Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 463
9 Chouteau County Soil Moisture Survey Results The Chouteau County Soil Moisture Survey was started by Judee Wargo in 1993 to assist farmers with determining recropping potential on cereal grain stubble. After 32 years, the Chouteau County Extension Office continues to compile data for determining recropping potential and providing the state drought committee with soil moisture information. Testing for soil moisture took place in Chouteau County on March 26 - April 1. All winter wheat locations exceeded 3.5 feet of stored soil moisture,...
Twelfth Annual Chouteau County Agriculture Day for 4th and 5th Graders The twelfth annual Chouteau County Ag Day for 4th and 5th graders will take place at the Chouteau County Fairgrounds on May 6, 2025. All 4th and 5th graders in Chouteau County are invited to attend. Home school kids who are interested in participating need to contact the Chouteau County Extension Office at 622-3751. Youth will learn why agriculture is important to their health, home and community. For thousands of years, civilization has been built upon a foundation laid by...
New Blister Beetles of Montana MontGuide Available at Extension Office MontGuide MT200209AG was developed by Hayes Goosey, MSU Forage Specialist; Tiziana Oppedisano, MSU Agronomic Entomologist and Agricultural Extension agents from Madison-Jefferson, Broadwater, Gallatin and Dawson Counties. The complete MontGuide is available at the Chouteau County Extension office or can be downloaded at MSU Publications. Blister beetles are leaf-feeding insects that secrete a liquid that can cause blisters and can be toxic when accidentally fed to livestock...
Initial Private Pesticide Applicator Training in Great Falls MSU Extension Cascade County will host an Initial Applicator Training on April 22, 2025 at Great Falls College MSU, 2100 16th Avenue South, room B101. The class will take place from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Private applicators need 6 credits in the 5-year cycle to renew their license. District 3’s cycle started January 1, 2020 and will end December 31, 2025. Lunch will cost $20.00 per plate and will be paid for during the registration process. Registration is required for this event and...
Chouteau County Invitational 4-H Archery Shoot Results The 4-H Shooting Sports 2025 Chouteau County Invitational Shoot was held March 1 in Fort Benton with 73 members registered to shoot. Participants were mostly from the Golden Triangle Counties. Other counties participating were Beaverhead, Flathead, Lewis and Clark, Wheatland, Madison, and Gallatin. Medals went to the following Chouteau County participants: REGULAR TARGET Name Division Award Score Brentlee Bomgardner Primitive Bow (ages 15-18) gold 217.02 Kaleb Axtman Primitive Bow (ages...
Initial Private Pesticide Applicator Training in Havre MSU Extension Hill County will host an Initial Applicator Training on April 16, 2025 at the 4-H Chuckwagon, 1676 US Hwy 2, from 8:15 am – 5pm. Applicators need 6 credits in the 5-year cycle in order to renew their license. District 3’s cycle started January 1, 2020 and will end December 31, 2025. Lunch will be provided. Please register for this program by calling Hill County MSU Extension (406-400-2333) or emailing Colleen at colleen.pegar@montana.edu. Montana State University, U.S. Dep...
MSU Extension Chouteau County has Hay Probe and Nutrition Decision Software Sampling of hay is essential to livestock management. Hay sampling is best accomplished with a hollow core probe consisting of a stainless-steel tube and a sharp cutting end. The Chouteau County Extension office has a hay probe available for check out. One core should be sampled from at least 20 bales from a lot of hay. A lot of hay is defined as hay harvested from a field of uniform maturity within a 48 hour period. Generally a lot should not exceed 200 tons. Poor...
MontGuide Available for Bull Buyers Kari Lewis and Wendy Becker, MSU Extension Agents from Glacier County and Fort Peck Reservation have developed a resource for the bull buying season. The MontGuide is available at the Chouteau County Extension office or online at https://bit.ly/43kVAsL. Bull selection is one of the most important management decisions a producer can make. Bulls are assessed phenotypically (appearance), genotypically (their genetic potential), and on performance (feed efficiency, carcass ultrasound, etc.) Bulls have a...
