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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...
Conifers Shed Most Inefficient Needles in the Fall 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. 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...
Growth Through Agriculture Grant & Loan Program Requesting Proposals The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is announcing the opening of the FY2025 funding cycle for the Growth Through Agriculture (GTA) Program. Montanans interested in innovating or expanding agricultural businesses are invited to apply for funds through the state grant and loan program. “The Growth Through Agriculture program continues to help Montana businesses and agricultural operations add value, scale up, and access new markets,” said MDA Director Christy Clark. “I...
Shelterbelt Workshop on October 9th in North Chouteau County A shelterbelt workshop has been scheduled for October 9th from 9-12 a.m. at the Bob and Becky Bronec Farm in north Chouteau County. The address is 3000 Ames Ranch Road. Our guest presenter will be Dr. Peter Kolb (MSU Extension Forester) Dr. Kolb has extensive knowledge with trees and shelterbelts and will cover techniques for growing and maintaining trees (including pruning and pest management) in prairie ecosystems. Please bring a sack lunch with you. Drinking water will be provided...
Foot Scoring Beef Cattle MontGuide is Available at the Chouteau County Extension Office A new MontGuide (MT2024AG) has been created by Taylre Sitz, MS in Animal and Range Sciences from MSU: Tim DelCurto; MSU Professor and Endowed Chair, and Megan Van Emon, MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist. There are some great photos of claw scores and pastern angles that may be helpful when culling or selecting breeding livestock. Due to various selection pressures, beef cattle have been transformed in size and shape over the last 75 years. Increased deman...
Thanks to Our Chouteau County 4-H Club Organizational Leaders and FFA Advisors The Chouteau County Fair concluded for the 4-H and FFA members on August 18, However, the work continues for our Chouteau County organizational leaders and FFA advisors. Chouteau County MSU Extension would like to give special recognition to our 4-H organizational leaders for guiding and preparing our 4-H youth through meetings, competitions, workshops and the fair. The Chouteau County 4-H club organizational leaders include Kelly Crowder (Arrowhead), Jordee...
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 (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 entire plant up...
New Montguide (EBO191) Provides Information on Nutrient Uptake Timing by Crops Timing nutrient applications so they are available before peak crop nutrient demand is critical. Adequate nutrients early in the growing season are necessary to maximize yield and ensure nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are especially available for good grain or seed fill. EBO191 provides information on nutrient uptake curves for selected Montana crops (small grains, oilseeds, corn, and sugar beet) to help growers and their advisers optimally time fertilizer...
8 Pesticide Waste Disposal Program Will Be in Central Region in September The 2024 Montana Department of Agriculture Waste Pesticide Disposal Program will be in Havre on September 17 followed by Great Falls on September 18, Lewistown on September 19, and Columbus on September 20. 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 2024 deadline to register...
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 too 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 promo...
Top Yielding Winter Wheat Varieties for Chouteau County MSU Agricultural Research Centers have one test plot for winter 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...
Gardening in July Below are a few recommendations per July horticultural management. Additional gardening information is available at the Chouteau County Extension Office located in the green building next to the courthouse. • In our landscapes, plants use 2.5 inches of water per week during the hot summer days. • Harvest broccoli while heads are tight. • Pick shell peas when the seeds are fully developed but before ripening. Harvest edible pod peas when the seeds are barely visible inside the pod. Allow snap peas to reach nearly full size, but...
Hailed Out and Emerged Volunteer Wheat Should be Sprayed Immediately after Harvest Information for this article was compiled from a Kansas State University Press Release in 2016. Producers often wait several weeks after harvest before making their first herbicide application to control volunteer wheat,” said Dallas Peterson, K-State Research and Extension Weed Management Specialist. “This allows as much volunteer as possible to emerge before spraying it or tilling it the first time. Often, a second application or tillage operation will be neede...
