Happy May!
Sincerely,
The Webster County Extension Staff 
Radon Kits
Zoonotic Disease Risks During Calving Season
Zoonotic Disease Risks during Calving Season
Lindsay Waechter-Mead, DVM
Nebraska Extension Beef Systems Educator
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), zoonotic diseases are pathogens that can be spread from animals to humans, leading to illness. The CDC reported 59 zoonotic outbreaks in 2017, causing over 1500 illnesses and three reported deaths. There are several different germs that have the potential to be zoonotic, with some more prevalent than others. The disease lists can be categorized in different ways, such as route of transmission, type of pathogen, or production season. While it is important to familiarize yourself with all potential areas of concern, this article will focus on diseases that may be more commonly observed following contact with young calves.
Cryptosporidiosis
Cryptosporidiosis (Crypto) is a common disease that causes severe, watery diarrhea in both animals and humans. Of the 59 outbreaks in 2017, cryptosporidium was the most common at 41%. Crypto is caused by a very small parasite called Cryptosporidium, which can live in the environment for months. Once ingested by the animal, the parasite completes its life cycle in the intestines and is shed in the feces. Infected calves range from one to four weeks of age. Symptoms include lethargy, weakness, and diarrhea. Feces may contain bile, blood, undigested milk, and mucus. It is important to remember calves may be infected without showing clinical symptoms. Supportive care (fluid therapy, nutritional support) is the only treatment.
Crypto can be spread to humans through oral contact with contaminated soil, water, or feces. Symptoms in humans are similar to those observed in calves. Zoonotic transmission often occurs during calving season when treating infected calves. Multiple outbreaks have been reported in veterinary hospitals and farms across the country.
Salmonellosis
Salmonella is a widespread gram-negative bacteria that may cause diarrhea in young calves, with dairy calves being most prevalent. Infected cattle range in age from under one month to adult, with most patients lacking adequate colostrum intake at birth. Clinical symptoms may include fever, depression, diarrhea, and swollen joints. Carrier animals may not show any clinical signs. A human outbreak from contact with dairy calves infected with Salmonella occurred in 2018, leading to 56 cases with 17 hospitalizations. Salmonella can also be spread by ingestion of contaminated food sources, including unpasteurized milk.
E. coli
Enterotoxigenic E. coli is a bacteria that affects calves between one to four days of age. Newborn calves are exposed to E. coli through environmental contamination. Risk of infection increases when calving in contaminated environments. Symptoms include weakness, depression, watery diarrhea, and dehydration. E. coli can be directly spread to humans through fecal-oral contamination. Twenty percent of the 2017 enteric disease outbreaks were caused by E. coli.
Rabies
Rabies is a fatal, yet preventable viral disease. While human rabies cases in the United States are rare, it is not uncommon to diagnose the virus in cattle. According to the CDC, there were more rabies-positive diagnoses in cattle (43) than dogs (37) in the United States in 2020. Rabies is transmitted through direct contact with saliva or nervous tissue from an infected animal. Cattle are considered exposed to rabies if bitten by a rabid animal and/or if a calf is nursing a rabies-positive cow or a cow is nursing a rabies-positive calf. Clinical signs vary greatly, but rabies should be considered with any abnormal behavior such as lameness, difficulty swallowing, and unusual bellowing. Always contact your veterinarian with animal health concerns prior to exam.
Zoonotic diseases can be prevented with proper protection. Consider an isolation area for treating sick calves that can be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. A footbath containing disinfectant is helpful to prevent the spread in and out of the treatment area. Once the footbath contains organic material, it should be replaced with a fresh solution. Designate footwear and outerwear that can be easily cleaned or disposed after use. Keep a separate area to store work clothes once inside. Wear gloves and avoid touching your face when around animals. Always wash your hands with soap and water, especially before eating, drinking, or using tobacco products. While all people are susceptible to these diseases, young children, elderly, and immunocompromised individuals are at greater risk. Biosecurity is vital to prevent the spread of disease in both animals and people.
