Plumbing - Know Your Piping Materials

Damon Dobesh is the founder of Dobesh Plumbing. Customers hire Damon Dobesh to complete major projects like bathroom remodels and pipe replacements. 

The material used in plumbing pipes varies depending on when and where a home was constructed. In homes built prior to 1960, pipes are likely to be cast-iron, a strong material that is nonetheless susceptible to rust. In the event that cast-iron pipes do rust, a plumber can extract the compromised sections and replace them with rust-proof, plastic piping. 

Most homes built after the 1970s come with plastic pipe plumbing. Older homes often have acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastic pipes, which unfortunately can develop joint problems. For that reason, newer construction relies on polyvinyl-chloride piping as a highly durable alternative to ABS. 

Though plastic is cheap and effective, copper makes for an excellent piping material because it beats the competition in terms of longevity. However, such longevity comes with a high price: 100 feet of copper piping can cost around $300.

Tips for Strong Soybean Yields

As a professional farmer, Damon Dobesh oversees all stages of cultivation, from planting to harvest. In the fall of 2016, Damon Dobesh focused on corn and soybeans.

Although the soybean yield varies significantly with weather conditions, a number of specific adjustments can help farmers to maximize outcome. One such action is to manage the pH of the soil, as soybean roots tend to produce an area of focused acidity. If the soil overall is too alkaline, nutrients cannot reach the plant. It is therefore important for farmers to maintain a soil pH of 6.0 to 7.5.

Rotation can help to make the soil itself more responsive to soybean plants, as can phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers. The plants should be planted approximately 1 inch to 1.5 inches deep in the soil and should go in when the ground is no longer cold or wet. 

Experts also urge farmers to manage seeding rate, as studies show maximum yield at around two seeds per row foot. When planted much in excess of this ideal, plant population flattens and a number of seeds go to waste. The exception to this rule occurs with late plantings, as seeds sowed after the beginning of summer tend to generate shorter plants. In these cases, more plants are necessary to make up the yield.

American Legion's National Convention

Damon Dobesh is a self-employed, hard-working Nebraska farmer. Responsible for the overall success of the family venture, Damon Dobesh handles a wide range of duties from feeding cattle, planting, and harvesting to bookkeeping and purchasing equipment. Outside of his work, he is a member of the Sons of The American Legion (S.A.L.). 

Founded in 1932 as a means of honoring the sacrifice of veterans and current Legion members, S.A.L. is a non-profit designed to help strengthen and preserve American traditions and values through fundraising and goodwill campaigns. S.A.L. members regularly attend The American Legion's national convention, an annual meeting which brings together three Legion subgroups for separate events. The American Legion's 99th national convention will be held in Reno, Nevada from August 18-24, 2017. 

More than 9,000 Legion members are expected to descend upon Reno for the annual event, which features a prominent keynote speakers at numerous receptions and banquets, as well as a parade and patriotic memorial service.

Nebraska Cornhuskers - Husker Power

 


As a self-employed farmer in Ulysses, Nebraska, Damon Dobesh enjoys watching college football, especially his favorite two teams, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Damon Dobesh also keeps busy operating his own plumbing business in Ulysses.

For more than four decades the Nebraska Cornhuskers collegiate football team has relied heavily on its strength and conditioning training program, known around the world as Husker Power. The University was the first NCAA school to implement strength and conditioning by hiring a coach dedicated to the physical fitness training of its players. Since the program began in 1969, athletic departments and student-athletes around the world have based their training programs on the Husker Power model.

Husker Power uses ten principles that are designed to train the body’s energy system while correcting postural imbalances and building muscle tone. The program uses a strength index and a performance index to measure the progress of its student-athletes. Husker Power coaches are nationally certified and accredited in strength and conditioning training.

History of Angus Cattle in America

Farmer Damon Dobesh lives and works in Nebraska, where he grows corn, soy, and alfalfa. Damon Dobesh also keeps Angus cattle at the farm he shares with his brother. 

Angus cattle, known internationally as Aberdeen Angus cattle, are native to northern Scotland. The first four Angus cattle in the United States came over with George Grant, who settled in Victoria, Kansas, in 1873. The hornless bulls were locally regarded as abnormalities, but the breed grew on Americans after crossing it with the heartier Texas longhorn cow. 

Americans began importing Angus cattle in large numbers around 1878. The Midwest saw the arrival of 1,200 head of cattle in just a five year span, and new owners began to start new herds, breed new stock, and spread the Angus breed across the nation. 

Today, Angus cows remain popular in the United States, where they are prized for their quality meat. The breed makes up more than 60 percent of commercial cattle population across the country.