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Montana State University’s College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station will honor the state and university’s agricultural legacy during the annual Celebrate Agriculture weekend, set for Nov. 10-12 on the MSU campus. The annual event is open to the public. MSU Vice President of Agriculture Charles Boyer said the event has a meaningful history that mirrors the state’s cornerstone agricultural industry. “As Montana’s flagship land-grant university, with its roots in agriculture, our successes today wouldn’t be what they a...
A new Montana State University Extension bulletin, Soil Nutrient Management for Canola, offers suggested soil nutrient management practices based on regional research. The key to nutrient management for optimal canola yield is to select the right fertilizer source, the right rate, the right placement and the right timing for an operation, known as the “4R” concept, according to Clain Jones, co-author and Extension soil fertility specialist in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University. “These are u...
Montana State University Extension beef cattle specialists will host summer meetings across Montana to help livestock producers understand a new ruling by the United States Food and Drug Administration concerning feed-grade antibiotics. The veterinary feed directive, or VFD, was developed by the USFDA and will impact how producers feed their livestock. The VFD impacts feed-grade antibiotics that are medically important, which are antibiotics used in both human and animal medicine. The VFD rule will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2017. In...
BOZEMAN – The public is invited to attend free annual field days across Montana to tour and learn about the people, places and projects involved with agricultural research at Montana State University’s College of Agriculture andMontana Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES). Seven research stations across the state and two local Bozeman campus farms will each host a field day this summer. The experiment station comprises statewide agricultural research of on and off-campus MSU faculty and facilities. “Statewide field days are a longs...
Montana State University Extension recommends that producers now applying urea fertilizer (46-0-0) protect it from volatilization loss (ammonia loss to the air) by sub-surface banding, incorporation into the soil by tillage or a half-inch of water in a single event or through the use of urease inhibitors. The standard recommendation for banding nitrogen fertilizer was historically to band it about two inches below seeding depth, or three to five inches below the soil surface – before packing. With increased no-till practices and application o...
A native wildflower with a foreboding name is abundant on Montana rangelands this spring. Death camas (Zigadenus spp.), a plant that resembles wild onion, has caused at least four cattle deaths in Yellowstone County so far this year. "Montana livestock owners may want to take extra precautions and adjust when and how pastures with death camas are grazed this year," said Jeff Mosley, Montana State University Extension range management specialist. Death camas is highly toxic to cattle, sheep and...
Montana State University Extension recommends that producers now applying urea fertilizer (46-0-0) protect it from volatilization loss (ammonia loss to the air) by sub-surface banding, incorporation into the soil by tillage or a half-inch of water in a single event or through the use of urease inhibitors. The standard recommendation for banding nitrogen fertilizer was historically to band it about two inches below seeding depth, or three to five inches below the soil surface – before packing. With increased no-till practices and application o...
MSU will host a symposium April 22-23 featuring some of the nation’s most noted experts in vaccine development. The symposium is named for Maurice Hilleman, a 1941 MSU graduate who saved the lives of millions by developing a wide array of vaccines. BOZEMAN – Some of the nation’s most noted experts in vaccine development will speak at Montana State University on April 22-23, when the university hosts the Maurice Hilleman Vaccine Symposium. The event is free, and the public is invited to attend all presentations, including a keynote lectu...
BOZEMAN — The 2016 Montana State University Spring Rodeo will run Thursday, April 7, through Sunday, April 10, at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. The action begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday, with performance rounds followed by the slack rounds. On Friday, slack begins at noon, with the performance at 7 p.m. On Saturday, short-go action begins at 7 p.m. On Sunday, slack gets underway at 8 a.m., with the matinee at 2 p.m. The four-day rodeo will feature the nationally ranked men’s and women’s Bobcat Rodeo teams competing against nine other regio...
BOZEMAN – Researchers will be using a mailed survey in Richland County, Montana, and McKenzie County, North Dakota, to collect data to better understand the local community benefits and costs of oil and gas development. The survey asks businesses and landowners about how recent oil activity affected their businesses and farm and ranch operations. The post-boom timing of this study makes it notable as little hard data exists about communities after peak drilling activity, according to Julia Hobson Haggerty, project director and assistant p...
BOZEMAN — This year’s Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum, “Challenges and Opportunities of Cow Herd Expansion,” will be held April 19-20 in Bozeman at the GranTree Inn, 1325 N. 7th Avenue. Speakers will cover a wide variety of topics, including the US cattle cycle and cattle prices, reproductive management considerations for herd expansion, heifer development, cattle temperament, the veterinary feed directive for feed-grade antibiotics, and approaches to animal health in a limited antibiotic environment. A panel discussion on herd...
Montana State University Extension has released the two latest editions in its MontGuides series on crop-damaging insect pests, covering the cereal leaf beetle and the pea leaf weevil. The new guides contain essential information that producers need to manage these insect pests, including identification, biology, life history, types of damage and management recommendations. These publications are the first MontGuides to be released in a new single-page format, called pest fact sheets. The new...
Montana State University Extension, in cooperation with Northwest Farm Credit Services, will host the Montana broadcast of the fifth annual Women in Agriculture Conference on Saturday, March 19. This one-day webinar is presented remotely by Washington State University Extension and takes place simultaneously at 31 locations throughout Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Alaska. The conference is interactive and was developed to empower women in agriculture to achieve goals and manage risk...
