Ag-Life

A center pivot sprays water on recently emerged corn plants near the Platte River in northern Hamilton County. Extension Service educator Steve Melvin says it is unusual for farmers to be irrigating so much at this point in the growing season during the time when weather is usually wet.

A center pivot sprays water on recently emerged corn plants near the Platte River in northern Hamilton County. Extension Service educator Steve Melvin says it is unusual for farmers to be irrigating so much at this point in the growing season during the time when weather is usually wet.

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Hamilton County in ‘extreme drought’

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
“It is a very dire situation,” said Steve Melvin, Extension cropping and water system educator for Hamilton and Merrick counties. “There’s no two ways about that.”Melvin was commenting on a map released Thursday by U.S.
Senior lecuturer with the University of Illinois In Urbana-Champaign stated that older generations and younger generations should start discussing financial matters of farming as soon as possible and gave advice to get the conversation started.

Senior lecuturer with the University of Illinois In Urbana-Champaign stated that older generations and younger generations should start discussing financial matters of farming as soon as possible and gave advice to get the conversation started.

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UNL webinar aims to get farmers fired up over finances

Jacob Courtney
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Senior lecturer Paul Stoddard with the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign offered advice Thursday on how people can take care of finances on the farm and family via a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Ag Profitability webinar called “Fire Up Your Farm and Family Finance.
Artificial insemination tecnician Emma Snoberger stands with one of her show cattle. The cow has produced one calf through the use of AI calf and is currently AI bred.

Artificial insemination tecnician Emma Snoberger stands with one of her show cattle. The cow has produced one calf through the use of AI calf and is currently AI bred.

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AI: the future of beef production

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
by Ron Burtz Whether you’re a farmer raising row crops and using tractors equipped with GPS navigation systems or a beef producer utilizing the latest innovations in animal science, technology is driving agriculture in the 21st Century.
High Plains FFA members and volunteers take some time to watch the cow and horse feed after dumping buckets of grain in their trough. Ag instructor Thomas Hofmann stated that the six year, hands-on training process and encouraging students to continue to raise animals has been a success.

High Plains FFA members and volunteers take some time to watch the cow and horse feed after dumping buckets of grain in their trough. Ag instructor Thomas Hofmann stated that the six year, hands-on training process and encouraging students to continue to raise animals has been a success.

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High Plains FFA animal lab: 6 years & going strong

Jacob Courtney
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Ag instructor Thomas Hofmann has been teaching for 32 years, 11 of which have been at High Plains Community Schools, but said for the past six years he has been able to connect High Plains FFA students to the physical process of taking care of farm animals with the on-campus animal lab.
A farmer uses a tractor to plant seed last week near Highway 14 north of Aurora. Four farmers from Hamilton County reported dry climate, low soil temperature and high input prices for this year’s planting season.

A farmer uses a tractor to plant seed last week near Highway 14 north of Aurora. Four farmers from Hamilton County reported dry climate, low soil temperature and high input prices for this year’s planting season.

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Farmers continue to face dry climate, high prices

Jacob Courtney
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Farmers across the country are out planting for the upcoming growing season as temperatures and moisture levels reach an acceptable level. Four farmers from all corners of Hamilton County discussed their views on what the planting season, and the farming year ahead, look like for them.
Pictured from left are members of the Nebaska Extension staff serving Hamilton County, including Mariah Newmyer, Extension educator, Travis Blase and Hillary Fuhrman, 4-H program coordinators.

Pictured from left are members of the Nebaska Extension staff serving Hamilton County, including Mariah Newmyer, Extension educator, Travis Blase and Hillary Fuhrman, 4-H program coordinators.

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NE Extension debuts strategic changes

Kurt Johnson
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Nebraska Extension is implementing a new strategic direction, county board members were informed last week, all designed to leverage the Extension’s expertise and strengths to align with what Nebraskans tell them they want and need.
Andrew Bish, COO of Bish Enterprises and CEO of Hemp Harvest Works, shows in his Giltner office some of the products that can be made with hemp on top of a sign made of hemp wood. Blocks, absorbant, feed and other uses for hemp could foster growth of the farming market in the future, stated Bish.

Andrew Bish, COO of Bish Enterprises and CEO of Hemp Harvest Works, shows in his Giltner office some of the products that can be made with hemp on top of a sign made of hemp wood. Blocks, absorbant, feed and other uses for hemp could foster growth of the farming market in the future, stated Bish.

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Bish upbeat on future of industrial hemp

Jacob Courtney
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Hemp could have the potential to grow in Nebraska in the right regulatory soil, according to Andrew Bish, chief operating officer of Bish Enterprises, founder and CEO of Hemp Harvest Works, and president of the Hemp Feed Coalition.
Photo by Lori Potter/Minden Courier All of the ethanol produced at the KAAPA Ethanol Minden plant is transported to California on a BNSF Railway line. Each car can carry 28,800 gallons.

Photo by Lori Potter/Minden Courier All of the ethanol produced at the KAAPA Ethanol Minden plant is transported to California on a BNSF Railway line. Each car can carry 28,800 gallons.

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KAAPA Ethanol celebrating 20 years of growth

Kurt Johnson
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Editor’s note: This is the second of two installments involving coverage of KAAPA Co-op, a Kearney-area company which in February completed an agreement to operate the ethanol plant in Aurora.
Steam rises from the KAAPA ethanol plant west of Minden on a cold cloudy winter day. Its original production capacity of 40 million gallons a year had doubled by March 2016.

Steam rises from the KAAPA ethanol plant west of Minden on a cold cloudy winter day. Its original production capacity of 40 million gallons a year had doubled by March 2016.

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KAAPA Ethanol exceeding dreams of founders

Guest
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Editor’s note: This is the first of two installments involving coverage of KAAPA Co-op, a Kearney-area company which in February completed an agreement to operate the ethanol plant in Aurora.
Statewide ag land totals are up 14%, according to a UNL survey, though Hamilton County per-acre values did not rise as much.

Statewide ag land totals are up 14%, according to a UNL survey, though Hamilton County per-acre values did not rise as much.

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Survey shows Nebraska ag land values rising

Kurt Johnson
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
by Kurt Johnson The market value of agricultural land in Nebraska increased 14 percent over the prior year, to an average of $3,835 per acre, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2023 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey preliminary report.