Melissa Bartels - Former Extension Educator

Alfalfa harvest
Proper care and management of first-year alfalfa now could have big impacts on cuttings later this year.

Pasture and Forage Minute: Toxic Plants, Managing First-Year Alfalfa

June 14, 2022
Tips for identifying and managing poisonous plants in cattle and equine grazing pastures, and harvest guidelines for getting the most from first-year alfalfa.

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Pasture and Forage Minute: Selecting the Right Herbicide, Irrigating Alfalfa and Poison Hemlock

June 6, 2022
Tips on selecting the right herbicide for your operation, overcoming challenges to irrigating alfalfa and poison hemlock management.

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Burned field

Pasture and Forage Minute: Grazing Management After Wildfire, Pasture Fertility and Cross Fencing

May 10, 2022
Extension educators advise on grazing strategies for areas affected by wildfire and drought, and review soil sampling techniques for an annual checkup on your pasture soil fertility.

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Farmer on machinery

Farmer Focus: Nebraska Producers Evaluate Practices to Increase Soybean Yield, Profit Through On-Farm Research

April 21, 2022
Nebraska farmers highlight their results from a three-year on-farm research study that evaluated a suite of management practices to increase soybean yield and profitability.

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Pesticide label

Aminopyralids: Restrictions for Grazing, Compost and Manure

April 7, 2022
The EPA is currently reviewing a group of pyridines for residue concerns in manure and compost, and producers are encouraged to evaluate their grazing and compost plans before application of these herbicides.

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Alfalfa field
Proper seed selection is the first line of defense for disease management of Phytophthora root rot and anthracnose, which can cause significant losses in a short amount of time.

Alfalfa Seed Selection to Help Manage Diseases

April 6, 2022
As you think about selecting alfalfa varieties to plant this year, be sure to consider varieties available with greater resistance to diseases like anthracnose and Phytophthora root rot.

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Pasture landscape

Pasture and Forage Minute: The Importance of Legumes, Alfalfa Seed Selection

March 29, 2022
Extension educators explain how to replace costly nitrogen fertilizer with legumes in grazeland and select alfalfa varieties for disease resistance.

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Program flier

Confronting Cropping Challenges Program to be Offered in December 2021

November 17, 2021
The fifth annual Confronting Cropping Challenges program will highlight cropping issues for northeast Nebraska producers throughout 2021, such as fall armyworms and tar spot.

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