AG Mag Fall 2021

FALL 2021

In this issue

M A G A Z I N E

Winter farming From classroom to farm seed saving: preserving the future

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in this issue Winter farming................................... 5 From classroom to farm......................... 8 Seed saving: preserving the future........ 12 Do your part in keeping weeds out....... 15 Apple boom left its mark..................... 16 Options to feed cattle over winter......... 21

MAGAZINE

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Agriculture Magazine is published by the Ravalli Republic & Missoulian Newspapers, divisions of Lee Enterprises Jim Strauss, Publisher Perry Backus, Associate Editor Kathy Kelleher, Todd Kenley & Joe Weston, Sales Agriculture Magazine is copyright 2021, Ravalli Republic.

232 W Main, Hamilton, MT 59840 ravallirepublic.com

Page 4 - Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021

PHOTO courtesy of Montana Historical Society

Hamilton Transportation Company plane flying over downtown Hamilton

Photo by addie Slanger

Max Smith, 31, stands for a portrait overlooking his farm, Missoula Grain and Vegetable. The crop production science major founded the operation in 2013 after he graduated from Montana State University. Passionate about soil science, Smith aims to specialize in winter farming — growing crops year-round rather than in the usual May-October window.

Sustaining life: Winter farming at Missoula Grain and Vegetable Addie Slanger Ravalli Republic

Some years ago, Max Smith took a break from farming to work as a remover for a funeral home. Each day, he was in charge of moving bodies from houses and retirement facilities and hospice centers to his place of work, to be prepped for their funeral service.

The job made the now-farm owner intimately familiar with the cycles of life and death.

“You see a lot of death that way. It actually really prepared me for all the things we experience out here too. It’s not humans, but it’s life,” Smith said. “I’m just at peace with the fact that this is all very temporary. I can shrug stuff off a little bit easier. And I realize how much work goes into keeping things alive.”

Page 6 - Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021

Smith is the founder of Missoula Grain and Vegetable, a farm south of Stevensville that services the Bitterroot Valley and Missoula. The Garden City native, who studied crop production science at Montana State University, created his farm after his graduation in 2013.

While the 31-year-old has been autonomously farming since then, his agricultural experience started even earlier.

Before college, he worked with family friends on a farm in Moiese, Montana, and as a picker for the Dixon Melon company.

After those few forays in the industry, he knew it was where he wanted to stay. Smith was interested in soil science specifically, how to sustainably and effectively utilize the soil he’s farming.

“I tried to figure out a lot of the scientific topics behind agriculture,” he said. “I had some really great professors who got me kind of philosophically interested in the work as a means of solving agricultural problems, like preservation and land management and soil management.”

He got tired of bouncing from farm to farm in his studies, and wanted to put his skills to test on his own. So when he had the chance to create his self-described “workers co-op,” Missoula Grain and Vegetable, he jumped at the opportunity.

The farm sets itself apart from other Montana agriculture operations by specializing in winter farming. While most farms in the state run from May to October, Smith, his partners and employees grow produce well into February and March.

They sell winter veggies at the Missoula winter market on Saturdays, as well as ship their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes — a program where farms send subscribers weekly or bi-weekly boxes with the week’s seasonal produce — through February.

It was important to Smith that he was able to cater to a different niche market in Montana agriculture.

“What we see in the [winter] crops, if we’re successful in keeping them alive, is that they exude a lot of sugars to protect themselves. So they end up tasting better,” he said. “People discover that about the crops. And it’s so much more pleasurable to do the work at that time of year when a lot of other farms drop out, because you’re respected for doing something that’s almost magical.”

His farming partner and girlfriend of six years, Katelyn Madden, thought Smith’s passion for soil science has been key in allowing Missoula Grain and Vegetable to have a successful winter season.

“I think that [Max’s] farming approach is really based in soil science. And I think that’s another reason why our farm has excelled in certain areas, because we focus on soil health,” Madden said.

Madden, 28, came to Montana from the East Coast, where winter growing and season extension is, perhaps understandably, a lot more common. She was drawn to Montana for its agriculture and the winter ski season, but wanted to provide a different service than existing farms.

“Coming here, I knew I wanted to grow the pie, and provide food in a different way than it was already being done,” she said. “I like the winter growing, and doing year-round growing, because there’s not really an end point. It just continues on.”

“And I think that that’s allowed us to really improve our employment situation,” Madden added.

