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I cannot accurately explain the 2019 harvest season because this is a public paper and the use of profanity is not allowed. To put it as politely as I possibly can, I think I will use the adjective horrible. With that being said, though, there are areas of the state where it was worse, but not by much. I think the fact that the county commissioners have decided to ask for a disaster clarification speaks for itself. 2019 marked my ninth harvest season in Richland County and I have witnessed just...
I cannot accurately explain the 2019 harvest season because this is a public paper and the use of profanity is not allowed. To put it as politely as I possibly can, I think I will use the adjective horrible. With that being said, though, there are areas of the State where it was worse, but not by much. I think the fact that the County Commissioners have decided to ask for a disaster clarification speaks for itself. 2019 marked my ninth harvest season in Richland County and I have witnessed just...
This article is going to take a bit of a more serious tone than I usually write about but there is something that I’ve been thinking about focusing on for some time and this year it seems as though the time is right. It is a fairly well known fact (at least I guess it’s a fact but I’m not sure that there are actually studies that can prove it) that farmers and ranchers are a resilient bunch. By the nature of the job, one has to be in order to survive. A farmer and/or rancher wakes up every morning and generally speaking, the first thoug...
At the upcoming EARC irrigated field day I will be discussing problematic weeds and one weed in particular that may potentially be a problem for us down the road, Palmer Amaranth. In a June edition of the NDSU Crop and Pest Report (https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/cpr) this weed was addressed. "In 2018, Palmer amaranth was found in five North Dakota counties. We believe Palmer was introduced into the state through sunflower screenings, contaminated seed, custom combines, used combines purchased from...
The MonDak Ag Days and Trade Show Committee and the Sidney Chamber of Commerce's Agriculture Committee have joined forces to bring you what we think is a great lineup of educational sessions, banquet entertainment, and trade show vendors. Ag Days will kick off at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 1 when the doors open for the trade show. After listening to suggestions from our ranching community, it was decided to push back the start of the educational sessions, so the first session will begin at...
The MonDak Ag Days and Trade Show Committee and the Sidney Chamber of Commerce's Agriculture Committee have joined forces to bring you what we think is a great lineup of educational sessions, banquet entertainment, and trade show vendors. Ag Days will kick off at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 1 when the doors open for the trade show. After listening to suggestions from our ranching community, it was decided to push back the start of the educational sessions, so the first session will begin at...
Most years, the terms “mixed bag” or “very variable” pretty adequately sum up how small grain and hay harvest went in Richland County. The 2017 harvest, however can simply be described as below average. I do not know for sure what the average yield was for small grains in Richland County but I do know in many instances, farmers were using more fuel to run their combines across their fields than they were getting in bushels per acre. What started out as a fairly promising spring ended up turning into a dismal summer and beginning of fall. T...
Most years, the terms "mixed bag" or "very variable" pretty adequately sum up how small grain and hay harvest went in Richland County. The 2017 harvest, however can simply be described as below average. I do not know for sure what the average yield was for small grains in Richland County but I do know in many instances, farmers were using more fuel to run their combines across their fields than they were getting in bushels per acre. What started out as a fairly promising spring ended up turning...
Before beginning this article, I should mention that a majority of the information contained within comes from MontGuide number MT198915AG titled Yard and Garden Water Management, and can be found by going to http://msuextension.org/publications/YardandGarden/MT198915AG.pdf, or if you prefer, give the Extension Office a call and we would be happy to print and send or fax a copy to you. Our lack of moisture this Spring has raised a great deal of concern in regards to what to plant, and when to water what is already established. There is an...
There are some weeks where I struggle to find something to write about and then there are weeks where calls come flooding into the office and it makes finding a topic to write about so much easier. The latter scenario is what has inspired this week’s article. Chances are if you live in town, you have been inundated with tiny flies in your home. If not, consider yourself lucky. I have sent some of these flies off to our diagnostic lab (http://diagnostics.montana.edu/) for positive identification but I am fairly certain that they are fruit f...
There are certain things that happen annually with my job that I really look forward to. One of those things is the delivery, grading, and bagging of wool at the annual wool pool. When I first moved here, I had no experience with this type of event but consider myself very fortunate to take part in it now. The Lower Yellowstone Wool Pool has been a great asset to area producers for many years. The sole purpose of the pool is to gather wool from area sheep producers in one central location, grade said wool, and then combine that wool with other...
There are certain things that happen annually with my job that I really look forward to. One of those things is the delivery, grading, and bagging of wool at the annual wool pool. When I first moved here, I had no experience with this type of event but consider myself very fortunate to take part in it now. The Lower Yellowstone Wool Pool has been a great asset to area producers for many years. The sole purpose of the pool is to gather wool from area sheep producers in one central location, grade said wool, and then combine that wool with other...
