What's New

Sun. Feb. 20 - 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Aldrich House

204 East F St.

Elmwood, NE

Celebrate the author's 130th birthday with cake, punch, and guided tours of her historic home.

Admission $5.00 adults, $3.00 children ages 6-12 (5 & under FREE).

www.BessStreeterAldrich.org

NINTH ANNUAL ALDRICH FOUNDATION

SHORT STORY CONTEST

Original short stories by Nebraska authors are currently being accepted for the 2011 Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation's short story contest.

Story length should be 1,000-2,000 words (there is no minimum word requirement for the Intermediate category) and submissions
should be written in the wholesome spirit displayed by Bess Streeter Aldrich in her works.

No essays, please.

Books by the author that writers can read to get ideas about content and style are:

Short Works 1907-1919

Mother Mason

Short Works 1920-1954

The Rim of the Prairie

The Cutters

A Lantern in her Hand

Spring Came on Forever

A White Bird Flying

Miss Bishop

Song of Years

The Lieutenant's Lady

Journey into Christmas

The Drum Goes Dead

The Man who Caught the Weather

Prizes will be awarded at the annual Spring Banquet of the Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation.

Cash prize amounts are: 
Adult:

1st Prize  $100.00
2nd Prize  $50.00
3rd Prize  $25.00
High School (grades 9-12) and Middle School (grades 6-8):

1st Prize $50.00

2nd Prize $25.00

3rd Prize $15.00

Intermediate School (grades 3-5):

1st Prize $25.00

2nd Prize $15.00

3rd Prize $10.00

Writers, please send a cover sheet with your name, address, e-mail address, phone number, title of story, and two copies of your story, one with your name and one without.

Please include a line telling how you learned about the contest.

For students, add age, grade, school, and teacher's name to the cover sheet.

Please enclose a SASE for return of contest results.

Stories will not be returned.

Families of Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation Board Members are not eligible.

The due date for submissions is the author's birthday, February 17, 2011 (postmark date).

Send submissions to:  Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation, P.O. Box 167, Elmwood, NE  68349.

A complete list of rules can be found at www.BessStreeterAldrich.org.

Youth, Adults Can Enter 2011 Master Conservationist Program

Both adults and youth are eligible to enter the 2011 Master Conservationist Program which includes categories for new and traditional soil and water conservation practices in urban and rural areas.  The deadline for entries is April 1, 2011.

This annual Nebraska recognition program began in 1983 and now includes categories for farm/ranch, residence/acreage, community-private business and youth entries, according to Joseph Lemmons, Extension Educator with University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension-Cass County .

There are five Master Conservationist program districts across Nebraska for farm and ranch entries. Entries in community-private business or public, residential and youth individual or group projects compete for five statewide awards. The residential category can range from a typical home yard to 10 or more acres with less than $1,000 in sales.

Master Conservationist brochures are available at local University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Natural Resources District and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service offices. The brochure appears on the UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) home page at 
http://ianrhome.unl.edu under "Timely Topics." Online applications can be made at www.owh.com and clicking on "In the Community" link.

All entries will be judged by members of IANR at UNL, Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, Natural Resources Districts and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Master Conservationists will be recognized at the annual banquet of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, September 26, 2011, at the new Younes Conference Centre in Kearney.

This program is sponsored by the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UNL and the Omaha World-Herald.

*****

'Discover the Waters of Nebraska' Builds Awareness Early

Discover the Waters of Nebraska, an educational booklet developed by the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln and Project WET for students in grades 4-6, is now available at the
Nebraska Maps and More Store at UNL's School of Natural Resources.  This educational
learning tool is being distributed state-wide to 4-H, extension educators, schools, natural
resources districts, scouting offices, and others, with major support from UNL Extension.

Elbert Dickey, UNL Extension dean, said, "Water is essential to Nebraska, and this publication
is designed for young learners as they prepare to be stewards of Nebraska's resources."

Discover the Waters of Nebraska invites readers to spend a day as a Nebraska farmer,
investigate a tornado through the story of a storm researcher, and travel the "Flyway Highway"
as a Sandhill Crane while learning about Nebraska's many water wonders. The colorful, 24-page
activity booklet teaches children seven to 12 years old where water comes from, how we use it,
how to conserve and protect it and the relationships between weather, climate and water-
all in a fun and interactive way.

"The younger they're introduced to these ideas, the more it will get to be part of who that
person is," said Donna Woudenberg, the drought management specialist at the National
Drought Mitigation Center and UNL's School of Natural Resources who coordinated the effort.

Tadd Barrow, a School of Natural Resources Extension educator who focuses on water quality,
said, "This booklet will provide the next generation of policy makers and resource managers a fun,
interactive and creative way to learn about the diverse water resources unique to the state of Nebraska."

Woudenberg and others helped Project WET come up with the ideas for Discover the Waters of
Nebraska, based on input from teachers, environmental educators and others in three meetings
across the state. Other main collaborating organizations were the Lower Platte River Corridor
Alliance and 4-H. Project WET, a non-profit organization based in Bozeman, Mont., promotes
water education state by state and around the world.

Discover the Waters of Nebraska is available free while supplies last from your local Extension
office or from the Nebraska Maps and More Store. The store can ship it for a nominal fee. Please
order copies on-line at http://nebraskamaps.unl.edu/ or stop by the store in the first floor lobby of
Hardin Hall, on the northeast corner of 33rd and Holdrege streets in Lincoln, Neb. Contact the
store at 402-472-7550.

