Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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After postponement in 2020, the Nebraska Water Center’s annual conference will return this August. Entitled “The Shape of Water in Western Nebraska,” the conference will be held Monday, Aug. 16 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff. An all-star lineup of Nebraska water professionals will discuss water infrastructure in the panhandle, western Nebraska’s unique hydrogeology, and innovation in water and agricultural management. “We are g...
The Cheyenne County Fair is conducted under the direction of the Cheyenne County Fair Board. While the greatest possible care will be exercised by the management to protect the patrons of the fair, each will be held personally responsible for his or her own actions and the management will not be accountable or responsible for injuries or accidents that occur. The Fair Board reserves the final and absolute right to interpret these Rules and Regulations, and arbitrarily settle and determine all...
The commitment of generations of dedicated soil scientists in maintaining and managing the historic Knorr-Holden Plot near Scottsbluff for more than a century came to fruition in a recently published manuscript in Agronomy Journal. The lead author of the manuscript, Bijesh Maharjan, is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Department of Agronomy and Horticulture and currently manages the Knorr-Holden Plot. He is the soil and nutrient management specialist at the...
LINCOLN -- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Acting State Director in Nebraska Kim Martini today announced that USDA is investing $650,000 to equip, rebuild, and modernize essential services in rural areas throughout Nebraska. The investments will benefit more than 300 rural residents. “USDA is committed to assisting rural communities with improving infrastructure for essential services,” Martini said. “The investment being announced today will help to make that community safer for local residents and pedestrians with...
Finding the right spot for your garden, laying out your beds and preparing your soil can be grand adventures. As I have mentioned before, I do not care for weeding my garden, so using weed proofer has saved me hours and hours of labor. It also keeps the soil warmer and moisture locked in. For my row crops I simply cut a slit in the weed proofer and plant my little seeds down those rows. For my starters, I cut a four-inch hole in the weed proofer, place them in their little home and cover the...
On Tuesday, June 8, 2021 the South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD) Board of Directors (Board) held its monthly meeting at 5:00 p.m. in the South Platte NRD Conference Room (551 Parkland Drive, Sidney NE). Thad Kuntz P.G., Adaptive Resources Inc., (ARI) presented a review of the current Western Water Use Management Model (WWUMM) update and the next Robust Review Analysis. Kuntz provided a summary of the work that has been completed in the past few years for the WWUMM. During his presentation, Kuntz explained the implementation of...
LINCOLN—The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) is pleased to host the Midwest Association of State Departments of Agriculture’s (MASDA) annual meeting in Lincoln, June 21-23. MASDA represents the Departments of Agriculture from 13 Midwestern states. At this meeting, staff from MASDA states and various federal, state and industry stakeholders will discuss critical agricultural issues and share ideas. “MASDA brings together state ag leaders to represent and grow agriculture in the Midwest,” said NDA Director and MASDA President Steve W...
LINCOLN – Jeff Nichols has been selected as the State Rangeland Management Specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Nebraska. He will begin the position June 21, 2021. As an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the NRCS provides opportunities for agricultural producers and landowners to voluntarily implement conservation practices that benefit their land needs. Nebraska has 22 million acres of range and pastureland that are utilized to support its cattle industry. An industry that accounted for $6.5 b...
After you have determined the placement and layout of your garden spot, the next thing to get ready is your soil. This is my favorite part of the whole season. There is something about digging in the dirt that is soothing for the soul. There are some amazingly cool resources to help determine if your soil is too acidic or too basic, but I keep my life much more simple than that… I add the same amendment every year and it has never sent me astray. Never! My beds remain uncovered in the off s...
Here is the weekly crop of Master Gardener tips from Nebraska Extension in the Panhandle, relevant to local lawn and garden issues in the High Plains and consistent with research-based recommendations. Have you considered growing dahlias? The dahlia is a versatile flowering plant, providing a wide array of sizes, forms and colors. Ranging from half-inch pompons to giants, the flower forms vary from daisy-shaped singles to fully double types. Dahlias generally are purchased as tuberous roots which can go directly into the ground in the spring...
LYONS — Cover crops are a conservation practice with wide ranging benefits, from improving soil health to protecting water quality. Many farmers who planted fall cover crops are now eligible for a discount on their crop insurance premium, thanks to a new program announced June 1. The Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency, offers a discount of $5 per acre on a farmer’s 2021 crop insurance premium, but no more than the full...
The draft Wildcat Hills Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Update for Banner, Cheyenne, Kimball, Morrill, and Scotts Bluff Counties is ready for public review. Draft copies of the document have been mailed to county offices and are available to the public online at https://nfs.unl.edu/documents/CWPP/WHCWPP.pdf. Comments will be accepted until July 9, 2021. County boards, emergency managers, fire department personnel, and other stakeholders worked with the Nebraska Forest Service to update the 2015 CWPP. This plan is a wildfire-specific...
5 marks the fifteenth year I will plant a garden, which certainly does not qualify me as an expert, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve I thought I could share with you over the next few articles. My gardening adventures began when my cowboy and I were living in northern Wyoming. The first year I began gardening I spent hours and hours researching and studying before I ever moved a bit of dirt. The first step in any garden is finding the right spot and determining the layout that works best...
