Sorted by date Results 926 - 947 of 947
Heifers being prepared for breeding don’t have to eat like pigs, stuffing themselves at all-you-can-eat feed bunks with unlimited refills, according to scientists at a Montana State University experiment station. Researchers at the Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, Miles City, conducted a two-year study that showed that heifers can safely eat 20% less during the seven months between weaning and breeding. They won’t suffer from reduced rations, and producers save $21 per ani...
The Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) has completed its move to the new facility. The staff moved on Wednesday, Sept. 21 following the arrival of furniture and the installation of telephone and computer services. Along with the Richland County Extension staff, which made the move to the new facility in June, the EARC staff now will conduct its work from the new building. “It’s nice to finally move in,” says Jerry Bergman, EARC director. “It’s a thrill to be here, to have computers and...
Grasshopper populations increased dramatically in Montana from 2007 to 2010, from one million acres with more than 15 grasshoppers per square yard in 2007, to 17 million acres with more than 15 grasshoppers per square yard in 2010. However, crop and rangeland damage has been somewhat moderated by the cool and wet spring weather of 2010 and 2011. The recent warm dry weather has favored grasshopper development and based on the August 2011 adult grasshopper rangeland survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health...
After collecting 46,062 lbs. of e-waste during its first four summer mini events, the area “E-rase your E-waste” e-cycling team is ready to close out the season with a record-setting bang at their annual weekend collection Friday and Saturday in Sidney. “That beats our second highest annual total and is only 1,000 lbs. below what we collected all of last year, which was our best year yet,” Butch Renders, a member of the organizing team, said of the collections to date. “We’ll easily break the r...
To help farmers make the best use of limited irrigation water in the arid West, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers are helping farmers determine how much water major crops actually need. Tom Trout, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Water Management Research Unit (WMRU) research leader, Fort Collins, CO, and his colleagues are measuring crop water-use efficiency not by the traditional measure of crop yield per drop of irrigation water applied, but instead yield per drop of water actually taken in by the crop. ARS is USDA’s c...
Pesticide experts will go on tour Oct. 3-7 to help Eastern Montanans renew their private pesticide applicator licenses before the end of the year. Private citizens who wish to purchase, use or supervise the use of restricted use pesticides on land they own, rent or lease need a private applicator license. Private applicators in Carter, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, McCone, Phillips, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure, Valley and Wibaux counties need to recertify by the end of 2011, said Cecil...
Even with its annual September weekend event yet to come, “E-rase your E-waste” organizers are already pronouncing 2011’s collection effort a “huge” success. “Although we’re still waiting to hear officially from our e-cycler, we anticipate that we’ve collected over 40,000 lbs. of e-waste already,” E-rase your E-waste Committee Co-chair Jackie Couture said Monday. “That’s nearly equal to our two best collection years to date and we expect to set a new yearly record when we do our final e-waste...
4-H members of Williams County are beginning to understand how tough it is to produce finished beef steers whose carcasses will grade USDA Choice. For the past four years Dr. J.J. Hovde has been using ultra-sound technology to evaluate the amount of fat and muscle tissue of every steer brought to the Upper Missouri Valley Fair. Dr. Hovde’s scanned readings are sent to The National Centralized Ultrasound Processing Laboratory at Ames, IA, for interpretation. The laboratory information gives us d...
USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced expanded coverage availability for the Forage (Alfalfa) Seed Pilot Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) program to all counties in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota. In previous years, the pilot program only allowed for coverage availability in: Montana: Big Horn County and Wyoming: Big Horn and Park counties. Since the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board has approved expansion and conversion of the pilot to a permanent regulatory program, coverage is now available through the w...
The fourth “E-rase your E-waste” collection event of the summer is coming up Thursday, Aug. 18 from 3-7 p.m. at the Richland County Shop, Sidney. The event is FREE and is the final of four summer month collections planned as part of the 2011 E-rase your E-waste campaign. The final collection for the year will be the group’s annual weekend event set for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9-10. The county repair shop is located at 2140 W. Holly, Sidney, next to the fairgrounds. Participants are asked to please use the airport road entrance. Signs will...
Grazing losses that resulted from flooding may be covered under the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program, according to Aaron Krauter, USDA Farm Service Agency North Dakota state executive director. Excessive rainfall throughout the state and major flooding along rivers may have caused livestock producers to lose days that grazing is available for their livestock. ELAP can cover up to 90 days of grazing loss for a producer. ELAP also covers harvested and purchased feed that is destroyed by flooding. Livestock producers who have lost grazing...
