Gage County Extension

Announcements

• Juneteenth- Office Closed
• Water & Cropping Systems Educator

Horticulture-Nicole Stoner

• Stom Damaged Plants
• Vegetable Gardens
• Yard & Garden: May 31st
• GroBigRed

4-H & Youth Development- Jacie Milius

• 4-H Enrollment
• Clover Kids

Water & Integrated Cropping Systems-Nathan Mueller

• U.S. Drought Monitor Update
  
• Winter Wheat Variety Trial Tour – June 6, 2024
  

Nathan Mueller, the Water & Cropping Systems Educator from Saline County (but covers Gage County) has resigned from the Saline County Extension Office, effective June 21. He will be working with the USDA NRCS in Lincoln, NE. Nebraska Extension intends to refill this position, until then your Water & Cropping Systems questions can be forwarded to Ritika Lamichhane (see her contact info below). We will miss Nathan and wish him the best in his new position with the USDA NRCS.

This time of year, storms can be bad. We have had quite a few storm systems move through the area over the past few weeks. Some of these storms included high winds, hail, and even tornadoes. Unfortunately, when storms are severe they cause a lot of damage to our plants. This damage can’t be fixed once it has happened, but we can do things to help plants survive after storms. Continue Reading.

Most people already have their vegetable gardens planted for the summer. But, don’t worry, there is still time to get one planted, but do so quickly to provide plants enough time to grow and produce prior to frost in fall. The photo above is of a tomato with blossom end rot. Continue Reading.

This is the Q&A for the Yard and Garden show for May 31, 2024. Yard and Garden Live is a call-in radio show I do on KUTT 99.5 FM from 10-11:30 am and it will run through July 26 and continue again in September for two fall episodes. It can also be found on kutt995.com for online listening. If you missed a show or just want to read through the questions, I have written them all in my blog and will continue to do so throughout the season.

Enrollment is open for the 2023-2024 Gage County 4-H year. The enrollment website is v2.4honline.com. All 4-H youth (ages 8-18), Clover Kids (ages 5-7), and leaders/volunteers are required to enroll online every year. Enrollment deadline is June 15. We encourage all members to enroll using a computer and not your mobile device. Call or email Jacie or Rachel at 402-223-1384 with any enrollment questions.

Please make sure to include or update your child's t-shirt size! This is the sizing guide we use to order the Exmark t-shirts for county fair! It is not a required field so can often be missed.

Updated help guides can be found on our website.

Enrollment fee is $12 for each 4-H youth to be paid online or in the office. There is no fee for Clover Kids or adults. We will not be accepting enrollments until we have received payment.

The U.S. Drought Monitor map shows parts of the U.S. that are in drought, how intense it is, and short-term and long-term impacts. As the Water & Cropping Systems Extension Educator for Gage, Jefferson, and Saline counties, I contribute reports for this area directly to the weekly authors in Nebraska through our internal Nebraska drought discussion group email listserv or online meetings. I regularly communicate my observations and those shared with me by local stakeholders, which can help justify moving areas into higher or lower intensity classifications. The map uses intensity classifications: abnormally dry (D0), showing areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought: moderate (D1), severe (D2), extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4). Most of Saline County and half of Jefferson County are still in moderate drought (D1) and half of Jefferson County and all of Gage County is considered abnormally dry (DO). You can view the most recent map at droughtmonitor.unl.edu. Continue Reading.

Check out the UNL Wheat Variety Trial Tour in Fairbury on Thursday, June 6th

For more information go to: https://croptechcafe.org/winter-wheat-variety-trial-tour-june-6-2024/

Gage County Extension

How to contact us

For Horticulture & Entomology questions:

• E-mail Nicole Stoner at nstoner2@unl.edu

For Food & Nutrition questions:

• Call our office at 402-223-1384

For 4-H & Youth Development questions:

• Email Jacie Milius at jacie.milius@unl.edu

For Water & Cropping Systems questions:

• Email Nathan Mueller at nathan.mueller@unl.edu
• Email Ritika Lamichhane at rlamichhane3@unl.edu

For Agriculture Profitability questions:

• Email Anastasia Meyer at ameyer71@unl.edu

For Early Childhood questions:

• Email Ingrid Lindal at ingridchavarria@unl.edu

For Livestock Systems questions:

• Email Wayde Pickinpaugh at wayde.pickinpaugh@unl.edu

Email: gage-county@unl.edu

Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/gage/

Location: 1115 West Scott Street, Beatrice, NE, USA

Phone: 402-223-1384

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNLExtensionGageCo/