|
Management
Weed Control
Soil Fertility
Disease Management
Alfalfa & Pastures
Ag Programs/Resources/Updates
|
|
The soil is a silty clay loam with 3.1% organic matter. The land was disked once or twice before planting every year. The average yield was 103 bushels per acre for continuous sorghum and 107 bushels per acre for sorghum following soybean. For sorghum following soybean with no nitrogen applied during the 20 years of research, yields averaged 96.6 bushels per acre and topped out at 128 bushels per acre in one year.
Nitrogen application resulted in a significant yield increase in only 8 of 20 years for sorghum following soybean, while yields were significantly increased in 19 of 20 years for continuous sorghum.
The response curves are shown in Figure 1. The soybean contribution is the difference between the amount of nitrogen required for the same yield with continuous sorghum and when no nitrogen was applied for sorghum after soybean. The mean contribution was 74 lb of nitrogen per acre. Additional trials are being conducted to determine this contribution on more soil types and tillage systems throughout southeast Nebraska. These results indicate that the current nitrogen credit of 45 lb per acre is conservative and that farmers could use a credit of at least 60 lb per acre with little chance of the crop encountering nitrogen deficiency.
Charles Wortmann
Extension Nutrient Management Specialist
Save the added cost
Nebraska trials test starter fertilizer in no-till sorghum
|
Past research in Nebraska on medium and fine textured soils did not find the use of starter fertilizer to be economical, but that research was conducted primarily under tilled conditions. Results of studies in other states show a higher probability of grain sorghum responding to nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur in starter fertilizer under no-till as compared to tilled conditions. Some studies, but not all, find method of placement of starter fertilizer to be important. Soil type and topographic position may be important to response.
Twelve trials were conducted in eastern Nebraska in 2002 and 2003 to determine the response of grain sorghum to starter fertilizer under no-till conditions. The trial sites were all on farmers’ fields and selected to represent diverse soils and topographic positions. Planting was when the farmers planted, usually in late May.
Eight starter fertilizer treatments were compared:
Soil pH ranged from 5.3 to 6.1 (Table 1). Soil organic matter ranged from 2.7% to 3.4%. Bray 1 P test results ranged from very low to very high. Levels were higher in the 0-2 inch depth (median = 15 ppm) than in the 2-8 inch depth (median = 5.5 ppm). The potassium level was high at all sites.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Starter fertilizer resulted in earlier maturity and less grain moisture at harvest in one trial, but generally the use of starter fertilizer did not affect grain moisture.
Recommendations
Based on the results of these 12 trials, we cannot recommend starter fertilizer for no-till grain sorghum as a profitable practice at the typical planting dates. Response to starter fertilizer may be greater with earlier planting dates when the soil is cooler.
Three trials are underway in 2004 with an early May planting date at sites with adequate phosphorus to test the effect of in-furrow application of 10-34-0 as well as the effects of row-cleaning.
Charles Wortmann
Extension Nutrient Management Specialist
Grain sorghum -- a well-placed rotation crop
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Milo is still a good crop choice for farmers who treat it like a true crop rather than something cheap to plant in the poorest fields. It is very responsive to rotation with soybeans and wheat. A three-crop rotation can be done with drills or air-seeding equipment without needing a cornhead on either no-till or conventional management.
Milo is also very responsive to no-till production, which can help provide significant water and cost savings. In a southeast Nebraska survey sorghum had yield increases of 13 bushels per acre following soybeans and 14.4 bushels per acre following wheat.
Dryland crop yields reported in Table 1 are taken from an on-going farm field survey in southeast Nebraska and indicate the value of various rotations. The complete survey is available at the Gage County Extension Web. (From the home page click to continue and select the PowerPoint presentation on the bottom center of the index page.) The complete study shows that milo competes well in southern Nebraska in profitable dryland crop rotations.
