Trader's Dispatch - April 2023

Gardening and windbreak programs

Have your gardens and windbreaks struggled the last couple of years due to extreme weather events? Between fires, drought, and no rain for long periods of time in Western Nebraska, gardeners and producers are wondering how to keep windbreaks alive, and gardens producing. If you have questions, Nebraska Extension has a series of programs to help anyone learn how to cope with these extremes.

Join us for the “Gardening in Weather Extremes” and “Windbreaks for Livestock and Energy Savings” in Imperial and Grant coming up in April and May. Each program will be taught in a relaxed, roundtable format over coffee and conversation from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in each location. David Lott, Horticulture Educator and Randy Saner, Livestock Educator from North Platte, will be teaching these programs with updates and recommendations for renovating and keeping windbreaks and gardens alive and productive now and in the future.

The general public is welcome and encouraged to also bring their questions. If someone has a question, other participants may have the same or similar question they would like answered. Here is list of the program’s dates and locations for each community.

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UPCOMING AUCTIONS

First annual conference for small pork producers

MSU Extension and Montana Pork Producers Council are hosting the first annual “Montana Small Pork Producer Conference” in Great Falls on Saturday, April 29 from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at Montana ExpoPark’s Family Living Center in Great Falls. The conference is an opportunity for pork producers, 4-H members, FFA members, and others to come together to learn about swine genetics, pork production, herd health, and pork recipes. Local chefs will prepare pork dishes for all attendees after a morning of learning and education.

Livingston MT .. A11

Apr 28 - 29, Shobe Auction & Realty, Sam Short Estate, Lewistown MT ... A13

May 1, Clark & Associates Land Broker, Finger Buttes Ranch, Belle Fourche, SD ............................................................................................................ A15

May 3 - 24, Ascent Auction Service, Late Spring Belgrade MT Equipment & Vehicles, Online ....................................................................................... A21

May 6, Fritz Auction, Lowell Skunberg Estate, Online A17

May 6, Springhill Auctioneers, James “Jim” Midboe, Shelby MT .............. A13

May 10, RK Statewide Auction, Prairie County Land, Circle MT B6

May 20, Weaver Auctions, Annual Spring Consignment, Drummond MT .. A10

May 20, Shobe Auction & Realty, Cabin Fever - Jim Woodburn Estate, Lewistown MT ............................................................................................................ A18

May 20, Logan Auction Services, Inc., SG Miller Ranch Liquidation, Clyde Park MT ............................................................................................................ A11

Upcoming, Big Mountain Auctions, Spring Farm & Consignment, Online...A26

MWBC board to meet

The Montana Wheat and Barley Committee Board will meet on Tuesday, April 11th, from 1:00pm to 7:00pm for the Research Review and Wednesday, April 12th, 2023, from 8:00am to 1:00pm for the board meeting.

You may participate in-person at MSU, 138 Animal Bioscience Building or virtually. Please email Tammy at tsuek@mt.gov to receive the Zoom information. Only the board meeting will be virtual.

The public is invited to participate at the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee board meetings. To view an agenda for the meeting and learn more about the committee, visit the department’s website at montanawbc.com.

For information to join the meeting virtually, please contact the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee at 406761-7732 or by email at wbc@mt.gov.

The conference schedule is as follows:

9:30 a.m. Registration

10:00 a.m. Randy Shipley, Shipley Swine Genetics

11:30 a.m. Pork Lunch

12:30 p.m. Anna Forseth, DVM; National Pork Producers

1:30 p.m. Pork Processing Panel

2:30 p.m. Food Stations

3:30 p.m. Adjourn

PRODUCTION SALES

Apr 19, Milk River Angus, Chinook MT A9

Featured speakers are Randy Shipley and Anna Forseth, DVM, MS. Randy Shipley is the owner of Shipley Swine Genetics and Shipley Genetics Boar Studs in Ohio. His farm has 150 sows and 60 head of boars. Randy sells 850 to 1000 bred gilts and 7,000 boxes of semen a year as well as ships semen from coast to coast. Randy started his business in 1968 and married his wife, Sandi, 7 years later. Sandi and Randy’s daughter with their son-in-law joined the business in 2008. Anna Forseth, DVM, MS is the Director of Animal Health with the National Pork Producers Council. She oversees foreign animal disease prevention and preparedness, antibiotic use and resistance, welfare issues, and other pre-harvest topics.

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Conrad’s Utterback School held an ag day where students had to research how animals in agriculture are used as food, in everyday products etc. Some students did “wax museum presentations” on people inportant to the invention of agriculture machinery, fertilizer, etc.

For Sale! Registered Irish Black Bulls

Sleeping Willow Ranch ~ Stevensville, Montana

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FADC Program funding

The Montana Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the Food and Agriculture Development Center (FADC) Grant Program. Approximately $1,100,000 in funds are available for the two-year period of this grant; MDA plans to award multiple grants from these funds. Activities must develop Montana’s food processing infrastructure, support emerging agriculture technologies, or enhance opportunities to expand Montana’s agricultural economy. Please visit the Food and Agriculture Development Network page for a complete list of funding opportunity guidelines and eligibility requirements.

Spring cooking series

Join MSU Extension Yellowstone County for a spring cooking series and explore a different perspective on healthy eating each month. Heart Healthy Cooking on April 25; Cooking for 1 or 2 on May 31; and Main Course Salads on June 15.

Registration required, $15/class fee, space is limited. For details and to register, visit montana.edu/extension/ yellowstone or contact MSU Extension Agent Sara Fluer at 406-256-2828.

First annual pork conference

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

A Montana native who grew up on the family’s farrow-tofinish swine operation, Forseth received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from MSU, her DVM from Colorado State University, and a master’s in veterinary preventive medicine from Iowa State University.

Registration, which includes lunch, is $40 per attendee and requested by April 19. To register and for more information, call MSU Extension in Cascade County at 406-454-6980 or email Rose Malisani, MSU Extension agriculture agent in Cascade County, at rose.malisani@montana.edu.

Gardening and windbreak

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April 17 - Windbreak Program, Chase County Extension 6:30-8:30 p.m., Mountain Time

May 8 - Gardening Program, Perkins County Extension, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time

Timed ONLINE ONLY FARM EQUIPMENT DISPERSAL AUCTION

Bids will begin closing Wednesday, April 19th at 1:00 pm (MDT)

Proceeds from this auction will be donated to Friends of the Hamilton High School Foundation – Dale Kraft, owner

Please register through the https://go.unl.edu/perkinschase web link for one of more of these program locations. Please RSVP for each program one week prior to each program date. A nominal fee is required to pay for educational material and coffee supplies.

If anyone has any questions about the gardening and windbreak programs, please send an email to dlott2@unl.edu, call the Extension Office in North Platte at (308) 532-2683, or call the Extension Office in Imperial at (308) 882-4731.

THE TRADER’S DISPATCH (USPS 019-793)

APRIL 2023 — Vol. XXIV No. 3

Deadline for May issue

WEDNESDAY, April 26.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Trader’s Dispatch, PO Box 997, Conrad, MT 59425-0997

Items can be viewed at 850 Oil Well Road, Corvallis, MT - Call for appointment

Online auction catalog can be reviewed at www.gardnersauction.com or www.gardnersauction.hibid.com – 5% Buyer’s Premium

Sale conducted by www.gardnersauction.com

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Missoula, MT

Jean Aaberg, production Geri Aaberg, circulation Kathy Peterson, ad layout Suzy Benzing, ad layout Office Phone 406-271-5533 FAX 406-271-5727

e-mail: advertising@tradersdispatch.com www.tradersdispatch.com

Notice: Advertisers purchase space and circulation only. All property rights to any advertisements produced for the advertiser by Trader’s Dispatch, using artwork or typography

We have graphic designers available to build your ad, simply send us ad copy along with any photos you wish to include. Photos should be high resolution sent as JPGs. No thumbnail photos please.

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Registration opens for 2023

Nebraska Ranch Practicum

By

Troy Walz, Nebraska Extension Educator

Ranchers interested in learning about the latest cuttingedge research in range livestock production from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln are encouraged to register for the 2023 Nebraska Ranch Practicum offered by Nebraska Extension.

The practicum will be held during eight sessions over the course of three seasons in order to cover the production cycle of livestock and forage resources. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about a variety of topics, including the effective use of decision support tools to evaluate management and marketing alternatives, plant identification, range condition and grazing strategies, wildlife management, evaluation of cow body condition scores, and beef cattle production systems.

The practicum will be held June 6 and 7, July 6, September 6 and 7, and November 2, 2023; and January 9 and 10, 2024. Classroom activities will open and close the practicum in North Platte with the remainder of the classes conducted at the University of Nebraska’s Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, a working ranch with education and research facilities, near Whitman.

The practicum can count for college or continuing education credit.

The registration fee is $675. The fee for a spouse is an additional $350. Registration covers educational materials, noon meals and breaks. Participants are responsible for travel and lodging expenses. The practicum can count for college or continuing education credit.

To register, submit a completed application and registration fee by May 3. Applications will not be accepted after that date. Enrollment is limited to 35 participants. Applicants will be notified of their status no later than May 19. Refunds will be issued if space is not available.

To learn more or register, visit https://nebraskaranchpracticum.unl.edu/ or contact Troy Walz at 308-872-6831 or troy.walz@unl.edu.

No change in Dicamba cutoff date in Nebraska

By Amit JhalaExtension Weed Management Specialist

Dicamba-resistant soybean, also known as Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean, or XtendFlex soybean are grown in Nebraska. Three dicamba-based herbicides — Engenia, Tavium, and XtendiMax — are labeled for application in Roundup Ready 2 Xtend and XtendFlex soybean. XtendiMax can be applied pre-plant, pre-emergence or post-emergence until R1 (beginning of flowering) soybean growth stage or June 30, whichever comes first. In-crop application of Tavium can be made over-the-top of dicamba-resistant soybeans through V4 growth stage or up to and including June 30, whichever comes first.

A recent change in dicamba cut-off date by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in a few states created questions among soybean growers in Nebraska about cutoff date of dicamba in Nebraska for 2023 growing season.

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As per the new label, cutoff date for over-the-top dicamba application in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana will be June 12 or the V4 soybean growth stage, whichever comes first. The label sets the new application cutoff date for South Dakota is on June 20, rather than the previous cutoff of June 30.

“At this late date, Nebraska producers have already made their 2023 planting decisions and have likely purchased seed and pesticide products to implement their plans,” Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton said. “The proposed early cutoff date of June 12 for dicamba use would negatively impact this growing season for many farmers in Nebraska. We appreciate the U.S. EPA retaining the June 30 cutoff date for this year in Nebraska.”

Therefore, there is no change for applying these three dicamba products in soybean and the cutoff date of June 30 will continue for the 2023 growing season in Nebraska.

Note that dicamba products (Engenia, Tavium and XtendiMax) are Restricted Use Pesticides — for use only by certified applicators. Dicamba spray application training is required before applying these products. Here are the links for online training:

Engenia: https://www.engeniaherbicide.com/training.html

Tavium: https://www.syngenta-us.com/herbicides/tavium-application-stewardship

XtendiMax: https://www.roundupreadyxtend.com/ stewardship/pages/default.aspx

Sheep workshop scheduled for

April 15

North Dakota State University Extension will host a spring workshop for sheep producers on April 15 at Carrington, North Dakota. Topics include lamb nutrition, flock health and producer-to-consumer marketing

Youth with an interest in sheep production also are invited to attend.

“We are excited to provide interactive discussions of sheep production-related topics,” says Travis Hoffman, NDSU and University of Minnesota Extension sheep specialist. “A wide variety of topics will assist sheep enthusiasts with their operations for 2023.

The morning sessions will begin at 11 a.m. CDT at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center, which is located at 663 US-281, three and a half miles north of Carrington.

In the afternoon, the program will transition to a tour with interactive discussion at the Jared Higgins farm, 1321 62nd Ave SE, Woodworth, North Dakota.

“A highlight of our sheep workshop is doing an on-farm visit,” says Karl Hoppe, NDSU Extension livestock systems specialist. “Gathering ideas, seeing other facilities and visiting with other sheep producers on production concerns is always informative.

Presenters include Hoffman, Hoppe, Higgins and Dr. Gerald Stokka, NDSU Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist.

The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, visit ndsu.ag/sheepworkshop.

The Great Steppe

A steppe is a grassy plain that can be flat or hilly. The Great Steppe in Europe and Asia is a vast expanse bordered by the Black Sea that extends over Russia, eastern Europe, and former Soviet republics Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Historically, it was home to nomadic tribes and conquering hordes on horseback.

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Promising applications for drones/UAVs to improve Idaho crop production

By Eva Nambi and Olga S. Walsh, University of Idaho

With the challenge of the growing population, rural poverty, and natural resource management, public awareness about sustainable practices in food production has become prominent. It is also estimated that we will need to increase global food production by 60-100% to cope with this growing population. This calls for updating current agricultural practices to double the world’s food production which would require clearing of approximately one billion hectares of land including rainforests and savannas. It is therefore evident that clearing more land is not the best solution to increase food production, but precision agriculture may be more promising.

Precision agriculture is a farming management strategy based on observing, measuring and responding to temporal and spatial variability to improve agricultural production sustainability. Precision Agriculture is one of the most extensive markets for the UAVs. These have become increasingly widespread in recent years for various agricultural applications. UAVs are remote sensing systems which enable to capture crop reflectance in the VIS-NIR region of spectrum to access crop development and assess N concentration. High spatial and temporal resolution images acquired with UAVs are valuable for many agri-culturerelated purposes. Mounted on the UAVs, sensors and cameras enable time-efficient examination of large fields to evaluate crop parameters contributing to yield and quality in various growing environments. The UAVS are greatly advantageous in terms of low cost, high flexibility for flight planning and data acquisition scheduling, and operation below cloud cover making them a useful tool to study crop biophysical parameters. This is mainly because vegetation reflects certain types of light depending on its nutritional and health status (Nambi et al., 2022). In this article we summarize the different aspects in which drones can be beneficial to Idaho farmers.

1. Scouting farms

UAVs can be used to scout large fields of crops to scout out where crops are too wet, too dry, too diseased or too infested with pests. In addition, farmers may also use drones for taking stand counts and measure plant height. In other words, drones allow you to identify issues in the field before setting foot in the field. This way you’re able to quantify and tag issues in an automatic report, then monitor the effect of treatment plans over the course of the season. In addition, drones have the ability to detect the different types of light reflected by crops allowing farmers to identify specific nutrient deficiencies and even detect diseases before they become severe enough to be visible to the naked eye (Nambi et al., 2022).

2. Applying chemicals

Drones can also be used to apply herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and even seeds. This comes after the field has been surveyed so that farmers could use that data to narrow the areas that need treatment. If a plot of farmland is infested with weeds, for example, a farmer could spray a small amount of herbicide just in that area, instead of an entire field, to kill them. Farmers hope that they eventually could use drones to do the spraying.

Kevin Price of the Iowa-based drone company RoboFlight Systems says that kind of precision would put farmers at a huge advantage, helping them reduce the costs of chemicals and their application.

This is beneficial in terms of covering more area at lower costs as well as reduction on the adverse effects some chemicals could cause to the environment as drones are more efficient.

3. Gathering data for precision agriculture.

This involves mapping out the field to generate crop Health Maps to generate variable rate prescriptions and quantify the benefit of your services pre- and post-treatment applications. This helps the producer in terms of minimizing costs by focusing on only the infected areas. Also, Producers may use field maps to see the geography of their field prior to any field operations. Under this category also there two types of maps that may be created including, red green and blue maps and NDVI maps.

4. Irrigation.

This is very beneficial before and after planting to track irrigation. After planting has been done, spectral or thermal imaging from above can be used to tell which plant received water and which one did not. This way you are able to look out for such spots for better management. Idaho being a semiarid agricultural system where irrigation is almost inevitable, using UAVs to scout large fields could benefit farmers other than spending hours walking around to identify dry spots.

5. Insurance and Yield Estimates: Agriculture insurance protects producers if they experience any losses or damage in their crops or livestock. In a situation where a field experiences drought, floods, unseasonable frosts, or other natural disasters, it can be difficult to demonstrate your losses quickly and accurately. Data from UAVs documenting the pre- and post-disaster status of your crops and livestock, as well as an informed prediction of the reduction in estimated yields, can help you quickly and smoothly navigate insurance procedures. Idaho being a dryland especially in the summer months where wildfires are rampant, this technology could be very beneficial.

6. Crop health assessment

Drones, if equipped with a multispectral camera, can create Vegetation Index (VI) maps to reveal critical information about your crops. One common VI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) can show which plants are healthy, and which plants are not. NDVI is calculated based on the amount of near-infrared (NIR) light reflected from the leaves of your crops. Healthy leaves reflect more NIR light, while sickly, stressed, or dehydrated leaves absorb more NIR light. A NDVI map captured and generated by a drone, depending on its resolution, can show you which parts of your fields, which plants, or even which parts of individual plants need your attention.

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Spring Horse Management webinar series

Horse owners and stable managers will have the opportunity to learn management strategies and ask questions during a webinar series that North Dakota State University Extension is hosting at noon CDT on April 12, 19, 26 and May 3.

Topics will include grazing considerations for spring and early summer, fencing for horses, considerations for traveling with your horse, and arena and barn footing management.

