Sorted by date Results 1019 - 1043 of 2265
Since June of 2016, Dr. Clair Keene, Area Extension Specialist in Cropping Systems, has been researching how to prevent saline seep formation and growth. Saline seeps are discharge areas on the soil surface that are caused by salt accumulation at low points in the landscape. When salty groundwater is within six feet of the soil surface, it is pulled to the soil surface, and the water evaporates and leaves behind dissolved salts, which then create a saline seep. They typically form at the bottom...
Jamie Selting, District Conservationist at Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) located in Sidney, visited with students at Fairview High School to inform them about soil sciences, slake testing, available water capacity, and NRCS careers. Selting demonstrated how to identify particle size and differentiate between sand, clay and silt. He also demonstrated how to use moisture sensors for soil moisture management and how to test aggregate stability of a healthy soil. Monitoring soil...
The old idiom of "too much of a good thing" rings especially true for salt. From kitchen tables to water tables, it is present nearly everywhere you look. Human bodies need it to survive, and french fries wouldn't be the same without it. But, just as doctors have told us for years, it can be harmful in high concentrations. Jane Holzer, Director of the Montana Salinity Control Association, recently returned from an annual meeting which addresses soil salinity in Eastern Montana. "I was letting...
Oil spills are easy to see, but psychological wounds are completely invisible. Landowners across the Bakken are being affected by brine spills, oil spills, and pipeline projects in ways we are just beginning to understand. Dr. Tom DeSutter, Associate Professor of Soil Science at North Dakota State University, has been researching soil issues associated with the oil and gas industry. Typically, those studies focus solely on the ground itself. "We're trying to work closely with land owners and the...
Officials from North Dakota traveled to Richland County on Sept. 21 to tour the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project. North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford, McKenzie County Economic Development Coordinator Daniel Stenberg and McKenzie County Commissioner Gene Veeder were in attendance. The officials were invited by LYIP Project Manager James Brower and Chairman of the Board of Control Richard Cakyo to tour the irrigation project and gain a better understanding of its importance to the region. The Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project ex...
The Montana Potato Advisory Committee is seeking proposals for the Montana Potato Research & Market Development Program. Proposals should relate to demonstration projects, applied research, and market development projects designed to address needs and opportunities for the Montana potato industry. The committee has established the following research priorities for the 2017-2018 funding cycle: - Management of potato viruses and their vectors; - Stem and tuber diseases caused by fungi and bacteria (such as blackleg, scab, soft rot and ringrot);...
Six years ago, about the time Vawnita Best gave up a 15-year career involving extensive travel to stay at home to raise her then-2-year-old son and help her husband build their registered Angus herd, she was accepted into the North Dakota State University Extension Service's Rural Leadership North Dakota program. "I was excited to find a leadership program structured for people with a passion for North Dakota, agriculture and community," the Watford City rancher says. The 18-month leadership...
The Montana State University College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station will host its 18th annual Celebrate Agriculture event, set for Nov. 3-4 on the MSU campus. The event is held in honor of the state and university’s joint agricultural legacy and in celebration of current students, agriculture alumni, and MSU’s extended agricultural community across Montana. MSU Vice President of Agriculture Charles Boyer said the event is a longstanding tradition at the university. “Each year, we look forward to the weekend in Novem...
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will be conducting its annual County Committee election in November 2017. FSA County Committees represent farmers in their local communities and make decisions on crop bases and yields, commodity loans, conservation programs, disaster payments and other federal farm assistance programs. The current County Committee consists of 3 members elected from 3 Local Administrative Areas (LAA’s). The LAA that is up for election this year in McKenzie County is LAA #2, which encompasses the middle third of the county. We e...
Montana State University's Steer-A-Year program is seeking steer donations for the 2017-18 academic year. The donated steers will allow agriculture students to gain hands-on learning experience in all aspects of the beef industry, from anatomy to production. Throughout the academic year, students in the Steer-A-Year program provide daily care for steers that Montana ranchers have donated to the university. The steers are then sold in the spring, and profits from the sales fund student...
It's been said that two's company, but three's a crowd. While this old aphorism may be true in some circumstances, it fails to hold as much water in regards to irrigated crop rotation in sugarbeet fields. Dr. Bart Stevens, Irrigated Systems Research Agronomist/Research Leader at the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in Sidney, has been studying a three-year crop rotation system alongside a number of other experts. With the aid of Montana State University and North Dakota...
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...
Anthrax could be a risk to livestock in North Dakota this year, North Dakota State University Extension Service veterinarian Gerald Stokka warns. Very dry conditions, which North Dakota experienced this year, or high rainfall can cause it to be a health issue. "Anthrax is a disease caused by a bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis," Stokka says. "This bacteria has a special survival mechanism called spore formation. This characteristic allows the bacteria to produce spores with a very hardy,...
