The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension takes the health and safety of our communities very seriously. As the United States and global health officials continue to address the spread of novel coronavirus and COVID-19 infection, health and emergency preparedness officials at UNL are monitoring the situation in collaboration with our local governmental partners. Saline County Government and Nebraska Extension in Saline County have taken proactive steps to protect the health and safety of our employees and customers in respect to the spread of COVID-19.
As a result, the Nebraska Extension office in Saline County is closed to walk-in customers to help minimize in-person interactions. This decision by county commissioners was effective on March 18 and the Extension office will remain closed to walk-in customers until further notice. However, county-paid Extension staff in Saline County are still working inside the building and are available by phone (402-821-2151) and . Please call other county Extension offices to get the latest information on public access policies and staff contact information.
UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green has issued additional guidance that all non-essential University personnel are to work remotely from home starting March 23. To be consistent with that guidance, Leanne Manning, Learning Child Educator, and myself will be working from home, not in the Saline County Extension office, until further notice. We recognize that this practice may create some level of disruption relative to the important information we provide to Nebraskans. We can be reached by email and or by leaving a voicemail that has been automated to send us an audio file to email. Our contact information as well as other educators serving this zone include:
- Megan Burda, Engagement Zone Coordinator, , 402-362-5508
- Nathan Mueller, Cropping Systems Educator, 402-821-2151
- Leanne Manning, Learning Child Educator, , 402-821-2151
- Austin Duerfeldt, Agricultural Economics Extension Educator,
- Darci Pesek, 4-H Youth Development Educator,
- Nicole Stoner, Community Environment/Horticulture,
- Tara Dunker, Food Nutrition and Health Educator,
- Jason Tuller, Community Vitality Educator,
Other regional and statewide experts can be found via our interactive directory online at https://epd.unl.edu/.
As always, we encourage our stakeholders to utilize our online resources. Please visit and utilize my locally focused agronomy website for Saline, Jefferson, and Gage counties at https://croptechcafe.org/. There is updated information and instructions for taking online chemigation training and the online private pesticide applicator self-study at my website. Another great website to visit is our statewide agronomy website at https://cropwatch.unl.edu/ and our weekly TV show at https://marketjournal.unl.edu/
Given the situation is ongoing and fluid, you can keep up on the latest announcements from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at https://covid19.unl.edu/. We appreciate your patience and flexibility in accessing Nebraska Extension staff and resources in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Nebraska. You can view this news column online at my locally focused extension agronomy website at croptechcafe.org. Know your crop, know your tech, know your bottom line.
