The Nebraska State Fair will be held August 24-September 3, 2018 at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds in Grand Island, Nebraska. The state fair is a great opportunity for youth to showcase the skills gained through their projects. I’d like to wish all youth the best of luck at the state fair and hope they have lots of fun and learn. For more information or to check results on the 4-H side of things, go to https://4h.unl.edu/state-fair. 
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South Central Ag Lab Field Day
Wednesday, August 29th will be the South Central Ag Lab (SCAL) Field Day with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. and concluding at 4:00 p.m. Approximately 100 applied field research trials are conducted at SCAL annually by University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty and the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service scientists. Trials are focused on irrigation and water management, soil fertility, entomology, weed science, cropping systems, disease management and crop variety testing. Field day speakers will share information about their research for improved crop production and profitability.
Specific topics and speakers include:
- Cropping Systems: From cover crops to corn earissues – Roger Elmore, NE Extension Cropping Systems Agronomist; Katja Koehler- Cole, UNL Agronomy Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Justin McMechan, UNL Crop Protection & Cropping Systems Specialist; and Osler Ortez Amador, UNL PhD Grad Student
- Insect Management: European corn borer, Corn rootworm & Western bean cutworm – Robert Wright – NE Extension Entomologist
- Weed Management: Opportunities & challenges for weed control in soybean – Amit Jhala, NE Extension Weed Management Specialist
- From Inhibitors to Sensors: Nitrogen fertilizer management in irrigated corn – Leonardo Bastos, UNL PhD candidate in Soil fertility/precision ag, Brian Krienke, NE Soils Extension Educator and Joe Juck, NE Extension Precision Ag Specialist
- Disease Management: Corn and Soybean disease updates – TamraJackson-Ziems, NE Extension Plant Pathologist
- Water Management: Fundamentals of variable rate irrigation & fertigation in comparison to fixed rate irrigation & conventional fertilizer management & Imapct of cover crops on soil quality, Suat Irmak, Harold W. Eberhard Distinguished Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
Register online by August 26th for lunch planning purposes which can be done at https://go.unl.edu/2018scalfieldday. For more information, call the South Central Lab Office at (402)762-3536. CCA credits are available.
The “Buzz” at the Extension Office
Did you know there are 90 crops ranging from nuts to berries to flowering vegetables that require insect pollination. Managed honey bee colonies are the primary pollinators which add at least $15 billion a year by increasing yields and help ensure high-yielding crops (USDA, 2017). As many of you have heard in the news, beekeepers have been steadily losing colonies. In fact, an article by the USDA states, “the number of honey bee hives in this country (U.S.) has decreased from 6 million in the 1940’s to about 2.5 million today. This has drawn attention to the importance of honey bees and seems to have even created a renewed interest in honey bees.
One of the great things about my job is how I am able to continue learning about a variety of topics and have been inspired by one of my own 4-H’ers! Madeline Kamler, a Fillmore County 4-H’er became involved in the Nebraska Beekeepers Association youth program. She received beekeeping supplies and was assigned a mentor to get her started with beekeeping and has learned so much! In conversation with her mom last year, I mentioned how I’d like to
expand our landscape at the extension office to include a pollinator garden and she asked if we’d like to have our own bees at the office. With lots of help and tons of hours Madeline and her mom, Renae have spent the idea became a reality.
I’d like to give special thanks to the Geneva City Council and Fillmore County supervisors for their support of this endeavor. Since April of this year, we have been very fortunate to have our own hive north of the Fillmore County Extension office. The Fillmore County 4-H Council generously provided funds to get the project started. This project has been able to educate youth with 4-H workshops and even offer an adult program to the Geneva Garden Club. During honey extraction time, youth from Sowing Seeds Academy even had the chance to extract honey from the frames! I’m so excited for more opportunities to increase educational programming, not only related to beekeeping, but on the business and entrepreneurship side as well.