To maintain the North Dakota 4-H program in the face of budget cuts, 4-H will implement a $20-per-year state-level program fee for participation. The fee helps fill the gap left by declining state funding, according to Brad Cogdill, chair of the North Dakota State University Extension Service’s Center for 4-H Youth Development. The decision to implement the fee came after a $4.1 million reduction in state funding for the Extension Service for the current biennium and a recommendation from an ad hoc committee the State Board of Agricultural Rese...
For the past 19 years, North Dakota State University has sustained an active Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Crop Scout Program. This has been made possible through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Crop Protection and Pest Management Competitive Program. In 1998, the NDSU IPM Survey only scouted for diseases of wheat in the southeastern part of North Dakota. Now, the IPM Survey has broadened its scouting efforts to all parts of the state and includes insect pests and diseases of f...
The Richland County FSA Office reminds producers of the upcoming Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) deadlines. · Sept. 15: All Hay Bales Must be Removed from Emergency CRP · Sept. 13: 2017 CRP Managed Summer/Fall Grazing Period Ends · Sept. 13: 2017 CRP Routine Grazing Period Ends · Sept. 30: 2017 CRP Managed Harvesting Period Ends · Sept. 30: 2017 CRP Emergency Grazing Period Ends · Nov. 12: All Hay Bales Must be Removed from Managed CRP For questions, contact the local FSA office at (406) 433-2103, ext. 2....
This year at the Richland County Fair, 4-H members brought many market animals to show and sell. On Friday, August 4th, the 4-Hers with market animals participated in both the Showmanship and Market Animal class. Taking home grand champion ribbon in the Market Beef Division was Tyler Lien. Lien’s steer was purchased by 5H Trucking located in Lambert, MT. Receiving a reserve champion ribbon in the Market Beef Division was Tana Kostelecky, her market steer was purchased by Rambur Charolais. Cooper McNally was awarded Grand Champion market hog, h...
Are you interested in increasing soil water absorption by 685 percent? Remember the commercials that showed paper towels absorbing copious amounts of water, more than a competitor's paper towel? Is one paper towel better than another in water absorption? I think we know the answer: Yes. Could this also be true in soils? Are the soils within some soil management systems better at absorbing water than soils in other systems? The answer is: Absolutely yes! What does this mean? Poorly managed soil...
Sidney Sugars is predicting above average tonnage at 32 and average sugar at 17 to 18 for the 2017 sugarbeet crop, based on root samples taken last week. Not all samples were processed at press time so the results are preliminary but encouraging. “We’re happy with the crop considering the rough start this spring,” agricultural manager Duane Peters said. “But, we’ll wait and see what happens on the 12th.” Early beet harvest, which used to be common but hasn’t been done for many years, will start on September 12 with all districts hauling some...
Traditions always have a special reason for their being, but the Swank Variety Plot Tour has several. On the sprawling Swank Farm north of Poplar, local farmers and leaders in the field of agricultural research gathered to discuss wheat, as well as share some steaks with a side of a special potato salad made from the recipe of the 93 year old Swank Family matriarch, Pearl. Mark Swank, Pearl's son, was smartly outfitted with an umbrella on the hot, hazy, cloudless afternoon. Despite the lack of...
Gone, but not forgotten, is the blight of the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum which happened last year. In the wake of this rainy-day loving fungus, many questions cropped up which Plant Pathologist Dr. Audrey Kalil is now answering. From the laboratories and test plots at the North Dakota State University Williston Research Extension Center, Kalil has been intentionally planting seed which was infected with F. graminearum. This type of "scabby" seed is contaminated with a mycotoxin called...
Stored grain needs to be cool and dry during summer storage, a North Dakota State University Extension Service grain-drying expert says. “Cold or cool grain has been safely stored through the summer for many years,” notes Ken Hellevang, an Extension agricultural engineer. “Keeping the grain as cool as possible should be the goal of summer grain storage.” Allowing grain to warm to average outdoor air temperatures during the summer can lead to insect infestations and mold growth. The optimum grain temperature for insect activity is approxi...
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Tammy Lake in Richland County today announced that ranchers and livestock producers may be eligible for assistance from the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) for grazing losses incurred in 2017. According to Lake, “Richland County recently met qualifying drought criteria to ‘trigger’ eligibility for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program on non-irrigated acres used for grazing.” LFP provides compensation to livestock producers who have suffered grazing...
Enjoy an afternoon of cowboy poetry Sunday, August 20th from 11a.m. to 5p.m. CDT at the Missouri Yellowstone Confluence Center. Poets/musicians include D.W. Groethe, Linda and Terry Schwartz, Jarl Kavalie, Bill Lowman and Mark Kerr. Performers will rotate in 20 minute sessions throughout the afternoon. Admission is free but donations are welcome....