When trying to find solutions to horticultural-related problems, it is important to remember that recommendations and advice given on the internet do not always translate into real, practical solutions. To demonstrate my point, here are a couple of scenarios and the fallacies associated with each. Scenario 1-A person is interested in starting an orchard and wants to learn how to successfully grow apples in Montana. So, this person goes to a popular search engine and types in the phrase "growing...
Given the amount of snow we received this winter and the fact that it remained piled up for a long time, usually on the lawn, I figured I would dust off this article with some identification, control, and prevention tips. It is difficult to describe exactly what snow mold is but the best way for me to describe it is that it's a mysterious, almost web-like substance on top of the grass. It is typically more prominent in areas where there is more snow piled up. Snow mold is a fungal disease that...
A few years ago at a County-wide conference there were some citizens in attendance who wanted to have a place to grow vegetables for those who lived in apartments/campers/or houses with no backyard to do so. These citizens decided that a Community Garden would be the best possible solution to address this situation. The County Commissioners happened to be at the conference as well and decided that, of all of the issues that were raised at the conference, the Community Garden idea was one that...
If you are like me, when the term livestock producers in Richland County is mentioned, your thoughts almost immediately turn to our ranchers who are working with cattle every day. And while our cattle ranchers certainly make up a large portion of the livestock inventory in our county, we still have a fair amount of sheep producers who often times get little or no attention or thought. In February, Richland County will be hosting the Eastern Montana Sheep symposium to hopefully bring some much needed educational programming and shed some light o...
If you are like me, when the term livestock producers in Richland County is mentioned, your thoughts almost immediately turn to our ranchers who are working with cattle every day. And while our cattle ranchers certainly make up a large portion of the livestock inventory in our county, we still have a fair amount of sheep producers who often times get little or no attention or thought. In February, Richland County will be hosting the Eastern Montana Sheep symposium to hopefully bring some much needed educational programming and shed some light o...
One of the bonuses of my job (at least it’s usually a bonus) is that, because of the position, I get asked (sometimes told) to be a part of various groups. Generally speaking these groups have an agricultural focus and are looking for input. One such group that I am happy to say that I am a part of is the USDA ARS’ focus group. There are several duties that this group performs but the primary tasks are to educate the public in regards to what research is being conducted at the ARS, go to bat for them if asked to do so, and provide the res...
If you are like me, you are looking forward to putting the mower and the weed-eater in the storage shed about now. While we are rapidly approaching the time to put the mower away, I would not go as far as to say that lawn care is finished for the year. There are still a few things that can be done to make sure that, in the spring of 2017, your lawn will get off to a good start. The first and most important thing to help your lawn along is a good fall fertilization. A good rule of thumb when it...
Now that summer is behind us and the leaves are starting to turn, we are rapidly approaching the optimum time to prune trees and shrubs in our area. While pruning typically conjures up more questions than answers from most people, here are some very basic steps to consider before you start "hacking and whacking". The first question that should be answered in regards to pruning is "when do I prune?". Typically, pruning is always recommended when trees are dormant, the same would apply for shrubs...
Chances are, if you are in the business of livestock production, whether it’s on the nutrition side, livestock care side, or as a producer, you have heard of the changes that will be coming as a result of the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). I know that this may be somewhat difficult to read but below I have copied and pasted a factsheet from Rachel Endecott, our MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist based in Bozeman. If you want to learn more about the VFD and what potential changes may come your way because of it, you are welcome to join R...
Chances are, if you are in the business of livestock production, whether it’s on the nutrition side, livestock care side, or as a producer, you have heard of the changes that will be coming as a result of the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). I know that this may be somewhat difficult to read but below I have copied and pasted a factsheet from Rachel Endecott, our MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist based in Bozeman. If you want to learn more about the VFD and what potential changes may come your way because of it, you are welcome to join R...
In order for an industry to survive and be sustainable, it must be able to adapt and change. Agriculture, our nation's number one industry is no different. Changes in farming practices, crop varieties, management practices, and much more are constantly being researched and recommended. One such practice that has become fairly commonplace in agriculture production is the advent of minimum tillage or no-tillage systems for crop production. I will not go into too much detail in regards to the hows...
It is all downhill from here. Even though we are only weeks into summer, the longest day of the year has passed and slowly but surely our evenings will consist of less time we can spend in the sunshine. However, to look on the bright side of things shorter length of daylight means (hopefully) more evenings with prolonged cooler temperatures. Since summer is in full swing that also means that we are hitting the peak of our growing season.And to this point, I would have to say that the growing season hasn’t been all that bad. Yes we could use s...
When I worked for the Extension service in Ohio, the responsibilities of my job, very much like they are here, were focused primarily on education related to agriculture and horticulture production. Back there, more than 90 percent (I’m guessing) of the agriculture cropping system consisted of a corn and soybean roation with occasionally some winter wheat thrown into the mix. When I got here and saw how much more diversified our cropping systems are, I was hoping that we would avoid some of the problems experienced by producers to our East. L...