Submitted by writer: Kelly Helm Smith, School of Natural Resources, 402-472-3373, ksmith2@unl.edu

*****

Conference to Focus

on

Benefits of Emerging Agricultural Technologies

New technologies are changing the ways of agriculture. Producers will learn how to benefit from
these advancements at the 11th annual Nebraska Agricultural Technologies Association (NeATA)
Conference and Trade Show Feb. 9-10 at the Midtown Holiday Inn in Grand Island.

"This conference offers participants a unique opportunity to learn about the latest farm technologies
from industry, universities and farmers," said UNL Extension educator Dave Varner. "Participants
will glean insights from local and national experts regarding current and future precision agriculture
technology applications."

General session topics at the 2011 conference include: Building Consumer Trust in Today's
Agriculture, The Future of Agriculture: Live Twitter Ag Advocacy AgChat, A Plant Breeder Looks
at Precision Agriculture, Precision Agriculture on eXtension, Why By-plant Resolutions will be
Necessary, and the Extension Connection of the Future-Technologies of Today and Tomorrow.

Participants may also choose among 16 breakout sessions that address topics such as publishing
maps with Google Earth, variable rate irrigation, advanced electronic grain management, iPads and
netbooks, Slingshot technologies, RTK and GPS auto-steer, SoyWater decision aid, Web-based
meetings, precision agriculture field identification for accurate records and reporting, managing,
processing and analyzing precision agriculture data and using social media to further your business
success.

Two pre-conference offering are scheduled for Feb. 9. There will be a hands-on Technology
Extravaganza Workshop from 9 a.m.-noon that will teach participants how to use a variety of technology tools to enhance their farming and agribusiness operation. In addition, a Precision Nitrogen Management seminar from 1:30-4:30 p.m., will feature leading researchers in the areas of nitrogen management using current and future technologies.

Advance registration is $110 if postmarked by Jan. 31 and $135 thereafter for NeATA members,
$135 and $160 respectfully for non-members. Those planning to attend can register by sending their name, address, phone number, e-mail address and payment to the Nebraska Agricultural Technologies Association, 1206 W. 23rd St., Fremont, Neb. 68025-2504. Conference brochures and online registration are available at http://neata.org or by calling (800) 830-4855.

Seven to 13 Certified Crop Advisor continuing education credits are available to conference participants depending upon participation in pre-conference programs.

A block of rooms has been reserved until Jan. 26 for conference participants at the Midtown Grand Island Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention Center. Call (800) 548-5542 for reservations.

The conference is sponsored by NeATA and UNL Extension, a division of the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

*****

Conferences Will Help Farmers Use No-Till Successfully

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension will provide corn and soybean producer's information
on how to be successful with no-till farming practices at the Nebraska No-Till Conference.

The conference is from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at UNL's Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, Neb.; Feb. 16 at the Valley County Ag Complex in Ord, Neb.; or Feb. 17 at the Ag Center in Holdrege, Neb. Registration begins at 9 a.m.

Conference organizers, UNL Extension educators Keith Glewen and Chuck Burr and Paul Jasa,
UNL extension engineer, said producers will learn the benefits of no-till and how it can work for them.

Speakers include no-till farmers, university specialists and industry representatives. Presentations
include: "No-Till Facts, Beliefs and Opportunities" by Jerry Hatfield, laboratory director, USDA-ARS
National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, Iowa, and "Improving Soil Health
with Cover Crops" by Dave Brandt, farmer of Carroll, Ohio.

The ARDC and Ord conferences also will include: "Northern Experiences With Fertilizer Use In
Conservation Tillage" by George Rehm, retired nutrient management specialist from the University of Minnesota; "Evaluating Cover Crops -- Year 2010," by Dan Gillespie, no-till specialist at the USDA-NRCS; and "No-Till Equipment Attachments" by Jasa.

At the Holdrege conference, Rehm will present "No-Till Fertility," Jasa will discuss "Residue, Uniformity, and the Systems Approach" and there will also be a farmer panel discussion.

Pre-registration is due Feb 10.

Register for the ARDC conference by calling (402) 624-8030, (800) 529-8030
or e-mailing kglewen1@unl.edu. Register for the Ord conference by calling (308)728-5071 or
e-mailing proot2@unl.edu. Register for the Holdrege conference by calling (308) 995-4222 or
e-mailing cburr1@unl.edu. Online registration is available at http://ardc.unl.edu/no-till.shtml.

There is no fee for this conference, courtesy of UNL Extension in the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nebraska Soybean Board and the Nebraska Environmental Trust. Other sponsors include: Lower Platte North Natural Resources District, Tri Basin Natural Resources District, Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, Farm Credit Services of America, Lofquist Welding, John Deere Risk Protection, and Arrow Seed Company.

*****

The following are several chemigation recertification/certification training opportunities in Eastern Nebraska for 2011.


Date          Time                          Location

March 4, 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Gage County Extension Office, Beatrice  
March 8, 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Thayer County Courthouse Meeting Room, Hebron

March 10, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  - Hall County Extension, Fonner Park Room (College Park), Grand Island  
March 10, 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. - Hall County Extension, Fonner Park Room (College Park), Grand Island

March 11, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. -  Adams County Fairgrounds, Community Building, Hastings

March 14 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Platte County Courthouse, Community Room in Basement, Columbus  March 16, 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - Lifelong Learning Center, Norfolk 
March 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - ARDC near Mead 

April 1, 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - 4-H Building, York 
April 7, 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - Lifelong Learning Center, Norfolk 
April 13, 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - Lifelong Learning Center, Norfolk

Location: Immanuel Lutheran Church
36712 Church Road
Louisville, NE 68037

Looking for vendors...
Please contact:
Teri McClun
402.234.4161
shsbyteri@gmail.com