The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Cropping Questions and Answers to the Chouteau County Extension Office I have a prickly lettuce problem in my farm ground. Is it an annual? Prickly lettuce is a biennial and a winter annual. Do we have herbicide resistance in prickly lettuce in Chout...

Montana State University Extension will host a free, annual cropping seminar series January 9-13 in Great Falls, Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Shelby, Chester, Havre, Fort Benton, and Stanford. Speakers will cover cereal grain varieties, pea and lentil...

New Tree and Shrub Pest Diagnosis Guide Available from MSU Extension Montana State University Extension has a free, color booklet (EB0235). The booklet is a great resource for helping identify and manage pests and problems in ornamental trees and...

Dr. Jeff Mosley to Speak at Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association The Chouteau County Livestock Protective Association annual meeting will take place on Thursday, November 17th at 3:00 p.m. at the Vets Hall in Geraldine. A social will...

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 or on the website. The article explains the natural phenomenon of fall needle drop,...

Lawn and Garden advice for October and November Managing horticultural landscapes and house plants in November is important for healthy production during the growing season. Below are a few recommendations for Chouteau County gardeners. • Apply p...

Lentil Yield and Nitrogen Fixation Response to Inoculant and Fertilizer Lentil production has grown dramatically in the northern Great Plains over the past 20 years. In Montana and North Dakota, planted acreage of lentil has increased from 67,000 in...

October is a Great Time to Order Shelterbelt Trees The Montana Conservation Seedling Nursery (MCSN) will be receiving orders on October 1st 2022. Rocky Mountain Juniper is the most popular windbreak species and sells out quite quickly. If you are int...

Fall Management of Cheatgrass in Fallow Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), also commonly called downy brome, is a problematic weed in winter wheat and in rangeland throughout Montana. Cheatgrass typically germinates in the autumn, overwinters, and...

Six 4-H and FFA Youth Meet Excellence Criteria for Livestock Carcass Quality The 2022 Chouteau County 4-H and FFA livestock carcass contest took place at Pioneer Meats in Big Timber. A total of 60 Chouteau County animals were evaluated for carcass qu...

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 (...

Emerging Winter Wheat, Grasshopper Pests and Systemic Seed Treatment The following information was prepared by Kevin Wanner (MSU Extension Entomologist). Emerging winter wheat can be particularly vulnerable to damage by grasshoppers. The larger...

Thanks to our Chouteau County 4-H Club Organizational Leaders and FFA Advisors Before the Chouteau County Fair begins next week, Chouteau County Extension thanks our 4-H organizational leaders for guiding and preparing our 4-H youth through...

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...

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 y...

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, which was released in 2020. Producers often wait several weeks after harvest befor...

CUTTING HAY FOR HORSES – WATCH OUT FOR POISONOUS BLISTER BEETLES Several blister beetle species feed on alfalfa, including the ash-gray blister beetle, black blister beetle and striped blister beetle. Adult blister beetles are easy to recognize d...

Winter Canola Research at Montana State University Decision time is fast approaching for winter canola seeding. Genetic technology has improved and some producers in Montana are having success with winter canola. Dr. Perry Miller, Cropping Systems...

A Special Thanks in Advance to our Chouteau County 4-H Fair Superintendents 4-H is the youth development program of our nation’s Cooperative Extension System and USDA. Cooperative Extension serves every county and tribe in the U.S. through a n...

How Farmers, Gardeners and Insecticide Applicators Can Reduce Risks of Honeybee Injury When Spraying for Grasshoppers Because of the increase in grasshopper pests this year and last year, many folks are spraying insecticides to save their crops and...

Adam Sigler (MSU Extension Water Quality Specialist), Marley Manoukian (MSU Extension Agent in Richland County) and Megan Van Emon (MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist) have written a useful resource for livestock producers. This MontGuide is...

According to Laurie Kerzicnik (Montana State University Entomologist), grasshoppers continue to be an issue for several areas in Montana. Grasshopper infestations will continue to extend into the fall. High grasshopper populations this year could be...

6 Knees Area Field Day is Scheduled for July 13 MAES-MSU Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center (WTARC) and MSU Extension are hosting a field day in the Knees area on July 13th at 9:00 a.m. Dr. Jamie Sherman (MSU barley breeder) will share...

The 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 blu...

Creeping Bellflower is a Persistent Weed in Montana Lawns Creeping bellflower is an herbaceous creeping perennial in the Harebell family. Native to Eurasia, it has become widely naturalized in North America. Initially introduced as an ornamental, thi...