Third Annual Broadband Connecting Nebraska Conference Planned
The third annual Broadband Connecting Nebraska Conference will be held on October 16 and 17, 2013, in Kearney, Nebraska, with a focus to explore the potential of broadband technologies to promote economic and community growth for Nebraska.
Breakout sessions will highlight best practices in using high speed internet. Session themes include: marketing through broadband, data and information security and business management through broadband. A general session on Thursday will explore what communities can do to attract broadband to their area. This general session will feature providers and community members.
Keynote speakers are:
• Steve Kiene, Nebraska Global. Steve is an experienced entrepreneur, leader, senior executive, and strategist with over 20 years of experience in the IT Industry.
• Jack Uldrich, Global Futurist & Best-Selling Author. Books include the best-selling, “The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology will Change the Future of Your Business.
• Doug Kristensen, Chancellor, University of Nebraska-Kearney
• Chuck Hibberd, Dean and Director Cooperative Extension
• Michael Curri, Strategic Networks Group who is a world leading broadband economist
• Keith Adams, Assistant Administrator USDA Rural Development Telecommunications Program
New this year will be a youth track session that will feature three interactive sessions for students to explore IT careers, 3-D animation and GIS/GPS technologies.  Registration is FREE for full-time students (including college) and faculty members. Students can register at this site: http://goo.gl/tqtmGA.
An agenda and registration link can be found at: http://broadband.nebraska.gov/. Limited scholarships are available. Please let Charlotte Narjes know at cnarjes@unl.edu or 402-430-2994 if you would like to be considered for a scholarship and she will provide you with information to register.
It looks like it should be a great conference.
Cropping Update
I’ve only heard a few reports on soybean and corn yields so far this season, and the ones I’ve heard have been variable. Some better than expected soybean yields and in general quite variable. One extra rainfall event or one less tillage operation could make a big difference in rainfed yields this season.
Just a reminder to producers using ETgages and Watermark that now that we’ve received a little rain, it’s a good time to pick-up your ETgages and pull those Watermark Sensors and put them away for the season. The ceramic tops of the ETgages and freezing temperatures don’t work. So when you collect the ETgages, drain the water and pull the stopper from the top so that all the water is out and store in a safe rodent free areas. Since we’ve received a little rain, hopefully you’ll have good luck pulling and storing your Watermark Sensors. Once you’ve pulled them, wash them off and store them for next season. If you’ don’t have a puller, I’d suggest you look into purchasing one, they are sure a lot easier on your back.
Last week I mentioned the importance of harvesting soybeans as close to 13% as possible and trying not to let them dry down to 10% or less moisture. I know that it’s not easy to harvest soybeans at the proper moisture, but that it should be our goal. Check out our CropWatch article at: http://cropwatch.unl.edu/. Hopefully you’ll check out some of the tips we’ve shared.
Finally, from the corn fields I’ve been in, I’ve seen considerable variation in the quality of the stalks and potential stalk root issues, so a Tamra Jackson-Ziems Extension Plant Pathologist indicated in her September 6 Crop Watch article, now is the time to get out in those fields and assess them so that you plan to harvest them accordingly. Check out her article at: http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/cropwatch/archive?articleID=5394321.
Lawn and Garden
Now that we’ve had a few cooler days and nights, we’re thinking of moving tender plants into the house for the winter. I’ve received a couple of calls about moving plants into the house in the fall. It’s important to not bring unwanted guests in along with the plants. Our Backyard Farmer Archives had a great article on the topic, so I’m sharing parts of it:
“The most common insect pests of house plants are aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, scale insects and spider mites. Pests such as fungus gnats, caterpillars, ants, millipedes and slugs usually cause more alarm than they do damage.
The best way to prevent pest damage to houseplants is to avoid the initial infestation. Carefully inspect leaves, stems, and soil of newly acquired plants for the presence of insects, mites, and other unwanted guests. Similar inspections should be carried out before moving plants back into you home for the winter. Always isolate these plants for a week or two and watch then closely for signs of developing pest infestations.
