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Megan Van Emon, a beef specialist and assistant professor in MSU Extension and the College of Agriculture’s Animal and Range Sciences Department, works with beef programs on campus and at the USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City. Van Emon interacts with constituents throughout Montana and serves as a resource for beef producers and Extension agents. Van Emon can be reached at (406) 874-8286, or [email protected]. Emily Glunk, a forage specialist and assistant professor in Extension and the Animal a...
Montana State University Extension, in partnership with U.S. Department of Agriculture, will be visiting 28 Montana communities this fall to conduct a series of informational meetings about important new programs authorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014. The meetings will focus on the price-loss coverage and agricultural-risk coverage that will be administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency and the supplemental-coverage option administered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency through federal crop insurance providers. MSU Extension will exp...
Montana State University Extension, in partnership with U.S. Department of Agriculture, will be visiting 28 Montana communities this fall to conduct a series of informational meetings about important new programs authorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014. The meetings will focus on the price-loss coverage and agricultural-risk coverage that will be administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency and the supplemental-coverage option administered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency through federal crop insurance providers. MSU Extension will exp...
Montana State University researchers have produced two new varieties of the grain triticale, a cross of wheat and rye that combines the grain quality, yield and disease resistance of wheat with the vigor and hardiness of rye. These two new technologies are available for licensing together or separately and are currently open for review at MSU agricultural research centers in Bozeman, Havre, Moccasin and Sheridan. The two triticale lines – 110WCF57 and 111WCF57 – improve on the grain’s disease resistance and tendency to put more growth into...
Montana State University researchers have produced two new varieties of the grain triticale, a cross of wheat and rye that combines the grain quality, yield and disease resistance of wheat with the vigor and hardiness of rye. These two new technologies are available for licensing together or separately and are currently open for review at MSU agricultural research centers in Bozeman, Havre, Moccasin and Sheridan. The two triticale lines – 110WCF57 and 111WCF57 – improve on the grain’s disease resistance and tendency to put more growth into...
With nitrogen fertilizer prices somewhat unsettled, Montana State University scientists caution dollars may be blowing away with the spring wind due to the phenomenon of volatilization loss. Recent research has shown some surprising results on how much nitrogen from broadcast urea is going into the air rather than to the crop. In an effort to better serve its constituents, MSU would like to know if growers have been staying informed of the latest research. Clain Jones, Extension soil fertility specialist, and Rick Engel, associate professor,...
Agriculture experts with Montana State University have released a short video about mixed species cover crops potentially replacing summer fallow, presenting MSU’s ongoing research. Producers are increasingly planting cover crops to improve soil quality, help manage weeds or pests and provide livestock forage. Replacing summer fallow with a cover crop can decrease saline seeps, nitrate leaching and erosion, while increasing soil organic matter and microbial activity. “Until recently, the focus of cover crop research has been on single spe...
Forage crops provide substantial income to many Montana farmers. They are also an integral part of livestock production systems. Improvements in forage production through good soil fertility practices have the potential to increase income for farmers and ranchers. Montana State University Extension has recently published two bulletins, “Soil Nutrient Management for Forages: Nitrogen” and “Soil Nutrient Management for Forages: Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, and Micronutrients.” These publications present soil nutrient management options for Mon...
Montana small businesses and non-profits from all arenas, including agriculture, manufacturing, education, hospitality, healthcare, etc., are encouraged to apply for recognition of their outstanding pollution prevention efforts through the MSU Extension Pollution Prevention Ecostar Award program. The EcoStar program, now in its 14th year, recognizes Montana businesses and organizations that are championing pollution prevention by: surpassing state and federal requirements to reduce solid and hazardous waste generation; conserving valuable...
Montana State University Extension has released two new publications, one to identify weed seedlings and one to answer frequently asked questions about herbicides and noxious weeds to help Montana’s farmers and ranchers keep weeds in check. The first publication, “Weed Seedling Identification Guide for Montana and the Northern Great Plains,” includes descriptions of seedling shape, leaf arrangement, attachment and surface, as well as identification tips and a picture of the mature plant. “Many weed identification tools focus on conspicuous trai...
