Photo Contest Part of Wheat Show

One of my very favorite parts of the Wheat Show has been the photo contest. I look at the photos as art seen through the eyes of other people. The photos are placed into four categories; a) landscape, b) people, c) equipment/buildings and d) animals. Any photo that does not fit into one of these four is put into the miscellaneous group.

The photos are also grouped by the experience of each exhibitor. The “Advanced” division is for people who have been a member of a camera club for two years or more, have sold photography work or have completed advanced classes in photography in high school, college or an adult education situation. All other exhibitors will be classified for the “Novice” division.

The photos must be mounted on a cardboard/tag board or matted, with no frames or glass. The minimum print size is 5x7 inches. Trophies and cash awards will be presented to exhibitors of top entries.

Prior to January 31, entries can be delivered to the Williams County Extension Office located in the Broadway Commons Building which is across the street from the new Law Enforcement Center. The preferable entry date is Monday, February 2 between the hours of 12:00 – 5:00 pm at the Grand Williston Hotel.

The photo contest also includes a non-competitive category which is for old-time black and white photos and professional photos of any size with no glass. These are a favorite for me as they bring back memories and of times before my birth. Photo exhibitors are asked to email a copy of their photo(s) to [email protected] before January 31 so that we can put together a slide presentation to show during the Recognition Luncheon on Feb. 4.

New Barley Variety

Last week I shared information about a new durum variety, Joppa, released by the North Dakota Foundation Seedstocks Project. This week I should give mention of a new two-rowed barley also developed by the North Dakota Agriculture Experiment Station. It also will be released by the North Dakota Foundation Seedstocks Project through county Ag or Improvement Associations.

This new barley will be known as ND Genesis. It is a spring barley with high grain yields, large plump kernels and some drought tolerance. It has low grain protein as well as good malt extract values and lower beta-glucan values than Pinnacle. These attributes make it suitable for malting and it is broadly adapted to the Dakotas and adjacent states. Experimental trials rank it as very competitive in grain yield.

Besides the above characteristics, it shows better resistance to net and spot, forms of net blotch, than Pinnacle and accumulates less DON than Pinnacle.

ND Genesis will be distributed as both Foundation and Certified class seed to accommodate a desire from industry to acquire malt grain in 2015-2016. If you are interested in more agronomic data or a desire to grow ND Genesis under contract, feel free to call the Extension Office 701-577-4595.