Sorted by date Results 901 - 925 of 947
Montana State University Extension and North Dakota State University are collaborating to present MonDak Pulse Day on Feb. 15 at the Elks Club, Wolf Point. More than 12 years ago, Extension personnel in both Montana and North Dakota saw a need to address agronomic questions related to the rising amount of pulse production (peas, chickpeas and lentils) being done in Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana. Today this area, known as the MonDak area, produces 88% of the peas, 86% of lentils and 18% of chickpeas grown in the United States. The...
Fairview area rancher, educator and self-defined “grass farmer” Wayne Berry, will share insights into his holistic management approach to ranching on Friday, Feb. 3, as part of the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory’s (NPARL) 2012 BrownBagger seminar series. The one-hour session begins at noon and is open to the public. Wayne’s talk is entitled “What I’ve learned since 1955” and describes the many tools and strategies he’s experimented with over the past five decades to accomplish his and his family’s goals of enjoying...
After serving 38 years as agronomist, plant breeder, and director of the Montana State University’s Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC), Sidney, Dr. Jerry Bergman has retired from the MSU university system effective Dec. 31. Bergman has accepted a permanent position with the Williston Research Extension Center (WREC) as director of the facility, a position he has held on a part time basis for the past 18 years. Bergman began his duties with WREC on Jan. 1 and will oversee dryland and i...
Cereal grains such as wheat and barley are viable alternative hay crops and can provide valuable grazing opportunities. Due to drought resistance, good yields and ability to break pest cycles of perennial crops, annual forages can be a good fit in northern Great Plains production systems. An ongoing study provides preliminary nitrogen guidelines for some annual forage crops in Montana. “In the most recent year with collected data (2008), approximately 200,000 acres of cereal forages were grown in Montana, making it the fourth largest acreage cr...
A Rwandan scientist is working with Montana State University scientists to understand a disease that is devastating to staple food crops in his country. Theodore Asiimwe, director of agriculture in Rwanda’s southern agriculture zone and coordinator of biotechnology unit of his country’s agriculture board, is completing a three-month fellowship at MSU that will help him understand Ralstonia solanacearum, the causal agent of potato bacterial wilt as well as wilt in crops that belong to the sol...
Innovative and sustainable grazing strategies, wheat stem sawfly biocontrol and Russian olive management are just some of the topics featured in this year’s tenth annual BrownBagger series which begins this Friday at the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in Sidney. The 2012 seminar series kicks off with two special grazing presentations by area ranchers, Ray Bannister of Wibaux and Wayne Berry of Fairview. First up is Ray Bannister whose presentation entitled “Adapting to change” will...
After serving 38 years as agronomist, plant breeder and director of the Montana State University’s Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) in Sidney, Dr. Jerry Bergman has retired from the MSU university system effective Dec. 31, 2011. Bergman has accepted a permanent position with the Williston Research Extension Center (WREC) as director of the facility, a position he has held on a part time basis for the past 18 years. Bergman began his duties with WREC on Jan. 1, 2012 and will oversee d...
The Sidney High School FFA and AgEd students have begun Phase II of the Learning to Serve Grant, obtained through the USDA Rural Youth Development Program. This grant focuses on developing and applying leadership and classroom skills in youth who then use these newly learned skills to improve their own lives and the health of their rural communities. The grant partners the students with the county, the city, and ROI (Richland Opportunities, Inc.) to improve and enhance recycling efforts within R...
USDA is establishing a special advisory board to help USDA officials ensure Native Americans participate in and benefit from USDA programs. The board is being put in place as part of the Keepseagle settlement. The Council for Native American Farming and Ranching will work closely with the Office of Tribal Relations, Farm Service Agency and other USDA agencies to improve the success of Native farmers and ranchers who access USDA’s entire portfolio of programs to build and achieve profitability in their businesses. Keepseagle vs. Vilsack was a l...
The Sidney High School FFA and AgEd students have begun Phase II of the Learning to Serve Grant, obtained through the USDA Rural Youth Development Program. This grant focuses on developing and applying leadership and classroom skills in youth who then use these newly learned skills to improve their own lives and the health of their rural communities. The grant partners the students with the county, city and ROI (Richland Opportunities, Inc.) to improve and enhance recycling efforts within...
On Nov. 27, a collared black male wolf was shot on private ground under the defense of property law near Hammond, MT. Montana laws and administrative rules allow for a person to kill a wolf in the act of attacking, killing or threatening to kill livestock, a provision in place to opportunistically minimize wolf-livestock conflicts when they occur. USDA Wildlife Service’s investigated and confirmed that this wolf had attacked and killed one ewe lamb and fatally injured another that had to be put down. This is the only wolf that was believed to b...
The holiday season commenced in Sidney on Friday night, Nov. 25, with the annual Christmas Stroll and Parade of Lights. Prizes were awarded in the Soup Contest, held at Restorx, by a People’s Choice ballet. Tying for first place was Katy Daley with White Chicken Chili, and Ethel Schultz with Nefla. Both received $75 in Chamber Bucks. The Parade of Lights awards were selected for three categories. Chosen for Best Use of Theme was Anchor Drilling, Best Use of Lights to the USDA, and Most C...