The farm’s nine employees all make $15 an hour or more, Smith said, and he and his partners are working on bumping that up to $20. It was important to Smith that his staff make a livable wage, since the farm prospers under their services.

Photo by addie Slanger

Katelyn Madden, 28, poses for a photo in one of the farm’s greenhouses. Originally from the east coast, Madden came to Montana wanting to provide a new agricultural service. Missoula Grain and Vegetable’s winter farming gave her the perfect opportunity to fill a niche in the industry.

Both Smith and Madden were drawn to this work to cultivate a connection with and appreciation of the land we live on. And even more than that, the human connection that comes with working long hours in harsh conditions fostering life.

There’s a certain kind of mutual understanding shared through good, healthy food, Madden said.

“I think I was drawn to the work initially because it solves a lot of systemic problems we have in our society,” she said. “I think even if you disagree with someone politically, if you feed them good tasting food, you can at least agree on that.”

For Smith, the two went hand-in-hand — an appreciation of the land helped foster intimate human connections.

“One of the big things for me is that I think a lot of folks are disconnected from nature — even in Montana — and

from the natural systems that support our lives,” he said. But here, on the farm, he finds he’s able to connect with the land and the people.

“The process of this work, for me, is the process that I enjoy relating to other people the best. It’s what I enjoy, it’s what I want to talk about, it’s what I want to have relationships with everybody around me, it’s through this work,” he said. “I find a lot of meaning in the relationships out here.”

Smith is familiar with being present for life and death cycles. Sharing that with his partners is not only special, but vital for the survival of the farm.

“We’re interacting with nature in a really visceral way, and all together, and if the community is solid and we’re observing things correctly, it really improves people’s relationships. And if something falters, we feel it together.”AG

Photo by addie Slanger

Laura Jacobsen, 25, stands for a portrait in a greenhouse at the Homestead Organics farm outside of Hamilton. The Stanford graduate has been the adult intern at Homestead Organics since early spring to get hands-on experience in sustainability and farming. After this experience, she hopes to remain in the agriculture world, ideally in Montana.

From classroom to farm: connecting education with action Addie Slanger Ravalli Republic

A herd of 40 teenage turkeys rushed at Laura Jacobsen immediately after she opened the door of their enclosure. It was raining softly on the Homestead Organics farm outside of Hamilton, and the birds had been locked up so they didn’t get wet and muddy.

“Oh hi guys. Hi,” Jacobsen, 25, said in greeting to her babies. The turkeys seemed elated to be out of their kennel and into the uncharacteristically cool August weather.

Jacobsen, one of the many students who graduated into

a post-pandemic world, is an adult intern at Homestead Organics. With undergraduate and graduate degrees in science, technology and society and sustainability science — both from Stanford — the Park City, Utah, native had been itching to get some practical, hands-on experience.

As a girl, Jacobsen loved animals. She had always wanted to own goats, chickens, turkeys or pigs. Her very first job in high school was at a dairy farm in Utah.

“I think it wasn’t until I was older though, in my studies in sustainability, that I just kept coming back to the way food connects with everything. It connects with health, it connects

Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021 - Page 9

with culture, it connects with community, it connects with sustainability,” she said.

After graduating, that feeling persisted, especially as she sat in front of her computer working first for a tech company then conducting policy research.

“Before this, I was working on some policy stuff,” Jacobsen said.

She was based in San Francisco and working remotely. “It was the middle of COVID and I was feeling really disconnected from what actually drew me to this work.”

“So I really wanted to come learn about farming and get my hands dirty and do some of the work on the ground,” she continued. “I really wanted to learn how to grow food.”

Photo by addie Slanger She began cold-calling Montana Jacobsen greets the group of over 40 turkeys she’s currently raising on the farm. “They think farms this spring. No stranger to of me like their mom,” she said. Unfortunately, Jacobsen said with a laugh, these turkeys are the state, Jacobsen’s dad had lived in Thanksgiving turkeys. So it’s important not to get too connected.

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Page 10 - Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021

Youth Farm Interns are learning, working and serving as counselors for the younger student camps at Homestead Organics Farm in this file photo.

known she wanted to find a way back.

That’s how she came in contact with Homestead Organics.