Paul Hay
Extension Educator in Gage County
Target weeds in sorghum early in the season
|
Essentially all sorghum seed is now treated with a safener, which is required by most preemergence herbicides. Atrazine (the only one of the group not requiring safened seed) provides fair control of many annual grasses and good control of broadleaf weeds. Bicep II Magnum, Bicep Lite II Magnum, Bullet, G-Max Lite, and Guardsman Max provide control of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds.
Large seeded broadleaf weeds including sunflower, cocklebur, velvetleaf and morningglory are often not adequately controlled. A postemergence treatment may be required to control these weeds. Dual II Magnum and Outlook control annual grasses and small seeded broadleaves. Application rates of these herbicides vary with soil properties; refer to product labels or Cooperative Extension EC-130, 2004 Nebraska Weed Management Guide.
Postemergence treatments that provide broadleaf weed control include atrazine, Aim, Ally + 2,4-D, Marksman/Sterling Plus, Banvel/Clarity, 2,4-D, Buctril +Atrazine, Peak and Permit. Many of these herbicides can be combined to broaden the spectrum of weeds controlled. The herbicide Starane was recently registered for use in grain sorghum. It controls many broadleaf weeds including kochia, both triazine resistant and ALS resistant biotypes. Paramount and Paramount plus atrazine provide post emergence grass control, especially green foxtail, and broadleaf weed control.
Herbicide application rate, sorghum and weed growth stage, and spray additives are all important in obtaining maximum performance from postemergence herbicides. Consult product labels or the 2004 Nebraska Weed Management Guide for details.
Alex Martin
Extension Weed Specialist
Powdery mildew is present in southeast Nebraska wheat. Currently powdery mildew is on the lower and middle leaves and, depending on weather conditions (humid and overcast), may or may not move onto the upper leaves Flag leaves are just starting to emerge, but with warm weather the wheat will develop quickly.
If growers feel the need to treat for powdery mildew, that window is rapidly approaching for the fungicides Tilt, Quilt and Stratego. These products must be put on at flag leaf emergence. Normally, powdery mildew does not present a serious threat to Nebraska wheat, but under conditions of high humidity and irrigation it can be damaging if it becomes severe on the upper leaves and the head. If found in fields, its progress should be monitored regularly.
Leaf rust is increasing rapidly in Oklahoma and in southern and central Kansas. By mid-April it had destroyed the leaves of susceptible varieties in nurseries in central Texas. Its progress should be closely monitored, particularly if wet weather continues. So far only one incident of light infection has been reported but not confirmed in southern Nebraska. Leaf rust usually appears in May. As for powdery mildew, the window for fungicide application for rust using Tilt, Quilt and Stratego is rapidly approaching since flag leaves are starting to emerge.
The products PropiMax and Headline can be applied later when the wheat is in the boot stage if growers want to delay treatment to determine if either leaf rust or powdery mildew is going to continue to develop.
This year stripe rust was found in fewer locations in Texas than in previous years. It seems to be moving more to the east through Louisiana and Arkansas rather than through Oklahoma and Kansas. Its progress will be monitored.
Virus diseases
The Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic has received several wheat samples with virus symptoms. When assayed, the virus turned out to be either soil-borne wheat mosaic or wheat spindle streak or a mixed infection of the two. In one case the variety was resistant to soil-borne mosaic but still exhibited severe virus symptoms. It tested positive for both spindle streak and soil-borne which negated the resistance. These diseases can reduce yields by five to ten bushels per acre when moderately severe to severe. They continue to develop because of the recent cool, wet weather. Fields with severe symptoms should probably be rotated to corn or soybeans for several years and then planted to a soil-borne resistant variety of wheat.
John Watkins
“Ironically, we have tried for years to remove high tannin sorghum from U.S. sorghum hybrids due to their negative effect on feed efficiency and weight gain in animals, and we have worked hard to isolate these sorghums from the mainstream of our grain industry,” says Dr. Jeff Dahlberg, NGSP research director.
