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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...
Helping You Prepare for the Gardening Season Believe it or not, the gardening season will be upon us before we know it. Below are a few gardening facts to help you prepare for the upcoming season. • Soil tests should be taken in the garden every three years. • The best time to collect a soil sample is in the spring after soil thaw. • Fall soil sampling is not recommended because nitrogen in the soil is depleted during the fall and winter seasons. • Do not work soil when it is wet. If the soil sticks to the shovel, wait a few more days. • The n...
The 4-H Shooting Sports 2024 Chouteau County Invitational Shoot was held February 24th in Fort Benton with 64 members registered to shoot. Participants were mostly from the Golden Triangle Counties. Other counties participating were Flathead, Lewis and Clark, Wheatland and Gallatin. Medals went to the following Chouteau County participants: See Page 3 for full list. Also participating from Chouteau County was Wyatt Stegman. A special thanks to Camille Good for compiling scores and tabulating results, Chandee Bomgardner for catering the event, C...
Winter Fertilization Facts Fall and winter broadcast application of urea (46-0-0) continues to take place on various winter wheat farms across Chouteau County. The major concern of broadcasting urea is nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization. Volatilization results when there is a conversion from dissolved ammonia to ammonia gas. From 2008-2012, Rick Engel and Clain Jones (MSU Soil Scientists) have studied NH3 losses from surface-applied urea. Below are a few conclusions of their research. • Engle’s research (4 years and 20 studies) doc...
Master Gardener Level 1 Class in Fort Benton (please pre-register) MSU Extension level 1 Master Gardener classes will take place in Fort Benton. Now is your chance to participate in an excellent educational opportunity. The class will begin on March 7th at the Chouteau County ambulance building. 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 Extension agents, plant professionals, and Master Gardener volunteers. For a...
Calving and Handling Calving Difficulties Guide Available Dr. R. G. Mortimer, a veterinarian from Colorado State University has written a on guide on Calving and Handling Calving Difficulties. One important part of the document are drawings of calf presentation, calf position and calf posture. The drawings show how to reposition the calf for a more successful delivery. The Chouteau County Extension Office has a handout available. Our office can e-mail it to you, or you can come into our office for a hard copy. We are located in the green...
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. The NARC (Loma area) top three yielding spring wheat varieties (10-year average yield)...
Many Reasons Why Deciduous Trees Should Not Be Topped Topping is the drastic removal or cutting back of large branches in mature trees. The tree is sheared like a hedge and the main branches are cut to stubs. Many homeowners top trees when they reach heights considered unsafe fearing a strong wind might blow large trees over. However, the extensive root system of a healthy tree provides adequate support for the tree. Below are a number of reasons why deciduous trees should not be topped. Starvation: Trees need leaves to manufacture starches...
Grasshopper Management and Sign-up for Ranchers A Grasshopper management seminar and sign-up program will take place on February 13, at 1:00 at the Ag Center in Fort Benton. The 2023-2024 forecast map shows Chouteau County in the worst classification for potential grasshopper damage. Erik Norderud and Gary Adams from USDA-APHIS will be presenting at the event. Gary Adams, Montana’s State Plant Health Director, who has more than 35 years with APHIS’ Plant Protection and Quarantine office in Montana will be discussing grasshopper management opt...
Why Should Homeowners Use Registered Herbicide Products on Weeds? This article was written by Noelle Orloff, Associate MSU Extension Specialist and MSU Schutter Lab Diagnostician. We regularly answer questions from people interested in using household products to kill unwanted plants or other organisms. Some of these questions stem from “do-it-yourself” herbicide recipes found online. Others are a result of looking in the kitchen cabinet or garage, and wondering what might happen if a given substance were applied to an unwanted organism. The...
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...
Max Ag will sponsor Golden Triangle Cropping Seminar on January 11 in Fort Benton Montana State University Extension will host its annual cropping seminar series in Fort Benton on January 11, 2024. Registration begins at the Ag Center (1205 20th Street) at 8:30 a.m. The first speaker will begin at 9:00 a.m. Speakers will cover topics such as weed resistance, crop rotations, marketing tips, and vertebrate pests. Three pesticide credits will be available for attending the event. A special thanks to Max Ag for sponsoring the lunch. (9:00-10:00)...
8 Montana’s Next Generation Conference Montana’s Next Generation Conference is on the calendar for Saturday, Jan. 27 in Shelby, MT. Montana’s Next Generation Conference is planning to be back up live and in-person for 2024 with an education packed line-up on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Shelby High School. Registration for the event is available at mtnextgen.com. The event will kick off with registration at 8:00 a.m. and opening sessions at 8:30. Online registration will be required by Monday, January 22 for the conference. The event will featu...
How Do We Improve Percent Calf Crop Weaned? Percent calf-crop weaned is of paramount economic importance in a cow-calf operation. Selection, mating and management to improve reproductive efficiency are all important areas to improve percent calf-crop weaned. From a standpoint of genetics and animal breeding, reproductive traits are low in heritability (typically 10% - 20%) but show high levels of heterosis in response to crossbreeding. If a producer is going to take advantage of heterosis in one part of the commercial cow-calf operation, take...
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...
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...
Christmas Tree Care When 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...
