Crops for the Future

CROPS AND BEEF FOCUS OF AG PROGRESS SHOW DEC. 11 IN ATKINSON

Producers and growers can learn more about crop and beef production systems at the 2012 North Central Nebraska Ag Progress Show December 11 at the Atkinson Community Center in Atkinson, Nebraska.

“The new University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension show will give crop growers and beef producers an opportunity to not only learn more in their respective systems, but also allows time for questions and viewing commercial exhibits”, said Amy Timmerman, Extension Educator in Holt/Boyd counties.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the program starting at 9 a.m.

Presentation topics and presenters include:

• Herbicide Resistant Weeds Will Change Weed Control Programs in the Next Decade, Robert Wilson, UNL Extension weed management specialist
• Pasture Management Following Drought, Bruce Anderson, UNL Extension forage specialist
• Benefits of and Tips to Achieve a Short Calving Season, Rick Funston, UNL Extension beef specialist
• Corn Diseases Update: What Could Be Lurking in Your Soil and Crops?, Tamra Jackson-Ziems, UNL Extension plant pathology specialist for corn
• Use of Corn Residue as a Feed for Beef Cows – Facts and Fiction, Rick Rasby, UNL Extension beef specialist
• Ensuring Water Application Efficiency for Center Pivots, Bill Kranz, UNL Extension irrigation specialist
• Use of Drought-Damaged Corn Silage and the Impact of Low Test Weight Corn and Distillers Grains This Year, Galen Erickson, UNL Extension beef feedlot specialist

Lunch is complimentary and there will be a door prize drawing for two tickets to the Nebraska v. Wyoming football game Aug. 30, 2013.

Certified Crop Advisers will have the opportunity to receive continuing education hours.

For more information, contact the Holt County Extension office at 402-336-2760. 

Ag Progress Show Flyer
(4795.0 kb pdf file - 2 pages)

LANDLORD/TENANT CASH LEASE WORKSHOP

The Landlord/Tenant Cash Lease workshop offered December 6 from 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm at the Holt County Annex will help landlords and tenants put together a lease that is right for them and help maintain positive farm leasing relations.

Topics for discussion include:
• Expectations from the lease, including goal setting for the rental property;
• Lease communication, determining appropriate information sharing for both the tenant and landlord;
• Relatives – tips for farm leases that include relatives;
• Alternative cash lease arrangements, flexible provision considerations for your situation; and
How the 2012 drought affects leases, plus other topics like irrigation systems and grain bin rental will be covered as time allows.

UNL Extension educators will present on these topics and provide common sense tips during the presentation. It is very helpful if both the tenant and landlord can attend together.

The workshop is free and sponsored by the Nebraska Soybean Board and the North Central Risk Management Agency. A meal and handouts are provided. Participation is limited. To register, contact the Holt County Extension Office at 402-336-2760 by Monday December 3.  

Crop Production Clinics Offer Continuing Education

The annual Crop Production Clinics will help producers and professionals alike to improve profitability, sustainability and safety.

The 2013 meeting series will be held at nine locations throughout the state in January. Topics vary slightly by location, but could include soil fertility, soil water and irrigation management, crop production, ag business management and policy, pesticide safety and disease, insect and weed pest management. Information on the topics for each location will be available at cpc.unl.edu.

The clinics are the primary venue for commercial and noncommercial pesticide applicators to renew their licenses in the Ag Plant, Regulatory and Demonstration/Research categories.

Certified Crop Advisors can earn a maximum of six continuing education units when they bring their CCA number to apply. Available units include: six for integrated pest management, two for soil and water, one for nutrient management, one for crop production and two for professional development.