“The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) is pleased that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has decided to postpone action on its proposed livestock competition rule as it relates to the beef industry,” states Jason Schmidt, North Dakota Stockmen’s Association president, Medina. “Cattle producers want good prices, fair practices and the freedom to operate our businesses without unnecessary government intrusion. We support value-based marketing and were very concer...
Bovine Connection organizers have invited Steve Dittmer with the Agribusiness Freedom Foundation to speak at the Thursday, Dec. 1 session of the Bovine Connection, scheduled for the meeting room at the Extension office building on 1446 N. Central Ave. and also to present the address at the Thursday night banquet scheduled for the Sidney Country Club. Dittmer will discuss free marketing and the preservation of free market options. “We promote free market principles throughout the food c...
Bovine Connection organizers have included informational sessions on AI updates and Market updates as part of the Bovine Connection Program, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, Dec. 1-2 at the new Extension/EARC facility located on North Central Avenue. Willie Altenburg, Genex Cooperative associate vice president of beef marketing, will speak at noon, Friday, Dec. 2 and will discuss several aspects of A.I. techniques for beef cattle. “I’ll talk on synchronization systems and how they work whe...
“The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) is pleased that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has decided to postpone action on its proposed livestock competition rule as it relates to the beef industry,” states Jason Schmidt, North Dakota Stockmen’s Association president, Medina. “Cattle producers want good prices, fair practices and the freedom to operate our businesses without unnecessary government intrusion. We support value-based marketing and were very concer...
With the potential of the Emerald Ash Borer coming westward to North Dakota and possibly devastating our Green Ash trees, homeowners ask for alternatives. This is a very difficult question to answer as I feel there is no tree equal to the hardiness and drought resistance possessed by Green Ash. As an alternative deciduous tree to Green Ash I have suggested Hackberry, Linden, Bur Oak and Buckeye. In doing so, I must emphasize the limitations of each. After all, none of these trees, except Bur...
Rural business owners, farmers and ranchers who want to cut energy costs are invited to view “Clean Energy Financing for Rural Montana” webinar that will be broadcast at 10:30 a.m. MST, Thursday, Nov. 17. This 90-minute webinar will describe what’s needed to secure loans and grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. “This webinar is for anyone who wants information on what’s required to obtain federal, state or utility financing for clean energy,” said Al Kurki National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), one...
Bovine Connection organizers have invited Steve Dittmer, Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, to speak at the Thursday, Dec. 1 session of the Bovine Connection, scheduled at the Extension office building meeting room, North Central Avenue, Sidney, and also to present the address at the Thursday night banquet scheduled for the Sidney Country Club. Dittmer will discuss free marketing and the preservation of free market options. “We promote free market principles throughout the food chain,” Dit...
Bovine Connection organizers have invited Jim Robb, Livestock Marketing Information Center director, (LMIC) to give a talk during the Friday, Dec. 2 session of the Bovine Connection concerning the LMIC market update and projection. Robb will speak at 11 a.m. at the Extension office facility meeting room, North Central Avenue, Sidney. Robb will discuss issues in the livestock markets and explain how these issues interconnect and affect the entire marketplace. “We are seeing record high calf p...
The Richland County Extension office, in cooperation with extension agents from adjoining counties and other professionals, will host two evening pesticide classes on Nov. 15-17 at the new extension building on North Central Avenue. The classes will enable people to obtain necessary pesticide points to remain current with their applicators licenses. Those who attend both classes will earn a total of four points. “People need to have points to keep their licenses current,” says Richland Cou...
North Dakota State Executive Director Aaron Krauter announced recently that approximately $263.5 million in payments, including $95.5 million in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental payments and $168 million in final direct payments, will be made to North Dakota agricultural producers this month. North Dakota producers have more than 40,500 CRP contracts that cover over 2.4 million acres of land enrolled in CRP. The voluntary program helps farmers and ranchers safeguard environmentally sensitive land and provides habitat for game and...
If you farm or own land in these three states – California, Washington and Montana – the USDA Farm Service Agency has an important message that you’ll want to hear. They are encouraging the growth of camelina through FSA’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program. BCAP for short. Camelina is a seasonal grass that is highly sought-after for biofuel, especially by the air transportation industry and the military. Specific counties in California, Washington, and the entire state of Montana are eligible to participate in the program. The deal is this: t...
It turned out to be the year of the grasshopper in many areas of eastern Montana. Many regions did not notice these voracious pests early in the spring, but by summer’s end, hoppers had appeared in droves throughout eastern Montana. Dave Branson, USDA/ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab ecologist, Sidney, notes that grasshopper populations were particularly high in certain regions, with highest populations largely south and west of Richland County. “We saw areas in eastern Montana wit...
Bovine Connection organizers have invited Steve Dittmer, Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, to speak at the Thursday, Dec. 1 session of the Bovine Connection. Dittmer will discuss free marketing and the preservation of free market options. “We promote free market principles throughout the food chain,” Dittmer comments. “We aren’t just promoting cow calf production or packers, but rather the entire chain all the way through to the plate. The more free market options and the less government involve...
