The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

A salinity control seminar will take place on Wednesday, October, 28 at 9:00 a.m. at the Highwood Community Center and will include an afternoon field tour of a ground water investigation for a saline seep reclamation project on the Highwood Bench. The tour will be weather permitting. A $10.00 fee will be charged at the door to cover the cost of lunch and refreshments.

The Highwood Bench is noted for the research conducted since the 1960’s to define the cause for dryland saline seep problems. At one time over 20,000 acres were saline-affected on the Highwood Bench. Through intensive cropping systems and perennial forage production, the problem was almost eliminated. However, the salinity problems are increasing in recent years due to the precipitation patterns and the return to crop-fallow cropping systems.

Agenda

9:00 -10:00 Jane Holzer / MSCA Program Director/Agronomist and Scott Brown MSCA Assistant Director and Soil Scientist will explain dryland saline seep development and reclamation techniques. Explain what a shallow ground water investigation entails and how that will define ground water flow direction and the recharge area for specific saline seeps. In addition, Scott will talk about saline seep acreage progression with and without CRP.

10:00 - 10:30 Holly Taylor / Chouteau County NRCS will discuss Conservation Reserve Program for salinity control and merits of retaining perennial forage on saline acres when the remaining portion of the field is rotated back to cropland. Use historical aerial photos to help make management decisions with CRP forage when contract expire.

10:30-10:40 Break

10:40-11:30 Mark Majerus /NRCS-Plant Materials Center

will talk about salt-tolerant forage establishment.

11:30-12:00 Kate Binzen Fuller/ MSU Agricultural Extension Economist will inform producers about a new decision tool from MSU. The decision tool provides producers with the opportunity to do an efficient economic comparison between winter wheat and alfalfa.

12:00-12:30 Lunch

12:30-1:30 Grower panel with three Highwood Alkali control association members, and Marvin Miller/ retired Hydrologist from the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. Marvin is responsible for the initial saline seep ground water investigations on the Highwood Bench in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

1:30 MSCA spreadsheet, announcements and tour of wells at Bough site on the Highwood Bench

Montana State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.