Financial Literacy Class for Farmers and Ranchers
Are you ready to renew your farm or ranch operating note? Learn about preparing the information your lenders need and how to develop a solid financial record keeping system at a Financial Health Check workshop. The workshop will be held January 19th, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Clay Center, NE. RSVP to Clay Co. Extension at (402) 762-3644 by Jan. 13th. The cost to attend this workshop is $20 per person. The ideal class size for the financial heath check class is 10-12 participants; classes will be limited to 15. 
This workshop is designed to help farmers and ranchers develop a financial plan for their operation during this period of low income. Upon completion of this program, participants will have a better understanding of how financial records can be used to make management decisions and confidently discuss their financial position with their family, business partners, and lenders.
Topics covered include:
- Basics of balance sheet construction and analysis
- Cash flow and keeping farm/ranch financial records
- Income statements for measuring profitability
Quicken Workshop for Farms & Ranches
Keep books for more than just your taxes! In this 2.5-hour class, you will learn to use Quicken (a minimum cost bookkeeping software) to keep farm/ranch financial records, as well as your household expenses. This “hands-on” training will help you understand how to set up categories & classes (for taxes & management), use the budget & loan features, and separate enterprise expenses. You will also learn where to find online Quicken help resources directly related to farm records.
This workshop will be held January 19th, 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Clay Center, NE. RSVP to Clay Co. Extension at (402) 762-3644 by Jan. 13th. The cost to attend this workshop is $20 per person. The ideal class size for the Quicken workshop is 10-12 participants; classes will be limited to 15.
Production agriculture continues to evolve into a data-intensive system as producers and other agricultural professionals look for ways to gather more actionable information from their data. Topics for the 2017 
The Farmers & Ranchers College was formed in January 2000 with the purpose of providing high quality, dynamic, up to date educational workshops for area agricultural producers in south central Nebraska through a collaborative effort between business, industry and higher education leaders. Furthermore, the 
It is also important for the public to understand the increased traffic on public roads and be patient. The greatest threat raised between farm equipment and passenger vehicles is the difference in speed. Farm equipment runs at an average speed of 20 miles per hour while passenger vehicles average 60 miles per hour. If the motor vehicle overtakes a tractor, the impact is comparable to a passenger vehicle hitting a brick wall at 40 miles per hour. If the tractor and a car, mini-van or pickup collides head on, the impact is the same as hitting a brick wall at 60 miles per hour.
Some farm equipment, such as combines, can take up more than half of the road. Even so, it is up to both drivers to be aware of their own limitations and adjust accordingly. Farmers should not take up more space than is needed, but other drivers should try to provide as much room as possible. It is a good idea for passenger vehicles to turn off onto side or field roads until larger machinery has passed. Whenever possible, farmers should use an escort vehicle such as a pickup to precede or follow large machinery and equipment on public roads. More than one escort may be necessary. Ideally, the escort vehicle would have extra warning lights and a sign indicating oversized or slow equipment ahead or following.
owa and Indiana also competed. Nebraska teams ranked 4th and 5th respectably. Between all three state competitions, 111 youth competed from Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana. Top two teams from each state competed at the regional competition. Congrats to all of the youth who not only networked with agronomic professionals, but also gained the most by improving life skills related to a potential career path.
Growers, crop consultants and educators are encouraged to attend Nebraska Extension’s Weed Management Field Day from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 29 at the South Central Agricultural Laboratory near Clay Center. The field day will include on-site demonstrations of new technology and new herbicides for corn, soybean and sorghum. An early morning tour will focus on weed management in soybeans followed by a tour of weed management in corn and sorghum. Field experiments will provide information for weed control options using several herbicide programs.
Growers, crop consultants and educators interested in management of herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth are encouraged to attend Nebraska Extension’s Field Day, supported by the Nebraska Corn Board, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 12 near Shickley. Palmer amaranth is a member of the pigweed family and is one of the most troublesome weeds in seed cornfields because of its resistance to atrazine and HPPD inhibitors. Greenhouse dose-response studies have confirmed resistance when atrazine and HPPD inhibitors were applied post-emergence. Palmer amaranth is of particular concern in south-central Nebraska because of its proximity to intense seed corn production, which is heavily reliant on these herbicides for weed.
Views from VanDeWalle 