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BOZEMAN - A group of scholars and agricultural specialists who are considered some of the world’s top experts on food production, food safety and solving hunger across the globe will gather in Bozeman April 9 and 10 when the United States Agency for International Development‘s (USAID) Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) meets at Montana State University. MSU President Waded Cruzado, a member of the board appointed by President Barack Obama, will host the meeting of fellow board members. This is only the second tim...
Montana farmers know well the “shoulder seasons” – those few months before summer and during fall, when predicting the weather is a guess at best and harvest might be a gamble. For many of the state’s commercial vegetable growers, unpredictable weather during these months can damage produce and threaten a farmer’s seasonal income. That’s when high tunnel greenhouses prove beneficial. The free-standing greenhouses have frames, ground posts and plastic walls that protect crops for early or late season production. High tunnels – which differ...
Robert E. “Bob” Lee, a rancher from Judith Gap and respected leader in the agricultural community, will receive an honorary doctorate in animal and range sciences from Montana State University during the university’s spring commencement, set for May 9. Lee will deliver the charge to graduates at both the morning and afternoon commencement ceremonies. Lee and his wife, Kathy, own and operate the Robert E. Lee Ranch Company, a diversified cattle and grain operation located in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in central Montana. The ranch has...
Montana State University debuted a new institutional spot that highlights the work of MSU Extension and its impact on all Montanans. “We Work Together to Grow a Better Montana” premiered during the telecast of the MSU-UM football game. The 30-second commercial features the Schutter Diagnostic Lab on the MSU campus. It highlights the cooperative nature of the lab, ranging from the learning opportunities it offers to MSU students, the work done there by MSU Extension faculty and county agents and disseminated around the state by Extension age...
Montanans can now sign up for “MSU Urban Alert,” a new system to rapidly share information about plant disease, insect and weed issues in urban settings. “Landscapers, gardeners, homeowners and managers of parks or nurseries might be among those interested in receiving the free emailed alerts,” said Mary Burrows, plant pathologist with Montana State University Extension and director of the Schutter Diagnostic Laboratory at MSU. “The MSU Urban Alert works the same as MSU AgAlerts, but the new system focuses on issues in homes, gardens,...
Montana State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics and MSU Extension will host an annual Agricultural Economics Outlook Conference Friday, Nov. 7. This year’s conference, “Montana Agriculture: Current Issues and the Role of Agriculture Research,” will run from 8:30 a.m.-noon in the Procrastinator Theater in MSU’s Strand Union Building. The program will feature MSU faculty experts on agricultural policy, the Montana economy and livestock and grain markets. The conference’s keynote speaker, Philip Pardey, will addres...
Montana State University’s College of Agriculture will hold its annual Celebrate Agriculture Weekend Nov. 7-8 in Bozeman. All events are open to the public. Events will include an agricultural outlook seminar, presentations, tours, a classroom dedication and recognition of the Outstanding Agricultural Leaders Don Burnham and Sky Anderson and Monica Switzer. “This event is one of the most important events our college does annually,” said Glenn Duff, interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. “It’s...
Lance McNew, a new faculty member in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences at Montana State University, will be honored Oct. 26 in Pittsburgh at the 21st annual conference of The Wildlife Society. McNew was lead author of a scientific article selected as the 2014 outstanding article in wildlife publications. It ran in the Journal of Wildlife Management and described findings about greater prairie-chickens, an indicator species for tallgrass prairie in North America. The Wildlife Society publishes more than 200 articles each year in its...
Montana State University closed out another strong year of research successes with significant work in energy, agriculture, health and biomedicine, and the environment leading the way. The university’s overall research enterprise did $109.6 million in work for the fiscal year ending June 30. That includes $90.5 million in competitively won federal funds, as well as $1.6 million in gift funds for research. It also includes $15 million in state and $2.6 million in federal funding both largely for agricultural research through the Montana Agricult...
Montana State University closed out another strong year of research successes with significant work in energy, agriculture, health and biomedicine, and the environment leading the way. The university's overall research enterprise did $109.6 million in work for the fiscal year ending June 30. That includes $90.5 million in competitively won federal funds, as well as $1.6 million in gift funds for research. It also includes $15 million in state and $2.6 million in federal funding both largely for...
Pesticide applicators can save money by inspecting their spray equipment, calibrating their sprayers and testing the quality of their water before spraying, said Montana State University Extension Pesticide Education Specialist Cecil Tharp. “It’s easy for applicators to focus on purchasing pesticide products while neglecting to calibrate the output of their spray equipment or test the quality of their water being used for spray applications,” Tharp said. Offering three tips for spring spraying, Tharp recommended first that applicators inspe...
Wheat stem sawflies heavily damage more wheat than any other insect in Montana, and now Colorado and Nebraska are experiencing unprecedented outbreaks, says Montana State University entomologist David Weaver. Continuing to search for solutions, experts from three countries and four states will share their findings at the Sixth International Wheat Stem Sawfly Conference to be held April 3 and 4 at the Procrastinator Theatre in MSU's Strand Union building. The conference is free and open to the...
