Water News Archive

Monday March 24, 2025

Managing Spring Drought

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, most of Nebraska is experiencing some level of drought, ranging from "Abnormally Dry" to "Extreme Drought". Lancaster county is currently classified with “moderate drought” conditions. To find the drought conditions for your location at any time throughout the year summer, visit droughtmonitor.unl.edu.

Is it Time to Water?

Friday February 28, 2025

Registration Open for 2025 Water for Food Global Conference

How can we ensure everyone has long-term availability of clean water and nutritious food in the face of a changing climate? With a theme of “A Resilient Future: Water and Food for All,” the Water for Food Global Conference tackles this critical question, convening global experts to explore innovative solutions and build a more resilient tomorrow. The conference will be held April 28–May 2, 2025 and is hosted by the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska, bringing together leaders working to solve one of the world’s most pressing issues — feeding a growing planet while preserving our precious natural resources.

Wednesday February 26, 2025

A Beginner's Guide to Manure Spreaders: Ensuring Even Application for Healthy Fields

Manure spreaders are essential tools for distributing nutrients to crops to improve fertility and improve soil health. Therefore, achieving an even application of manure is just as important as with commercial fertilizers. Proper placement ensures that every part of a field receives the nutrients needed, leading to healthier crops and soil biology. This guide explains how to use manure spreaders effectively.

Monday February 24, 2025

Be Groundwater Aware in Your Day-to-Day Life!

National Groundwater Awareness Week is March 9–15, making it the perfect time to talk about groundwater in Nebraska! What exactly is groundwater? It is the water below the earth’s surface that fills the interconnected voids and cracks in and around soil particles, sand, gravel and rock — all of this is what we call an aquifer. Groundwater is the most abundant supply of freshwater in the world and is the water source that private drinking water, irrigation, livestock and many public water-supply wells draw from.

Monday February 17, 2025

Drought Effects on Trees

The drought is continuing across the state of Nebraska. This drought has been going on for over 3 years and we are already seeing problems in our plants. These problems will continue to get worse if we don’t have good precipitation through spring and summer this year.

Monday February 3, 2025

Manure Rules not just for Large CAFOs

Have you ever been overwhelmed by the amount of manure regulations in Nebraska? Or anywhere? This article simplifies basic manure regulations. Manure rules can be hard to remember, but always remember your Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy representative is a great resource. Don’t be afraid to call them if you have questions. And, as always, the UNL manure team is here to help if called upon.

Wednesday January 15, 2025

Water Conserving Landscape Design Principle

During the growing season, up to 30 percent of residential water use is for outdoor use. Of this, the majority often goes towards watering lawns and gardens. And so, using water conserving landscape design, soil health practices, wise plant selection, and efficient irrigation has high potential for conserving water.

A design principle to use is grouping plants based on their irrigation needs. When designing landscape beds and borders, separate them into zones such as no irrigation, once a month irrigation, twice a month, or weekly irrigation.

Monday December 23, 2024

Managing Hard Water

Many parts of Nebraska have hard water. Hard water has a high mineral content; hardness primarily refers to the amount of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) dissolved in the water. Hard water is not just a private well owner’s problem, it affects many municipal water users, too. While hard water does not present a health risk for the vast majority of the population, it is often a nuisance for rural and urban homeowners across the state. Having your well water tested for hardness is helpful in assessing what treatment system will work best.

Wednesday December 11, 2024

December Tree To-Do's

Though December traditionally brings weather conditions during which outdoor plants enter winter dormancy, there are still many considerations to act upon in the landscape. Due to the diversity of plantings and locations in the state, some of the following will apply now and others in future years.

Wednesday December 4, 2024

Understanding and Mitigating Ammonia Deposition

Applying manure to fields provides a natural and sustainable way to fertilize crops, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. It adds essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, improving soil health and promoting plant growth. Additionally, manure enriches the soil with organic matter, enhancing its structure and water-holding capacity. However, there’s a side to manure that many don’t often think about, that is ammonia deposition. Ammonia deposition is the process by which ammonia is returned to the Earth’s surface after being released into the atmosphere.

Wednesday November 27, 2024

Data Shows Limited Economic Impact from Western Bean Cutworm Control in 2024 Sprinkler Corn Competition

During the 2024 growing season, competitors in the sprinkler corn competition were given the opportunity to choose insecticide treatments targeting the western bean cutworm, a moth/caterpillar pest. This decision was based on scouting data gathered by Julie Peterson and her team on July 12, 15 and 19. The scouting report showed that a cumulative 4% of corn plants were infested with either eggs or newly hatched larvae.

Monday November 25, 2024

Manure for Crop Producers Workshops Offered December 10 and 12

A manure workshop will be held in conjunction with the Confronting Cropping Challenges programs at two locations, Randolph and Neligh. The manure workshop will help row-crop farmers Save Money and Resist Stress, and it is designed for crop producers using manure on their cropland. You do not need to own your own livestock to attend. Participants can choose to attend either the Confronting Cropping Challenges program, the manure workshop, or both.

Wednesday November 13, 2024

Improve Soil Structure

Fall is a good time to incorporate organic matter like compost into soil. Increasing soil organic matter improves soil structure and adds nutrients. This in turn improves plant growth, efficient use of water, and water infiltration into soil to reduce runoff.

Wednesday October 30, 2024

Managing the Demands of Water & Wastewater Systems Can Make Gatherings More Enjoyable

Fall and winter gatherings are upon us and that often means a bustling house full of family, friends and preparation of tasty recipes in the kitchen. All of these things should make for joyful times, but they can potentially have a stressful impact on your private water well and onsite wastewater systems.

Tuesday October 29, 2024

Do Digesters Affect the Nutrient Content of Manure?

When incentives are available for renewable energy and/or practices that reduce carbon emissions, livestock and poultry producers tend to show more interest in anaerobic digesters. These producers may also be looking to better manage manure nutrients on the farm. Common objectives are to reduce nutrient content where an imbalance exists – typically an excess of phosphorus (P) – and to optimize the fertilizer value, especially the amount of nitrogen (N) that is readily available for plant use. Perhaps the most appropriate answer to whether digesters affect the nutrient cont

Wednesday October 23, 2024

Correct Plants for the Location

‘Right Plant, Right Place’ is a very important aspect of planting and it is never too early to start thinking about landscape changes for next year. As you clean up and refresh mulch or water, start assessing your landscape and what did and didn’t work. There are some very important plant requirements to keep in mind when planning a new garden or adding to an established garden.

Friday October 11, 2024

Maximizing Manure Efficiency in the Fall

As the harvest season winds down and cooler temperatures set in, it's time to start thinking about post-harvest plans. For many farmers, this means planning manure application. Manure is a valuable fertilizer and soil amendment, but to maximize its benefits, it should be treated with the same attention as commercial fertilizers. However, some farmers overlook manure in their fertility programs, missing out on its potential.

Monday August 26, 2024

Siphon Tubes: Setting Water to Grow Crops in Western Nebraska

A new water research series from Nebraska Extension, this article focuses on the history, construction and use of siphon tubes for crop irrigation.

Monday August 26, 2024

Full Soil Water Profile Encouraged to Finish Crops Before Harvest

As surface/canal water usually curtails mid-September, extension recommends that Nebraska Panhandle producers ensure their soil water profiles are full to sustain crops through to harvest.

Monday August 19, 2024

Uses of Compost in the Landscape

Compost is used as a soil amendment to improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils. Over time, yearly additions of compost will improve your landscape or garden soil in many ways including the water holding capacity of sandy soils and water percolation in clay soils.