“As Americans become more concerned about their health and what they are eating, specialty sorghums that contain high levels of antioxidants could become important sources of ingredients for use in functional, healthy foods,” says Dahlberg. “We are also learning more about how regular, non-tannin sorghums may be healthier for you as well,” he adds, noting that sorghum starch may take longer to digest than other cereals, and this has positive implications for diabetics.
“We are also a gluten-free cereal, and this makes sorghum a good choice for a wheat flour substitute in individuals unable to digest gluten — a condition known as celiac-sprue,” adds Dahlberg.
News ReleaseWheat diseases developing
Foliar diseases
Extension Plant Pathologist
Health benefits of sorghum explored further
Tannins, which are commonly found in red wine and tea, also are found in some types of grain sorghum. These tannins contain antioxidant compounds which can help protect against cell damage from oxygen-free radicals, a major cause of disease and aging. In fact, according to a report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, some sorghums contain antioxidant levels equal to or higher than blueberries, which are considered the gold standard for antioxidant levels.
National Grain Sorghum Producers
York and Hamilton top corn producers in 2003York and Hamilton counties led Nebraska in corn production in 2003 with 34,972,800 and 34,891,200 total harvested bushels, respectively, according to an April 29 report from the USDA Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service. The full list of top producing counties follows:
To see all the corn production data by county and district and by planted acres, harvested acres and harvested production, visit the NASS Web site at http://www.nass.usda.gov County estimates for other Nebraska crops are available at http://www.nass.usda.gov:81/ipedb/ |
A commercially available urease inhibitor can retard the function of this enzyme and conserve urea, hopefully long enough for rain or tillage to move the urea into the soil. A Cooperative Extension Circular, Fertilizer Management For Conservation Tillage (EC96-144), explains this process and gives the potential loss rates under various scenarios of temperature, pH and incorporation. The publication does not help predict loss under specific field conditions.
Agrotain International LLC, which produces a commercial urease inhibitor, has developed a computer program that models the loss potential from a field fertilized with urea or UAN solution. The model is based on information published by the National Fertilizer Development Center, Tennessee Valley Authority, in “Ammonia volatilization from urea fertilizers,” edited by B.R. Bock and D.E. Kissel (1988). The calculator is available on the Internet at: http://agrotain.com/calculator/calc2.html.
Once downloaded and installed, the program is fairly straightforward and easy to use. The user needs to provide 24 pieces of information, but most of the needed information can be estimated using knowledge about the field. For example, soil moisture is estimated as wet, medium, dry, very dry. Based on the texture and estimated moisture input by the user, the program provides the actual inches of moisture. The output is given in pounds of nitrogen loss and percent of nitrogen applied loss. There is also an estimate of the yield effect of this nitrogen loss.
While I have not been able to find the actual equations used in the calculations and the documentation for the scientific basis of the model is not given, the model seems to conform to the generally recognized principles given in the Bock and Kissel publication.
In response to a producer question, I ran several scenarios for nitrogen loss. Table 1 shows the output for this specific field. The field is in northeast Nebraska and has a pH of 7.6. I varied the initial soil moisture condition and the wind speed and had the model predict losses over 10 days. The situation presented contains a worse case scenario since the producer wanted to know the range of loss potential. The results show that starting with dry surface soil, the warm daily temperatures, and high winds did not cause much nitrogen loss. As the soil surface became wetter the losses increased. Interestingly, with the wind speed reduced from 20 mph to 10 mph for a medium moisture soil, the nitrogen loss actually increased slightly (24 vs 25 lbs N/acre). The model does not explain these results, but it is likely that the slower winds increased the time the soil surface stayed wet and therefore the urease acted for a longer period causing slightly more nitrogen loss.
The value of using a model that has interaction effects in it, is that the cumulative effect of several factors can be estimated. As with the wind example above, the explanation may not be apparent initially. Using this model with the known weather conditions after nitrogen is applied will allow producers to make informed decisions about whether more nitrogen may need to be applied later in the season.
