Regional Jr. Livestock Shows – Cherry County Participant Results

Congratulations to J.T. Adamson of Cody for competing in the AK-SAR-BEN 4-H Livestock Exposition held at the Quest Center in Omaha, NE at the end of September.  J.T. received 2 purple ribbons for his feeder calf exhibits.

Congratulations also to Jake and Tessa Gale for their efforts at the Western Junior Livestock Show held in Rapid City, SD the second week of October.  Jake won the sixth futurity division and Tessa was named the Reserve Champion Junior Showman.  Also competing at the Western Junior Livestock Show in Rapid City were Bart, Clint, and Chism Miller.

Congratulations again, and thanks local 4-Hers for doing a good job representing Cherry County at the regional competetions.

4-H Career Portfolio record books due November 10

Proper Handling of Game Meat Lowers Risk of Foodborne Illness – by Julie Albrecht, UNL Extension Food Specialist

Hunters should follow safety precautions to lower their risk of foodborne illness. Proper handling of game meat helps stop bacterial growth on raw meat.

Temperature plays an important role in keeping game meat safe and preventing foodborne illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly between 40 degrees and 140 degrees. UNL food safety specialists strongly recommended taking the carcass to a cooler the day of the kill if the temperature is over 40 degrees.

Special care should be taken to keep the carcass cool during transport. Keep the meat out of direct sunlight and allow as much air circulation as possible. Do not use airtight gamebags or tarps that hold in heat and cause meat to spoil rapidly.

Make sure game meat is processed safely in sanitary conditions. If the raw meat is mishandled, bacteria may grow and produce toxins that can cause foodborne illness.

Freeze fresh meat at zero degrees to stop bacterial growth. Temperatures below 40 degrees will slow growth of bacteria but will not kill bacteria. Divide meat into meal-size quantities and wrap in moisture and vapor-proof wrap. Label packages with contents and date. Freeze only the amount of meat that will be solidly frozen within 24 hours.

Limit game meat to eight months of storage time. Safely thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator or microwave. Game meat often is high in bacterial content and thawing at room temperature will enhance bacterial growth. Meat thawed in the microwave should be cooked immediately. Use meat thawed in the refrigerator within one to two days.

Keep raw meat and cooked meat separate to avoid cross-contamination. Wash knife, cutting board and hands often with warm, soapy water. To destroy bacteria, cook game meat until it reaches safe internal temperatures of 160 to 212 degrees. Set the oven no lower than 325 degrees. Cook all ground meats to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Steaks and roasts cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees are medium rare, 160 degrees are medium and 170 degrees are well done. A whole game bird should reach 180 degrees.

As always, you can call the extension office at 402-376-1850, or visit us online at cherry.unl.edu for more information.

Feed Cattle Market

Feeder cattle prices have turned ugly lately.  In the last month, prices for 5 and 6 weight calves have dropped $10/cwt, that’s $50-60 per head.  If you look back a little farther, prices have  declined about $20 per cwt, or $100 per head since July-August timeframe.  Feeder cattle prices almost always decline going into the big fall calf runs. But this is more than typical based on historic seasonal patterns.

Many of you ranchers will remember Dr. Dillon Feuz, former UNL Extension Marketing Specialist. Dillon is now with Utah State. He recently wrote a short article seeking to explain the reason for the surprisingly large price drop of recent months.

Dr. Feuz concluded his article by saying, “While cow-calf producers never want to sell their calves too cheap to feedlots, they may actually want to this year, or there may be no feedlots left to buy their calves next year.

Halloween food safety

Dr. Julie Albrecht, UNL Extension food specialist, recently sent out some Halloween safety tips. She writes, “Halloween is a festive time for food and drink but it is important to think safety first when it comes to food preparation and consumption.

Pumpkins are not just for carving jack o’ lanterns but also can be used for products like pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup.

Fresh pumpkins can spoil quickly. Pumpkin should be covered and refrigerated once the shell has been cut. Pumpkins used as a jack o’ lantern should not be eaten and should be thrown away as soon as possible after Halloween.

