Unwelcome ‘Holiday Guests’
Great advice from Elizabeth Killinger to keep house mice out of your home this winter!!!!
Winter and snow means that house guests might be coming. Take a few steps now to make sure your ‘guests’ are the ones you want at your house, not the furry, unwelcome kind.
House mice are common guests once the outdoor temperatures drop. These small light gray, furry rodents have large ears and long tail. Their preferred food is grains, but they will munch on just about anything. One reason mice can be a problem once inside is due to their rapid ability to reproduce. Each year, a female mouse can produce 5-10 litters, with about 5-6 young per litter. Mice make nests out of materials like paper, feathers, or other fluffy materials.
Understanding how mice function helps in the control process. They have relatively poor eyesight and are near-sighted. To make up for this deficit, they utilize their whiskers to feel the walls as they move around. Mice also…
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Updated Cash Lease Considerations
Landlord/tenant workshops have occurred throughout the State and I hope you had the opportunity to attend one of them. Survey numbers from
UNL and USDA (click on 2012 County Level Cash Rents) are available for starting points even though basing lease arrangements off the productivity of the land may be fairer. A 50/50 share lease is still the fairest lease arrangement yet I realize for a number of reasons many landlords are switching to cash rent. I also realize we continue to see situations of very high cash rent numbers. These numbers aren’t the norm and they don’t pencil out when cost of production is factored in.
In this post I wrote about considering cash rent based on the productivity of the land and provided a formula for it. Essentially take a 5 year Olympic average yield for the field. Multiply by an agreed price such as fall harvest price or whatever both parties agree upon. Then multiply by 1/3 and it gives you an idea of where to start. The price can be adjusted from there depending on if the tenant provides additional services, etc. Granted this formula isn’t perfect because a high average yield with a very high price can result in the high cash rents we’re hearing. It’s another formula to consider.
A flexible cash lease is another way to arrive at a cash rent price. These leases can be as simple or complicated as you would like to make them. Flexes can be made for yield alone but we wouldn’t recommend flexing on price alone. If you consider flexing on price, you should consider a combination with price and yield.
Communication is Key!
For both landlords and tenants: communication is key. I’m always amazed how many landlords tell me they don’t know the yields their tenants are receiving. If you don’t think your tenant will provide that every year by just asking for it, then build it into the written lease. Landlords, if there are things you want tenants to do like keeping the sprayer boom away from your plum bushes that you like to pick for jam or mow your ditches a certain way, you need to communicate those things to your tenant and/or build those things into the lease as well. Building all these unmentioned things into a written lease also greatly helps family members understand why things are done a certain way when the family member who is the landlord is no longer able to take care of these things.
Landlords: while you hear high crop prices, many of your tenants did not sell $8 corn; most sold at some price along the way.
Tenants: it is important to be fair with your landlords. In good years consider giving them a share of the profit-that’s another reason to consider flexible cash leases because these things can be built in to be fair to the landlord in good years and to the tenant in bad years.
Picking Poinsettias
Ever wonder about picking the perfect poinsettia? Check out these tips from Elizabeth Killinger at UNL! She even includes information on caring for your poinsettia and the debate on whether or not they are poisonous!
Thanksgiving has passed and before too long it will be time to decorate for the holidays. No holiday decorating would be complete without poinsettias in the house. These plants are a part of most holiday traditions, but do you know what it takes to pick out the best one and makes it last long into the new year?
Poinsettias are as interesting as they are beautiful. These plants originated in Mexico and are a member of the Euphorbiaceae family which secretes a milky sap when wounded. The poinsettia bloom is actually a tiny yellow flower located in the center of all the color. The brightly colored red, burgundy, or pink parts that look like ‘petals’ are actually called bracts. Bracts are a type of modified leaf which change color based upon day length.
Picking out the perfect poinsettia doesn’t require too much research. Start by purchasing fresh, healthy looking plants…
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Research Fertilizer Options for Your Farm
November 1 is just around the corner-the beginning of when fall fertilizing occurs in this area of the State. Hopefully many of you have taken soil samples as excess nitrate is to be expected after this drought year. This is an excellent time to consider evaluating your nitrogen program by starting an on-farm research trial!
On-farm research is using your own equipment, in your own fields, over single or multiple growing seasons allowing you to determine the most economical, efficient, and sustainable practice for the production of irrigated and/or dryland crops on your own farm.
What are the soil fertility questions you have for your farm?