“Management of your grazing resources early in the year can help you extend the grazing season while making sure your horse is getting the best nutrition at appropriate times,” says Rachel Wald, NDSU Extension’s agriculture and natural resources agent in McHenry County. “Some of the best practices include resting pastures and allowing for regrowth between grazing events and to have a plan before turnout to allow for adequate rest on grazed acres.”

“Learning about various fencing strategies for horses can help us be effective and efficient with managing feed resources,” says Mary Keena, Extension livestock environmental management specialist at NDSU’s Carrington Research Extension Center. “Fencing strategies can also help with manure and parasite management.”

“As summer rolls around, horse owners are more frequently hauling their horse to events across the state and nation,” says Paige Brummund, NDSU Extension’s agriculture and natural resources agent in Ward County. “All horse owners should know the best management practices for traveling with their horse. Additionally, managing the footing materials and surfaces of riding areas and horse housing facilities is important. Ensuring good drainage, the proper amount of cushion and grip are all key factors in selecting footing materials.”

The webinar presenters are NDSU Extension specialists and agents.

Pigs

Pigs, a common farm animal, are thought to be the 4th most intelligent animal, after chimps, dolphins, and elephants. A group of pigs is called a sounder. Pigs can also run 11 miles per hour, which is faster than a 6-minute mile.

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Hazardous occupations safety courses for teens across Nebraska

Nebraska Extension and Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, have announced dates for the annual “tractor safety” training courses scheduled at sites across Nebraska in early June. Students will complete the first day of the course by attending online training through the eXtension Foundation Campus website. The required driving test will be offered on June 1 in Gering and June 5 in Gordon.

Federal law prohibits children under 16 years of age from using certain equipment on a farm unless their parents or legal guardians own the farm. However, certification received through the course grants an exemption to the law allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to drive a tractor and to do field work with certain mechanized equipment.

Teens 14 or 15 years of age who work on farms, or others who are interested in learning about safe farming practices, are encouraged to register for the certification course. Students under age 14 are not eligible for certification. Children under 14 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

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The online course will cover the required elements of the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program, including quizzes that students must pass to attend the driving portion of training. Once registered, students will be sent instructions, materials, course paperwork, and a link to the online course.

The onsite driving training and exam will include a driving test, equipment operation, and ATV safety lessons. Students must demonstrate competence in hitching and unhitching equipment and driving a tractor and trailer through a standardized course. Instructors will also offer education about safe behaviors and laws for ATVs, utility-task vehicles (UTVs), and other off-road vehicles (ORVs).

The course costs $35 and includes educational materials, the online learning link, and supplies. Payment will be made at the time of the driving exam. Only checks and cash can be accepted.

Tractor Driving Days

• June 1 – Legacy of the Plains Museum, 2930 Old Oregon Trail in Gering Contacts: John Thomas at jthomas2@unl. edu or Stacy Brown at sbrown7@unl.edu, 308-632-1480

• June 5 – Gordon Fairgrounds, 613 E. 3rd Street, Gordon Contacts: Marie Nelson at mnelson82@unl.edu 308-3272312 or John Thomas at jthomas2@unl.edu

To register visit, go.unl.edu/2023tractorsafety

2023 Spring and summer grazing

By Jerry Volesky, UNL

After a long winter of feeding hay, livestock producers are anxious for spring and the start of grass growth in their pastures. Last year’s drought conditions across the state left most pastures heavily used and short. A good sign is that longer-term precipitation forecasts for this spring are looking a little more optimistic. Now is the time to have a plan in place for you spring and summer grazing.

It is known that the combination of drought and heavy grazing from last year can lead to reduced pasture production this year, even if we get near normal rainfall. Because of this, some reduction in stocking rate may be necessary. Another management recommendation that can be difficult to implement is to delay turnout this spring. This will allow those grasses to accumulate some growth and help in the recovery process. This has also been shown to result in more total forage production from those pastures. Another management tip for native pastures that were grazed first and into July in the 2022 season; is to defer grazing of those pastures until later in the summer.

On native pastures, dominated by warm-season grasses, flash grazing, or quickly rotating through a number of pastures in spring is also a method of capitalizing on early coolseason grass and weed growth. Remember that this must be for a short period of time and does not alter the suggestion of delaying turnout to your primary summer pastures. Producers might also consider seeded annual forages as another option that can be used to supplement any grazing needs. Planning ahead can help make your forage season run smoothly.

Minerals for beef cows

The most important source of minerals for beef cows comes from the pasture and forages they are grazing since these feeds contribute the highest percentage of the diet. These feeds are, in fact, good sources of most of the required minerals. The values in Table 1 are the requirements (NRC, 1986) of most major minerals for beef cows. The results of Table 2 indicate the pasture tested would be a suitable source for both calcium and phosphorus for most classes of

Penn State Extension cattle. The most important issues for mineral nutrition for grazing cattle are the need for additional sodium in many locations. The lack of selenium in many soils in the Northeast, and the reduction of magnesium in lush, fast-growing pastures in early spring may require additional supplementation of these necessary nutrients. Many times trace-mineralized salt blocks are an insufficient source of the necessary minerals other than salt.

CONTINUED ON PAGE A14

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Minerals for beef cows

CONTINUED FROM PAGE A13

Calcium

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, and is an integral part bone and nerve tissue. Most well-managed pastures will have adequate calcium, and legumes will have more calcium than grasses (alfalfa can contain 1% calcium or more.) Grains and weathered forages will be low in calcium.

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The most important feature of calcium nutrition is the ratio of calcium to phosphorus. The ideal Ca:P ratio is 1.5 to 2.0:1.0. If the ration is inverted and phosphorus exceeds calcium, absorption of calcium in the digestive tract is reduced, and the animal will metabolize calcium and phosphorus from bone. This can result in less bone growth, brittle bones, and “water belly” or kidney stones. Given the amounts and ratio of Ca:P for the pasture in Table 2, the amount and the ratio are correct, so no additional calcium is needed. For a more mature, poorly managed pasture, this may not be the case and additional calcium would be needed as part of a mineral mixture. A good source of calcium is limestone.

Phosphorus

is lush grass growth and cool, wet weather and is caused by a deficiency of magnesium to the cattle. The disease is characterized by a staggering gait, nervousness, and death of the animal. It usually occurs in older cows, and death can result in a matter of hours after the onset of symptoms. Producers who observe these symptoms should call a vet immediately to administer magnesium intravenously. It is important to provide a magnesium supplement in a free-choice mineral mixture during periods of high potential for grass tetany. Magnesium oxide and Epsom salts are two sources of magnesium for these mixtures, palatability is extremely low therefore for adequate consumption magnesium sources must be mixed with dried molasses, salt, ground corn or water to make sure there is adequate intake. Proper liming of pastures is also a hedge against magnesium deficiency.

Selenium

Many soils in the Northeast are deficient in selenium, and this can result in white muscle disease and reductions of disease immunity in calves. Many producers in the region routinely administer selenium injections to newborn calves. Selenium can be a part of a free-choice mineral mixture, but a commercially-prepared mix is probably more desirable. Excessive selenium is dangerous to animals and the environment. The amount of selenium needed in a mixture is so small (0.2 parts per million/cow/day) that proper mixing may not be achieved in small batches made at home. A commerciallyavailable selenium source for home mixes usually contains about 0.06% selenium and can be used to formulate a mineral mixture.

Other mineral issues

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$109,900

1998 Cat TH183, enclosed cab with heat, unknown hours, 3-way steering, frame tilt, hydraulic fork lift, joy stick controls, nice air filled tires, 48” forks, 48” carriage, 8000 lb. lift, 42-ft. reach, serviced and jos site ready. Located in Spearfish, SD $44,900

2005 Bobcat S300 skid steer, 3130 hours, enclosed cab with heat and AC, hand/food controls, 2 speed travel, auxiliary electrics, manual coupler, nice tires, 81 hp, 3000 lb. operating lift, 6000 lb. tip load, nice condition, just serviced. Located in Spearfish, SD...$32,900

2013 Case 621F, 4655 hours, enclosed cab with heat and AC, ride control, reversing fan, JRB hydraulic coupler, auxiliary hydraulics, 3 CY bucket, very nice radial tires, has been through our shop, all repairs have been done, just serviced, the loader is in excellent condition and job site ready. Located in Spearfish, SD. $109,900

2008 Cat 924H, 9840 hours, enclosed cab with heat and AC, cloth air ride seat, auxiliary hydraulics, hydraulic quick coupler, 3 CY bucket, pallet forks, this loader is in excellent condition, serviced and job site ready. Located in Spearfish, SD. $94,900

2007 Deere 650J LT 4250 hours, EROPS with heat and air conditioning, cloth air ride seat, 6 way PAT 105” blade, 3 shank ripper, sweeps, rear window/AC guarding, undercarriage approximately 65%, has been through the shop and all repairs have been done, just serviced. Located in Spearfish, SD. $99,500

Phosphorus is found in many parts of the animal’s body, and is an important part of energy transfer. Deficiencies of phosphorus have long been associated with reproductive problems with cattle, and in many cases phosphorus was overfed as a hedge against these problems . However, recent research with dairy cattle has shown that reproduction is not compromised if the adequate amount and ratio of phosphorus is added to the diet. Excess phosphorus in the diet is excreted through feces, and overfeeding has become a major issue for phosphorusbased nutrient management. For beef cows, phosphorus requirements are relatively low, and, like calcium, are met with wellmanaged pastures. Phosphorus in forages is also depleted with increased maturity of plants, drought conditions, and winter grazing. Because of a higher cost than other macro-nutrients, phosphorus can be fed at varying rates based on forage quality and availability.

Potassium

Most forages are adequate to excessive in potassium content, and the needs of grazing cattle are generally met. One possible result of excessive potassium is usually associated with grazing legumes in grass-legume pastures or in grasses in early spring, is a reduction in magnesium intake that results in grass tetany.

Magnesium

Magnesium is an important mineral for grazing cattle because of the association with grass tetany. Grass tetany is usually seen in cattle in the early spring when there

Distillers grains and corn gluten feeds have high levels of sulfur and this must be accounted for in formulating rations. Sulfur and copper in water is additive with amounts found in feeds. Organic and chelated minerals have been widely tested, but there are no consistent results to indicate these forms of minerals will be more beneficial than the mineralized forms. Additionally sheep are extremely sensitive to copper. If sheep and cattle are managed together in similar fields the copper level in mineral supplement will need to be limited to an acceptable level for sheep.

As mentioned earlier to control mineral costs and overfeeding forage and soil testing along with fecal testing should be completed prior to supplementing minerals. Admittedly liver biopsies provide the most accurate reflection of mineral absorption. However the challenge with collecting samples and the cost of conducting the analysis may be prohibitive to using these sampling techniques.

There was lots of interest in Ashley Kent’s Ag Negotiations Class at Montana’s Next Generation Conference. Participants learned various negotiation style and how to apply it to their farm or ranch.

Photo by Kari Lewis.

Winter survival in alfalfa

By Ben Beckman, UNL

The time for spring planting alfalfa is just around the corner, and selecting the right seed is crucial. Two traits we should take extra time to consider are fall dormancy and winter survival. These traits are often treated the same, but are different. Today let’s look at winter survival.

Winter survival or winter hardiness is the ability for an alfalfa plant to make it through winter without injury, once the plant goes dormant. This is different than the fall dormancy rating that measures the alfalfa’s ability to prepare for and recover from dormancy. Winter survival is measured on a 1 to 6 scale with 1 being extremely hardy and 6 not hardy. For Nebraska, a winter survival rating of 3 is about as high as we want to go.

As temperatures drop and days shorten, alfalfa plants change their physiology to survive freezing temperatures and make it through winter. While increased hardiness can result in reduced yield potential, for a high dollar perennial forage, having a full stand year after year is better in the long run.

In the past, winter survival traits were linked with fall dormancy. With new varieties, this isn’t always the case, so winter survival needs to be evaluated on its own.

We want to pick a winter survival ranking that will get us through winter without compromising yield. Where you are in the state plays a big role in what to pick. Winter temperatures affect the choice, but maintained snow cover is also important. As snow can help insulate the ground, parts of the state that regularly have open winters may need as high or higher survival rating than colder locations with winter-long snow cover.

Bottom line for Nebraska, a winter survival rating of 3 is about as high as we want to go and areas with open winters or regularly colder temperatures should be even lower.

##### Today, O Lord, I’m leaving behind my old baggage–guilt and grief–and picking up gratitude.

#####

Lord, my checking account is empty. How can this be? Oh! I subracted instead of added in the ledger. Whew!

If you have items you want advertised in the May 2023 issue THE VERY LATEST WE CAN ACCEPT THEM is

26th.

GOLDEN TRIANGLE SEEDS

Joplin

FINGER BUTTES RANCH

ALZADA, CARTER COUNTY, MONTANA AUCTION

MAY 1, 2023 @ 1:00 PM

MOOSE LODGE, 399 STANLEY ST, BELLE FOURCHE SD

RANCH LOCATION: The finger Buttes Ranch is located approximately 23 miles north of Alzada, MT on Hwy 323.

RANCH DESCRIPTON: The Finger Buttes Ranch is centered in the heart of the strong grass cattle country of eastern Montana and the western Dakotas. Consisting of 7,716+ deeded acres, 640+ State of Montana lease acres (98 AUM’s) and 1,561+ BLM acres,(299 AUM’s) for a total of 9,917 acres The land is comprised of rolling hills and flat-top buttes with minimal unproductive ground. Approximately 3,560+ acres are tillable with over 1,000 acres currently planted to mixtures of grass and alfalfa for grazing and haying. Underground pipelines provide water to numerous tanks located throughout the ranch in addition to multiple seasonal reservoirs. The ranch includes two homes, corrals, livestock barns, grain bins and two Quonsets. Southeast Montana is well known for large populations of mule deer and whitetail deer, as well as antelope and upland birds, of which Finger Buttes ranch has a strong population of each. There is an active Equip Program in place that may allow for the construction of additional pipeline, water tanks and fencing if the new owner qualifies. In addition, there approximately a total of 2000 FSA (1,950+ Wheat Base Acres) base acres on the ranch. The ranch will be offered in 2 tracts as well as one complete unit, selling in the manner realizing the greatest return to the Seller

FINGER BUTTES RANCH WEST PARCEL: West Finger Buttes Ranch consists of 2,800+ total acres: 2,360± deeded acres, 440+ BLM acres (80 AUM’s) fenced into four pastures. There are 1,052 acres of tillable ground of which approximately 532.5 acres has been planted in 2021 to hay/grass introducing perennial grass and legume. The balance of the tillable acres is already in hay/grazing production. Water is provided from dams and reservoirs located throughout the ranch. There are no improvements.

FINGER BUTTES HEADQUARTERS PARCEL: The Finger Buttes Headquarters consists of 5,356.48+ deeded acres, 640+ State of Montana lease acres and roughly 1,121 BLM acres (219 AUM’s) for a total of 7,117 acres. The ranch is fenced into 10 pastures. There are currently 2,437.4 acres of tillable ground with 258.5+ acres in hay/grazing production. Improvements include two houses, calving barn, pipe corrals, two Quonsets, grain bins, and other outbuildings. A 2,900-foot water well supplies water to several tanks located throughout the ranch.

AUCTION TERMS:

EARNEST MONEY: At the conclusion of the auction, the successful bidder shall make a 10% nonrefundable earnest money deposit, with the balance due in cash or certified funds at closing. CLOSING: Closing to take place on or before June 1, 2023. TAXES: All 2022 and previous years taxes shall be paid by Seller. The 2023 taxes shall be prorated to the day of closing. All subsequent years taxes shall be paid by Buyer. INSPECTIONS: The property will be sold in “As-Is” condition without any warranties, either expressed or implied, as to the nature, condition, or description of any improvements. Buyer shall inspect property to the extent deemed necessary and shall rely upon own judgment when bidding. FINANCING: Property sells without Buyer contingency of any kind. Please have all financial arrangements secured prior to bidding. LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Property sold by legal description only, which will be included in the owner’s title insurance commitment that will be provided by Security Abstract, Miles City, Montana, and made available on or before the day of the auction. Acreages and square footages are approximate and determined by the Carter County Assessor and /or Treasurer. CLOSING COSTS: Closing firm’s fee shall be shared equally between the Buyer and Seller. Security Abstract, Miles City, Montana shall be the closing agent. Buyer and Seller shall be responsible for their own closing costs as customary. GENERAL

TERMS: Property will be transferred by Warranty Deed subject to easements, assessments, and reservations of record. The Auctioneers/Brokers are representing the Seller’s interests as the Seller’s Agent in this transaction. Please see the Real Estate Brokerage Disclosure for agency relationship definitions. All information is derived from sources deemed reliable; however, neither Seller nor Auctioneers/Brokers are making any guaranties or warranties, actual or implied. Any announcements made day of auction supersede any and all previously printed material and any other oral statements made. METHOD OF SALE: The ranch will be offered in 2 tracts as well as one complete unit, selling in the manner realizing the greatest return to the Seller. Seller shall require an all cash sale. The Seller reserves the right to effectuate a 1031 tax-deferred exchange.

RGB ANGUS

Cattle AI Class and Breeding Days

For youth interested in cattle breeding, the University of Wyoming Extension will offer artificial insemination (AI) classes in Campbell and Fremont Counties on May 6, followed by breeding days in June.

“AI Days is geared toward kids who want to get their livestock bred,” says Chance Marshall, a UW Extension educator and co-organizer of the event. “Adults can attend, but the event is primarily for 4-H members and youth with livestock who want to build their herds or have specific breeding goals.”

The AI program is open to youth across Wyoming and surrounding states. The program may be of particular interest to 4-H’ers participating in the commercial cow contest, Marshall notes.

The educational workshops in May will cover nutrition, breeding selection, AI protocol and pregnancy testing. These classroom sessions will take place 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Campbell County Extension office in Gillette and Fremont County Extension office in Riverton.

Cattle breeding days, in which youth will artificially inseminate their cattle under Marshall’s guidance, will take place on June 5 in Campbell County and on June 6 in Fremont County.

“AI Days is about learning what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how to do it,” Marshall explains. “We’ll go through the breeding process on the education day and then we’ll get all the animals together and breed them.”

To register for the event, visit http://tiny.cc/23cattleai. Registration, which reserves lunch and supplies for the May 6 class, closes on April 21.

Payment for breeding is required on May 6. The cost is $25/head for up to four females; to breed additional animals, the cost is $50/head.

4x4, 6.2 liter gas, vinyl floor, cloth seats, power windows, locks and mirrors, solid front axle, manual hubs, locking differential $33,999

For youth interested in AI for sheep and goats, classes and breeding days will be offered in July and August 2023.

The AI Days program received funding from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation and Farm Credit Services of America. The program is organized and led by Marshall and fellow UW Extension educators Kim Fry and Amanda HitshewSmall.

Contact Marshall at (307) 332-1018 or cmarsha1@uwyo. edu for more information on Fremont County AI programming. Contact Kim Fry at (307) 682-7281 or Kim.Fry@ campbellcountywy.gov for more information on Campbell County programming.

Crew

4x4, 6.0L gas engine, 6 speed shiftable automatic, power seat, 8-ft. long box with spray in bed liner, aluminum wheels, new tires, factory trailer tow package $39,999

Private pesticide applicator initial training offered

MSU Extension-Cascade County will be offering an Initial Private applicator training in Great Falls on Monday, May 15, 2023. The training will be at Montana ExpoPark’s Family Living Center and begin at 8:30 a.m. with registration. The training will end at 5:15 p.m.

Crew

4x4 dually with 9-ft. flatbed, 6 new tires, 6.7 liter diesel, 1 owner, no accident, gooseneck ball, 16,500 lb GVW, pulling beast. NADA RETAIL is $49,950 OUR PRICE $45,999

Individuals and their employees must be licensed as a private applicator prior to purchasing and using restricted use pesticides on land they own, rent, or lease. For applicators to acquire their private applicator license, they must either attend an Initial Private applicator training or pass the 50-question, open-book, graded, Montana Private Applicator Certification Exam at their local Extension office.

Crew

4x4, 8-ft. box, vinyl floor, cloth seats, power windows, locks and mirros, 11,000 lb GVW, 3.73 gears, bed liner, 20 inch tires and wheels $33,999

Due to the Coronavirus we are unsure of business hours. So if you have questions, or want to schedule an appointment, please call or text Brian on his cell phone: 406-868-4309 between 9 am - 6 pm. Thanks!

Speakers include Makayla Paul, MSU Extension-Meagher County; Colleen Pegar, MSU Extension-Hill County; Jesse Fulbright, MSU Extension-Liberty County; Kari Lewis, MSU Extension-Glacier County; Jake Degenstein, Montana Department of Agriculture; and Rose Malisani, MSU Extension-Cascade County.

The Initial Private applicator training is open to the public. Individuals who have a current Private Applicator license will receive 6 Private Applicator recertification credits. Individuals not holding a Private Applicator license will be licensed as Private Applicators at the program.

New applicators will need to fill out a new applicator permit with fee and mail to Montana Department of Agriculture after the training. Licensing fees are based upon a five-year recertification period. To find out more about the Private Applicator program, go to www.pesticides.montana.edu.

Individuals interested in the training need to register by Friday, May 12, 2023, to the MSU Extension-Cascade County office. Lunch will be roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy, fixings, dessert, and a beverage. Registration fee includes lunch and training materials. Contact Rose Malisani at (406) 454-6980 for more information or to register.

2018 GMC Sierra 3500HD SLE

cab,

2016 Ford F350 XLT 1 Ton

cab,

2017 RAM 4500

cab,

2015 Ford F350 XLT 1-ton, super cab, long box,

2017 Ford F250 XL Supercab, 4x4, long box, vinyl floor, cloth seats, 6.2 litre engine, 6 speed automatic transmission $39,999

2016 Chevrolet 3500 HD Crew cab 4x4 dually with 9-ft. aluminum flatbed that has 18” foldable sidewalls, dual gas tanks, 6 brand new tires,6.0 liter gas engine, great landscaping truck. $42,999

2013 Ford F350 Supercab, 4x4 with 8-ft. Knapheide utility box and light duty crane, 6.7 liter Powerstroke diesel, new tires, great running truck $39,999

2006 Chevrolet 2500HD Regular cab, 4x4 work truck with 8-ft. Knapheide utility box with 6 locking storage compartments and top load storage. 113,800 miles on 6.0 gas, previously owned by Red Cross. $22,999

2013 Ford F250 XL Regular cab,

liter engine that runs off propane, only

miles, cloth seat, vinyl floor, power windows, locks

2017 Chevrolet 3500HD Double cab, 4x4 dually with 9-ft. utility box and pipe rack, excellent condition, new tires, 6.0 litre gas engine, 89,500

$44,999

2016 Ford T150

Low roof cargo van, racks in back, padded vinyl cargo floor, less than 77,000 miles, ready to go. $31,999

Preview - May 4 & 5, 9:00-5:00 Load-out May 8 & 17, 9:00-5:00

6 MILES SOUTH ON HWY 223, CHESTER, MT

SEEDING AND LAND PREP

1999 CONCORD 4012 3R air drill, 40’, 12” spacing, single chute, walking beam rubber packers, CONCORD 2300 cart, 92/138 bushel split tank, 8” auger, low-profile.

JOHN DEERE 9400 drills, 4-10’, 10” spacing, rubber packers, fert boxes, accu-point, 4 place hitch.

1 drill hitch, fits 9400 or 9450s.

FLEXI-COIL 2340 cart frame with 1600 gallon liquid fertilizer tank.

JOHN DEERE 1610 chisel plow, 40’, 1 1/4” shanks, hydraulic single wingup.

JOHN DEERE disk, 32’, 20” disks, hydraulic, manual fold.

EDWARDS plow, 24’, winglift.

TRUCK, TRAILERS AND PICKUPS

1990 KENWORTH T600 semi, 12.7L Detroit Series 60, Eaton Fuller 10 speed, 50,000 GVW, 16,355 Chassi, 416,906 miles.

2004 KENWORTH tandem truck, CAT 3406, automatic, 20’ box, full back door open, roll tarp, tag axle, 52,000 GVW, 886,562 miles.

1979 FORD 700 single-axle truck, V8, 4 Speed Hi/Lo, 15’ Knapheide box, Shur-Loc roll tarp, 21,000 GVW, 10714 miles.

1976 CHEVROLET C62 SCOTTSDALE single-axle truck, V8, 5 Speed Hi/Lo, 17’ Omaha Standard box, Shur-Loc roll tarp, 23,160 GVW, 92707 miles.

2009 NEVILLE BUILT grain trailer, 40’, roll tarp, 68,000 GVW.

2011 CHEVROLET SIVERARDO C150 pickup, 1/2 ton, 4.3L, automatic, single cab, 8’ box, 2WD, 102K+ miles.

1993 FORD 3/4 ton pickup box trailer, storage box, sells WITHOUT shuttle.

AUCTIONEERS NOTE: Lowell fell in love with Montana farming but unfortunately passed due to illness. His family would now like to share his passion by offering this well-maintained, shedded, full line of equipment. We pulled everything straight out of storage to picture. Due to limited parking and wi-fi, this sale will be online only. You will still hear our voices as we live chat the closing starting at 11:00 am on May 6 on equipmentfacts.com. Be sure to register early, at least two days prior and read all of the terms and conditions. You can inspect items and hear them run on May 4 & 5. We will be available to help load on May 8 & 17 only. Mileage and hours listed are numbers from odometer and should be used as a reference only. Give us a call if you have questions.

Jim, Dena and crew

HARVEST AND GRAIN HANDLING

2011 JOHN DEERE 9770 STS combine, Bullet rotor, chopper, spreaders, bin extensions, eng hrs 1923, sep hrs 1398.

1982 JOHN DEERE 8820 TURBO combine, John Deere 230 header, 30’, bat reel, auger feed, eng hrs: 3819.7

Combine trailer 15.5’, 2 5/8 ball.

JOHN DEERE 8820 combine parts, miscellaneous.

2003 JOHN DEERE 936D draper header, 36’, single drive, pick-up reel, canvas, slow speed transport.

2005 CASE IH 2020 flex header, 35’, double drive, short teeth on reel.

1999 HONEY BEE HB36 header, 36’ bat reel, 18” off-set, older JOHN DEERE adapter, airbag float, transport.

JOHN DEERE 965 header trailer, 30’. WEST COUNTRY reel replacement, 36’, center reel, 6 reel tines, still in crate.

WESTFIELD auger, 10x72, low profile swing out, 540 PTO.

SAKUNDIAK HD10-1600 auger, 10x50, 540 PTO.

WESTFIELD W80 auger, 8x61, 540 PTO, good flighting.

BUHLER FARM KING 831 auger, 8x31, Honda 24V twin motor, Wheatheart bin sweep attachment.

MISCELLANEOUS

JOHN DEERE MX15 rotary mower, 15’, NEVER BEEN USED, 540 PTO, double wing-up.

TEBBEN 94-600 3-point mower, 6’, 540 PTO.

2014 HONDA RANCHER 4-wheeler, 325, NO TITLE, 2WD

TROY BILT XP power washer, Honda GCV190, 3000 PSI, 2.7 GPM.

Diesel tank, 1000 gallon. Gas tank, 500 gallon.

Slip tank, 100 gallon, Fill-rite 15gpm, 12V pump.

15W-40 motor oil, 4-5 gallon buckets, unopened.

JOHN DEERE Trans-Hydraulic Fluid, 5-5 gallon buckets, unopened.

BRIGGS & STRATTON Water pump, 3 Hp, 2”. Water tank, 1500 gallon. APOLLO welder, 220.

TRACTORS

1984 JOHN DEERE 8650 tractor, 4 range/4 speed/2R, articulating, 3 remotes, crank case return, E-Z GUIDE 500 GPS/E-Z steer, 1300 hrs on rebuilt injectors, front dif and water pump, 8733 hrs.

1963 JOHN DEERE 4010 2T tractor, 8 speed, 2 remotes, 540 PTO, 3 point, 600 hrs on complete overhaul, JOHN DEERE 48 loader, 7’ bucket, had new tach when purchased in 2008, 636.6 hrs.

1966 JOHN DEERE 5020 tractor, 8 speed, 2 remotes, 8302 hrs.

SPRAYING

SUMMERS ULTIMATE NT sprayer, 90’ boom, pull-type, 1500 gallon, rinse tank, 3-way nozzles.

WILLMAR AIR RIDE spray coupe, 60’ boom, John Deere engine, 500 gallon, 2” fill, 2 way nozzles, foam marker, 4715 hrs.

2-FIMCO INDUSTRIES sprayers, 20 gallon, 12 Volt, 1 with wand/1 without.

PRE-PARE herbicide, 4 jugs, unopened.

VALAR herbicide, 3 boxes, unopened.

TRU-KLEEN Mixing Cone, 40 gallon, 2” plumbing.

Pasty butt in chicks

From Freedom Ranger Hatchery

Are you a chicken keeper or breeder? If so, then you’ve probably heard of pasty butt in chicks. This condition can cause great distress to young birds and even lead to death if not treated quickly.

Pasty butt is simply the name given to a combination of stress, humidity, and poor hygiene in baby chicks. It is characterized by a substance that adheres to the vent area of the chick.

Fortunately, it can be prevented or treated easily with proper care and knowledge of the symptoms, causes, treatment, and prevention measures. In this article, we will discuss what pasty butt is and how to address it properly if your flock is affected by it.

What Is Pasty Butt in Chicks?

Pasty butt is a condition that affects young chickens and other poultry species. A combination of factors, including stress, humidity, and poor hygiene, causes it.

The condition results in the accumulation of a white pasty substance around the vent area of the chick.

If left untreated, the pasty material can harden and block the chick’s vent, preventing it from passing normal waste. This blockage can be fatal if not addressed quickly and correctly.

Symptoms of Pasty Butt in Chicks

The symptoms of pasty butt in chicks are fairly easy to spot if you know what to look for. Let’s look at the signs:

White, pasty substance around the chick’s vent area

Fluffed feathers that are dirty and matted with debris

Lethargy and refusal to eat

Loss of weight or failure to gain weight as expected

Pasty butt is most common in chicks up to two weeks old, so be sure to examine them daily for signs of the condition.

Causes of Pasty Butt in Chicks

A combination of factors causes a pasty butt in baby chicks. These include:

Stress

Baby chicks are especially vulnerable to stress during the first few weeks of their lives, and even minor disturbances can cause them to be prone to pasty butt.

Humidity

High humidity levels in the brooder can create an ideal environment for bacteria or fungi to grow, which can lead to pasty butt in a baby chick.

Poor hygiene

Young chicks need a clean and dry environment for optimal health. If the brooder is not kept clean and well-ventilated, it can increase the risk of developing a pasted vent.

Too Cold or Too Hot

Newly hatched chicks must be kept at the right temperature to stay healthy and prevent disease.

If they are too cold or too hot (caused by a heat lamp), it can lead to huddling with other chicks and decrease the chick’s activity. Baby chicks cannot regulate their body temperature, so keeping their environment at the right temperature is important. Always keep them at the right brooder temperature.

Improper Feeding

Baby chicks need to be fed the right type and amount of chick feed for optimal health. If they are not getting enough nutrients, it can make them more vulnerable to a pasted butt. Sometimes excessive protein can cause this as well.

Age of The Chick

The condition is most common in chicks up to two weeks old and is rarely seen in chicks older than this because new chicks are sensitive to changes in environment and stress.

Now that you know the causes of pasty butt, let’s look at how to treat and prevent it.

Treating and Managing Pasty Butt in Chicks

If you spot the signs of pasty butt in your chicks, it’s important to take action immediately. Fortunately, it is easy to treat and manage with a few easy steps.

You will need the following:

Cotton swab

Warm water

Paper towel

Small pair of scissors

1. Gently wipe away the pasty material from your chick’s butt with a cotton swab dipped in warm water. It’s important to note that baby chicks have a belly button located beneath the feathers near the vent. Just like human babies, there is a small amount of tissue that dries up and falls off. Be sure not to confuse this tissue with the vent and try to pull it off, as it could disembowel the chick.

2. Blot-dry the area with a paper towel to dry the chick.

3. Trim the feathers around the vent area to allow air

Pasty butt in chicks

circulation and prevent future build-up of debris.

4. Keep your chicks stress-free and ensure their environment is clean and dry.

5. Feed them the right type and amount of feed for optimal nutrition.

6. If your chick has a reoccurring pasty butt, use some petroleum jelly to help prevent the pasty material from sticking to their feathers.

How to Prevent Pasty Butt in Chicks

Pasty butt in chicks can be prevented with proper care and management.

Provide Proper Nutrition: Feed your chicks a balanced diet appropriate for their age. This diet will ensure they have the nutrients they need to stay healthy.

Keep The Brooder Clean and Well-Ventilated: Make sure you have clean, dry bedding, and ventilation. This environment will help reduce the chances of bacteria or fungi growing in the brooder.

Minimize Stress: Keep your chicks stress-free by providing a quiet, comfortable environment with minimal disturbance.

Monitor Temperature and Humidity Levels: Baby chicks need to be kept at the right temperature to stay healthy and prevent disease. Monitor the temperature and humidity levels to ensure they are within a safe range.

Conclusion

Pasty butt in chicks can be serious, but it can easily be prevented or treated with proper care. You can keep your baby chicks healthy and happy by following the steps outlined above.

Monitor them closely for signs of pasty butt and take action as soon as possible if any are detected. With the right knowledge and care, you can help ensure your chicks have a healthy and safe start in life, especially when you order them from our family of hatcheries.

Patagonia

A desert in the southernmost parts of Argentina and Chile that extends to the tip of South America. The name comes from pata , Spanish for “paw”. According to legend, when Magellan explored the area in 1520, he was impressed by the gigantic tracks he found in the snow and thought they must belong to a race of giants. In truth, the marks were probably left by the oversize llama-skin shoes worn by the indigenous Tehuelches people.

#####

Q: What did the duck say when he bought lipstick?

A: “Put it on my bill.”

