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Cropping Questions from Producers in August • What is causing the dark and light colored stubble in my field after harvest? According to Clain Jones, MSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialist, one explanation may be differences in fertility and soil texture. If you have sandier soil and lower nitrogen available, you are going to have lighter colored straw, greater yield, and less protein. If you have finer soil and high nitrogen available, you are going to have darker colored straw, less yield and higher protein. • Is grazing a field with wheat s...
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 in 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...
“Rolling Cows” A Cattle Semi Rollover Exercise for Emergency Responders A cattle semi-roll over exercise will take place on September 21, 2016 at the Community Bible Church Recreation Center located at 911 16th Street in Fort Benton. Registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. The goal is to train first responders and others in case of an actual incident involving livestock. The event will begin with introductions and logistics followed by a functional scenario & break-out discussion groups. A working lunch will take place at 12:00 p.m. followed by...
MSU Extension releases new MontGuide factsheets on forage analysis Montana State University Extension specialists have released two new MontGuide fact sheets on forage analysis. A new four-page MontGuide, Forage Analysis Interpretation, describes why forage analyses are an important tool in livestock nutrient management. “Understanding forage analysis and how it can impact a ration feeding program is vital to maintaining herd health, improving productivity and decreasing forage waste,” said Megan Van Emon, MSU Extension beef cattle spe...
Pre-seeding fertilizer tips for farmers Clain Jones, MSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialist Presented at the Montana Agricultural Business Association last winter in Great Falls. The majority of the presentation contained a variety of fertilizer tips to help producers prepare for the upcoming seeding season. In addition, information for this article was taken from the Fertilizer Guidelines for Montana Crops (EB161), which is available at the Chouteau County Extension office. • MSU Extension has an on-line tool designed to assist producers i...
Mulching is a must for lawn and garden landscapes during the hot summer. 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 landscaping efforts, are attempting to grow “alien” species (non-native for the most pa...
Blue Green Algae Poisoning in Cattle Information for this article was taken from the Cow Sense Chronicle and is located at http://animalrangeextension.montana.edu/beef/documents/7-16CowSenseChronicle.pdf. The Chronicle is authored by Rachel Endecott, MSU Extension Beef Specialist. When livestock or other animals ingest high concentrations of blue-green algae, death can occur within minutes or hours. Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, are photosynthetic bacteria that live and grow in aquatic environments. Some species are harmless, while...
Hailed out and emerged volunteer wheat should be sprayed immediately after harvest Information for this article was taken from a Kansas State University Press Release. The entire article is located at www.ag.ksu.edu. 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 app...
Safety tips for Ranchers Using Rodenticides Information for this article was prepared by Stephen Vantassel (Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture). Rodenticides must be used properly to prevent needless death or injury to people and non-target animals. Fortunately, following a few simple precautions will prevent most potential accidents. • Do not stockpile rodenticides. Restrict purchases to those needed to fulfill seasonal needs. While rodenticides do not usually weaken during storage, grain baits, for example, m...
Tree watering rules of thumb • Water trees three times a month in addition to watering your lawn. • Deep watering to a depth of 12” inches below the soil surface is recommended. Saturate the soil around the tree within the “dripline” (the outer edges of the tree’s branches) to disperse water down toward the roots. • For evergreens, water 3’-5’ beyond the dripline on all sides of the tree. • The objective is to water slowly, dispersing the flow of water to get the water deep down to the trees roots. Watering for short periods of time onl...
Field days coming up near Loma and Turner MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center (NARC) and MSU Extension will be hosting two field days near Loma and Turner, Montana on Monday, July, 11. The Loma field day will begin at 9:00 a.m. north of Loma near the Terry Mckeever farm at 2088 Houston road. The Turner field day will begin at 5:00 p.m. near the Max Cederberg farm north of Turner. A barbeque hosted by CHS Big Sky will follow the Turner field day. Dr. Luther Talbert (MSU agronomist/spring wheat breeder) will educate producers about spring...
Veterinary feed directive information for producers The MSU Extension Beef Cattle Program will be conducting educational meetings throughout the state starting in late July. Antibiotic use in livestock and humans continues to undergo greater scrutiny as antibiotic resistance evolves. Antibiotic resistance is a main reason for implementation of the new VFD rule. First, the rule deals with antibiotics fed to animals, not injectable antibiotics. Secondly, not all antibiotics currently fed to animals are included in the rule. The FDA has published...
Agricultural research center field days scheduled for June and July There will be three field days in Chouteau County in June and July. The Knees field day will take place on June 8th, the Loma field day will take place on July 11th, and the Highwood Bench field day will occur on July 13th. Details on the Highwood Bench and Loma field day will be addressed in a later article. All three field days in Chouteau County will begin at 9:00 a.m. For additional information, please contact the Chouteau County Extension office at 406-622-3751. In additio...
Dryland Alfalfa Questions and Answers What is an economic stand for alfalfa? We like to see at least 3-4 plants per square foot in an irrigated field, and 2-3 plants/ square foot in dryland. Or you can also do a mean stem count, and once you get less than 40 stems/ square foot, we recommend renovating (Emily Glunk, 2015). Should I inoculate my seed? If not already inoculated when purchased, inoculate alfalfa seed with nitrogen-fixing bacteria Rhizobium meliloti, specific for alfalfa. Even when planting on land that has already grown alfalfa...
