CSU Extension Pueblo County Ag and Range

A confirmed case of New World Screwworm has been found in Texas. The USDA and Texas officials are conducting a robust response to this index case of NWS in the United States. Screwworms are parasitic fly larvae that feed on living tissue. They are capable of causing extensive and potentially life-threatening tissue damage to affected animals. Screwworm myiasis is a reportable condition in Colorado in animals and people. Veterinarians, producers, animal owners, and diagnostic laboratories must report any suspected case to the State Veterinarian’s Office by calling 303-869-9130 or through the online Myiasis Reporting Form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedLFGoTVuIEM9bVuptpruedv_H1y1Ymc5d5jEtNDTl0ROiJg/viewform). Vigilance in monitoring for myiasis is important, and early detection is key. A NWS infestation can be treated, but early detection is important to ensure animals can recover

Have you ever been outside at night and seen something glimmering and moving fast? It likely was a scorpion. We have pockets of dense populations in Pueblo of scorpions that can grow to be quite large. Their body color is yellowish to light brown with immature scorpions being very light in color and have a dark V-shaped area on their head by their eyes. While they are venomous their toxin is generally considered a mild neurotoxin to humans. A sting can be very painful but rarely life threatening to people. It’s best to steer clear of them when they are active at night and to take precautions to keep them out of your house. To learn more about them you can click here:https://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/bspm/Arachnida%20(Arachnids)/Scorpions%20of%20Colorado.pdf

Check out this awesome, free Growing Degree Days (GDD) tool from CoAgMET!
You can select the weather station closest to your farm, plug in your specific planting date, and even customize the Max °F if you have crop-specific data. Easily switch between tables and graphs to track your accumulated Growing Degree Days (GDD) for any date.
https://coagmet.colostate.edu/graph/gdd/avn01?from=2026-04-21

If you would like to learn about GDD, here is a link:
https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/using-growing-degree-days-manage-home-garden

The Pueblo CSU Extension office is closed today for county employee appreciation day. State employees will be working remotely. Normal operations will resume tomorrow.

Tomorrow the Pueblo CSU Extension office will be closed in observance of the county employee appreciation day. State employees will be available by remote access through email and phone. Normal operations will resume on Thursday, June 4.

Reminder that the the Pueblo County Extension Office and all County offices will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, June 3, for Employee Appreciation Day.

This past weekend was our final class for the spring 2026 poultry workshop. We learned about processing and the differences in looking at meat value and quantity on a layer breed vs a meat laying breed of chickens. This final class pulled together all the other class pieces we learned about including biosecurity, marketing techniques, nutrition and housing. This class also touched on many other farm aspects during our Nola Naturals farm tour that ended up in fresh farm produce! We look forward to hosting many more classes like this on other animal species.

Thank you to Nola Naturals for allowing us to come learn from your fantastic farm!

Alfalfa Mosaic Virus (AMV) is an emerging concern across alfalfa, pepper crops, and beyond. Join us to learn how to identify it, understand how it spreads, and find out what management options are available from our own CSU researcher Dr. Ada Szczepaniec.

The Pueblo CSU Extension is working remotely today but staff can still be reached via email and by calling the main CSU Extension number at 719-583-6566. Normal business operations resume tomorrow.

On Monday, the Pueblo CSU Extension staff will be working remotely. To chat with them please send them an email or call the main number at 719-583-6566 and you can get routed to the correct specialist. Normal business operations will resume on Tuesday, June 2nd.