19 drought-damaged counties declared disaster areas

The USDA approved the following counties for disaster relief funds: Arthur, Banner, Chase, Cheyenne, Deuel, Dundy, Frontier, Garden, Hayes, Hitchcock, Keith, Kimball, Lincoln, McPherson, Morrill, Perkins, Red Willow, Scotts Bluff and Sioux. Two additional counties included in the Governors disaster designation request, Box Butte and Grant, were not approved. Applications for disaster designations have also been filed for Box Butte, Dawes and Sheridan counties and an application for Box Butte County has been resubmitted. (Actual losses in Box Butte County now exceed the minimum of at least a 30% loss of production.) This designation will open the door for federal relief efforts.

The Governor’s requests are based on recommendations from the Nebraska U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) State Emergency Board. The board reviews damage assessment reports from USDA County Emergency Boards to determine production losses.

An agricultural disaster designation provides producers with access to an emergency low- interest loan program. The designation also opens the door to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) disaster set-aside program, which allows existing FSA direct loan borrowers to set aside their FSA loan payment if they cannot make the payment as a result of the disaster. It also unlocks access to the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program for businesses impacted as a result of the disaster, and provides documentation for the Internal Revenue Service to allow producers to defer income on forced livestock sales due to the disaster. In addition, the designation can be used to determine county eligibility for other FSA disaster programs, should Congress provide funding for such programs.

“The ag producers experiencing significant losses due to drought deserve the same consideration for assistance that is given victims of other natural disasters,” Gov. Johanns said. “While I very much appreciate the drought disaster assistance that has been made available at the federal level, I feel strongly that we need a national drought policy to ensure that aid is predictable and consistent -- not hit or miss.”

Disaster designations have helped Nebraska producers access more than $350 million in federal assistance in the past five years through the Livestock Assistance Program (LAP), the Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) and the Crop Disaster Program (CDP), according to the Governor’s press release.

Number of farms with value of sales greater than $500,000 was 5.7% of the total farms in 2002 compared to 4.6% in 1997. Market value of agricultural products sold for the $500,000 plus size group was 62% of the total sales in 2002, compared to 55% in 1997. Net cash farm income was 41% of the total net cash farm income in 2002.

Number of farms with value of sales greater than $100,000 was 32% of the total farms in 2002 compared to 34% in 1997. Market value of agricultural products sold for the $100,000 plus size group was 92% of the total sales in 2002, compared to 90% in 1997. Net cash farm income was 97% of the total net cash farm income in 2002.

Yoder has been at Tennessee for 12 years, including the last four as department head. Before arriving at UT in 1992, he was an agricultural engineer at the University of Wyoming, Hertzler Farm and Livestock Co. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service. Yoder received his bachelor of science in civil engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia in 1976, his master of science in agricultural engineering from Clemson University in 1978 and his doctorate in ag engineering from Colorado State University in 1988.

At UT Yoder taught courses in irrigation and waste management system design, surveying, monitoring hydrologic phenomena and engineering design. His areas of research include water quality assessment and improvement, crop water measurement and management, subsurface transport of agrichemicals and soil water measurement.

Derrel Martin has served as interim head of the biological systems engineering department since Glenn Hoffman retired last year.

"The biological systems engineering department at UNL is rated among the top programs in the United States and I am delighted that we attracted a strong water engineer with extraordinary administrative and faculty experiences to lead this key academic department," said John Owens, vice chancellor of the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and University of Nebraska vice president of agriculture and natural resources.

University of Nebraska forage specialist Bruce Anderson said forage-based livestock production is a vital component of the agricultural economies of states in the north central region, which includes Nebraska. This region possesses 33% of the nation's beef cow herd and finishes over 53% of cattle marketed for meat. Forages are an important resource to the industry, accounting for 80% of the feed units consumed by beef cattle. Perennial forages occupy approximately 106 million acres or 31% of the land classified as farmland in the region.

"The Nebraska Grazing Conference has been developed by people involved in Nebraska's grazing livestock industry from across the state to present the most current information on grazing livestock systems and to increase the visibility of the grazing livestock industry and the state's grazinglands," said Anderson.

