As spring is nearly here, I wanted to remind farmers and agronomists about resources available from your local Extension offices in Wilber, Fairbury, and Beatrice. Our local extension offices are open to the public for walk-ins. As a reminder, the Extension offices are located in Wilber at 306 W 3rd St, in Fairbury at 517 F St, and in Beatrice at 1115 W Scott.
I have several different guides available for farmers and agronomist this season. The first is the 2021 UNL Guide for Weed, Disease, and Insect Management in Nebraska. This Guide offers valuable information on pest management for major crops, pasture, range, turf, and aquatic environments in Nebraska. The 2021 edition is available at a reduced cost for walk-ins. The 2020 edition of the Guide for Weed, Disease, and Insect Management in Nebraska is free, but available in Wilber only.
The second guide to come pickup is the Nebraska Soybean & Corn Pocket Field Guide (2nd edition, newest version). I leveraged my local Extension funds to make 900 pocket guides free to area farmers and agronomists. If you would like numerous copies for your farm operation or company, please call ahead so we can have them ready for you. The pocket guides were created through a partnership between Nebraska Extension, Nebraska Soybean Checkoff, and the Nebraska Corn Board.
The third guide to come pickup is the Visual Guide for Winter Wheat Development and Growth Staging. If you grow wheat, you need one of these guides! Identifying and understanding the growth stages of winter wheat is key to successful management of fertilizer, weeds, and diseases. Similar to the corn and soybean pocket guides, I have already purchased the wheat guides with my local Extension funds to make them free to individuals that grow winter wheat.
There are several other resources available to borrow or checkout for temporary use. First, we have new soil probes available in all three offices to help you take soil samples for soil fertility or soybean cyst nematode (SCN) analysis. We do have sample bags for soil fertility on-hand from Ward Labs and we have SCN bags for free analysis at UNL. As a reminder, we have hay probes to borrow in the Beatrice and Wilber offices, with new hay probes to be purchased soon for all three Extension offices.
A new offering available to borrow/checkout in all three Extension offices this spring is a battery-powered flow meter to determine if spray nozzles are worn out, called the Spot-On Sprayer Calibrator. Nozzles are considered worn out and need to be replaced when they apply 10 percent more (at 40 psi w/water) than the manufacturer’s specifications for a new tip.
For more information and general inquiries about other agronomic resources from Nebraska Extension, feel free to contact me at or 402-821-1722. Know your crop, know your tech, know your bottom line at croptechcafe.org.