We extracted over 20 frames of honey in the end of July and have started to sell some of the honey! Proceeds from the honey go directly back into the production of beekeeping so the project will be able to sustain itself for future years. If you are interested in purchasing some honey, feel free to contact the extension office and we’ll gladly sell you some “Bee Sweet” 4-H honey.
Plans to continue this “sweet” educational endeavor are already being made for next year, with the potential of workshops this winter as well. Without the hours of labor, the Kamler family has so freely given, this project would not be as successful as it is, so I’d like to thank them for sharing their knowledge, resources and expertise to not only 4-H’ers and community members, but the extension staff as we’ve all learned so much!
Youth Learn Crop Scouting Skills
At the end of the July I coordinated the fifth annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth in which four teams from across Nebraska competed. It was held in at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead, Nebraska on July 26, 2018. Teams of students (those completing 5-12th grades) participated by completing a written knowledge test and seven crop scouting exercises in field plots.
The purpose of the competition was to provide students an opportunity to learn crop scouting and principles of integrated pest management (IPM) for corn and soybeans in Nebraska, to obtain knowledge and skills that will be helpful in future careers and to demonstrate newer crop scouting technologies.
Results from the 2018 competition were as follows:
First place- Colfax County 4-H (Logan Nelson, Brad Kratochvil, Austin Steffensmeier & Korbin Kudera)
Second place – Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club of Cuming County (Payton & Levi Schiller, Matthew & James Rolf and Kaleb Hasenkamp)
Third place – Humphrey FFA Team #2 (Mikayla Martensen, Bryce Classen Jacob Brandl and Wyatt Wegener)
Also participating was 
Fillmore Central FFA with Carson & Brock Tatro, KayLynn Sieber, Kaylea Geiser and Gunner Gewecke.
Top-scoring teams won prizes: $500 for first, $250 for second, $100 for third place. The top two teams will represent Nebraska at the regional competition held in Nebraska on August 27, 2018.
Teams were expected to know the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. This included crop staging; looking for patterns of crop injury; disease, insect and weed seedling identification; etc.
More information about the crop scouting competition are available online at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth. Click on the link that says, “Crop Scouting Competition”.
This program was sponsored by DuPont Pioneer, the Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association and Farm Credit Services of America in collaboration with Nebraska Extension. If you know of a company or you would are interested in sponsoring the 2019 program, please contact me at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu.
Happy Independence Day!
Brown Lawns caused by a leaf blight
Great article on lawn disease we have been seeing lately, including our area.
Symptoms from Ascochyta Leaf Blight
This year has been difficult for our lawns. Since our cold April, our temperatures skyrocketed and we haven’t had many rain events throughout this spring and early summer. This has been causing our lawns to look a little ragged and brown.
Ascochyta
Many cool season lawns throughout Eastern Nebraska have begun to look brown due to Ascochyta leaf blight, a widespread disease found throughout the early part of summer this year. Mowing during the hot Memorial Day weekend seemed to have worsened the symptoms of this disease.
Symptoms
A close-up of the blades of turf infected by Ascochyta
Ascochyta is a diseased that is stress-induced and often shows up in the early summer when the weather shifts from cold and wet to hot and very dry. Ascochyta is a dieback from the tip of the leaf blades of cool season turf. Red-brown spots can also…
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Weed Management & Cover Crops Field Day
To see on-site demonstration of new technologies and herbicides for weed control in corn, soybean sorghum and cover crops research, plan to participate in the Weed Management & Cover Crops Field Day held June 27, 2018 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Registration starts at 8:00 a.m. for this free event which will be held at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center, NE. Thanks to numerous sponsors, this event is free for participants. Registration is appreciated for a meal count and can be done by going to http://agronomy.unl.edu/fieldday.
