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Many people believe the best way to teach others about the important role agriculture plays in each of our lives is through education. Williston State College Ag department held a “Living Ag Classroom” for Williston elementary and middle school students - giving the students the opportunity to attend different presentations showcasing various careers in agriculture. Each program of study at WSC set up presentations for the students. The Ag department set up a rotation with five different sta...
Join in on the fun and support your local ranchers and farmers by sponsoring the 12th Annual Ag Appreciation Golf Tournament which will be held on July 8th. The event is organized by the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, which is in the process of getting sponsors lined up for the event. Sponsorships are available at three different levels: $50 golf cart sponsorship, $150 hole sponsorship or $200 team sponsorship. The $50 sponsorship includes signage to promote business, while...
The highlight of the 2013 year for the Watford City FFA Chapter came Thursday, April 4th when our chapter held its 54th annual Awards Banquet. Over 200 parents, members and guests were in attendance. Every year the chapter honors local people who support the FFA by presenting Honorary FFA Degrees. This year’s recipients were Calli Thorne and Kent Taylor. Calli Thorne is an alumni of Watford City High School and was a very active FFA member throughout high school. She continued to support our FFA after she graduated as a special guest speaker at...
The Annual Rabies Clinic in Savage will be held Saturday, May 4th, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Savage Fire Hall. This is an opportunity to protect your pets against rabies, and save the hassle of taking them into town. You may also pick up your tick and flea protection as well....
The Montana Department of Livestock says it will be more stringently enforcing requirements for six-month equine travel passports. Those rules (ARM 32.3.216) include: Six-month passports cannot be used for sale of horses, breeding or stays of longer than 90 days; lifetime brand inspections are required for six-month passports; a preliminary itinerary must be submitted to the state veterinarian’s office prior to traveling; a post-season travel itinerary must be submitted within 10 days of the passport’s expiration to be eligible for a pas...
Considering the ideal conditions for planting sugar beets is a drier soil, the last snow storm has postponed planting a couple weeks. With planting usually happening around April 20th, it looks like it may not happen until early May. Although they are getting a late start, agricultural manager, Russ Fullmer, feels that they could be looking at a good tonnage this fall. Although the old commercial varieties of seeds would cause a loss of a ton to a ton and a half a week, the use of Roundup ready...
The 63rd Montana Legislature adjourned late this afternoon. After a series of hard-fought legislative scuffles, Northern Plains Resource Council members believe they held the line for Montana’s working family farms and ranches. Northern Plains is a Billings-based conservation and family agriculture group. “As expected, Montanans from all walks of life including our members were forced to fight a number of ill-advised proposals that would have threatened our water resources, rural communities, and family farms and ranches,” said Northern Plain...
The annual Richland County 4-H Junior Leaders Dinner and Dance took place on Friday April 12th, 2013 at the VFW in Sidney. The steak and shrimp dinner was served from 6:30 to 8:30 in the evening. After the dinner there was a drawing for a variety of gift baskets, which was then followed with a dance. Both the dinner and dance were a fun and light hearted event. Every year the Junior Leaders donate the money raised from this event to a local cause. This year the Junior Leaders made a donation in...
Back in 1913, when Richland Farm Mutual began, insurance was much different than what it is now. At that time, insurance was more of a brotherhood than a company. The original idea of mutual insurance was introduced by Benjamin Franklin in 1751 while he was a firefighter. Although his company, ‘The Philadelphia Contributionship’, originally only provided coverage for fellow fire fighters, it quickly expanded to provide insurance to all citizens of Philadelphia. Not only did Franklin think of...
On April 4, the Watford City FFA Chapter held their 54th annual banquet. Chapter officers presented the opening ceremonies. Over 200 parents, members and guests were in attendance. Andrew Kreidt, Southwest Region Vice President brought greetings from the State FFA Officer Team. Tessa Dwyer and Shania Rolla introduced the slide show recapping the years’ events. Members were presented with both production and agribusiness proficiency awards for their Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) projects. With over 120 members, the Watford City FFA Cha...
At the final Brownbagger session at the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in Sidney on April 5, Upendra Sainju, soil scientist from the Laboratory, spoke about his study on greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and how they are affected by various management practices. In particular, Sainju looked at emissions in dryland malt barley production from 2008 to 2011. Sainju stated that 6 to 14 percent of the total man-made greenhouse gases are produced by agricultural...
Producers should keep records of weather-related livestock deaths, North Dakota State University Extension Service specialists say. Those producers have experienced a variety of adverse weather conditions. “Late-spring snow, cold rain and sleet storms have moved across parts of the northern Plains, and have coincided with peak calving and lambing seasons,” says Karl Hoppe, North Dakota State University Extension Service area livestock specialist at the Carrington Extension Research Center. “Now flooding is occurring along many streams and r...
Heavy spring snowstorms have created hardships for North Dakota cattle herds and caretakers. Most ranchers have moved away from cow herds and calving during the winter to avoid the cold and snow. However, this year’s late-winter weather has ranchers working day and night to keep newborn calves alive. Calves move more slowly and will take longer to first nursing when suffering from cold weather stress. It also leads to reduced nursing times and increased sickness. Acute cold weather stress brought on by cold, wet snow and wind can lead to a q...
