Water News Archive

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”.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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

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:

Animal manures can be a “valuable asset” or a “pain in the assets”. Understanding the agriculture community's perceptions of manure's benefits and barriers is important to recycling manure nutrients efficienty. A survey of 957 individuals from the U.S. and Canada is helping us understand the next steps to encouraging manure's use as a valuable asset.

Those residences that are not served by a public water system need a source of water for both consumption and daily needs. A private well most often fulfills these needs. While the cost of drilling a well is not a huge expense in the overall purchase or building of a home, it is a necessary expense to provide the residence with a useable water supply and it adds value to the property.

Using just the right amount of water is important no matter what the situation whether it’s watering a football field or providing for your patio planters and container gardens. The keys to success are 2 fold: 1. Watering to the bottom of the roots 2. Keep the roots moist, not soggy or dry.

For cattle producers who rely on wells in pastures and rangelands as a water source for their cattle, much time is spent checking water to make sure that windmills and submersible wells are delivering the water cattle need. These water checks are often made daily or every other day to ensure water is available. When problems occur with a water source cattle depend on, time is limited to get the problem fixed, haul water or move the cattle to another location where water is. Timeliness of knowing there is a problem with a well or a tank that stores water is essential to being able to correct the problem quickly and avoid the detrimental impacts of cattle being without water.

Heading to the Beaches of Nebraska! It’s amazing how much people are drawn to water.  With this recent hot spell, it’s time for us to head to the beaches of Nebraska! Fifty four of Nebraska’s most popular public beaches are monitored weekly from May through September for E. coli and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). 

High rainfalls can leave holding ponds or manure storage full and operators looking for irrigation options for applying animal manure during the growing season. This article discusses important considerations for application of open lot holding pond effluent and diluted manures during the growing season without damaging the crop.

Spring is a great time of year. We typically see much more enjoyable weather and we can get outdoors more. Spring is also when we usually see more rain, as they say ‘April showers bring May flowers’. Those April showers can also lead to fungal diseases in our landscapes. This year, we haven’t seen much rain, but we will still see fungal diseases in our lawns. Disease cycle

Extending the window for manure application offers many possible advantages. One can reduce some of the labor and equipment challenges associated with busy spring application windows as well as deliver nutrients to the crop more closely timed to the crop’s nutrient’s needs. Glen Arnold, Extension Specialist at Ohio State University recently met with a Nebraska audience to share field experiences in Ohio to side-dress manure into growing corn.

Warmer weather is here and our precipitation has changed from snow to rain, though snow melt also creates stormwater runoff. The next time it rains, go outside and notice how the rainwater moves from roof areas and gutters, driveways, walkways, and other concrete or asphalt surfaces. Make sure this water is not flowing toward your private drinking water well.

Groundwater levels across much of Nebraska continue to rebound from the historic 2012 drought, according to the 2019 Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report. On average, wells measured in spring 2019 saw a 2.63-foot increase in groundwater levels statewide.

Difficult challenges in the dairy industry such as those resulting from COVID-19 result in times when a market is not available for milk. When those occur, using milk as a crop fertilizer may provide a short-term option for gaining some value from milk. This article will answer several questions about using milk as a fertilizer.

Soils with good structure and those that not compacted help expand root systems. Roots hold soil in place to reduce erosion, a leading cause of water pollution. Soils that are not compacted allow for increased infiltration of rain and irrigation water. Soil management is important to healthy plants and healthy ecosystems. Following are a few tips for improving residential landscape and garden soils and why it is important for root systems and plant health.