The program will be opened by John Owens, University of Nebraska vice president and Harlan vice chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Topics and presenters are as follows:

Carbon Trading: Adding Value to Grazing, John Caveny, Environmentally Correct Concepts, Inc. Ill.; Carbon Sequestration in the Great Plains, Martin Kleinschmit, Center for Rural Affairs and Nebraska farmer; Using Weather Forecasting Tools to Make Grazing Decisions, Brian Fuchs, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Variation in Climate and Herbage Production, Doug Goodin, Kansas State University and Walter Schacht, UNL; Grazing Management to Meet Multiple Objectives: What We Have Learned, Jerry Holechek, N.M.; Food Animal Traceability, Greg Ibach, Nebraska Department of Agriculture; Additive Benefits to Rotation Grazing, R.L. Dalrymple, formerly with the Noble Foundation, Okla.; How Grasses Grow, Lowell Moser, UNL; Using Goats in Grazing Systems to Control Weeds, Lani Malmberg, Wyo.; Goats: The Ultimate Rangeland Scavengers, Chad Peterson, Nebraska farmer; Why I Do What I Do, Nebraska farmers/ranchers.

This is the fourth annual Nebraska Grazing Conference. The previous three conferences each drew more than 200 participants from several states. A participant in last year's conference said the event provides "very down to earth, practical information that we can take home and put to use immediately."

The March - May 2004 Nebraska pig crop, at 1.56 million head, was 5% less than 2003 and 6% less than 2002. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 175,000 head, 5% below last year. Nebraska hog producers intend to have 170,000 sows farrow during the June - August 2004 quarter, down 8% from the actual farrowings during the same period in 2003 and 3% below 2002. Intended farrowings for September - November 2004, at 170,000 sows, are 6% below the same period in 2003 and 2002.

Nationally, the U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1 was 60.1 million head, up 1% from June 1, 2003 and March 1, 2004. Breeding inventory, at 5.91 million head, was down 2% from June 1, 2003, and down slightly from last quarter. Market hog inventory, at 54.2 million head, was 1% above both last year and last quarter.

The March - May 2004 U.S. pig crop, at 25.5 million head, was down less than one-half of 1% from 2003, and down 2% from 2002. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.86 million head, 1% below last year.

U.S. hog producers intend to have 2.87 million sows farrow during the June-August 2004 quarter, 1% below the actual farrowings during the same period in both 2003 and 2002. Intended farrowings for September-November 2004, at 2.84 million sows, are down slightly from the same period in 2003, but up slightly from the same period in 2002.

The new course covers range plants, drought management, cattle grazing behavior, riparian management, feed intake, supplemental feeding, weed control and marketing cattle. UNL Beef Basics courses are designed for producers, feed consultants and veterinarians to enhance knowledge about various aspects of beef production. Courses are designed by university Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources educators and specialists, with additional producer and veterinarian input.

Course I covers nutrition, economics and forage use. Course II covers reproduction, genetics and sire selection. III emphasizes nutrition, health and management of growing calves. IV deals with financial record keeping and production records. Course V is a more in-depth treatment of nutritional strategies for the beef cow herd.

"Good managers know the importance of attention to detail, and these study courses help managers optimize those details," Stolzenburg added.

Since Beef Basics began in 1993, there have been more than 4,500 enrollments. Producer evaluations regularly report that ideas implemented from the courses save an average of $15 per head, Stolzenburg said.

Often nothing is wrong with the pasture, although productivity might increase with improved grazing techniques, fertilizer, and weed control. Most often the main problem actually is the cows, or more precisely, how we count the cows. A hundred years ago, most cows were straight English breeds, often easy-keeping Herefords that seldom weighed more than a thousand pounds. Cattle calved in April and May, so they started on pasture with about a 100 lb calf. Now it’s not unusual to have 1,400 lb or larger cows with 300 lb calves when they start grazing.

That’s a big change – 1,000 lbs per pair versus 1,700 lbs per pair. Cattle tend to eat ten to fifteen pounds of green grass for every hundred pounds of body weight. So today’s cow-calf pairs eat almost 50% more when they start grazing than pairs ate years ago. Instead of worrying about stocking rate, consider stocking weight as your pasture guide. Then when you add improved grazing management, fertilizer, and weed control, your pastures will perform even better than they did for your ancestors.

Bruce Anderson
Extension Forage Specialist

“Information technology offers new opportunities for communities, businesses, health care providers, local governments and citizens,” said Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman, NITC chair. “Information technology can expand the markets of Nebraska businesses, improve access to health care and educational opportunities, and make government services and information readily accessible.”

