Pesticide certification trainings are currently being scheduled. We’ll share those dates towards the end of the month.

Ag Land Management Quarterly Webinar: Here’s the recording for those interested: https://go.unl.edu/ydhc. It covered recent findings from the 2022 USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service county-level cash rent survey and trends in farm programs influencing operations across the state. It also included a segment on landlord-tenant communication issues related to closing out 2022 leases and review leasing considerations for 2023.

Farm Tax Guides are now available in many local county Extension Offices for free if you’d like one.

Nebraska Crop Budgets: A recent recorded webinar highlighted 2023 crop budget updates at: https://go.unl.edu/e9rj. My colleague Glennis McClure, who assembles the UNL Crop budgets, shares, “The Nebraska crop budgets found at https://cap.unl.edu/cropbudgets were recently updated. All of the 84 budgets indicate cost of production increases. Estimated average economic or total costs per bushel for 2023 corn production are expected to be at least 23% to 25% greater than last year. Soybeans are estimated to be 13% to 19% more in economic costs per bushel, with wheat production costs having jumped over 20% compared to last year and running as high as 63% higher over the last two years combined. Cost scenarios for individual producers can vary based on their timing of input purchases and price variabilities. Ownership costs of land and rental rates are factors adding to cost increases as well, with the all-land average value in Nebraska rising 16% for the year ending February 1, 2022.

Along with increased costs come increased financial risk exposure associated with yield or market changes. It is important to develop cost of production baseline information to utilize market opportunities as they are available, consider input decisions, and make timely risk management decisions. Knowing projected enterprise costs can provide confidence in decision making.” A UNL Agricultural Budget Calculator (ABC) found at https://agbudget.unl.edu/ aids in creating enterprise budgets. Online and in-person training sessions can be accessed at https://cap.unl.edu/abc. A nearby in-person training session will occur on December 15 from 1-3 p.m. at the Fillmore Co. Fairgrounds in Geneva as part of the Farmers/Rancher’s College. This is hands-on and you are welcome to bring your laptop. Please contact Fillmore Co. Extension to RSVP and more for info: 402-759-3712. 

CropWatch Survey: For those of you who utilize our UNL CropWatch website, we ask you to share your thoughts on how we did in 2022. You can provide comments here: https://ssp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5AA8iYvCHQVfz9A

Houseplant Browning: If the leaf edges of your houseplants have been turning brown like mine, my colleague Kelly Feehan offers some tips. “When the tips and edges of houseplant leaves turn brown, it’s usually due to low humidity or fluoride in water. Most houseplants are injured when humidity is under 20 percent. Humidity levels between 40 and 60 percent are preferred for houseplants. The best way to increase humidity is to use a room humidifier or a whole-house humidifier attached to the furnace. Syringing (spraying plants with clean water) removes dirt from leaves and increases humidity, but only to a small degree. High humidity areas such as bathrooms and kitchens are often ideal for plants. Excessive fluoride levels in water can cause tip and leaf scorching. Sensitive plants like Dracena, Cordyline, and Chlorophytum are best watered with rain water if possible. Tap water can be used but let it stand for at least 24 hours in containers to allow chlorine and fluorine to dissipate. When watering houseplants, room temperature water is best.”