Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 205
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...
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...
A free Crops and Weeds Field Day will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, June 27, at Montana State University’s Post Research Farm west of Bozeman. This is an opportunity for pest control advisors, farm managers, chemical company cooperators and students to learn about ongoing crop and weed research programs at MSU. Research and demonstration plots of weed management techniques, pesticide application strategies, nutrient dynamics, cropping systems, insect management and crop traits will be open throughout the day with staff a...
Montanans who plan to spray noxious weeds this spring should take preliminary steps when spraying to reduce nontarget injury toward nearby sensitive crops, aquatic areas, trees and/or ornamentals, says Montana State University Pesticide Education Specialist Cecil Tharp. That means even before calibrating their sprayers applicators should inspect their equipment for leaks, rust, plugged lines and ruptured seals. They should also select the appropriate nozzles for the job. Low-drift nozzles will minimize the amount of pesticide droplets that can...
The Montana 4-H Center for Youth Development is recruiting families to host Japanese youth for one month this summer. Program dates are from July 22-August 18. Host families should have children ages 10-14, and the desire for an in-depth cultural experience. Japanese delegates come with their own spending money and health insurance, and come to experience everyday life in an American family. For more information about hosting, contact Stephanie Davison at [email protected], call (406) 994-3502, or go to http://www.states4...
Experts in soil chemistry at Montana State University caution that applying all the nitrogen fertilizer required for wheat at one time can be risky. According to MSU Extension, in irrigated systems, too much nitrogen early in the growing season can produce excess tillers, lead to lodging, and reduce yields. In dryland systems, nitrogen fertilizer may not get fully used for plant growth especially in dry years. In both dryland and irrigated systems, large, one-time applications have a high chance to be lost to groundwater from leaching or to...
Montana State University Extension and the Schutter Diagnostic Lab are offering new online courses covering plant anatomy and the diagnostic features of 32 state-listed noxious weeds. The free courses are offered to assist early detection of noxious weeds in Montana and provide pesticide applicator credits. The three-course series has been designed to assist with early detection and rapid response (EDRR) across Montana. The goal of EDRR is to recognize high priority plants and take action to manage them while populations are still small. Often...
Montana State University Extension and the Schutter Diagnostic Lab are offering new online courses covering plant anatomy and the diagnostic features of 32 state-listed noxious weeds. The free courses are offered to assist early detection of noxious weeds in Montana and provide pesticide applicator credits. The three-course series has been designed to assist with early detection and rapid response (EDRR) across Montana. The goal of EDRR is to recognize high priority plants and take action to manage them while populations are still small. Often...
Montana State University Extension and the Schutter Diagnostic Lab are offering new online courses covering plant anatomy and the diagnostic features of 32 state-listed noxious weeds. The free courses are offered to assist early detection of noxious weeds in Montana and provide pesticide applicator credits. The three-course series has been designed to assist with early detection and rapid response (EDRR) across Montana. The goal of EDRR is to recognize high priority plants and take action to manage them while populations are still small. Often...
The 2013 Montana/Wyoming Sugar Beet Symposium will be held in Billings at the Big Horn Resort on Wednesday and Thursday, January 9-10, 2013. The symposium will feature top experts from Montana State University, University of Wyoming, North Dakota State University and Kansas State University, the federal Agricultural Research Service (from Sidney and Kimberly, Idaho stations), as well as from private industry. There will also be a trade show with exhibits by many agricultural input suppliers. Wednesday’s program will focus on malt barley p...