Following trick or treating, keep chocolate away from pets. Chocolate is extremely dangerous and potentially fatal to animals. Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is very similar to caffeine. Pure, unsweetened chocolate or cocoa powder is the most dangerous for pets. Onions, grapes, raisins and macadamia nuts also are toxic pet foods.

Even apple cider can be harmful if not pasteurized. Pasteurization is the heat process that kills harmful bacteria. If unsure of apple cider’s pasteurization, boil cider for at least a minute to kill of bacteria like E. coli.

Holidays are wonderful times to celebrate. Let’s keep them happy by practicing safe food handling techniques.

As always, you can call the extension office at 402- 376-1850, or visit us online for more information.

Range Monitoring Workshop

October 19, 2009; 1-4 pm CT

Meet at the Extension office, 132 South Hall Street. We’ll travel to a site just out of town, where we’ll  learn to identify the important range plants that affect forage production, learn how to estimate the pounds of forage per acre and adjust your stocking rates accordingly.  Want more forage?  Proper stocking rates and season of use will help build vigor and the health of the range. SanDRIS is an easy grazing index that will be discussed.

Fall Watering

I also want to remind you to make sure your trees and lawn, as well as your alfalfa fields have adequate moisture before the ground freezes. I know you’ve probably already drained your irrigations systems, but if you have the opportunity a last irrigation may be in order. In a couple of places that I checked, top soil moisture wasn’t as good as I expected. One good way to tell if your lawn and trees need irrigated or not is to get a 12 inch long screwdriver and stick it in the ground. If you can get it in clear to the handle, then you’re either really strong, or you’ve probably have adequate moisture. If you can’t stick it in very far, then it would be a good idea to give it one last irrigation, especially your evergreen trees.

Small Wind Turbines

Several of you have asked me about small wind turbines for supplying electricity for your home or ranch. I just received a note from John Hay, UNL Extension Educator for energy, asking me to make sure that everyone was aware that there are now several programs available to help offset the costs for small wind turbines.

John writes, “There is a lot of interest in renewable energy. One way Nebraskans can invest in renewable energy is with a small wind turbine.

A small wind turbine is a smaller system based upon a specific energy load, such as a farm, house, or center pivot. These are different than large wind turbines which are usually built in groups, are owned by a utility or community, and are meant to put all their electricity out to the grid.

Small wind turbines can be an excellent source of energy and electricity. They can provide access to electricity in areas that are remote and scarce. They are one way to become involved in the ever-growing green movement.

Costs of small wind turbines vary. The cost of the system depends on the size of the turbine and height and type of tower and can vary from $1,000 to over $50,000 per system. Size and height of turbines will also influence the amount of energy produced.

A tall tower for a small turbine making it higher than obstacles such as buildings and trees will greatly improve the energy output over a short tower or one placed close to obstacles.

However, the cost of these systems can be reduced. Recently several national and state programs have become available, such as a 30 percent federal tax credit and Nebraska’s net metering bill. For farms and rural businesses, there is the USDA Rural Development Grant.

For more information about turbines, their uses, costs and grants for system production visit John’s web site bioenergy.unl.edu.

As always, you can call the extension office at 402-376-1850, or visit us online at cherry.unl.edu for more information.

Food Preservation Recommendations

Storing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables NebGuide

Let’s Preserve canning NebGuides

Lancaster County Extension Educator’s freezing and canning resources

National Center for Home Food Preservation

I’ve had a lot of people tell me “that’s the way my mother, or grandmother, always did it, and nobody died from it.” My response is always, “not that you are aware of anyway.” I was also heard someone say that they “didn’t want that university information, it’s too complicated,” they wanted the “wisdom of their friends.” No offence to my friends, but I don’t trust your food if you don’t follow our research based recommendations. I take food safety pretty seriously, and I think you should too.

Fall Chores

Now is the perfect time to apply herbicides to perennial weeds. The physiological changes that plants undergo when getting ready for winter, makes them more susceptible to herbicides.