Right now, with fertilizing on producers’ minds, we’re hoping you will consider a soil fertility study. We have several example nutrient protocols
including the UNL N fertility rate compared to +/- 30 lbs, and considerations for nitrogen timing studies such as pre-plant, sidedress, or fertigation. You can view all these plot designs by clicking on 2012 protocols. If you are planning on applying anhydrous this fall, be sure that the anhydrous strips are the correct width, as the corn must be harvested and weight determined in a correct manner next fall.
When designing a nitrogen comparison you need to remember nitrogen is a mobile nutrient and corn roots will spread laterally. Therefore, the width of the treatments must take this into account and compensate for it. If you have a 16 row nitrogen applicator and an 8 row corn head, you will need 32 rows of each nitrogen rate. Each 32 row strip must be repeated 4 times. At harvest, in each 32 row block, you must record and weigh the center 16 rows with two separate weights i.e. 8+8 . This is done for statistical analysis purposes. Without statistics, you cannot determine if differences between treatments is the result of the nitrogen rate or because of soil variability.
What’s in It for You?
On-farm research in your own fields allows you to find answers to the questions you may have. We all read articles or hear presentations about various practices and products. The question is “Will it work on my farm?“. That’s what on-farm research allows you to find out!
UNL Extension Educators and Specialists are here to help you design your on-farm research trials, help you with data collection, and will statistically analyze the data for you at the end of the season. Correct plot setup is critical to reduce any error in favoring one treatment over another (because we know fields are variable and some portions of the field will yield better than others). The statistical analysis is another tool which helps us determine how much any yield differences between treatments are due to the treatments themselves or to chance.
So if you have an idea you’d like to try, please contact any of the UNL Extension Educators or Specialists working with on-farm research! The Nebraska On-farm Research Effort is a partnership between the Nebraska Corn Board, Nebraska Corn Growers Association, and UNL Extension.
On-farm research may sound daunting, but today’s equipment makes it easier than ever. It does take a little extra time, but our farmers conducting on-farm research feel the value of knowing the results of a study on their own piece of ground make the effort worthwhile.
What are some on-farm research studies you would like to conduct this year or that you would like our group to consider?
Great information from Nebraska Farm Bureau on the difference between field corn and sweet corn!
A reader asks, “What’s the difference between field corn and sweet corn?”
A Tale of Two Corns
When you’re driving down a highway in the Corn Belt and see acre after acre after acre of corn, don’t jump out and grab an ear for some impromptu corn on the cob. Chances are, it’s the wrong sort of corn.
There are two corns in the United States, and field corn is by far the most common, grown on more than 99 percent of all corn acres. While a small portion is processed for use as corn cereal, corn starch, corn oil and corn syrup for human consumption, it is primarily used for livestock feed, ethanol production and other manufactured goods. It’s considered a grain. Sweet corn is what people purchase fresh, frozen or canned for eating. It’s consumed as a vegetable. Unlike field corn, which is harvested when the kernels are dry…
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Fall Fertilizing Considerations
With the early harvest and potential product discounts, producers may be considering fall fertilization soon. I can appreciate the reasons for it such as the product discounts, covering acres, and the fact that we don’t know what spring weather will bring in order to fertilize before planting.
At the same time applying nitrogen when a growing crop is not present allows for nutrient loss and we continue to see nitrates in groundwater increase in some areas. Check out the following Webcasts regarding research from UNL Soil Fertility Specialists as you consider nutrient application and the addition of nitrogen inhibitors.
Guidelines for Fall Fertilizing
If you do apply fertilizer in the fall, the Natural Resources District (NRD’s) have provided guidelines so please check specifically with them. Both UBBNRD and LBNRD have said no fall fertilization before November 1st and recommend no fall fertilization when soil temperatures are above 50°F. This is because the conversion of anhydrous ammonia is much slower once soil temperatures are consistently below 50°F. Please see the CropWatch Soil Temperature page for a map of current soil temperatures.
LBNRD also recommends but doesn’t require a nitrogen inhibitor placed with the anhydrous in the fall. No liquid or dry nitrogen fertilizer can be applied between November 1st and March 1st without receiving a fertilizer permit. With the fertilizer permit, producers will be required to put a nitrogen inhibitor in with their dry or liquid fertilizer.
Two exemptions are provided in the spreading of manure, sewage, and other by-products conducted in compliance with state laws and regulations, and the applications of pre-plant starter nitrogen to fall seeded crops, such as wheat.