Those who enjoy the caffeinated lift that comes from drinking traditional coffees and teas may tend to overlook the benefits of drinking herbal infusions. Now, as explained in this month’s issue of Agricultural Research magazine, the idea that herbal teas may provide a variety of health benefits is no longer just folklore. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded scientists in Boston, MA, have looked into the science-based evidence of health benefits from drinking three of the most popular herbals in America. Diane McKay and Jeffrey B...
Each year, the Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) holds a field day in July in order to provide information and updates on a variety of research projects. Many area producers attend this field day to learn about current research, and those who attended were not disappointed in their quest for additional information. The tour began with a talk on durum wheat presented by EARC Agronomist Dr. Joyce Eckhoff, who discussed her research to produce quality durum varieties. “Durum is the n...
Although Montana farmers and ranchers are benefiting from good commodity prices, rising costs of fuel and fertilizer remain a concern, according to the Montana Farm Bureau Federation. The state’s largest agricultural organization says although hay is plentiful and crops are growing well the costs associated with fertilizing, harvesting and irrigating are hitting the farmers’ bottom line. “Many Montana farmers and ranchers are haying right now, and whether they’re swathing, baling or bringing in bales from the field, they’re using fuel. Hig...
The third "E-rase your E-waste" collection event of the summer is coming up Thursday, July 21st from 3-7 pm at the Richland County Shop in Sidney. The event is FREE and is the third in four planned for the summer months as part of the 2011 E-rase your E-waste campaing. According to organizers, the summer is off to a great start with more than 21,000 pounds of e-waste collected to date. "We also had some great new help in June from members of the Sidney High School's Key Club," Butch Renders,...
Producers have until Friday, July 29 to apply for assistance for 2009 crop losses under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program. The program provides crop disaster assistance payments to eligible producers on farms that have incurred crop production or quality losses. “USDA wants to ensure that all eligible producers are aware of the approaching deadline,” said Aaron Krauter, USDA Farm Service Agency state executive director, in North Dakota. “SURE covers producers on farms in disaster counties that incurred crop production,...
The Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) will host its annual field day on Tuesday, July 26 beginning at 8:30 a.m. with rolls and coffee. As in past years, the tour will begin in the north parking lot at the USDA/ ARS building. Tour stops include value added durum research information presented by Dr. Joyce Eckhoff, along with a spring wheat variety and development discussion presented by Dr. Luther Talbot, Montana State University. Russ Fullmer will discuss sugarbeet varieties and the sugarbeet outlook for this year, and Dr. Barry...
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services’ (DPHHS) Child and Adult Care Food Program has received an $111,034 Child Care Wellness Grant from the US Department of Agriculture. The grant will be used to improve nutrition, health and wellness in child care settings across Montana. The state will fund activities in 2012 and 2013 that promote nutrition in child care that reflect the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, to providers of child care centers and family and group day care homes. “It’s important that all of Montana’s childre...
An education event will be held at Ray Senior Center, Main Street and 2nd Ave., on Thursday, July 21 from 9:30 a.m.-12:45 p. m. Service Options For Seniors Agenda 9:30 a.m. - Karen Quick, NW Human Service Center’s Aging Services Unit, Family Caregiver Support Program, Vulnerable Adult Protective Services, Ombudsman Services; IPAT’s assistive safety devices, phone program and medication management devices; and NW Human Service Center’s services, 701-774-4685 or 1-800-231-7724. 9:45 a.m. – Wendy Peters, Mercy Home Care/Hospice, 701-774...
The third annual ARS “Dryland” Field Tour is set for Friday, July 8, from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Agricultural Research Service’s Sidney Research Farm. The event is sponsored by Richland County Extension and the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory Research Lab, Sidney. This year’s tour includes a special “pesticide container” workshop with Diana DeYoung, Montana Department of Agriculture, to update producers and dealers on new EPA regulations going into effect in August of this year. DeYoung stressed that both produc...
Two new speakers have been added to the annual Froid Research Farm Field Day line-up on Thursday, July 7. Dr. Bill Martin, National Weather Service (NWS) science and operations officer, Glasgow, and Dawson County Extension Agent Bruce Smith, one of the driving forces behind Eastern Montana’s evolving local foods program, Farm to Table, will both speak at the annual Field Day which begins at 1 pm. The Froid Research Farm is located eight miles north of Culbertson on Montana Highway 16. First up is Dr. Martin at 1 pm following registration. He w...
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...
