Gary L. Zoubek

Introduction

Gary L. Zoubek is an Extension Educator in York County. He has been with University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension in York County, Southeast Research and Extension Center for 34 years.

Education:

• M.S., Agriculture, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 1973.
• B.S., Agriculture, University of Nebraska– Lincoln, 1972.

Examples of Current Research/ Extension Programs (brief descriptions):

Zoubek’s Extension responsibilities include educational programming in irrigated agriculture. His goal is to get the research-based information from the University to the people of the area.

Most recently he has been involved with the Nebraska Agricultural Water Management Demonstration Network (NAWMDN). The goal of this effort is to: “Educate and inform agricultural professionals and irrigators about the use of newer technologies such as Evapotranspiration gages (ETgages) and Watermark soil moisture sensors through this Network which was established in early 2005 in a partnership between UNL Extension and Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District (UBBNRD). The network has expanded to more than 120 participants in 2007 with more planning to participate in 2008. Information about this effort can be found at: http://york.unl.edu/Yorkag.htm.

Examples of Past Research/Extension Programs:

Over the years, Zoubek’s programming efforts have changed depending upon location or needs. He has been a member of several teams working on water quality and quantity issues (the Mid-Nebraska Water Quality Project), on-farm research (Greater Quad-County On- Farm Research Project), and a farm economics program (the Ten to Twenty farm profitability project). In addition, he has been involved in soil testing efforts to reduce nitrate leaching and on efforts to improve corn yields on sandy fields in Northeast Nebraska.

While in Holt and Antelope Counties Zoubek worked on efforts to improve irrigation management and irrigation scheduling with the use of local weather data, soil moisture monitoring equipment and programs like the Penman equation. He installed a local weather station to gather needed climatic data.

Examples of Outreach Programs:

• H20 Show
• Youth Water Festival in past years
• Weekly Personal Columns in the York News Times
• ExtensionUpdate
• Nitrate Testing Program at the York and Nemaha County Fairs – 2007
• Turfgrass Demonstration Plot – York County Fairgrounds

Selected Publications:

• Wortmann, C.S., Christiansen, A.P., Glewen, K.L., Hejny, T.A., Mulliken, J., Peterson, J.M., Varner, D.L., Wortmann, S., Zoubek, G.L. (2005, December). Farmer research: Conventional experiences and guidelines for alternative agriculture and multi-functional agro-ecosystems. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 20, 243-251. Genre: Refereed Journal Article, Category: Extension.
• Wortmann, C.W., A. P. Christiansen, K. L. Glewen, T.A. Hejny, J. Mulliken, J.M. Peterson, D. L. Varner, S. Wortmann, G. L. Zoubek, 2005. Farmer research: project evaluation and guidelines for implementation. Renew Agric. Food Syst. 20:243-251.

Extension and Educational Publications:

• Irmak, S., Jose O. Payero, Dean E. Eisenhauer, William L. Kranz, Derrel L. Martin, Gary L. Zoubek, Jennifer M. Rees, Andrew P. Christiansen, Dan Leininger. 2006. Watermark granular matrix sensor to measure soil matric potential for irrigation management. EC783 UNL Extension Division. Genre: Circular Category: Extension
• Roger A. Selley, Tina Barrett, and Robert Klein (Paul Hay, Tom Holman, Keith Jarvi, Ron Seymour, and Gary Zoubek) Nebraska Crop Budgets, 2006, EC872. Genre: Circular Category: Extension
• Ten Easy Ways to Boost Profits by $10 per Acre. (2005-06). University of Nebraska–Lincoln, EC176. Genre: Circular Category.

Extension Web/e-mail addresses:

• http://www.york.unl.edu/ or http://york.unl.edu/Yorkag.htm
• Email Gary