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The MCSN in cooperation with the Montana Extension Service, local Conservation Districts and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, offers low-cost tree and shrub seedlings for use in conservation plantings. MCSN seedlings are for conservation practices and cannot be used for ornamental or landscape plantings. Landscape plants can be purchased at your local private retail nursery or garden center. The Montana Conservation Seedling Nursery (MCSN) will begin taking orders for shelterbelt trees at 8:00 a.m. on January 21, 2026. MSCN operates...
Christmas Tree Care There are many recommendations online for Christmas tree care that promote longevity. 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 research-based 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...
Junior and senior students from Big Sandy, Fort Benton, Geraldine, Highwood and Chouteau County home schools will participate in the 2025 Chouteau County Agricultural Business Day on December 17th. The event will take place from 9:00 a.m. – noon at the Ag Center (1205 20th Street). An estimated twenty businesses will be in attendance to educate juniors and seniors about agricultural career opportunities in Chouteau County. Businesses will specialize in a variety of fields including vet science, agronomy, grain elevator management, insurance, a...
Megan Van Emon, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, Montana State University New World Screwworm (NWS) is a species of fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) that lays eggs in the wounds of living warm-blooded animals. Eggs hatch within 12-24 hours into larvae that burrow into the wound to feed. Burrowing creates a larger wound that can lead to illness and death if not treated. The fly was once native to the Southern United States and was eradicated in 1966 with the targeted release of sterilized male flies. Since females only mate once in their...
I found an interesting article from Canadian Cattlemen Magazine on stretching hay supply with straw (bit.ly/3w4HUBK). I asked Dr. Megan Van Emon, MSU Assistant Professor, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, to review the article to see if it is a good fit for Chouteau County producers. I have included Megan’s comments. Travis Peardon, the regional livestock specialist in Outlook, Saskatchewan says straw has its limitations when used in beef cattle diets. Straw does not contain enough energy, protein, minerals or vitamins to be the sole source o...
MSU Extension Chouteau County will host an Initial Pesticide Applicator Training on December 4th, 2025 at The Ag Center in Fort Benton. The class will take place from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Lunch will be provided. If you have someone working with you on the farm or ranch who needs a license and is 18 years old or older, December 4th would be the time to get it done. Once they have passed the class they will be grandfathered in and will not have to earn three extra credits for non-soil fumigants. Private pesticide applicators who have not earned t...
The Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association annual meeting will take place on Thursday, November 13th 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 Montana Department of Agriculture Vertebrate Pest Specialist Stephen Vantassel. He will be speaking from 6:45-7:45. The presentation will be on prairie dog management. There w...
Managing horticultural landscapes and houseplants in the fall 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 Indigenous Peoples’ Day. • Continue to water landscape plantings (trees, shrubs, and perennials) until the soil freezes. • Apply winter mulch to strawberry beds as so...
MSU Extension Urban Alert system for Chouteau County gardeners Chouteau County gardeners can sign up for “MSU Urban Alert,” a system developed to rapidly share information about plant disease, insect and weed issues in urban settings. Urban Alerts can be set up to go to E-mail or text. The MSU Urban Alert focuses on issues in homes, gardens, parks or other outdoor urban settings. MSU Urban Alert might warn people to avoid mistaking the fruit of the poisonous vine white bryony with grapes, for example. It could provide the latest inf...
Citations come from Emily Glunk/Meccage (MSU Extension Forage Specialist) and Dennis Cash (Retired MSU Extension Forage Specialist). When is it safe to hay or graze my alfalfa in the fall? Harvest or graze the alfalfa after several days of consecutive killing frost, once the plant is dormant and will not be attempting to regrow before the winter (Glunk, 2017). What does it take for a killing frost in alfalfa? Usually it takes about 3 days of less than 24 degrees to get the plant to shut down. (Meccage, 2018) How do I minimize the chance of...
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 conservation mechanism for surviving the winter as all living...
Private applicators within PAT District 3 require six private applicator credits prior to the license expiration date of December 31, 2025 to renew their licenses. Applicators can review their credit information on the MSU PEP website by selecting “License and Credit Search” and entering their license number. Applicators can also contact their MSU County Extension office for license information. Presenters for the tour include: • Ricardo Pinto, PhD, MSU Precision Ag. Research & Extension Specialist will discuss novel technologies for targe...
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 2015-2024 include Bobcat at 55.9 bushels per acre,...
The Chouteau County Fair concluded for the 4-H and FFA members on August 17 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), Justina Merja and Chandee Bomgardner (Stir Stitch ’N’ Stirrup), Mary Ophus and Misty LeF...
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...
Practical Considerations for Bovine Castration The following article was written by Rosslyn Biggs, DVM, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Beef Cattle Specialist. Approaches to castration should be made with operational objectives and animal welfare in mind. Producers should consult with their herd veterinarian for a castration protocol that includes consideration for animal age, facilities available, castration method, and pain control. Calves castrated at younger ages—ideally under three months—generally experience less str...
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...
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 reservation in the U.S. through a network of 110...
Hail Damage to Plants: What to Expect and how to Manage The following article was researched and compiled by Abi Syeed, MSU Extension Horticulture Specialist. Hail can be a big concern for anyone growing plants, regardless of scale. If you have plants that have been damaged by hail over the past couple of weeks, the following information might provide some guidance regarding what to expect. Hail can be a significant issue for our plants. Hail can damage plants by tearing/shredding through leaves, wounding and stripping bark, breaking branches,...
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...
Loma Field Day Will Take Place on July 16 MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center (NARC) and MSU Extension Chouteau County will be hosting a field day on July 16 at 10:00 a.m. The location will be ½ mile south of the intersection of Houston and McKeever Road. Watch for the signs along Rudyard Road and Houston Road directing you to the site. NARC off-station field days highlight the variety testing work by Northern Agricultural Research Center on cooperating farms within the different counties. Speakers include Suchismita (Sue) Mondal,...
Mulching is a Must for Lawn and Garden Landscapes During the Hot Summer This article was written by Ron C. Smith NDSU Extension Horticulturalist (Retired). The single most serious problem with ornamental plants in Northern Plains region is not a disease, insect or mite problem; it is environmental stress. Stress affects plant material in direct and indirect ways. It can cause damage directly and weaken the plants to the point where they are vulnerable to insect and disease attack. Stress is a problem in the Plains region because we, in our land...
Upside of a Short Calving Season There are several benefits to a short calving season including simplifying cow management, gaining efficiency of labor management, increasing weaning weight and improving uniformity/marketability of the calf crop. Collectively all these advantages lead to one positive potential impact: improved profitability. CattleFax survey data of cow-calf operations sorts participants into three groups: high, average and low profitability. The high profitability group had a shorter calving season with a higher percentage of...
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...
Managing Nuisance Ants in and Around the Home 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...