Two $1000 scholarships awarded to NE graduates

By Chabella Guzman, communications specialist

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center is pleased to present two scholarships for $1000 to high school seniors in the Panhandle of Nebraska to further their education at the Nebraska University Campuses, including the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

Scholarship winners are:

Mackenzie Liakos, a Bridgeport High School senior, will attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to major in Agriculture Education. She said after receiving her teaching certification, she plans to return to a rural area and be an agriculture education teacher and FFA advisor.

“I grew up on a fourth-generation family farm where we raised and fed cattle,” Liakos said. “We also grew corn, dry edible beans, and sugar beets.” She grew her sweet corn, sold it in the summer, and owns a small cattle herd.

“This scholarship is important to me because it is an investment in my future. I appreciate everything the Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center does to engage youth in agriculture, and this scholarship is a way that I can help do the same by inspiring the next generation of leaders through agriculture education,” Liakos said.

Braelyn Shrewsbury, a senior at Alliance High School, will be attending Eastern Wyoming College to pursue a degree in Veterinary Technology. She plans to return to the Alliance area and work at Alliance Animal Clinic as a Licensed Veterinary Technician.

“My family runs a cattle operation which I spent lots of time as a kid helping out. The older I got and the more involved in sports I got, the harder it was for me to spend much time out at the family ranch, which is north of Ellsworth, Neb., She said. “FFA allowed me to compete in numerous contests giving me experiences with different career paths I may want to take.” A visit to the vet’s office set her on the path to becoming a veterinary technician.

“I went with my dad to the vet’s office to watch my horse’s teeth get floated. And I saw a tech helping out, and I was very intrigued. I asked lots of questions about what they did, which led me to get an internship opportunity at Alliance Animal Clinic,” Shrewsbury said. “This opportunity showed me exactly how it would be in the real world, and I absolutely loved it.”

The UNL Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center Annual Student Scholarship is awarded to graduating high school seniors majoring in Agronomy, Ag Economics, Animal Science, Vet Science, Agriculture Technology, or a related degree emphasizing agriculture.

National Turkey Lovers Day

Date When Celebrated: Third Sunday in June

National Turkey Lovers Day is a special day that just had to be created. When you think about eating delicious turkey, you usually think about Thanksgiving. To millions of Americans, turkey is their favorite meal. Why then, don’t we have it more often on any of he other 364 days of the year? Perhaps, the answer is simple...we just don’t think about it. Then, along come National Turkey Lovers Day, to remind us to have it in the middle of June.

How do you celebrate National Turkey Lovers Day?

This answer to this question is quite simple. Eat turkey today. The true participant will eat turkey for both lunch and dinner. A turkey sandwich, hot or cold, along with some turkey soup is the perfect lunch time fare today. For dinner you have many more options. Chances are the weather will be hot, so you won’t want to heat up the kitchen roasting a traditional turkey dinner. We suggest you cook it outdoors: grill it, smoke it, fry it, or try a trash can turkey. Either way, it will be delicious.

The Origin of National Turkey Lovers Day: This special holiday is rather new. It was created in 2016 by the National Turkey Federation.

Legends and lore

Clover was one of the first plants cultivated by man and has been highly regarded since ancient times. The three-leaf shamrock is associated with the Christian Trinity and is the national emblem of Ireland. The rare four-leaf clover is also a Christian symbol with its four leaves representing the cross. Some claim the four-leaf clover ward off evil. Each leaf represents different aspects of happiness: one leaf for fame, the second wealth, the third a faithful lover, and the fourth excellent health. Wearing a four-leaf clover in your shoe will bring you a mate. Four-leafed clovers are well known for their luck and magical charm, but according to an old wives’ take they are not found; they make themselves known only to lucky people.

According to Christian legend, the daisy sprung from Mary’s tears during the flight into Eqypt. It has always been associated with purity innocence, and loyal love. According to German folklore, daisies picked between noon and 1 pm have magical qualities. They should be dried and carried as a good luck charm.

The name of the dandelion comes from the French term for a lion’s tooth (dentde-lion). To carry your thoughts to your sweetheart blow the feathered seeds off the puffball. To dream of a dandelion is supposed to be bad luck.

Ivy is a lucky plant. If it is grown on a house, it protects those within from witchcraft and evil. In Christmas decorations it is as lucky to the woman as holly is to the man, the therefore should never be omitted if all the family are to share alike in the blessings of the season. The wood of the plant was supposed to have the power of separating water from wine when these were mixed together. The leaves, roots, and wood of ivy were used in a number of folk-remedies, some practical and some mainly magical.

In Greek burials, it was the custom to cover a dead body with violets as a symbol of both the beauty and the transitory nature of life. In literature, violets are often associated with modesty and simplicity.

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God, turning east when I meant to turn west took me 10 miles out of the way today. But when it comes to directions, I thank you for putting my sins as far from you as east is from west like it says in Psalm 103. That’s a good thing!

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The 16-Bar Forward-Fold Harrow, built for durability and ease of operation, combines McFarlane’s long standing tradition of rugged dependability with features designed to provide maximum coverage and performance.

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BRIDGES & STORAGE CONTAINERS

Rising input costs are challenging many wheat farmers across the U.S.

