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Agricultural Testing Facility in Chinook Many Chouteau County producers are sending samples to the new agricultural testing facility in Chinook. Because of its location, producers can get test results back in a couple of days rather than a week or 10 days. Information below came from an article published in the Blaine County Journal. North Border Analytics opened its facility on the north side of Chinook. The business performs testing and assessment for soil, water, forage and grain samples. Dr. Brian Grebliunas, the owner, says the local lab...
Master Gardener Level 1 Class in Fort Benton or Big Sandy (please pre-register) MSU Extension level 1 Master Gardener classes will take place in Fort Benton or Big Sandy in February pending pre-registration numbers. Now is your chance to participate in an excellent educational opportunity. A minimum of 10 pre-registered participants is required. The class traditionally begins in late February. 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,...
6 Montana’s Next Generation Conference will be Virtual The 2022 Montana’s Next Generation Conference will provide six evening sessions covering recordkeeping, markets, marketing, crop production, succession planning, and business topics. Sessions will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., beginning January 11. All sessions will be broadcast and accessible online. Sessions will be free. Registration is required at www.mtnextgen.com. Farm Service Agency (FSA) borrowers can complete their borrower training req...
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 Manitoba Agriculture. 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 case snow conditions change and cows can...
Fire Fighting for Farmers Class Offered during the Cropping Seminar in Fort Benton Montana State University Extension will host a free, annual cropping seminar series January 14th in Fort Benton at the Ag Center located at 1205 20th Street. Speakers will cover wheat stem sawfly management and new research, new crop variety trials, fire fighting for farmers, forage management practices during drought, and agricultural law. A special thanks to MaxAg for sponsoring the seminar in Fort Benton. Dr. David Weaver, MSU Professor, Department of Land...
Master Gardener Level 1 Class in Fort Benton or Big Sandy (please pre-register) MSU Extension level 1 Master Gardener classes will take place in Fort Benton or Big Sandy in February pending pre-registration numbers. Now is your chance to participate in an excellent educational opportunity. A minimum of 10 pre-registered participants is required. The class traditionally begins in late February. 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,...
Front Range Wool Pool Annual Meeting is December 11 in Conrad The Annual meeting of the Front Range Wool Pool will take place on Saturday, December 11 at the Moose Lodge in Conrad. The meeting will start at noon with registration and a potluck lunch. As always, Brent Roeder, MSU Extension Sheep Specialist, will be cooking lamb, which will be served with the potluck lunch. Educational programming will include an update on the MSU Sheep Ration Balancer Program, MSU Wool Lab, Market Update and an MSU Research Update. The annual meeting will...
6 Golden Triangle Cropping Seminar -Thanks in Advance to MaxAg for Sponsoring Lunch at the Seminar in Fort Benton Seminar in Fort Benton will be on Friday, January 14th Montana State University Extension will host a free, annual cropping seminar series January 10-14th in Great Falls, Choteau, Conrad, Cutbank, Shelby, Chester, Havre, Stanford, and Fort Benton. Speakers will cover wheat stem sawfly management and new research, new crop variety trials, forage management practices during drought, and agricultural law (New Neighbors and New...
Christmas Tree Care There are many “tips” to caring for a Christmas tree that propose to make it last longer or stay greener. 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 tips 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 pe...
Montana State University Extension has a new, free, color booklet (EB0235) is available. 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 is included with multiple color photos per...
New Tree and Shrub Pest Diagnosis Guide Available From MSU Extension Montana State University Extension has a new, free, color booklet (EB0235) is available. 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 pla...
Dr. Jane Mangold to Speak at Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association The Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association annual meeting will take place on Thursday, November 11th 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 Dr. Jane Mangold (MSU Extension Invasive Plant Specialist). Dr. Mangold will cover i...
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 winter mulch to strawberry beds as soon as the...
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 which makes it a problematic weed in winter wheat fields. Cheatgrass is an abundant seed producer. Seed is only viable for one to two years in the seedbank. Cheatgrass typically germinates from late August to early October...