Master Gardener Level 1 Class in Chouteau County (Please Pre-register) MSU Extension Level 1 Master Gardener classes will take place in Chouteau County pending pre-registration numbers. Now is your chance to participate in an excellent educational opportunity. A minimum of 15 pre-registered participants is required. The class traditionally begins the first week in March. Please contact the MSU Chouteau County Extension office at 622-3751 to pre-register. The Level 1 Master Gardener course requires 16 hours of class time, and is taught by local...
Winter Watering is Important to Evergreens During Thawing Periods Winter desiccation can be very hard on evergreen trees. Dry soil in winter often cannot replace the moisture trees lose to the cold dry winter air. The symptoms of winter damage and die-back may not become visible until spring or summer growth begins. Winter damaged trees may only show a few dead branches or twigs. In the most severe cases, the entire tree may die. Evergreen trees are more susceptible to winter desiccation than deciduous trees as the evergreens retain their...
Master Gardener Level 1 Class in Chouteau County (Please Pre-register) MSU Extension Level 1 Master Gardener classes will take place in Chouteau County pending pre-registration numbers. Now is your chance to participate in an excellent educational opportunity. A minimum of 15 pre-registered participants is required. The class traditionally begins the first week in March. Please contact the MSU Chouteau County Extension office at 622-3751 to pre-register. The Level 1 Master Gardener course requires 16 hours of class time, and is taught by local...
Registration open for 2025 Montana’s Next Generation Conference, February 1 Registration open for 2025 Montana’s Next Generation Conference, February 1 Contact: Kari Lewis, kari.lewis@montana.edu or 406-873-2239 Registration is now open for the 2025 Montana’s Next Generation Conference in Shelby, which offers 36 workshops for beginning and advanced producers. The conference will take place at Shelby High School on Saturday, February 1. The event will be hosted by local MSU Extension, NACDC Financial Services, local producer organizations and a...
Golden Triangle Barley Seminar February 13 in Conrad, MT Barley producers are encouraged to mark Thursday, February 13, 2025, on their calendar for the Golden Triangle Barley Update. This event happens only once every three years, and features some of the industry’s top professionals. The meeting will be held at the Pondera Shooting Sports Complex (972 Granite Rd, Conrad), with registration beginning at 8 a.m. and the meeting running from 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There is no fee to attend, and the day will be worth one private/commercial p...
Golden Triangle Cropping Seminar in Fort Benton on January 6th Montana State University (MSU) Extension will host its annual cropping seminar series January 6-10, 2025, in the Golden Triangle area. Speakers will cover noxious weeds, pulse insect management, pesticide updates, and winter barley. The Fort Benton seminar will take place on Monday, January 6 at the Ag Center, 1205 20th Street. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the seminar will begin at 9:00 a.m. A special thanks to MaxAg of Montana for sponsoring the lunch. Montana’s c...
Dry Matter Losses of Hay from Field to Feeding This article was written by Dennis Cash, retired MSU Extension Service forage specialist. The winter feeding is likely your single largest ranch expense. Reducing hay waste can save you money. Hay losses at feeding on most ranches averages about one fourth, but can easily approach half. During good haying conditions and with proper storage, most losses to alfalfa or alfalfa-grass hays can be minimized. Dense large round or rectangular bales are widely used, but significant losses occur when these a...
January 20th is Shelterbelt Tree Ordering Day The MCSN in cooperation with the Montana Extension Service, local Conservation Districts and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, offers low-cost tree and shrub seedlings for use in conservation plantings. MCSN seedlings are for conservation practices and cannot be used for ornamental or landscape plantings. Landscape plants can be purchased at your local private retail nursery or garden center. The Montana Conservation Seedling Nursery (MCSN) will begin taking orders for shelterbelt trees...
