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Top Yielding Spring Wheat Varieties for Chouteau County MSU Agricultural Research Centers have one test plot for spring wheat in Chouteau county which is managed by MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center (NARC) north of Loma. A special thanks to Peggy Lamb (NARC agronomist) for establishing and maintaining the Chouteau county test plot. The Extension office would also like to thank the McKeever family for donating the use of their land for MSU research. NARC (Loma area) top three yielding winter wheat varieties (10-year average yield) from...
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...
Grasshopper Management Q&A I hear ranchers can get assistance from the USDA in grasshopper spraying. Who do I contact? Contact Eric Norderud at 406-449-5210 or erik.d.norderud@usda.gov. Please have a breakdown of private acres and government acres before you contact Eric. Will the cold temperatures increase grasshopper egg mortality? The answer for 2023 is probably not. In Canada, few grasshoppers hatched following a winter with temperatures at negative 22 degrees Fahrenheit (Riegert, 1967). However, Canada had little snow cover during the time...
New informational Guide on Noxious and Invasive Weed Management A new informational guide EBO242 is now available at the Chouteau County Extension office. It is titled Revegetation Guidelines: Considering Invasive and Noxious Weeds. The guide was created by Noelle Orloff, Jane Mangold and Jerry Marks from Montana State University, Monica Pokorny from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Bryce Christiaens and Steffany Rogge from the Missoula County Department of Ecology. Revegetation, the intentional planting of desired species,...
Gardeners Wishlist nformation for this article came from the 2023 Urban IPM Calendar which was created by Montana State University Integrated Pest Management. Calendars are still available at the Chouteau County Extension Office. If you still have some gift money from the holidays and you are looking for ways to make your gardening easier, you may consider purchasing one or two items from the following list. • Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide, Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies • solitary bee house • members...
Dry Matter Losses of Hay from Field to Feeding This article was written by Dennis Cash, retired MSU Extension Service forage specialist. 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 are s...
Deer Need a Little “Tough Love” in Winter Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently sent out a warning to Montanan’s that it is illegal to feed deer under Montana law. Jim Knight, MSU Extension Wildlife Specialist (retired) explained a 2003 article why feeding deer is a poor practice The compete article is available at https://bit.ly/3uU6JRa. Feeding deer hay or corn can be deadly because deer cannot always digest new feed. Deer digestion involves protozoa and bacteria that help break down food. Different micro-organisms help digest diffe...
MSU Extension Cropping Seminar Scheduled for January 13 in Fort Benton Montana State University Extension will host a free, annual cropping seminar on January 13 at the Ag Center located at 1205 20th Street. Three commercial or private pesticide licensing recertification credits will be available. A special thanks to Max Ag for sponsoring the lunch in Fort Benton. Cereal grain varieties update will be presented by Dr. Jed Eberly from MSU Central Agricultural Research Center and Peggy Lamb from MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center....
Gardening tips for the Winter Season January is a time to promote healthy trees and house plants. MSU Extension has a few important recommendations for the cold winter months. • Poinsettias do best when house temperatures are consistent and placed away from drafty doors. • Most house plants tolerate normal temperature fluctuations. In general, foliage house plants grow best between 70 and 80 degrees. Most flowering plants prefer the same daytime range, but grow best at nighttime temperatures of 55 to 60 degrees. Lower night temperatures int...
Christmas Tree Care hen it comes to Christmas tree care during the holidays, the best strategy is to keep it simple. 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 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 water per one...
Jacynta Bomgardner of Chouteau County wins the Montana Certified Lamb Carcass Contest Jacynta Bomgardner of Chouteau County received the top placing in the carcass division of the 2022 Montana Certified Lamb contest. She will receive her award at the Montana Wool Growers Association banquet on December 3rd in Billings. The breeder of the lamb is Patty's Club Lambs out of Missoula, Montana. Congratulations to Jacynta for a job well done. The Montana 4-H and FFA Certified Fair Lamb Contest is...
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,...
Cropping Questions and Answers to the Chouteau County Extension Office I have a prickly lettuce problem in my farm ground. Is it an annual? Prickly lettuce is a biennial and a winter annual. Do we have herbicide resistance in prickly lettuce in Chouteau County? Tim Siepel, MSU cropland weed specialist has tested prickly lettuce that is 2,4 D resistant. The plants came from the Geraldine area. He has seen glyphosate resistance in the greenhouse. Greenhouse plants are soft plants and will take in herbicides much more readily than a plant growing...
Montana State University Extension will host a free, annual cropping seminar series January 9-13 in Great Falls, Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Shelby, Chester, Havre, Fort Benton, and Stanford. Speakers will cover cereal grain varieties, pea and lentil management, soil fertility management and estate planning. Cereal grain varieties update will be presented by Dr. Jed Eberly from MSU Central Agricultural Research Center, Peggy Lamb from MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center and Wyatt Medina from Western Triangle Agriculture Research Center....