Charles Shapiro
Extension Soil Scientist – Crop Nutrition
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oats grows rapidly. Once the plant is five to six inches tall, it quickly can shoot up to a foot tall. As nice as this sounds, once oats are that tall they may not stool out, tiller, and regrow after grazing very well. It’s important to start grazing early and to graze hard enough to keep the oats vegetative and leafy, thereby stimulating the constant formation of new tillers. Generally, if grazing starts when plants are six to eight inches tall and about half the growth is removed, it will recover rapidly and tiller well.
After this first grazing to stimulate tillering, keep oats between six and sixteen inches tall using either continuous or rotational stocking. Begin with a light stocking rate -- about one animal every two acres, then adjust animal numbers as oat growth changes. Don’t worry if a few plants head out. They might form seed that can naturally replant more pasture for fall grazing. But if many plants get tall and approach the boot stage, either plan one last hard graze-out or consider cutting for hay. Oat grazing looks promising for Nebraska producers, but we’ll need to research and experiment a bit to perfect it.
Bruce Anderson
Planting by the deadline may be difficult this spring. One way to plant more quickly is to seed no-till. Crop residues of corn, milo, beans, and small grains are not a problem for most drills, but ridges along the rows can make the field too rough for comfortable hay making in some places. Weeds can be controlled post-emergence using herbicides like Poast Plus or Select for grasses and Buctril, Pursuit, Raptor, and Butyrac for broadleaves. Mowing weeds also helps. A burndown spray using Roundup or Gramoxone before planting may be needed if weeds are present.
If you can’t plant by the deadline and don’t need the alfalfa for summer hay, it may be best to delay planting until August when seedlings won’t have to endure the hot weather.
If you need a crop now, alternative crops would include sorghum-sudan hybrids and foxtail millet. Foxtail millet won’t regrow after an early August hay, so it may work best. Sorghum-sudans will need to be sprayed or tilled before an August alfalfa planting. Berseem clover, any of the summer annual grasses like cane, pearl millet, and sorghum-sudan, or even soybeans for hay could be used if you decide to wait a full year before trying to plant again next spring.
Bruce Anderson
Oats for pasture
Oat pastures are one of the newer grazing practices many people are trying this spring. Oat pastures respond well in a drought and can be long lasting and productive. They also can be disappointing if grazing isn’t properly managed.
Extension Forage Specialist
If alfalfa planting was delayed, consider options
Spring has moved in so fast that some producers may have started planting corn before they planted alfalfa. Normally, alfalfa should be planted by mid-May on dryland sites and by late May on irrigated sites. Planting later greatly increases the risk of hot, dry, windy weather killing new seedlings before they have enough root system to support their moisture needs.
Extension Forage Specialist
How particle size and distribution
affect spray drift and pesticide efficacy
|
Most spray nozzle tips used for pesticide application produce a distribution of droplet sizes. Droplet size refers to the diameter of an individual spray droplet. The nozzle tip spray pattern is then made up of numerous spray droplets of varying sizes.
In the United States spray nozzle classification by droplet spectrum was developed and approved by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) in August 1999. This Standard, S-572, defines droplet spectrum categories for the classification of spray nozzles, relative to specified reference fan nozzles discharging spray into static air or so that no stream of air enhances atomization. This provides a means for relative nozzle comparisons based on droplet size only. The Standard is based on spraying water through the reference nozzles and nozzles to be classified.
The classification category thresholds, nozzle spray angles, nominal rated flow ratings at 276 kPa (40 psi), reference flow ratings, and reference operating pressures are shown in Table 1.
|
Absorption in corn leaves was directly correlated with droplet size and reached a plateau one day after treatment for all droplet sizes. Based on glyphosate recovered three days after treatment, coarse droplets showed the highest absorption (49%), followed by medium (35%) and fine (30%) droplets. Percentage of translocation also increased with droplet size.