• Performs well in highly productive & marginal soils

MONTECH 4152 YELLOW FIELD PEA*

• Great dryland yield potential

• Excellent standability

• Ranked #1 in canopy trials

• Few days earlier than 4193

ROYAL CHICKPEAS* Single Use Only

• Developed for dryland

• 38% higher yield than Sierra

• Higher percentage of larger seeds

AVONDALE LENTIL*

• Medium green lentil

• Higher stature than Richlea

• Excellent disease resistance

• Great resistance to lodging

*PVP Title V

HAMMER AX

• First CoAXium spring wheat

• Great balance of protein and test weight

• Early maturing medium height

HAMPTON GREEN FIELD PEA*

• Smooth green pea

• Very good resistance to lodging

• Superior yield

• Resistant to fusarium wilt

MONTECH 4193 YELLOW FIELD PEA*

• High yield potential

• Good for dryland or irrigated

• Little shorter than 4152

• Average maturity

NASH CHICKPEAS* Single Use Only

• Excellent yield for Sierra type

• Good resistance to lodging

• Large percentage over 10 mm

• Premium price over smaller chickpeas

HAYMAKER HAY BARLEY PVP

• Two row hay barley

• Higher forage yields than Stockford, Lavina, Hays, Haybet

• Excellent feed quality

Member owned. Find The Montech Seed Group Distributor Near You

Hodgskiss Seeds Choteau | 406-466-5553

Humans cause more destructive wildfires in the West

More than three times as many houses and other structures burned in Western wildfires from 2010 to 2020 than in the previous decade, and that wasn’t only because more acreage burned, according to a new analysis from the University of Montana and its partners.

Human ignitions started 76% of the wildfires that destroyed structures, and those fires tended to be in flammable areas where homes, commercial structures and outbuildings are increasingly common.

“Humans are driving the negative impacts from wildfire,” said lead author Philip Higuera, a UM fire ecologist and professor, who wrote the assessment during a sabbatical at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Human fingerprints are all over this. We influence the when, the where and the why.”

Most measures of wildfire’s impact – for example, expansion of wildfire season into new months and the number of structures in flammable vegetation – are going in the wrong direction, Higuera said. But the new finding, published February 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences-Nexus, also means that human action can lessen the risks of wildfire damage.

“We have levers,” he said. “As climate change makes vegetation more flammable, we advise carefully considering if and how we build in flammable vegetation, for example.”

During Higuera’s visiting fellowship at CIRES, he worked with several researchers to dig into the details of 15,001 Western wildfires between 1999 and 2020.

Burned area increased 30% across the West, the team found, but structure loss increased much more, by nearly 250%. Many factors contributed, including climate change, our tendency to build more homes in flammable ecosystems and a history of suppressing wildfire.

Ph.D. student Maxwell Cook, a co-author from CIRES/ CU Boulder, said the forcible removal of Indigenous people CONTINUED ON PAGE A21

Snow cover in pastures and grazing considerations

By Samantha Daniel, UNL

Nebraska’s last winter storm blanketed much of the state in significant snowfall, leaving behind 15 inches in the west central region to nearly two feet in central Nebraska. While this is great news for our drought conditions, it’s important to remember that, on average, it takes 10 inches of snow to get one inch of water. Additionally, snow cover has other benefits beyond adding moisture as well as considerations when winter grazing.

Snow cover in crop fields, particularly in early winter, acts as an insulator for the soil, trapping heat and restricting the depth of the frost layer. This insulation effect also allows the soil to thaw quicker in the spring. In addition to replenishing soil moisture, snow cover helps to preserve existing moisture while also protecting against wind and water erosion. While we can’t control the timing and amount of snow we receive, producers can encourage snow cover by maintaining standing residue in fields over the winter.

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For winter grazing, it’s important to remember that while cattle can graze through snow and ice, the height and structure of forage as well as the type of precipitation will determine ease of grazing. Heavy, wet snow or snow that has formed a surface crust will cause animals to work harder to eat. In these situations, it’s recommended that producers keep an eye on animal condition and be prepared to supplement when necessary.

In August 2021, the human-caused Boulder 2700 Fire near Flathead Lake burned 2,230 acres and destroyed 31 structures, leaving debris along Highway 35 and threatening power lines and traffic.

from landscapes played a role by all-but-eliminating intentional burning, which can lessen the risk of more destructive fires.

“Prescribed fire is an incredibly important tool, and we have a lot to learn about how people have been using fire for centuries,” Cook said.

In the new assessment, the team found some horrible years for wildfires. Sixty-two percent of all structures lost in those two decades were lost in just three years: 2017, 2018 and 2020, Cook said.

And some states had it much worse than others. California, for example, accounted for more than 77% of all 85,014 structures destroyed during 1999-2020.

Across the West, 1.3 structures were destroyed for every 1,000 hectares of land scorched by wildfire between 1999 and 2009. Between 2010 and 2020, that ratio increased to 3.4.

Importantly, Higuera and his colleagues also found variability among states in how much burning occurred and how many structures were lost in wildfires. Montana sees less structure loss relative to the West as a whole, and most burning is from lightning ignitions. California, on the other hand, sees high losses from wildfires and burns much more overall.

The paper concluded that all states could benefit from policies that address human-related ignitions, especially during late summer and fall and near developments, as well as policies that address fire-resistant building materials and consideration of nearby vegetation.

Finally, the authors said climate change mitigation is also essential. Longer fire seasons – a result of climate change –mean that human-related ignitions are more consequential, leading to more destructive wildfires in the fall and early winter when they were once rare.

The article, “Shifting social-ecological fire regimes explain increasing structure loss from Western wildfires,” was coauthored by Higuera, Cook, Jennifer Balch, Natasha Stavros and Lise St. Dennis from CIRES Earth Lab, as well as Adam Mahood, now an ecologist with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Fort Collins.

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USDA-ARS releases genome of the voracious desert locust

Kim Kaplan, USDA

The first high-quality genome of the desert locust—those voracious feeders of plague and devastation infamy and the most destructive migratory insect in the world— has been produced by U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service scientists.

The genome of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is enormous at just under 9 billion base pairs, nearly three times the size of the human genome.

Desert locust

ARS has produced the first high-quality, highly detailed genome of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria). Photo by Brandon Woo

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“We were concerned that, faced with this huge and very likely complex desert locust genome, it was going to be an extremely long and difficult job. However, we were able to go from sample collection to a final assembled genome in under 5 months,” said entomologist Scott M. Geib with the ARS Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research Unit in Hilo, Hawaii, and one of the team leaders. “The desert locust is one of the largest insect genomes ever completed and it was all done from a single locust.”

That one locust was provided by chemical ecologist Baldwyn Torto with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, Kenya. He and his team tracked down swarms of locusts, collecting specimens across Kenya until he had two parents that he was able to breed to produce an offspring of known pedigree.

The size of the desert locust’s chromosomes is remarkable; compare them to those of the model fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the first insect genome ever assembled. Many of the desert locust’s individual chromosomes are larger than the entire fruit fly genome.

“With the desert locust, we were dealing with a much larger genome in many fewer pieces—about 8.8 Gb in just 12 chromosomes. Next to the fruit fly, it’s like an 18-wheeler next to a compact car,” Geib said. “It was like sequencing a typical insect genome many, many times over. But with today’s advances in DNA sequencing technologies, we are now able to generate extremely accurate genomes of insects that previously would have been unapproachable.”

ARS has made the genome available to the international research community through the National Center for Biotechnology Information at https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/bioproject/814718.

Desert locust plagues are cyclic and have been recorded since the times of the Pharaohs in ancient Egypt, as far back as 3200 B.C. In recent decades, there have been desert locust swarms in 1967-1969, 1986-1989 and most lately 2020-2022. They cause devastation in East Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia, threatening food security in many countries.

Their damage can be massive. A small swarm can eat as much food in a day as would feed 35,000 people; a swarm of his-

toric proportions covering the area of New York City eats in one day the same amount as the population of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey combined, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Current desert locust control mostly depends on locating swarms and spraying them with broad-spectrum pesticides. Ultimately, this genomics work could decrease dependence on such pesticides.

“Having a high-quality genome is a big step toward finding targeted controls,” Geib said. “It will also give us valuable information about relatives of the desert locust that are major pests in the Americas such the Mormon cricket, another swarming species that can impact U.S. food security.”

This work is part of the Ag100Pest Initiative, an ARS program to develop high quality genomes for the top 100 arthropod pests in agriculture as a foundation for basic and applied research.

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service coordinated this research opportunity and provided funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development Africa Bureau through an interagency agreement.

Five Desert Locust Facts

The Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is a species of short-horned grasshopper that periodically changes its body shape, behavior, and reproduction rate in response to environmental conditions such as an abundance of rainfall and moisture.

Plague is actually a technical term. Desert locust infestations are identified in a sequence of increasing severity based on magnitude and geographical scale of the swarm size: recession (calm), outbreak, upsurge, plague (maximum intensity and scope).

Swarms can stay in the air for long periods of time. They regularly cross the Red Sea, about 300 km. They can also cover long distances: For example, Northwest Africa to the British Isles in 1954 and from West Africa to the Caribbean in about ten days in 1988. Swarms can travel up to 1,000 km in one week, about the distance between San Francisco and Seattle.

A one-square-kilometer swarm can contain up to 80 million adult desert locusts.

Each new generation in a swarm can be up to 20 times larger than the previous one.

National Eggs Benedict Day

When is National Eggs Benedict Day? This holiday is always observed on April 16

National Eggs Benedict Day is a day to savor and enjoy. This April 16 holiday is celebrated with a mouthwatering combination of eggs with hollandaise sauce, Canadian bacon on English muffins.

A lot of people have never had Eggs Benedict. If you’re upper crust, you most likely have enjoyed Eggs Benedict several times, and perhaps, regularly. However, many people (regular folk) have never tried Eggs Benedict. Go ahead and do a survey.

See how many of your friends can even tell you how it’s made, or what’s in it. Or, ask them what hollandaise sauce is.

Celebrate this day by eating Eggs Benedict.

If it’s your first time eating this breakfast treat, we suggest you go to a restaurant where they know from experience how to properly make it.

Make Eggs Benedict yourself at home.

What

storage conditions affect seed quality?

Temperature and relative humidity are two key factors in maintaining good seed quality

When it comes to seeds, storage conditions make an impact. Most people are aware that seeds need to be kept cool and dry to maintain their quality in storage. But the real questions are: How cool, and how dry, do the storage conditions need to be? The February 22nd Sustainable, Secure Food Blog looks at some general guidelines that apply to all types of seeds.A small, green hemp seedling held in hand

The two most significant factors that affect seed quality in storage are temperature and relative humidity. Seeds need to be stored in conditions that carefully balance temperature and humidity to maintain seed quality and reduce seed deterioration.

Scientists also know that the sum of relative humidity (as a percentage) and temperature (in °C) must not exceed the number 100 for safe seed storage. So, if the temperature is high, relative humidity needs to be kept low, and vice versa.

Grace Fuchs, graduate student at Oregon State University, focuses her work on the best storage conditions for hemp seed (Cannabis sativa L.) She and her advisor are exploring different ratios of temperature and relative humidity to determine how they affect hemp seed quality in storage.

To read more about the research findings and the entire blog, visit: https://sustainable-secure-food-blog.com/2023/02/22/ what-storage-conditions-affect-seed-quality/

Sub-Saharan Africa

The Sahara Desert stretches across the northern third of Africa through Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Mali, Morocco, and Tunisia. These nations, some of which have oil-based economics, are largely made up of Muslim Arabic peoples. Nations south of the desert, in sub-Saharan Africa (“below the Sahara”), are inhabited mostly by non-Arabic people. The climate is much hotter and there’s little oil.

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Marek’s Disease in chickens

Article created by Dr. Eva Wallner-Pendleton, DVM, MS, ACPV with assistance from Greg Martin (Extension Educator)

Marek’s Disease is by far one of the most common illnesses in small flocks and not treatable once the clinical signs have begun. Yet, it is one of the most preventable illnesses using vaccination.

Marek’s Disease is by far one of the most common illnesses in small flocks and not treatable once the clinical signs have begun. Yet, it is one of the most preventable illnesses out there. There has been much discussion and misinformation about Marek’s Disease. So here are some clarifications concerning this disease.

Marek’s Disease affects chickens and is caused by a chicken herpes virus. It will not make people sick. Like many herpes viruses, once an animal becomes infected, it will be infected for life. Not all infected birds, however, will get sick. The percentage of clinically sick birds in a flock depends on the strain of virus (some virus strains are more virulent than others) and the breed of bird. Leghorns and light egg-type breeds tend to be more vulnerable to disease than meat type breeds. Silkies in particular, are highly susceptible to Marek’s Disease. The percentage of illness and death in a flock can be anywhere from 1% to up to 50%. The clinical disease is typically seen between 6 weeks to 30 weeks of age. But Marek’s Disease can develop in older birds as well.

Birds become infected with Marek’s Disease by inhaling virus-laden dander. While the virus is easily killed in its purified form, the virus can live for years in the dander. This means that once the disease enters a coop, the environment will most likely be contaminated for a very long time (months to years) even if all birds are gone.

Since infected birds are shedding virus, they will spread the disease as long as they are alive. If new, unvaccinated birds are brought into an infected flock, they will also become infected. This is especially true of young chicks that are highly susceptible. Even if new birds are quarantined away from the affected flock, caretakers can carry the virus-laden dander on hands, clothing, shoes, hair, and skin and spread the illness. One way that Marek’s Disease is not acquired is through the hatching egg. Even if the breeders are infected, the chicks will hatch clean if they do not come into contact with the dander.

The symptoms of Marek’s Disease depend on which tissues are attacked. In the classic form, Marek’s Disease will cause inflammation and tumors in the nerves, spinal column, and brain. In this form, birds will become paralyzed in the legs, or wings or may develop head tremors.

Affected birds eventually die of starvation or are trampled or get severe sores on their body. They almost never recover from this.

Marek’s may also cause tumors in the internal organs, the eyes, and even the skin. Affected birds lose weight, become emaciated, and die.

Diagnosis of Marek’s Disease is by typical symptoms, necropsy, and biopsy examination of the tissues. Most diagnostic animal labs can test for this disease in necropsy specimens.

So how can you prevent Marek’s Disease in your flock? Vaccination of day old baby chicks is the most dependable way to prevent the clinical disease. Birds must get the vaccine before they are exposed to the virus. Then the birds need about 4-7 days for the vaccine to do its work. That means complete isolation of the chicks for at least this time. The chicks should be kept away from other birds and have a separate caretaker for them. If a separate caretaker is not possible, the chicks should be cared for first before caring for the others. Caretakers should shower and change clothes if needed to go back and forth between age groups. Again, this is for at least 4 days.

The best way to vaccinate the chicks is to have the hatchery vaccinate them. This is the preferable method if purchasing from a hatchery. If vaccinating at home, the vaccine handling must be done exactly as the label directs. This means following instructions on how quick to thaw, what temperature to thaw, and using the vaccine no longer than 1-2 hours after reconstitution (as indicated on the label.). As hardy as this virus is in the feather dander, it is a live virus that dies rather quickly in vaccine form. Unfortunately, once the vaccine is reconstituted, it must be thrown out after two hours. It cannot be stored for later use as the vaccine is no longer effective. The vaccine must be injected (usually under the skin) to work. This can be tricky with tiny chicks, so having someone hold the chicks and another to inject is helpful. Other steps to get the best vaccine protection is to be sure the brooder is clean and disinfected before placing the chicks. Again, keep all dander and debris from the older

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Marek’s Disease in chickens

CONTINUED FROM PAGE A24 birds away from the chicks for at least a week.

Common misperceptions about Marek’s Disease

1. Mix turkeys and chicks together to prevent Marek’s Disease so the chickens will be exposed naturally to turkey herpes virus. This is not correct! Not only will the chickens not get Marek’s Disease protection, but turkeys might be exposed to other common chicken diseases such as Mycoplasma and Blackhead.

2. Don’t vaccinate birds so that the survivors will become resistant. Genetic disease resistance takes decades to develop and so far, has not been successful with Marek’s Disease. If it were successful, one would think the commercial chicken genetic companies would have developed resistant chickens by now.

3. Only vaccinate a few birds and the vaccine will leak and protect the other chickens. This is incorrect. Every bird needs to get a full dose of vaccine before they become exposed to the actual disease-causing virus. This is the only way to achieve protection.

4. Don’t vaccinate birds because this vaccine is dangerous and might make the chickens ill. If careful mixing of the vaccine in a sanitary manner is not followed, the birds may get a bacterial infection. Wash hands, use a sterile needle, and avoid touching the needle with hands or any soiled object. Use only commercial vaccines. The companies making these vaccines are testing for potency and making sure the vaccine does not become contaminated with other diseases.

Unfortunately, there are only a few companies and veterinary supply outlets selling single vials of Marek’s vaccine to small flock owners. The individual vials contain 1,000 to 5,000 doses of vaccine. This vaccine arrives refrigerated with cold packs as it must never be allowed to warm up while in storage. If it arrives warm, it is no longer effective, and the seller should be called to get replacement product. The vaccine must be refrigerated until it will be used.

The other type of vaccine, which is frozen and kept in liquid nitrogen tanks, is available for hatcheries. However, this type of product is not practical for most small flock owners.

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Is breakfast the most important meal?

By Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU Extension food and nutrition specialist

People who consume breakfast are more likely to meet daily nutrition recommendations.

“It’s the most important meal of the day, of the day. It’s the most important meal of the day, of the day…”

I still remember that song about breakfast that my kids enjoyed when they were little.

Unfortunately, the song was like an earworm that would not leave my brain, even after I ejected the videotape. As I recall, the entire video was filled with fairly annoying songs.

