Extension Update from Jenny Rees

UPCOMING EVENTS:  
July 17:  Crop Science Investigation (CSI) for youth, 5:30 p.m., RSVP to jrees2@unl.edu or 402-440-4739
July 18:  Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic:  Soil Health, ARDC (now ENREC) near Mead, 8-4pm RSVP http://ardc.unl.edu/cmdc.shtml
July 22:  Hops Field Day and Scouting Workshop, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Nebraska Hops Yard, 18003 Club View Dr., Plattsmouth, RSVP:http://midwesthopproducers.com/workshop-2/
July 26-30:  Polk County Fair
July 27-30:  Hamilton County Fair
Aug. 2:  Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic:  Precision Ag Training, ARDC (now ENREC) near Mead, 8-4pm RSVPhttp://ardc.unl.edu/cmdc.shtml
Aug. 3-6:  York County Fair
Aug. 4:  Project Sense Field Day, Little Blue NRD, Karl Wiedel farm near Hebon, NE 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aug. 7:  Project Sense Field Day, Lower Platte North NRD, Matt Bailey farm near Schuyler, NE, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aug. 8:  Soybean Management Field Days, North Platte
Aug. 8-9:  Nebraska Grazing Conference, Kearney
Aug. 9:  Soybean Management Field Days, Ord
Aug. 9:  Nebraska Cover Crop Conference, during Lancaster Co. Fair at Fairgrounds
Aug. 10:  Soybean Management Field Days, Auburn
Aug. 10-13:  Seward County Fair
Aug. 10-13:  Thayer County Fair
Aug. 11:  Soybean Management Field Days, Tekamah
Aug. 14:  Project Sense Field Day, Lower Loup NRD, near Monroe, NE, 5 p.m.-7 p.m.
Aug. 16:  Project Sense Field Day, Central Platte NRD, Ken Seim farm near Chapman, NE, 10 a.m.-Noon
Aug. 18:  Rain Garden Installation Design Workshop for landscape professionals, Earl May in Columbus, Contact Kelly Feehankfeehan2@unl.edu
Aug. 22:  Project Sense Field Day, Upper Big Blue NRD, Cole Anderson farm near Beaver Crossing, NE, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aug. 23:  Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic:  Soybean Production Training, ARDC (now ENREC) near Mead, 8:30-5pm RSVPhttp://ardc.unl.edu/cmdc.shtml
Aug. 24:  York County Corn Grower Plot Tailgate, 5-7pm, 1416 Road I, York County.
Aug. 24:  Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic:  Corn Production Training, ARDC (now ENREC) near Mead, 8-4pm RSVPhttp://ardc.unl.edu/cmdc.shtml
Aug. 24:  York County Corn Grower Plot Tailgate, 5-7pm, 1416 Road I, York County.

Ag Agents Meeting:  Last week I had the opportunity along with colleagues to attend our National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) meeting in Salt Lake City, UT.  I really enjoy this meeting as Extension truly is like an extended family and it was great to connect with colleagues across the Country.  The meeting allowed me to present on behalf of our teams on Bacterial Leaf Streak and Corn Ear Formation concerns in addition to better understand technology needs of educators/agents. 

A highlight for me was to see Gary Zoubek with his wife Pam receive the Hall of Fame Award from NACAA!  This is the highest honor an Extension agricultural professional can receive from NACAA. Every year one recipient is selected from each of four U.S. regions.

Gary demonstrated excellence while serving as an educator, mentor, and friend to many including myself over his 43-year Nebraska Extension career in Holt, Antelope, and York counties. Over his career, Gary has collaborated in numerous projects, always seeking research-based ways to make farmers profitable yet environmentally and economically sustainable. This is evidenced by his work with the “Ten Easy Ways to Boost Profits $20/acre” effort and contributions to CropWatch. While in retirement, he has helped with Nebraska Extension’s “Strengthening Nebraska’s Agricultural Economy” effort.  I share more information in this week’s CropWatch at http://cropwatch.unl.edu.

Gary exemplifies excellence in all he has done throughout his Extension career in service to farmers, the agricultural industry, service to NACAA, and in service to many organizations to which he belongs. Congratulations to Gary Zoubek on this most deserved NACAA Hall of Fame award!

Western Bean Cutworm:  While I haven’t written about western bean cutworm in my column, we’ve been sharing about it extensively on Twitter.  This week’s CropWatch gives more details on scouting and insecticide options at http://cropwatch.unl.edu.

Bacterial Leaf Streak:  Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) has been confirmed in corn in various parts of our state.  Lesions can look similar to other diseases such as gray leaf spot (GLS).  The major difference between BLS and GLS is that the lesion margins of bacterial leaf streak are wavy vs. they are blunt in gray leaf spot.  It’s important to tell the difference as a fungicide will not control bacterial diseases.  In this week’s CropWatch at http://cropwatch.unl.edu, there is an article showing a number of corn diseases and how to identify them.  Be sure to check it out and when in doubt, you can always get a sample to your local Extension educator or the plant and pest diagnostic lab.

You may also recall we had a survey last year to identify where Bacterial Leaf Streak was occurring in the State.  The survey is once again supported by the Nebraska Corn Board and is now active.  I will have survey packets in each of the Extension Offices I serve by Wednesday of this week.  Please submit only ONE survey/sample per field. Fields will only be reported at the county level, so we will not disclose names or other information. Please be sure to label the field name/ID section with something that you’ll remember when the results are returned.  Some of us also have survey packets left over from 2016.  These will still be accepted if you’d like to use them up (the form for 2017 is much shorter than the 2016 one, though). 

Tamra Jackson-Ziems also has a Youth BLS Survey and competition with cash prizes for FFA Chapters, 4-H Clubs, or other youth groups that submit the most POSITIVE samples from different fields.  Groups submitting 3 or more positive samples also get a certificate identifying them as “Certified Crop Disease Detectives!” Youth packets can be obtained from Tamra directly by emailing her at:  tjackson3@unl.edu.

FieldWatch/DriftWatch:  FieldWatch is the company that manages the DriftWatch and BeeCheck webpage and map. BeeCheck is the new registry just for commercial beekeepers. DriftWatch is still the map displaying the specialty crops, including the bees registered through BeeCheck. In Nebraska, Nebraska Department of Ag (NDA) serves as the manager that maintains the registry and works with both growers and applicators. NDA also pays an annual fee for providing this service to you.

NDA encourages all applicators to frequently check DriftWatch (fieldwatch.com) and become familiar with the types of specialty crops found in your area and where they are located.  In addition, NDA encourages more applicators to sign up for the free notices available from FieldWatch (look for the “FieldWatch for applicators” button). Then, you will get email notices when new information is added to your area (including from adjacent states if you live near or have business areas crossing state borders).  FieldWatch and individual state data stewards will soon be going through the annual renewal process for all specialty crops and beehives. This helps ensure the information available to you is as current and accurate as possible. FieldWatch and NDA make every attempt to ensure the information on the map is current and up to date; however, they encourage your help! Each specialty crop site on the map has a button for providing feedback to NDA. Is a site mapped correctly or no longer found where it once was? Let NDA know, so they can follow-up with the grower to determine what should be done.