Water News Archive

Friday, September 4, 2020

Nitrate in Nebraska

From increased water bills to closed lakes to tainted drinking water, high nitrate levels are affecting thousands of Nebraskans. Nitrate can’t be seen or smelled, but it is in Nebraska’s groundwater, which is the source of drinking water for much of the state. Nitrate also contaminates surface water such as streams and lakes.

Friday, August 28, 2020

Scheduling the Last Irrigation of the Season

What a year 2020 has been. After a year of record flooding over much of the state, we are now in various stages of drought. With limited rainfall over most of the state this year and fairly extended hot, dry periods, many irrigators may be wondering when is the irrigation season going to end? With the price of grain, it is also worth considering do I need to apply that last inch or two of water to get that last bushel or two?

Friday, August 28, 2020

Now is the Time of Year to Check Pivot Performance

Derek M. Heeren¹, Associate Professor and Water for Food Global Institute Faculty Fellow

Steven R. Melvin², Extension Educator

Aaron Nygren³, Associate Extension Educator

Eric Wilkening¹, Undergraduate Research Assistant

¹ Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Monday, August 17, 2020

What Are the Barriers and Benefits of Manure Use in Cropping Systems? (part 2 of 2)

During winter of 2020, 957 farmers and their advisors shared their perspective on the benefits and barriers to manure use. A previous article (part 1) focused on perceptions of manure’s benefits. This article (part 2) focuses on their perceptions of manure’s challenges that commonly become barriers to manure use in some fields and discusses strategies for preventing manure from becoming a “pain in the assets”.

Animal manures can be a valuable asset or a “pain in the assets”. During winter of 2020, 957 farmers and their advisors shared their perspective on the benefits and barriers to manure use. A previous article (part 1) focused on perceptions of manure’s benefits. This article (part 2) focuses on their perceptions of manure’s challenges that commonly become barriers to manure use in some fields and discusses strategies for preventing manure from becoming a “pain in the assets”.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Summer Patio Planter Care

In summer, it’s easy to forget about the needs of patio planters and houseplants moved outside for the summer. There are 5 areas to focus on to keep them thriving, beginning with watering.

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Water productivity in meat and milk production in the US (Part II)

graph of increases in water productivity of different animal products by partial replacement of corn and soybeans with distillers’ grains

Growth in the livestock sector has a lot of potential to benefit Nebraska economically, however it can also have negative impacts on our natural resources. To address some of these environmental impacts, the sector has been working hard to improve livestock water productivity. Recently, scientists at the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute and the Department of Animal Science of the University of Nebraska, together with colleagues from the University of Twente, and the National University of Singapore worked together to estimate the changes in water productivity of animal products from 1960 to 2016.

Monday, July 27, 2020

Water productivity in meat and milk production in the US from 1960 to 2016 (Part I)

graphs comparing livestock production to 1960 levels

Livestock production plays an important role in rural and urban economies worldwide and is a significant source of protein in humans’ diet. However, the growth of the livestock sector can have negative impacts on our natural resources; fresh water consumption, water quality deterioration due to manure nutrient losses to surface water, greenhouse gas emissions, and competition for human-edible grains are all possible consequences of food animal production. To address some of these environmental impacts of livestock production, the sector has been working hard to improve livestock productivity, feed-use eﬃciency of animals, crop productivity and efficiency of resource utilization in the field, and expanding the sourcing of feeds.

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Transforming manure from 'Waste' to 'Worth' in rural Nebraska

The misconception about manure being just a waste and harmful biproduct of the cattle and livestock industry is still a big concern. A group of researchers and extension educators have joined efforts with farmers across Nebraska to find the value of manure as a source of nutrients in crop fields in the Sandhills and reduce the environmental impacts caused by this industry. At the same time, they are trying to incorporate residues from red cedar trees that are currently threatening the Nebraskan wildlife and ecosystems due to its rapid expansion.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Smart Summer Watering

Photo above of Oscillating sprinklers, they are one of the least efficient ways to water a landscape, due to the amount of water lost to evaporation.

Smart Techniques Conserve Water in Your Yard

Monday, July 13, 2020

Understanding Bacteria in Lakes

A dip in the lake can be refreshing, but it’s important to consider what’s going on in the water that you may not see – especially for E. coli bacteria.

Identifying an E.coli issue

It’s fairly easy to see Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and algae at a lake. Unfortunately, the same visual assessment does not apply to E. coli. However, there are three indicators of E. coli in a lake to consider: