintendents may make proper corrections in the entry. The management will not be responsible for any loss or damage that may occur to exhibits, but the usual precautions for safety of the exhibits will be taken. All art work must be signed by exhibitor. FILL OUT ENTRY CARDS before entering exhibit. Cards are available at the York County Extension Office or Fair office.

Check out the other departments, how about some veggies or flower also?

Finally, check out the all what’s going on in my list of coming events, you’ll see that we have a lot going on this week!  We’ve already had several of the shooting sports contest, the style revue and the tractor driving contest!

They are on facebook, so check them out for the latest pictures and updates!

Cropping Update
It’s been another week of the same old same old!  Hot, dry weather with little rain!  This week the ETgages I’ve been monitoring have dropped nearly 2.0” again.  They dropped 1.95” for the week and they had .15” of rain in the gauges when I read them Monday morning!

I’ve received a few more questions about scheduling that last irrigation of the season, so I’ll share the info I shared last week!  As the crop begins to reach maturity, the crop water use will begin to slow.  Our NebGuide “Predicting the Last Irrigation of the Season” has the following information about days to maturity as well as estimated water use for corn and soybeans:

Corn
Stage of growth Approximate days to maturity Water use to maturity
R4 or Dough 34 7.5
R4.7 or Beginning dent 24 5.0
R5 ¼ milk line 19 3.75
½ milk line 13 2.25
¾ milk line  7 1.0
R6 Physiological maturity    0 0.0

Soybeans
R4  End of pod elongation 37 9.0
R5  Beginning seed enlargement 29 6.5
R6  End of seed enlargement 18 3.5
R6.5 Leaves begin to yellow 10 1.9
R7  Beginning maturity   0 0.0

If you’d like to see more details about these stages of maturity, check out the NebGuide at: http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1871/build/g1871.pdf.  If you have a full profile, our soils will hold about 1.1”/foot so for a 3 foot profile if we draw it down to 60% depleted, we have about four inches of water that we can utilize!  Hopefully we’ll also get some rain before the end of the season, but only time will tell!

I and our technology staff are working on an app for IPhones and I Pads that helps calculate the amount of soil water you have based on your Watermark sensor readings.  If should be available by the end of the season, but we also do have charts that  do the same thing on our NAWMN webpages: http://water.unl.edu/web/cropswater/nawmdn.

With readings of around 150 you’ve used up most of the available moisture to that 50% level that we want to maintain during the heart of the season.  As we near the end of the season, we can push the threshold to 60%.  Those readings would be around 200 or more!

It’s also important to remember that if your readings are 33 or less, you have a full soil profile and have at least 1.1” or more of soil water available for your crops!  Give me a call if you have any questions or check out our irrigation resources at the link above!

Drought Information – Livestock, Crops, Water and Gardening!
Boy this past week the dryland corn and soybeans have really gone downhill!  As I checked my ETgages this week, I could see a big change in the crops compared to last week!  As the drought continues intensify across Nebraska UNL Educator and Specialists have continued to add information to the Drought resources website: http://droughtresources.unl.edu/.  It now includes drought information for livestock, crops, water, and gardening!  So check it out!

Jenny Rees, Extension Educator in Clay County shared some information related to turf and gardens from the droughtresources webpage that does a good job of answering some of the horticulture questions I’ve been receiving, so I’m sharing it:

“Heat effects on vegetables:  The past few weeks I’ve received questions on vegetables.   Problems include a wide range including bitter cucumbers; blossom-end rot in tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and watermelon; poor fruit set; rapid or slow ripening; early plant dieback (i.e. potatoes); sunscald on fruit; poorly filled sweet corn ears; and vegetable leaves that are small, curled, and look like herbicide damage but due to environmental factors. About all we can do is to provide adequate moisture and mulch to conserve moisture and moderate soil temperatures. Monitor vegetable gardens closely and promptly harvest ripe produce. If potato plants dieback, harvest as soon as possible or the tubers may rot in warm soil.

Lawns and summer drought: With water use restrictions in place, and ongoing drought, Kentucky Bluegrass is going dormant or can be allowed to go dormant. Once the grass is dormant (brown), keep it alive by applying about ¼” inch of water every 4 weeks to hydrate plant crowns. Limit mowing and foot traffic on dormant lawns to avoid damage.

If possible, do not allow tall fescue lawns to go dormant.  Tall fescue does not have as good of drought survival as Kentucky bluegrass and will likely thin if allowed to go extremely dormant. Watering with about ¼ inch every two to three weeks on tall fescue may be a good compromise. Use deep and infrequent irrigation when watering.  In communities with water use restrictions, there could be some dieback in tall fescue lawns. Overseed these areas in early September as needed.”

For more details, check out http://droughtresources.unl.edu!

SEE YOU at the York County Fair!