Nebraska Extension - Gage County

Announcements

• Land Link

Upcoming Events

• Upcoming local ServSafe trainings
• Pesticide Trainings
• Chemigation Trainings
• Yard and Garden
• GROBigRed

Horticulture - Nicole Stoner

• Trees in Winter
• Its still winter

4-H & Youth Development - Jacie Milius

• 4-H Enrollment Now Open
• Scholarship Newsletter

Food, Nutrition & Health - Tara Dunker

• The magic of beans
• Ways to keep veggies fun for kids

Water and Integrated Cropping Systems- Nathan Mueller

• Local Chemigation Trainings in March
• Chloride and sulfur fertilizer for winter wheat

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.

ServSafe® is a training and certification program from the National Restaurant Association. It is the foodservice industry's premier food safety course, recognized by more federal, state and local health jurisdictions than any other food safety course in the United States. ServSafe® is recommended for all types of foodservice employees, both commercial and non-commercial.

ServSafe Food Handler training: March 17 @ Beatrice Community Hospital

ServSafe Manager training: March 31 @ Beatrice Community Hospital

Sign up by March 4th, limited spots available!

Check the date on your Commercial Pesticide License, if it expires in 2022, attend a class to avoid re-testing. Beatrice classes are March 8, and March 22 at the Extension Office. Register now at pested.unl.edu to get a spot in the smaller classes. For new applicators, the Beatrice class is March 17.

Private pesticide trainings in the area in March:

• March 11, 9:00 – Noon at Lancaster County Extension Office
• March 31, 1:00 – 4:00 pm at Saline County Extension Office
• List of other in-person trainings throughout Nebraska: https://edmedia.wufoo.com/reports/2022-psep-private-training-dates-/

Free in- person chemigation training is being offered during the month of March. Gage County Extension is hosting their training March 10th from 1:00- 4:00 pm. Pre-registration is required. Online training is also being offered. Visit http://croptechcafe.org/training/ or call our office at 402-223-1384 for more information.

April 1, 10-11:30am - Yard & Garden Live starts 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

We have had a fairly mild winter. There have been cold days but not a lot of snow and many warmer days for winter. It is nice to have a milder winter, that can give us a chance to get outside more and really take inventory of our trees. However, the lack of snow is concerning due to drought conditions for plants.

The unseasonably warm weather we saw last Sunday made us forget it is only February and there is plenty of winter left. But, the negative windchills through the middle of this week have reminded us of that. It is hard to remember not to get too excited outdoors when we have early, warm weather. Here are a few things you can do outside on warm days now, and a few things to wait until spring to do.

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.

Gage County 4-H Juniors and Seniors, it's time for you to start looking at scholarships! There are numerous agricultural companies, organizations, and colleges that offer scholarships to students who have long-term career goals in agriculture. There are also a lot of local and county-wide scholarships for 4-H youth. Now is the time to put together a good resume-it helps!

At a loss for where to begin with scholarships and financial aid? We have multiple resources available for you! Check out the Scholarship Update Newsletter for resources and a list of local and statewide 4-H Scholarships.

Gage County Scholarships due March 15:

• Merlyn Anderson Memorial Scholarship
• Gage County Agricultural Society Scholarship ($500)
• Kenneth Reed Memorial Scholarship
• Gage County 4-H Council - Youth Character Scholarship ($500)
• Brandt & Rozell Memorial Scholarship
• Evie Crawford Memorial Scholarship ($500).- must have participated at Gage County Fair Livestock Premium Auction
• Jane Esau Scholarship ($500)

I'd like to propose a much-needed addition to our list of official, and unofficial, state nicknames. Here are the past and current ones I found with a quick Google search:

● “The Cornhusker State” (Official)

● “The Tree Planters State”

● “The Beef State”

● “The Bug-Eating State”

● “The Antelope State”

● “The Blackwater State”

I have no issue with these. Well, maybe I don’t love that bug-eating one, but what about “The Dry Bean State”? Hear me out.

It’s National CSA Week—the most popular time of year for fans of local food to sign up for a CSA. If these three letters are unfamiliar to you: CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is one more way you can support local farmers.

Here’s how it usually works. You buy a subscription up front and receive a weekly box of fresh, seasonal produce throughout the year. The farmer benefits from sharing the risk (yes—farming is a risky business), and you benefit from a steady stream of good-for-you foods.

Chemigation is the process of applying chemicals to land/crops with water from an irrigation system. Chemical is broadly defined as any fertilizer, herbicide, fungicide, or pesticides mixed with the irrigation water during application. In southeast Nebraska, the most common chemigation process is applying liquid nitrogen fertilizer through a center pivot. Applying nitrogen fertilizer through pivots during the growing season can match corn hybrid nitrogen uptake demand and can improve nitrogen use efficiency.

Chloride and sulfur could be two key nutrients to apply during the spring green up phase of winter wheat in southeast Nebraska. If these nutrients were not included in your fall fertilizer, an early spring fertilizer pass across the field may still be warranted. In southeast Nebraska, local observations and preliminary data suggest that sulfur and chloride applications may be needed for rainfed no-till winter wheat after soybeans.

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