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Long-term Cropping Study Over in Carrington, the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center has just released its results of a cropping systems study that started in 1987. The following information is taken from the Carrington Research Extension Center’s website and written by Ezra Aberle, Agronomy Research Specialist. The study consisted of three sets of 4-year crop rotations that are replicated three times each year. The eight cycle ended in 2015. This post discusses s...
Timely Topics North Dakota State University Yard and Garden Report is a publication that comes out weekly during the summer months. The most recent report came out on October 12th, with some good tips for getting ready for winter. Here are some tips for vegetable and fruits; Plant garlic now, divide cloves and set 4-6 inches apart. Cover the cloves with 2 inches of soil, then irrigate. Cover them with 4 inches of straw in November, planting hardneck varieties are the hardiest. When storing...
What is BQA? Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) is a producer driven program in which cattle producers assume responsibility for producing beef that is a healthy, wholesome, quality product and free from defects such as injection-site lesions and bruises. Producers in BQA programs keep detailed records of husbandry practices and treatments performed on their cattle, Further, producers involved in BQA programs assure their management, husbandry and animal health practices meet regulatory and industry...
Recap on the 2016 Disease Survey This summer the Williston Research Extension Center started a scouting program with support from the Northern Pulse Growers Association (NPGA). The support by the NPGA provided funds for a full time crop scout, Adam Carlson NDSU student, to survey fields in Williams, Divide, Mountrail, McKenzie, and Burke. The program was for peas and lentils, which was successful at detecting several diseases this summer and determining their distribution across the region....
Fall Harvest and Yard Chores Fall is officially here, and the leaves are starting to change color as well. With some trees starting to turn their fall color, that also means it’s time to clean up the dropped leaves. It is always best to pick up the leaves in your yard during the fall so that next spring those leaves can’t transfer any diseases or cause fungi to grow. Leaving leaves down in the yard will create a layer that moisture from the snow can’t escape, increasing the chance of mold or fu...
Livestock producers must become familiar with a new directive regulating certain medications that can be added to the animals’ feed, according to Gerald Stokka, North Dakota State University Extension Service veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist. The veterinary feed directive (VFD) regulations go into effect Jan. 1, 2017. “This means that any feed additive medication used for livestock that contains an antibiotic considered to be medically important will need to be accompanied by...
DON, commonly referred to as vomitoxin, is back in the fields this year. It has been two years since DON was wide spread through the region. It affects wheat and barley grain infected by Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scab. Scab may infect grain heads when wet weather occurs during the flowering and grain filling stages or plant development. Just because you have scab in your fields, that doesn’t mean you will have DON. The concentrations of DON in grain are expressed as parts per million (...
Getting the most out of your Garden Gardens throughout the area are starting to ripen and produce many fruits and vegetables. But along with growing plants, can be growing causes for diseases. There have been reports of powdery mildew on leaves on vined plants. Powdery mildew is a whitish gray powder that appears on leaves, especially squash. Blight is another fungus that appears on leaves which causes them to turn brown and wrinkle. With both of these fungi, one thing to help prevent the...
Cyanobacterial Poisoning in Livestock Toxic Cyanobacterial blooms, blue-green algae, occur because of favorable conditions in stagnant waters. Those conditions include hot, sunny days and warm, nutrient rich water. These blooms occur late summer into early fall. With the favorable conditions listed above, the bacterial blooms can multiply rapidly. Recently the North Dakota Department of Health listed Cottonwood Lake in Williams County with a warning that a bloom has taken over a significant...
Harvest Safety With harvest upon us, whether you farm or not, please remember to be careful. Whether it is a semitruck, tractor, combine or any other piece of farm equipment, it is slower to stop than a car. Please take your time when passing and driving on roads, whether you are on a rural road or in town. Flea Beetles Causing Injury to Canola Pods The new generation of adult flea beetles emerges after mid-July and feeds on the green foliage and developing green pods of canola. Usually the...
If you love gardening and sharing your knowledge with others, consider becoming a North Dakota Master Gardener volunteer in collaboration with the North Dakota State University Extension Service. This year’s Master Gardener training program will run for 10 weeks beginning September 9 and ending December 2, with breaks for holidays. The course will be offered online and in a traditional classroom setting. Classroom training will be held every Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Classes will n...
Last week I talked about a fungus called Fusarium Head Blights, also known as scab. But along with scab, another problem that is showing up in Williams County and surrounding areas is wheat midge. Wheat midge as an adult is an orange-colored, fragile, very small insect approximately half the size of a mosquito. Wheat midge has three pairs of long legs, a pair of oval wings, transparent and fringed with fine hairs. Two eyes are conspicuous and black. The eggs are elongated, whitish and very...
Rain and Warm Weather With the rain and sunshine come many benefits, lush green lawns and potential high yields. But along with good there is always some bad such as mowing your lawn every few days and harmful diseases, fungus and pests. In Williams County, and a few surrounding areas, there have been reports of Wheat Midge and Fusarium Head Blight (FHB). Fusarium Head Blight, also known as scab, is a disease that thrives in warm and moist conditions. Scab is a fungi that is commonly seen on...
