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Extension Update from Jenny Rees

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Jenny’s REESources-November 13, 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS:  

Nov. 14:  Ag Land Lease Workshop 9:30 a.m. and Flexible Cash Lease Workshop, 1:30 p.m., 4-H Building, York, Please RSVP to 402-362-5508 or jrees2@unl.edu.  No charge and you¹re welcome to attend one or both workshops.  Other locations:  http://go.unl.edu/6mya
Nov. 15:  Principles of Soil Health, Adaptive Grazing and Cover Crop Integration, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Adams Co. Fairgrounds, RSVP 402-461-7209
Nov. 15:  Principles of Soil Health, Adaptive Grazing and Cover Crop Integration, 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Gage Co. Extension Office, RSVP 402-223-1384
Nov. 17:  Grain Marketing Workshop, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Dawson County Extension Office, 1002 Plum Creek Parkway, RSVP go.unl.edu/marketingworkshops <http://cropwatch.unl.edu/go.unl.edu/marketingworkshops>  or by calling Robert Tigner at 308-345-3390.
Nov. 28:  Market Journal Road Show, 1-4 p.m., Holiday Inn 110 Second Avenue Kearney,http://marketjournal.unl.edu/roadshow
Nov. 29:  Solar Energy in Ag Workshop, 7-9 p.m., West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte.  Preregister at 308-532-2683.
Dec. 1:  Solar Energy in Ag Workshop, 1-3 p.m., 4-H Building, York, RSVP to 402-362-5508 orjrees2@unl.edu
Dec. 1:  Market Journal Road Show, 1-4 p.m., Lifelong Learning Center 701 E. Benjamin Avenue Norfolk, http://marketjournal.unl.edu/roadshow
Dec. 1:  York County Corn Grower Banquet, 6:30 p.m., Chances R Beer Garden, York
Dec. 2:  Market Journal Road Show, 9 a.m.-Noon, Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center 2021 Transformation Drive Lincoln, http://marketjournal.unl.edu/roadshow
Dec. 5:  Cover Crop and No-Till Conference featuring Gabe Brown, 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Trotter Event Center, Ord, RSVP 308-346-3393
Dec. 5:  Field to Market Workshop, 4-H Building, York, 3-6 p.m. Please RSVP to 402-362-5508or jrees2@unl.edu
Dec. 6:  Grain Marketing Workshop, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Webster County Fairgrounds on the west side of Crescent Street between Helen and Mariel streets, RSVP go.unl.edu/marketingworkshops <http://cropwatch.unl.edu/go.unl.edu/marketingworkshops>  or by calling Robert Tigner at 308-345-3390.
Dec. 8:  Solar Energy in Ag Workshop, 1-3 p.m., Norfolk, NE at the Lifelong Learning Center Preregister at 402-370-4040.
Dec. 14:  Farmers/Ranchers College Dr. David Kohl, 1-4 p.m., Bruning Opera House, Bruning

Farm Finance Clinic Sites and Dates To sign up for a clinic or to get more information, call Michelle at the Nebraska Farm Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

  • Grand Island — Thursday, Nov. 3
  • Fairbury — Thursday, Nov. 3
  • Valentine — Tuesday, Nov. 8
  • North Platte — Thursday, Nov. 10
  • Norfolk — Tuesday, Nov. 15
  • Lexington — Thursday, Nov. 17
  • Norfolk — Wednesday, Nov. 30

Market Journal RoadShow:  The 2016 Market Journal Roadshow will focus on ag outlook and management decisions for Nebraska farmers and ranchers at four locations across the state from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2. The roadshow is in collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Economics’ Cornhusker Outlook Series. There is no cost to attend.
     Closest meeting locations are:  Kearney, Nov. 28, 1 to 4 p.m., Holiday Inn, 110 Second Ave.; Norfolk, Dec. 1, 1 to 4 p.m., Lifelong Learning Center, 701 E. Benjamin Ave.; and Lincoln, Dec. 2, 9 a.m. to noon, Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center, 2021 Transformation Drive.
     The roadshow is structured for a concise, fastpaced discussion of crop, livestock, policy, financial, weather and climate outlook with attention to production, management and marketing decisions for 2017. Pre-registration for the roadshow is requested. For more information and to register, go to marketjournal.unl.edu/roadshow.

