Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 944
We don’t normally think of trees as invasive plants, but even MonDak prairie dwellers have experience with at least one “weedy” tree example. Just think of the acres of saltcedar (Tamarix) now clogging significant portions of our Yellowstone and Missouri riverbanks! Non-native tree invasions are a growing problem across the globe and Dr. John Gaskin, a molecular botanist with the Agricultural Research Service in Sidney, MT, and his fellow collaborators from around the world want to find out why. Dr. Gaskin and his team recently completed a glo...
More than a decade ago when Montana's pulse crop industry was a sliver in northeastern Montana and there wasn't much money to fund alternative crop trials, a Montana State University agricultural faculty member was planting the future. Chengci Chen, superintendent of the MSU Eastern Agricultural Research Center in Sidney has spent the last 12 years developing pulse crops specifically adapted to Montana's growing conditions. One successful green pea variety with high yield and protein, currently...
March 20 is the first day of spring. Soon the weather will warm and plants will begin to grow. The prairies will fill with beautiful native grasses, flowers, shrubs and (unfortunately) rangeland weeds. There are several foreign plants that are considered rangeland weeds such as leafy spurge, salt cedar, Canada thistle, hounds tongue and field bindweed. These plants have few to no predators native to the area and thrive in the environment. This means they can spread, unchecked, during the...
In the second of three Sidney Agricultural Research Service BrownBagger talks planned on biological control of invasive plant species, the emphasis is on the use of molecular tools to aid management of whitetop and saltcedar, two invasive species (a weed and a shrub/tree) plaguing the western U.S. The BrownBagger is hosted by the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in Sidney. The next presentation features Amanda Stahlke, a PhD Candidate in the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program at the University of...
Montana producers have until March 15, 2018 to sign up for Farm Service Agency’s Noninsurable Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage for all 2018 spring planted NAP crops except spring seeded rye, speltz, triticale, wheat, and mixed forage. NAP provides a catastrophic level (CAT) coverage based on the amount of loss that exceeds 50 percent of the expected production at 55 percent of the average market price for the crop. NAP offers buy-up coverage for the 2015 through 2018 crop years in addition to the basic CAT-level coverage, on a...
Been thinking about adding biocontrol to your weed management plan, but not sure where to start? Have you tried biocontrol but it just didn’t seem to work all that well? Then consider taking in our next BrownBagger presentation at the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in Sidney on Friday, March 9, when ARS Research Ecologist Natalie West will discuss “Effective Use of Biocontrol for Rangeland Weeds: An Overview and Update.” “Weed biocontrol is an important asset in the management toolbox, and particu...
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...
Bridger Feuz, Livestock Marketing Specialist at the University of Wyoming Extension, will be speaking at the MonDak Ag Days and Trade Show on Thursday, March 1st at 10:00 a.m. MST. He will be speaking on the topic, "Cattle Market Outlook" and at 11:30 a.m. MST he will also be talking about economic ranch tools and risk management. "Ranchers face many challenges each day that require their attention. These challenges include things like dealing with and preventing disease, getting cows fed or...
A Montana State University scientist who is striving to overcome a widespread problem for U.S. farmers – herbicide-resistant weeds – has won a national award for his achievements so far. Prashant Jha, an associate professor at the Southern Agricultural Research Center in the College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, was named Outstanding Early Career Weed Scientist during the Weed Science Society of America's 2018 annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia. The soc...
A North Dakota State University researcher at the Langdon Research Extension Center is harnessing bumble bees, and soon honeybees, to help curb Sclerotinia head rot, a crippling fungal disease in sunflowers, that also affects soybean, dry beans, canola and several other crops. He’s using the bees as mini “crop dusters” to spread a “good” fungus in his sunflower test plots to counter the fungus responsible for Sclerotinia. Now completing his second year of research into this new approach to disease management, Dr. Venkat Chapara, a plant pat...
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Statistics and United States Department of Agriculture show while women constitute less than 1 percent of the nation’s agricultural scientists, engineers and policymakers, they occupy the majority, about 60 percent, of lower-paid agricultural jobs on America’s farms and ranches. Six female professors at Montana State University and Flathead Valley Community College hope to increase the percentage of women agricultural scientists, engineers and policymakers by way of a $94,000 USDA National Institute of Food and Agr...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced changes to its crop insurance policies. Major changes for 2018 focus on conservation compliance certification and choice of unit structure based on the risk management needs of producers. “Every producer’s situation is unique. At RMA we want to ensure the policies we provide are flexible enough so that producers are getting the most effective and efficient coverage. Ensuring producers have the right coverage helps to strengthen the farm safety net,...