I was kind of happy when our video player finally stopped working.

Years later, I have heard my kids singing about the “most important meal of the day.”

But how important is breakfast, really?

Breakfast literally breaks the fast. During sleep, we are not eating. In very early times of Roman and Greek civilization, breakfast did not involve cooking. The meal was simple and included bread, cheese, honey, oil and maybe even a little wine.

Having alcohol for breakfast is not a current recommendation, by the way.

In early times, breakfast was viewed as an important meal for babies, sick people and perhaps laborers who needed the energy. While people of lower class ate grains, the upper classes had eggs and meat.

As time went on and the science of nutrition evolved, breakfast was recognized as providing needed vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

In fact, people who consume breakfast are more likely to meet the daily nutrition recommendations. Breakfast has been the subject of international and U.S. studies.

A study done in Europe with 200,000 children showed that that breakfast eaters consumed more fruits and vegetables, had higher vitamin and mineral intake, and drank fewer soft drinks.

In a U.S. study, people who ate breakfast consumed less sugar and more fiber, iron, vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid and calcium.

A study done in Japan found an increased risk for heart disease and stroke among those that did not consume breakfast regularly

Other studies have shown that eating breakfast helps you manage your weight and blood sugar.

If you skip breakfast, does that mean that dire consequences await? You can make up for lost nutrition, but being hungry mid-morning might prompt less healthful decisions at the vending machine. If you want to optimize your nutrition, a healthful breakfast can go a long way toward that goal.

Aim for breakfasts with at least three food groups represented, and try to have some protein. Including a protein source such as eggs, yogurt, milk or meat will help curb your appetite until your next meal opportunity.

Be a nutrition facts label reader if you like cereal. Aim for whole-grain cereal that is higher in fiber and lower in added sugar.

Do you have the same foods for breakfast? These are some ideas to add variety and nutrition to your menu.

Whole-grain cereal with sliced bananas and milk. Homemade cereal mix with whole-grain cereal, nuts, dried fruit and milk.

Graham crackers with peanut butter and a fruit and yogurt smoothie.

Waffles with fresh strawberries, lean ham and low-fat milk.

Oatmeal with raisins and low-fat milk.

Peanut butter on whole-wheat toast, apple slices and low-fat milk.

Minipizzas made with English muffins, pizza sauce, cheese, Canadian bacon or other toppings and orange juice.

Scrambled eggs, whole-wheat toast, orange slices and low-fat milk.

Leftover pizza, sliced cantaloupe and low-fat milk.

Scrambled eggs with salsa wrapped in tortillas, sliced peaches and low-fat milk.

If time is an issue, set out your bowl and cereal box before bedtime. If you like fresh muffins, measure out the dry ingredients in a bowl and store the mixed liquid ingredients in the refrigerator. In the morning, do a quick mix and bake. Try a smoothie with yogurt, fruit and maybe a handful of spinach.

#####

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Cooperative agreement and grant application support

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering a new service that assists entities serving underserved agricultural producers and communities with completing applications for funding opportunities. This includes a current funding opportunity for risk management education and outreach projects through USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA).

RMA is contracting with Metaphase Consulting, LLC, to provide technical and writing assistance to organizations that serve underserved producers and communities with applying for grants.

“Often individuals and organizations within underserved communities have not been provided the opportunity to develop the professional grant writing skills required for writing effective funding proposals,” says Marcia Bunger, RMA Administrator. “As a result, they are at an inherent disadvantage as they compete with organizations that have the infrastructure, skills and knowledge to draft strong applications. The availability of this service agreement is to provide access for underserved organizations to our funding opportunities.”

Specifically, Metaphase Consulting, LLC, will assist applicants in:

Formulating statements of work, performance work statements and statements of objectives.

Completing cooperative agreement award and grant applications.

Project management for those applicants receiving a cooperative agreement award or grant so that recipients meet all the milestones and reporting obligations, abide by proper funds management and burn-rate, and demonstrate successful execution, monitoring and controlling, and project closeout.

This service is available to underserved communities, ag-related non-profits, Tribal colleges and universities, Tribal higher education programs, 1890 Land Grant Universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities.

RMA encourages interested parties to email rma.risk-ed@usda.gov for more details.

Other agencies, including USDA’s Farm Service Agency, are working to offer a similar service to entities applying for future funding opportunities.

Risk Management Education

This new service can assist organizations applying for RMA’s funding for the Risk Management Education (RME) Program.

Currently, $2 million is available for cooperative agreements for risk management education and training programs that support underserved producers. The notice of funding has additional details and can be viewed at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/viewopportunity.html?oppId=346284. RME applications must be received through the Results Verification System at http://rvs. umn.edu by April 24, 2023.

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Montana MIWW recap – State Contest and National Event

The Montana Make It With Wool contest was held recently on December 2-3, 2022 at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center in Billings, Montana, in conjunction with the 139th Annual Montana Woolgrowers Convention.

There were 13 “qualified” sewists able to compete in four categories this year - Junior, Senior, Adult, and Made for Others. The Junior category for those ages 13 to 16 as of January 1st of the contest year had three contestants. They were Shea Ostberg of Fairfield, Gracie Phipps of Brusett, and Brogan Youngren of Ronan. The Senior Division for those ages 17 to 24 was made up of four contestants, namely Rose Baeten of Billings, Rakayle Hier of Lambert, Kiara Sherman of Ronan, and Magdalen Toeckes of Power. There were four qualified contestants in the Adult contest, but only two participated at the State level – Briana Baeten of Billings and Jasmine Powell of Havre. The Made for Others category had two qualified contestants with no one competing at the State level this year. Qualified means the contestant placed 1st in their category at the District level which makes them eligible to compete at the State level.

After several hours of modeling and construction judging, Bonnie Campbell of Shepherd, Sara Fluer of Billings, and Sue Roberts of Red Lodge, came away with the final placings. Winners and awards were announced during the Woolgrowers’ banquet on Saturday night which featured the MIWW Style Show presented to the theme of “Marshmall‘ewe’ World”.

Montana MIWW gave two specialty awards this year – Exemplary Construction Award and a Machine Embroidery Award. The Exemplary Construction Award was won by Shea Ostberg with her coat entry. Shea’s coat was meticulously constructed and she was awarded a set of Gingher scissors for her talent. Kiara Sherman was recognized for her beautiful machine embroidery work on her blazer with the Embroidery Award and received a set of machine embroidery threads with a storage case as her prize.

First place finishers at the Montana MIWW contest were Junior – Brogan Youngren, Senior – Kiara Sherman, and Adult – Briana Baeten. Brogan and Kiara represented Montana to the theme of “Kick up your heels … in Fort Worth” during the at the 75th annual National Make It With Wool competition as part of the 2023 American Sheep Industry (ASI) Convention held January 19-21, 2023, at the Omni Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. Briana competed in the National contest by mailing in her garment along with a video and photos. In the National MIWW contest there were 21 Junior

contestants, 20 Senior contestants, and 19 Adult contestants representing 31 states.

Junior contestant, Brogan Youngren constructed a sporty yet lightweight wool outfit for her 2022 entry. Brogan likes the look of a jumpsuit and chose a 2-piece top and pants pattern that gives her that look with an unexpected twist. The “twist” included cutting some of the top sections on the bias and a side-button up closing on the front. The back pockets were not part of the pattern but Brogan added them on as every young woman needs a place for her best accessory – her phone! Brogan uses her sewing skills as a Teacher Assistant in the Textiles and Design class at her high school and has several sewing goals this year – a 4-H wardrobe display and sewing her graduation dress as well.

This was Kiara Sherman’s first year in the Senior Division and she definitely impressed the fashion world. The highlight of Kiara’s 3-piece wool ensemble is her charcoal flannel jacket. The jacket embellishes with a colorful machine embroidered motif on the back and lower sleeve. These motifs are a wonderful tie in to her plaid skirt which is a blend of rustic colors. Adding a great accent is the bright, lightweight gaberdine top. The gathers running up the arm of the sleeve are very stylish. Kiara’s ensemble allows her to wear the skirt and top to work and pair the blazer with jeans for a casual weekend. This was Kiara’s 8th year participating in the Make It With Wool program and she says she continues to enjoy exploring the many uses of wool.

Montana’s Adult winner, Briana Baeten continued her practical outdoor wardrobe this year with her wool shirt and pants. A Simplicity pattern inspired Briana’s long sleeve shirt with a western style yoke. The Pendleton plaid was won at a previous MIWW contest, and the yoke is from a left-over piece that she used in last year’s outfit. After an extensive hunt for buttons, Briana decided on western snaps that look like the end of a shell casing. Briana used the snaps on her shirt as well as her pants. The brown cargo pants are from a modified McCall’s pattern with heavily customized pockets. Briana has participated in the MIWW contest for three years and enjoys creating wool clothing that fits her style and that she can wear everywhere.

Montana’s contestants had a great time in Fort Worth enjoying the warm weather, touring the area, and representing our great state in high fashion. The National contestants took in a couple of workshops including learning how to do needle felting with which they came away with a finished flower design and learned about the Melo

Group picture – left to right – Shea Ostberg – 2nd Junior; Rose Baeten – 2nd Senior; Briana Baeten – 1st Adult; Rakayle Hier – 4th Senior; Brogan Youngren – 1st Junior; Gracie Phipps – 3rd Junior; Jasmine Powell – 2nd Adult; Kiara Sherman – 1st Senior; Maggie Toeckes – 3rd Senior

Maloney Angus + Simmental Turner, Montana

Crossbred bulls built for easy calving, vigorous growth and maternal function in North Central Montana’s extreme climate (406) 654-7115 or (406) 399-6762 www.maloneyangussimmental.com

Montana MIWW recap – State Contest and National Event

CONTINUED FROM PAGE A30

project. The contestants also had a choice of tours including the John Wayne Museum/ Old Stockyards or the Cowgirl Museum/ Downtown Fort Worth during their time at Nationals.

When the judging results came in, Kiara placed 4th Runner Up in the Senior Division. She also won the Machine Embroidery Award with her jacket and received a cash award sponsored by Montana’s own LuvEweFarm from Havre, Montana. Congratulations, Kiara on a job well done!! Brogran did not place in the top 10 Junior group, but enjoyed her experience at Nationals and is excited to sew again next year. Briana placed a very respectable 2nd in the Adult category and was thrilled to hear the news!! She is very enthusiastic for next year’s entry.

Henry Lemke of Minnesota won the Junior Division, Saidi Ringenberg of Nebraska won the Senior Division, and Sunni Ellington of Utah won the Adult Division.

#####

A poor golfer hit an errant tee shot. The ball hooked so badly that it ended up on an adjacent fairway, where it nearly missed another player. When the man who hit the wayward tee shot arrived at his ball, he was met by the irate player, who nearly avoided getting injured. “Your ball just missed me!” yelled the man. “I’m sorry,” came the reply. “I didn’t have time to yell ‘Fore.’” “That’s funny,” the angry golfer said, “as you had plenty of time to yell out profanities.”

View our FULL inventory

COMBINES

Did your harvest not go as planned with unexpected break downs & expensive service bills? We still have several affordable units to choose from.

2019 John Deere S790 473 hp, 2WD, 671 engine hours, 496 separator hours, Pro Drive transmission with Harvest Smart, advanced PowerCast tailboard, TriStream rotor, fixed speed feederhouse, power folding GT extensions, small wire concaves, 28.5-ft. unloading auger, 1100/45R46 front tires, 710/60R30 rear tires, GPS monitor, display, and Premium Activation. Stock #72735

$405,000 (1)

2018 John Deere S790 with 857 engine/647 separator hours, Combine Advisor, Active Yield, dual tilt fixed speed feederhouse, leather seat, Premium cab, LED lights, complete GPS system with Premium Activation, regular wear TriStream rotor, advanced PowerCast tailboard, 28.5-ft. unload auger, axle spacers, extended warranty until 12/2023 or 1750 hours. Stock #79419

$407,000 (1)

The “People’s Choice” Award went to Olivia Frenette of California. The Apparel and Design winner was Estefania Espinola from Houston Community College in Texas.

Some interesting statistics collected from the 2022 MIWW year are that participation is back on the rise with a total of 358 contestants across the nation and split by category with 73 Adult contestants, 48 Seniors, 100 Juniors, 101 PreTeens, and 26 Made for Other entrants. There was a total of 1,131 yards of wool fabric and 233 skeins of wool yarn used to construct the MIWW garment entries for the 2022 year. Montana was 9th in the ranking of 31 states for participation numbers in 2022.

For more information on the Make It With Wool program, please visit and like our Montana Make It With Wool facebook page, Montana Wool Growers Association facebook page or website at mtsheep.org, or email Montana MIWW Director Amanda Powell at aspowell11@hotmail.com.

#####

A man was working in his office supply store when the secretary told hin he had an angry customer on line two. However when he picked up the phone, he was surprised to hear the angry man was Father Mulchahy from the local church. The priest began by saying, “I’m very upset about the pencils we ordered.” “What’s the problem?” the man inquired. “Didn’t you receive them?” “Oh, we received them,” the priest said, “but they were golf pencils, and each was stamped with the words “Play Golf On Sundays.”

2018 John

S780 with Premium cab, Command Center with 4600 display, Active Terrain, Active Yield, Pro Drive transmission with HarvestSmart, fixed speed, power folding covers, 28.5ft. unloading auger. Stock #79048

$337,500 (3)

2019 John Deere S780, extended wear package, premium cab, Combine Advisor, Active Yield, Pro Drive transmission with HarvestSmart, TriStream rotor with extended wear package, power folding covers, 28.5-ft. unloading auger, fine cut chopper, side hill performance package. Stock #79043

$339,000 (1)

2012 John Deere S680 with Yield Monitor, Contour Master, (lateral tilt feederhouse), premium cab with premium radio, AutoTrac, complete with Harvest Monitor, GreenStar 3, 2630 display (mounted on armrest) ProDrive transmission with Harvest Smart feedrate control, heavy duty tilt cylinder, general purpose chaffer and sieve, regular wear (thick skin) 26-ft. (7.9M) unloading auger, fine cut chopper, Advanced PowerCast powered tailboard. Stock #82437

$148,000 (12)

2012 John Deere S680, 2WD, 520/85R42 duals, lateral tilt, fixed speed feederhouse (without fore/aft), ProDrive, PowerCast tailboard, TriStream rotor (extended wear), small wire concaves, power fold grain tank covers, 26-ft. auger, basic radio, air seat, standard lighting and extremity lights, SF 3000 7” CommandARM, AT activation. Stock #82461 $147,500 (1)

2017 John Deere S680, ProDrive transmission, fixed speed drive, heavy duty dual tilt cylinders, premium cab and radio, premium LED light package, Active Terrain adjust, TriStream Rotor, power folding grain tank covers, 26-ft. unload auger, advanced PowerCase tailboard, IF900/60R32 drive tires, 750/65R26 rear tires. Stock #82387 $282,500 (2)

2008 John Deere 9770STS level land, HiTorq variable speed feederhouse, deluxe header control with header height sensing, general purpose chaffer, 22-ft. unload auger, 900/60R32 drive tires, 28L-26 rear tires. Stock #81779 $78,000 (3)

$450,000 (12)

2020 John Deere S780 473 hp, 2WD, Pro Drive transmission, advanced PowerCast tailboard, TriStream rotor, 28.5-ft. unloading auger, Combine Advisor, Premium Activation with Gen 4 monitor and SF6000 receiver, 520-85R 42 tires with duals, and 750/65R26 rear tires. Stock #81411

2020 John Deere S780 no receiver or extended monitor, 4600 display with AutoTrac Activation, Contour Master with fore & aft, 580/85R42 duals, Combine Advisor, Active Yield, power folding grain tank, 28.5-ft. unloading auger, advanced tailboard, TriStream rotor (standard wear), LED lights, cloth seat, premium radio, sidehill performance kit, small grain cleaning shoe.

2010 John Deere 9670STS 2WD, 800/70R38 singles, Contour Master, fixed speed, small wire concaves, chopper/spreader, 26-ft. auger, deluxe header controls. Stock #82916 $92,500 (12)

2010 Case IH 7120 small grain combine, 2WD, 900/30R-32 singles, spreader, yield monitor, rock trap. Stock #81914 $85,000 (12)

2005 Case IH 2388 small grain combine, 4788/3628 hours, internat chopper, rock trap, 305.L-32 tires=80%. no rear weights, 2 feederhouse cylinder, no GPS $34,000 (14)

2019 John Deere S780 580 duals, Active Yield, Combine Advisor, dual display with Premium Activation, 6000 receiver (SF1), manual folding tops, Premium Residue, 28.5-ft. unloading auger, Contour Master with fore/aft, LED lights, small grain wind board, side hill performance kit. Stock #73426 $417,500 (11)

#82461 #73426

Deere

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Now is the best time to upgrade your equipment. Don’t wait until you’re in the thick of the busy season to realize that your equipment isn’t going to get the job done! Call or stop in today!

4WD, ROW CROP AND UTILITY TRACTORS

Spring is just around the corner. Take a look at our selection of 4WD, loader, utility and row crop tractors that we have available! Anything to match your operation and budget!

