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Montana livestock producers are reminded to keep updated livestock inventory records. These records are necessary in the event of a natural disaster. The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), administered by USDA Farm Service Agency, provides assistance to eligible producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather, disease and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law. LIP compensates livestock owners and contract growers for livestock death losses in...
Montanans have just a few more weeks to report the number of each type of livestock they own in order to pay the per capita fees set yearly by the Montana Board of Livestock. Livestock reports are due March 1. Owners can report online at ReportYourLivestock.mt.gov. Livestock owners must report what they owned as of Feb. 1. If you reported last year, but no longer own livestock, you still need to submit a reporting form to let us know your livestock count is zero. Owners preferring a paper reporting form can request one at 406-444-6900 or at...
Ranchers and rangeland managers fight continual battles with invasive weeds and are always looking for new ways to keep them at bay. USDA Weed Ecologist Matt Rinella has been studying the use of seeding rangeland as a means for managing weeds over the long term. Dr. Rinella will share his findings this coming Friday, Feb. 21 at the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL), Sidney. Rinella is the third speaker in that facility’s annual winter BrownBagger Series. His talk runs from noon-1 p.m. at NPARL, 1500 N. Central A...
The 2020 National Hard Spring Wheat Show was held Feb. 13 at the Williston ARC. The conference included seminars on weather, wheat production, soil health, weed control and the popular 5th grade bread fair. Jay & Jerry Doan, Black Leg Ranch near McKenzie, ND, spoke at the awards dinner. Their presentation was "Regenerating Soil Health While Improving the Bottom Line" and "Diversifying Ag: Thinking Outside the Fence."...
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 14 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds agricultural producers interested in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) 2020 general signup to enroll by Feb. 28. This signup is available to farmers and private landowners who are either enrolling for the first time or re-enrolling for another 10-15-year term. “This is the first opportunity for general sign up since 2016, and we want producers and private landowners to know that we have just one month remaining,” FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce said. “It i...
(U.S. Senate) – After a months-long push by U.S. Senator Jon Tester to provide relief for farmers in Eastern Montana, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a disaster declaration for 17 Montana counties, clearing the way for producers to receive critical assistance through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). The counties affected are Cascade, Choteau, Pondera, Glacier, Teton, Dawson, Prairie, Toole, McCone, Richland, Roosevelt, Wibaux, Daniels, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure, and Valley. This disaster d...
Winter Leadership is a fun event that students can attend to learn more about what being a leader means and how they can make an impact in our very own community. As members of the Watford City FFA chapter return home from this conference held in Bismarck, Jan. 4-5, they are motivated to look for new ways they can get more involved in our chapter. Livestock judging, Agronomy, and Ag Sales are all CDEs that members of the FFA are able to participate in and a great way to get more involved. A CDE, Career Development Event, is something that...
On Wednesday, March 4, starting at 1 p.m., The Early Morning Red Angus Ranch will be marketing 35 yearling Red Angus bulls and 30 replacement Red Angus heifer calves at the Sitting Bull Auction, Williston. The Early Morning Red Angus Ranch is located just 12 miles south of Tioga. Owner and operator, Carl Frisinger, bought the ranch in 1965; having grown up in a ranching family, Frisinger grew up raising Herefords. However, when they became hard to sell, he bought six Red Angus cows from the Leland Drought Reduction Sale and started marketing Re...
The Peterson Farm Brothers are set to entertain at this year's MonDak Ag Days and Trade Show. The two-day event will be held at the Richland County Fair Event Center on March 12-13. The trio will make their appearance during the annual banquet on Friday, March 13. Tickets for the banquet include (1) free drink during the pre-banquet social, dinner and the great show from The Peterson Farm Brothers. The brothers are from Kansas where their family lives the farm life. They are known for their...
The Hard Spring Wheat Show 2020 & North Dakota State University (NDSU) Best of the Best in Wheat Production will take place at the Williston Area Recreation Center, 822 18th St. E., Williston, North Dakota on Thursday, Feb. 13. The event will kick off at 7 a.m. with a free breakfast sponsored by the American State Bank & Trust in Williston. Jared Marquis will be discussing the seasonal weather outlook at 8 a.m. Marquis is currently working on using satellite imagery to study atmospheric...
Due to recent climate change, increased glacial recession in Arctic climates provides a unique opportunity to study soil formation. The evolution from glacial moraines consists of rocks and other materials deposited by the glacier as it moves. How do soils form and change from this mix as glaciers recede, particularly those developing from volcanic materials such as ash, pumice and dust? What chemical properties are present, and how do they contribute to soil formation, particularly in northern latitudes? These are basic research questions...
Helena, MT – The Montana State Hemp Program is now accepting license applications for the 2020 growing season. The Indoor/Outdoor Hemp License Application is available on the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) website and is due by April 30. In 2020, hemp growers can expect licensing procedures very similar to those that were in place in 2019. MDA will continue to operate its Montana State Hemp Program under authorities provided in the 2014 Farm Bill. “Montana’s hemp industry shows incredible potential,” said MDA Director Ben Thomas....