Translocation was primarily toward strong sink tissues such as roots and young leaves. The results showed that large droplets have slightly reduced retention in corn but have increased absorption, resulting in increased translocation of glyphosate to growing sink tissues. See Table 2. and Figure 1. A Sympatec laser particle analyzer is being used at the West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte to evaluate spray particle size. The analyzer is capable of detecting micron sizes in a range from 0.5 to 1750 microns. The width of the spray plume is analyzed by moving the nozzle across the laser with a linear actuator. System software generates reports and charts the results to user specifications.
Droplet characteristics such as volume median diameter and percent of volume 210 microns and less can be obtained. Particle size analysis is helpful in interpreting plot data and correlating it with applications made by nozzles commonly used on farms and by commercial applicators.
Research was conducted in 2003 to evaluate the effect of droplet size on the drift and efficacy of two glyphosate formulations at several Nebraska sites. The glyphosate formulations consisted of a isopro-pylamine salt and a potassium salt. A glyphosate rate of 0.42 pounds acid equivalent per acre was applied. Nozzle tips and pressures used in the study were: 11002 XR at a range of 25-30 PSI, 11002 TT at 25-30 PSI, 11002 AI at 40-45 PSI, and TF2 at 15-20 PSI. Small nozzle sizes were used due to the limitations of some research equipment. The trial was conducted in glyphosate resistant soybeans and in post winter wheat harvest stubble. Different nozzles types provide different droplet sizes.
Table 3. shows the percent of spray volume less than 210 microns and the percent over 730 microns with four nozzle types at various pressures with water. Spray particle size of approximately 200 micons and smaller are susceptible to drift while the large particles may not give as good a coverage.
Figure 2 shows the distance of spray drift from the various nozzle tips with the two glyphosate formulations. Wind speed measurements were taken during each treatment application. With Roundup WeatherMax and an average wind speed of 4.5-9.7 mph one would conclude there was little difference in distance of spray drift with the various nozzle tips. With Clearout 41 Plus the air induction and turbo flood reduced the distance of spray drift.
The efficacy of Roundup WeatherMax and Clearout 41 Plus with the various nozzle tips is shown in Figure 3. One treatment -- Roundup WeatherMax with the air induction nozzle tip -- was significantly better than the rest on waterhemp, while another one -- turbo flood jet with Roundup WeatherMax -- was significantly lower in efficacy on waterhemp. All other treatments were equal in efficacy with the various weeds.
Robert Klein
Extension Cropping Systems Specialist
Jeffrey Golus
Extension Research Technician
West Central REC
Randy Pryor, Extension Educator in Saline County: We received 0.65 to 0.75 of rain throughout the area Saturday, helping to activate preplant herbicides and fertilizers. This was a big rain for farmers who had dried out their topsoil with pre-plant tillage.
The wheat crop looks good at this time, although this has been the type of spring that really shows the difference between well fertilized wheat fields and those that did not receive adequate nitrogen and/or phosphorous. Corn planting is 85% complete with many farmers finished. When area corn growers volunteered to help with the Southeast Nebraska Corngrowers Plot on April 26 (canceled due to wet conditions), you knew planting season had gone smoothly in April.
Alfalfa weevils emerged last week with feeding occurring in many fields. Farmers are encouraged to scout fields now for weevil. If you’re trying to decide whether to treat your alfalfa or cut it early to avoid damage, see the April 9 CropWatch for a detailed story and treatment guide or see the NebGuide, Managing the Alfalfa Weevil (G-1208), available from your local Extension office.
Paul Hay, Extension Educator in Gage County: A lot of corn in this area has emerged and producers are planting soybeans. There has been some minor damage from cutworms – black and variegated.
Dewey Lienemann, Extension Educator in Clay and Webster counties: Corn planting is on schedule. Soil temperatures seem to keep flirting with the 55 degree mark, but more soil warmup would be welcomed. We were pretty dry, so last weekend’s rain was well received.
Wheat looks good in some fields, while other fields are showing some unusual damage which may be due to a lack of moisture to deliver plant nutrients. Wheat damage and development are somewhat inconsistent across fields -- some are just reaching the joint stage while others are well beyond it. I have received several reports of small and large field areas that are brown and appear to be dying. This may be due to last week’s hot dry winds -- 60 mph gusts with consistent winds of 30-40 mph -- which may’ve dried plants or carried herbicide residue from nearby corn fields.
