Coming Events
- Jan. 29, 2014 – Precision Ag Workshop, Fairgrounds, Clay Center, 8:00 a.m.
- Jan. 30, 2014 – Precision Ag Workshop, 4-H Building, York, 8:00 a.m.
- Feb. 3, 2014 – Private Pesticide Training, York 4-H Building, 6:30 p.m.
- Feb. 7, 2014 – 1st Annual Nebraska Ag Water Management Network Conference, 9:00 a.m., York City Auditorium
- Feb. 11, 2014 – Center Pivot Irrigation Conference, Fairgrounds, Clay Center, 9:00 a.m.
- Feb. 11, 2014 – Master Gardner Connect Session, Integrated Pest Management Options in Landscapes – Wayne Ohnesorg, 6:30 p.m., Extension Office York; Info at:  http://york.unl.edu/water-environment
- Feb. 27, 2014 — Heuermann Lecture “Our Culture War Over Food and Farming,†3:30 p.m. Hardin Hall, Lincoln
- March 13, 2014 – Private Pesticide Training, York 4-H Building, 1:30 p.m.
- March 21, 2014 – Chemigation Training, York 4-H Building, 1:00 p.m.
Private Pesticide Training Sessions Planned
Last week I conducted three sessions and have one planned for Monday evening, Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. in the 4-H Building and one more planed for March 13 at 1:30 p.m., so if you need to be certified, mark your calendar and plan to attend.
1st Annual Nebraska Ag Water Management Network (NAWMN) Conference
For all of you who have been a part of our NAWMN Network using the watermark sensors and ETgages, please plan to attend our annual conference on February 7 at the Auditorium in York from 9:25 a.m. -3:00 p.m. (Registration begins at 9:00 a.m.). Surveys taken by our network collaborators have mentioned they’d like a state-wide conference, so this is your opportunity to share your ideas, comments, and questions! There will be research updates by Dr. Suat Irmak, an innovation sharing time to share your innovative ways to read and install/pull sensors, an open discussion, NRD update from Rod DeBuhr (UBBNRD) and keynote by Dr. Ronnie Green (NU Vice President and IANR Vice Chancellor). Lunch is courtesy of the Upper Big Blue NRD. Please RSVP to me for a meal count (402) 362-5508 or email me at: gary.zoubek@unl.edu.
For a complete schedule, go to our webpage and click on the appropriate link: http://york.unl.edu/crops-future.
Center Pivot Irrigation Management Short Course
On Tuesday February 11, Jenny Rees will be hosting a Center Pivot Irrigation Management Short Course at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Clay Center. Registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the program from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. There is a packed agenda with topics lasting 20 minutes each.
The topics include:Â performance of a center pivot, soil water management, matching sprinklers to soils, sprinkler package selection, minimizing pumping costs, crop water use, water balance/consumptive use/limited irrigation, center pivot technology/variable rate irrigation, center pivot management, and updates from both the Upper Big Blue NRD and Little Blue NRD.
There is no charge as this meeting is sponsored by all four major pivot companies (T-L Irrigation, Reinke, Valley, Lindsay) in addition to the Environmental Trust and UNL Extension. Please RSVP to the Clay County Extension Office by Feb. 7 for a meal count at (402) 762-3644 or email Jenny Rees at: jrees2@unl.edu.
Hopefully all participants will receive copies of the new Center Pivot Management Manual that’s been developed.
Heuermann Lecture “Our Culture War Over Food and Farmingâ€
I received a note from Ronnie Green about the upcoming February 27, 3:30 p.m. Heuermann Lecture to be held at Hardin Hall and wanted to encourage you to attend. The topic is “Our Culture War Over Food and Farming” and will be presented by Dr. Robert Paarlberg, the Betty Freyhof Johnson ’44 Professor in the Department of Political Science at Wellesley College. A 3:00 p.m. reception in the Hardin Hall lobby precedes the lecture.
Paarlberg will discuss how modern industrial food and farming systems in the U.S. commercial marketplace are under heavy attack in the cultural marketplace, and how this attack could affect food and farming’s future both in the U.S. and the developing world. The author of “Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know†and seven other books, as well as co-author of one, Paarlberg also is an adjunct professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School and an associate in the Harvard University Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.
Heuermann Lectures, with their focus on meeting the world’s growing food and renewable energy needs while sustaining natural resources and rural communities, are a great opportunity to come together to hear and discuss ideas and are made possible by a gift from B. Keith and Norma Heuermann of Phillips, long-time university supporters with a strong commitment to Nebraska’s production agriculture, natural resources, rural areas, and people.
For more information about these lectures, go to: http://heuermannlectures.unl.edu/.
EC130 2014 Guide for Weed Management
Producers attending our Pesticide Safety Educational Programs will receive copies of our EC130 2014 Guide for Weed Management with Insecticide and Fungicide Information along with other publications. This EC has been recognized in the top 5 Extension informational publications across the nation and contains 286 pages of content.
This guide’s main categories include: Principles of Weed Management; Human Safety and Enviornmental Stewardship; Application Equipment and Practices; Weed Control by Crop or System; Weed Control in Noncrop Areas; Noxious and Troublesome Weeds; Herbicide Use Appendices; Disease Control by Crop; Insect Control by Crop; and Additional Appendices. It’s packed full of useful information, so if you are not attending a training suggestion, I’d suggest that you stop by and purchase a copy. It’s a bargain at $10.00 plus tax!
