Nebraska Extension - Gage County

Announcements

• Office Closed
• Land Link
  
• Well Testing

Upcoming Events

• Patio Gardening
• Yard and Garden
• GROBigRed
• Virtual Jelly Making

Horticulture - Nicole Stoner

• Starting Seeds
• Winter Watering
• Spring Cleaning of Pesticides

4-H & Youth Development - Jacie Milius

• 4-H Enrollment Now Open

Food, Nutrition & Health - Tara Dunker

• Emotional eating means you're human
• Celebrate a world of flavors

Water and Integrated Cropping Systems- Nathan Mueller

• Free guides and tools to borrow from Extension
• Get ready for spring seeded alfalfa

Nebraska Land Link provides opportunities to connect land seekers with retiring landowners.

Land access is one of the biggest challenges facing aspiring and beginning farmers. For some landowners, they simply do not have the next generation available to take over their operation.

When you apply to Nebraska Land Link, either as a land seeker or a landowner, Nebraska Extension personnel will work to match your application with the most compatible counterpart. Using the answers you submit and offer in a potential interview, Nebraska Land Link matches are based on the shared values, interests and skills of both parties, so that a mutually beneficial and satisfying partnership can be forged over the course of the transition plan.

Before and throughout the process, we work to provide important educational information regarding transfers, communication, negotiations, goal setting and more. And we are here to answer any questions you might have.

Nebraska Land Link is a project of Nebraska Extension's Farm and Ranch Succession and Transition program and Nebraska Women in Agriculture.

Nicole will be doing a program April 20th at Tall Tree Tastings in Beatrice starting at 6pm. $10 and supplies will be provided. Call Tall Tree to sign up! 402-239-7743

Friday's, 10-11:30am - Yard & Garden Live starts April 1 on KUTT 99.5 FM & southeast.newschannelnebraska.com/ol-red

Your favorite thing to do on Fridays returns... ask Nicole and her guests all of your horticulture questions!! Call in number: 402-729-3383.

The GROBigRed Virtual Learning Series from Nebraska Extension kicks off on February 24 with a 6-week series ‘Growing Fruit in the Home Garden’. Join us at 6:30pm CT each Thursday for two short presentations and an opportunity to ask your pressing garden questions. Register for this free program at https://go.unl.edu/growfruit

Many Nebraskans are excited at this time of the year to begin preparations to preserve the great flavors of the growing season at home. One must follow step-by-step instructions from approved, research tested recipes to assure they preserve a safe home canned product. The Nebraska food preservation team is happy to announce the first class in their virtual series: Jelly making LIVE! Register to participate in a live demonstration of making jelly. Our food preservation experts will be available to answer all of your questions! Watch the class from the comfort of your own home!

Winter can sometimes be very long and boring, especially for a gardener. It is hard for us to stay indoors in the cold weather when we want to be outside working in our garden year-round. However, you can start your growing season early by starting seeds indoors. I have started this as a new hobby recently, and I really enjoy it.

We don’t think about our outdoor plants much in the winter months. Once plants go dormant for the year many people believe that they need nothing until spring, but that isn’t the case, especially in years with low or no snow or rain throughout the winter months. And this year it has been very dry with little snow cover. The Beatrice area has only received a little over 1 inch of precipitation since October, compared to just over 3 inches in normal years.

As we move into the spring season, we often begin doing a “spring cleaning” throughout our homes. If this cleaning moves into your garage or other location where you find old pesticides, be sure you are disposing of these products correctly.

Enrollment is open for 2022 Gage County 4-H. All 4-H youth (ages 8-18), Clover Kids (ages 5-7), and leaders are required to enroll online every year. This year, Nebraska 4-H has switched to 4-H Online 2.0. You will now be using the new website v2.4honline.com. Current families and members, you will be able to use the same log in information that you have used in previous years. All of your information should have transferred over from the 1.0 version.

Enrollment deadline is June 15. We encourage all members to enroll using a computer and not your mobile device. This site is not mobile friendly and can cause some issues when it comes time to pay your dues online. Enrollment instructions for new members can be found at the Extension Office or online at gage.unl.edu. Call Bailey or Sarah at 402-223-1384 with any enrollment questions.

$12 dues must be paid online at conclusion of enrollment process. **No enrollment fee for Clover Kids.

This Sunday, March 13, will mark two whole years since I found myself sending a string of emails canceling my spring programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I can’t help but find it fitting to rerun my column from that time in the lead-up to my own personal “shutdown anniversary”. While I hope life’s stresses have eased for all my readers, I think the message still applies.

March is National Nutrition Month, and this year’s theme is “Celebrate a World of Flavors.”

This may be my favorite theme in the last 10 years. It ties into my own beliefs about food and nutrition: Food should be fun, flavorful, individualized, and most of all, enjoyed. By trying dishes from cultures outside your own and playing around with unfamiliar spices and herbs in your cooking, you can bring a new level of excitement to the meals you share with those you care about.

As spring is here, I wanted to remind farmers and agronomists about guides and tools available at your local Extension offices in Saline, Jefferson, and Gage counties.

After corn and soybeans, alfalfa is the most grown crop in Saline, Jefferson, and Gage counties. Based on satellite imagery and crop reflectance, USDA CropScape estimated there was approximately 16,500 acres of alfalfa growing in the summer of 2021 in Saline, Jefferson, and Gage counties. Assuming farmers maintain alfalfa stands for 5 to 7 years, there are about 2,750 new seeding alfalfa acres seeded each year.

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/
Twitter: @GageCoExtension