Gage County Receives Weed Control Evaluation

BEATRICE – A Nebraska Agriculture Department official says Gage County’s weed control effort is in good shape overall…with only a deficiency in the area of open cases.

Paul Moyer with the department’s Animal Plant Health Protection division, gave a report to county supervisors on Wednesday.

Moyer says the county’s noxious weed effort has improved over the past three years.  Becky Borgmann serves as weed control superintendent, within the county’s highway department.

A county can earn a maximum of 3,400 points, assessed in areas such as inspections, office evaluation, reporting and infestation control.  A county can force control through couple of methods, including instituting fines or assessing control costs to property owners taxes. Most landowners, Moyer says, voluntarily comply with control of noxious weeds.

Gage County scored a total of 2,940 points in its’ 2018 evaluation, up from 2,870 in 2017….and 2,558 in 2016.

Moyer said the one shortcoming is some open cases that need to be resolved. Moyer spoke about the most significant noxious weed problems in Gage County, which other counties also struggle with.   "The worst problem we're seeing right now is this weed called phragmites.   We're really starting to see it anyplace where it is damp, or wet.  It will literally block the flow of water", Moyer said.

Moyer says musk thistle, leafy spurge and knotweed are also at the top of the list of concerns.  

The Nebraska Agriculture Department does random testing for the presence of noxious weeds in counties.  But, the counties themselves, have the authority to address problems.