Upcoming Events:
Italicized items may be available via remote access. Please click on the link or call for information.
Apr. 2: Chemigation Training, 1:30 pm, Fairgrounds, Holdrege, (308) 995-4222
Apr. 8: Yonts Water Conference, Gering Civic Center, Gering
Apr. 17 & 24: Intro to Beekeeping Field Days, TBD
Apr. 20-21: Better Process Control School for Acidified Foods, UNL Food Processing Center
May 2: Intro to Beekeeping Field Day, TBD
May 13: Field Scout Training, ENREC (former ARDC near Mead)
June 24: Weed Management Field Day, SCAL near Clay Center
July 8: Palmer Amaranth Mgmt Field Day, near Carleton
As I write this, I’m setting outside on a beautiful sunshiny afternoon! It’s been so cool to see families spending time outside together doing lawn work, playing, or eating. Some have commented it’s nice not to be torn so many directions. There’s way more people walking than I’ve seen in the past. And, several groups have found ways to help such as sewing masks for medical staff and donating various items. Those are just a few good things I’m observing right now! There’s been a variety of questions Extension is receiving as a result of COVID-19, so this column will share resources to help.
Trusted Information: While the ability to access information can be good, the overabundance of mis-information can make this time challenging. When it comes to COVID-19, we recommend obtaining information from sources such as CDC, WHO, and locally the UNMC and health departments. As you see info from various sources, be aware photos and videos are being doctored and also check the date. Before sharing, right click on a link to see where the source is coming from. Does it end in ‘.gov, .edu, .com, .net, or .org’? Those extensions tend to be more trusted than other strange endings.
Food Preparation: There’s been a renewed interest in baking bread, canning and freezing! Food.unl.edu and in particular, this website, https://food.unl.edu/article/family-food-fun-home has a number of resources based on specific questions. When prepping fruits and vegetables, it’s really important that you do not use bleach, soaps, or hand sanitizing wipes on them! These products were not designed for food and can make you sick. Wash all produce thoroughly under only running water before eating, cutting or cooking. Your hands should be properly washed with soap and water when preparing food.
Youth Learning Activities: Finding yourself needing some fun activities for your kids during this time of being at home? A number of fun, hands-on learning activities are available at the https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-home-learning website! You will see activities for youth of all ages that provide both live, recorded, and self-paced learning.
Gardening: There’s also been a renewed interest in growing gardens. A great resource developed by Gary Zoubek is the vegetable planting guide on when to plant found at: https://go.unl.edu/d7qk.
Windbreak Renovation: Continuing from last week, there’s just too much information for me to cover adequately in my news column. Instead, we have several wonderful resources and wish to point you to them! We can also provide them for you if you don’t have internet access. They contain drawings of windbreaks and photos regarding do’s and don’ts.
- Windbreak Establishment: https://nfs.unl.edu/publications/downloads/ec1764.pdf
- Windbreak Renovation: http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/ec1777.pdf
- Windbreaks and Wildlife: http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/ec1771.pdf
- Windbreaks for Rural Living: https://nfs.unl.edu/documents/windbreakruralliving.pdf
Recertification Information: We’ve also received a number of questions regarding pesticide, chemigation, and dicamba certification. All in person classes have been cancelled and certification can be achieved online. We realize not everyone has access to computers or good connectivity. For private applicators who are in that situation, you can also call the pesticide office 402-472-1632 and they will mail you a lesson with test to complete instead. There is no option like that for chemigation or dicamba. We need to continue to be patient as information and rules keep changing. All certification information can be found at: https://pested.unl.edu/covid-19-information.