BeefWatch Podcast of the Month
The BeefWatch Podcast is an audio companion to the UNL BeefWatch newsletter. It provides the same timely information as the newsletter, just in a downloadable audio form. Information is geared to helping beef cattle producers improve the sustainability and profitability of their operations.
As a busy rancher, you have limited time to spend reading. You often have time available to listen while in the pickup or tractor cab. The BeefWatch Podcast brings you the information you need in a format you can use.
USDA Farm Service Agency Disaster Programs Webinar
USDA continues its efforts to address natural disaster and pandemic-related farmer and rancher losses through two new assistance programs, the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase 2 and the 2020 Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP). Both are ad-hoc, revenue-based assistance programs that rely largely on producer personal financial records as part of the application process. In this webinar, FSA reviews what is needed to successfully apply for assistance. In addition, given the ongoing drought across Nebraska, FSA also briefly reviews drought disaster programs that may be needed in 2023
Read more here: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2023/usda-farm-service-agency-disaster-programs-webinar
Photo from CropWatch
Drought Stressed Trees
Being observant of plant material can help determine if the damage was minor or a little more severe. Brown or discolored foliage doesn’t always mean the plants are on their way out or beyond the point of no return. In addition to dry conditions, winter desiccation can also cause many evergreens to change colors. Evergreen trees and shrubs are constantly losing moisture through their leaves during the winter. Winter desiccation happens when the root system can’t absorb enough moisture to keep up with the amount lost by the leaves. It causes evergreens to have a brown or tan coloration at the ends of the needles. The damage usually occurs uniformly on the north or west sides of the tree or on the side that has a comprised root system. In most instances, supplemental water during the winter and spring can help to provide the much-needed moisture and help to alleviate the symptoms.
Determining whether the branch or plant is alive is the next task. There are a couple of options that you can use to test whether the twigs of a plant are alive. Take one of the plants’ brown branches near the end and try to bend the twig. If the twig is still pliable and the buds are big, healthy, and green looking, the branch is still alive and moving nutrients throughout the plant. If the twigs snap off readily and the buds appear brown and shriveled, the twig may be dead. Another option is to scrape away the outer layer of bark on the twig to determine whether the branch is alive. A live branch will have a green cambium layer, which moves nutrients, underneath the bark while a dead branch will have a brown layer. The last way to determine the fate of your plant is to wait to see if leaves or new growth emerges. Once new growth or leaves have emerged, the branches without growth or those obviously dead can be pruned away.
Some plants will do well in Nebraska only for a little while. It takes a really trying year to find out which plants in our landscape are not extremely well-adapted to our growing conditions. Some of the plants that have fallen victim to Nebraska growing conditions this past year were the Arborvitae and poorly placed yews, Taxus sp. Both plants can work in Nebraska and become tolerant to dry conditions once mature, if they are placed in locations where they would receive a little more shade. If these evergreen shrubs didn’t receive enough moisture during the growing season, they will turn brown or tan. Once these evergreens turn ever brown, they will not fully recover.
Even hardy, drought tolerant plants suffered this last year. Colorado blue spruce, Picea pungens, are known for being tolerant of a wide range of difficult conditions. This spring I have already noticed several spruce with either brown needles, or in one instance, no needles at all. Unfortunately, once the tree goes completely brown, it will not come back and should be removed.
Making sure drought stressed plants have enough water this spring is going to be critical. In the absence of rain, supplemental water may be necessary. Aim to apply enough water to moisten the top 8 to 12 inches of the soil. Monitor the soil moisture and only water when the upper few inches of soil are dry. A 2-to-3-inch layer of mulch will help to conserve soil moisture as well.
Being observant now can help to determine what plant material has handled the dry conditions well and which ones might need to be replaced. Hopefully we can get some more moisture soon, but until then, provide additional water to help trees and shrubs thrive this year.
