Extension Update by Gary Zoubeck [December 4, 2014]

Coming Events
Dec. 9, 2014, York Farm Bill Informational Mtg, 1:30 p.m., Cornerstone Event Center, York Fairgrounds
Dec. 18, 2014, NE Soybean Day & Machinery Expo, 8:30 a.m., Fairgrounds, Wahoo
Dec. 22, 2014, Extension Board Exec. Mtg, noon, Extension Office, York

Nebraska Weather
Boy, we’ve had our share of changing weather. We’ve sure had our ups and down in just the last couple of weeks or even the past couple of days. In the last two weeks we’ve seen temperature differences of 85° F and just in the last two days of 70° F. It’s been a dry November, we’ve only received .47” for the month compared to our normal of 1.2o”. For the year we’re at 34.22” compared to our normal average of nearly 27”. I really don’t like scooping snow, so it will be OK with me if we’re a little below normal for moisture the next few months, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Farm Bill Education Meetings Planned
Just a reminder of the Farm Bill meeting planned for December 9th from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Cornerstone Ag Event Center here in York. The University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension and the Farm Service Agency (FSA), are teaming up to provide educational meetings about the 2014 Farm Bill.

FSA will inform participants about the sign-up process for the Farm Bill including the documentation needed and the deadlines for sign-up. UNL Extension will provide information about the decisions that will need to be made for base acre reallocation, yield updates, and for the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) vs. Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program selection.

It should be helpful to attend one of the meetings to get insight on the options everyone has with the 2014 Farm Bill. Farm Operators and Land Owners will have three main steps to signing up. One is to review their current base acre allocations which is occurring at this time. Secondly, a decision about re-allocation of base acres will need to be made. Finally, the program selection will involve the ARC or PLC program. ARC is the revenue safety net program similar to the recent ACRE program and PLC is the price safety net program. With ARC, the options will be an Individual ARC coverage vs. a County ARC coverage. With PLC, the available Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) will be discussed. Decisions made for this Farm Bill sometime in 2015 will be final for the duration of the Bill.

If you cannot make the Dec. 9th informational meeting, others planned in our area include:
Dec. 3 — Seward county — Fairgrounds (Seward) – 9:00 a.m.
Dec. 8 – Hamilton county – Leadership Center (Aurora) – 1:30 p.m.
Dec. 16 – Fillmore County Fairgrounds (Geneva) – 9:00 a.m.
Dec. 16 – Clay County Fairgrounds (Clay Center) – 1:30 p.m.
Dec. 19 – Polk county Fairgrounds (Osceola) – 1:00 p.m.

For more Farm Bill information, go to: http://agecon.unl.edu/farmbill.

Nebraska Soybean Day & Machinery Expo
The 2014 Nebraska Soybean Day and Machinery Expo is planned for Dec. 18th, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the pavilion at the Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo. Speakers begin at 9:00 a.m.

Presenters include UNL researchers and specialists, Nebraska Soybean Board representatives, soybean growers and private industry representatives.
• Ed Usset, a well known grain marketing specialist from the University of Minnesota, will present a different approach to grain marketing that focuses on eliminating mistakes in “Five Common Mistakes in Grain Marketing.”
• Bryce Anderson, DTN ag meteorologist and analyst, will examine recent trends in historic-strength weather events as he presents “Are Weather Extremes the New Normal?”
• Nebraska Extension policy specialist Brad Lubben will provide perspectives on how to navigate choices in the new farm bill.
• Lowell Sandell, field market development specialist, Valent U.S.A., will look at approaches for combatting glyphosate-resistant weeds in “Fighting the War on Waterhemp, Palmer Amaranth and Marestail.”

The Saunders County Soybean Growers Organization requests that each participant donate one or more cans of nonperishable food to the food pantry. A complimentary noon lunch will be served. Registration is free and available the day of the expo at the door. For exhibitor information or more information about the program, call (800) 529-8030 or e-mail kglewen1@unl.edu.

This program is sponsored by UNL Extension in the university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Nebraska Soybean Board, Saunders County Soybean Growers Organization and private industry.

