48 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN November 2024 LEGENDARY SINCE 1971 ROZOL PRAIRIE DOG BAIT Build your legacy with the legendary Rozol® Prairie Dog Bait. Brought to you by Liphatech Ag, your Most Valuable Partner for effective rodent control. Rozol Prairie Dog Bait is a restricted use pesticide. WE HAVE YOUR BACKS, BARNS AND BOTTOM LINES. IANR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 46 The Elite 11 program, which I’ve written about before, is an excellent example of this. This program seeks to increase the number of veterinarians serving Nebraska’s livestock industry by seeking out the best and brightest and providing them scholarships to cover the cost of their veterinary medicine degrees. In return, students agree to work in Nebraska practices that serve livestock producers for at least eight years upon completing their degrees. We had an outstanding pool of applicants for this first round of the program, and extended scholarship offers to 19 high school seniors from Nebraska schools. All 19 students are now enrolled in CASNR, and in August, Gov. Jim Pillen announced that the program would be extended for a second year, with a new cohort of high school seniors able to apply for the program this fall. In my opinion, one of the most valuable aspects of this program is the partnership with practicing Nebraska veterinarians from across the state. Students will have opportunities to work alongside and learn from Nebraska food animal vets, get to know the areas they serve and begin to develop an understanding of what it means to be a livestock veterinarian in Nebraska. This semester, we received a new investment in Nebraska beef research. In September, a team of researchers from across UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) was awarded a Grand Challenge grant from the university’s Office of Research and Innovation. These awards are intended to support important research that serves Nebraska and Nebraskans. The grant will bolster the university’s efforts to support a sustainable beef industry, which researchers believe is crucial from an environmental, economic and social standpoint. The project, led by beef expert Galen Erickson and a diverse group of faculty and staff from UNL’s Beef Innovation team, aims to establish resilient, climate-smart beef production systems that are tested to be effective across many types of management practices, soil types, weather conditions, forage types and other factors. This type of research is important for several reasons. First, many newer incentive programs are based on beef producers demonstrating that their grazing operations improve carbon capture, decrease greenhouse gas emissions or both. Second, as consumers become more interested in the environmental impact of their decisions, we want to be able to share information that shows the true environmental impact of beef production. We’ll continue to share updates on this research as we learn more. As always, I hope you stay in touch. If you have questions, comments or ideas, please reach out anytime – mboehm3@ unl.edu. ~NC~
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