The Haskell Ag Lab conducted a successful mitten, glove, hat, and scarf tree during December. Many items were donated during the drive and donated to the Laurel and Wayne Coat Closets for those in need. Thanks to all that donated to this cause.
Agronomy CDE Invitational Offered at HAL
Monty Larsen, faculty with the Agricultural Leadership Education and Communication Department at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, is excited to announce the inaugural Haskell Ag Lab (HAL) Agronomy CDE Invitational. The contest will be hosted at the HAL Main on Wednesday, January 31st. The registration process is currently underway with each school or ag program is able to enter eight contestants.The goal for this event is to have an engaging, hands-on, problem solving contest designed to gauge student interest in agronomy as well as determine their skill level in several different categories
The contest will be run as close to the state FFA contest as possible, and we hope to offer a worthy experience for all students. All identification portions of the contest will come from the Nebraska Agronomy CDE Handbook using samples or photos. The plan is to have the contest set up according to the following bulleted components.
· 50-75 plant & seed identification
· 10-20 insects (Identification, Life Cycle, Damage)
· 10-20 Diseases (Identification, Cause, Damage)
· 10-20 Machinery/Equipment identification
· 25-30 questions about soils knowledge, may include maps/diagrams.
· 5-10 team problem solving questions will come from the 2024 theme (corn-soybean cropping systems).
This contest is designed to fine tune Agronomy CDE teams before their district competition. If you are a business or individual who would like to sponsor awards or prizes, contact Monty Larsen with questions reach out to Monty at monty.larsen@unl.edu or by texting 402-340-1967.
'So You've Inherited a Farm ... Now What?' workshops scheduled
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability will present a series of workshop in central and eastern Nebraska for those planning and involved in farmland succession who want to learn more about the best strategies for managing and owning this asset and how it may impact the transition plan.
“So You’ve Inherited a Farm … Now What?” will cover Nebraska land industry topics for farms and ranches. Those include evaluating current trends in land values and cash rents, strategies for successful land transitions, lease provisions, legal considerations and managing communication and expectations among family members. Creating and adjusting estate plans will also be covered.
“We hear all the time from people who engaged in various stages of transitioning land involved in a farm or ranch,” said Jim Jansen, an agricultural economist with Nebraska Extension. “The dynamics surrounding succession differ for each operation, and this workshop provides the best management concepts and strategies for an effective transition.”
The program is free to attend, and lunch or refreshments will be provided at each location. Pre-registration is requested by one day prior to each workshop.
This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021-70027-34694.
“So You’ve Inherited a Farm … Now What?” Workshop Opportunity remaining.
Jan. 25 in Wayne, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Wayne Fire Hall, 510 Tomar Drive. Register by Jan. 24 at 402-375-3310.
RESCHEDULED - Our next Coffee & Conversations will be on Tuesday, January 23rd at 9 AM. We will have a special presentation by Joseph Poorker with Haven House on Human Trafficking. January is Human Trafficking awareness month. He will provide some information on this topic and things they see in area communities. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. Invite other family and friends to attend with you.This event has been rescheduled due to weather and road conditions.
Coffee & Conversations on Tuesday, February 13th at 9 AM, will feature Karen Longe with KEL Physical Therapy speaking to attendees on "How to Get Rid of Hip & Knee Pain and Other Tips & Tricks from Your Local Physical Therapist."
Put both of these dates on your calendar, we look forward to seeing you.
Haskell Ag Lab Hosting Part 107 Drone Piloting Licensure Training February 8
The use of technology is transforming the agricultureindustry through the use of high-resolutionimagery and various types of sensors.Drones are playing a major role in advancing this technological transformation of the agriculture industry.
Drones allow farmers and ranchers to monitorthe conditions of their crops as well as the movement and health of their livestock.Drones equippedwith multispectral sensors allow farmers to monitor the health of their crops by detecting stresses caused by diseases, pests, lack of moisture and nutrients so that corrective measures could be taken in a timely manner.Drones equipped with high resolution cameras can help identify weed pressure, issues related to germination and plant conditions after a storm. Otherareas of drone use include sprayapplication, irrigation management, planting/seeding,etc
Unless you are flying drones for fun or as hobby, you are required to be licensed under the Part 107 regulations. For anyone interested in learninghow tooperate a drone for purposes other than recreation, Nebraska Extension is organizing a one-day, 8-hourdrone piloting training. The training prepares participants forthe part 107licensuretest. The training will be held on February 8, 2024, at the Haskell Ag. Labnear Concord Nebraska.A Part 107 License, in addition to allowing individuals tomonitortheir crops and livestock, will allow them to earn money by flying drones for other people.
