Water News Archive

Friday, January 15, 2021

Bringing Manure Application to the Digital Age

Combined display of GPS technologies and real-time constituent sensing during manure application

Current manure application practices have little to no precision application capabilities compared to other modern agricultural equipment. Due to some recent emerging technologies being released on the market, manure application is finally joining the digital age. This article summarizes these new precision manure application technologies.

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Total Coliform Bacteria in Drinking Water

Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there.

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

2021 Land Application Training Shifts to Hybrid Learning

The Animal Manure Management team has opted to change the format of live Land Application Training events this year. In February and March, the team will host a series of three1.5-hour long zoom sessions that will serve as the first portion of initial land application training. Recertification training and the last segment of initial training will be held at a later date, hopefully in-person. Anyone is welcome to participate in the zoom sessions, but participation at each session will be limited to keep them interactive and informative.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

2021 Nutrient Management Record Keeping Calendars Now Available!

invitation to order your complementary 2021 manure calendar

The 2021 Nutrient Management Record Keeping Calendars are now available from Nebraska Extension. Tracking manure application rates, part of the calendar’s record keeping tools, is important for getting the maximum crop nutrient value from manure and documenting one’s environmental stewardship.

Monday, December 7, 2020

Dry Weather, Dry Plants, Fire Risks

During winter, dry landscape plants that are not covered by snow or moistened by winter moisture could pose a potential fire hazard. This is especially true following dry summers and falls.

The dry tops of ornamental grasses left over winter. Dead conifers killed by insects or diseases. Dry tree leaves accumulating in yard corners and more. These could all become tinder and fuel for a carelessly discarded cigarette or possibly an electrical short.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Tips for Winter Manure Application

One of the key rules of manure management is to pump and spread manure whenever weather and field conditions allow so that you can maintain storage capacity in case of inclement weather. Unfortunately, “perfect manure application weather” is rare and seldom lasts as long as you need it to. So, if you’re heading into winter with a manure storage that hasn’t been pumped down as much as it needs to be, consider these tips when planning for application.

Monday, November 23, 2020

Winter Care of Indoor Plants

Most plants are energized and invigorated by a summer outdoors. Even delicate plants like ferns have a growth spurt if placed in a shaded location and watered properly. While outside, houseplants require large amounts of water due to increased light levels, heat and wind evaporation.

Friday, November 13, 2020

Manure Management: Economics, Agronomics, Environment - Part 2

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture has released a new feature article on the manure industry in Nebraska. In the article, which is part two of a two-part series, the author highlights the fact that manure is nature's recycling program from the perspectives of crop and animal farmers.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Mullen and Cameron Peak Wildfires and Their Potential Effect on Nebraska Ag

Burn area from the Mullen fire along Wyoming Hwy 230. Photo by Gary Stone.

The Upper North Platte River watershed headwaters is located in north-central Colorado, close to Walden, CO. The Sierra Madre mountain range is on the west side of the headwaters and the Snowy Range mountain range is on the east side. Snowmelt from both of these mountain ranges together contribute approximately 75 percent of the water flow in the North Platte River. The fires’ effect on water supplies in the coming years will depend on the amount of snow fall and snowpack received in the watershed during the winter and early spring. There may be slightly higher incidences of sediment runoff in isolated areas where there is little or no ground cover due to the fire.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Fall and Winter Watering

It is at this time of the year that I get questions asking if people should still be watering their plants or hear people say they just don’t need to water plants again until spring. However, it is very important to keep watering plants to ensure they go into the winter with a full reservoir of water in the soil to keep them alive and healthy through the winter.

Fall Watering