Golden Triangle Cropping Seminar in Fort Benton on January 6th Montana State University (MSU) Extension will host its annual cropping seminar series January 6-10, 2025, in the Golden Triangle area. Speakers will cover noxious weeds, pulse insect management, pesticide updates, and winter barley. The Fort Benton seminar will take place on Monday, January 6 at the Ag Center, 1205 20th Street. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the seminar will begin at 9:00 a.m. A special thanks to MaxAg of Montana for sponsoring the lunch. Montana’s c...
Utilizing Snow as a Water Source for Wintering Cattle Careful management of snow fed cows is essential in cattle management in Montana. Consider the following points from the Manitoba Department of Agriculture and Resource Development. The complete article is located at bit.ly/3mmm88F. • Snow as the only water source is not recommended for lactating cows, those in poor body condition, cows on less than optimum feeding programs, or for those who are sick or unhealthy. • An alternate water source must be in place and immediately available in cas...
Think Twice About Spreading Manure on Your Garden During my tenure as your Agricultural Extension Agent, I have observed five gardens in Chouteau County where gardens produced no vegetables. Plants that did emerge were stunted and did not produce. The cause of these devastated gardens is usually one of two things. Either pesticide contaminated manure has been applied to the garden, or too much manure has been added to the garden. One issue that can result from a manure application is pesticide contamination. Do not use manure from animals that...
Christmas Tree Care There are many recommendations online for Christmas tree care that promote longevity. In truth, all a tree really needs to maintain freshness is adequate water. Longevity is easily achieved by using the proper tree stand and keeping the water level in the stand above the base of the tree. The following research-based recommendations will help to maintain the freshness and aroma of a live Christmas tree this holiday season. Use a tree stand that holds enough water for the size of the tree. The rule of thumb is one quart of...
Grain Storage Inspections Should Begin Close to Thanksgiving Inspecting grain bins for pests on or before Thanksgiving is a great rule of thumb for Chouteau County producers. The Lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica is one of the most injurious beetles known to attack stored grain. The Lesser grain borer belongs to the Bostrichidae family of beetles, which are mostly wood boring insects. R. dominica causes major physical and off-odor damage to grain in storage. Identifying Characteristics: Adults are dark reddish-brown to black in color, and...
Estimating Hay Needs The following article was written by Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist. The article addresses some basic rules of thumb to follow when determining the hay supplies ranchers will need to sustain the cow herd over the next few months. 1. Determine your average mature cow size. This can be done by weighing your 4 – 7 year old cows and calculating the average weight. From mature cow size, approximate the amount of forage dry matter cows needed to consume per year or per day. F...
Lawn and Garden Advice for November Managing horticultural landscapes and house plants in November is important for healthy production during the growing season. Below are a few recommendations for Chouteau County gardeners. • Apply protective mulches to perennial beds. • Use a humidifier to maintain humidity for houseplants. • Prune out dead limbs of woody ornamentals. • Do not fertilize or transplant anything after Columbus Day. • Continue to water landscape plantings (trees, shrubs, and perennials) until the soil freezes. • Apply winte...
Wheat Stem Sawfly Best Management Practices The Chouteau County LiA new publication is available at the Chouteau County Extension office titled Wheat Stem Sawfly Best Management Practices (EB0244). The bulletin was written by Dr. David K. Weaver, Professor of the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University. Other authors include Susan M. Tallman at USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Tyler J. Lane from MSU Extension Chouteau County. Currently, no insecticides provide successful control of...
Dr. Sam Wyffels to Speak at Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association The Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association annual meeting will take place on Thursday, November 14th at 3:00 p.m. at the Club House in Fort Benton. A social will follow the business meeting at 5:00 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:00. Please RSVP Buck Goldhahn at 622-5572 so the cooks can have notice on how many people will be attending. This year’s guest speaker is MSU Beef Specialist, Dr. Sam Wyffels. The presentation will be fall grazing of annual forages and...