Pastures are coming on early, but unfortunately we’re seeing a lot of wild oats. Alfalfa fields also have a good start. We had some early army cutworm damage and several farmers have reported the worst alfalfa weevil infestations that they’ve ever seen. All reports were from fields south of the Republican River.
In 2002, the first bird to test positive was found in June. In 2003, the first bird was found in May. It=s difficult to say how early a positive bird will be found this year, Dr. Kramer said. West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. In turn, the mosquito can pass the virus to humans. Last year, 2,496 cases of West Nile virus were reported in Nebraska, with 29 deaths. The virus has been found in all 93 of the state's counties, in either mosquito, bird, horse or human populations.
Health and Human Services will accept reports of dead birds of any species, but the focus of the surveillance is on blue jays, crows, magpies, owls and hawks. Selected birds of the desired species that are in good condition may be collected and tested. Health and Human Services or local health departments will collect the birds, and all testing will be done at the Veterinary Diagnostic Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. People who find dead birds should call their local health department to report them. (A list of the contact information for each county is available on the Web.)
Although people have an extremely low risk of contracting this virus by touching a dead bird, precautions should still be taken. Bare hand contact with carcasses should be avoided and birds should be double-bagged using plastic bags and then frozen until they can be picked up.
Surveillance for West Nile is also conducted by testing pools of mosquitoes and flocks of sentinel chickens. Monitoring will be conducted at 21 sites throughout the state. While there may be some mosquitoes showing activity right now, these are not the type that carry West Nile virus, Kramer said. Those will appear later this summer, usually in August and September.
It is wise to take precautions, however, to reduce the risk by using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants when outdoors and staying inside during peak mosquito hours at dusk and dawn. Prevent mosquito breeding by eliminating standing water in gutters, bird baths and tires. For more information on West Nile virus and the Nebraska surveillance program please visit the Health and Human Services Web site at http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/wnv/index.htm.
For questions involving dead bird reporting call 1-877-220-1237 or your local health department.
Ag briefs
Douglas Anderson, Extension Educator in Nuckolls and Thayer counties: Corn planting is just getting a good start. Wheat looks good after a slow start and alfalfa is starting to take off after early problems with army cutworm feeding. Weekend moisture is keeping people out of the fields. Subsoil moisture is probably adequate at this point.West Nile Virus surveillance begins;
dead birds accepted for testing
The Nebraska Health and Human Services System (HHSS) is now accepting dead birds for testing as part of its surveillance program for West Nile virus. All birds of certain types will be accepted until two birds in each county test positive for the virus. Reports on dead birds will continue to be taken by HHSS throughout the season. Monitoring for West Nile virus using dead birds has proven to be an accurate means of predicting where the virus will show up in humans, according to Wayne Kramer, state medical entomologist with HHSS. In over half of the counties where West Nile virus was found in humans during the outbreak last summer, it had first been detected in the county’s bird population. Early detection is important because it can heighten peoples awareness of the presence of the disease, Dr. Kramer said.
| |||||||||||||||||||||
The lowest egg count was 22 and the highest was 10,200. The average count of the positive samples was 1270. This year a University of Nebraska soybean cyst nematode variety yield test will be conducted on the Steve and Jerry Kennedy Farm just east of Nemaha.
Another 16-18 samples are being taken this week to follow pest development.
Corn planting jumped to 22% complete, well ahead of 11% last year and average at 14%. With
cool conditions during the week, only 1% of the crop had emerged, similar to last year and the
average.
The first soybean fields also were planted.
Oat seeding progressed to 88% complete, ahead of last year and the average at 84%. Nearly half -
- 48% -- was emerged, alightly ahead of 45% last year and just behind the average of 50%.
Sugar beet planting slowed, but was 60% complete by week's end. A year ago, 50% had been
planted.