“It was very happenstance that [Laura] ended up finding us,” said Laura Garber, owner and founder of Homestead Organics. “We connected really quickly when she started talking to us, and we invited her to come be a part of the farm immediately when we met her. And we’ll be continuing to do [the adult intern program] now that we’ve had her and remembered how great it is.”

Homestead Organics is a 15-acre farm situated southeast of Hamilton, off the Skalkaho Highway. Founded by Garber and her husband Henry 13 years ago, the farm is host to a variety

of organizations and activities — not to mention the expansive array of seasonal fruits and vegetables.

The farm grounds host the nonprofit Cultivating Connections, through which the farm’s high school Youth Farm Intern Program is held. In this program, high school interns work over the summer to put together Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes — a national program where farms send subscribers weekly or bi-weekly boxes with the week’s seasonal produce.

Included in those subscription boxes is a weekly newsletter, written by Jacobsen, that provides a relevant recipe utilizing the week’s fruit and veggies.

Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021 - Page 11

Along with the CSA initiative, high schoolers are responsible for putting together over 100 salads for the farm’s Salads for Seniors program, where salads are sent out to Hamilton’s retirement homes. Jacobsen is in charge of coordinating the high schoolers’ efforts.

The Youth Farm Intern Program is one of many activities held in partnership with Homestead Organics. The farm also hosts an activity day for children with special needs, said Jacobsen, where participants come to take in the sights, smells and sounds of Homestead Organics.

Additionally, a new preschool is gearing up to start its first year situated on the farm. Both Garber and Jacobsen are excited to have the children on the Homestead Organics campus.

Time at the farm has been rehabilitating for Jacobsen, who lives in her trailer on the farm land and eats farm-grown fruit and vegetables for every meal.

“For me personally, this experience has been really about connecting with what brings me joy,” she said. “I think that for a long time, I tried to intellectualize, like, ‘How do we solve all of these problems in our agriculture system?’ And coming here and learning to farm and grow food and connect with the community, it’s really just brought me a lot of joy. And it’s helped me feel a lot more connected to what I’m doing.”

The disconnect she felt in her studies and while working

her first jobs out of university has quieted here in Hamilton.

Being physically present in the world she cares about is healing, in a way. “[Education] can definitely feel really disconnected from reality,” Jacobsen said. “There were a lot of things from my education I felt like I could bring with me, but being on the farm is a whole new type of education that I think is equally if not more important.”

“People like Laura, she has all this amazing education, and now we’re able to offer the real-world application of that,” farm owner Garber said. “It’s really important for people to have a connection to their food and a connection to the land and to the farmer.”

This experience has been formative for Jacobsen. She’ll stay at Homestead Organics until October, when the traditional farming season ends in Montana. After that, like so many twenty-somethings in this pandemic-afflicted world, she doesn’t quite know what comes next. But she thinks she wants to try to stay on a farm, ideally somewhere in Montana.

And who knows? Maybe soon enough she’ll be running her own operation.

“It’s definitely been kind of a reorientation for what I want to do and how I want to live my life.” she said. “I definitely want to continue on this path and figure out a way that I can maybe have my own farm one day.”AG

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Homestead Organics Farm co-operator Laura Garber shows some of this year’s seeds hanging in her drying shed before they are cleaned and shared with the Triple Divide Organic Seed Cooperative that has 10 member farms across Montana.

Seed saving: preserving the future by stewarding the present MICHELLE MCCONNAHA Ravalli Republic

Homestead Organics Farm, Inc. a fourteen-acre certified organic farm just south of Hamilton is part of the Triple Divide Organic Seed Cooperative with 10-member farms across Montana.

Members must be certified organic in Montana and follow safe standards for growing seeds.

“It is a group of organic farmers in Montana that all wanted to grow seeds for Montana gardeners and farmers,” said Homestead Organics Farm co-operator Laura Garber. “We share seed-saving knowledge, the best practices for seed growing and since we’re a coop, we each steward different seeds.”

Homestead Organics has been stewarding about 34 crops including the Yellowstone Carrot.

“We grow it, plant the seeds, harvest the best roots and replant them,” Garber said. “We are maintaining the Yellowstone Carrot. No one grower could grow everything a gardener would want because of cross-pollination. We have to have separation and by having 10 different members we can each grow some of the crops and together we have a full catalog.”

This year the Triple Divide Organic Seed Cooperative has 150 varieties of seeds. Every co-op member is growing a different variety of carrot so Triple Divide customers can select which type they enjoy best.