New Tree and Shrub Pest Diagnosis Guide Available from MSU Extension Montana State University Extension has a free, color booklet (EB0235). The booklet is a great resource for helping identify and manage pests and problems in ornamental trees and shrubs in Montana. The 240-page guide is intended to help MSU Extension agents, arborists and those in nursery and landscape trades identify and diagnose tree and shrub issues and to help with decisions for treatment based on integrated pest management concepts. A section on woody plant identification...
Dr. Jeff Mosley to Speak at Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association The Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association annual meeting will take place on Thursday, November 17th at 3:00 p.m. at the Vets Hall in Geraldine. 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 Dr. Jeff Mosley (MSU Extension Range Specialist). Dr. Mosley will share range management practices d...
The article below is a portion of an article written by Peter Kolb (MSU Extension Forester). The article is available in full at the Chouteau County Extension office or on the website. The article explains the natural phenomenon of fall needle drop, insect management, and proper watering techniques for pine and spruce trees. Every fall a lot of concern arises when conifers such as pines, spruces and firs start to drop their older needle cohorts in preparation for winter. This is essentially an energy conservation mechanism for surviving the...
Lawn and Garden advice for October and 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....
Lentil Yield and Nitrogen Fixation Response to Inoculant and Fertilizer Lentil production has grown dramatically in the northern Great Plains over the past 20 years. In Montana and North Dakota, planted acreage of lentil has increased from 67,000 in 2000 to 585,000 in 2022 (USDA-NASS, 2022. Lentil is capable of biological nitrogen (N) fixation, a process in which rhizobia bacteria in legume root nodules convert N gas into N that is available for plant uptake. This makes lentil an attractive option for producers wanting to decrease fertilizer N...
October is a Great Time to Order Shelterbelt Trees The Montana Conservation Seedling Nursery (MCSN) will be receiving orders on October 1st 2022. Rocky Mountain Juniper is the most popular windbreak species and sells out quite quickly. If you are interested in ordering Rocky Mountain Juniper for your shelterbelt, please place your order as soon as possible. Shelterbelt plans should be approved by the MSU Extension Chouteau County agent, Conservation District or MCSN staff. Seedlings are sold on a first come, first serve basis. Please order earl...
Fall Management of Cheatgrass in Fallow Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), also commonly called downy brome, is a problematic weed in winter wheat and in rangeland throughout Montana. Cheatgrass typically germinates in the autumn, overwinters, and produces seed by mid-summer. The cheatgrass life cycle is similar to winter wheat. Cheatgrass is an abundant seed producer. Seed is only viable for one to two years in the seedbank and can be killed under drought conditions. Cheatgrass germinates from late August to early October and matures in early...
Six 4-H and FFA Youth Meet Excellence Criteria for Livestock Carcass Quality The 2022 Chouteau County 4-H and FFA livestock carcass contest took place at Pioneer Meats in Big Timber. A total of 60 Chouteau County animals were evaluated for carcass quality by Steve Williams from Midland Bull Test. The purpose of the carcass contest is to teach youth how to correctly select, feed and finish livestock based on carcass data. If carcass criteria are met, youth can be confident they are producing a quality product that is safe, nutritious and good ta...
September Horticulture Management Managing horticultural landscapes in September is essential to healthy production during the growing season. Below are a few recommendations for Chouteau County gardeners. • The average first frost is September 15 (Carter), September 18 (Kenilworth and Highwood), September 20 (Big Sandy), September 25 (Fort Benton) and September 28 in (Geraldine). All fruit and vegetables should be harvested before temperatures drop below 40° to 50°F. • Ripen tomatoes in a paper bag along with an apple, or hang the entir...
Emerging Winter Wheat, Grasshopper Pests and Systemic Seed Treatment The following information was prepared by Kevin Wanner (MSU Extension Entomologist). Emerging winter wheat can be particularly vulnerable to damage by grasshoppers. The larger adult stage grasshoppers are difficult to control and move into emerging winter wheat fields from surrounding grassy areas. Grasshopper treatment thresholds for emerging winter wheat are 3-7 per square yard within the field, or 11-20 per square yard around the margin. Populations in these ranges will...
Thanks to our Chouteau County 4-H Club Organizational Leaders and FFA Advisors Before the Chouteau County Fair begins next week, Chouteau County Extension thanks our 4-H organizational leaders for guiding and preparing our 4-H youth through meetings, competitions and workshops. The Chouteau County 4-H organizational leaders include Kelly Crowder (Arrowhead in Highwood), Jonna Bogart (Stitch ’N’ Stirrup in Fort Benton), Mary Ophus, Kristie Rutledge and Misty Lefurgey (Sunshine Snippers in Big Sandy), Alex Reid and Angie Hucke (Willing Wor...