A federal certificate is now required for Montanans to spray restricted use pesticides on tribal land, says Montana State University Extension Pesticide Education Specialist Cecil Tharp. Restricted use pesticide dealers within tribal boundaries must register their businesses by April 7, Tharp said. In addition, private, commercial and government applicators applying restricted use pesticides within tribal boundaries must apply for the federal permit immediately. Tharp said Montana applicators who already have a state pesticide license don’t h...
The future of ranching will be the focus of this year’s Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum in Bozeman. The conference will begin the afternoon of Tuesday, April 22, and run through the morning of Wednesday, April 23, at the GranTree Inn, 1325 N. 7th Avenue. Speakers will cover a wide variety of topics, including water quality and mineral supplementation, the importance of mycotoxins in Montana, treating low quality forages to improve feeding quality, applying genomic selection, estate planning, the October 2013 blizzard in South D...
Given that seven out of 10 Montanans die without writing a will, Montana State University Extension has developed materials to educate people about what happens to their property if they die without a will. The information can be accessed at: www.montana.edu/dyingwithoutawill, or by obtaining a free CD from MSU Extension. By clicking through a series of yes-or-no questions on the website, Montanans can see on a simple family tree how Montana law distributes their if property if they pass away without writing a will, said Marsha Goetting, MSU...
With results that run from rust-resistant wheat to glowing rodent cartilage to super fluorescent fruit flies, researchers at Montana State University have developed new technologies in the areas of biotechnology and agriculture that are patent-pending and available for licensing. In MSU’s College of Agriculture, researchers have developed rust-resistance in wheat, which could offer a solution to a spreading pathogen that has already destroyed crops in Africa and Asia. The non-genetically modified trait that has been re-created in varieties o...
A free 2014 calendar featuring wheat pests of Montana is now available at Montana State University and MSU Extension offices around the state. Titled “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” the calendar shows Pesticide Education Specialist Cecil Tharp on the cover with a noxious weed in his mouth and his hands at his sides, holding his weapons against weeds and insects. Among the “good” – featured in January, April, July and October – is MSU’s Schutter Diagnostic Lab which processes more than 2,000 samples every year to identify diseases, ins...
A free forum on new technologies in pesticide education, weeds and insect management will be offered Thursday, Dec. 5, in Bozeman. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Comfort Inn. Those who wish to attend should pre-register by contacting Montana State University Pesticide Education Specialist Cecil Tharp at [email protected] or (406) 994-5067. The program will be worth four private applicator credits, as well as three commercial/government credits in the categories of aerial, dealer, ag plant pest, forest pest, ornamental and...
Montana farmers who want to experiment with growing winter canola should plant it in early September, says Perry Miller, professor of sustainable cropping systems at Montana State University. That way, the canola will emerge by Sept. 15 and the crop will be on a timeline most suited for success, Miller said. If plants produce five leaves before winter, they have a good chance of survival. Canola that flowers from May 15 to June 15 will have the best yields because the seeds grow during the wettest time in Montana’s growing season. ...
Experts on pesticides, Montana plant diseases, insects and weeds will present half-day and all-day workshops on Oct. 7 through 9 to help residents of seven northwest Montana counties renew their private pesticide applicator licenses before the end of the year. Individuals who wish to purchase, use or supervise the use of restricted use pesticides on land they own, rent or lease need a private applicator license. Private applicators in Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli and Sanders counties need to requalify by the end of 2013,...
Montana students now have the opportunity to enroll in the first Montana-centered veterinary medicine program being offered in cooperation with the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. Students can apply online through Oct. 2. Classes will begin in August 2014. Applicants should go to https://portal.vmcas.org/ and apply to the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine as Montana residents, said Rebecca Mattix, a Montana State University teaching professor and pre-veterinary adviser who earned her Doctorate of Veterinary...
Don Kress, professor emeritus at Montana State University, has received the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Fellow Award in honor of his research in the beef industry. Kress received the award July 9 at the ASAS national awards program in Indianapolis. Kress was recognized for improving the beef industry through the study of genetics and breeding. He studied the genetics of a variety of traits under Montana range conditions, including calf growth rate, cow size, cow milk production,...
A beekeeping workshop for beginners will be offered Saturday, August 24 in Billings. The workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Yellowstone County Courthouse. Participants will learn how to buy bees and equipment, establish a new beehive, register their hives, conduct yearly hive maintenance, prevent pests and harvest honey and wax. They will also taste some varietal honey types and look at hobby-scale honey harvesting equipment. Cost of the workshop is $25. Those who want to attend should make out a check or money order to MSU and...
Hans Schneider, currently living in the Netherlands, will join the Montana State University faculty and be both superintendent and associate professor of plant pathology at the Eastern Agricultural Research Center in Sidney, pending approval of the Montana Board of Regents. Schneider will assume his duties on July 15, thus he will participate in the Eastern Agricultural Research Center Field Day on July 18. Schneider will develop a field-oriented research program that focuses on integrated disease management in pulse crops, sugar beets, and...
Montana State University researchers have produced a new line of hard white winter wheat that shows potential to produce as well as one of the most popular red winter wheat varieties currently grown in Montana. The new hard white winter wheat variety, a line currently identified as MTW08168, is similar to the widely popular Montana variety of Yellowstone red winter wheat in yield, agronomic characteristics and resistance to prevalent races of stripe rust. The new variety stands out from Yellowstone as having a hard white kernel versus the hard...