There will be a $250 registration fee for the training and study materials. Discounts will be available for students and educators/teachers.
For registration and training related questions, please contact Dirk Charlson at(402) 762-4500 or by emaildirk.charlson@unl.edu
Multicooker Class Being Offered February 10th
Mark your calendars now for this upcoming class on using a Multicooker. All details are on the flyer below. Call 402-584-2261 to register by February 2nd.
Substituting Commercial Fertilizer with Manure a Focus of Animal Manure Training Events
It’s that time of year again and I’m here to help you stay on track for that New Year’s resolution to “Manure Better”. That wasn’t your resolution? I’m sorry, but it would be a great resolution and an achievable one at that, so add it to your list. My New Year’s resolution is to help crop farmers “Manure Better”. The annual land application (manure) training events are coming up soon and may be just the ticket to “help me, help you”.
Traditionally, these programs have targeted livestock producers that have permitted operations because of their requirements to attend, but over the last few years, the manure team has been trying to “even our distribution pattern”. While we still meet all those requirements for both initial and recertification of our permitted animal feeding operations, we welcome and encourage crop producers that are using the manure to attend. The manure source doesn’t matter; it can be from their own livestock or from someone else’s critters. The information learned during these manure training events focuses on using the manure on the land to reduce commercial fertilizer prices, thereby increasing your potential profit margin, all while minimizing risk of environmental pollution.
The event is essentially two programs in one, an initial workshop and a recertification session. The initial workshop will last most of the day (9 am – 4 pm) and includes the recertification session as well as LUNCH! It gets into the nitty gritty of collecting manure and soil samples and then what to do with that information. It builds on that information to help you decide how much manure is needed for a particular field to sufficiently supply the next crop and beyond. During the recertification session (from 1 pm – 4 pm), we use the information learned in the morning workshop to put a value on the manure for a particular field and consider environmental implications of that manure application as well as other barriers and benefits to using manure on a particular field.
All sessions are highly interactive and participant-led using a scenario to describe the manure source and individual fields and crops with different needs. Like all farming decisions, the scenario seems straight forward, but there’s a whole bunch of considerations that can change the outcome. There is limited seating at all locations so we can break each piece down step-by-step and so you can take the information (and the worksheets) home with you to use on your own farming operations.
For folks in the northeast part of the state, closest locations include Columbus on February 12, Norfolk on February 29, West Point on March 5, and Ord on March 6. Pre-registration is required, and you can pay in advance or at the door. For those requiring certification or recertification, fees are $75 per operation. We encourage you to bring as many staff per operation as you wish as long as they’re registered. For those that do not need certification, the fee is $25 per person for the full day program which includes lunch. For more information about these and other locations, or to register for the program, please visit water.unl.edu/lat. And as always, if you have a manure question you can give me a call anytime at 402-584-3818. I’m glad to talk poop, I am your Manure Educator after all.
Extension to host multistate emergency preparedness workshop series for rural families
An upcoming four-part extension workshop for women in agriculture will focus on emergency preparedness for rural families.
The program will be a 4-part series, held at the Haskell Ag Lab in Concord, NE. The series will focus on farm and ranch emergency management, first aid, fire protection, and hazardous materials. Workshops will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Central time on March 5, 7, 12 and 14. Dinner will be included.
The program is a collaboration between extension women in Agriculture programs at Purdue University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The workshops seek to help participants initiate preventative practices, set up a plan to deal with emergencies before they occur and be more comfortable reacting to emergency situations.
There is a registration fee of $50 per person before Feb. 20. The fee increases to $60 per person after Feb. 20. Participants should plan to attend each session. A virtual option is available for those unable to attend a workshop site, although in-person attendance is highly encouraged to better network with other attendees and interact with speakers. The virtual registration fee is $75 before Feb. 20 and $80 after Feb. 20. Registration may be completed on the Nebraska Women in Agriculture website, https://wia.unl.edu/prep.
This project was supported by a grant from NCRCRD through funding from USDA NIFA Award #2022-51150-38141.
Suggestions/Requests
Do you have a suggestion or a request for a program at the Haskell Ag Lab? We want to hear from you.
Click this link and complete this form and submit. We will look at all suggestions and requests. The form is available at: https://go.unl.edu/halsuggest
You can also reach us by phone at 402-584-2261 with your suggestions/requests for programs.
“So You’ve Inherited a Farm … Now What?” will cover Nebraska land industry topics for farms and ranches. Those include evaluating current trends in land values and cash rents, strategies for successful land transitions, lease provisions, legal considerations and managing communication and expectations among family members. Creating and adjusting estate plans will also be covered.
