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11 Knees Area Field Day will feature Group 1 Tolerant Winter Wheat MAES-MSU Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center (WTARC) and MSU Extension are hosting a field day in the Knees area on June 6th at 9:00 a.m. The event will begin approximately ½ mile north of J & A Farms. J & A Farms is located at 2226 Knees Church Road. Ed Davis (MSU Specialist in Cropland Weed Research) will show producers a test plot of CoAxium winter wheat which is tolerant to a non-selective group 1 graminicide, Agressor. Agressor can be sprayed on the winter...
Soil Acidity is Causing Crop Failure in some Montana Fields: Is yours next? Farmers in several Montana counties are experiencing nearly complete yield loss in portions of their fields due to soil acidity (low pH). Standard top 6-inch soil pH testing may not definitively identify soil acidity problems. Most fields with low pH problem areas also have larger areas with higher pH that buffer the pH value when soil samples submitted to labs are mixed from 6-8 subsamples per field. Also, the lowest pH is generally in the top 2 to 3 inches, not the to...
Cattle Facilities Educational Program at Lost Lake Ranch Darrin Boss Northern Agricultural Research Center (NARC) Assistant Research Professor in Animal Science and Cory Parsons, NARC Operations Manager will be visiting the Lost Lake Ranch on May 10 to evaluate the calving shed and corrals. If you are interested in learning about cattle facility design and efficiency, we will be meeting at 1:00 at the calving shed. Directions: Drive south of Fort Benton on highway 80 until you reach mile marker 17. Take a right on Doll road and drive south...
Sixth Annual Chouteau County Agriculture Day for 4th and 5th Graders The sixth annual Chouteau County Ag Days for 4th and 5th graders will take place at the Chouteau County Fairgrounds on May 2, 2018. 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 Montana’s number one industry; agriculture, and why agriculture is important to their health, home and community. For t...
Rising Costs of Vitamins A and E As many producers may have noticed, cost of vitamins A and E have increased over the past few months, and subsequently, mineral supplements that include vitamins A and E. The rising costs were mainly due to a fire on October 31, 2017 at the BASF plant in Germany, which produces citral, a precursor in manufacturing vitamin A and E products. The BASF vitamin A and E manufacturing plants were shut down for scheduled, routine maintenance at the time of the fire and will reopen once the citral plant begins production...
Gardening Questions and Answers per Master Gardener Class • Will removing half the vegetable plant leaves when transplanting reduce transpiration and wilting? According to Illinois Extension, pruning transplants to reduce water loss is not a recommended practice. Although pruning may reduce the extent of wilting after setting out, it will also reduce the rate of new root growth. When a plant is transplanted, food energy stored in the old, large leaves will be transported downward to promote root growth. If these leaves are removed, root g...
Cropping Q and A in March from the Chouteau County Extension Office • Why were wheat protein levels so low in many areas of Chouteau County in 2017? Clain Jones MSU Extension Fertility Specialist replied with the following: Generally, in Montana, we seem to get drought during grain fill which reduces yield, concentrating the amount of protein and Nitrogen in a smaller amount of grain, resulting in higher protein. While in 2017 we definitely had drought during grain fill, we also had it around flowering, which I think trumped the c...
The Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum The Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum will take place on April 17 and 18 at the Best Western GranTree Inn, 1325 N 7th Avenue in Bozeman. Attendees can register online at https://www.montana.edu/nutrition/. Educational Programs are listed below: • April 17, 11:00-12:30 – Registration • 2018 Weather Outlook • Madison Food Park Development – Todd Hanson, Norsman Group Consulting. • Alternative Forages and Economics – Emily Glunk, Extension Forage Specialist, Department of...
Private Pesticide Applicator Initial Training in Great Falls The MSU Cascade County Extension office will be offering a private pesticide applicator initial training in Great Falls on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Registration will begin at 8:30 at the Montana ExpoPark’s Paddock Club. The training will end with the Montana Private Applicator Certification exam around 5:30 p.m. Individuals must be licensed as a private applicator prior to purchasing and using restricted use pesticides on land that they or their employers own, rent or lease. For a...
Notes from Master Gardener Class in Fort Benton A special thanks to Mariel Stone (Level 3 Master Gardener) for her help and expertise during our master gardener trainings. The Master Gardener class (Level 1) began in Fort Benton on February 22. In the past few weeks we have covered soils, plant biology, and vegetable production. Notes from the class are below. • Do not work soil when it is wet. If the soil sticks to the shovel, wait a few more days. • The number one thing that kills our plants is TLC. Don’t over fertilize, don’t over trim, d...
Management Methods Cows during the Calving Season Managing cows to rebreed as scheduled is an important practice during the calving season. Below are a few good management practices to remember from the Cow-Calf Management Guide Section CL115. • The above-average milking cow will need about 30 pounds of hay per day. • Ration balancing using the animal’s nutrient requirements and the nutrient composition of the feed resource should be used to determine appropriate ration. The Chouteau County Extension office has an excellent ration balan...
Soil Acidity and Soil Health Workshop in Fort Benton The Chouteau County Soil Acidity Working Group through the Chouteau County Conservation District, Big Sandy Conservation District, NRCS and MSU Extension has organized a soil acidity and soil health workshop at the Ag Center in Fort Benton on February 27, 2018. The Ag Center is located at 1205 20th Street. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. The workshop will begin at 10:00 a.m. Most agricultural soils in Montana have near-neutral to basic conditions with surface soil pH 6.5 to 8. However,...
