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Due to recent inquiries there will be an adult hunter safety course offered that will meet the requirements of those individuals interested in obtaining concealed weapons permits. Sign-up will be Feb. 1 in the Sidney-Richland Library basement at 7 p.m. The class will be set at that time contingent on the number of applicants. If you have any questions contact Greg Mohr at 433-2815 (day) 488-1166 (evenings) or Ron Sorenson at 488-7664 (evenings)....
Beginning Jan. 22 it costs just a penny more to mail letters to any location in the United States. It will be the first price change for first-class mail stamps (Forever stamps) in more than two and a half years. The new single-piece first-class mail pricing, effective Jan. 22, 2012, include: Letters (1 oz.) – $.01 increase to $.45 Letters additional ounces – unchanged at $.20 Postcards – $.03 increase to $.32 Letters to Canada or Mexico (1 oz.) – $.05 increase to $.85 Letters to other international destinations – $.07 increase to $1.05 Pri...
It’s that time of year when ice anglers begin appearing on Montana’s waters for the ice fishing season. While there is some fishable ice in some areas, it will take continued stable, cold weather for conditions to improve on larger water bodies. While the first ice of the year often offers some of the best fishing, it also can be quite variable from location to location and from day to day. The variability of ice conditions cannot be over-estimated, and the safest ice anglers are those who are particular about their ice and who pay as much att...
Postsecondary education doesn’t come cheap, so students and parents should explore every avenue to acquire the funds they need — that effort begins with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In Montana, Student Assistance Foundation works with financial aid professionals and volunteers to provide free, one-on-one assistance filling out this important form at 16 communities throughout the state on Feb. 8 and/or Feb. 12 through the College Goal Montana program. Check SmartAbout College.org for locations and times, or ca...
Sidney Sugars Incorporated held its annual Top Ten Grower award luncheon on Wednesday, Jan. 18 to honor those growers who brought in an outstanding crop. Russ Fullmer, Sidney Sugars agriculture manager, congratulated the top ten growers and pointed out that they, along with the rest of the Valley, faced a lot of challenges this year. “Last year, we came off a bad winter to start the growing season,” Fullmer noted at the luncheon. “We had a huge amount of snow, then spring came and it rained and...
The Tveit Land and Cattle Company, Culbertson and Fairview, has earned top honors this year in the Sidney Sugars Incorporated annual Top Ten growers list. Brothers Larry and Nolan Tveit brought in an outstanding sugarbeet crop this year which earned them the number 1 ranking in the 50-246 acre category. The Tveits, farming together since they both graduated from high school, have an irrigated farm in Culbertson and a dryland farm between Sidney and Culbertson. With the exception of a two-year hi...
6J Farms, Terry and Vicky Cayko, with essential help from Toby Miller and Cayko families Jacquelyn and Chris Free and Jessica Cayko and her two boys, East Fairview, earned top spot this year in the 246+ acre category of Sidney Sugars Incorporated’s annual top ten recognition awards. Cayko, who has farmed all his life, has been in the Top Ten six times, and has earned top spot twice. Cayko admits the year looked dismal at the start, but as the season progressed, his crop responded to sun and m...
Sugars and starches form the basic building blocks of life. With the appearance of the first leaves, all green-leaved plants begin to manufacture their own food by converting the sun’s energy into chemical energy. Plants do this by combining air molecules and water molecules with the energy they receive from the sun to produce simple sugars. This process, called photosynthesis, enables the plants to make these simple sugars. Some green-leaved plants produce more than simple sugars. The sugarbeet, one of these plants, goes all out to produce m...
13 Acres or More Grower Acres TPA Sugar % Brei N Quality Rating 6J Farms Inc. 280 33.6 17.46 29 33.95 Payette Farm Inc. 351 29.5 18.20 25 32.70 Country Lane Farms Inc. 436 29.5 17.97 27 32.43 Justin & Anita Karst 460 29.3 17.45 28 31.84 Scott & Donna Flynn 430 27.7 18.08 24 31.71 50 - 246 Acres Grower Acres TPA Sugar % Brei N Quality Rating Tveit Land & Cattle Co. 130 31.9 18.24 34 33.85 Gary & Duane Lapp 63 29.1 18.45 24 32.75 James Bieber 66 31.2 17.32 25 32.68 KAR Inc. 200 30.0 17.91 25 32.67 Allen & Carol Lachenmaier 202 27.8 17.95 18...
The Montana State University Pesticide Education Program has created a new website for homeowners and applicators across the state. The “Pesticide Contamination Around the Home and Garden” website was built in response to the MSU Schutter Diagnostic Laboratory receiving over 112 garden samples which showed symptoms consistent with pesticide exposure from a class of chemicals known as “growth regulator herbicides” in 2009 and 2010. The website links tools from MSU, the University of Arizona, University of Minnesota and Washington State Univers...
In recognition of National Agriculture week (National Agriculture Day March 8, 2012), WIFE (Montana Women Involved in Farm Economics) invites Montana’s school children to express their ideas on farm life by participating in WIFE’s 26th statewide calendar art contest. Winning entries grades K-8 will be awarded a cash prize at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place levels in each grade’s division. Winners whose pictures are used will also receive a calendar. All entries are to be done horizontally on 8 ½ x 11” white paper with dark, black lead pencil o...
Researchers at Montana State University are seeing an increase in the number of samples of pulse crops containing significant amounts of the fungus blight Ascochyta over the past year. The findings represent an increase compared to blight researchers found in the 2010 samples, particularly in the lentil crop. With pulse crops going into the ground soon, there is some confusion about the acceptable level of Ascochyta in a given crop. Ascochyta is a potentially serious fungal disease in pulse crops, including lentils, peas and chickpea. The disea...