A few other considerations from UNL Soil Fertility Specialists:
- Take soil samples as soil nitrates may be higher than normal this fall-particularly in dryland fields.
- Dry soils are difficult to sample and may affect results. Soil organic matter and soil nitrate results should be fine, but some soil pH and potassium may be affected by the dry conditions.
- Knife applications, including sealing of anhydrous ammonia injection tracks, also may be more difficult in dry soil conditions.
- Monitor rain and snow infiltration between now and the next growing season and make fertilizer adjustments next spring if excessive rain may have caused leaching.
Additional Resources
Landlord Tenant Cash Lease Workshops
Cash rent questions are the top question I receive in the office and are difficult to answer directly. There’s no great formula or survey that can provide a magic number for every situation. The following post provides some thoughts regarding this.
One thing we do know is that developing farm cash leases that meet the needs of both landlord and tenant while maintaining a positive relationship will be the goal of a UNL Extension workshop series. The Landlord/Tenant Cash Lease workshops will be held in November and December at sites across the state. It is helpful if both the tenant and landlord can attend together.
Topics
UNL Extension educators will present on the following topics, providing information and common sense tips for landlords and tenants.
- Expectations from the lease, including goal setting for the rental property
- Lease communication, determining appropriate information sharing for both the tenant and landlord
- Tips for farm leases that include relatives
- Alternative cash lease arrangements, flexible provision considerations for your situation
- How the 2012 drought affects leases, irrigation systems, grain bin rental, and other topics related to leases will be discussed as time allows.
These free workshops are sponsored by the Nebraska Soybean Board and the North Central Risk Management Agency. A meal and handouts are included. Participation is limited. To register, contact the local UNL Extension office hosting the workshop.
For more information, contact Allan Vyhnalek, UNL extension educator in Platte County, at 402-563-4901 or avyhnalek@unl.edu.
Dates and Locations
- Dakota City — Nov. 5, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., USDA Service Center, 402-987-2140
- Pender — Nov. 7, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fire Hall, 402-385-6041
- Wayne — Nov. 7, 5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m., Fire Hall, 402-375-3310
- Curtis — Nov. 8, Noon – 3:30 p.m., NCTA Ag Industry Education Center, 402-367-4424
- McCook — Nov. 8, 5:30 – 9 p.m., Fairgrounds, 308-345-3390
- Imperial — Nov. 9, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fairgrounds, 308-882-4731
- Fairmont — Nov. 13, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Legion Hall, 402-759-3712
- Fairbury — Nov. 13, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., 4-H Building/Fairgrounds, 402-729-3487
- Blue Hill — Nov. 13, 5:30 – 9 p.m., Community Center, 402-746-3417
- Lexington — Nov. 14, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Extension Office, 308-324-5501
- North Platte — Nov. 14, 5:30 – 9 p.m., West Central Research, 308-532-2683
- Hastings — Nov. 15, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fairgrounds, 308-461-7209
- Grand Island — Nov. 15, 5:30 – 9 p.m., Extension Office/College Park, 308-385-5088
- Humboldt — Nov. 27, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Ag Building/Fairgrounds, 402-852-2970
- Auburn — Nov. 27, 5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m., Nemaha Co. 4-H Building, 402-274-4755
- Hartington — Nov. 29, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., City Auditorium, 402-254-6821
- Nebraska City — Nov. 29, 5:30 – 9 p.m., Kimmel Center, 402-267-2205
- Blair — Dec. 4, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., City Office, 402-426-9455
- Tekamah — Dec. 4, 5:30 – 9 p.m., First National Bank Northeast, Nebraska meeting room, 402-374-2929
- Burwell — Dec. 5, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Legion Club, 308-346-4200
- Arcadia — Dec. 5, 5:30 – 9 p.m., Legion Club, 308-728-5071
- Bloomfield — Dec. 6, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Community Center, 402-288-5611
- O’Neill — Dec. 6, 5:30 – 9 p.m., Courthouse Annex, 402-336-2760
- Elba — Dec. 11, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Community Center, 402-745-1518
- Albion — Dec. 11, 5:30 – 9 p.m., Casey’s Community Building, Fairgrounds, 402-395-2158
- Neligh —Dec. 12, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Legion Hall, 402-887-5414
- Osceola — Dec. 13, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fairgrounds, 402-747-2321
JenResources 