Being a good steward means being selective with seed selec-

Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021 - Page 13

tion and choosing wisely for diversity, longevity, taste, color, shape and heartiness.

“We’re growing open-pollinated seeds, which means nonhybrid seeds,” Garber said. “These are seeds that have been grown for many, many years. Our grandmothers saved seeds, our great-grandmothers saved seeds. It’s a long-standing tradition for humans that we’ve only forgotten about in the last 50 years.”

She said allowing large corporate seed houses to take over seed growing doesn’t make sense.

“We’re letting someone else be in charge of the most important part of our food system,” Garber said. “It is food insecurity if you don’t have your own seeds. It is important to save seeds to maintain the diversity of seeds and to maintain the access to all these different food plants.”

She said small seed companies are being bought up by large

seed companies and when large companies decide not to offer a certain variety then it disappears.

“We went from 100s of varieties of corn in the United States to growing only a handful of varieties,” Garber said.

“Where is that genetic diversity that would help us adapt to a changing climate? We’ve lost it.”

Crops that have a high profit or are easy to harvest mechanically are what is left.

Financially, for Homestead Organics, growing diverse and stewarded seeds while belonging to the Triple Divide Seed Co-op is good.

For example, if HO sold their seeds to a seed company, they would be paid by the pound but with Triple Divide, HO is paid by the packet that is sold.

“We sell packets of seeds to the retailer like to a health food

Photo by MICHELLE MCCONNAHA

Homestead Organics Farm co-operator Laura Garber shows some of this year’s seeds hanging in her drying shed before they are cleaned and shared with the Triple Divide Organic Seed Cooperative that has 10 member farms across Montana.

Page 14 - Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021

store, or Ace Hardware, or Usually, seed cleaning is done Lakeland Seeds [Lakeland by hand using screens and a Feed & Supply], or to box fan. Triple Divide recently Homestead Organics to purchased three Winnow sell at the farmers marWizards for their co-op seed ket,” Garber said. “The sorting. retailer pays the co-op “It has the fan, blower and about $2 a packet and all the different screens in one then the co-op pays the unit,” Garber said. “It has producer fifty cents for multiple screens so you get each packet that is sold or your seeds clean in one round 75 cents for each packet instead of eight rounds. We of a biennial that is sold.” haven’t tried it yet.”

She said making fifty Homestead Organics cents per packet through the co-op is better than and the Community Food the possible two cents she & Agriculture Coalition are would make from a seed presenting a Seed Saving company.

Workshop 4-6 p.m. on “Because they are buyWednesday, Oct. 13. ing it by the pound,” The workshop is part of a Garber said. “So, as a series of presentations called co-op, we are able to keep Building a Stronger Bitterroot the profits in the farmer’s about creating an integrated hands instead of in an Food Cycle focused on soil industry.” health. It can be attended The 2020 crops had without attending the other record seed sales.

Photo by MICHELLE MCCONNAHA workshop in the series.

“Part of that was Covid Beans are perfect for teaching kids about the seed cycle. “We but part is that people The workshop has a $20 seeded beans with homeschool kids, transplanted them with Youth are getting excited about suggested donation. Register Farm interns, gave away many with our May Day gardens and, what they can grow in by Oct. 10 at www.mishopefully, the kindergarteners will come harvest,” Laura Garber Montana,” Garber said. said. soulacfac.org and attend at “Triple Divide offers tried, Homestead Organics Farm, true and stewarded seeds 175 Skalkaho Hwy, Hamilton. that are good for growing in Montana.”

The workshop has a 50-person limit class size.

Selective harvesting of seeds is done at the right time and “But we’re happy to talk about seed saving to anyone, anyat HO usually in labeled pillowcases. She saves seeds from a time,” Garber said. “We are really excited for people to save wider selection of a plant. their own seeds. Seeds are the future and the past. We’re so “I’m not going to save from three plants but from 300 so I lucky to be in a career where we test our success by just taking get the genetic diversity of all those plants, so as we continue a bite.”” there is more resilience in the seed stock,” she said.

For more on Triple Divide visit tripledivideseeds.com.AG Cleaning the seeds is the larger effort and challenge.

Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021 - Page 15

Weed free hay is required for anyone taking livestock into the backcountry.

