The North American Manure Expo 2011 was hosted by UNL Extension and a team of partnering Nebraska organizations and businesses. The programs theme was “Professionalism in Manure Management”. The program included 58 vendors, more than 20 educational programs, demonstrations of a variety of equipment including a GPS Ride and Drive event, and farm tours the following day. Estimates of attendance ranged from 1,200 to 2000 people. The event was a unique partnership of public and commercial organizations providing farmers and rancher access to a wide range of education and experiences. For example, Larry Howard during a tour of irrigation systems for managing manure used his iPad to access a producers center pivot controls and make pivot management decisions from the farm shop. This event also received considerable exposure on TV and press telling a stewardship story about livestock producers. The program was chaired by Chris Henry and Leslie Johnson and many UNL Extension faculty contributed to planning, facilitation of demonstrations, and presentation of educational programs. I congratulate this team on a very successful.
-- Elbert Dickey and Rick Koelsch