Panhandle Extension News

• ServSafe Training for food handlers March 5-6 at Scottsbluff
• Chemigation certification training in Scottsbluff, Alliance, Sidney, Bridgeport, Valentine, Stapleton
• Panhandle Extension staff recognized
• Renewable Energy Workshop set for Feb. 21 cancelled
• Balance between conservation tillage, herbicide-resistant weeds considered
• Dry bean variety trial results on line at CropWatch
• UNL bean plots part of worldwide effort to improve crop
• Lyon recognized by American Society of Agronomy
  
• Nutrition education program looks to build base of clients

Biological control option for western bean cutworms? Promising, but more study needed

The western bean cutworm is a serious pest of dry edible beans and corn in western Nebraska, and the bugs have expanded their range eastward in recent years at the rate of two to three states per year. They have already reached Pennsylvania and Ontario. Farmers use chemicals to control western bean cutworms in dry beans, but for the first time, a biological control method has shown promise in the Panhandle. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Entomologist Dr. Jeff Bradshaw said more research is needed, but a 2011 study near Scottsbluff documented for the first time that the parasitoid, trichogramma ostrinae, preyed on western bean cutworm eggs in dry beans and corn.

Understanding the nutrient requirements of the 2-year-old cow

Probably the most pivotal time for a beef cow to maintain a position in the beef herd is the first three months after her first calf is born. This young cow is barely 2 years old and still has nutrient requirements for growth, in addition to those related to taking care of her calf and recovering in time to rebreed for the next year. If a cow cannot meet all these demands, resumption of the estrous cycle will be the first to be compromised. Many producers in the Panhandle have integrated crops and livestock operations, and by the time the intense activity of calving is over, they are busy preparing for spring planting. When so many other pressing issues are at hand, it is easy to overlook the body condition of the young cow.

Tips for heart health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. It is also the leading cause of death and among the leading causes for hospitalization in Nebraska and the Panhandle. February is American Heart Month. Your best weapons to fight cardiovascular disease are to know your risks, understand warning signs, and have a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Family mealtime is when your household sits down to enjoy a meal together. Whether it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner this can be valuable time spent with one another. Families who eat together are happier and healthier. Take the time to cook together, eat together, and talk with each other. More at Nebraska's Nutrition Education Program web site.

The North Platte River: Surface Water Irrigation Projects and Power Generation

This presentation provides a basic history and information about the North Platte River U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projects – surface irrigation, power generation and other related irrigation and power generation projects – on the North Platte River drainage. By Gary Stone, Extension Educator, Panhandle Research & Extension Center.

• Part 1
• Part 2

Dryland sugarbeets? Intriguing, but no recommendation yet

Three years of research into growing sugarbeets without irrigation has yielded intriguing results. But UNL researchers are not yet ready to recommend beets as a dryland crop for western Nebraska. But the data do suggest that dryland sugarbeets are a potentially viable crop, given deep soils with adequate stored water at planting time and a favorable growing season.

TEAMS work to keep kids involved in school, headed toward college

Maybe it takes a village to raise a child, but it definitely takes a family to help a child earn a high-school diploma. Family support is the idea behind the TEAMS program (for Together Everyone Achieves More Success), designed to improve middle-school and high-school students’ chances of staying in school, graduating, and attending college. About two dozen middle-school students, ninth graders and their families are currently involved in TEAMS in Scotts Bluff County.

Food Questions? Find Answers at food.unl.edu

A single University of Nebraska-Lincoln website now serves as the online portal to a wide variety of information about food from UNL experts.

More Information You Can Use:

• Family Fun-Time: Make Cooking a Family Affair
• Visiting scientist from India hopes new technique speeds wheat breeding process
• Goal of fund-raising drive: Boosting proso millet breeding program
• Ranch Practicum grant to aid beginning ranchers
• Heart smarts: Cholesterol
• 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Food and Food Components to Reduce
• High Plains Ag Lab research asks if dryland fields can also be used for grazing
• Machinery Systems Engineer John Smith retires after 30 years
• Dairy foods help meet a body’s nutritional needs
• Nebraska's Nutrition Education Program
• Will zone till work for sugarbeets in 22-inch rows?
• Beef makes meals tasty, healthy
• Dealing with stress
• Prevent or delay type 2 diabetes with healthy habits
• Families: Eat together, eat better
• Skipping breakfast not a good way to save time or calories
• A resource for water-conserving landscapes

Farmers: Check the CropWatch web site

Answers about crop varieties, fertilizer, irrigation, pest control, harvest, and many other issues are a click or two away on the University of Nebraska’s expanded and reorganized CropWatch web site. Click below to go directly to sugarbeets, dry edible beans, wheat, or potatoes.

• Sugarbeets
• Dry Edible Beans
• Wheat
• Potato Education Guide
• Corn
  

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