BOZEMAN — Opening a Montana medical care savings account by Dec. 31 to help with medical expenses not covered by a health insurance policy or flexible spending account can help individuals save on taxes, according to Marsha Goetting, a family economics specialist with Montana State University Extension. Up to $3,000 of a deposit into the account, per taxpayer, is deductible from an individual’s 2015 Montana adjusted gross income, thus reducing taxes, Goetting said. “This tax advantage does not apply to your federal income taxes, however, and s...
Registration is now open for the Montana State University Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology’s crop and pest management school. The workshop, which will be held Jan. 5-7 at MSU, will focus on forage and pulse crops. The 2½-day workshop will feature three guest speakers. Earl Creech, assistant professor of agronomy at Utah State University, will present two lectures on forage crop management; Pierce Paul, associate professor of cereal pathology from Ohio State University, will present two lectures on disease epidemiology and ma...
BOZEMAN — Opening a Montana medical care savings account by Dec. 31 to help with medical expenses not covered by a health insurance policy or flexible spending account can help individuals save on taxes, according to Marsha Goetting, a family economics specialist with Montana State University Extension. Up to $3,000 of a deposit into the account, per taxpayer, is deductible from an individual’s 2015 Montana adjusted gross income, thus reducing taxes, Goetting said. “This tax advantage does not apply to your federal income taxes, however, and s...
Montana State University’s new Regional Pulse Crop Diagnostic Laboratory in Bozeman offers several diagnostic tests on seed samples to check for pulse crop diseases. The tests cost $200 per sample and screen for seven important fungal diseases of pulse crops, which include ascochyta blight, anthracnose, fusarium wilt, botrytis, gray mold, and stemphylium blight. Another test, known as the smart package, costs $400 per sample and includes the seven fungal diseases and two virus tests: Pea seedborne mosaic virus (PSbMV) and Pea enation mosaic v...
Montana State University has completed an agreement to license more than 700 developmental lines of durum wheat to Montana-based Northern Seed, LLC. “Northern Seed is very excited to strengthen our relationship with MSU through this durum license and continued collaboration on behalf of Montana producers,” said Ryan Holt, Northern Seed vice president of supply chain and markets. “The addition of these Montana lines to our existing durum program will only strengthen our ability to discover and develop new durum varieties. We look forward to th...
BOZEMAN – A new publication from Montana State University Extension is designed to help identify invasive exotic thistles and verify those that are native to Montana. People often think that the only good thistle is a dead thistle. While this can be true for well-known invasive exotic thistles like Canada or musk thistle, some thistles are Montana natives and better off alive than dead due to their beautiful flowers and foliage and the habitat they provide for wildlife. Five exotic thistles a...
BOZEMAN - Sonny Ramaswamy, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), will visit Montana State University in July. Ramaswamy's visit includes a question and answer session that is free and open to the general public. Ramaswamy's visit is hosted by the MSU Office of Research and Economic Development and the MSU College of Agriculture. It will include meetings with MSU faculty, who will share current research on pest management,...
BOZEMAN – Montanans who battle wheat stem sawfly now have a new weapon to consider using. Over the next four years and possibly longer, wheat producers will be able to use a granular insecticide against the No. 1 small grain insect pest in Montana. The insecticide, Thimet 20-G, must be incorporated into the soil at least 85 days before harvest. “This is big news because it’s something that works,” said Montana State University Cropland Entomologist Kevin Wanner. “For the first time, producers will have a pesticide as an option.” MSU Pestici...
BOZEMAN – The Museum of the Rockies will offer a June 2 seminar on heritage fruit trees in Montana on Tuesday, June 2, from 6-8 p.m. at the Museum of the Rockies. The talk by Toby Day, MSU Extension horticulturist, will discuss the state’s rich history with fruit production, including apples, pears, apricots, plums and cherries. The cost is $5 for Museum members and $8 for non-members at the door. Historically, orchards grew up after being planted by orchardists and homesteaders trying to make a living. Although the orchardists and hom...
BOZEMAN – Montana State University Extension has a new 24-page booklet for sale about wildlife damage control for organic farmers. Organic farmers of any size production can have challenges without using chemicals for wildlife or pest control. This color booklet was created to provide alternative controls appropriate for both traditional and organic farming. Written by retired MSU Extension wildlife specialist Jim Knight, the book describes how specific traps, methods and timing of control can be more efficient and cost-effective than the t...
BOZEMAN – Montana State University’s Schutter Diagnostic Laboratory has been receiving numerous samples of wheat plants that have yellow, or yellow and brown spotted, lower leaves. Given the spring weather, as well as a lack of diagnosed disease in many of these samples, experts at MSU believe frost damage, drought stress and nutrient deficiencies are likely culprits. Nutrient deficiencies may seem unlikely for those who used starter fertilizer, but plants need water to take up nutrients, and many areas of the state received well below nor...
Montana State University officials announced this week that Chengci Chen, professor of cropping systems for the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) and MSU College of Agriculture, has been appointed the new superintendent of the Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) in Sidney. As superintendent, Chen will be responsible for management of the center's irrigated and dryland farming research profile, including research on sugar beets, barley, durum, winter and spring wheat, oil...