New MontGuide Available on Nutrient Uptake Timing by Crops A new MontGuide is available to assist producers with fertilizing decisions. The guide was written by Clain Jones, Extension Soil Fertility Specialist and Professor, Kathrin Olson-Rutz, former Research Associate, and Pariera Dinkins, former Research Associate. Timing the application of nutrients so that they are available before peak crop nutrient demand is critical. Adequate nutrients early in the growing season are necessary to maximize yield and ensure nitrogen (N) and phosphorus...
Summer Agricultural Field Days in the Golden Triangle The Montana State University College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Stations will once again host a series of field days at Havre, Moccasin, and Conrad. “We look forward to our field days every year because of the opportunities they create to interact and share research results with agricultural producers and friends around Montana,” said Sreekala Bajwa, director of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Stations and the college’s dean. “Getting to share and receive feedbac...
Summer Agricultural Field Days in the Golden Triangle The Montana State University College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Stations will once again host a series of field days at Havre, Moccasin, and Conrad. “We look forward to our field days every year because of the opportunities they create to interact and share research results with agricultural producers and friends around Montana,” said Sreekala Bajwa, director of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Stations and the college’s dean. “Getting to share and receive feedbac...
How Farmers, Gardeners and Insecticide Applicators Can Reduce Risks of Honeybee Injury When Spraying for Grasshoppers Honeybee injury results when pesticides are applied or allowed to drift to hives, blooming crops, wild plants or weeds. The following article comes from the University of Nebraska and is available at: https://bit.ly/3vQPhuz. Do not treat fields in bloom. Be especially careful when treating crops, such as alfalfa, sunflowers and canola, which are highly attractive to bees. Insecticide labels carry warning statements about...
Don’t Forget to Monitor for Cutworms in Early Spring Two major cutworm species, the western and the army cutworm, are serious but sporadic pests for Montana producers. Outbreaks can occur when cutworm populations are high and weather conditions are favorable for survival. Outbreaks do not necessarily occur in successive years. Larvae of either species generally are not active above ground on bright, sunny days. They can be found just below ground by scraping the soil surface lightly. Small larvae are well-camouflaged and can be difficult to s...
Lawn Management Information The Master Gardener program provides research-based information for gardeners. This year, we had nineteen gardeners participate in the class. Below are a few notes taken from the turf management portion of the program. • Rough bluegrass is probably the best grass in Montana for shady areas. • Kentucky bluegrass is the best grass for open sunny areas with well-drained soil. • Annual ryegrass can be used as a cover crop following vegetable production. • The standard lawn mix is 60% Kentucky bluegrass, 30% creeping red...
Are Your Pine Needles Brown, Red or Purple? It Could be Winterburn. Information from this article comes from Dr. Peter Kolb (MSU Extension Forester). During dry and cold winters, evergreen trees growing in windbreaks or other exposed areas are afflicted with a bad case of needle discoloration that ranges from brown to purple followed by needle drop. Often this is most prevalent on the south side or windward side of the tree, and in some cases only last year’s new needles are impacted and in other cases most of the older needles are d...
Recropping Potential is Poor to Fair for North Chouteau County The Chouteau County Soil Moisture Survey was started by Judee Wargo in 1993 to assist farmers in determining recropping potential on cereal grain stubble. After 31 years, the Chouteau County Extension Office continues to compile data for determining recropping potential and provide the state drought committee with soil moisture information. All of the stubble plots north of the Missouri River excluding the Knees area rated in the fair to poor range. In the northern regions, the...
Seeding Practices for Pulses The Chouteau County Extension office has compiled notes per communications and workshops from Extension professionals. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 622-3751. • Testing seed for Ascochyta blight will cost $200.00. It takes ten days to develop the fungus on a plate. In addition, the $200 will test for 8 other diseases. Please contact the Extension office for additional testing information or search for the Montana State Seed Lab. • Use viable inoculant distributed uni...
Eleventh Annual Chouteau County Agriculture Day The eleventh annual Chouteau County Ag Day for 4th and 5th graders will take place at the Chouteau County Fairgrounds on May 7, 2024. 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. Participants will learn the importance of agriculture, which is Montana’s number one industry. Youth will learn why agriculture is important to their health, home and community. For t...
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...
