Sorted by date Results 902 - 926 of 2265
Dryland growers in the MonDak area can take advantage of a program through Sidney Sugars to test the benefits of spent lime on their fields. The lime and loading at the factory yard are free. In the vast dryland fields of eastern Montana and western North Dakota, high acidic soils are becoming more common, preventing healthy crops. About five years ago, soils in the Froid area tested between 5.0 and 5.8 pH, which indicates high acid. In response, the USDA-ARS applied spent lime at a rate of...
The Sidney Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture held its annual Ag Appreciation Golf Tournament on July 9 at the Sidney Country Club....
Montana State University scientists are seeing increased soil acidity, meaning low pH, in parts of the state and are urging farmers to keep an eye on their plants and soils to avoid lower crop yields and even crop failure. Clain Jones, a soil fertility specialist with MSU Extension and a professor in the MSU College of Agriculture’s Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, said fields in 20 Montana counties have been found to have pH levels that could harm crop growth. “This is an emerging issue in the state, where low soil pH...
Montana Youth Range Camp was held in Eastern Montana July 9-12, 2018 and hosted by Dawson and Richland County Conservation Districts. Twenty two of Montana's finest youth gathered at the Eastern Montana Bible Camp near Bloomfield, Montana to learn about plants, soils, range management and wildlife. Staff from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Marni Thompson, Josh Schrecengost, Rick Caquelin and Ashley Gould along with Emily Standley, MSU Extension-Fergus County shared their...
The 2018 Montana Range Tour will feature a great lineup of ranches and farms showcasing conservation projects and creative solutions to common ranching issues; there will also talks on topics such as grassland songbirds, oil development on grazing lands, and the recovery process following floods and wildfire. Also featured on the tour is a lunch stop to learn about Dry Prairie Rural Water, which is vital to life on the range in Eastern Montana. This year’s tour will take participants around the Sidney and Culbertson areas on Sept. 5-6, 2018. A...
The MSU-EARC/Extension 38th Annual Field Day was held on July 17 in Sidney. Eastern Ag Research and Northern Plains Research Laboratory scientists presented their latest research and findings for producers of grains, pulse crops and sugar beets. For more on the field day and Ag research important to local producers see future editions of the monthly Ag Roundup publication....
Trista Hovde, a 9th-grade student at Sidney High School has earned a position on the North Dakota state/provincial National High School rodeo team and will be traveling with fellow teammates to Rock Springs, Wyo., July 15-21 to compete at the 70th annual National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) in the Barrel Racing competition. Featuring more than 1,650 contestants from 43 states, five Canadian Provinces, Australia and Mexico, the NHSFR is the world's largest rodeo. In addition to competing...
Once again, the second weekend of July, the town of Wolf Point, situated on the beautiful Missouri river will explode. The Rodeo Committee and Stadium Committee are banding together to bring the Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede to life. It will be held July 12-14 this year at the Marvin Brookman Stadium, 6265 Rodeo Rd in Wolf Point Montana. The Wild Horse Stampede actually started out as a competition in 1920 for a few local cowboys and native Americans in roping and riding events. Now, 98 years...
Williston, Sidney, and Froid have held annual Field Day Tours for many years to showcase their involvement and research with agriculture. The primary purpose of Field Days is to inform and make the public aware of what the research centers around the MonDak area are performing and accomplishing. It is now that time of year where research centers are planting seeds in the ground and getting ready to present new ideas and studies for the public to analyze. The Williston Research Extension Center...
The North Dakota State University Williston Research Extension Center (WREC) will showcase dryland agronomy and horticulture at its annual field day July 11 and host an irrigation field day July 12. The WREC is 4.5 miles west of Williston on U.S. Highway 2. The July 11 event begins with registration at 3 p.m. CDT. The dryland crop tour starts at 4 p.m. Topics to be highlighted during the dryland crop tour are: • Spring wheat breeding program • Precision field management • Unmanned aerial vehic...
At the NDSU Williston Research Extension Center Dryland Field Day, Dr. Andrew Green will be talking about variety testing that was performed in 2017, as well as how the season has been going so far for 2018. "I will highlight some specific varieties that seem to be a good fit in the Williston (Northwest), North Dakota area," explained Green. Green is the NDSU Spring wheat breeder, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at NDSU. Prior to coming to NDSU, he performed...
Gautam Pradhan, Williston Research Extension Center's Dryland Research Agronomist, will be speaking at 6:20 p.m. at WREC's Dryland Field Day on Wednesday, July 11th. He will be sharing information from his research on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in crop production and also details on how they can be used for precision field management. The project Pradhan will be speaking on will determine the applicability of Unmanned Ariel Systems (UAS) based high throughput phenotyping in the identification of...
In order to comply with FSA program eligibility requirements, all producers, including livestock producers, are encouraged to visit their local FSA office to file an accurate crop certification report by the applicable deadline. The 2018 Acreage Reporting/Crop Certification Deadline is Mon., July 16, 2018 for Spring Seeded Alfalfa Seed, Forage Seeding, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Fruit (except cherries), Vegetables, Christmas Trees, and all Spring-Seeded Crops and any other crops not required to be reported by previously announced deadl...