Elizabeth Exstrom is the Horticulture Extension Educator with Nebraska Extension in Hall County. For more information contact Elizabeth at elizabeth.exstrom@unl.edu, her blog at http://huskerhort.com/, or HuskerHort on Facebook and Twitter.
Red Carpet Service
Roll out the red carpet! You’ve seen the red carpet rolled out for any number of award shows, the Oscars, the Grammy’s, or the CMT awards. Do communities ever roll out the red carpet?
Recently Marilyn Schlake and I went to Hastings and provided Red Carpet Service training for the Hastings Chamber of Commerce and Adams County Tourism. We held two sessions and had a wide cross section of what we call front line employees. The attendees ranged from business owners, to waiters and waitresses, to hotel front desk employees.
Red carpet service is all about providing the best customer service that you can. Providing great customer service takes practice. We find that one of the most challenging activities that we do in the training is giving directions. We ask participants to give directions to one of many local attractions. Even though they live in the community they struggle to provide directions. Our participants don’t remember street names, or call the streets something other than what the street signs say. If the attraction is out of town, sometimes directions include landmarks. Sometimes those landmarks haven’t existed for decades, but the locals know. It is important to practice giving directions that work for people who are not familiar with the area.
Red carpet service takes preparation. Our hotel clerks put in a couple of minutes to ‘roll out the red carpet’ to us by drawing some designs on our key card holders. It didn’t take much time and it was a nice touch. Do they do that for every customer? I don’t know, but they could. How do you provide red carpet service to your customers? Do you know their names? Their regular orders? Do you appreciate their business…even if you are the only option in town? People can always choose another option, everything is available in another community or online. Be appreciative of your customers, thank them for coming in.
Another activity that we did in our Red Carpet Service training was to give the attendees a chance to write down all of the attractions in their community. In our first session one group came up with more than 50 attractions. In the next session, after being told that the top team last time was 50+, each group came up with 50+ and the winning group had 70+ attractions. We had some college students in our first session and a couple of them were amazed at all the things to do, and they were excited to go visit some of these places. In all their time in Hastings, no one had ever mentioned them.
It is easy to forget some of the things that make your community unique. Over time they just become normal. Practice walking or driving through different parts of your community and try to look at the things to do with the eyes of a visitor. One of our presentation slides shows a big city and a forest, the people in the big city think a forest is very cool because they don’t see it on a regular basis. Rivers, lakes, and farms are all interesting to people who don’t see them often.
Red carpet service can set your community apart. Our red carpet service program is part of our People Attraction pillar. Why is it there? Sometimes tourists become residents. A tourist could be a business traveler who actually works from home, maybe they want to get out of the city. Perhaps that stranger is in your community for a job interview, not only are they looking for the right fit in the job, but they are also looking for the right place to live. Red carpet service can set your community up for success!
If your community could benefit from Red Carpet Service or any of the other Rural Prosperity Nebraska ideas that I’ve discussed in this column, please reach out to me. I’d love to speak to your community about these topics. You can reach me at jason.tuller@unl.edu or at the Thayer County office at 402-768-7212.
Jason Tuller is an Extension Educator for the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He works in the Rural Prosperity Nebraska program and covers ten-county area including Kearney, Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Saline, Franklin, Webster, Nuckolls, Thayer, and Jefferson Counties.
Wildfires
Helping children affected by the wildfire is an important part of parents and caregivers’ roles. Children may become upset or withdrawn, while others can’t stop talking about the experience. Use simple, age appropriate explanations about what happening during the disaster. Some key ways to help children feel safe is by providing reassurance that many caring adults are working together to keep them safe. For older children, ask them what they know and what questions they may have.
