UNL College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

The University Career & Internship Fairs are coming up quick! Visit go.unl.edu/careerfairs to see all the details and learn about participating employers. Update your resumes and dress to impress! We will see you at the East Union September 16th.📝

The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum is helping Huskers set down new roots as they begin the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's fall 2024 semester.

Toby Burnham said students were excited to get a free plant, but they also tried to encourage them to get their hands dirty, especially those who have never potted a plant. He thinks having them work with the soil themselves fosters the students’ connection to nature.

“I think it gives them a sense of pride and a sense of ownership; it’s a good teaching method. It’s a good way to connect them to nature and instill that want to take care of it.”

https://news.unl.edu/article/arboretum-preps-houseplants-for-big-red-welcome-giveaway

Don Lee is one of the amazing faculty members in Nebraska Agronomy and Horticulture. We sat down to ask what he loves about teaching and working with students.

What do you enjoy most about working with students?

“Just seeing that look in their face and as they’re learning and making progress is something I really enjoy. CASNR has provided me with an opportunity to work with learners, work with students who share a lot of the same motivations that I do for learning.”

“I’ve been really impacted by the opportunity to work with students at the stage of their lives where they’re figuring out who they are personally and professionally, and then go on to pursue those professional ambitions. Many of those students, I’ve been able to keep up with.”

What is your advice for students to be successful?

“Two things: be curious, and then be willing to work at learning. Learning takes a lot of energy so you’ve got to be willing to do the work to really make learning progress.”

How did you get to where you are in your career?

“I thought I was going to become a plant breeder, work for a company. But I discovered along the way as a teaching assistant that I liked to teach. I was good at the creative end of teaching. I love to see students respond to the teaching ideas that I came up with and that led me to look for teaching positions.”

Who was your positive mentor?

“The best mentor I had was a guy named Denny Hofflander. He was my biology teacher in high school. He taught by asking questions and finding real world connections to the biology we were learning in the classroom. He always brought energy and storytelling into his teaching.”

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

“I am now working with the opportunity to teach students whose parents had me as a teacher. I’m on my second generation and that’s quite an honor, I think. To be able to teach kind of full cycle to see the next generation of students that I first started working with. I’m grateful that the University of Nebraska has given me the opportunity to do this.”

Share with us your favorite memories of Don Lee!⬇️

Attention student clubs and organizations 📣 Show your impact on the agricultural community in an Instagram Reel or TikTok following the challenge instructions below and come to Beck's College Roadshow on campus September 5 for a chance to win a $1,500 donation to your organization!

We are hosting a CASNR Alumni Event in Northeast Nebraska. We'd love to see your familiar faces there!

University of Nebraska–Lincoln scientists have harnessed the power of machine learning and large-scale data analysis to enhance the Global Yield Gap Atlas, creating benefits for agricultural producers worldwide.

“This is very exciting. We are now able to estimate the yield potential for every single piece of cropland around the world,” said Patricio Grassini, professor with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Agronomy and Horticulture and principal investigator of the atlas.

Husker researchers use machine learning to help identify yield opportunities | Nebraska Today "With this metamodel, we take full advantage of the large amount of data collected by the atlas over the last 12 years to get a global product that is ready and easy to use by scientists, farmers and companies." — Fernando Aramburu-Merlos, research assistant professor, agronomy and horticulture

Lincoln Northeast High School students attended their first day of college class here in CASNR! Good luck with SCIL 101 this semester.

University and private-sector representatives pointed to major opportunities for ag tech innovation and collaboration in an Aug. 14 groundbreaking ceremony for NFarms, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s precision agriculture initiative.

“The research and learning that will come out of this facility will be invaluable to the industry, as well as to our growers,” said Kurtis Charling, vice president of agricultural technology for Lindsay Corporation.

https://news.unl.edu/article/nfarms-groundbreaking-highlights-precision-ag-innovation-partnerships

We look forward to seeing you there!

All CASNR Alumni in the Westpoint, NE area are welcome to join us for snacks and drinks! Meet the unit leaders for the UNL School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Biological Systems Engineering Department, Nebraska Animal Science, UNL Agricultural Economics, Nebraska Agronomy and Horticulture, UNL Department of Food Science and Technology and UNL Statistics along with CASNR Recruitment, CASNR Careers, and UNL CASNR Alumni. We look forward to seeing you there!

We are so excited to welcome this cohort of Elite 11 scholarship recipients to CASNR and we look forward to supporting them throughout their college journey and onto great accomplishments!