Signup for Farm Service Agency’s Direct and Counter Cyclical Program and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program during the 2012 crop year began on Jan. 23. Signup for both programs will continue through June 1. Aaron Krauter, North Dakota state FSA executive director, is encouraging producers to sign up early. “We want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to get in and sign up, and doing it before spring field work begins means one less thing a producer needs to worry about,” Krauter said. Producers who choose to participate in ei...
The MonDak Area Stockgrowers Association, in cooperation with the Yellowstone Livestock Company, 720 10th Ave. SE, Sidney, will host a fundraising event for the All American Beef Battalion, an organization dedicated to supporting our troops fighting the global war on terror. The fundraiser, scheduled for noon on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at the Yellowstone Livestock, will consist of auctioning off a calf to the highest bidder, then auctioning off that calf again and again and again for as many times as...
The Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) invites the public to join them for an open house held in honor of Dr. Jerry Bergman. The event will run from 1-4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27 at the new EARC facility, 1499 N. Central Ave. Everyone is invited to stop in and wish Bergman well in his new endeavor as director of the Williston Research Center....
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking public comment on Montana’s 2012 Draft Water Quality Integrated Report. The 2012 draft list update is now available for review and comments will be accepted during a 60-day public comment period that began Jan. 4 and extends through March 3, 2012. The report includes a list of Montana waterbodies that are impaired and in need of water quality restoration, the sub-set of impaired waters that require specific total maximum daily loads or TMDLs to be developed, known as the 303(d) li...
The Montana Farmers Union (MFU) made the following statement concerning President Obama’s recent Keystone XL Pipeline decision: “The Montana Farmers Union at its convention held in October 2011, passed a Special Order of Business that addressed the Keystone XL Pipeline, its safety needs and landowner protections. “The Special Order of Business pointed out that the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Keystone XL pipeline does not include any additional requirements beyond those required for the Keystone 1 Pipeline, which has s...
With cattle prices at record levels, producers question the market’s longevity. Prior to the BSE, (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, commonly known as mad-cow disease), scare in 2003 or even the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack, cattlemen could establish their production and marketing decisions based on a 10-year cycle. As prices peaked, cattle inventories increased to levels when supplies exceeded demand. When this occurred, producers then reduced herd inventory and converted land to other u...
In its 2010-2011 Annual Report to Producers, the North Dakota Wheat Commission states that wheat producers can take pride in knowing the wheat industry continues to be one of the largest economic contributors to the North Dakota economy, agricultural or otherwise, accounting for nearly one third of all farm and ranch marketings. The direct cash value of the North Dakota wheat and durum crop is nearly $2.4 billion, which generates an additional $4.8 billion in commercial activity for a total...
The 127th Annual Montana Stockgrowers Association Convention and Trade Show, held at the Holiday Inn Grand Montana in Billings, Dec. 15-17, drew over 740 participants from across the state. Nearly 100 people participated in the Young Stockgrowers events, representing the largest showing of that group at any convention. "It was great to see all the young people at our meeting learning about our association and policy process, and really getting involved," said Watty Taylor, MSGA's president. "Although 2011 hasn't been without its challenges, eve...
“Mend Them Teach Them” The Empty Saddle Memorial Foundation’s motto defines its focus on our youth. In the past three years, the ESMF has worked to honor the lost horsemen of the area by helping out with the education and the medical needs of area youth with donations made to the foundation in memory of its honorees. Honorees for 2010 were Neal Hermanson and Levi Wisness and Richard Bahm, A.J. Franzen and Bud Sperry were honored for 2011. ESMF honorees spent an important part of their lives in the lives of their horses. This time shaped who t...
Livestock producers who suffered losses in 2011 due to natural disasters and filed a notice of loss with their local Farm Service Agency office have until Jan. 30 to apply for payment through the Livestock Indemnity Program. LIP pays eligible producers based on a national payment rate, which is 75% of the average fair market value of the livestock. Eligible livestock include cattle, poultry, swine and other animals including sheep, goats and horses....
Many variables contribute to the successful management of a beef production enterprise. Adverse environmental conditions, fluctuating commodity markets and individual management decisions all have a dramatic impact on profitability. “In order to proactively take advantage of available opportunities or to respond to situations as they develop, producers need pertinent educational materials delivered to them in a timely manner,” says North Dakota State University Extension Service beef cattle specialist Carl Dahlen. Each month, Dahlen and oth...
The Junior Varsity Farm Business Management team for Sidney FFA for Jan. 16 was made up of Ethan Chamberlain, Emily Schaff and Marianne Gartner. This team tested for a 3rd place finish. Only three points separated the top three teams. First place team was Lambert FFA, followed by Plentywood FFA prior to Sidney’s placing of third. Eleven teams from northeastern Montana participated. Individually, Ethan tied for 1st, Emily placed 7th and Marianne placed 17th out of 50 area FFA competitors. The n...
Montana State University will present a beginning beekeeping workshop on Saturday, Feb. 25. New beekeepers, including youth, can learn how to get started, first year management strategies and integrated pest management of honeybee pests and diseases. Participants will also learn about honeybee biology and beekeeping equipment. Presenters are from MSU, Western Bee Supplies, Polson, and the Montana Department of Agriculture’s Apiary Division. The workshop runs from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and takes place at the Plant Bioscience Building room 108 o...
