Ivan Rush, producer and Emeritus UNL Beef Nutrition Professor, will discuss the past, present, and future of beef industry at next week’s Nebraska Cattlemen Northern Panhandle Affiliate meeting.

Join us at 6pm on Tuesday, January 17th in Chadron at the County Kitchen conference room on the north side of the building.

Registration is required by calling the Dawes County Extension Office at 308-432-3373 or emailing [email protected]. Attendance is open to the public free of charge and includes a meal complements of the Northern Panhandle Affiliate of the Nebraska Cattlemen. 

2023 Private Pesticide Applicator Training Dates Announced

The 2023 private pesticide applicator training dates, times, and locations have been set. Notification letters will be sent out by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to applicators whose license will expire in 2023.

First, applicators’ new licenses will be tan in color and have the words “General Agriculture” and the code 00 printed on it. 

Second, applicators who wish to use soil fumigants will be required to pass the commercial Soil Fumigation (category 01A) exam to receive this certification. Also, if the applicator wishes to use non-soil, structural, or rodent burrow fumigants, they will be required to pass the commercial Non-Soil / Structural Fumigation (category 11) exam to receive this certification.

When the applicator passes the exam(s), categories 01A and / or 11 will be printed on their applicator license.

Applicators who use rodent burrow baits do not need these additional categories on their licenses to purchase and apply these products.                                

Training manuals for these categories are available for purchase on the https://pested.unl.edu/ website or call 402-472-1632 for more information. Applicators who want to add these categories to their license are encouraged to purchase the study manuals as soon as possible and review the literature prior to taking the exam(s).

Third, applicators attending any training session will need to provide proof of identification at the training site, such as a driver’s license.

The cost of the training is $50.00 payable the day of the training (Checks should be made payable to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln). You should have received a letter from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture reminding you of your license expiration. If you bring that letter with you the day of the training, you can save yourself time by handing it in and not filling out our form. The NDA letter will have a barcode that is needed for recertification.

Private pesticide license holders may recertify and those seeking an initial private pesticide license can do so by attending the Crop Production Clinic on January 4, 2023, at the Gering Civic Center. Pre-registration is made at http://agronomy.unl.edu/cpc

Private pesticide licenses also can be obtained by completing an online course. Pesticide applicators can purchase access to the online course via https://psep.education/applicator/. The cost of the course is $50. Call 402-472-1632 if you have any questions about this training.

The state pesticide license fee is $25.00 for private applicators. Upon completion of your private pesticide applicator training, the Nebraska Department of Ag (NDA) will receive your application form and then send you a billing invoice for the $25.00 state license fee. The license fee covers the three-year certification period. Upon receipt of the license fee payment, the NDA will issue your pesticide license card to you. The license fee collected by the NDA is transferred to the Nebraska Water Quality Enhancement fund. Your NDA private pesticide license card is required for the purchase and use of restricted use pesticides to produce Agricultural Commodities.

If you have any questions, please contact your local Nebraska Extension County office.

Calculating Annual Cow Costs Webinar Series

Knowing annual cow costs is the foundation for evaluating and making management decisions that can improve profitability for a cow-calf enterprise. Significant increases in input costs are challenging producers to examine cost of production and identify where there may be opportunities to adjust the production system. Calculating costs and breaking them into categories gives understanding into where there may be opportunity to make changes.

Nebraska Extension will be hosting a webinar series on Thursday evenings at 7:30-8:30pm CT on January 19, 26 and February 2, 9, 16 and 23. The series will explain the fundamentals of knowing and calculating annual cow costs.

Topics to be covered will include:

• Understanding economic unit cost of production for the cow-calf enterprise.
• Recognizing the value and cost of both grazed and harvested feed.
• Calculating cow depreciation and replacement development costs.
• Figuring the cost of equipment and labor utilized in the cow-calf enterprise.
• Examining breeding expenses and evaluating the value and cost relationship.
• Reviewing cost and production data to see how you compare.

Cost is $60 per person and includes a resource workbook. The course will be limited to 30 participants. To register go to https://go.unl.edu/cow_costs. Registration is requested by Jan. 12 to ensure pre-meeting preparation material is available to participants.

A computer and internet connection will be needed to participate in the webinar series. 

For questions about the webinar series or for more information, please contact Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Educator at 308-235-3122 or [email protected].