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Helena - As Montana agricultural producers strive to find adequate feed for livestock during severe drought conditions and a damaging wildfire season, the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is issuing guidance for out-of-county or state shipments of hay to prevent the spread of noxious weeds and other invasive pests. “The need for hay far outweighs our supply right now in Montana,” said Acting Director Christy Clark. “We recognize the need to find hay for our producers, but there can be some very serious consequences if we don’t do our...
A brand-new facility and the purchase of two others brings Butler to 20 locations, across four states, with desire to grow 841-member team. Fargo, ND - Aug. 2021 - Butler Machinery Company president is excited to announce the company's plans for aggressive growth through spring 2022 with the purchase of existing buildings in both Watertown, SD, and Sidney, MT - a brand new territory for Butler - and a new, state-of-the-art building in Kearney, NE. With these expansion plans come many job...
Bozeman - Due to the extended drought in Montana, water availability in many areas has become severely limited. Reservoirs have dried up and are becoming covered in weeds. Montana State University Extension educators are cautioning livestock managers to evaluate weed feed and grazing land for nitrate toxicity during drought. "Due to the severe drought, weeds have become prevalent across pastures and many producers are limited in their cattle movement this year," said Custer County Extension Agen...
Helena - As severe drought conditions and wildfires persist across the state, the Montana Department of Agriculture is reminding agricultural producers of the availability of the Hay Hotline, an online tool that connects those interested in buying, selling, or donating hay or pasture. The Hay Hotline allows producers to enter new listings with descriptions of the forage they have available to sell or donate. It also provides users with an option to search for available hay or pasture. The online tool is maintained by the Montana Department of...
As the heat of summer continues and harvest is just around the corner; canning, pickling, and preserving season is here too. The number one priority when preserving your harvest is the safety of the finished product by destroying any bacteria, and molds that might cause foodborne illnesses. One of them being botulism, caused by a toxin in bacteria. The bacteria can grow, especially in improperly processed home-canned foods. Have no fear home-canning foods is still a great way to preserve your harvest. It is recommended to use recipes that have...
The annual dryland agronomy and horticulture field day will be held Wednesday, July 14 at the North Dakota State University Williston Research Extension Center 4.5 miles west of Williston on U.S. Highway 2. The event begins with registration at 3 p.m. CST. The dryland crops tour starts at 3:45 p.m. A concurrent horticulture program starts at 3:45 p.m. in the Ernie French Center for those interested in flowers, gardening, lawn care and fruit/vegetable production followed by a garden tour. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 6 p.m. for our new...
The 40th Swank Variety Plot Tour on Monday, July 19 will be held at the Swank farm north of Poplar. This event has two pesticide applicator points available. Beginning at 5 p.m. at Swank test plots, introductions by Dr. Chengci Chen, EARC Superintendent, will lead into presentations by four invited plant breeders and new varieties of durum, spring wheat, and pulse crops. From MSU-Bozeman, Dr. Mike Giroux and Dr. Jason Cook; and from USDA-ARS, Dr. Rebecca McGee; and a presentation about genes related to protein concentration in grains by Dr....
The MSU Eastern Agricultural Research Center Irrigated Farm Field Day is scheduled for Tuesday, July 20. It is located one mile north of Sidney. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. with the tour following at 8:30 a.m. There will be many featured speakers and topics discussed at this event. Topics will include plant breeding and newly developed varieties for wheat, barley, durum, pea, lentil, and chickpea; herbicide resistant weed control in sugar beets and other crops; disease management in cereal, pulse, and sugar beet and grasshopper issues....
Over the years, Montana State University (MSU) breeders have developed several wheat varieties and continue to do so. Dr. Jason Cook, MSU-Bozeman trait integration breeder and geneticist, will be speaking about the MSU spring wheat breeding program starting at 9-9:15 a.m. at EARC Field Day, July 20. Cook will be providing an update on wheat varieties that are doing well in eastern Montana and sharing information on some of the new up and coming varieties that are coming out of the breeding...
Dr. Lovreet Shergill, Montana State University assistant professor and weed scientist, will be speaking about management of herbicide resistant weeds in sugarbeet cropping systems in Montana at 12:50 p.m. Shergill works to better understand crop-weed dynamics. He knows that weed control is a critical part of sugarbeet production. For both short term and long-term profitability, proper timing and responsible herbicide usage to avoid resistant weeds is critical. Being timely with herbicide applications gives the herbicide the greatest impact for...
Dr. Chengci Chen, MSU-EARC superintendent, will be speaking about the potential of industrial hemp crop in Montana at the EARC Field Day, July 20 at 9:45 a.m. Since 2018, Montana farmers have been producing Industrial hemp - it has now become increasingly popular in Montana; farmers that are growing hemp are seeing both a demand and profit increase, while farmers who have never grown hemp before are rushing to plant it in their fields. Industrial hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa L. and is...
