I want to start off with this week’s 4-H activities and announcements. First, I want to remind you that 4-H enrollments are due today. The 4-H Foundation Meeting that was scheduled for tonight has been canceled. The 4-H Communications and Expressive Arts Contest is THIS Saturday, the 28th, at the Valentine Rural High School auditorium. Speech performances begin at 12:30 pm and Music and Talent performances start at 1:00. The public is welcome to attend the contest. The kids always do a great job, and deserve a little recognition, so why don’t you take a couple hours, enjoy the performances and support the kids.
It’s not too late to register for the podcasting along Nebraska Byways class scheduled for Thursday, in the Cherry County Extension Office. We have enough people registered so we know that the class is a go, but we still have room for several more. The class will obviously be oriented towards tourism, but you don’t have to be in the tourism industry to participate. If you’ve ever wondered what a podcast is, or how to create one then you are welcome to attend. It will be a hands on workshop, where you will write and produce your very own podcast. The workshop runs from 9am to 4pm and cost $59.
Those of who do some farming, especially corn, might want to check out the UNL Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management website at soilfertility.unl.edu. There you will find a wealth of information related to fertilization. You can view archived webinars on many topics, such as slow release fertilizer, phytotoxicity and many others. You can download the UN Corn Nitrogen Recommendation calculator, as well as fertilizer calculators for winter wheat, choosing the best combination of fertilizer materials, and a few other computer programs. For those of you who aren’t computer savvy, or just want something you can hold in your hand, they have developed a slide rule for calculating recommended nitrogen rates for corn. You match up soil organic matter and expected yield with fertilizer costs and expected corn price, then you read the most economical nitrogen fertilizer rate. We have some of these at the office, just stop by and pick one up, or give us a call and we can drop you one in the mail.
As long as I’m talking about farming, I should remind you that the Extension Agronomists are publishing the cropwatch newsletter every week again this summer. Just go on the web to cropwatch.unl.edu to read the latest newsletter. You can also sign up to receive an email every time they publish a new edition. This week’s articles include; using fuel price as a factor when selecting tillage system,” “corn fertilizer decisions for 2009: Phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur,” and a discussion of USDA’s new ACRE Program, plus several others.
As always, contact the extension office at 376-1850 for more information on any of the things I’ve covered.