2008 Case IH Steiger 535 Quadtrac with 535 hp, Cummins QSX15 6-cylinder engine, 3-point hitch, rear tracks in good condition, 4 rear hydraulic remotes, clean cab. Stock #82884

$257,500 (1)

2021 John Deere 5090E utility tractor with MFWD, cab, 24/12 Power Reverser, 18.4x30 rear tires, PTO, 3 SCVs, dual mid SCV, deluxe cornerpost exhaust, loader prep package. Stock #82968

$68,000 (4)

2014 John Deere 6715 with standard cab, MFWD, PowrQuad 16/16 with LH reverser, 18.4x38 rear, 14.9x24 front tires, 3 SCVs, rear PTO 540/1000, loader with bucket, 129 hp. Stock #82997

$59,900 (4)

#82603

2010 John Deere 7130 standard series tractor with MFWD, 18.4R38 rears, 13.6R28 fronts, 16 speed Power Quad with LH reverser, steel rear wheels, flanged axle vertical exhaust, air seat, rear worklight, rear wiper/washer, 3 SCVs, telescoping draft links, includes JD 640R loader Serial #1P0640RXCKC010458 self leveling with bucket and grapple and joystick control. Stock #84695 $64,500 (16)

$235,000 (14)

2022 John Deere 6155R with AQ Plus 20 speed transmission, triple link front suspension, 640R loader (MSL) with 5 tine grapple, AutoTrac ready, no receiver, 4200 display/processor with AutoTrac unlock, premium cab with suspension, Panorama glass roof with deluxe light package, 3 ESCV remotes, 480/80R42 rear with fender extensions, 420/85R28 fronts with turnable front fenders, Cold Start II, heated rear window, 1800 lb. rear weights inside rear tire. Stock #84571

2012 John Deere 8360RT 360 hp, row crop track tractor with 16” tracks, (very good condition), IVT, 4 SCVs, 3-point, 1000 PTO, 60 gpm hydraulic pump, deluxe cab, work lights, 22 front weights, 80” track spacing, no GPS included. Has rebuilt transmission, hydraulic pump, and engine harness completed this winter. Stock #79965 $139,000 (4)

2021 John Deere 6175M row crop tractor, MFWD, 20/20 Powergard transmission, AutoTrak ready, 3 SCVs, 540/1000 PTO, 480/80R46 rear tires, 420/85R30 front tires, light package, loader ready. Stock #82603 $172,000 (15)

2020 John Deere 6175M 20 speed Power Quad, 660R loader, bucket and grapple, AutoTrac ready (no display, receiver or activation), 3 mechanical SCVs, 540/1000 PTO, 3-point, Firestone tires, comprehensive Powergard warranty until June 4, 2024, or 4000 hours. Stock #84331 $157,500 (11)

1994 John Deere 7200 MFWD, 16-speed Power Quad, right hand reverser, 2 SCVs, 3-point, 540/1000, cab corner exhaust, 18.4-38 & 16.9R26=30%, no cast weight, fluid tires, new seat cushions will be installed 740SL loader with bucket and grapple. Stock #83992 $45,000 (14)

SELF PROPELLED SPREADERS & SPRAYERS

Several used John Deere and competitive self-propelled sprayers and applicators in stock! Variety of boom and widths available. Several units are ready to roll with turnkey GPS!

2012 John Deere 7280R with premium cab with suspension, guidance, IVT transmission, 4 SCVs, 540/1000 PTO, Cat 3/3N 3-point hitch, triple link suspension, dual 520/85R46 rear tires and single 420/85R34 front tires, front fenders, loader ready with JD 480 loader-bucket and grapple, rear weights. Stock #84755 $165,000 (15)

2020 John Deere 8320R 320 hp row crop tractor with IVT transmission, 6 SCVs, 85 GPM hydraulic pump, 4600 Processor-Starfire 6000 receiver, front and rear weights, 3-point hitch with Quik Coupler, 1000 PTO, 480/80R50 rear tires with duals, 420/85R34 front tires with duals. Stock #78854 $339,000 (4)

1997 John Deere 8400 tractor, 250 hp, MFWD, rear duals, 4 rear SCVs, 20 front weights, 1000 PTO, 7067 hours. Stock #83239 $84,000 (11)

2021 John Deere 8R370 row crop tractor with Signature Edition, IVT with independent link suspension, air seat with cab suspension, 84 gpm hydraulic pump, 6 SCVs, 1000 PTO, Cat 4 3-point Quik Coupler, 520/85R46 rear duals, 480/70R34 front duals, front fenders, weights - front and rear. Includes 4600 display with 3.0 AutoTrac Activation (no SF6000 receiver). Stock #83132 $457,500 (1)

2013 Massey-Ferguson 7624 Classic with cab, self-leveling loader with bucket and grapple, MFWD with suspension, IVT, rear 540/1000 PTO, 4 SCVs, rear fenders, duals, rear weights. Stock #81856 $120,000 (15)

2010 John Deere 8225R IVT transmission, ILS, AutoTrac ready, 3-point hitch, PTO, rear duals, 4 SCVs. Stock #84749 $165,000 (11)

1994 John Deere 4955 cab, MFWD, PowerShift, 3 SCVs, 1000 PTO, nearly new tires all around, fender, 3-point. Stock #84806 $59,500 www.frontlineagsolutions.com

DRILLS & SEEDERS

Check out our selection of good used seeding tools for spring.

2022 John Deere N560 no-till air drill with 60-ft. 10” spacing, Pro Series opener with TruSet down pressure control, single shoot, narrow spoked gauge wheel, crumbler closing wheel, JD relative flow blockage, 430 tow between 1910 cart (no section control), 2 black and 1 green roller, 12-ft. conveyor with KSI flip over hopper. Stock #84739 $425,000 (14)

2011 John Deere 1890, 60-ft. 10” disc drill, narrow solid gauge wheel, smooth firming wheel, 430 tow between cart with mechanical drive, 12” conveyor, John Deere All Run Blockage. Stock #75416 $145,000 (12)

#82879

2020 John Deere R4060 with 120-ft. steel boom, 20” nozzle spacing, automatic solution control, JD ExactApply, hi flow pump with dual flow meter, boom air purge, full boom breakaway, SS tank.

Stock #82879 $393,000 (1)

2006 John Deere 4920 120-ft. SS boom, 15” nozzle spacing, 7 boom sections, 5 nozzle bodies, 5 sensor boom track, hydraulic tread adjust, eductor, 3” fill dual flow meters, L/R end nozzles, radar, Xenon lights, fenders, 380/105R50 tires - 10% to 20%, AutoTrac ready, brown display only for sprayer functions, would need GS2, GS3 or Gen4 with AutoTrac and section control and a receiver. Stock #83830 $67,500 (14)

2017 New Holland SP295F with 120-ft. booms, 20” spacing, 1200 gallon stainless steel tank, Intellisteer ready, Raven Viper 4 receiver, Viper Pro, hydraulic tread adjust, traction control, new engine and other. Stock #78627

$215,000 (2)

2003 Case IH SPX3150 with 90-ft. boom, 750 gallons, 20” spacing, 2 nozzles, hydraulic tread adjust, Starfire 3000, 2600 display, AutoTrac and swath control, 320 tires. Stock #84262 $50,000 (15)

2012 Terragator TG8400 spreader, 70-ft. boom, CVT transmission, single box, section control, electric roll tarp, Raven GPS, foam marker. Stock #79261 $110,000 (11)

2007 Peterbilt PB335 300 cu. ft. Magnasspread fertilizer spreader with roll tarp. Mounted on 2007 Peterbilt truck body, 335 diesel engine, 10 speed transmission. Has Raven auto rate control components. Stock #83814 $98,000 (1)

(1)

2007 Terragator 8204 fertilizer spreader, stainless boom, section control, AirMax 1000 box, 6 cylinder Cat engine, 330 hp, 11/3 Terrashift transmission. Stock #83180 $69,000 (11)

2019 John Deere 1830 60-ft., 7.5” spacing, 8 run, all run blockage, 1” points, steel press wheels, 550 bu. toe behind tank, single shoot, 10” auger, hydraulic drive (less section command) big singles on cart. Stock #84830.$225,000 (1)

2013 John Deere 1830 61-ft. drill, 12.5” spacing, single shoot, 4” capped steel press wheels, All Run Blockage, dual wing wheels, JD boots and 1”JD carbide points, 350 bushel 1910 cart, hydraulic drive, variable rate, 6 run, single front casters, 30.5-32 rear singles, 10” auger, two green meter rollers, cart SN 1A81910HVDF755183. Stock #83548 $120,000 (14)

2015 Case IH 700/3430 60-ft. air drill, 10” spacing, single shoot, big tire packers, 1” points, tow between 3430 cart, 3 compartment tank. Stock #84475 $96,000 (1)

2005 Case IH ATX4812 drill, 48-ft. wide, 12” spacing, rubber packer wheels, 1” tips, includes 3380 tow behind cart. Stock #83627 $36,500 (1)

2019 Brillon SSB12 12” end wheel drill, grass boxes and alfalfa boxes, double cultipacker, mechanical rate control, approximately 250 acres on drill. Stock #84169 $22,500 (11)

2004 John Deere 1700 corn planter with 30” spacing, rigid frame, finger pickup, 1.6 bushel hoppers, tine tooth incorporators, 6 row command. Planter is built on 8 row bar, new disks last season. Stock #83964 $16,500 (16)

1=Conrad: 877-278-5531

2=Cut Bank: 800-273-5530

3=Choteau: 866-466-5741

4=Dillon: 888-213-2793

www.frontlineagsolutions.com

11=Lewistown: 800-823-3373

12=Havre: 800-621-5701

13=Chester: 406-759-5010

14=Great Falls: 888-760-2005

15=Belgrade: 866-282-3337

16=Livingston: 800-824-3932

Apache AS1220 with 120-ft. booms, 20” spacing, boom leveling, Raven Viper 4 rate controller, VF380/90R46 tires. Stock #81278 $118,900

#81278

#83627

RUSTIC LOG CABIN FOR SALE

Recipe Patch by Geri

Cabbage Rolls

This is a family recipe for cabbage rolls that goes back more than 80 years. I have made modifications to this recipe to enhance the taste and flavor. These cabbage rolls freeze well.

2 cups uncooked long-grain rice

4 cups water

2 large heads savoy cabbage

1 cup water

2 onions, chopped

3 tablespoons butter

¾ cup uncooked long-grain rice

1 pound extra-lean ground beef

½ pound pork sausage

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried dill weed

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon white sugar

1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with liquid

1 (26 ounce) can condensed tomato soup

8 bay leaves

Wash rice thoroughly. Combine rice with 4 cups water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all of the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, remove cabbage cores using a thin, long knife. Place one cabbage in a microwave-proof container with the cored part facing down. Pour 1/2 cup water into the container, cover, and microwave on high for 10 minutes.

Carefully turn cabbage over, and cook, covered, for an additional 10 minutes. Let cabbage sit until it is cool enough to handle, then separate leaves carefully and remove any tough ribs. Cook the second cabbage in the same manner. Sauté 1/2 of the onions in 3 tablespoons butter; cook just until translucent (do not brown). Combine the cooked and uncooked rice, cooked and uncooked onions, ground beef, pork sausage, garlic, dill weed, salt, black pepper, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix until incorporated.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of mixture onto each cabbage leaf. Bring one end of the cabbage leaf over the mixture, rolling and tucking in the ends to prevent the filling from falling out.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place leftover cabbage leaves on the bottoms of two 9x13-inch casserole dishes. Arrange cabbage rolls in a single layer so they are tight against each other.

Purée tomatoes and condensed tomato soup in a food processor or blender. Pour tomato mixture over the cabbage rolls until just covered. Place 4 bay leaves on top of sauce in each dish. Cover each dish tightly with foil.

Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before removing the foil. Serve hot.

Pork Stirfry

1 pound pork loin or boneless pork chops

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

4 Tbsp canola oil

5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

8-12 medium scallions, sliced into 1 to 2-inch pieces, green and white parts

1/2 tsp sesame oil, optional

Cooked rice, to serve

Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Put the slices under some plastic wrap or wax paper and pound them thin with a meat mallet. The slices should be about 1/4 inch thick.

Cut the pork across the grain into thin strips, about 1 1/2 inches long.

Put the soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the pork strips to the bowl with the marinade and toss to coat completely. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the oil is hot (shimmering but not smoking) add the garlic slices and stir-fry until they begin to turn brown at the edges, about 30 seconds.

Add the pork strips and stir-fry until the pork changes color, about 90 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add the sliced green onions and continue to stir-fry for another minute, or until the green onions wilt. Turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil, if using.

Serve immediately over rice.

• Punch holes in the bottom of old plastic or paper cups and use to plant seeds.

• Make a small propagator from an old plastic candy jar. Lay it horizontally and place a plant tray inside, then replace the lid.

• Cut the base of clear plastic soft-drink bottles to make a mini cloche to protect planted-out seedlings from slugs and cold. Unscrew the tops gradually to acclimatize plants to cooler air.

• Cut cardboard milk cartons in half horizontally to plant sweet corn, beans, sweet peas, etc. When planting out, cut the sides away with scissors to avoid damaging the roots.

• Plastic cartons that takeout food comes in make excellent seed trays for standing pots on in cold frames.

• Cardboard egg cartons are excellent for planting individual seeds, one per hole. When planting out the seedlings, cut the box into its compartments and plant each in the ground; the cardboard is biodegradable and will disintegrate.

• When sowing fine seeds, mix with sand for easier sowing.

• Leave cans of water to warm up in a greenhouse to water tender seedlings.

• Soak seeds in a cup of cool tea, then place into the refrigerator for three days to prepare them for planting.

• When growing sweet peas from seed, fill a pot two-thirds full with compost and water well, then top up with dry compost. Plant seeds ½” (1 cm) beneath the surface of the compost. This way the seeds will draw up as much water as required and will not rot.

• To enhance the germination of morning glory or lupin seeds, nick each seed with a pair of nail clippers. Place the seeds on a lightly dampened paper towel, fold the towel over, and place inside a plastic zipper bag for a day or so before planting.

Powdered wigs

In the 18 th century, hygiene was hardly what it is today, and head lice were a rampant problem, so wigs were worn to cover shaved heads. But powdered wigs themselves were hotbeds for lice, roaches, and other critters. Still, wigs were worn until the end of the 18th century when an expensive tax on white powder made the trend die down.

2007 Mauldin MG 618 motor grader, 19,000 lb. machine weight, 133 HP, diesel, articulated, full cab, air/heat, 10-ft. mold board, only 940 hours. Like new Call

2012 ford F550 4x4, bucket/chipper dump truck, Terex LT38 articulated, telescopic over center boom, 43-ft. reach, dump box, cab guard, insulated boom, gas motor, automatic, 53,000 miles Call

1994 Fruehauf PSD-T-2-40W stepdeck trailer, 40-ft. bed, 11-ft. upper, 29-ft. lower, 102”

wide, steel composition, air ride suspension, rust free, clean/straight ex-municipal trailer Call

1992 Ford L8000 garbage/refuse truck, 15 yard rear load Scranton Manufacturing body, new 5.9 Cummins diesel, new 653 Allison automatic, 100% rust free, clean/straight affordable garbage truck. Call

1992 GMC 7500 topkick bucket truck with chipper dump body, Altec LR11-55 boom, 60-ft reach, Cat diesel, Allison automatic, rust free, 75,000 miles. Call

1997 Ford F450 mechanics truck, 7.3 Powerstroke diesel, automatic, 3200 lb. auto crane, service body/flatbed, air/heat, 126,000 miles Call

1997 John Deere 624H front end wheel loader, 3 yard general purpose bucket, Autoshift, differential lock, one owner, ex-municipal, tight/clean, rust free California machine, 6400 hours Call

1992 Dorsey 45-ft. flatbed trailer, air ride suspension, set up for donkey forklift, closed tandem, stake pockets, pristine rust free condition Call

2008 Sterling AT9500 truck tractor, 60 Series Detroit diesel, 550 hp., 13 speed, full locking rear ends, 46,000 lb. rears, double frame, 121,000 actual miles, pristine condition. None Nicer! Call

2000 IHC 2574 Truck Tractor, C10 Caterpillar (305 hp), 4560P Allison transmission, 5th wheel, ex government truck with only 36,000 original miles Call

2009 Vermeer BC100 wood chipper, 12” self feed, 4 cylinder diesel, ex municipal machine with only 571 hours Call

1986 Great Dane GCD-2 trailer dolly, 25,000 lb. GVWR, spring suspension, 95% brakes Call

2001 Freightliner Fl80 flatbed with stake racks, 22-ft. bed, rear lift gate, Cat diesel, Allison automatic, air ride suspension, 156,000 miles, rust free truck. Call 1992 Sullair 185 CFM towable air compressor, John Deere diesel, dual hose reels, 120 volt generator, 2900 hours, one owner Call

2005 Yale GDP120MJ forklift, 12,000 lb. capacity, 197” lift, 3 stage mast, diesel, 4200 hours Call

2013 Ingersoll Rand/Doosan P425/375 air compressor, dual pressure , 425 CFM, Cummins diesel, cold weather package, air dryer, 2400 hours Call

1986 Cat D4H dozer, 6-way blade, high tracks, 3014 Cat diesel, ROPS, excellent undercarriage, clean, ready to work Call

1990 Clark GPS15 shop forklift, 3000# capacity, 122” lift, dual stage, propane motor. 3300 hours Call

2019 Evcore carousel/pipe spool trailer, turntable with adjustable center hub and fairleads, 3500# GVWR, 5 hole wheels, light package. Call