It's officially the start of the fall semester! 🎉📚
We are wishing you an amazing year of learning, friendship, and growth.

Faculty from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln are leading a federally funded initiative to develop a national cyber-ecosystem for agricultural producer data. The National Agricultural Producers Data Cooperative conference, held Aug. 8-9 on UNL’s East Campus, featured academics, industry scientists and representatives from producer groups.

“The main takeaway is we are solving and will continue to solve problems for producers around data,” said Clarke, professor of statistics and food science and technology. “That is really the value of bringing this group together — prioritizing what problems to solve for now and the future.”

https://news.unl.edu/article/husker-faculty-lead-conference-honing-strategies-for-national-ag-data-network

Organized by Nebraska Extension as part of the Growing Together Nebraska project, SNAP-Ed and Extension Master Gardener volunteers are working to establish community gardens, increase access to fresh produce, and provide garden and nutrition education.

“If people don’t know what the produce is or how to eat it, the nutrition is not going to get into their body,” Natalie Sehi said. “Being able to provide the produce and food demos really help people understand the nutritional value of healthy food and what it can do for their body.”

https://news.unl.edu/article/extension-program-connects-nebraskans-with-fresh-produce

The August Honors graduates were Jordyn Schommer, a veterinary science major from O’Neill, and LaDaysia Smith, an advertising and public relations major from Lincoln.

“Schommer and Smith were part of the first cohort to enroll at the university during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their completion of the Honors curriculum demonstrates their commitment to academic excellence and impressive resilience,” said Tamy Burnett, director of operations for the Honors Program.

https://news.unl.edu/article/schommer-smith-to-graduate-from-university-honors-program

Nebraska Honors

We are shifting into celebration mode as thousands of Husker students return to campus ahead of the start of the fall semester.

Big Red Welcome festivities, which begin Aug. 19 and continue into the first weeks of the new semester, aim to foster school spirit, ease the transition back to academic life, and provide students opportunities to venture out and find their community.

Huskers can access a full list of events by downloading the Nebraska app or visiting the Big Red Welcome webpage.

https://news.unl.edu/article/celebration-begins-as-thousands-of-huskers-return-for-fall-semester

Huge congratulations to our August graduates! 🎉

We celebrated commencement August 17th at PBA and we are still celebrating because we know you'll do great things in the world. Follow the link for the recap and see the full list of graduates.🎓⬇️

Nebraska grants 574 degrees to 569 new alumni | Nebraska Today The university conferred 574 degrees during a combined graduate and undergraduate commencement ceremony Aug. 17 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The degrees were earned by 569 graduates from 46 countries, 36 U.S. state and 60-plus Nebraska communities.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has received two federal grants totaling $1.7 million to build on the university’s environmental sustainability work on two issues: nitrogen management for sugar beet production, and alley cropping, an agroforestry practice involving the planting of trees or shrubs alongside crops.

“UNL’s longstanding history of being one of the country’s premier land-grant research institutions, specifically when it comes to innovation in agronomical research and sustainability practices throughout the state of Nebraska’s diverse ag markets, makes them a solid recipient to administer these Conservation Innovation Grant funds,” said Rob Lawson, NRCS state conservationist for Nebraska.

Nebraska Agronomy and Horticulture Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources

USDA grants boost Husker research on sugar beet nitrogen management, agroforestry | Nebraska Today A $1,116,149 grant will support Husker research for environmentally sustainable nitrogen management for sugar beet production in Nebraska and Colorado. In addition, Husker researchers will use $682,335 in USDA funding to study alley cropping as a sustainable land use strategy on agricultural lands i...

A University of Nebraska–Lincoln project, funded by a multi-year, $5.78 million grant from the National Science Foundation, has major potential to strengthen the sustainability of rice at a time of climate stress and increasing global demand.

The researchers studied hundreds of rice varieties under field and greenhouse settings, analyzing phenotype conditions and a wide range of genetic details. They recently published their findings in the journal Plant Physiology.

Nebraska Agronomy and Horticulture

Husker findings boost rice’s ability to withstand nighttime heat stress | Nebraska Today A University of Nebraska–Lincoln project, funded by the National Science Foundation, has major potential to strengthen the sustainability of rice at a time of climate stress and increasing global demand.

AUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln team is leveraging the power of plants to combat nutrient pollution in urban ponds. Led by soil and water chemist Steve Comfort and watershed hydrologist Aaron Mittelstet, Husker students installed two floating wetlands in Lincoln’s Fox Hollow neighborhood on June 14.