Some topics include: comparison of herbicide programs for weed control in soybeans and corn, weed control and crop safety in MGI soybean, response of white and yellow popcorn hybrids to glyphosate Enlist DUO, or XtendiMax (26), control of Roundup Ready/Liberty Link volunteer corn in Enlist corn, weed control and crop response in INZEN sorghum, soybean yield and critical time for weed removal as influenced by soil applied herbicide. In addition, an overview of the effects of cover crops on weed suppression pests and beneficial insects will be shared.
There are CCA credits available for those who need them. More information may be obtained by contacting Roger Elmore at roger.elmore@unl.edu or (402) 472-1451.
Happy Memorial Day!
Thanks to those who have served!
Wheat Field Day
Growers can learn about the latest wheat varieties and view many of them in the field at the Wednesday, May 30th Wheat Variety Plot Tour near Fairbury. The event, sponsored by Nebraska Extension, will begin at 6:30 p.m. in a plot hosted by Mark Knobel.
Speakers include Stephen Baenziger, University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor and wheat breeder, Paul Jasa, Nebraska extension engineer, will provide tips on setting no-till drills to increase wheat stand consistency. He will also share cover crop opportunities following wheat and Stephen Wegulo, Nebraska Extension plant pathologist, will discuss wheat disease prevention strategies in southern Nebraska.
From Fairbury: Travel northeast on Highway 136 for 3 miles and turn north on 571 Avenue. Go north for 2.6 miles on 571 Avenue. Turn east on 716 Road for 0.2 mile. Plot is on the south side of the road. GPS Coordinates 40.204547, -97.120798.
Alternate Route: On Highway 15, go 2 miles north of Fairbury, take 716 Road east 3.2 miles (Note: Two miles is minimum maintenance. If it’s muddy, consider taking Road 715 or Road 718 as alternate roads.) Fresh kolace will be served made from winter wheat!
For more information about the plot tour, contact Randy Pryor at the UNL Extension Office in Saline County at 402-821-2151 or e-mail rpryor1@unl.edu or view the program flyer.
Keeping Youth Safe
That, “no child would become ill, injured or die from farm, ranch and rural activities.” That is the vision for the Progressive Agriculture Foundation. The Progressive Agriculture Foundation governs and secures funding solely to educate youth and families on ways to make farm, ranch and rural life safer for children and their families. The Progressive Agriculture Foundation is the largest rural safety and health education program for children in North America, which Fillmore County is proud to provide one of those programs. In fact, over 400 safety days are planned across the United States & Canada reaching over 104,000 participants in 2018 alone. Since 1995, the Progressive Ag Safety Foundation and its sponsors has provided resources for over 6,972 safety days have occurred reaching nearly 1.3 million participants and over 347,000 volunteers.
On May 24, 2018 Nebraska Extension in Fillmore & Clay Counties coordinated Progressive Agriculture Safety Day for 128 area youth in collaboration with the local WIFE (Women Involved in Farm Economics), Emergency Management and Fillmore Central and Shickley FFA Chapters. The event for youth who just completed 1st to 6th grades provided hands-on activities for youth on a variety of topics from knife safety to healthy lifestyles to lawnmower safety.
This program is possible through the assistance of numerous volunteers from varying agencies or businesses including Plains Power, Nick’s Farm Store, Perennial Public Power, Fortify Group, Nebraska Extension, Shickley and Fillmore Central FFA Chapters. Sponsorship from W.I.F.E. (Women Involved in Farm Economics), Fortify, Fillmore County Emergency Management, Fortigen, Sutton Vision Center and Harre Seed. Lunch was served and provided by the Fillmore Central FFA Booster Club.
New this year, youth learned about the severity of the opioid epidemic and were given information on its devastating effects on people. Goody bags with lots of resources and other activities were sent home with the record-breaking number of participants. Each family received a weather radio this year as well. Local coordinator, Brandy VanDeWalle attends the annual Progressive Agriculture Safety Day training and works to coordinate this collaborative event. For information on how to be involved locally in the future, contact Brandy at the Fillmore County Extension Office at 402-759-3712.
Views from VanDeWalle 