SIDNEY – Cheyenne County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Brad Fraass is reminding area producers that accurate and timely reporting of acres for all crops and land uses is an FSA program eligibility requirement. The deadline for acreage certification is July 15, 2021. This includes common spring-planted crops, such as oats, corn, peas, grain sorghum, millet, sunflowers, and etc but also includes Conservation Reserve Program acres and perennial grass. “In order to comply with program eligibility requirements, all producers mus...
More than 600 elementary students from around the area got a hands-on education recently about Nebraska agriculture. Over the course of four days in Bridgeport, Hemingford and Sidney, Agsplosion, an Agricultural Literacy Festival for second- and third-grade youth sponsored by Nebraska Extension, reached 602 students from Garden County, Creek Valley, Mitchell, Bridgeport, Hay Springs, Banner County, Bayard, Alliance, Rushville, South Platte, Sidney, Leyton, Crawford, Hemingford, and Gordon. The...
Bob Harveson embarked on his career as a plant pathologist in the mid-1980s, which in 1999 took him to Scottsbluff as a specialist on the faculty at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center. But before switching to science, Harveson earned a bachelor’s degree in history, and now the two interests are coming together in the form of a book he has authored, “A Century of Plant Pathology in Nebraska.” The 114-page book was published in December 2020 by Zea Books...
Nebraska has long been known as the Beef State and May is Beef Month, so it’s the perfect time to enjoy a delicious burger or steak. Agriculture is our state’s largest industry, and beef is the biggest segment of Nebraska agriculture. Our beef industry generates about $10.6 billion in cash receipts each year, which is roughly half of all ag receipts in Nebraska. Nationally, Nebraska ranks No. 1 for commercial cattle slaughter, and we’re number two for beef exports, commercial red meat produ...
On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 the South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD) Board of Directors (Board) held its monthly meeting at 5:00 p.m. in the South Platte NRD Conference Room (551 Parkland Drive, Sidney NE). Ryan Reisdorff, Water Resources Specialist with the SPNRD, reviewed information about Industrial and Municipal Water Use Accounting and Water Usage in Excess of Baselines. There are some industries in the District as well as a municipality that will potentially go over their baseline of water use. It is in the Statute that NRDs must...
Many parts of the economy in our great state of Nebraska are thriving. However, the new slate of tax increase proposals coming from the Biden Administration will undermine the success of Nebraska, and states like it, by removing capital from family farms and small businesses at a time when we need to be encouraging economic growth. Among the most troubling tax proposals for family-owned businesses across the Third District, and the nation, is the repeal of stepped-up basis and taxation of...
Sacramento, CA — Access to start-up capital is a big challenge for farmers. A small grant program through the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) is helping. More than 100 farmer veterans received word Friday that they are being awarded equipment thanks to the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund. The grant supports veterans in their early years of farming and ranching. “We directly purchase a piece of equipment the farmer has identified as being critical,” explains Jeanette Lombardo, FVC Executive Director. “Our veterans put their lives on the line to pr...
Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) is a concept to identify potential invasive species prior to or just as the establishment of the invasive is taking place. An Integrated Pest Management plan (IPM) can be developed to manage, contain and eradicate the invasive species before it can spread further. This will avoid costly, long-term control efforts. Dalmatian toadflax is a perennial herb identified in parts of Nebraska, mostly in the Panhandle counties bordering Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. Dalmatian toadflax is either a state or...
LINCOLN — Property tax continues to be a heated topic in the Nebraska Legislature. Senators took nearly the entire day on April 21 to debate and vote on LB2, a bill that would reduce the amount of taxes agriculture landowners pay to school district bonds. Currently, ag landowners pay property tax for 75 percent of their land to area school districts. Nebraska school districts levy local property tax to pay off bonds they’ve acquired for various district needs. If the bill passes, the property tax rate ag landowners pay would decline to 50 per...
Nebraska Extension and Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, have announced plans for the annual “tractor safety” training courses scheduled at 5 sites across Nebraska in early June. Students will complete the first day of the course online through the eXtension Foundation Campus website. After successfully completing the online course and testing, the required driving test will be offered at five locations across Nebraska June 7-11, 2021, including Gerin...
LINCOLN – There is good news for foragers. The morel mushroom picking season is just beginning. Some morels now are being found along eastern Nebraska’s river bottoms. In a few weeks, they will emerge in hilly wooded areas above rivers. “Look for morels near dead and decaying trees like cottonwoods,” said longtime morel hunter Greg Wagner, public information officer with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. “Walk slowly and scan the ground carefully. Where you find one, you should find more.” Wagner said it is important for morel mushr...
There are three primary questions I ask myself before I write a column: 1) If I were ever to run for a government office, will these words be held against me? (Answer: probably) 2) Is so-and-so going to feel like I threw them under the bus after writing this article? (Answer: possibly) AND 3) Is my cowboy actually going to read this or can I hope this one slips by without him knowing? (Answer: he always finds them.) I should ask more honorable questions like: 4) Is this going to glorify the...