Photo by MICHELLE MCCONNAHA

Do your part in keeping weeds out the Bitterroot Valley KELLIEANN MORRIS Ravalli County Weed District

Don’t be that person that makes or increases noxious weeds in our beautiful valley.

Noxious weeds have a destructive impact on Montana’s landscape, displacing native plant species, increasing soil erosion, and decreasing wildlife habitat as well as compromising recreational values. Preventing the spread of noxious weeds in our county is vital for the health of our environment, livestock and wildlife.

One way to help reduce noxious weeds is to only use certified noxious weed seed free forage, which is required when horses or pack animals are used on public land in Montana.

You must feed your animals certified weed free hay at least three days before you take them on any county, state, or federal lands to ensure any previously consumed weed seeds pass

Page 16 - Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021

through the animal and are not deposited out on the land.

This is also a great practice to do on your own property.

This year has been extremely challenging to forage producers and buyers. Wild fires, natural rainfall, and grasshoppers have wreaked havoc on this year’s crops and because of that prices for forage has increased dramatically. However buying cheap feed will only cause you heartache in the future. Cheap forage is usually chocked full of noxious weeds. Then for many years in the future you will spend lots of time, money, and back-breaking labor trying to get them off of our property.

Montana agricultural producers strive to find adequate feed for livestock during severe drought conditions and a damaging wildfire season, the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) has issued some guidance for out-of-county or state shipments of hay to prevent the spread of noxious weeds and other invasive pests.

“The need for hay far outweighs our supply right now in Montana,” said Acting Director Christy Clark. “We recognize the need to find hay for our producers, but there can be some very serious consequences if we don’t do our due diligence in making sure that hay donations and shipments from other states aren’t bringing weeds and insects that are not currently present in Montana with them.”

Hay being transported from other states and counties has

the potential to introduce or spread noxious and invasive weed species, insect pests, and plant diseases. Here are some best management practices to mitigate and prevent their introduction and spread: • Ask and or look at the field where the hay was grown, and use certified weed free forage when possible feed hay in an area that can be easily monitored for new weeds for several years.

• Coordinate with your local weed district or MSU Extension office to monitor areas and identify unknown weeds and pests.

• Control weeds before they produce seed, and defer moving livestock through any area with a new weed species until it is removed or contained.

Ravalli County has several landowners that grow and sell certified weed seed free forage.

Please do your part in protecting our landscapes for wildlife, livestock, and future generations and don’t be the person that increases noxious weed populations or introduces a new species that will cost us all thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to eradicate from our beautiful Bitterroot Valley.

There are many resources right here at home to help you in your venture of reducing and treating noxious weeds. Call your Ravalli County Weed District at 406-777-5842 or the Ravalli County Extension office at 406-375-6611. AG

Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021 - Page 17

Leafy spurge

Photo cpourtesy of the Ravalli County Museum

The idea of raising apples as a focused enterprise grew slowly in the Bitterroot Valley, until in 1891, 10,000 fruit trees were shipped to the Bitter Root from a nursery at Payette, Idaho. By 1896, The Bitter Root Orchard Co. had the largest apple orchard in the world with 40,000 trees on 380 acres of land.

Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021 - Page 19

Apple boom left its mark on the Bitterroot Valley MICHELLE NOWLING Ravalli County Museum Director

Montana was one of the last frontiers of the United States to experience migration from the East and Midwest.

For newcomers, the Bitter Root Valley was a paradise for those who worked the land and profited from agricultural commodities. The growing season in the valley permitted the raising of many varieties of fruits, vegetables, and grains.

Among the varieties of produce grown commercially, apples was one of the most prominent. Often called the “Apple Boom,” the years of abundant apple production left their mark in the Bitter Root Valley. The promise of apples as a profitable enterprise had a hand in the building of the “Big Ditch” to bring irrigation water to fields and orchards, the planning and establishing of new communities and the fame of the Bitter Root McIntosh Red apple. While the Apple Boom was relatively short-lived, its legacy lives on.

The first apple trees in the Bitter Root Valley were planted at St. Mary’s Mission by Jesuit priests in the 1840s and Stevensville-area apple production began in earnest in the late 1870s. Area residents raised mainly crab apples, but experimented with many varieties.

The idea of raising apples as a focused enterprise grew slowly, until in 1891, 10,000 fruit trees were shipped to the

For the first two decades of the 20th century, the Apple Boom in the Bitterroot Valley seemed destined to continue, with yields rising, orchards expanding and prices remaining high.