The area locations are:

• Jan. 15, Atkinson, Atkinson Community Center
• Jan. 23, Norfolk, Lifelong Learning Center, Northeast Community College
  

Registration fee for the clinic is $50 for a meal, refreshments and the 2013 Guide for Weed Management and the 2013 Crop Production Clinic Proceedings. For those recertifying as pesticide applicators, the fee is $60. Online pre-registration at cpc.unl.edu is strongly encouraged. As an incentive to promote online pre-registration, on site/day-of registration will be $70 per person. Contact your local Extension office or 402-472-2811 or 402-472-1632 with questions.

NEBRASKA HAY AND FORAGE HOTLINE

Nebraska Farmers who have drought damaged corn which could be swathed and baled, chopped, or grazed can list that on the Nebraska Hay and Forage Hotline. The hotline is available free of charge for buyers and seller to list feed resources. Call the hotline at 1-800-422-6692 to list the forage you have or to list your need for forage.

The information link is on the University of Nebraska Extension drought website. It can also be accessed at the Nebraska Department of Agriculture Website . In the upper left corner of the Websibe use the search NE Ag to query Hay and Forage Hotline

SOME PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

Notes of drought stressed corn from various sources

Rental Agreement Lease Forms (free to download - PDF format)

• Cash Farm Lease (with Flexible Provisions) NCR-76
• Crop-share or Crop-share/Cash Farm Lease NCR-77
• Irrigation Crop-share or Crop-share/Cash Farm Lease NCR-106
• Pasture Lease CR-109
• Farm Building or Livestock Facility Lease NCR-215
  
  

2012 Spring Seed Book
The Nebraska Crop Improvement Association 2012 Spring Seed Book is available on line at http://www.unl.edu/ncia/SEED%20BOOKS/2012spring.pdf  The purpose of this directory is to provide crop producers, decision makers, and the seed industry with a reference to seed sources in Nebraska for:

• This seed book includes those members whose fields were planted with eligible seed stocks and whose applications for field inspection were received by the publication date.
• Inquiries about seed supplies and prices should be directed to the growers and/or seed enterprises listed, not to the Nebraska Crop Improvement Association.
   

A Guide for Communication in Livestock Operations, EC142
Over 250 words and phrases related to livestock production have been translated from English to Spanish to farm and ranch workers, and others communicate more easily. 
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec142.pdf

2012 Nebraska Farm Custom Rates – Part I, EC823
Results of a spring survey of farm custom rates for spring and summer operations, including planting and small grains harvest. Based on surveys of custom operators in eight regions of Nebraska and updated every two years.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec823.pdf

2012 Nebraska Farm Custom Rates – Part II, EC826
Results of a spring survey of farm custom rates for fall, winter and miscellaneous operations, including harvest, transportation and making silage. It's based on surveys of custom operators in eight regions of Nebraska and updated every two years.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec826.pdf 

Fall Seed Guide 2010, EC103
Results of 2010 variety tests for winter wheat, alfalfa, and oats. See the CropWatch Variety Testing Web Site for further variety test results.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec103.pdf

Spring Seed Guide 2011, EC101
Corn, soybean, sunflower and alfalfa 2010 variety test results from University of Nebraska-Lincoln field trials, with site descriptions and commentary. For more information or to compare results to previous years, visit the Variety Testing section of CropWatch.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/ec101/build/ec101.pdf

2011 Guide to Weed Management in Nebraska with Insecticide and Fungicide Information, EC130
Research results and recommendations on weed management in Nebraska crop production, now with fungicide and insecticide information for corn, soybeans, and wheat. Use the Table of Contents and bookmarks to access specific sections. A print edition of this 262-page Extension circular is available from either the Holt or Boyd Extension offices or can be ordered online at https://middleloup.unl.edu/zen. Cost is $10.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec130.pdf

Nebraska Crop Budgets, 2012, EC 872
Track revenue and costs for 13 crops and 50 cropping systems using the 2011 Nebraska crop budget and energy conversion worksheets. This EC also contains tables of power, machinery, labor, and input costs used to develop the budgets.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/ec872/build/ec872.pdf