The Montana Historical Society (MHS) is now accepting applications for the Centennial Farm and Ranch program. New inductees will receive a framed certificate signed by the governor, recognition at the “Ag Day” ceremony in the State Capitol during the 2021 legislative session, the ranch/farm history printed online and in our periodic Centennial Farm and Ranch yearbook, and a durable roadside sign. These 24” by 36” UV-coated metal signs are a new addition to the program this year, thanks to support from the Montana Department of Agricul...
North Dakota State University Extension again will host the Field to Fork “Wednesday Webinar” series starting in February 2020. Experts from across the region will provide information about growing, processing and serving specialty-crop fruits and vegetables safely. The “Field to Fork Wednesday Weekly Webinars” will begin Feb. 5. The webinars will be held online from 2-3 p.m. CT through April 8. The webinars also will be archived for later viewing; however, participating in the live webinar allows participants to interact with the present...
A USDA scientist with the Agricultural Research Service’s Mandan, ND lab is studying new ways to harness plant chemicals to improve crop nutrition, soil nutrient cycling, and more. Dr. Andrea Clemensen will be sharing what she’s learned to date as the first speaker in the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab’s winter BrownBagger Speaker Series in Sidney. The 2020 series kicks off this coming Friday from noon-1 p.m. with Dr. Clemensen’s presentation entitled, “Phytochemical links between healthy soil, plants, animals, and human...
Helena, MT – The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) has received a verified petition from 25 Montana oilseed growers to create an advisory committee. MDA will hold a listening session to receive additional grower input regarding the proposal in Glendive on Feb. 14 at the Glendive Agricultural Trade Exposition (GATE). Meeting information details are provided below. Growers will have the opportunity to learn about the process for creating a commodity advisory committee and provide input regarding its composition, crops to be included, and ra...
Recognizing the high levels of stress affecting America’s farmers and ranchers, Farm Credit, American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union have partnered on a program to train individuals who interact with farmers and ranchers to recognize signs of stress and offer help. Based on the farm stress program Michigan State University Extension developed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, this combination of online and in-person trainings is designed specifically for individuals who interact with farmers and...
Helena, MT – It’s time for businesses to report the equipment they own to the Montana Department of Revenue. Owners can report online using the department’s TransAction Portal (TAP) at https://tap.dor.mt.gov. The reporting deadline is March 1 to avoid a 20% penalty. All businesses must report the equipment they owned as of Jan. 1, if the market value of their business equipment is more than $100,000 statewide. Owners must file the report even if there were no changes to their business equipment or if they closed or sold their business. Those bu...
The 3rd Annual MonDak Ag Research Summit was held Thursday, December 12 at the Richland County Event Center in Sidney, MT. Local research results ready to roll out in producers' fields were featured at Summit. Also, several outside speakers addressed timely questions producers have on our long term erratic weather patterns and what it means for spring planting, as well as feeding weather damaged grain to livestock, and tips on managing irrigation equipment. The general ag talks in the afternoon...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture is opening signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on December 9, 2019. The deadline for agricultural producers to sign up for general CRP is February 28, 2020, while signup for continuous CRP is ongoing. Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive a yearly rental payment for voluntarily establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as “covers”) to control soil erosion, improve wat...
Producers across northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana who are interested in soil health are invited to participate in a workshop on “Changing Dirt in Soil” on December 18, 2019 at the Williston Research Extension Center. The workshop, which will start at 8:30 a.m. Central time, is being sponsored by the Williams County Soil Conservation District and Natural Resources Conservation Service. One of the featured speakers for the workshop will be Jay Fuhrer, Soil Health Specialist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service. On a S...
(U.S. Senate) – Following two weeks of heavy snow in Northeast Montana, U.S. Senator Jon Tester urged Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to reconsider his decision not to extend disaster assistance to the region’s wheat farmers who were forced to leave their crop in the ground or were left with unsellable product due to excessive moisture this harvest season. “In the last two weeks, Northeast Montana received more than a foot of heavy, wet snow…The Additional Supplemental Appropriators for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2157) extends...
In a petition to Montana Governor Steve Bullock, Richland County commissioners have requested that he submit a request to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the President of the United States for an agriculture related disaster declaration for Richland County. The Commissioners state, “the declaration would benefit the entire population of Richland County, contiguous counties and the county’s wider economic trade area by making crop producers eligible for disaster programs, emergency assistance, and emergency loans, or by streamlining pro...
Local research results ready to roll out in your fields will be featured at the upcoming third annual MonDak Ag Research Summit in Sidney, Thursday December 12. But that’s not all. Several outside speakers are also planned to address timely questions producers have on our long term erratic weather patterns (10 inches of rain in September!) and what it means for spring planting, as well as feeding weather damaged grain to livestock, and tips on managing irrigation equipment. Addressing the first two issues is Dr. Kevin Hyde, coordinator of t...
The 2019 Farm Service Agency County Committee Elections began on November 4, when ballots were mailed to eligible voters. The deadline to return the ballots to local FSA offices, or to be postmarked, is December 2, 2019. County committee members are an important component of the operations of FSA and provide a link between the agricultural community and USDA. Farmers and ranchers elected to county committees help deliver FSA programs at the local level, applying their knowledge and judgment to make decisions on commodity price support...