2004 Belshe DT235-2AP flatbed tandem dual equipment trailer, 25-ft. long, 23,500 lb. GVWR, air brakes, flip over ramps Call

1990 Case W14C front end loader, auxiliary 3rd valve hydraulic, 4 + 1 bucket, working air conditioning and heat, 5.9 Cummins diesel, new tires, one owner/ ex government machine very clean Call

2008 International 7500 boom truck, diesel, Allison automatic, Terex Commander 7000 boom, remote control, outriggers, 18-ft. flatbed with stake racks, 102,000 miles, absolutely like new condition Call

2003 International 7400 snowplow dump truck, DT570 diesel (pre-emissions), 10 speed manual, 11-ft. dual direction front plow, passenger side wing plow, 11-ft. dump bed, plumbed for sander, complete Call

1998 Dodge W2500 4x4 regular cab, utility truck, 5.9 Cummins diesel, automatic, 8-ft. service body, one owner, 156,000 miles, clean/straight truck Call

2011 Ford F550 crew cab, 4x4, gas motor, automatic, 12-ft. flatbed with toolboxes and lumber rack, one owner, ex-municipal truck, very clean Call

2008 Ford F550 4x4 service truck, crew cab, diesel, hydraulic wet kit with tool circuit, high end service body, west coast clean, very nice Call

1988 Ford FT900 tandem axle dump truck, 7.8 diesel, 653 Allison automatic, 14-ft. dump bed, rear pintle hitch, rust free, affordable, tandem axle dump truck,76,000 miles Call

1986 Case W14 front end wheel loader, general purpose bucket, full cab, heat, removable rear backhoe, auxiliary 3rd valve hydraulics, ex-government machine, 1100 hours Call

1995 International Paystar 5000 snowplow truck, 4x4, M11 Cummmins diesel, 13 speed transmission, locking rear end, heavy spec plow truck, 11-ft. dual direction plow, side wing plow, stainless steel live floor sander, everything big, complete Call

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Jack Hirschy Livestock & Harrington Ranches Inventory Reduction Auction

To be held in Wisdom, Montana

Complete list in May issue of Traders Dispatch

June 3, 2023

23rd Annual Farm & Ranch Equipment Auction

Beaverhead County Fair Grounds

Complete list in May issue of Traders Dispatch

July 8, 2023

Ken Grose Construction Estate Auction

Beaverhead County Fair Grounds

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Prepare for changes in purchasing livestock antimicrobials

Beginning in June of 2023, livestock owners will need a prescription from a licensed veterinarian to purchase all medically important antimicrobial drugs, says Dr. Gerald Stokka, North Dakota State University Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist. Currently, there are several antibiotics sold over-the-counter (OTC) that do not require a veterinary prescription to purchase.

The changes being implemented in 2023 are the latest in a plan put into place in 2012 by the Food and Drug Administration. At that time, the FDA recommended limiting the use of antimicrobial drugs that are considered necessary for assuring animal health to include veterinary oversight or consultation.

Following this guidance, in 2013, recommendations regarding the transition of medically important antimicrobials administered through feed and water required either a veterinary feed directive (VFD) or a prescription status. This guidance resulted in the use of these products now being authorized by a veterinarian within a veterinary client patient relationship (VCPR). The new labels implementing this policy went into effect in January 2017.

The most recent guidance document pertains to transitioning the sale and use of the remaining medically important, OTC antimicrobials to prescription status. Once the recommendations have been fully implemented, all dosage forms of medically important antimicrobials approved for use in animals can only be administered under a prescription from a licensed veterinarian with a VCPR and only when necessary for the treatment, control or prevention of specific diseases.

The most common products in this category include penicillin (both procaine and procaine/benzathine formulations), all oxytetracycline products including 100, 200 and 300 mg/ ml injectable formulations, and the sulfa class of antimicrobials. A list of all products changing to prescription status can be found at https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/ antimicrobial-resistance/list-approved-new-animal-drugapplications-affected-gfi-263.

“Antimicrobials for use in livestock can be purchased from a veterinary clinic or from a registered animal health retail facility,” says Dr. Stokka. “The veterinarian with which your operation has a VCPR will need to provide a prescription to the retail operation to allow for the purchase.

“This VCPR implies a relationship with the operation, knowledge of the operation and knowledge of the animals’ need for antimicrobial treatment,” adds Dr. Stokka.

The retailer, if not already registered with the state of North Dakota as an animal health retail facility, will need to apply through the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy. In addition, one person associated with the facility must be registered as a veterinary dispensing technician to assure documentation and proper product labeling.

After June 11, all new product entering distribution channels that was formerly purchased OTC, must be labeled as prescription products. However, the FDA intends to allow existing inventory of OTC-labeled product that may already be in distribution channels to deplete.

New inventory with changes that reflect the change from OTC status will be labeled with new labels indicating prescription status. The wording is as follows, “Caution: Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.” This statement must appear on the container label.

Animal owners still have access to medically important antimicrobials to address animal health issues in consultation with their veterinarian to obtain a prescription. Drug sponsors, which means drug manufacturers, have two years to voluntarily comply with the guidance. This voluntary compliance began in June of 2021.

“The livestock industry continues to respond to changes regarding the use of antimicrobials,” says Dr. Stokka. “We have adopted the concept of judicious use as part of our commitment to antimicrobial stewardship, and the careful and responsible management of antimicrobial resources. The principles are simple: use only when necessary, and use under the direction of a veterinarian with a valid VCPR.”

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#####

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Ways to minimize scours in young calves

By Lisa Moser, K-State Research and Extension news service

The importance of limiting exposure to disease has been top of mind for folks these past few years and many of the prevention strategies also apply to livestock, specifically newborn calves, said Kansas State University veterinary experts on a recent Cattle Chat podcast.

“Prevention and early detection are two keys in reducing the spread of disease in newborn calves,” said Brad White, veterinarian.

One disease that is of great concern for newborn calves is scours, otherwise known as diarrhea, said veterinarian Bob Larson.

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“Scours often impacts calves in the first month of life because of their developing immune system, and if they lose too many electrolytes, they can develop metabolic acidosis, which can be fatal if not promptly treated,” Larson said. “Once the calves reach a month of age, they are much more resilient to the severe effects of scours.”

Larson said the disease typically spreads through animalto-animal transmission, but this risk can be minimized depending on how the cows and calves are managed during the calving season.

“Keeping the older calves away from the newborns is one management strategy to reduce the likelihood of disease spread,” Larson said. “A calf that is a few weeks of age tends to shed a lot of germs, putting the newborns at risk.”

The veterinarians recommend having multiple calving pastures. In this system, every 2-3 weeks the pregnant cows are moved to a new location thereby leaving the cow-calf pairs in the pasture where they calved White said.

“By moving the pregnant cows to a new pasture, producers can be sure those calves are being born in a clean environment,” he said.

Another management strategy is to focus sanitation and age-separation efforts on calves born to heifers since these calves are less likely to consume enough high-quality colostrum compared to the calves born to cows.

To help make sure the cows are giving the calves optimum immunity, good nutrition prior to calving is key, said beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster.

“The antibodies in the colostrum passed from the dam to her calf is the calf’s first defense against any of those pathogens, so it is important to have the cows at a body condition score of five or six when they calve,” he said.

Once the cows calve, Larson recommends adjusting how the hay is delivered to minimize the congregation of the herd.

“During calving season, feeding hay in round bale feeders can lead to a lot of manure buildup in a small area, increasing the risk of disease spread,” Larson said. “Instead, producers should unroll the hay on the ground and move that location to help spread out the cows, even though it means there will be some hay wastage.”

White agrees, adding that “cattle are going to stay around where the hay and water are located, and they don’t tend to roam if they are not grazing.”

Save the Rhino Day

Date When Celebrated: This holiday is always held on May 1

Q: What animal has roamed the earth for over a million years, and has been hunted to near extinction?

A: You guessed it, the Rhinoceros.

Save the Rhino Day encourages us to be aware of, and support efforts to save the Rhinoceros from extinction.

The Rhinoceros is a fascinating creature. Native to Africa, this leftover from the age of Dinosaurs was hunted to near extinction. Hunters on safaris, killed Rhinos just for sport. Poachers hunted them for their horn. The horn has been used as medicine, and for making knife handles, carved statues, and other objects. Animal rights groups have helped to save this animal from extinction, and their numbers have rebounded somewhat.

Did you know? The horn of the Rhinoceros is composed of the same material as your fingernail.

You can enjoy Save the Rhino Day in a variety of ways. Watch documentaries on the Rhinoceros. Visit Rhinos at a zoo. Better still, go on a safari to see one! You can also donate to groups working towards preserving the Rhinoceros.

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Bioluminescence may shine light on roundworm secrets

By Jan Suszkiw, ARS

Even though roundworms are nearly too small to be seen, they can pose major problems in corn, soybean, peanut and other crops. Collectively, these roundworms are known as plant-parasitic nematodes, and they cause $173 billion in crop losses worldwide each year.

These losses to crop yield and quality can occur even though chemical controls, resistant cultivars and other methods are available to farmers. So, a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists decided to take a deeper dive into the basic biology of these nematodes and, more specifically, their genes for reproducing.

But the furtive nature of these millimeter-long pests and peculiarities of their lifecycle evaded the latest high-tech tools that the scientists had hoped to study them with.

Fortunately, they found a “work-around” in the form of electroporation. In short, the technique involves immersing nematodes in a plexiglass chamber with a buffer solution and pulsing it with small jolts of electricity. This stuns the creatures and temporarily opens pores in their bodies through which the solution’s chief “active ingredient” can enter—namely, bits of genetic material called NanoLuc luciferase mRNA.

Luciferase is an enzyme that oxidizes a compound called luciferin, producing a type of light called bioluminescence, such as that emitted by fireflies. In this instance, scientists “retooled” a luciferase coding sequence taken from a bioluminescent, deep-sea shrimp and electroporated it into the nematodes.

“Nematodes have primitive nervous systems,” explained Leslie Domier, a plant pathologist (retired) with the ARS Soybean/Maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research unit in Urbana, Illinois. “When they were electroporated, they were immobilized for up to an hour, but then recovered and behaved normally.” Scientists then harvested the nematodes so that the contents of their cells, including luciferase, could be blended into a mixture called a “homogenate.” Next, they mixed the homogenate with a luciferin-like chemical called furamazine and presto—bioluminescence achieved!

Soybean cyst nematodeBioluminescence tools are helping light the way to a better understanding — and control — of costly roundworms like the soybean cyst nematode. (Image courtesy ARS Electron Microscope Unit).

Rather than observe this with the naked eye, the scientists used biochemical assays and sensitive light-detecting equipment to gauge the strength of the homogenate’s bioluminescence and determine how well their experiments had worked. So far, the researchers have successfully electroporated luciferase mRNA into the likes of soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) and root-knot nematodes—both costly crop pests— and Caenorhabditis elegans, a free-living species that doesn’t require a host in which to reproduce.

According to Glen Hartman, another plant pathologist (ARS retired) on the research team, the approach opens the door to introducing other synthetic mRNAs into nematodes to reveal how they change and where, as well as when the nematode’s own genes are activated in cells.

There may be pest-control applications, as well. For example, electroporation could offer a way to rear laboratory colonies of soybean cyst nematodes that carry pieces of genetic code whose sole purpose is to skew the ratio of maleto-female offspring. In theory, releasing these lab-reared nematodes to mate with those in the wild would eventually cause a generational population crash.

“We hypothesized that if we could interfere with the sex determination in nematodes, we could reduce nematode populations below crop-damaging thresholds,” said Domier. That, in turn, could diminish the need for chemical controls or help prolong the effectiveness of elite, resistant cultivars favored by growers, among other potential benefits.

More details about the technique and its implications for nematode control were reported in the journal Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology by Domier, Hartman and coauthors Thanuja Thekke-Veetil and Kris Lambert—both with the University of Illinois—Nancy McCoppin (ARS), Reza Hajimorad (University of Tennessee) and Hyoun-Sub Lim (Chungnam National University).

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Tired of winter: There are a few chores that can be done in the yard and garden while waiting for the weather to settle. Walk around your yard and check for damaged or broken branches on trees and shrubs. Dormant pruning is done before trees and shrubs leaf out allowing us to see the branching structure clearly, a benefit when making correct cuts. Always use sharp pruners or saws and cut along the branch collar, do not leave the branch too long or cut into the branch collar as this will hinder the healing process.

What is a good pruning cut on trees: First find the branch collar on the limb to be removed. It is the raised area at the base of the branch. Make an undercut 6 inches to a foot from the trunk, then remove the branch weight by sawing just past the undercut. Remove the stub along the branch collar, being careful not to cut into the branch collar. A correct cut allows the callus tissue to grow evenly and cover the wound protecting the tree from decay and pest damage

How do you know the correct time to prune shrubs: Spring-flowering shrubs should be pruned immediately after blooming. This allows you to enjoy the flowers and gives the shrub time to regrow for the next season. Old, neglected shrubs such as lilacs that no longer look flush and only have blooms on the very tip of the branch need extensive pruning to rejuvenate the plant; this requires pruning all branches to a height of 6 to 10 inches. This will renew the plant and add to its longterm health.

Perennials: Do you have perennials that are out growing their area or dying back in the center? The reasons for dividing perennials is to control size, rejuvenate them and increase their numbers. It is best to divide fall-blooming perennials in the spring. Dividing now, allows the plant to put its energy into root and leaf growth. Spring division is usually done as soon as the growing tips of the plant emerge. Use a sharp spade, lift the parent plant, separate, trim broken roots and replant, do not let them dry out.

When should you get your lawn ready for spring: Each spring is different, and what the calendar tells us can be completely different from what our weather is. Let the plants tell you. Watch for the forsythia and lilac bushes to begin to flower. Our temperatures have been below average for this time of year, and our soil temperatures are only averaging 35 degrees. Wait until the grass begins to green up. This signifies that the grass blades are rooting and actively growing. Raking will be the first thing to do to prepare for new growth. #####

The two highest IQ scores in recorded history belong to women.

International Dance Day

When is International Dance Day? This holiday is always celebrated on April 29

Put on your clogs or dancing shoes. All over the world, there will be dancing in the streets, as it is International Dance Day. On this April 29 holiday, grab your partner and step out onto the dance floor to show your moves. It’s also a great day to learn a new dance style.

International Dance Day is a truly global holiday celebration. It encourages everyone around the world to participate by dancing. You can dance to any music genre you prefer. Bring out the Irish dancers. Do the Macarena, a tap dance, or a Tango for two. Tribal dances and dances steeped in local customs are all encouraged. It’s a day for events and festivities. It’s the perfect day to hold a dance-a-thon.

Each year the International Theatre Institute (ITO) selects an outstanding dance personality to write a message about dancing for celebration on International Dance Day. The ITO also selects a host city each year, to hold dance performances, workshops, and a variety of celebrations related to the world of dance.

However, you decide to celebrate this day, be light on your feet, as you dance until dawn.

How to Celebrate in International Dance Day

Here are a few ideas on how to celebrate this holiday:

Grab your partner and move on out to the dance floor.

Go to a concert and dance in your seats.

Be bold and daring. Learn a new style of dance.

Not going out today? No problem. put on your favorite songs and dance.

Watch a musical movie. There’s always lots of dancing in these shows.

History and Origin of International Dance Day

This holiday event was created in 1982, by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITO). It is formally recognized by UNESCO.

The date of April 29 was selected, as this is the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet.

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Looking ahead to winter wheat planted area estimates

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will publish its first official estimate of U.S. winter wheat planted area for the 2023/24 crop on Jan. 12, 2023. Along with U.S. wheat importing customers, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) will be watching trade estimates before the report is issued and make some comparisons to NASS estimates in 2022.

USDA’s Economic Research Service has noted that “the general downward trend in U.S. wheat plantings over the last two decades is attributable to lower relative returns for wheat, changes in Government programs that give farmers more planting flexibility, and increased competition in global wheat markets.”

The past three marketing years, however, have seen a slight change in that trend.

At planting time in 2022, the relatively high farm gate prices for hard red winter (HRW), soft red winter (SRW) and white winter wheat (including winter soft white and hard white) provided some incentive to plant more winter wheat. Looking ahead, the pre-report predictions to date for total winter wheat planted area of between 34 million acres (MA) and 36 MA are both

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higher than the final 2022 crop NASS estimate of 33.27 MA.

More Planted Acres Expected

Wheat analyst Jeffery McPike with WASEDA Commodities and McWheat Trading Inc., recently pegged that group’s initial 2023 planted area forecast at 35.7 MA that, if realized, would be a 7.3% increase over NASS’s final 2022 estimate.

The group’s forecast of 24.8 MA for HRW planted area is 7% more than the final NASS 2022 estimate based mainly on expected gains in the Central and Southern Plains.

McPike said the group is bullish on SRW planted area with a forecast of 7.22 MA, which is 11% more than NASS’ final 2022 estimate. For example, an Arkansas Extension official recently reported that “good prices and a relatively dry fall likely encouraged farmers to plant more winter wheat for a 2023 harvest. Early estimates are that winter wheat acres in Arkansas will be up 25% to 30% from last year.”

The group sees only a slight uptick in white winter wheat planted area to 3.65 MA. The January 2022 NASS estimate for winter white planted area was 3.56 MA.