TAN has worked with 15 communities over the past two years to develop technology plans, the results of which have been significant. For example, two communities have received federal grants totaling more than $400,000 to implement their plans and a third community has helped develop a new business. Additionally, several communities now have broadband services available while others are focusing on the technology needs of small businesses, offering e-commerce and technology training. One community has developed a video conferencing center available to local businesses and residents.

Nine Nebraska community or regional information technology committees will receive up to $2,500 in funding to develop plans to utilize information technology to enhance community and economic development. The community or regional technology committees participating in the program will conduct an initial technology assessment using the Community IT Planning Workbook developed by the NITC and TAN.

More than 80% of people polled said they were satisfied with their physician's care and the condition of medical facilities. Seventy-six percent were satisfied with the variety of medical services available, 73 percent with the level of technology available at medical offices and 70 percent with their distance from medical services.

"As long as people are content with their relationship with their doctor, they're almost always satisfied with the whole system," said Randy Cantrell, a rural sociologist in the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Surveys were mailed in February and March to 6,300 randomly selected households in Nebraska's 84 rural counties. Results are based on 2,915 responses.

Costs top the dissatisfaction list. Seventy-eight percent of respondents were dissatisfied with health insurance costs, 68% with medical costs and 55% with health insurance coverage. While 7% of rural Nebraskans were uninsured, according to the poll, more than a quarter faced a medical financial hardship in the past year.

Twenty-eight percent said they had trouble paying for necessary medical care, didn't see a doctor when needed because of cost or had difficulty paying for prescriptions, the poll showed. Nearly 20% reported reducing a prescribed drug dosage to save money and 16% said they quit taking prescriptions because of cost.

"Almost one in three is having difficulty," said John Allen, the IANR rural sociologist who conducts the rural poll. "The seniors are having trouble paying for prescriptions and the young people are having trouble paying for care."

The uninsured aren't the only ones struggling will costs, Allen said, which may indicate some rural residents are underinsured. The poll found that more than half of rural Nebraskans have health insurance through work, 30% have insurance through a government program, such as Medicare or Medicaid, and 21% buy their own. For comparison, U.S. Census data for 2002 indicated 61% of all Americans are insured through work, 25% receive federal insurance and 9% buy it themselves. Nationwide, 15% of Americans are uninsured as are nearly 10% of all Nebraskans. Rural Nebraska's lower proportion of uninsured residents is primarily because of its large population of elderly who are covered by Medicare, Allen said.

"My concern is that people will look at this and say 'Nebraska is doing better,' when it's really just that we have lost a lot of young people," he said. "The status quo works because we have an aging population."

Health care cost concerns are tied to age, the poll found. While 2% of people over 65 are uninsured, 18% of people ages 19-29 have no insurance. Among people 19 to 29, 44% said costs prevented them from seeing a doctor for needed care compared with 10% for those 65 and older. Among people under 65, at least 70% said they were dissatisfied with medical costs compared with 56% for those 65 and older.

"If we manage to recruit younger people to rural areas, they may not have access to care and will be more dissatisfied, especially if we are creating low-paying jobs," Allen said.

Rural Nebraskans already earn less, on average, than their urban neighbors, Cantrell pointed out.

"The poorer you are, the harder it is to get health care, the harder it is to pay for it if you get it, the more difficult traveling will be and the more likely you are to forego treatment because of cost," he said.

People's concerns about holding onto health insurance have economic implications. A fifth of rural Nebraskans kept or took a job in the past year for health insurance, the poll found.

"If we see entrepreneurship as a driving force in the economy and we have this high number of people holding onto jobs for the insurance, there's a chance that we are stifling what we need most," Cantrell said, which is people willing to launch new businesses on their own.

"The new wage in rural Nebraska may be health care, if you look at the number of people taking or keeping jobs for insurance," Allen agreed.

Pharmacies are the most accessible health care service for rural Nebraskans, the poll found. Within 15 miles, 76% of respondents had access to a pharmacy, 68% had a doctor or health clinic and 66% had a dentist. Statewide, nearly a quarter of respondents said they had to drive more than 60 miles for specialized health care and 11% were that distance from mental health services.

"Right now, we still have access to medical care in rural areas," Allen said. "With the aging rural physician population and the difficulty with recruiting new doctors, this could change over time."

The scientific poll is the largest annual survey of rural Nebraskans' perceptions on quality of life and policy issues. This year's response rate was 47%. The margin of error is plus or minus 3%.