Knees Area Field Day Scheduled for June 8th The MSU Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center (WTARC) and MSU Extension are hosting a field day in the Knees area on June 8th at 9:00 a.m. The event will begin approximately one mile north of J & A Farms. J & A Farms is located at 2226 Knees Church Road. Dr. Mary Burrows (MSU Extension Plant Pathology Specialist) will present on cereal grain diseases. Dr. Phil Bruckner (MSU Winter Wheat Breeder) will speak about successful winter wheat varieties for the Knees area. John Miller (WTARC Research...
Lawn Management and Drip Irrigation Information The MSU Extension Master Gardener program provides research based information for gardeners. 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 fescue and 10% annual ryegras...
Keep an eye out for Grass Tetany Grass tetany is a metabolic disease of cattle associated with grazing lush, green pasture. The condition is caused by low blood concentrations of magnesium, which is a required mineral for cattle. When pastures are growing rapidly in the spring, grass may not contain adequate amounts of magnesium to meet requirements. High potassium and crude protein concentrations found in rapidly growing forage complicate the grass tetany issue, because both interfere with the absorption of magnesium from the rumen. Magnesium...
Cropping questions and answers for April Should I spray for powdery mildew when wheat is in the tillering stage? According to Mary Burrows (MSU Extension Plant Pathology Specialist), the winter wheat plant is quite resistant to yield damage at the tillering stage. Yield damage is more of a risk during flag leaf development. If you do have powdery mildew, and it looks like free moisture and 80 degree temperatures are not going to shut the disease down, it is feasible to combine a fungicide with your herbicide application. A yield advantage is...
Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum This year’s Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum, “Challenges and Opportunities of Cow Herd Expansion,” will be held April 19-20 in Bozeman at the GranTree Inn, 1325 N. 7th Avenue. Speakers will cover a wide variety of topics, including the US cattle cycle and cattle prices, reproductive management considerations for herd expansion, heifer development, cattle temperament, veterinary feed directives for feed-grade antibiotics, and approaches to animal health in a limited antib...
Montana Certified Seed potatoes are available in Chouteau County Planting Montana certified seed potatoes in your garden is an important way to protect Montana seed potato farms from the importation of damaging pests and pathogens. Montana seed potatoes are grown at the highest standards with very stringent tolerances for disease and quality. In addition, Montana growers have an amazing range of varieties that have outstanding and novel culinary qualities. Available varieties include: Russet varieties; fingerlings, including French Fingerling,...
9 MSU Extension Chouteau County Soil Moisture Survey Spring soil moisture testing took place on March 22nd for locations north of the Missouri river and March 21st for locations south of the Missouri river. Eleven of twenty stubble locations (mostly in the northern part of Chouteau County) measured less than 3.9 inches of stored soil moisture (poor recropping potential). Three locations measured 4-4.9 inches of stored soil moisture (fair recropping potential). Sites with fair recropping potential were located in north central and southeast...
Master Gardener Level 2 class covers the top five issues causing tree problems 1. Insufficient water: If the tree is in your lawn, your tree is going to need 2-3 inches of water in the summer months. Water needs to be applied at the canopy (outside perimeter) of the tree. A tuna fish can is a great device for determining water application rates. Soil probes purchased from Montana Salinity control in Conrad are a great tool for measuring soil moisture in turf. Excess soil moisture (especially in heavy clay soils) is also a concern. When a tree...
Glyphosate-resistant Russian thistle found in Chouteau County In the fall 2015, seeds of a Russian thistle population surviving glyphosate applications were collected from a chem-fallow field in Chouteau County, Montana. The field was under wheat-fallow rotation and had a history of repeated glyphosate applications. Almost 100 plants screened from the population survived the field-use rate of glyphosate (@32 fl oz/a of 4.5 lb ae/gal Roundup Powermax). Dose-response experiments conducted by Prashant Jha and Vipan Kumar, weed researchers at the...
Cropping Q &A in February and March • What is the economic advantage of utilizing Thimet 20-G for wheat stem sawfly control? Trials in Montana have demonstrated a 64-100% reduction in damage measured as stem cutting by larvae. The trials also found that farmers can attain a 5.4 bushel per acre yield recovery for spring wheat and a 6.1 bushel per acre yield recovery for winter wheat. • How safe is Thimet 20-G? Thimet 20-G is fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Do not breathe dust. Do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clo...
Estate Planning Seminar in Fort Benton Save the date: Monday, March 14, 2016 from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Marsha Goetting, MSU Extension Family Economics Specialist, will be in Fort Benton to present a seminar on estate planning topics. Transferring agriculture operations to the next generation will be included. More details to follow. Notes from Master Gardener (Level 2) Class The Master Gardener class (Level 2) began in Fort Benton on February 18 in Fort Benton. Eight Chouteau County Gardeners learned about binomial nomenclature, soils, n...