Wheat condition rated 9% very poor, 16% poor, 36% fair, 37% good, and 2% excellent, below
last year and average. Fields were 32% jointed, ahead of last year at 29% and average at 23%.
Alfalfa conditions improved and rated 3% very poor, 10% poor, 37% fair, 42% good, and 8%
excellent.
Corman, a senior at Superior Public Schools, plans to major in Agricultural Engineering at the
University of Nebraska. Corman cites his passion for farming and ag-related activities as a catalyst in
pursuing a career in agriculture.
Pamela Pohlmann of Dewitt, was named as the first alternate for the scholarship. Pohlmann
plans to study Agricultural Business or Agricultural Education at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln
this fall.
The contact for the Farm Mediation program at the Nebraska Department
of Agriculture is Marian Beethe (402-471-6890) or marianjb@agr.state.ne.us
"We have already collected nearly 558 tons of recyclable plastic
containers heading into this 13th year of the program," said Larry Schulze,
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension pesticide coordinator. Last
year alone, the program recycled more than 83.5 tons of plastic containers.
The program helps users recycle empty plastic pesticide containers
and crop protection drums. Schulze coordinates the program with the help of
extension educators statewide through the university's Institute of
Agriculture and Natural Resources.
"We recycle an increasing quantity of plastic through this program
each year, indicating a strong commitment to environmental stewardship by
pesticide applicators and agrichemical dealers," Schulze said.
Collected containers are turned into products such as shipping
pallets, drain tile, dimension lumber and parking lot tire bumpers. The program accepts pressure-rinsed or triple-rinsed 1- and
2.5-gallon plastic pesticide containers. They must be dry and clean, inside
and out. Caps, labels and slipcover plastic labels must be removed since
they cannot be recycled in this program.
Twenty-two of this year's 42 collection sites accept 15- and
30-gallon plastic crop protection chemical, crop oil and adjuvant drums.
These drums must be thoroughly rinsed before delivery to collection sites
and should not be cut or opened. Mini-bulk, saddle tanks and nurse tanks, which often are made of
fiberglass or plastics not compatible with the recycling program, are not
accepted.
Before delivering containers to a collection site, pesticide
applicators should: clean, rinse and drain containers and drums, and put
the rinsate back in the spray tank; remove and properly dispose of booklets
and caps from containers; and remove and properly dispose of plastic
shrink-wrap labels from containers. Glued-on paper labels can be left on
containers.
More information on the program and collection sites is available on
the Web at the UNL Pesticide Education Center Web site at http://PestEd.unl.edu/recycle.htm. A national coalition of agrichemical manufacturers funds the program
through the Agricultural Container Recycling Council.
Of this year's collection sites, nine collect year-around, 16 collect
May through August, 15 collect on specific dates and two collect by
appointment only. Sites are listed alphabetically by county. Those
accepting 15- and 30-gallon plastic drums are noted.
Year-around inspection, collection sites:
Steven W. RessCrop condition
Topsoil moisture in two-thirds of the state is now rated as adequate, following rains across much
of the state last weekend, the first significant precipitation in April, according to an April 26
report from the USDA Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service. Precipitation amounts ranged
from 0.30 to 2.75 inches. Corn planting activities were ahead of normal with southeastern
producers almost 50% complete. Temperatures for the previous week averaged from near
normal to 6 degrees below normal. Corman awarded sorghum scholarship
Will Corman, son of Kerry and Laurie Corman of Hardy, has been awarded the 2004 Nebraska
Grain Sorghum Producers Association Scholarship. The $400 scholarship is awarded annually to a
graduating high school senior or to a student currently enrolled in post high school education. To
qualify, the student must plan to pursue a course of study, which will prepare him or her for a career in
agriculture or an ag-related field.May Farm Mediation Clinics
The farm mediation program sponsored by the Nebraska Department of
Agriculture conducts farm mediation clinics at locations throughout
Nebraska. The schedule:
Pesticide container recycling available at 42 sites statewide
Farmers and other pesticide applicators can recycle
empty plastic pesticide containers at 42 collection sites across Nebraska
this year.