In 1921 the boom hit its peak with 637 boxcars of apples being shipped out by rail in one season

Bitter Root from a nursery at Payette, Idaho. By 1896, The Bitter Root Orchard Co. had the largest apple orchard in the world with 40,000 trees on 380 acres of land.

One of the more popular varieties in the valley was the McIntosh Red. The McIntosh was chosen because it ripened extremely well in the Bitter Root climate. The early frost, usually in early September, sets the tartness of the apple, making it very flavorful.

Other varieties more native to the Yakima Valley in Washington did not adapt well to Montana’s growing season.

By the turn of the century, many of the valley’s apple producers began exhibiting their produce at state and regional fairs and expositions. This furthered the idea that McIntosh apples could be a major crop of the valley.

With the completion of the Big Ditch bringing more water to the valley, an extensive advertising campaign was started to bring more investors to the Bitter Root. Boxes of McIntosh apples and other locally raised fruit were shipped to Chicago and other larger cities.

Many brochures told of how a person could invest a small sum of money in a choice parcel of land, plant McIntosh apple trees, and then wait. In five years the trees would bear fruit that would be promoted with agricultural products of other investors, to be sold all over the world.

Page 20 - Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021

All of this sounded like the perfect opportunity for anyone with a few dollars to spare, and many either invested from a distance or packed up lives and families to move to the Bitter Root and try their hand at apple growing.

For the first two decades of the 20th century, the Apple Boom seemed destined to continue, with yields rising, orchards expanding and prices remaining high. In 1921 the boom hit its peak with 637 boxcars of apples being shipped out by rail in one season.

Unfortunately, as often happens with “booms” there was also a “bust.” Three consecutively devastating years brought hail damage, and late frosts. By the spring of 1924, when a hard freeze damaged not only buds, but trees themselves, the small returns from apples resulted in many losing their life savings and orchard lands went up for taxes.

There was an exodus of farmers who had gambled their futures on the Apple Boom, but those who stayed did succeed with what they planned and they helped create a thriving agricultural area.

Many former fruit growers sought prosperity through dairy

farming or truck gardening. Others began raising beef cattle and grain crops. Still others moved closer to the valley’s small urban area and became skilled at various trades, but a few commercial apple orchards are scattered throughout the valley.

Outside of established orchards, you can find McIntosh apple trees in many yards and fields all over Ravalli County.

These trees stand as a testament to the heritage of apple growing in the Bitter Root, and the pioneering spirit of those who worked to build the Apple Boom, one tree at a time.

On October 2nd, the Ravalli County Museum in Hamilton is proud to host its 42nd annual McIntosh Apple Days festival. This community event celebrates the cultural heritage of the Apple Boom and McIntosh Apples in the Bitter Root Valley. With McIntosh apple pies, apple butter, apple cider and more available for sale, live music, children’s activities, a raffle, silent auction, food and craft vendor booths and more, Apple Day is a celebration of the history of the valley and everything apple! AG

On October 2nd, the Ravalli County Museum in Hamilton is proud to host its 42nd annual McIntosh Apple Days festival. This community event celebrates the cultural heritage of the Apple Boom and McIntosh Apples in the Bitter Root Valley. With McIntosh apple pies, apple butter, apple cider and more available for sale, live music, children’s activities, a raffle, silent auction, food and craft vendor booths and more.

This is a difficult year for all livestock producers due to drought, grasshoppers and fires. With these challenges comes the difficulty of feeding livestock not only throughout the summer/fall, but then into winter and the following spring.

Looking for options to feed cattle through fall and winter Megan Van Emon Extension Beef Cattle Specialist

This is a difficult year for all livestock producers, drought, grasshoppers, fire, etc.

With these challenges comes the difficulty of feeding livestock not only throughout the summer/fall, but then into winter and the following spring. Feed costs already account for about 70% of annual input costs for livestock producers, and this year will be more due to reduction in feed availability leading to increased cost.

There are options available for livestock producers, but these options are limited to location and availability. This year many producers are relying on grazing of cereal grains for additional feed and considering alternative feeds for fall and winter. The main concerns with feeding these alternatives are amount that can be fed and the potential for nitrates.

