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Graduation for the 15th Sidney Area Leadership Class will be held at noon Wednesday, April 23 at the Sidney Elks Lodge. Businesses, former graduates and the public are encouraged to attend. Tickets are $12 per person and must be purchased by April 18. Call 433-1916 or visit the Sidney Chamber of Commerce office at 909 S. Central Ave. The 2013-14 Leadership class members are: Billie Taylor, 1st Bank; Jan Getchell, Sidney Sugars; Janet Cohenour, Blue Rock Products; Jordan Mayer, Interstate Engineering; Joy Barsotti, USDA/ARS/NPARL; Kelly Reisig,...
USDA Montana Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Bruce Nelson reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States that they are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. “Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, including leaseholds of 10 years or more, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 calendar days after the date of the t...
March 2014 R-CALF USA may be defined as a non-profit producer organization, but our work benefits anyone who eats meat and those who live in an economy that includes agriculture. We’re more than a producer organization, we’re your organization! We won Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals! In this lawsuit, NCBA and its meatpacker friends are fighting to get rid of COOL. R-CALF USA along with others are interveners in the case to help protect COOL. During the oral arguments, a number of issues only raised by R-C...
The Montana Department of Agriculture announced that funding is available and applications will be accepted to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. After receiving funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the state will disburse $305,000 to successful applicants through a competitive grant process. Specialty crops are fruits and vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, dried fruits, horticultural, and nursery crops, including floriculture. Eligible plants must be intensively cultivated and used by people for...
March 24- USDA Montana Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Bruce Nelson reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States that they are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. “Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, including leaseholds of 10 years or more, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 calendar days after the dat...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia today recommended that farmers and ranchers who plan to participate in FSA programs register in advance. Producers are encouraged to report farm records and business structure changes to a local FSA Service Center before April 15, 2014. Enrollment for the disaster programs authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) will begin by April 15, 2014. “We expect sig...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia, today repeated his appeal to livestock producers affected by natural disasters such as the drought in the West and the unexpected winter storm in the upper Midwest to keep thorough records. This includes livestock and feed losses, and any additional expenses that are a result of losses to purchased forage or feed stuff. “The 2014 Farm Bill provides a strong farm safety net to help ranchers during these difficult times,” said Garcia. “We’l...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the expansion of the Farm Storage and Facility Loan program, which provides low-interest financing to producers. The enhanced program includes 22 new categories of eligible equipment for fruit and vegetable producers, and makes it easier for farmers and ranchers around the country to finance the equipment they need to grow and expand. This is part of a broader effort to help small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers, as announced today by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Producers with...
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...
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced increased opportunity for producers as a result of the 2014 Farm Bill. A fact sheet outlining modifications to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Loan Programs is available here. “Our nation’s farmers and ranchers are the engine of the rural economy. These improvements to our Farm Loan Programs will help a new generation begin farming and grow existing farm operations,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Today’s announcement represents just one part of a series of i...
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...
Along came a spider and sat down beside her…but it definitely did NOT scare her away! Instead, Entomologist Laurie Kerzicnik has made a career of studying all things creepy crawly, with spiders emerging as her favorite subjects. Kerzicnik will share her enthusiasm for spiders with both students and local producers when she visits the USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in Sidney Friday, March 21st, as the next speaker in the lab’s 2014 Winter BrownBagger Series. Dr. Kerzicnik’s present...
Thanks to everyone who made calls, neither COOL nor the enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act were weakened in the 2014 Farm Bill! These are both important victories for U.S. independent producers. The COOL lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is ongoing. R-CALF USA will continue to defend COOL. We encourage everyone to buy Made in the U.S.A. products. As consumers, we’re voting with every dollar we spend. Checkoff In response to R-CALF USA’s request for an investigation, the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an upd...
The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is hosting an interactive workshop, “Entering the Institutional Food Market,” on Friday April 25, 2014 from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The Farm to Cafeteria Network event will provide information and technical assistance to Montana farmers, ranchers, and food processors interested in selling to institutions. Participants will learn about supplier best practices, food safety regulations, and institutions’ considerations when sourcing from local producers. A panel of farmers from the Weste...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the expansion of the Farm Storage and Facility Loan program, which provides low-interest financing to producers. The enhanced program includes 22 new categories of eligible equipment for fruit and vegetable producers, and makes it easier for farmers and ranchers around the country to finance the equipment they need to grow and expand. This is part of a broader effort to help small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers, as announced today by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Producers with...