More money for less work simply doesn't sound American. But when it comes to conservation practices, offering an incentive to give the plowshare a break can be a profitable investment for everyone involved. Jamie Selting, District Conservationist at the NRCS in Sidney, is helping local farmers utilize two programs which provide a monetary incentive to try economically viable stewardship practices. "In the past there's been a customary way of farming which involves a lot of tillage," Selting...
USDA is offering grants for innovative ideas for conservation strategies and technologies. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) plans to invest $10 million in the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program, funding innovative conservation projects in three focus areas: grazing lands, organic systems and soil health. Grant proposals are due Feb. 26, 2018. “Conservation Innovation Grants play a critical role in developing and implementing new methods to help our customers across the country and here in Montana conserve natur...
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) North Dakota Farm Service Agency (FSA) Acting Executive Director Brian Haugen reminds producers that FSA offers specially targeted farm ownership and farm operating loans to underserved applicants as well as beginning farmers and ranchers. “Each year, a portion of FSA’s loan funds are set aside to lend to targeted underserved and beginning farmers and ranchers,” said Haugen. “Farming and ranching is a capital intensive business and FSA is committed to helping producers start and maintain their agricul...
The MonDak Ag Research Summit was held November 15th at the Richland County Event Center in Sidney. Agricultural scientists and researchers from the NDSU Williston Research Extension Center, MSU Eastern Agricultural Research Center, and USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab presented current and past research results. The presentations included management strategies that can save both dryland and irrigated growers time and money. The topics presented at the MonDak Ag Research...
The MSU EARC in Sidney, NDSU WREC in Williston and USDA-ARS NPARL in Sidney ag research centers held an Ag Research Summit on Nov. 15 at the Richland County Event Center. Scientists from each reasearch center updated area producers on current studies that affect their crops....
The Richland Economic Development Corporation held its annual meeting banquet on Nov. 7 at the Sidney Elks Lodge. The meeting included a recap of the year's events affecting the area's economy, letters from Montana politicians and the presentation of the president's award to Chip Gifford. This year's guest speaker was USDA Business Program Specialist Martin Dewitt. Dewitt presented information on grants and loans that can assist local business available through the USDA. Pictured above are the...
Brian Gion, Marketing Director for the Northern Pulse Growers Association, is the featured luncheon speaker at the MonDak Ag Research Summit set for Wednesday, Nov. 15, at the Richland County Event Center (on the fairground) in Sidney. Gion will be giving an update on the 2017 pulse crop, including yield, quality and markets, as well as covering what “the upcoming 2018 crop year might look like.” Gion joins scientists from the MonDak area’s three ag research centers who will be providing their own updates to producers on research relev...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that starting Nov. 1, 2017, farmers and ranchers with base acres in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) safety net program may enroll for the 2018 crop year. The enrollment period will end on Aug. 1, 2018. “Since shares and ownership of a farm can change year-to-year, producers must enroll by signing a contract each program year,” said Farm Service Agency (FSA) Acting Administrator Steve Peterson. “I encourage producers to contact their local FSA offic...
North Dakota Farm Service Agency (FSA) Acting State Executive Director Brian Haugen today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin mailing ballots to eligible farmers and ranchers for the 2017 FSA County Committee elections on Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. Producers must return ballots to their local FSA offices by Dec. 4, 2017, to ensure that their vote is counted. “County committee members represent the farmers and ranchers in our North Dakota communities,” said Haugen. “Producers elected to these committees have always pla...
On Wednesday, November 15th, the MonDak Ag Research Summit will be held at the Richland County Event Center located in Sidney. The event will start at 9:00am MST and end at 3:00 pm MST. It will feature MonDak area agricultural researchers from the North Dakota Williston Research Extension Center, Montana Eastern Agricultural Research Center, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The Summit’s purpose is to highlight current research projects and results from local agricultural research centers. The presentations will highlight m...
In an agricultural state enduring one of the worst droughts in recent history, a Montana State University crop physiologist may have some good news for state watersheds and farmers' pocketbooks when it comes to irrigating one of Montana's top cash crops. Jessica Torrion, assistant professor of crop physiology at MSU's Northwestern Agricultural Research Center in Creston, recently published an article that shows specifically timed irrigation practices can affect the harvest quality of hard red...
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) North Dakota Farm Service Agency (FSA) Acting State Executive Director, Brian Haugen announced that North Dakota FSA County Offices are currently reviewing and issuing more than $331 million in payments to North Dakota Agriculture Producers under the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2016 crop year. The ARC and PLC programs were authorized by the 2014 farm bill and offer a safety net to agriculture producers when there is a substantial drop in revenue or prices...