The following article and study were completed by Ben Hauptman, MSU Extension Granite County. In summer 2020 the active ingredient indaziflam (RejuvraTM) was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use on rangelands, CRP, and natural areas. Indaziflam’s mode of action inhibits cellulose biosynthesis in seedlings, making it an effective pre-emergent herbicide for annuals such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), a non-native winter annual grass. Cheatgrass is the most widespread invasive plant in the western U.S., and it is p...
Fall is a Great Time to Order Shelterbelt Trees The Montana Conservation Seedling Nursery (MCSN) is already receiving orders for shelter belt plantings. 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 ord...
5 Pesticide Waste Disposal program will be in Central Region in September The 2021 Montana Department of Agriculture waste pesticide disposal program will take place in Central Montana. The first collection event will take place in Havre on September 21 followed by Great Falls on September 22, Lewistown on September 23, and Big Timber on September 24. Participants must pre-register their unusable pesticides with the Montana Department of Agriculture before the disposal event. Acceptances for these events occur on a first-come, first-served b...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing the interim decision (ID) for the pesticide paraquat dichloride (paraquat) finalizing new, stronger safety measures to reduce exposure. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires the agency to periodically re-evaluate pesticides through registration review to ensure that risk assessments and pesticide decisions reflect the best available science. The ID is part of the legally required registration review process to identify risks as well as actions that can...
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...
Due to the extended drought in Montana, water availability in many areas is 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. In addition, many producers are limited in their cattle movement this year,” said Custer County Extension Agent Mike Schuldt. Although weeds can be high in protein and...
Horticultural Tips for August Below are some rules of thumb when tending vegetables, lawns, flowers and trees during the month of August. • Renovate strawberries by mowing a minimum of every three years. Some people mow their strawberries every year following fruit production. Be sure to set the mower high enough to mow the leaves. Mowing to low may damage the crowns and kill the plant. • Topdress strawberries after harvest with a complete fertilizer like 16-16-16. • Pinch the tops of indeterminate tomatoes and reduce watering to promote ripen...
Foraging worker ants sometimes enter homes in search of food, and if they find an indoor food source, the workers will leave chemical trails for other workers to follow. Food found either indoors or outdoors is carried to the nest to feed the colony. This behavior makes the use of ant baits an effective control measure. To keep ants from entering the home, make sure the kitchen is clean and no attractive food, like a honey container, is left out for the ants to find. Use a mild vinegar solution to wipe down kitchen surfaces to remove ant...
Top Yielding Winter Wheat Varieties for Chouteau County MSU Agriculture Research Centers have three test plots for winter wheat in Chouteau County. Research plots are managed by MSU Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center (WTARC) south of the Knees, MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center (NARC) north of Loma and MSU Central Agricultural Research Center (CARC) west of Geraldine. A special thanks to Justin Vetch (WTARC agronomist), Peggy Lamb (NARC agronomist) and Jed Eberly (CARC agronomist) for establishing and maintaining the...
A Special Thanks in Advance to our Chouteau County 4-H Fair Superintendents 4-H, the nation’s largest youth development organization, grows confident young people who are empowered for life today and prepared for a career tomorrow. 4-H programs help develop nearly six million young people across the U.S. through experiences that develop critical life skills. 4-H is the youth development program of our nation’s Cooperative Extension System and USDA. Cooperative Extension serves every county and parish in the U.S. through a network of 110 pub...
The 2021 Montana Department of Agriculture waste pesticide disposal program will take place in Central Montana. The first collection event will take place in Havre on September 21 followed by Great Falls on September 22, Lewistown on September 23, and Big Timber on September 24. Participants must pre-register their unusable pesticides with the Montana Department of Agriculture before the disposal event. Acceptances for these events occur on a first-come, first-served basis and early registration is encouraged. The 2021 deadline to register is...