Wheat growers do not need a USDA report in one hand and a slide rule in the other to conclude that escalating production costs are outpacing increases in crop revenue.

Nor do they need an economics degree to locate the heart of the matter.

“The numbers we are putting in are racing past the numbers we are getting out,” is how Oklahoma farmer Michael Peters sums it up.

The same sentiment is shared by Denise Conover, a Montana farmer who recently finished planting winter wheat. With a chance to sit down and look at her numbers, she offered “fresh off the press” examples of how input costs have swollen:

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The starter fertilizer Conover applies went from $696.10 per ton in 2021 to $1,006.35 per ton in 2022.

She paid $712.50 per ton of Urea (nitrogen fertilizer) last year compared to $843 this year.

The diesel fuel used to harvest and plant wheat on her farm rose from $2.87 a gallon to $4.80 a gallon.

“The input costs are having an effect on our whole operation,” Conover, a member of the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board of Directors who farms with her two sons, said. “Yes, wheat prices are up, but not enough to cover the rising input costs.”

‘When the Price of Everything is Up’

According to USDA’s Farm Sector Income & Finances report, farm production expenses for 2022 are expected to increase by 17.8%, representing the largest year-toyear dollar increase on record. USDA forecasts expect all expense categories to move upward, with some of the most significant spikes in fertilizer-lime-soil conditioner expenses, which are forecast to increase by 52.3%, and interest expenses, which are expected to increase by more than 39%.

Ben Brown, University of Missouri senior research associate for the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, said fertilizer is “by far the most complex market that farmers encounter currently.” Brown reported 200% to 300% increases in fertilizer costs in 2021 and the first half of 2022 due to reductions in supply and strong demand. Many of the same factors look poised to return in 2023, Brown added.

Peters, USW’s Vice Chairman, grows wheat and raises cattle. He noted that farm input costs go beyond fertilizer, seed and fuel. He pointed to rising interest rates that can be a punch to the gut for farmers who depend on loans each spring and fall to produce wheat and other crops. Supply chain woes hurt, as well. To put wheat in the ground this fall, Peters needed a part for his seeder.

“Two years ago, I had to buy the same part and it came to about $170 – this time it was well over $300, which means the price basically doubled in two years,” he explained. “All of this bites into the bottom line, and I don’t think a lot of people outside of agriculture realize it.”

Indeed, that disconnect is real.

“Everybody goes, ‘$9 wheat, you farmers must really be making tons of money,” Conover said. “But at the end of the day, when the price of everything is up, too, it turns out not to be a good economic situation.”

Value of Export Markets Emphasized American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Shelby Myers provided an overview to confirm what farmers like Peters and Conover are experiencing.

“This is leaving many farmers to question their ability to just break even this year, despite high crop prices,” Myers noted. “While increased investment and capacity may help in the long run, in the near term, farmers are concerned about making sure they have the inputs they need to put a crop in the ground?”

Despite challenges, U.S. wheat farmers have consistently produced a high-quality crop desired by many international buyers. While export prices and lower overall production have reduced demand, U.S. wheat exports have remained in step with production – roughly 50% of the wheat grown is being shipped overseas each year.

And studies have confirmed that export market development provides a high return on investment, a fact wheat farmers recognize in difficult times.

“It is important to remind ourselves where we would be without exports and what would happen if we suddenly didn’t have export markets,” said Peters.

Still, rising input costs are – or will –force wheat farmers to make tough decisions in future planting seasons. Along with rising costs, there is also pending competition for acreage caused by growing demand for other corn and crops. For example, it is estimated there will be a need for an additional 20 million acres of soybeans in coming years to meet the needs of companies that manufacture renewable fuels.

The ultimate concern is that farmers will cut back on wheat production, threatening U.S. wheat’s worldwide reputation as the most dependable supplier.

Think Harder, Be More Efficient

Unlike other industries, the job of growing wheat has little wiggle room when it comes to production. The difference between a positive bottom line and a negative bottom line often comes down to timing and things that are out of a farmer’s control.

But farmers are pretty good at squeezing as much as they can out of that “wiggle room.”

“You can’t really cut back on inputs like fertilizer, fuel or seed – these are all things you need to plant and harvest a quality crop,” said Peters. “The good thing is that farmers are good at being efficient. In these situations, we really must think about the timing of applying fertilizer to get the best result. There was a time when we would just go out and broadcast fertilizer and not think about it all that much. But now, we put a lot of thought into the process. Not every farmer can no-till, but in areas where no-till can be done, that is a way to cut back on fuel. It’s just adjusting when and where you can.”

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An elderly couple is out on a new course. After hacking around for hours, they finally make their way to the clubhouse. After taking an exorbitant amount of time tallying up her scorecard, the wife looks at her husband and says, “What’s par on this course?” “72,” responds her husband. “Well I must be getting better,” says the gleeful woman, “I was under par on almost every hole.”

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Two players were paired up for a round at their club. They met on the first hole and exhanged pleasantries. When they finally got around to golf, the first golfer asked, “So what’s your handicap?” “Oh, I’m a scratch golfer,” said the second. Obviously impressed, the first golfer said, “Wow... that’s amazing.” “It’s really not that hard,” the second responded, “I just write down all of my good scores and scratch out the bad ones.”