The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) is seeking nominations of Montana ranches for the Montana Environmental Stewardship Award. Each year, MSGA honors a Montana ranch that exemplifies environmental stewardship and demonstrates a commitment toward improved sustainability within the beef industry. This award recognizes Montana ranchers who are at the forefront in conservation and stewardship and are willing to serve as examples for other ranchers. “Montana ranchers take great pride in caring for the natural resources that help make M...
Montana State University Extension is offering a new, two-year leadership program for professionals in agriculture and natural resource industries. The Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership (REAL) Montana training will include participant classes, tours, networking opportunities and travel. The two-year program features eight in-state seminars, a five-day national study tour in Washington, D.C. and a two-week international trip. Seminars will include: training in agriculture institutions and agencies, natural resource development,...
The National Weather Service will be holding Skywarn Spotter classes in May. The course teaches volunteers to spot severe weather conditions such as flash floods, hail, lightning, thunderstorms and tornadoes. In an average year, 5,000 floods and over 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States, threatening lives and property. The course covers the storm structures, safety precautions, how to identify a severe weather condition and how to properly report severe weather. The classes are free...
USDA Montana Farm Service Agency reminds producers of several important upcoming deadlines. For more information regarding FSA programs and/or loans, contact your local county FSA office located in 48 USDA Service Centers across Montana and visit us online at www.fsa.usda.gov/mt. Upcoming 2013 Dates and Deadlines: May 1: USDA Claims Filing Deadline for Hispanic & Women Farmers and Ranchers (For claims assistance, contact: 1-888-508-4429 and/or www.farmerclaims.gov.) May 14: Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Managed Spring Grazing Period Ends...
Sidney FFA had chapter participants at the recent State FFA Convention where over 1500 members and guests participated in some fashion. James Topp, Travis Obergfell, Duran Vigesaa, Emily Schaff and Marianne Gartner were the participants from Sidney FFA Chapter. Emily participated as chapter delegate, public speaking, extemporaneous speaking and leadership scholar. Her results were: Scholarship recipient of $400 from the Holt Family Scholarship (for attending National convention in 2013), $500 from State FFA Alumni Association for attending a...
Montana State University students who drive draft horses for a hobby know their animals. George, for one, is the cat that lives at the Miller Pavilion where students gather for their weekly practice. George is supposed to catch mice, but he prefers sandwiches and occasionally slips into backpacks to find them. Omen and Juniper are the Blue Heelers that wait outside the pavilion when their owner is inside. Brandy and Star are the Belgian horses that members of the MSU Driving Team say make them...
Summertime is almost upon us. For most Americans, the warmer weather brings picnics in the park, BBQs and grilling out with family and friends. It also brings the increased chance for foodborne illness to occur if safe food preparation and handling is not given full attention. Because food safety is such an important issue to farmers, we’ve worked hard to ensure that the food that reaches your table is safe. Thanks to voluntary farmer-led initiatives, strict government monitoring and consumer food safety education, foodborne illness has d...
Montana Farmer’s Union (MFU) 2013 camp season at Arrowpeak Lodge in the Highwood Mountains is just around the corner and offers lots of fun lasting memories for youth across the state. The MFU Senior Youth Advisory Board chose “Cooperation, Education, Exhilaration” as the theme for camp this year. The camp schedules provide age appropriate activities and workshops with the goal of making memories, encouraging cooperative teamwork and growing tomorrow’s leaders. The camps provide lots of time for campfires, dances, theme nights, art & crafts,...
Weather conditions have been dry for more than a year in parts of North Dakota, and sump pumps may not have run in a while. However, with the heavy amount of snow still on the ground, the threat of flooding this spring means homeowners should check their sump pump now to make sure it works properly, North Dakota State University Extension Service agricultural engineer Tom Scherer says. Sump pumps are available in two basic models: upright (commonly called a pedestal) and submersible. Either works well with proper maintenance, according to...
Every five years, various sectors of the US government update a technical report on the foreseen climate changes and the challenges it may present. The USDA was asked to evaluate the impact in regards to agriculture. Dr. Robert Srygley, insect ecologist with the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in Sidney, was a contributing author on the 2013 report. Dr. Srygley, during a lunch session on March 22, presented the public with an overview of predicted climate changes and its possibl...
Does a higher salt concentration in water affect a plant’s growth? That is what Sidney Middle School student, Justin Candee, took a look into for his science fair project this year. The amount of salt greatly affects the amount of absorption. You would think that the less the salt, the less water you need which will in turn lead to more growth. That is exactly what Candee set out to find out. The accumulation of salt in the soil can happen both naturally and due to humans. The natural p...
Reservation Telephone Cooperative (RTC) is a proud supporter of local organizations and their projects. Most recently RTC donated $1,000 toward the local film project titled, “Cowboys and Crude.” “Cowboys and Crude” is Vawnita (Hovet) Best’s project for Rural Leadership North Dakota. After assessing the needs of the community, Vawnita saw a need for a professional film to serve as a recruitment piece explaining community values, services, quality of life and recreation. Jan Dodge and Jessie Veed...