Now is also the time to make your fall fertilizer applications. Give you lawn about 1.5 to 2.0 lbs. of actual nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft. You’ll probably also want to include some Phosphorus in this fall fertilizer application.

Range Monitoring Workshop

UNL Extension will be hosting outdoor, hands-on range workshops in the Valentine and Gordon areas.  Ranchers and farmers will learn to identify the important range plants that affect forage production.  Do your pastures produce the same amount every year?  No!  Late freezes, amount of rainfall, grasshoppers, hail, drought, and previous years’ grazing all effect how much forage will grow in the current year.  So you need to know how to estimate the pounds of forage per acre and adjust your stocking rates accordingly.  Want more forage?  Proper stocking rates and season of use will help build vigor and the health of the range. SanDRIS is an easy grazing index that will be discussed.

“You should have seen this place 20 years ago.”  Have you heard that from landowners before and didn’t understand what a blowout the place was until you saw old black and white pictures to prove it?  “Geez, has it healed up.  It doesn’t even look like the same place,” you think.  Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words and may be worth a payment from the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).  CSP, available from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, provides compensation to eligible producers to conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land.  Rangeland monitoring is an activity eligible for CSP.  The monitoring tools taught in the workshops comply with CSP guidelines; however, monitoring is helpful to all ranchers.  Monitoring your pastures  is like body condition scoring your cattle.  You can see the health, trends up or down, and if your management is producing sustainable benefits.

Join us for the afternoon to sharpen your range skills.  The workshops will be outside, so dress for the weather.  You are welcome to attend either session- October 19th in Valentine from 1-4 pm CT or October 26th in Gordon from 12:30-3:30 pm MT.  Participants will meet at the Extension Office (132 S Hall Street) in Valentine at 1 pm CT and then travel to the site, while Gordon participants will meet at the City Hall at 12:30 pm MT and travel to the site.  To pre-register for the workshops, call the UN-L Extension Office in Cherry County at  402-376-1850 for the Valentine location and the UN-L Extension Office in Sheridan County at 308-327-2312 for Gordon.  There is no charge for this workshops.

Area II Range Judging Contest

Last week, there were 263 High School and Junior High students from 14 different schools here in Valentine competing in the Area 2 Range Judging contest. It was good to see so many young people striving to learn more about rangelands and rangeland management. The top individual, Kent Frickel, from West Holt High School, even beat the scores of the teachers who participated in the contest. Cherry County’s own Chelsea Fullerton, from Cody, was the third high scoring individual.

Range Monitoring Workshop

There will be a range monitoring workshop in Valentine on October 19. We will be out in the field learning how to monitor rangelands. Rangeland monitoring is one of the activities that’s eligible for compensation under the NRCS’s Conservation Stewardship Program. The Conservation Stewardship Program, otherwise known as CSP, provides compensation to eligible producers to conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land. The monitoring tools that we’ll teach you will comply with the CSP guidelines.

Replacement Heifer Adaptation

Last week I talked about UNL research into lower cost heifer development systems. I want to follow up on that today. In the process of researching more extensive development systems, they’ve noticed some interesting findings related to animal behavior, learning and adaptation. Heifers developed on dormant range perform better than those on corn stalks, unless, they’re running with animals that have experience grazing stalks. When the heifer calves were run with coming two’s who had grazed corn stalks before, they apparently learned how to graze the stalks from their older herd mates.  They gained better than their contemporaries grazing without experienced herd mates. Another benefit of running them with some older animals is that it seemed to settle them down.

They also noticed that heifers developed on stalks gained better when they are turned out on grass in the spring that the heifers developed in the feedlot. Even though the contemporaries in the feedlot were only gaining about 1 ½ pounds. It looks like the same is probably true of heifers developed on range. I don’t know that they have a good explanation about why this happens. Personally, I wonder if maybe it takes a while for those feedlot grown heifers to remember how to graze.

