POSTAL CUSTOMER
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID OMAHA, NE PERMIT NO. 36
August 20, 2009 Issue 225-13-17
Loosestrife more apparent this year as other invasives killed By LORI POTTER Kearney Hub
y r s w t m m m. d f y, o e nd t w g, d d y d yp r ne y f m
ROWE SANCTUARY officials plan to control purple loosestrife along the Platte River southwest of Gibbon by spraying plants and disking river sandbars. (Lori Potter/Kearney Hub)
KEARNEY - It's baaaaack. Platte River watchers might have thought that purple loosestrife, an invasive plant spreading along the river, its channels and other wetlands years before other non-native plants made headlines, had gone away. After all, it's been a few years since it has broadly colored river banks and sandbars. But the purple patches have returned this year, including noticeable infestations at the Kearney Bridge and even on river sandbars downstream managed by the National Audubon Society's Rowe Sanctuary. "It's probably because we removed some competing vegetation," said Buffalo County Weed Superintendent Dick Kincaid, a longtime warrior against purple loosestrife. The joke in recent years has been that the purple loosestrife went away because it was overtaken by phragmites, another channel-choking invasive spread via rhizomes. Kincaid said the focus the past few years has been on spraying and clearing phragmites, saltcedars and "other stuff" that had become the center of concern. With some of those efforts now showing results, there's less competition for the loosestrife. Helicopters will be in the air again in September, and ground machinery will be working in the Central Platte Basin throughout the fall and winter to clear more of the non-native species and willows, he said. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture recently approved $500,000 in state funds for weed work in the Platte Basin - the Republican Basin weed management districts received most of the funding the past two years - and entities such as the Central Platte Natural Resources District also are chipping in.
Look inside this issue for these headlines... • Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 • Country Living . . . . . . . . . . . .3, 6 • Washington Report . . . . . . . . . . .4 • Lee Pitts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 • Rodeos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 • Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33, 35 • Heartland Cattleman . . . . . . . . .34 • Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36-39 For daily agriculture news, updates and local happenings, visit the Heartland Express website at www.myfarmandranch.com
MARKET GLANCE Livestock and Products, Weekly Average Year Ago 4 Wks Ago Nebraska Slaughter Steer 35-65% Choice, Live Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$99.66 81.61 Nebraska Feeder Steers, Med. & Large Frame, 550-600# . . . . . . . . . . . .130.01 116.75 Med & Large Frame, 750-800 # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117.91 105.22 Choice Boxed Beef, 600-750# Carcass . . . . . . . . . .160.94 137.81 Western Corn Belt Base Hog Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87.42 57.76 Feeder Pigs, National Direct, 50#, FOB . . . . . . . . . .49.00 39.62 Pork Carcass Cutout, 185#, 51-52% Lean . . . . . . . .90.56 56.12 Slaughter Lambs, Ch. & Pr.,Heavy, SD Dir. . . . . . . . .103.37 103.00 Nat. Carcass Lamb Cutout, FOB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278.01 257.01
8/7/09
81.14 120.38 104.99 141.49 48.38 * 56.62 96.50 253.52
Crops, Daily Spot Prices Wheat, No. 1, H.W. Imperial, bu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7.11 Corn, No. 2, Yellow, Omaha, bu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.72 Soybeans, No. 1 Yellow Omaha, bu . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11.72 Grain Sorg. No. 2 Yellow, Dorchester, cwt . . . . . . . . . .7.16 Oats, No. 2, Heavy Minneapolis, MN, bu. . . . . . . . . . . .*
4.52 3.04 10.35 5.02 2.15
4.25 3.01 11.54 5.12 2.09
* * *
* * *
Hay (per ton) Alfalfa, Lrg. Sq. Bales Good to Prem., NE Neb. . . . . .190.00 Alfalfa, Lrg. Rounds, Good, Platte Valley, . . . . . . . . .77.50 Grass Hay, Lrg. Rounds, Premium, Neb., . . . . . . . . .85.00 * No market.
Continued on page 6
40856