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Montana State University Steer-A-Year Program The Steer-A-Year program in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture will return for the 2026-27 academic year and is seeking donations of young cattle and feed. Housed in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, Steer-A-Year teaches students about the many aspects of raising cattle through a hands-on academic approach, while supplying locally raised beef to campus dining halls. Students spend the year taking care of the calves, including feeding, performing health checks and managing s...
The Warmth of a Flannel Shirt Before Rudi and I headed out the door for our first mini walk (less than a mile) for the day, I knew I needed another layer. A rush of cool Canadian air greeted us as we walked out the door. I chose to grab a flannel shirt I brought home after harvest. Towards the end of harvest, Fall began to show itself with crisp mornings and the need for warmer clothes. I found one of my dad’s flannel shirts in the closet. For the briefest moment, when I took it off the hanger and brought it to my face and inhaled deeply, I s...
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 produces seed by mid-summer. The cheatgrass life cycle is similar to winter wheat. Cheatgrass is an abundant seed producer. Seeds are only viable for one to two years in the seedbank. Cheatgrass typically germinates from late August to early October and matures in early July. Cheatgrass can establish in...
Conifers Shed Most Inefficient Needles in the Fall 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 conservatio...
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...
By Your Accidental Journalist The Bank Call That Isn’t From Your Bank One of today’s most dangerous scams begins with something completely believable—a call or text from your bank. “There has been suspicious activity on your account.” The caller ID may even display the bank’s name or a familiar telephone number. The “bank employee” tells you that your money is in danger and you need to act immediately. You may be instructed to provide a verification code, transfer money, purchase cryptocurrency or move funds into a supposedly “safe” account....
When It’s Weird to Exhale As I write this, farmers here in north central Montana are sidelined from harvest by rain. A few overnight showers turned into true rainfall by mid-morning, dashing hopes of being in the field for the next several days. Though Mother Nature gave them the “gift” of sleeping in this morning, I know that many are anxiously looking at their fields, wishing they were out there, with each lap getting that much closer to the finish line. At the same time, my best friend just wrapped up a major project for the next evolu...
Thanks to Our Chouteau County 4-H Club Organizational Leaders The Chouteau County Fair concluded for the 4-H members on August 16, However, the work continues for our Chouteau County organizational leaders. 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...
10 Pesticide Waste Disposal program will be in Central Region in September The 2026 Montana Department of Agriculture waste pesticide disposal program will take place in Central Montana. The first collection event will take place in Havre on September 22 followed by Great Falls on September 23, Lewistown on September 24, and Red Lodge on September 25. Participants must pre-register their unusable pesticides with the Montana Department of Agriculture before the disposal event. Acceptance of herbicide on a first-come, first-served basis and...
Fall Fertilizer Advice for Farmers 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 in determining the optimal N rate. The online tool can be found at www.sarc.montana.edu/AgTools/soiltest. •Fall soil tests can lead to over or under fertilized fields because soil nitrate can increase or decrease from November to April. •The historical average available N rate guideline at 2%...
Horticultural Advice 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 promote ripen...
Beat the Heat: Protecting Cattle During Summer Heat Stress This article was written by Paul Beck, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Nutrition Specialist. Summer heat stress reduces cattle performance, reproductive efficiency and animal welfare. Extreme heat stress may result in death. Heat stress is not determined by temperature alone. Humidity, direct sunlight, wind speed and the amount of nighttime cooling all influence the heat load cattle must manage. Cattle accumulate heat during the day and normally release much of it overnight....
By Kelsey Jencso Record-breaking January and February temperatures, early snowmelt, thawed soils across the plains, rain-on-snow flooding, and earlier-than-normal streamflow peaks have producers, water managers, and firefighters concerned about the rest of the year. Their concerns highlight an important gap between what we know with high confidence about Montana’s changing climate and what we can predict in any given season. The current US Drought Monitor shows approximately 86% of Montana in d...
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...
In the early days of the Soviet revolution, the Bolsheviks persecuted the Russian Orthodox Church. They shut down and destroyed churches, sent priests to gulags, and decreased the total number of operating churches from tens of thousands to a couple hundred. The remaining churches mainly continued to exist because they were remote and rural, thus difficult to keep closed. In the early days of WW2, a strange thing took place. In the face of repeated defeats at the hands of the Germans, Stalin revived the Russian church. He allowed its...
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 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 2...
Managing Nuisance Ants in and Around the Home Information for this article was written by Patrick Beauzay, NDSU Entomologist. 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...
By Your Accidental Journalist As Independence Day approaches, the sights and sounds of fireworks once again become part of summer in Montana. Fireworks are a long-standing tradition that help us celebrate our nation’s birthday, but they also bring responsibility. Whether you’re lighting fireworks in town, out on the prairie, or gathering with friends and family for a backyard celebration, a little courtesy and safety awareness can go a long way toward ensuring everyone enjoys the holiday. While fireworks can be exciting for children and adu...
GREAT FALLS, Mont., June 17, 2026 — Montana wildfire season is here, and the American Red Cross is urging families to take simple steps now to protect themselves and their loved ones. “Wildfires move fast and can leave little time to get to safety,” said Scott O’Connell, regional disaster officer for the Red Cross of Montana, Idaho and East Oregon. “Make sure you have an evacuation plan and practice it with everyone in your household. Taking a few simple steps today can make all the difference t...
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...
From Northern Montana Health Care People having trouble sleeping or having issues like daytime drowsiness may be suffering from a common and potentially serious condition called sleep apnea – and a lab right in Havre can diagnose and find treatment for it. The Hi-Line Sleep Disorders Center at Northern Montana Health Care is an American Academy of Sleep Medicine-certified laboratory that can find out if people have sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, giving a report to their doctor to prescribe the best treatment to try to solve the p...
New World Screwworm Confirmation: The Bad and the Good News Article was written by Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist. For many months producers and markets have operated under the threat of New World Screwworm (NWS) coming into the U.S. Now that it’s here, we can get on with the reality of dealing with it. The bad news is that NWS will be costly and a management headache for affected producers and those nearby, along with industry and agency folks tasked with controlling and eradicating the p...
By Your Accidental Journalist After months of dry conditions and growing concern about drought across the Big Sandy area, residents were greeted with a welcome change over the weekend as widespread rainfall soaked fields, filled reservoirs, and replenished creeks throughout the region. Reports from around Big Sandy, the surrounding prairie, and the Bear Paw Mountains indicate that many locations received between three and four inches of rain during the three-day weather event. Even more...
EARLY SEASON FUNGICIDE ON WHEAT Information for this article was written by Andrew Friskop from NDSU Extension Plant Pathology. The complete article is located at https://bit.ly/4vm5mHP. Cereal crops residue-borne diseases such as tan spot and Stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB) are the primary targets for early-season fungicide application. Tan spot is more common than SNB in North Dakota (ND), but both diseases have shown a downward trend in prevalence in ND wheat fields over the past eight years. This can be largely attributed to the use of ma...
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 the 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...