“These students all came to try to do something for the environment,” Comfort said. “This type of project is a hands-on way for them to do that. That's why I think it’s so valuable and why they enjoy working on it, because they feel like they’re contributing to fixing a problem.”

https://news.unl.edu/article/project-aims-to-improve-water-quality-of-lincoln-ponds

Shop the CASNR Back to School Apparel Store from now until August 31!

https://stores.inksoft.com/casnr_apparel/shop/home

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln will confer about 550 degrees during a combined graduate and undergraduate commencement ceremony Aug. 17 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m., with doors opening to the public at 7:30 a.m. The university will award doctoral, master’s, juris doctorate and baccalaureate degrees. Chancellor Rodney D. Bennett will preside over the commencement ceremony.

Congratulations to all of the August graduates!🎓

Nebraska to grant about 550 degrees in August ceremony | Nebraska Today The university will confer about 550 degrees during a combined graduate and undergraduate commencement ceremony Aug. 17 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

A team led by Nebraska's James Schnable has received federal funding to expand the development of an innovative method to predict the performance of corn hybrids. The work is an important step toward commercializing new crop varieties.

“By being able to test across many environments with really farmer-relevant genetics, we want to make the transition from a fundamental discovery to a technology that people can actually use,” said Schnable, Nebraska Corn Checkoff Presidential Chair and professor of agronomy and horticulture.

https://news.unl.edu/article/schnable-expands-work-to-id-corn-genes-predict-hybrid-performance

The Nebraska Cooperative Development Center and Nebraska Grocery Industry Association are hosting the second annual Grocery Industry Summit on Aug. 22 in Kearney.

“The grocery industry isn’t the same today as it was 10 or 15 years ago,” Ansley Fellers said. “We’re aiming to help Nebraskans involved in this field — whether that be store owners, wholesalers or vendors — not just get by, but actually thrive, which, in turn, helps bring fresh, affordable and healthy foods to everyone in their communities.”

https://news.unl.edu/article/grocery-industry-summit-to-address-retail-technology-competition

The third annual Latino Small Business Conference is coming to Grand Island, Omaha, Lincoln and Gering in August and October.

“The Latino Small Business Conference has become a landmark of the Latino business community,” said Sandra Barrera, the Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension educator coordinating the conference. “Often, entrepreneurship is solitary. At this conference, we get to see that there’s an entire community of like-minded entrepreneurs getting together and collaborating. We can all draw strength, ideas and success from each other.”

Registration is open, follow the link to learn more!

https://news.unl.edu/article/conference-fosters-entrepreneurship-among-latino-community

Check out CASNR community achievements that made the national news in July!⬇️

Nebraska in the national news: July 2024 | Nebraska Today Adam Houston, professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences, was interviewed for a July 21 Daily Mail article, inspired by the new movie “Twisters,” on what it’s like to be a storm chaser. The article was among 35-plus national news stories featuring Husker faculty, staff, students, centers and ...

A quick but devastating storm blackened the skies late afternoon July 31. Wind wreaked havoc across Lincoln, including at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s City and East campuses.Crews began campuswide cleanup at 6 a.m. Aug. 1, with a focus on removing the largest branches and debris first. As the work continues, crews will begin looking for any damage that didn’t lead to a downed branch or tree, but that could cause problems in the future.

“Over the next few weeks, we’ll assess everything, before students start returning to campus, to make sure everything is safe,” Jeff Culbertson said. “Our crews do a really good job making sure trees are pruned at all times, and that helps significantly in minimizing overall damage when something like this happens.”

https://news.unl.edu/article/crews-respond-quickly-to-clean-up-following-storm

Just as hungry hordes of grasshoppers threatened fields during Nebraska’s pioneer era, certain mites and aphids these days pose a significant threat by transmitting viruses to cereal crops. Many gaps remain in the scientific understanding of that transmission, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in recent years has taken major steps to pioneer research on these issues.

Filling in this knowledge can provide a major help to agriculture by enabling more effective practices to contain the threats.

Shaonpius Mondal, a scientist with deep experience in studying arthropods as virus vectors in agriculture, and his team are pursuing multiple advanced research projects studying cereal viruses transmitted by wheat curl mites and aphids.

https://news.unl.edu/article/mondal-lab-pioneers-research-into-pest-borne-viral-infections-of-cereal-crops