Master Gardener Connect Sessions Planned
Again this year, we will be hosting Master Gardener Connect Sessions for Master Gardners and other interested in updating their horticultural skills. Sessions will be weekly on Tuesday evenings, 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. here at the Extension Office from Feb. 3, 2015 to March 10, 2015.

Topics this year will include: Waterwise Landscapes and Residential Rain Gardens; Pruning Deciduous and Evergreen Trees and Shrubs; Beneficial’s in the Garden and Landscape and Vegetable Insect Pests; Wildlife Damage Management; Technology in the Garden and Landscape Photography for Beauty and Diagnostics; Preparing for Emerald Ash Borer: Identification, Management and Treatment Options and Tree Planting Selections Now and Post EAB. Information and registration forms are available on our website at: http://york.unl.edu/water-environment.

If you’re interested in becoming a Master Gardener check out website for information and a registration form. You become a Master Gardener by attending these sessions over two years, taking the Master Gardener test and volunteering 40 ours to the NE Extension Program. If you’d rather take the training in person, Elizabeth Killinger in Hall County will be conducting live training sessions March 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27, 2015 from 9:00 a.m.-noon; 1:00-4:00 p.m. You can find information about her sessions at: http://hall.unl.edu/. Her email address is ekillinger2@unl.edu.

Give me a call or email me if you have questions about the Connect sessions or the Master Gardner program. Spring is hopefully just around the corner.

York Extension Centennial Notes
In 1943, York County corn acreage increased to an estimated 140,000 acres and yielded about 30 bushes/acre and we had 300 acres of flax and 350 acres of soybeans grown. Again this year, the majority of time of Extension activities was related to the war; assistance with bond drives, scrape and salvage drives and serving on the USDA war board.

Considerable time was devoted to the bromegrass project. Although some farmers still seed brome in the spring, the majority have come to the conclusion as a result of educational meetings and information they have received and other farmers’ results, that fall seeding is to be desired. Sudan grass continues to be a popular temporary pasture crop. Millet has also been a topic of discussion as have many other crops like alfalfa, flax, field beans and soybeans.

In 1944, 82,150 pounds of Chlorate were used to control bindweed in York County. 1944 was termed a “wet year” with 35” of moisture for the year. Planting was delayed because of late April and early May rains. An all-time corn crop was produced. We were seeing a big shift from small grains to corn.

Farm tenancy is changing. Only 570 farm owner-operators out of 1829 farms. A greater number of farms are owned by residents of the city of York than are owned by the operators.
Publicity of Extension programs by the means of “Extension Notes” took place weekly. A total of 542 articles were furnished to the area newspapers for the year. These have been very well received and frequently used on the front page.

A regional corn plot was conducted with 29 varieties of hybrids and one open-pollinated. Top yield was 104.7 and low was 72.1 bushel per acre.

J. W. Fitts visited York County twice looking for producers to apply ammonium nitrate on irrigated corn. None were found, but late in the season two farmers reported that they raised less corn on the irrigated land than the dryland fields due to lack of nitrogen.

280 people attended the irrigation clinic at the York Auditorium. 42 new wells were planned to be constructed this year.

A rat eradication demo at the Mother Jewel’s Home’s chicken house resulted in 12 pounds of government prepared bait and 157 dead rats counted after a 10 day period.

In 1945 Alvah Hecht was the Ag. Extension Educator. The first annual 4-H Leaders recognition banquet was attended by 115 people. 16 leaders were honored.

There continues to be a very definite shift to fewer and larger farmers, due primarily to the desire of the city farmer to reduce his taxes by doing away with buildings and asking the neighboring farmers to carry the expense of maintaining a set of farm improvements.

Dwight Johnson and Dale Bruggeman continued to give their pig brooder demonstrations and won a trip to National Club Congress in Chicago.

Commercial fertilization was used in a moderate way in 1945. 16 farmers ordered 25 ½ tons of ammonium nitrate. It was used on irrigated corn ground and brome pasture. More will be purchased in 1946.

Twenty-five new irrigation wells were drilled in 1945. York County now has 79 irrigation wells!