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Bruce Nelson reminds Montana farmers and ranchers that the sales closing deadline of March 17th for most non-insurable 2014 spring planted and forage crops, including grass for hay and grazing, is fast approaching. Application deadline for the 2014 Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for all non-insurable crops except for honey and value loss crops is March 17, 2014. The 2014 sales closing dates have already ended for honey (Dec. 2, 2013) and value-loss crops (Sept. 2,...
The Montana Department of Agriculture announced that funding is available and applications will be accepted to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. After receiving funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the state will disburse $305,000 to successful applicants through a competitive grant process. Specialty crops are fruits and vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, dried fruits, horticultural, and nursery crops, including floriculture. Eligible plants must be intensively cultivated and used by people for...
Beach, ND area farmer/photographer James Zielsdorf says he’s found “the missing link” for building soil quality on his farm AND he has the pictures to prove it! He’ll be sharing those pictures and his insights this Friday, March 7, beginning at noon at the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in Sidney as part of that facility’s 2014 BrownBagger series. Zielsdorf’s presentation – “The Missing Link: What it looks like in Western North Dakota” – is open to the public and runs from noon to 1 pm. The lab is located at 1...
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Bruce Nelson reminds Montana farmers and ranchers that the sales closing deadline of March 17th for most non-insurable 2014 spring planted and forage crops, including grass for hay and grazing, is fast approaching. Application deadline for the 2014 Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for all non-insurable crops except for honey and value loss crops is March 17, 2014. The 2014 sales closing dates have already ended for honey (Dec. 2, 2013) and value-loss crops (Sept. 2,...
Thanks to everyone who made calls, neither COOL nor the enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act were weakened in the 2014 Farm Bill! These are both important victories for U.S. independent producers. The COOL lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is ongoing. R-CALF USA will continue to defend COOL. We encourage everyone to buy Made in the U.S.A. products. As consumers, we’re voting with every dollar we spend. Checkoff In response to R-CALF USA’s request for an investigation, the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an upd...
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Bruce Nelson announced a major policy change affecting crop eligibility for the 2014 Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) in some Montana counties. Today, the national FSA office approved Montana FSA’s request for an exemption in specific counties to allow the use of NAP coverage for nonirrigated corn intended for grain and silage (NAP practice of forage) beginning the 2014 crop year. Prior to January 2014, if catastrophic (CAT) risk protection level of crop insurance was a...
According to the USDA, infected piglets less than 7 days old may have a mortality rate of about 50 percent. The mortality rate in suckling pigs may reach 50 to 80 percent, but then typically declines to 1 to 3 percent in larger pigs. Most older swine recover without treatment unless secondary infections occur. Test results have confirmed Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PED) at a swine production facility in Montana. “Add Montana to the list of states hit by the virus,” said state veterinarian Dr. Marty Zaluski after receiving laboratory con...
The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds producers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming that the spring sales closing date is March 15. The spring sales closing and cancellation date applies to spring planted crops, and is also the deadline for producers to notify their agent if they have planted winter wheat in a county with only spring wheat coverage. There are also important changes for organic producers this year. The five percent surcharge for all acreage insured under organic farming practices has been removed and a...
Networking, new ideas and leadership were all part of the American Farm Bureau National Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference February 8-10 in Virginia Beach, VA. Twenty-nine Montana Farm Bureau and Collegiate Young Farmers and Ranchers found the trip invaluable. MFBF YF&R Jenny Stovall found the networking incredibly worthwhile. "There were young farmers and ranchers from all commodities. We had differences but also similarities and struggles," said Stovall, who ranches with her...
The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds producers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming that the spring sales closing date is March 15. The spring sales closing and cancellation date applies to spring planted crops, and is also the deadline for producers to notify their agent if they have planted winter wheat in a county with only spring wheat coverage. There are also important changes for organic producers this year. The five percent surcharge for all acreage insured under organic farming practices has been removed and a...