York County Corn Grower Banquet Tickets: The York County Corn Grower annual banquet will be held on December 1st at 6:30 p.m. at the Chances R beer garden.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from any of the board members:  Boyd Stuhr Jr., Rick Gruber, Ron Makovicka, Gale Gruber, Bryan Mason, Tom Ritzdorf, Dennis Scamehorn, Kim Shepherd, Dan Stork, Clark Pickrel, Dale Moore, Kurt Naber, Dave Dickerson, or from the York County Extension Office.  At the banquet, four board members will be elected for a 3-year term and one of the current board members is not seeking re-election.  If you’re interested in serving on the board, please contact Boyd Stuhr, Jr., York County Corn Grower President.

Cover Crop Forage Sampling:  Dr. Mary Drewnoski, Extension Beef Systems Specialist and her student are conducting a study to increase the accuracy of small grain forage and brassica feed analysis.  Quality of these forages as feed resources and effects of management will be surveyed in order to create a better prediction of total digestible nutrition (TDN) available that can be used by commercial labs, and to create a robust prediction equation for commercial labs that use near infrared (NIR) technology. To do this, at least 100 samples of each small cereal grass forage and brassica are needed. If you’re willing to assist in this project by allowing me to collect some samples from those of you with cover crops yet this fall, please contact me at 402-362-5508 or jrees2@unl.edu.

Unmanned Aircraft System Trainings:  Those interested in incorporating unmanned aircraft systems into their business operations and agricultural enterprises are encouraged to attend one of five introductory training sessions offered across the state by Nebraska Extension.  The sessions will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following nearest locations:  Norfolk: Nov. 29, Lifelong Learning Center, Northeast Community College, 801 E. Benjamin Ave. Register by Monday, Nov. 21; Mead: Dec. 14, Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1071 County Road G. Register by Monday, Dec. 5; Grand Island: Dec. 16, Hall County Extension Office, 3180 W. Highway 34. Register by Thursday, Dec. 8.
     The training will highlight information needed by an unmanned aircraft operator and pilot, including:  hobby flight, educational interpretation and best practices for privacy concerns; Federal Part 107 rules for commercial flight and piloting; and an overview of applications.  At the conclusion of the program, training attendees will have flight time with a small unmanned aircraft system.
     Space is limited to 45 attendees at each session. For more information and to register please go to:  http://nuaire.unl.edu or contact Bonita Delhay at 402-472-9390 or bdelhay2@unl.edu. Continuing education credits (CEUs) have been applied for.

November and winter irrigation for lawns:  Watering in November, if needed, can help prevent winter desiccation (extreme dryness). At this time of year, and on warm winter days, one-fourth inch of water a week is enough to avoid desiccation. Water early in the day so water soaks into soil. 

Fall watering of trees and shrubs:  Our warm fall has been fairly dry. I’ve received a number of calls regarding tree stress, particularly in spruces and firs.  In past columns, I’ve talked about spidermites and needle cast in addition to environmental conditions being potential causes of this browning of needles.  Often these trees have also been in landscape settings where irrigation systems would provide water and typically that water would be shallow irrigations of several times a week.  Soil moisture conditions around some of these stressed trees tend to be extra dry with the irrigation systems now winterized.  We would recommend you monitor soil moisture of evergreens and newly planted trees. In the absence of rain, watering may be needed to ensure the soil remains moist up until it freezes to help avoid winter drying.  Adequate fall moisture is the most important factor to reducing the risk of winter injury from desiccation. Moisten the top 6 – 8 inches of soil around the tree. Water early in the day so water soaks into soil before nightfall to avoid water freezing around stems. Year round, use a 2 – 4” layer of mulch around the tree, but not up against the trunk, to conserve soil moisture.