Well that was quite a week to remember! Grateful for and maintained thoughts and prayers for all those clearing roads, in law enforcement, firefighters, emergency management, first responders, and livestock producers. Thank you for all you do!

Crop Production Clinics: Quick reminder of Crop Production Clinics this week in Hastings (Jan. 17) and York (Jan. 19). RSVP at https://agronomy.unl.edu/cpc is very helpful as we’re trying to make food and room arrangement decisions. Also, RSVP has been extremely helpful to me this winter already as it’s allowed me to contact attendees and let them know of program info. with all the weather we’ve had this winter. So, please do RSVP to the local Extension Office for the programs you wish to attend. Thanks!

Farm Bill Meeting will be held February 6^th at the Cornerstone Event Center at the Fairgrounds in York from 9 a.m.-Noon. Dr. Brad Lubben with UNL and representatives from the Farm Service Agency will be presenting. RSVP to 402-362-5508 if interested in attending.

Livestock and Cold Resources can be found here: https://beef.unl.edu/cow-management-and-cold-weather. The following is a Q/A from the resources written by Dr. Rick Rasby, UNL Beef Extension Specialist.

“Q.  How do a cow’s energy requirements change with cold weather? How much more feed does she need? 

A.  Moisture, high winds, and cold temperatures all increase the cow’s energy requirements. Cows in an optimal body condition score (BCS 5 to 6) are better able to withstand adverse environmental conditions than thin cows. The lower critical temperature of a beef cow is the lowest temperature a cow can be exposed to before she needs to have changes metabolically to help her cope with cold stress.

Lower critical temperature for beef cows is influenced by hair coat condition (dry or wet/muddy), body condition (thin, moderate, fleshy) and hair coat description heavy/winter, winter, fall, or summer. As hair coat changes from summer to winter, BCS changes from thin to fleshy, and hair coat changes from dry to wet, lower critical temperature decreases which means cows can withstand harsher conditions without an increase in energy needs. Magnitude of coldness is equal to Lower Critical Temperature – Wind Chill Index. Energy requirement increase about 1% for each degree of cold stress. As an example, cows that have a heavy winter hair coat that is dry and are in condition score of 5 have a lower critical temperature of 19°F.

Be very careful if you plan to use grains (corn) to increase the energy density of the diet during severe condition as you may do more harm than good. Feeding more than 2-3 lb/hd/day of corn to cows on a forage based diet will decrease fiber digestion. When cows are on a forage-based diet and supplemental energy is needed, consider the use of high energy, non-starch feed stuffs such as distillers grains and soy hulls to meet cow energy requirements. It would not be advisable to change rations daily, but if is predicted that weather conditions will be severe over a period of time then ration changes may be warranted.

A webinar titled Caring for Cattle in Cold Weather highlights the effects of cold weather on cattle and management practices to help mitigate these effects.”

Jan. 15th Pesticide Trainings are on!
-9:00 a.m. Extension Office in Seward.
-2:00 p.m. *NEW LOCATION* Extension Office in Geneva. Please let others know as fairgrounds are not cleared out.

Jan. 16th Pesticide Trainings:
-9:00 a.m. in Clay Center *NEW LOCATION* Community Bldg. (219 W. Fairfield Ave.)
-2:00 p.m. in Nelson at Auditorium 

Be safe and many other options for training available in the area! https://jenreesources.com/upcoming-events/