In a recent survey conducted by the Soil Health Team, 43% of respondents reported that they have implemented soil health practices influenced by UNL soil health events. (Image by Carolina Córdova)
Following eight successful events that stand to impact nearly 13 million acres of U.S. farmland, preparations are underway by the UNL Soil Health Team to deliver more robust sustainable ag research and innovations in 2024.
Extension Events
The Eastern Nebraska Corn and Soybean Expo on Jan. 25 combines two events at the University of Nebraska Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center near Mead, Nebraska.
Free to attend, the new corn and soybean expo combines two previous extension events — the Fremont Corn Expo and Nebraska Soybean Day and Machinery Expo — into one full day of research, presentations, industry updates and more.
Participants who register for the 2024 Nebraska Women in Ag Conference before Feb. 9 can take advantage of a discounted rate for attending the two-day event in Kearney.
The 2024 conference highlights include keynote speakers Ashley Machado, Dr. David Kohl, John Noltner, and more than 20 workshops on ag risk management of production, marketing, finances, human and legal.
Benson Bounty presents ‘Planting a Profitable Pollinator Habitat with Native Nebraska Plants,’ a SARE-funded project that explored the profitability of growing native perennial plants and marketing them through a variety of channels. (Photo by Sydney Seh)
This year's conference features more than 30 sessions on agricultural and local food systems, including farm financial and transition planning, farm skills, field crops, livestock, farm and food policy, and more.
Significant snowfall and extreme cold are headed for Nebraska beginning Monday, Jan. 8.
Forage Production
For every degree of cold stress a cow faces, they increase their energy requirements by 1%. It's important to provide shelter and adjust feed to help cattle meet these energy requirements and avoid body condition loss.
Extension educators provide recommendations on preventing body condition loss in cattle during low temperatures and ways to safely feed heat-damaged hay and silage.
While fall and winter weathering can reduce its nutritional quality, cornstalks are still a great and economical winter feed source if supplementation is managed appropriately.
The new hardiness zone map for Nebraska has shifted the southernmost regions into a new zone — a refinement to the map due to a nearly doubled amount of available weather station data for the region.
Farm Management
Though the farm finance and ag law clinics are offered monthly at sites across Nebraska, remote sessions are another option — call the number below to arrange a one-on-one meeting via phone or virtual platform.
Nebraskans can attend a free, in-person farm and ag law clinic in January 2024, or call to arrange a virtual/phone appointment.
The upcoming farm succession workshops are sponsored by the Nebraska Rural Response Hotline, Nebraska Department of Agriculture Beginning Farm Tax Credit and Negotiations programs, the Farm and Ranch Project of Legal Aid of Nebraska, and the Nebraska Farmers Union Foundation.
Hosted in Stuart and Greeley, the workshops will cover basic estate and succession planning to assist farm and ranch families in creating or reviewing their plans.
Extended for an additional year, the ARC and PLC programs will provide assistance to producers facing commodity market volatilities throughout the 2024 crop year.
Historical crop progress data for Nebraska is available at USDA.
While winter wheat condition has remained unchanged since the last NASS report in November, soil moisture supplies experienced a decline during the mild weather in December.
Historical small grains data for Nebraska is available at USDA.
The survey was sent to 15,500 operations nationally and collected information on acres pollinated, colonies used, and dollars spent for a variety of different crops.
Historical potato production reports for Nebraska are available at USDA.
Available now on CropWatch, the web-based tool allows users to input data for individual fields to help fine-tune their nitrogen applications, and maximize yield and profitability.
This chart demonstrates the setbacks for applying manure in Nebraska. Producers applying manure during the winter should target level ground, well away from ditches or water bodies. (UNL Water image)