May-August inspection, collection sites:
Burt: Tekamah City Compactor, Tekamah, Tuesday 2 to 5 p.m., Thursday
2 to 6 p.m.
Cedar: Hartington Recycling Center, Hartington, Tuesday 11 a.m.
to 4 p.m., Wednesday 1 to 5 p.m., Thursday 3 to 7 p.m., Friday 2 to 5 p.m.,
Saturday 8 a.m. to noon.
Cuming: West Point Transfer Station, West Point, Monday through
Friday 8 a.m. to noon, 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; accepts
drums.
Dawson: All Points Cooperative, Lexington and Overton, Monday through
Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; both accept drums.
Lincoln: North Platte Transfer Station, North Platte, Monday through
Friday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., except holidays.
Scotts Bluff: Gering Landfill, Gering, Monday through Friday 7 a.m.
to noon, 1 to 2:30 p.m.; accepts drums.
Washington: Blair Recycling Center, Blair, Saturday 8 a.m. to noon;
accepts drums.
Sites collecting, inspecting pesticide containers on specific days:
Butler: Frontier Co-op (Yanka), David City.
Dixon: Precision Agronomy, Newcastle; Northeast Co-op, Ponca; both
accept drums.
Dodge: Frontier Cooperative-Fremont, Fremont; accepts drums.
Gage: Hasenkamp Agricultural Co. and Southeast Nebraska Cooperative,
Beatrice; both accept drums.
Jefferson: Farmers Co-op Elevator Co., Plymouth; accepts drums.
Pawnee: Searcey Grain Co., Elk Creek; accepts drums.
Sarpy: Farmers Union Co-op, Gretna.
Saunders: Cedar Ridge Spraying, Ashland; Frontier Cooperative, Mead.
Sites collecting, inspecting pesticide containers by appointment only:
Boone: Country Partners Co-op, Cedar Rapids, May through July 15,
Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Clay: Heartland Co-op, Sutton, Aug. 20, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Aug. 21, 8
a.m. to noon; accepts drums.
Colfax: Schuyler Cooperative, Richland, May 10, June 12, July 10,
Aug. 14, 8 a.m. to noon. Husker Co-op Fertilizer, Schuyler, May 10, June
12, July 10, Aug. 14, 8 a.m. to noon.
Dakota: Northeast Cooperative, Emerson, June and July, Wednesday 9:30
to 10:30 a.m. Northeast Cooperative, South Sioux City, June and July,
Wednesday 11 a.m. to noon. Both sites accept drums.
Hamilton: Aurora Cooperative Elevator, Aurora, July through Aug. 16,
Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Heartland Cooperative, Giltner, Aug. 13, 8 a.m. to
5 p.m.; Aug. 14, 8 a.m. to noon. Both sites accept drums.
Kearney: Heartland Coop, Minden, Aug. 9, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Aug.
10, 8 a.m. to noon; accepts drums.
Lancaster: Farmers Cooperative Co., Bennet, July 23, 9 a.m. to noon.
Farmers Cooperative Co., Waverly, July 9, 9 a.m. to noon. Both sites accept
drums.
Saunders: Otte Oil and Propane, Wahoo, Sept. 10, 9 a.m. to noon.
Thurston: Mother Earth Recycling Center, Macy, June and July,
Wednesday 10 a.m. to noon; accepts drums.
Wayne: Precision Agronomy, Wayne, Aug. 6 and Aug. 20, 8 a.m. to noon.
Lancaster: Lancaster County Extension Office, Lincoln, (402) 441-7180.
Communications Coordinator
UNL Water Center
About Crop Watch |
Agricultural News |
Events |
Archives |
Markets
Ag Links |
Weather |
Photos |
Search
Lisa Jasa, Crop Watch Editor |
Publications |
IANR
Published by University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperating with the counties and the U.S. Department of Agriculture The University of Nebraska-Lincoln does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran's status, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.