Dr. Luther Talbert, Montana State University (MSU) wheat breeder/researcher, will be discussing spring wheat breeding challenges and opportunities at the EARC/MSU Extension Field Day on Tuesday, July 17th. "I will talk about developing spring wheat varieties for Montana, especially as related to climate challenges we will continue to face," said Talbert. The MSU spring wheat-breeding program has developed several varieties that are widely grown in Montana such as Vida, Duclair, and Lanning....
At the EARC/MSU Extension Field Day, Dr. Mike Giroux will be speaking on durum and low cadmium durum around 1 p.m. MST on Tuesday, July 17th. Dr. Giroux is a Professor of Wheat Genetics and Interim Department Head of the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Giroux earned a Ph.D. in Plant Genetics from the University of Florida where he studied genes limiting cornstarch biosynthesis and agronomic yield. Giroux’s current research focuses on developing durum wheat varieties adapted to M...
The joint federal and state Sidney ARS / EARC Field Day was held Tuesday, June 19 in Sidney. Area producers learned about dryland agricultural research being done in this region including work on intercropping, renovating CRP monocultures, new cereal livestock forages, soil acidification and remediation, as well as training in vertebrate pest control, grazing cover crop mixes, and more. Left: Dave Branson, research entomologist, speaks about drought and grasshoppers....
Signup Began June 4 for Livestock Indemnity Program and Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun accepting disaster assistance program applications since June 4 from agricultural producers who suffered livestock, honeybees, farm-raised fish and other losses due to natural disasters. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has reopened the application period for two disaster assistance programs in response to statutory changes made by Congress earlier this year. “When disas...
The Montana Farm Bureau hosted the Young Farmers and Ranchers Ag Tour on June 1-2 in the Richland County area. Taking a tour of local points of agricultural significance, a group from around the region learned more about local food and natural resource production and consumption. The Roundup spoke to the Montana Farm Bureau Director of Membership Relations, Sue Ann Streufert, who also serves as the Young Farmer and Rancher Coordinator, about the importance of the event. Streufert said, "The...
On Monday, July 9, the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture will host the Annual Ag Appreciation Golf Tournament at the Sidney Country Club. Golfer check-in and breakfast starts at 7a.m. and play begins at 9 a.m. with a scramble start and ends with awards at 4 p.m. For the 19th year, the tournament pairs businesses with farmers and ranchers for a day of fun and golf. Farmers and ranchers participate for free and businesses that sponsor the tournament, a team, or a hole, play a round...
My flowers and vegetables are growing nicely with the regular rain. The weeds are doing well, too, so I needed to clean up my gardens recently. I pulled weed after weed that had sprouted in my planters, raised garden beds and ground-level garden patch. These opportunistic green invaders were hiding under flowers and foliage and in the crevices by the raised beds. Why didn't all my plants grow as well as the weeds? I tried to make it fun by playing "name that weed." No, that wasn't a fun game at...
The average net income of farms in the North Dakota Farm Business Management Program dropped 30 percent to $88,026 in 2017, compared with $126,752 in 2016, according to Andrew Swenson, North Dakota State University Extension farm and family resource management specialist. In 2017, one-half of the farms had net farm income less than $50,996, compared with a median net farm income of $83,683 in 2016. In 2017, the average farm size was 1,937 crop acres and 490 pasture acres, the age of the...
North Dakota Stockmen Association (NDSA) members of district five will be hosting a NDSA Spring Roundup on Tuesday, June 12th at the Rough Rider Center in Watford City, North Dakota. The event will start with a local brand inspection meeting at 5:00 pm, a social at 5:30 pm, supper at 6:30 pm, followed by a program at 7:30 pm, and lastly nominating committees will be collecting candidate names for the NDSA board of directors. At the 2018 NDSA District Five Spring Roundup, the NDSA President will...
Corey Rieker and his soon to be wife Margo Lawler, raise purebred show and meat rabbits in the Sidney, Montana area. Rieker started raising rabbits in northern Colorado at age 11. He retired from raising rabbits at the age of 19 and later moved to eastern Montana to work in the oilfield. After meeting Lawler, Rieker decided to buy a chunk of property and raise rabbits again. Since then, Lawler and Rieker have created a strong working herd of quality purebred rabbits. "Our goal is to...
As part of Montana State University's yearlong celebration of its 125th anniversary in 2018, June will highlight Extension, the outreach arm of the land-grant university. With agents and specialists working on campus in Bozeman and in communities across the state, Extension regularly offers programming in four broad areas: community development; agriculture and natural resources; family and consumer sciences; and youth development. Events this June are geographically and topically diverse,...
Tent Caterpillars Galore Over the last week, there have been many unknown visitors in local trees. Tent caterpillars, both Eastern and Forest, have made a large appearance this year in Williams County. Although they are around every spring, I haven’t seen this many out and about the past few years. Tent caterpillars feed on tree leaves; they like the following trees; ash, aspen, basswood, birch, chokecherry, cottonwood, elm, maple, pin cherry, poplar and other hardwoods. These caterpillars o...