Mondak Ag Showcase July 14-15 the Williston Research Extension Center will be hosting their annual field days. On Thursday July 14th starting at 8:30a.m. CT, the day will begin with the dryland tour. This event is free and no registration is required. On the dryland tour you can learn about the new crop varieties, Williston’s research and the five steps to a great lawn. After a delicious BBQ chicken dinner, the afternoon session will start at 1:30 at the Ernie French Center. The afternoon s...
The Mondak Ag Showcase is July 14-15 when the Williston Research Extension Center will be hosting their annual field days. On Thursday July 14, starting at 8:30 a.m., the dryland tour will start. This event is free and no registration is required. On the dryland tour you can learn about the new variety testing and research to the five steps to a great lawn. After a great BBQ chicken lunch, the afternoon session will start at 1:30 p.m. at the Ernie French Center. The afternoon session is...
The Upper Missouri Valley Fair is held in Williston on June 22-26. There are a lot of wonderful events going on for everyone every day of the fair. The Williams County 4-H members have been working hard on projects all year long, the final reward is the fair. From sewing, woodworking and baking to livestock there will be projects displayed the whole time of the fair. The rabbit and poultry show will be on Wednesday June 22, at 4:30 p.m., the other species; beef, swine, sheep and goat, will be...
Gardening is an opportunity to grow fresh produce in your back yard, which is a real treat during the summer. Over the years, gardeners have little tips and tricks that will help them get the biggest yields for the respective plant. One trick that is used is Epsom salt to prevent blossom end rot, well it is time to debunk that myth. Epsom salt doesn't stop blossom end rot- it can lead to more of it. Blossom end rot is caused by a deficiency of calcium, Epsom salt contains magnesium sulfate- no...
Having a lush, weed free lawn is something that most people love to have. Many people are seeing an abundance of weeds in their yards, here are some ways to get rid of those weeds. But before jumping into the arsenal of chemicals that are on the market for weed control in home lawns, try some of the practices that are mentioned in the NDSU Extension Service publication Home Lawn Problems and Solutions for North Dakota. Authors are Alan Zuk, Department of Plant Sciences, Janet Knodel, Extension E...
Seeding coming to an end for many farmers in northwest North Dakota, but in six weeks you should go back into the fields. Crop scouting is an important activity that farmers and agronomist should do throughout early spring and summer. But what about the stuff that can happen underground? Like nutrient deficiencies. Six weeks after planting, you should go out and pull up a few wheat plants. Those plants will be able to “tell” you a lot of what is going on and their overall health. The above gro...
North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring says farmers, ranchers, pesticide dealers and applicators, government agencies and homeowners should bring any unusable pesticides to any of the Project Safe Send collections in July. “Over the past 24 years, thousands of people have brought more than four million pounds of these chemicals to Project Safe Send,” Goehring said. “It is safe, simple and non-regulatory program that helps people safely and legally get rid of unusable pesti...
Windbreaks play an important role in North Dakota, but they help with more than just the wind. Recently North Dakota has been receiving well-needed moisture, but imagine if we hadn’t received any rain yet this spring. Without the rainfall we would be sitting at a threat of drought and blowing topsoil, but thanks to the rich history of windbreaks we thankfully do not have to worry much about those problems. Many of the 55,000 miles of trees planted in our prairie state are declining, because t...
North Dakota State University Extension Service puts out weekly reports called the Crop & Pest report. These reports start in May and go through early fall, which highlights all of the times where pests, diseases and stress factors can occur for plants. One article in this report is about Cutworms, more exactly the Army and pale western cutworms that have been reported feeding on winter wheat and weedy cultivated fields in northwest North Dakota. The army cutworm’s larvae are gray to brown w...
With the warmer weather in the forecast, many ranchers want to put their cattle out to the start of lush green pastures. But it is just the start, deciding when to start grazing can drastically affect your pastureland for years to come. Starting to graze your land too early will reduce plant leaf area that is needed for the photosynthesis process to replace carbohydrates that were depleted during the winter. Grazing early will cause plant vigor to reduce, the stands are thinned, total forage...
Tick season is underway here in North Dakota. There are three species of ticks that can be found: American dog tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick and winter tick, American dog tick is the most common. With the worry of Lymes disease being carried in ticks, here in North Dakota we are lucky that the black-legged tick, also known as deer tick, is not naturally occurring. The black-legged Rocky Mountain tick may be transferred over from neighboring states. Ticks will bite on to your skin and engorge wi...
Last week I had talked about Square Foot Gardening, which is a big trend right now, but there is another type of gardening that is very beneficial to butterflies; butterfly gardens. North Dakota State University Extension Service has a publication called “Butterfly Gardening in North Dakota”, written by Janet Knodel, Gerald Fauske and Ronald Smith. This is a great resource for those that want to start a butterfly garden in their yard, if you would like this publication please call the off...