Toby Day will teach Level 1 Master Gardener Class in Fort Benton Toby Day (MSU Extension Horticultural Associate) will be teaching the first session of Master Gardener training on February 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Toby Day will provide an overview of the Master Gardener program, and educate participants on soils, nutrients and fertilizers. The class will take place at the Memorial Ambulance of Fort Benton building located at 810 15th Street. The first session will be open to the public and free of charge. The Level 1 Master Gardener...
Hoof Cracks in Beef Cattle Research based information for this article was compiled by Rachel Endecott (Former MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist). The complete article is available at http://www.msuextension.org/beefcattle/cowsensechronicle.html. In general, foot cracks are classified as either horizontal (transverse fissures) or vertical (sand cracks). The mildest form of a horizontal foot crack is known as a hardship groove, which is thought to be associated with disease, stress, or nutritional abnormality. A Canadian study of 6 different...
Soil Acidity and Soil Health Workshop in Fort Benton The Chouteau County Soil Acidity Working Group has organized a soil acidity and soil health workshop at the Ag Center in Fort Benton on February 27, 2018. The Ag Center is located at 1205 20th Street. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. The workshop will begin at 10:00 a.m. Most agricultural soils in Montana have near-neutral to basic conditions with surface soil pH 6.5 to 8. However, some areas of Montana have developed acidic soil layers near the surface as a result of fertilizer N use...
Toby Day will teach Level 1 Master Gardener Class in Fort Benton Toby Day (MSU Extension Horticultural Associate) will be teaching the first session of Master Gardener training on February 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Toby Day will provide an overview of the Master Gardener program, and educate participants on soils, nutrients and fertilizers. The class will take place at the Memorial Ambulance of Fort Benton building located at 810 15th Street. The first session will be open to the public and free of charge. The Level 1 Master Gardener...
Golden Triangle Barley Update February 15 in Conrad, MT Barley producers are encouraged to mark Thursday, February 15, 2018, in Conrad, MT 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), and will run from 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with registration beginning at 8 a.m. Speakers from Montana State University (MSU) will include Dr. Kent McVay of t...
Master Gardener Level 1 Class in Fort Benton (please pre-register) MSU Extension level 1 Master Gardener classes will take place in Fort Benton in February pending pre-registration numbers. Now is your chance to participate in an excellent educational opportunity. If ten people pre-register, we will have the class, which traditionally begins in February. We currently have three gardeners signed up. 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...
Max Ag of Montana will Sponsor Lunch for Cropping Seminar on January 8 Montana State University Extension will host the annual Cropping Seminar series January 8 – 11. The seminar in Fort Benton will take place at the Ag Center on January 8th at 9:00 a.m. Topics will include integrating beef cattle into cover crops, soil fertility, transfer planning, why pesticides may not work as designed, and partial budgeting analysis. The seminars are free with 1 private and commercial pesticide point available in Fort Benton. A special thanks to MAX Ag o...
Montana Next Generation Conference is scheduled for January 26-27 Registration is now open for Montana’s Next Generation Conference, which will take place Jan. 26-27 in Shelby. The conference will feature sessions on business planning for the farm or ranch and production workshops. The conference begins at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 26, at the Shelby Civic Center, located at 669 Park Ave. The day’s events will begin with family farm coach Elaine Froese, a family farmer from Manitoba, Canada. Froese will discuss “Your Farm, Your Family, Your Choic...
Master Gardener Level 1 Class in Fort Benton (please pre-register) MSU Extension level 1 Master Gardener classes may take place in Fort Benton in February pending pre-registration numbers. Now is your chance to participate in an excellent educational opportunity. If ten people pre-register, we will have the class, which traditionally begins the third week in 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, and is taught by local...
Prairie Dog Management and Grazing Management Workshop in Fort Benton and Big Sandy The Chouteau County District NRCS, the Big Sandy Conservation District, the Chouteau County Conservation and MSU Extension are teaming up to bring you a landowner requested prairie dog and wildlife/livestock grazing management workshop on Wednesday, January 24, 2018. Classes will take place in Fort Benton and Big Sandy. Each class will be good for one commercial and one private pesticide point. Prairie Dog Management will be addressed by Stephen Vantassel...
Classes in Fertilizing Pulse Crops, Transfer Planning, Pesticide Performance, Partial Budget Analysis and Integrating Beef Cattle into Cover Crops will all be offered this January Montana State University Extension will host the annual Cropping Seminar series January 8 – 11, 2018, in Fort Benton, Chester, Havre, Shelby, Cut Bank, Choteau, Conrad, Stanford, and Great Falls. Topics will include integrating beef cattle into cover crops, soil fertility, transfer planning, why pesticides may not work as designed, and partial budgeting analysis. T...
Using Straw in Cattle Rations- Frequently asked Questions How much straw can I put in my cow winter ration? It is important to know that straw is a low energy, and low protein feed. It is not as digestible as hay or green feed. Generally, a cow can consume 1.25% of her body weight in straw dry matter (DM). Therefore, a 1400 lb cow could consume 17.5 lbs on a DM basis, or 19.9 lbs on an ‘as-fed’ basis if the straw was 90% DM (17.5/0.9 = 19.9 lbs, this calculation is to adjust for the moisture content of the straw). Near the end of ges...
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. This is easily done 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 per o...
