December 14, 2007

"Growing Corn and Soybeans to Fuel Nebraska" will be the topic of five meetings to be held across Nebraska December 17-21. These workshops, which feature guest speakers from UNL and the biofuel industry, are designed to highlight crop practices to improve energy production.

Certified crop advisor credits will be awarded in the following categories: Crop Management (2.5), Soil and Water (2.0) and Pest Management (0.5). Be sure to bring your certified crop advisor number to the meeting so credits can be recorded.

Following is a schedule of meeting locations and general outline of topics. Individual topics and speakers may vary by location so check with the contacts listed for further details.

Meeting Sites

• December 17, Antelope County Courthouse, Neligh
  Registration at the door, $10. Contact: Dewey Teel, dteel1@unl.edu, 402-887-5414
   
• December 18, Extension Office on Fairgrounds, Beatrice
  Registration at the door, $10. Contact: Paul Hay, phay1@unl.edu, 402-223-1384
   
• December 19, Adams County Fairgrounds, Hastings
  Sponsored by extension and Chief Ethanol Fuels, Inc. Contact: Ron Seymour, rseymour1@unl.edu, 402-461-7209
   
• December 20, Extension Office on Fairgrounds, Lexington
  Sponsored by extension and the Dawson County Corn Growers Association. Preregister by December 17. Contact: Dave Stenberg, dstenberg1@unl.edu, 308-324-5501
   
• December 21, Holiday Inn, Sidney
• Cost $20 per person; register by Dec. 12. Contact: Karen DeBoer, kdeboer1@unl.edu, 308-254-4455 

Meeting Topics

• Crop System Decisions, Host Educator
• Equipment and Residue Considerations, Paul Jasa, extension engineer
• Cellulose to Fuel, John Hay, extension educator for energy
• Crop Residue Values - How Much Can I Remove, Robert Klein, extension cropping systems specialist
• Growing Crop for Better Biodiesel, Loren Isom, Industrial Ag Products Center coordinator
• What Does Industry Want in Our Grain for Better Ethanol, Bradley Mosher, Cornhusker Energy (Lexington); Ryan Koinzan, Louis Dreyfus Commodities, Norfolk (Neligh); Andrew Johansen, commodity manager, E Energy, Adams (Beatrice);
• Grain Qualities for Better Ethanol, Corn Mescher, Aurora Co-op (Hastings)
• 2008 Corn/Soybean (Wheat-Sidney) Production Costs, Robert Klein, Extension cropping systems specialist
• Recognizing and Managing Corn/Soybean (Wheat-Sidney) Diseases, Jennifer Rees, extension educator, plant pathology; or Tamra Jackson, extension plant pathologist
• Water management to conserve energy and water, Steve Melvin, extension educator for water management; Paul Hay, extension educator (Beatrice); Brandy VanDeWalle and Jim Schneider, extension educators (Hastings)
• What will the New Farm Bill Look Like, Brad Lubben, extension agricultural economist (Sidney)
• Evaluating Cropping Systems, Robert Klein, extension cropping systems specialist; Dewey Teel (Neligh)
• Farm Program Updates, Ryman Coleman, FSA director in Antelope County (Neligh only)