Montana State University Extension has released two new publications, one to identify weed seedlings and one to answer frequently asked questions about herbicides and noxious weeds to help Montana’s farmers and ranchers keep weeds in check. The first publication, “Weed Seedling Identification Guide for Montana and the Northern Great Plains,” includes descriptions of seedling shape, leaf arrangement, attachment and surface, as well as identification tips and a picture of the mature plant. “Many weed identification tools focus on conspicuous trai...
Montana State University College of Agriculture experts will be co-hosting a seminar on the use of sensor-based technologies for precision agriculture on Oct. 24 at the Best Western Plus Heritage Inn in Great Falls. The seminar is organized as part of a project to educate and train wheat producers on how sensor-based technologies can increase the efficiency and profitability of their farm operations. Precision sensors enable farmers to develop crop-specific and site-specific nitrogen fertilizing recommendations to increase nitrogen use...
A conference hosted by Montana State University Extension and the MSU Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics – billed “Montana Agriculture in 2014: Prospects for Growth, Future Challenges and the Role of Cooperatives” and scheduled for Oct. 25 in Bozeman – will feature experts on agricultural policy, the Montana economy and livestock and grain markets. The conference, which is part of MSU’s Celebrate Agriculture weekend, will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Procrastinator Theater in MSU’s Strand Union Building. The program is...
A Montana State University professor has been tapped to join a $12 million international research effort to give farmers the ability to boost productivity while using less fossil fuel-dependent industrial fertilizer, which has undergone dramatic price increases in recent years. John Peters, MSU professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of MSU’s Astrobiology and Life in Extreme Environments Program, will join one of four projects looking to transform future farming. Along with four investigators from other universities in the U.S. and...
In addition to nitrogen and sulfur, several soil nutrients can be applied in-season to help improve crop yields. Early to mid-season application of nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, or metal micronutrients such as iron can benefit yields when crops are stressed by cold, dry or very wet conditions. The best bet for ensuring optimal yields is balanced soil fertility going into the growing season. However, cold, dry or flooded conditions may limit plant root growth, as well as nutrient mobility and availability in soil. “If soil nutrients a...
Montana State University (MSU) Extension has published a new guide for growers of peas and lentils. The “Montana Cool-Season Pulse Production Guide” provides current best management practices for dry pea, lentil and chickpea for Montana producers. In the traditional wheat-fallow system of crop production common in Montana, the use of annual legumes, or pulse crops, in rotation with wheat can help bring agronomic and financial benefits in terms of soil health, biological activity and overall potential productivity. As of 2012, pulse crops rep...
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...
Montana State University Extension is offering a new, two-year leadership program for professionals in agriculture and natural resource industries. The Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership (REAL) Montana training will include participant classes, tours, networking opportunities and travel. The two-year program features eight in-state seminars, a five-day national study tour in Washington, D.C. and a two-week international trip. Seminars will include: training in agriculture institutions and agencies, natural resource development,...
Montana State University Extension is offering a new, two-year leadership program for professionals in agriculture and natural resource industries. The Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership (REAL) Montana training will include participant classes, tours, networking opportunities and travel. The two-year program features eight in-state seminars, a five-day national study tour in Washington, D.C. and a two-week international trip. Seminars will include: training in agriculture institutions and agencies, natural resource development,...
There is a vial of little blue pellets in Barry Jacobsen’s lab. Its contents, a bacterium taken from a few healthy leaves in a northeast Montana sugar beet field overrun with disease, could save farmers around the world millions of dollars each year. Since Jacobsen isolated it in 1994 during a catastrophic Cercospora leaf spot outbreak near Sidney, the bacterium - Bacillus mycoides isolate J, or BmJ - has shown impressive abilities. It has proven effective in fighting a variety of plant d...
For Kelsey Gibbs, the path from Glendive ranch kid to a possible rendezvous with ovine destiny at the upcoming World Young Shepherds Challenge - set for Nov. 1-2 in Oamaru, New Zealand - began simply enough. "It started out with a couple of 4-H lambs in third grade," Gibbs said. Despite growing up on what had become predominantly a cattle ranch, Gibbs' love of sheep continued as she grew her flock lamb by lamb through high school and continued until she left for the animal science program at Mon...