Learn more at https://child.unl.edu/disaster
Taking it With Me
Family Engagment
Bananas
#Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the world. They are inexpensive and available year round. Whether eaten as a quick to-go snack or sliced and added to cereal, yogurt or a peanut butter sandwich, bananas are always a favorite! Check out more tips and recipes: https://go.unl.edu/banana-day
Wraps
Webster County 4-H Newsletter-May 2023
Megan Burda
Engagement Zone 10 Coordinator
Megan is a Nebraska Extension Educator with a passion for fashion! She holds a Master of Arts degree in Textile and Apparel Design from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a specialization in entrepreneurship. Megan serves as an Engagement Zone Coordinator in Zone 10 with a focus on staff development, stakeholder connections, and UNL engagement. She is a maker, entrepreneur, Husker sports fan and baking enthusiast.
Photo and Bio from UNL Extension
Lynn DeVries
Early Childhood Extension Educator
Lynn is an Extension Educator on The Learning Child Team, University of Nebraska Extension in South Central Nebraska. Lynn has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Nebraska Kearney in Vocational Family and Consumer Science Education, and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University Nebraska. Lynn works with families, child care providers, teen parents and schools to promote developmentally appropriate practices and enhance parent involvement throughout the child’s education. Lynn has 11 years of experience teaching Family and Consumer Science in the public schools, and 10 years of experience coordinating programming and curriculum with the Head Start programs.
Elizabeth Exstrom
Horticulture Extension Educator
I am Community Environment Extension Educator with a horticulture focus who works in the Nebraska Extension office in Hall County. I provide horticulture related programs for youth and adults, act as the Central Nebraska Master Gardener Coordinator, and answer horticulture-based related client questions. I am a Nebraska Arborist Association Certified Arborist and a member of the International Society of Arboriculture and Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association. You might recognize me because I am regular panel member on NET's Backyard Farmer program and even filled in as host a few times. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture with a landscape design emphasis and my Master’s Degree in Public Horticulture from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln.
Photo and Bio from UNL Extension
Ron Seymour
Crops & Water Systems Educator
Ron Seymour is a cropping systems Extension Educator with emphasis on corn and soybean production. Ron also works extensively in crop pest management with specific expertise in insect issues. Ron has an interest in developing areas that border field crops as habitat that promote populations of beneficial arthropods.
Jason Tuller
Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension Educator
Jason has been working in the economic development field in rural Nebraska for more than a decade. He has worked as a small business consultant and as a rural economic developer. His goal now is to help grow stronger communities in Southeast Nebraska and throughout the stat
Photo and Bio from UNL Extension
Cami Wells
Food, Nutrition, and Health Extension Educator
I am a Nutrition, Food and Health Educator and Registered Dietitian located in Hall County. Part of my time is allocated to the Nutrition Education Program (NEP) that provides nutrition education to limited-resource families in central Nebraska. I teach a variety of food safety and nutrition programs to adults and youth as well as serve on the media/marketing team that develops content for our food.unl.edu website. I graduated from University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science and Dietetics and earned a Master’s degree in Nutrition and Health Sciences from Northern Illinois University.
Dr. Lindsay Waechter-Mead
Beef Systems Educator, DVM
Lindsay Waechter-Mead is the Beef Systems Educator in Webster County and serves surrounding counties in this region. She is excited to bring her interests surrounding cow/calf health and preventative medicine to the Beef Team. Her current work involves looking at environmental effects on neonatal calf immunity and colostral transfer. She is also passionate about rural agriculture and what the veterinary profession can do to positively influence rural communities to ensure that generations can continue to enjoy the life that she loves.
Beth Janning
4-H Youth Development Extension Educator in Adams/Webster Counties
Beth Janning is a 4-H Youth Development Extension Educator. She provides programming in school enrichment, after-school, and traditional 4-H Programs. Her topic areas include but not limited to animal science, science, engineering and volunteer development.
Alexa Pedersen
Office Manager
Katie Bolte
4-H Programming Assistant
Samantha Bonifas
4-H Programming Intern
Samantha is our 2023 summer 4-H intern. She has been a Webster County 4-H member for over 10 years and has participated in projects such as showing pigs, static exhibits, contests, or camps. She has always loved the connections, friendships, and life long skills that she has developed through 4-H. She is so excited to help spread the joy of 4-H this summer!
