Weed Superintendent
Duties & Responsibilities
Complaints about noxious weeds in Brown County can be made by calling the Weed Superintendent’s office or by completing the weed complaint form provided and submitting it to the Brown County Noxious Weed Control Authority. You can print this form out and mail it to the office.
The following is a partial list of those duties:
Being certified, in writing, by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture as a commercial applicator.
Examining all lands under the jurisdiction of the control authority to determine if the Noxious Weed Control Act and the rules and regulations are being complied with.
Compiling infestation data and other reports as the Director of Agriculture or control authority may require.
Supervising and carrying out the coordinated control program within the county.
Completing 20 hours of continuing education, annually.
Ascertaining and tabulating the approximate amount and location of land infested with noxious weeds in the county, annually.
Ascertaining and preparing information required by the county board for the preparation of the county budget.
contact
Scott Erthum
402-760-0093
weeds@browncountyne.gov
88627 430th Ave
Ainsworth, NE 69210
quick links
Noxious Weeds
Brown County Noxious Weed Control Authority
The Director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture establishes which plants are noxious and the control measures to be used in preventing their spread. The following non-native weeds have been officially designated as noxious in Nebraska:
Saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima)
Lifespan: Perennial Shrub or small tree
Origin: Eurasia
Stem: 3 – 20 feet tall
Flowering Dates: April – September
Reproduction: Seeds, root sprouts, buried stems
Saltcedar grows in salt marshes, flood plains, lakeshores and along rivers and streams. A mature saltcedar plant can absorb 200 gallons of water and dense stands may cause springs and small streams to dry up. Saltcedar seed resembles the size and color of pepper and spreads by wind and water. A mature plant can produce as many as 500,000 seeds per year. Branches that are cut and left in a warm moist area will regrow.
Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense L. Scop.)
Life Span: Perennial
Stems: 2 to 4 feet tall; hollow; erect; branched above; no leafy wings or spiny margins on upper stems below flowers.
Leaves: Moderate to coarsely lobed, usually wavy with spiny margins. Upper side light to dark green, shiny, hairy to hairless.
Inflorescence: Small 1/2 to 3/4 inch diameter rose purple, sometimes white color, male/female flower on separate plants.
Roots: Extensive vertical and horizontal root system.
Diffuse Knapweed (Centaurea diffusa Lam.)
Life Span: Biennial or short-lived perennial. Rosette formed during the first year.
Stems: Erect, much branched with rough pubescence. Height 1 to 2-1/2 feet tall. Often branched near or directly above the base.
Leaves: Alternate, deeply divided into narrow segments. Short, or no, leaf stalks. Upper leaves nearly entire or minutely lobed. Gray-green color and covered with fine hair.
Inflorescence: Numerous solitary heads clustered at end of branches, approximately 3/4 inch in diameter. White, pink, or lavender disk flowers. Flower heads surrounded by spiny bracts. Flowers July through September.
Roots: Stout, elongated taproot.
Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula L.)
Life Span: Perennial
Stems: 1 to 3 feet tall; thickly clustered; erect; branched at the top; milky white sap.
Leaves: Long and narrow. 1/4 inches wide and 1 to 4 inches long.
Inflorescence: Flower very small, surrounded by showy yellow-green heart-shaped bracts.
Roots: Deep, spreading, brown with numerous pink buds which may produce new shoots or roots.
Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans L.)
Life Span: Biennial or occasionally an annual. Rosette formed first year.
Stems: Up to 6 feet tall; main stem and major branches are hairless. The stem bearing flower head is covered with fine gray hair with the first few inches below the flower head having no leaves attached.
Leaves: Dark green, prominent light green midrib, usually smooth or hairless on both sides. Deeply lobed with spiny margins up to 20 inches in length.
Inflorescence: Large, solitary 1 to 2-1/2 inches in diameter, usually noding slightly. Deep rose or purple color. Average plant produces 5,000 to 10,000 seeds; some up to 20,000 seeds.
Plumeless Thistle (Carduus acanthoides L.)
Life Span: Biennial or occasionally an annual. Rosette formed in first year.
Stems: 1 to 4 feet tall, leafy to the base of flower heads.
Leaves: Dark green with light midrib. Leaf surface sparsely hairy on top and hairy beneath. Leaves deeply lobed, with narrow spiny margins.
Inflorescence: Solitary in cluster of two to five, blooms 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter, erect and usually not drooping.
Roots: Stout, fleshy, taproot.
Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea maculosa Lam.)
Life Span: Biennial or short-lived perennial. Rosette formed during the first year.
Stems: Slender and erect with numerous wiry branches. Height 1 to 3 feet tall. Roughly hairy.
Leaves: Alternate, deeply divided into narrow segments and covered with short hairs. Leaves much smaller at top of plant and becoming more linear. Seedling leaves form a rosette.
Inflorescence: Numerous terminal and axillary blossoms 3/4 inch in diameter, composed of pink to purple disk flowers. Each head surrounded by leaf-like bract with dark tips and a fringe of bristly hairs. Flowers June through October.
Roots: Stout, elongated taproot.
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.)
Life Span: Perennial
Stems: Erect, 4-angled, hairless to pubescent, not highly branched, usually from a woody base.
Leaves: Opposite or in whorls; blades simple; lanceolate (long, wide), tip sharply pointed, base rounded or heart-shaped, margins entire, surfaces pubescent; sessile.
Inflorescence: Cymules arranged in spikes, terminal
Roots: Rhizomes, short; taproot
Source: Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, published by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.