8-8:30 a.m.: Refreshments and Registration 8:30-8:40 a.m.: Welcome, Dr. Chengci Chen, MSU-EARC Superintendent Tour Begins 8:45-9 a.m.: Improving Spring and Winter Barley for MT. Dr. Jamie Sherman (MSU-Bozeman barley breeder) 9-9:15 a.m.: Spring Wheat Breeding. Dr. Jason Cook (MSU-Bozeman spring wheat breeder) 9:15-9:25 a.m.: Cereal Forage Issues in the Drought Year. Tim Fine (MSU-Richland County Extension agent) 9:25-9:35 a.m.: Screening Oilseed for High NUE. Shreya Gautam (MSU-EARC graduate student) and Dr. Charlie Lim (MSU-EARC postdoc)...
Dr. Clarice Coyne will be speaking about increasing yellow pea seed protein yields by increasing seed protein concentration and total yield at the MSU EARC Field Day. She said, "We're conducting a multi-year field research study in Montana and Washington on the genetic control of pea seed protein concentrations targeting the plant-based protein market." Coyne is a USDA Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research Unit curator/geneticist in Pullman, WA. She specializes in curation and...
The Sidney Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture will once again be holding its annual Agriculture Appreciation Golf tournament on Monday, July 12 from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. at Sidney Country Club. Admission is free for farmers and ranchers, and there will be plenty of food, drinks and prizes planned to make this a fun filled day....
Bozeman - June 22 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) began accepting nominations for county committee members on June 15. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for these members who make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2021 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 2, 2021. “We need enthusiastic, diverse leaders to serve other agricultural producers locally on FSA County C...
The new state-of-the-art NDSU Williston Research Extension Center (WREC) seed cleaning facility is nearing completion. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building will be held after field day tours on Wednesday, July 14. The new facility will clean seed approximately 200 bushels an hour, which is six times faster than the Center's current seed cleaning facility. The seed will also be all on one level so WREC staff will be able to perform several projects at once. "We will be able to more than...
The Montana Farmers Union (MFU) held a meeting on Thursday, June 10, at The Rod Iron Grill to discuss topics such as The American Rescue Plan, a new Meat Cooperative, food resiliency and much more. Opening the meeting was MFU President Walter Schweltzer. After a brief rundown of recent events held by MFU and a bit of their history, Schwelter discussed food resiliency in Montana. According to Schweltzer, 50 years ago Montana raised and processed 70% of our own food. Today we only raise and...
This past weekend was all about beef, cattle, ranchers, education and fun. The "Rockin' Your Heart Weekend" took place June 4-5 and was sponsored by the MonDak Stockgrowers Association. A team roping event kick started the festivities on Friday at Richland County Fair and Rodeo. Participants were able to demonstrate their roping skills. With a chance to watch roping skills, live music, food and concession stands and the beer gardens, attendees from young to old had something they could enjoy. Al...
The 2021 McKenzie County 4-H Consumer Decision Making Contest was held on June 1 at NDSU Extension Office/McKenzie County, Watford City. Jaden Murphy, Williston, received a Grand Champion ribbon in Junior Division (10-13 year olds) and Gracyn Darrington, Arnegard followed with the Reserve. Nicolas Ellis, Arnegard, and Kyle Best, Watford City, were recipients of blue ribbons. Beginner Division (8 9 year olds) participants Gavyn Darrington, Arnegard and Tylee Thorne, Watford City, were awarded...
On Monday, June 7, the City of Sidney Council members will have the opportunity to give Sidney residents back some of their freedoms. In the first city council meeting of the summer, Jaymi Mozeak will be going before the council to request the current ordinances concerning livestock be eased to allow city residents to own and keep chickens on their property. She will also be presenting them with a petition signed by Sidney residents wanting chickens in town. Jaymi grew up on a small hobby farm i...
Three McKenzie County 4-H’ers participated in the 2021 Mouticounty Program Unit 1 4-H Communication Arts Event held on Tuesday, May 26 at Williston Research Extension Center. The goal of this event is to help 4-H’ers become proficient at making public presentations. Participants are developing communication skills and learning to gather and organize information, equipment and props. Kyle Best presented “Why Buy Local” video presentation in Junior Division and received a first place medal....
Sidney - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Executive Director Tammy Lyseng today announced that Richland County is accepting applications for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to address damages from Fire. ECP signup for fire begins on June 1, 2021 and ends on June 30, 2021. The approved ECP practices under this authorization include rehabilitation or replacement of fences that were destroyed or seriously damaged, debris removal, grading, shaping, releveling land, or similar land damaged by fire. ECP...
The 2021McKenzie County 4-H Project Expo and 4-H Communication Arts Events were held on May 18 at the NDSU Extension/McKenzie County Office, Watford City. The 4-H Project Expo event provides youth with the opportunity to plan, prepare and display an article, educational or food related project. Four-H members also verbally express themselves to a judge. At the close of the contest, ribbon awards were presented to each participant. Senior (13-18 year olds) Ethan Roffler was awarded a Grand...
The annual Speech and Demonstration Day event was held April 6, at Pella Lutheran Church, Sidney, MT. Speech and Demonstration Day is a local 4-H event, where 4-H members get to practice public speaking skills that build self-confidence and self-esteem. A demonstration gives the 4-H member the ability to teach others how to do something that they have learned, they present the step by step process to the audience and judges. Members are evaluated on understanding of subject matter, their public...
