Stop by the “Big Red Building” to explore how the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, along with Nebraska Extension can help you through Leveraging Innovation, Growing Your Legacy at the 2022 Husker Harvest Days farm show, located at Lot 827. 

Teams of Nebraska Extension educators and specialists will be sharing their field-proven experiences with new data-driven, unbiased research. Discover more about agriculture economics, beef, manure management, precision agriculture and conservation, cover crops, groundwater and irrigation, energy, local foods, on-farm research, agricultural leadership, careers and more. Bring along your plant and insect samples, too.

The Water and Irrigation Team helps Nebraskans manage one of their critical resources: groundwater. Bring your questions about optimizing soil moisture, economics, and pump and system performance. Discover the water below your feet with our jumbo groundwater model demo, showing impacts between what we do on the surface, and our wells and rivers. Also ask about your own drinking water, and ways to ensure your water is safe to drink.

The Center for Agricultural Profitability (CAP) helps producers leave a legacy of financial health. Aiming to produce yield or pounds is not enough. Today’s economic environment requires that farmers and ranchers prioritize financial and business considerations to better realize marginal benefits and the costs and risks associated with every production decision. CAP represents the responsive and trusted source of agricultural business management research and education.

The Beef Team helps producers sort through all the new technology — from drones checking water and cattle health to virtual fences, cameras and smart feeders. We can help you dig into the research so you can make the best decisions for your operation.

Nebraska Regional Food Systems Team (NERFSI) works with all things food — from growing to marketing to increasing access to local foods. Whether we’re helping people cultivate crops from their cultural heritage, connecting producers with schools to provide fresh produce or aiding your corner grocery store in selling better-quality products, we work to bring healthy, nourishing food from the farm to your table.

The Nebraska Extension Digital Ag, On-Farm Research, and Smart Machinery Team can help you better understand precision technology and how they can be used for future management decisions. Also, we can help you test new ag tools, products or techniques to determine how they will perform on your own farm.

Using livestock manure to fertilize cropland is nature’s original recycling program. With the Manure Management Team, explore how manure and inorganic fertilizer best meet crop needs while also providing critical organic matter. We know “manure happens.” Our goal is to provide resources and tools to help farmers build their soil and sustain their legacy.

With farming costs on the rise and increasing electrification, now is a great time to look at ways to reduce costs. Two options — reducing electrical costs through your rate schedule and exploring adding on-farm solar — will be discussed by the Energy Team. They can help you make data-based decisions on whether a solar system is right for you. They also can help you understand your electrical rate schedule and make decisions that save dollars.

The Soil Health Team will show you how cover crops can increase organic matter, fix nitrogen, prevent nutrient loss and erosion, manage weeds and boost water infiltration — all of which benefit the cash crop that follows. High-quality forage can also be harvested by haying, grazing or ensiling. Some cover crops are ideal for filling grazing forage gaps when other pasture resources are limited.

Do you have issues with consistently low yields in sections of your fields? Do you continue to farm those marginal areas hoping production will increase? The Precision Conservation Team can help you identify solutions to increase whole-field profitability. Come discuss solutions to maximize whole-field profitability by farming the best yielding acres while reducing soil erosion and water runoff on marginal or low yielding acres.

The environment in which one lives can have a significant impact on quality of life. The Community Environment Team can answer your questions about pollinators, trees, water, soil, local food production, the benefits of plant-people connections and more. They will also provide tips on all things home horticulture like tree selection, planting and maintenance.

LEAD has been developing agricultural leaders for 40 years. The program director of the Nebraska LEAD Program will be available to show how LEAD can help you develop strong leadership skills necessary to respond to the challenges facing agriculture in Nebraska.

Come check out our interactive display to explore potential careers and test your skills at the 4-H College and Career Success booth. Families and high school students are encouraged to bring your questions about college and career decisions to help answer that common question, “So what ya doing after high school?”. Also visit with representatives from the UNL College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis to find out more about opportunities for you on campus.

We all look forward to seeing and visiting with all HHD participants!