Soybean Planting Date – When and Why, EC145
UNL research suggests that soybeans planted before May 1 in Nebraska will often outyield those planted after that date. Learn why this happens and view three years of yield data from eastern Nebraska. Also includes risks to early planting.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec145.pdf

Alfalfa Insects I
Photos and identification information for insect pests of alfalfa in Nebraska, including alfalfa weevil; clover leaf weevil; blister beetles; army, variegated and dingy cutworms; alfalfa caterpillar, and the green cloverworm. The first of two publications on this topic.
www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec1576.pdf

Alfalfa Insect II
Photos and identification information for insect pests of alfalfa in Nebraska, including the pea, spotted alfalfa, cowpea, and blue alfalfa aphids; potato leafhopper; and plant bug. The second of two publications on this topic.
www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec1577.pdf

Beneficial Insects I
Photos and identification information for beneficial insects of Nebraska crops, including minute pirate bug, damsel bug, green lacewing, spined soldier bug, brown lacewing, big-eyed bug, and assassin bug. The first of two publications on this topic.
www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec1578.pdf

Beneficial Insects II
Photos and identification information for beneficial insects of Nebraska crops, including lady beetles, ground beetles, flower fly, ichneumonid wasp, braconid wasp, phytoseid mite, and the tachinid fly. The second of two publications on this topic.
www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec1579.pdf

Corn Insects I
Photos and identification information for insect pests of corn in Nebraska, including European corn borer, western bean cutworm, corn earworm, black cutworm, armyworm, fall armyworm, and common stalk borer. The first of two publications on this topic.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec1572.pdf

Corn Insects II
Photos and identification information for insect pests of corn in Nebraska, including western and northern corn rootworms, seed corn maggot, wireworm, southern corn leaf beetle, corn leaf aphid, twospotted spider mite, banks grass mite, corn flea beetle; white grub, chinch bugs and seed corn beetle. The second of two publications on this topic.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec1573.pdf

Grasshoppers of Nebraska
This field guide to Nebraska grasshoppers includes color plates, species descriptions, coverage maps and more.
www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/eb3.pdf


Additional Publications can be found at: http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/index.jsp
(To identify publications of interest to you, browse the publication topics or use the search engine. Many publications are available in a Web-friendly format as well as a printer-friendly PDF format.)

WEB SITE OF INTEREST 

Help to Track Tax Changes
As more USDA programs are linked in multiple ways to federal income tax returns, there is an increasing need to have accurate information available for farmers, ranchers and other producers.

According to Ruby Ward, Utah State University Cooperative Extension economist and co-chair of the National Farm Income Tax Extension Committee, a new Web site has been created to provide agricultural producers with a source for agriculturally related income and self-employment tax information that is both current and easy to understand. Ward is project lead and received a grant from USDA-Risk Management Agency to create the website. Utah State Cooperative Extension hosts the site.

“Rural Tax Education is a project undertaken by the National Farm Income Tax Extension Committee to provide accurate, reviewed materials about income tax topics for farmers, ranchers and other producers,” Ward says. “This information is written in plain language that is accessible to farmers and ranchers. Rather than just a collection of materials, it is a website that can be continually updated to reflect changes in tax laws.”

Ward points out that the committee has more than 50 years of working with the Internal Revenue Service to edit “Publication 225: The Farmer’s Tax Guide.” The committee is comprised of representatives from more than 12 land-grant universities around the country.

The recently launched website includes 20 peer-reviewed fact sheets on such topics as the definition of a farmer, depreciation and 1099 information returns. It also includes a sample federal income tax return with a farming example and links to other verified information.

“Information is available, but not all of it is accurate and dependable,” Ward notes. “Links on the RuralTax.org website will go to information that’s been determined to be accurate and beneficial. With additional funding and commitment, the website will expand over time.”

Access the new tax Web site at http://ruraltax.org for more information about the project, or you can contact Ward at: ruby.ward@usu.edu/
 

Source: eXtension.org and Pork News staff