Ranchers support important to continued beef systems research

We are extremely fortunate here in Nebraska to have researchers doing this kind of systems research. It is systems research that allows them to make unexpected observations, like the behavioral adaptation observations just mentioned, and the fetal programming findings that have been getting a lot of press lately.  I hope that you don’t take this good research for granted.  Most institutions don’t have the resources to do this kind of research. It was great support from ranchers that allowed this systems research to happen, and it will be great support from ranchers that will allow the research to continue.

Fall is time to control weeds and test hay

On a completely different note, I want to remind you that now is the perfect time to control those perennial weeds, both in your pasture and in your yard. It is also a good time to get the nutrient content of your hay tested. We have hay sampling tools for check out from our office.

I want to spend our time today talking about replacement heifer development, and the work UNL researchers have been doing to develop low cost heifer development systems. If you are interested in lowering your heifer development costs I suggest you go to beef.unl.edu and type low cost heifer development into the search box. You will find a growing body of information that suggests we can spend less on heifer development, without compromising ranch profitability.

I’ve talked before about the Profit Tips that are available at beef.unl.edu written by UNL Specialists on various topics related to improving ranch profitability. Dr. Funston wrote a Profit Tip on Low Cost Heifer Development Strategies that I want to highlight.

There was a lot of research behind the traditional guidelines of developing heifers to 60 to 65% of mature body weight at time of breeding. If you look back at of those old studies and compare them with new research, it appears that the associations among Body Weight, puberty and heifer pregnancy rate appears to be changing over time. In general, research reports published through the late 80s have shown much greater negative effects of limited post-weaning growth, where as more recent studies indicate less of a negative impact.

It appears that ranchers have made significant improvement in age of puberty over the last 30 years. In fact we often have more trouble with heifers reaching puberty before weaning, than we do with them not reaching puberty before breeding.

Another factor that seems to have changed is the association between timing of puberty and subsequent pregnancy rate. Early research indicated that the fertility of a heifers’ first estrous cycle was lower than subsequent cycles. However, several studies have not shown strong associations between nutritionally related changes in age of puberty and final pregnancy rates.

These changes in reproductive capacity, combined with the continued increase in cost of harvested feedstuffs have created the need for alternative development systems which allow heifers the opportunity to conceive early as yearlings at reduced cost.

Feeding replacement heifers to a traditional target weight increases development costs relative to more extensive heifer development systems. UNL researchers found that heifers developed to only 53% of mature weight could achieve similar initial pregnancy rates and retention compared to heifers developed to 58% of mature weight. Further research found pre-breeding weights as low as 51% of mature weight was more cost effective than development to 57% of mature weight when lighter heifers were allowed 60 d to become pregnant. Extending the breeding season by 15 d for lighter heifers resulted in first-calf conception rates being similar between systems. A better solution would be to keep more heifers and sell the ones that don’t get pregnant. Those open heifers can be profitable if developed cost effectively.

Post-weaning management of heifers to achieve traditional target weights, particularly by feeding high-energy diets, is not supported by available research. Heifers developed on forage, however, do generally require some protein supplementation in the range of 1/3 to ½ a pound a day of supplemental protein. Dr. Funston also emphasizes that heifers should be allowed to exhibit compensatory growth before the breeding season.

Cherry County State Fair Results

Sampling Feeds for Analyses

Nitrates in Livestock Feeding

Fall To-Do List Items

Temperatures are getting cooler, especially at night. The days are getting shorter. The kids are back in school. September starts tomorrow. You’ve felt it I’m sure. We are moving from summer into fall. I want to spend our time today talking about some things for your fall to-do list.

Treat Perennial Weeds in the Fall

Fall is the best time to treat perennial weeds in nearly every situation. In the past I’ve done tests comparing spring and fall herbicide treatments on perennial weeds. In every case I got better results, with lower herbicide rates in the fall than I did in the spring.

This is not just true for rangeland and noxious weed control, but it’s also true for perennial lawn weeds like dandelion and clover. Sometime around the first killing frost is the best time to spray. It’s a little early to spray right now, but it’s not too early to start making you plan of attack.

