Coming Events
- July 17, 2:00 p.m., Horticulture Judging Contest, 4-H Building, York
- July 26, 7:00 p.m., Air Rifle & Air Pistol Contest, Cornerstone Event Center, York
- July 27, 1:00 p.m., BB Gun Contest, Cornerstone Event Center, York
- July 27, 2:00 p.m., Trap Shooting Contest, Ikes Shooting Range, York
- July 29, 8:30 a.m., 2014 Nebraska Manure Demonstration Day, Dawson Co. Fair Grounds, Lexington http://water.unl.edu/manure/nebraskamanuredemo
- July 31-August 3, 2014 York County Fair – Apple Pies & Family Ties, York Co. Fair Grounds, York http://www.yorkcountyfair.com/
Fair Time is Around the Corner
It’s hard to believe, but the York County Fair is just around the corner. 4-H, FFA and open class livestock entries are due in our office today July 15, so if you have not made them, get them done now!
All area residents are encouraged to stop by and pickup a fairbook and entry cards so you’ll be able to enter some of those open class exhibits. Open class entries are due on Tuesday evening July 29 from 6:00–8:00 p.m. in Ag Hall and again from 8:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. on Wednesday July 30.
Friday, August 1, following the Cattlemen’s Steak Fry we will be announcing the Pioneer Farm Family Awards following which we will be have an ice cream feed to celebrate the Centennial of Extension. We’re inviting all our past Extension Staff members as well as Extension Board Members to help celebrate 100 year of Cooperative Extension. Our current Extension Board members and staff will be serving our Centennial Ice Cream that was developed by the Dairy Store for this occasion. I hope you’ll be able to attend.
Information about the 2014 York County Fair is online at: http://www.yorkcountyfair.com/
Cropping Update
The year continues to be an unusual one. Sounds like we’re going to have a cool week temperature wise. The ETgages I monitor dropped between 1.45-1.65 inches for the week and we’ve received just about an inch of precipitation in 3 rains. So for the earliest planted corn the water use was 1.65 x 1.1 or 1.76†for the week, but with the rainfall, we really only used about .75 inches.
I also have sensors installed in several corn and soybean fields in the area and the highest they’re reading so far is in the 60’s so generally were in really great shape for the middle of July.
Are you looking for good crop water use information? Check out the CropWatch article that we prepared this week. Check it out at:Â http://cropwatch.unl.edu/. Click on the UNL Sources of Crop Water Use Information link.
If you have questions about ET or Watermark Sensors, don’t hesitate to contact me my email address is gary.zoubek@unl.edu.
Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic Planned
I’d like to remind area Agribusiness professionals and crop producers about the UNL Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic planned for July 17. The UNL Extension clinic begins with 7:30 a.m. registration at the Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead and starts at 8:00 a.m.
This year’s crop management and diagnostic clinics will include one-on-one attention, on-site plot demonstrations, interaction with other participants, discussions about cutting edge research and an opportunity to earn continuing education credits through Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program.
Program Topics on July 17 include:
• Selecting Cover Crops and Comparing Seeding Methods;
• Use of Herbicides for Resistant Weed Management in Soybeans: Now and in the Future
• The Herbicide Mode of Action Challenge
• Crop Scene Investigation (CSI)
• Building Skills to Diagnose Field Problems
• Agronomics and Economics Behind Corn, Cover Crops and Cattle
• Corn Hybrid Placement
Registration and Credits
Six Certified Crop Adviser credits (soil and water management – 1.0, crop management – 2.5, and pest management – 2.5) have been applied for and are pending approval for this clinic. Early registration is recommended to reserve a seat and resource materials. Cost for one clinic is $160 for those registering one week in advance and $210 after.
For more information or to register, contact the ARDC CMDC Programs, 1071 County Road G, Ithaca, NE 68033, call 800-529-8030, fax 402-624-8010, email cdunbar2@unl.edu or visit the web at http://ardc.unl.edu/training.shtml.
2014 Nebraska Manure Demonstration Day
The 2014 Manure Demonstration Day will focus on the manure industry in the state of Nebraska. Participants can view vendors, demonstrations, and will have opportunities to learn more about manure management and handling.
The event combines three attractions into one event: 1) See the latest manure handling equipment; 2) Watch live demonstrations; 3) Learn up-to-date information on manure management.
Planned education topics include: PEDV, composted manures, using manure on crops, mortality composting and soil health following manure application. This Demonstration day is designed for producers, professional manure handlers & applicators, crop consultants, compost managers, custom operators, ag support industry, and agency personnel.
For more information or to register, go to: http://water.unl.edu/manure/nebraskamanuredemo
Lawn and Garden
I’ve been wanting to mention that I’ve seen several trees that have lots of yellow leave and don’t look very healthy. Typically we’ve recommended injecting them with an iron sulfate solutions, but Jenny Rees, Extension Educator in Clay County just shared the following, so I thought I’d share it with you: “Iron Chlorosis: Do you have a silver maple or pin oak that is yellowing or looking sickly in your backyard? In the past, holes were often drilled in trees and injected with an iron sulfate solution but we wondered if drilling holes was causing more damage to the trees in the long run. A group of Master Gardeners in Omaha experimented with a less invasive way of treating trees and it was tried last year at the Sutton cemetery with good results!
Double aerate the area under the dripline of the tree (it’s the area from the tree trunk out to the leaf edges of the tree). Apply 3-5 pounds of sulfur and 3-5 pounds of iron sulfate under the dripline. The master gardeners were saying 3 lbs of each for a ‘small’ tree, 4 lbs for a ‘medium’ sized tree, and 5 lbs for a ‘large’ tree. Then water. You may notice your leaves turn black and drop but a new flush of growth normally occurs. The aeration method will be a slower change in improving color than the injection method, but is less invasive to the tree and benefits the lawn as well. You should notice the trees greening up by fall and especially next spring. If your trees are very yellow, you may need to repeat this next year (June-October is the best time for treating trees for iron chlorosis). Iron chlorosis is caused by higher pH soils (more basic) which doesn’t allow the plants to uptake the iron from the soil. The sulfur and iron sulfate lowers the pH making the iron more available to the plant. Iron chlorosis is diagnosed by dark green leaf veins with yellowing leaf tissue between the veins. Please let me know how this works for you if you give this method a try!
So if you have yellow trees, you may want to consider treating them. Let me know if you give it a try and how it works. Trees left untreated will eventually die.