Nitrates accumulate in stressed plants, such as in drought, and can cause nitrate toxicity in cattle. Nitrates typically accumulate in the bottom 1/3 of the stem portion, which is a less palatable portion of the plant compared to the heads and

Page 22 - Agriculture Magazine, Fall, 2021

leaves. However, when grazing cereal grains or feeding cereal grain hay, a nitrate test should be completed to determine how risky it will be to feed to cattle.

Most local Extension Agents have the ability to test for nitrates using the Nitrate Strip Test, which is a quantitative measurement, meaning that an approximate concentration of nitrates in the sample can be provided. Nitrate concentrations will decrease as the plant matures, but once nitrate accumulating plants are cut, nitrates will not dissipate unless they are ensiled. If you are going to graze cereal grains that may contain nitrates, there are a few things to consider.

1. Turn out cattle later in the day when they are full and not hungry.

2. If there are high nitrate concentrations, less stocking density should be used so that the field can be grazed lightly and cattle will have the ability to select for the tops and leaves of the plants.

3. If feeding high nitrate forages, make sure to test the water for nitrate levels as well. Water and forage nitrates are additive, meaning nitrate toxicity could occur even if water nitrate levels are relatively low.

4. If higher nitrate feeds are fed, provide an additional energy source to the cattle to help with the conversion of nitrate to ammonia. Do NOT feed NPN (non-protein nitrogen) during times of high nitrates. Make sure the protein portion of the feed is all-natural protein.

5. Monitor cattle closely when feeding nitrate containing feeds. If any adverse effects are observed, remove the cattle immediately from the field and provide non-nitrate containing feeds.

6. If at all possible, when feeding high nitrate feeds, feed cattle with less risk, such as steers or non-pregnant heifers.

High levels of nitrates can cause abortion.

Drought stricken pastures are of low-quality, meaning they have low protein, minerals and energy and high fiber. Feeding a good-quality mineral during drought can help mitigate

potential issues at a later date. Minerals are essential to maintaining cattle health and production.

Montana pastures on an average have limited concentrations of copper, zinc, and manganese and require mineral supplements. During drought the concentrations of these three trace minerals may be extremely low, which may lead to mineral deficiency if not provided. Minerals are an expensive portion of feed inputs each year and should not be sacrificed to save on these input costs.

Other alternative feeds that may be available are wheat midds, corn, barley, and wheat. All of these feeds are good sources of protein and energy, but care must be taken when feeding. Corn, barley, and wheat are highly digestible in the rumen and could potentially lead to acidosis or bloat if fed at too high level in the diet too quickly. Adapt cattle to grains over a period of time to allow the rumen to adapt to the new feedstuff. Wheat midds are a good source of energy and protein and provide these through digestible fiber and not starch.

Straw can be fed to cattle as long as a good-quality forage is fed with it, this will minimize compaction issues. Straw in mature cows can be fed up to 50% of the diet until the 3rd trimester and then straw should be limited to 25% of the diet. Straw should be limited during the 3rd trimester due to rumen capacity limitations and the increase in requirements.

Straw should not be fed during lactation due to the large increase in nutrient requirements.

Straw can also be fed to first-calf heifers at 25% of the diet until the 3rdtrimester. Straw is not recommended during the 3rdtrimester and lactation for first-calf heifers. Feeding straw can help stretch limited hay supplies. We can work together to create a good mix of straw and good-quality hay to prolong the use of higher quality hay.

This year is going to be a tough year when feeding livestock and many different feeding strategies will be employed. We can work together to develop feeding strategies that will work for your operation. AG

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design - install - repair Reinke Center Pivots Wheel Line, Hand Line & Big Guns Aluminum & Buried Mainline Hose Reel Machines Irrigation Pumps Pod Systems

SHIPPING AVAILABLE 1316 EAStSIdE HWY CORVALLIS, Mt 59828

406-363-3599 mainline@valleyirrigation.net / www.valleyirrigation.net

• The commercial building has 18 booth spaces • The Art building has seating for up to 100 and there are various Barns for animal shows and clinics • The First Interstate Bank building is 16,000 square feet and great for family reunions, civic and community activities, fundraisers, private parties and more!

• There is a full size arena for horse show, team penning, roping and open riding • The front Lawn is a great place for open air markets, car shows, family or class reunions, and dog shows • Mandy Park for birthday parties, outdoor concerts and company picnics!

We have the facility for your next event!

100 Old Corvallis road Hamilton, MT

406.363.3411

www.ravalli.us/200/Fairgrounds