If plants are to be repotted, use a commercially prepared, pasteurized potting soil to avoid introducing sowbugs, fungus gnats, springtails, and other soil inhabitants. Removing dead leaves and debris from plants and pots helps eliminate hiding places used by many pests.
When handling infested plants, be extremely careful not to accidentally transfer insects and mites from one plant to another. Other non-chemical ways to eliminate unwanted pests include removing and discarding infested leaves or stems for small insects, or large pests such as beetles, caterpillars and slugs can be picked off by hand and destroyed. Gently wiping the leaves and stems with cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol is an effective means of controlling aphids or mealybugs, especially if they are not too abundant. Another useful technique involves washing plants with soapy water. Always rinse the plants a few minutes after treatment to avoid soap injury to the foliage. For best results, repeat the washing procedure two or three time at five to seven day intervals to destroy any pests (especially eggs) missed during earlier washings. When plants have extremely heavy pest infestations, disposal may be the best solution. If possible, take a cutting from a non-infested part of the plant and start again.
In many cases, pesticide sprays offer the most practical way to control pests on houseplants. When treating plants, be certain the product is specifically labeled for both the pest and plant species. This is important because not all pesticides kill all insects, and some materials can damage plants. The pesticide label provides a list of plants and pests for which it is recommended. In many cases it also includes those plants known to be injured by the product.
To be safe, test-treat a few plants and look for signs of plant injury after two to three day. If only a few plants are to be treated, a commercial, ready-to-use insecticide spray specifically labeled for controlling insects on houseplants is probably the best choice. Follow label directions and reapply the product as directed on the label. Multiple applications will be necessary in most cases.
Any product you plan to use in the house MUST be labeled for use indoors.â€
Good luck as you move those plants into the house!
Sampling for Soybean Cyst Nematodes (SCN)
It’s great to see the combines going and crops beginning to be harvested. As you are getting those soybeans harvested, if you notice areas that did not yield as expected, note or mark the fields and plan to collect soil samples to test for soybean cyst nematodes (SCN). What you need to do is collect 15-25 6-8†soil samples from around the roots. Mix the soil samples cores together and stop by our office and pickup sample bags so that you can send in the samples for a free SCN analysis sponsored by the Nebraska Soybean Board.
Unlike other soybean pests, there may be no visible symptoms for SCN. Yields may be reduced 20-30% on healthy looking plants. You need to identify SCN in your fields and start managing it before it causes severe damage. While you can test for SCN any time, now is the best to sample after harvest for several reasons.
- First, poor yielding areas or fields are fresh in your mind. Areas with lower yields that can’t be explained by soil type, flooding, weed pressure, or any of the other things that can reduce soybean yields are commonly caused by SCN. This is especially true if the same areas have good corn yields, but poor soybean yields. Concentrate your soil sampling in these areas.
- Second, after harvest it’s easy to move around in fields to collect soil samples. Take 25-30 soil cores and mix them thoroughly, then pull your sample from this soil. If you normally test your fields for fertilizer recommendations in the fall, take a few more core samples and then split the sample — half for fertility analysis and half for SCN analysis. For SCN, take samples that are 6-8 inches deep and a couple inches to the side of the old row. That way you go through the root system and are more likely to detect SCN if it is present.
- Third, you can sample fields that were in corn or another crop and will be planted to soybeans in 2014. If you detect SCN, you can adjust your seed order accordingly. Resistant varieties and crop rotation are the two main components to managing SCN. Unlike other traits for resistance to herbicides or insects, there is no tech fee for SCN resistance. SCN-resistant varieties don’t cost any more than susceptible varieties and our trials show they yield just as well.
- Fourth, usually farm activity is a little slower after harvest and before the first snow falls and you’ll have time to take soil samples. This could be the most valuable time you spend in your fields all year, or at least it could pay you the biggest return.
With crop prices where they are today, you can’t afford to lose yield unnecessarily. If you don’t sample for SCN and treat it when found, you’re just giving up potential yields and income.  Check out our NebGuide Soybean Cyst Nematode: Identification and Management at:  http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1383/build/g1383.pdf. If you need sample bags, stop by our office at 2345 Nebraska Ave.