Fall Lawn Care Activities

It is also time to put on your first fall fertilizer application on your lawn. UNL specialists recommend 1 pound of slow release nitrogen per 1000 square feet. Remember that is not 1 pound of fertilizer. It’s 1 pound of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet. That means if your fertilizer contains 10 percent nitrogen, you’ll need to apply 10 pounds of fertilizer to get 1 pound of nitrogen. You’ll need to give it another 1 1/2 – 2 pounds of Nitrogen, plus some Phosphorous sometime between mid October and mid November.

Fall is also a good time to seed grass. Now is the perfect time to overseed thin Kentucky bluegrass lawns with improved cultivars at ¾ to 1 pound per 1000 square feet.

Inspect Conifer Trees this Fall

Dennis Adams, a forester with the Nebraska Forest Service recommends inspecting your conifer trees this fall. He says you should take the time to carefully examine the evergreen trees, both in your windbreaks and ornamental plantings. An inspection might reveal pest problems that require control treatments. It also helps to plan future improvement projects.

Conifer plantings often are damaged by drying winds and heavy snow. We’ve had a wet summer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll have a wet fall. Dennis recommends that you water evergreens in the fall, if the soil is dry. Adequate soil moisture will lessen the damaging effects of drying winds. You should also prune out any broken branches and completely remove seriously damaged trees.

Inspect conifers for symptoms of insect and disease problems. The browning of needles from conifer diseases, such as Dothistroma needle blight and Sphaeropsis tip blight of pines and Cercospora needle blight of junipers is more evident in the fall. Damage by pine tip moth and Zimmerman pine moth also are easily distinguished during the fall months. Chemical treatment for these pests should be applied in the spring.

Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House

• Wednesday, August 26
• 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM Mountain Time
• Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, Wagonhammer Education Center, Whitman, Nebraska

The open house is a great chance to visit with ranchers from all over the Sandhills and to learn about research that is directly relevant to Sandhills ranchers. The complete agenda is available.

I’m probably a little prejudiced, but I really think this is an event that nearly every Sandhills rancher should try to attend.

Fall Webworm

I’m starting to see Fall webworm in cottonwood and poplar trees around the county. Their damage is mostly aesthetic and control is most likely not necessary. More information is available.

Evaluation of Beef Carcasses from the Cherry County Fair

• August 24
• 7 PM
• Valentine Locker, Valentine NE

All 4-H and FFA Market Beef Project Members should attend if possible.

Cherry County Fair

Another successful Cherry County Fair has come and gone. I want to congratulate all of the fair exhibitors. There were a lot of really great entries again this year. I also want to thank the Cherry County Ag Society and all of the great volunteers who work hard to make the fair a success for everyone.

Range Tailgates

Bring a sack supper, and join us in the pasture. We will be discussing key species, measuring forage production and range health. We will talk about why and when to rotate pastures and give you some tips on easy photo-monitoring. We have a flexible agenda and are willing to go where ever the discussion may lead. We would appreciate it if you could pre-register by calling either Cherry County Extension Office (402-376-1850), or the Central Sandhills Area office in Thedford (308-645-2267). The weather has been pretty unpredictable and we might need to call you if looks like we might get a big storm.

August 19

Craig Miles, Brownlee

6 pm CT

Go south of the Brownlee turnoff on Hwy 83 for 1.5 miles.  There will be a Miles’ Ranch sign on the west side of the road between mile marker 168-169.  Meet here for further directions.

August 20

Tim Nollette, Nenzel

5 pm  MT

Meet at the Nenzel Community Center and then we will drive to one of Tim’s pastures from there.

Dutch Elm Disease

The Nebraska Forest Service has recently confirmed that Dutch Elm Disease is active here in Valentine. Dutch elm disease is a wilt disease that causes branches, then entire trees to die. Black or brown streaks may be found in the wood. Remove dead trees and destroy the wood. Do not use it for firewood. A trunk injected fungicide is available. See these resources for information.

• Diseases of Broadleaf Trees, Nebraska Forest Service (PDF download)
• Dutch Elm Disease, Kansas State University