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Change in Direction. Compared to the general downward trend in U.S. wheat planted area, higher wheat prices for farmers have provided an incentive to plant more wheat the past three marketing years. Planted area for the three winter wheat classes (HRW, SRW and white winter) are all up since 2019/20. Note that “White” wheat on this chart includes spring-planted soft white wheat.

And Watch Harvested Area and Production Estimates

NASS will adjust its winter wheat planted area forecast throughout 2023. And, as McPike pointed out, the currently unknown harvested area, along with production estimates, will be major price determinants. For example, compare the final 2022 NASS estimate of HRW planted area of 33.89 MA to final harvested area of 24.05 MA.

“After the NASS figure is published and

gets digested, the market will likely quickly move to winterkill issues (again) in the U.S., Europe, and the Black Sea regions,” McPike said, “and harvested area discussions, along with the many macro issues that continue to roil the markets.”

The annual NASS Winter Wheat Seedings report will be published here: https:// usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/z890rt24s

It was a full house for Bob Welker’s, ‘Expanding the Pie’ presentation at Montana’s Next Generation conference. Welker is a part of the popular YouTube channel, Welker Farms Inc. and also serves on the Toole County FSA committee locally. Photo by Kari Lewis.

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Calculating the value of nutrients in manure

By Leslie Johnson - Animal Manure Management Extension Educator, UNL

“How much is this manure worth?” This is a common question from both livestock farmers who are supplying manure and crop farmers who are utilizing it. To answer this question, it is important to understand the difference between gross value and net value. The gross value of manure reflects the equivalent commercial fertilizer value of the nutrients contained in the manure. The net value considers the impacts of application method, transportation, and cropping system nutrient needs as well as intrinsic values that are much more difficult to put a number on. Therefore, this article will focus on determining the gross value of nutrients in manure. This article will walk you through the steps to calculate your manure value, but the University of Nebraska has an Excel based spreadsheet tool that also works. The value of manure depends upon: the manure type, how and where the manure is applied, the amount of nutrients that the field needs for the next crop or crops, and the cost of fertilizer.

Determining Commercial Fertilizer Costs in $/pound of Nutrient

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The first thing we need is the cost of fertilizer, which will have to be obtained from your local fertilizer dealer as prices vary between dealers. Once the price is known, you will need to know the percent of nutrient in the fertilizer product. Some common fertilizers are in Table 1. With this information, we can get a price per pound of nutrient. The equation to do that is: Price of Fertilizer / 2000 lbs / percent of actual nutrient (as a decimal) = price of nutrient per pound

If urea is $775 per ton, then the price you’re paying for nitrogen when buying urea is: $755 / 2000 lbs / 0.46 = $0.84 per pount of N Manure Nutrient Availability

The next step in determining a manure value is to determine how much of our manure nitrogen is available. A number of factors influence this, including the temperature at the time of application, whether the product was incorporated, and the type of animal and housing that the manure came from. For this reason, different places have different availability factors.

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UNL research shows that for most species about 40% of the organic nitrogen in manure is available the first year with an additional 35% becoming available over the following 3 years (See table 3).

For this example, I’m using a sample of beef manure with about 13 pounds of organic nitrogen, which calculates to about 5

pounds per ton the first year and another 4 and a half in the next few years.

13 pounds Organic N in manure times 40% available (from table 3) equals 5 pounds of N available this year

CONTINUED ON PAGE B12

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Bike to School Day

Date When Celebrated: This holiday event is held on the first Wednesday in May

National Bike

Month is in May. That makes the first Wednesday in May, the perfect time to ride your bike to school. The sunny spring weather is perfect for a ride. Yessiree, Bike to School Day couldn’t be at a better time. Biking is relaxing. Biking is fun. And, biking is a healthy exercise. The League of American Bicyclists and schools around the country work together encourage students to skip the bus ride, and bike to school for both exercise and for fun. In today’s digital electronic world, most kids in America can use the exercise and time away from the ipads and cell phones. Encouraging today’s youth to ride a bike, can lead to a lifelong addiction to cycling. And, that’s a good addiction. It also leads to healthier adults.

The first Bike to School Day was held in 2012 with approximately 1,000 schools participating. It has quickly grown, and now thousands of schools take part in this special day. In addition to promoting health and exercise through biking, the promoters are also seeking to assure safe baking routes to and from schools.

Participate in this day, by riding your bike to school, if possible. It is recognized that not all schools are located where the route to school has sidewalks, and roads that are safe to ride on. If you can’t ride your bike to school, perhaps you can walk. For those who are no longer in school, ride your bike to work, the gym, or to the store. In other words, get your bike out of the garage and get some healthy and enjoyable exercise.

Related Holidays:

National Bike to Work Day

International Walk to School Day

World Bicycle Day History and Origin of Bike to School Day:

The League of American bicyclists joined forces with schools to organize and coordinate Bike to School Day each year. While their website does not come right out and claim to be the creators, we believe that they are. This holiday event was created in 2012.

There is some reference to this day as a “National” day. However, the sponsor’s website refers to it as “Bike to School Day”.

##### Gregory Johnson ( En deavour, 2008) took the title page of Expedition 6, actor Bill Pullman’s play about life on the International Space Station.

#####

Pilot John Young was reprimanded for sneaking a corned beef sandwich onto the 1965 Gemini 3 flight. Crumbs are hazardous on a space capsule. (Space food is crumb-free.)

Calculating the value of nutrients in manure

pounds of N available in the future 5 lbs N available this year plus 4.5 pounts N available in future equals 9.5 pounds of N of value

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B10 add them together. Without going through all the math for each nutrient, the sample of manure listed above is worth about $30.25 per ton – accounting for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S), and zinc (Zn).

Ammonium nitrogen is only available the first year and is more easily lost to the atmosphere, which affects its availability (see table 4). Since beef manure is not usually incorporated, we’re going to assume that the manure is being broadcasted without incorporation and we’ve lost all of our ammonium nitrogen to volatilization (into the air).

1.4 pounds Ammonium N times 0% available (from table 4) equals 0 N available from ammonium $0.84 per pount of N times 9.5 pounds of N per ton equals $8 per ton

However, we know that manure contains many nutrients besides nitrogen, so we need to repeat this process for all nutrients and

Remember, we typically don’t apply just 1 ton per acre, so that makes manure a valuable part of our livestock and cropping operations.

Nutrient Needs

The last and most important factor in valuing manure is whether the crop you are growing needs the nutrients that will be applied with the manure. If the crop doesn’t need nutrients or the soil has sufficient nutrients for the crop, those nutrients are not as valuable. So, looking at the soil test and knowing what crop will be grown following the manure application will make a big difference in the value of the manure.

More ways to shake your groove thing

The Macarena: The song by Los del Rio about a sensuous Spanish woman took the U.S. by storm in 1996. VH1 called it the “#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time.”

Hully Gully: The popular line dance from the 1960s, popularized by the 1960 song “Hully Gully” by the Olympics. John Belushi dances the hully gully in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.

Electric Slide: A disco line dance created by the famous disco dancer Ric Silver in 1976. It came from a song called “Electric Boogie,” written by Bunny Wailer (from Bob Marley’s band).

Charleston: Though it’s associated with

white “flappers” in speakeasies of the 1920s, the dance actually came from the song of the same name by African-American pianist James P. Johnson.

Achy-Breaky: The 1992 song made Billy Ray Cyrus a country superstar and ushered in a new era of line dancing–not just in America, but all over Europe as well. And it’s till going strong today.

Limbo: Created in Trinidad in the 1950s, the name comes from the word “limber,” which you must be in order to do this dance. It became a fad in 1962 thanks to Chubby Checker’s “Limbo Rock.”

April, 2023 will be... Summer Tire Changeover Month

How vital a role do our carsplay in our lives? They are transportation, escape, recreation, and the location of some of the most critical events in our lives. They can serve as a right of passage, and they represent a form of freedom hitherto unknown to us before we own our first car. Summer Tire Changeover Month reminds us that changing our tires twice a year is an important part of keeping this important part of our lives healthy and on the road.

History of Summer Tire Changeover Month

Tires have been with us a long time, the first ones being made from leather for use on carts, wagons, and bicycles of course. In 1847 there was a patent placed for the first pneumatic, or air based, tire that surprisingly never actually went into production. While various forms of these tire would come into production in the following years (just not that original design) it would take the invention of synthetic rubber to make pneumatic tires a common day occurrence. While there are literally thousands of different tire designs in the world today, for most of us there are just two we need to worry about.

The cut of the tread on the tire, along with specific other factors of design, can determine what conditions a tire is best suited for. It’s for this reason that most people maintain a separate set of tires for the Summer and Winter, each one specially designed to handle those seasons vagaries. During Summer Time Changeover Month it’s time to change from your winter tires to your summer ones. Not only does this provide you with the best possible grip on the road itself, but it also helps to extend the lifetime of both sets of tires.

How to celebrate Summer Tire Changeover Month

Celebrating Summer Tire Changeover Month is simple enough, it starts with just changing from one set of tires to the other. However, if you want to be complete about the process, then you can also take both sets of tires into a specialist and have them examine the tire to determine the length of the tread left on them and whether or not there’s any damage that they’ve sustained. This kind of maintenance ensures that your tires will last your vehicle as long as possible.

International Plant Appreciation Day

When is International Plant Appreciation Day? This holiday is always celebrated on April 13

Plants are our friends, our counterparts. We breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Why, you could say it’s a marriage born in heaven, or at least the garden of Eden.

This day is a perfect opportunity to get closer to the plant world. Pamper your indoor plants. Don’t have any? Well, what are you waiting for? Go out and buy some. This special day falls in the spring, a perfect time for you to plant outdoor plants. If you are not yet a gardener, now is the time to start a relaxing and rewarding, lifetime gardening hobby.

Gardeners and non-gardeners alike should appreciate plants for the benefits they provide. They produce oxygen, essential for our existence. Plants instill calm, peacefulness, and serenity. Many of them are beneficial to our health.

We appreciate:

Flowers for their beauty.

Vegetable plants to feed us. They taste so good and offer a wide range of flavors for our consumption.

Herbs are the spice that makes eating such a pleasure. Many of them offer medicinal uses, too.

Trees give us shelter and shade. They also provide the paper that we write on.

Weeds, well let’s appreciate them too, if only for today.

And, the list goes on and on.

Barbie’s name

The Barbie doll’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, from Willows, Wisconsin. Her birthday is March 9, 1959, when she was first displayed at the New York Toy Fair.

(1)

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Derby Day

When is the Kentucky Derby: Always the first Saturday in May

Date: May 1, 2021; May7, 2022; May 6, 2023; May, 4, 2024; May 3, 2025

The “Running of the Roses” or “The Run for the Roses”, as the Kentucky Derby is called, is America’s premier horse racing event. Steeped in tradition, the derby is the first step in the Triple Crown of horse racing. It is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Each year approximately 155,000 people attend this all day event, which culminates in a roughly two minute race.

The Kentucky Derby is run on a 1 1/4 mile, 10 furlong, dirt track. The winner of the race receives a garland of rose and a $2 million purse. The winner has also reached the first step in winning the Triple Crown. The winning horse goes on to compete against other horses to hopefully win at the Preakness Stakes and finally at the Belmont Stakes.

20 horses compete in the Kentucky Derby. Normally, far fewer horses race in any other horse racing event. To qualify for the Derby, the 3 year old thoroughbred horses must travel the “Road to the Kentucky Derby”, a series of 35 horse races at tracks in the U.S. and around the world. Points are awarded and the top 20 horses proceed to the Kentucky Derby.

The race lasts about 2 minutes. It is preceded by all day long activities and celebration. The excitement increases in intensity leading up to the opening of the gates, and the “Run for the Roses” begins.

Tradition abounds at the Kentucky Derby. People come dressed to the nines. Ladies wear extravagant hats and participate in a Hat Parade.. Mint Juleps are the traditional drink, and are consumed in huge quantities, approximately 120,000 during this two day event..

Triple Crown Winners

Winning the Triple Crown is very difficult. Only 13 horses have won the Triple Crown. In 1978, Affirmed became just the 11th horse to win all three races. It was 37 long years before American Pharaoh accomplished the feat. The latest Triple Crown winner is Justify, in 2018.

Mint Juleps are the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. Use the Official Mint Julep recipe.

Kentucky Derby Trivia:

The Kentucky Derby is the longest continually running sporting event in the United States.

The race is sometimes referred to as “the most exciting two minutes in sports”.

To win the Triple Crown, a horse needs to win the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and the Preakness.

in 1896, roses were first given to the winner. Jockey Ben Brush received white and pink roses.

In 1904, red roses became the official color.

Mint Juleps are the official drink of the race.

Approximately 120,000 Mint Juleps are served during the two day event. 60,000 pounds of ice are used.

As the horses step onto the track for the post derby parade, the band plays “My Old Kentucky Home. This tradition began around 1921.

Soil acidity threatens Montana fields, MT State research explores remedies

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B14 knowledge that growers want to know if they end up with soil acidity issues on their farm.”

Most of Rakkar’s and Jones’ investigations are driven by questions posed directly by Montana farmers, and Jones said the on-farm experiments and collaboration with farmers around Montana shortens the distance between research and implementation. He has received feedback from farmers who have seen improvements in their fields because of MSU’s research.

For Rakkar, who joined MSU’s faculty in 2021, watching that research make a difference in real time has been rewarding.

“It’s been a great learning experience, not just for the farmers. I think for me as well,” she said. “It’s always great to listen to what they are doing. We share our findings and then we come up with more fruitful results at the end of the day.”

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Seeds and transplanting

• When using pots or trays that have been used previously, disinfect them by scrubbing them in warm soapy water, then rinse well.

• When planting seeds indoors, it is important to use a sterile medium. Garden soil can be used but it should be sterilized. Since this is a tedious procedure, it is probably better to use a commercially available mix.

• Once you’ve added potting soil to your pots, firm the mixture down to ½” (1.2 cm) from the top to the container using a flat piece of wood or the base of another pot.

• Sow the seeds thinly and evenly. Cover large seeds with ¼” (6mm) sieved compost, while smaller seeds just need a light dusting of compost. An old coarse flour sieve is ideal for sieving the compost.

• Water the compost by standing the tray or pot in water halfway up its sides. Remove from the water when the compost is well wet.

• Label the containers and cover with glass, polyethylene, or a clear heavy plastic bag. Individual pots can be placed inside plastic bags closed with a rubber band. This keeps the planting medium both warm and moist.

• Put trays and pots in a warm, shady place.

• If moisture forms inside the bag or on the glass, wipe it off.

• Seeds can take from five days to three weeks to germinate. Most seedlings show a pair of small round or oval leaves.

• When seedlings sprout, remove the covering. Otherwise, you risk suffocating the young seedlings. Place the tray or pot into a position where there is more light but out of direct sunshine.

• Seedlings need a lot of light. If they receive insufficient light they become tall and spindly or “leggy.”

• Place near a large window that receives full sun. In dull weather, artificial light should be used as well. Use bulbs recommended for growing plants and place them 12” (30 cm) above the seedlings. If using only artificial lighting, the lights will need to be kept on at least fourteen hours a day. Fluorescent tubes don’t produce as much heat, reducing the chance of seedlings drying out quickly.

• The medium should be kept moist, but not wet or soggy. Water from the base, allowing the medium to soak up the water like a sponge.

• To prevent seedlings from drying out, it is important to water carefully. If using total artificial lighting it is quite easy to predict how often watering is required. When using a sunny windowsill, it will help if the containers are placed on a raised bed of gravel spread across the bottom of a large pan with a small amount of water. Make sure the water level is below that of the gravel so that the plant containers rest on the gravel and not on the water.

• It is important not to start seeds indoors too early. If they outgrow trays or small pots, try thinning them and transplanting the largest to bigger pots, but it is easier to plant them outside just as they become large enough to survive transplanting. This is generally four to six weeks after sowing, when they have at least two sets of true leaves. If aiming to plant in the first week of May, start the seeds around mid-March. Toward the end of this period, you may want to provide your seedlings a little food in the form of a weak, water-soluble fertilizer.

• As soon as the first true leaf appears from between the seed leaves, the seedlings are ready to be transplanted.

• When transplanting, fill a seed tray with compost. Mark out planting holes with a dibber or pencil to ensure even spacing. The holes should be spaced over 1” (2.5 cm) apart in each direction. A standard seed tray will accommodate forty to ninety seedlings. Using a plant label or a narrow piece of plastic, lever up a small clump of seedlings. Catch a seedling by one leaf and use the dibber or pencil to tease it away from the clump. Drop the seeding into the dibber. When the tray is full of seedlings, label and water with a finerose attachment on a watering can. Place the tray in a cold frame or on an indoor window ledge but away from direct sunshine for a few days. Then move into direct sunlight for a few weeks until the plants are well established and healthy.

• Before planting out, the seedlings must be hardened off. Move to an unshaded cold frame or leave them under a covered porch or patio for a few days. Or cover them during nighttime with newspaper or a light sheet.

• When transferring transplanted seedlings either from a garden nursery or seeds started indoors, make sure the weather conditions are favorable before planting outdoors.

• Prepare the proper environment before planting out seedings. Good soil preparation is the single most important thing you can do for your plants. Loosen soil to at least 6”

Native

Mountain Brome

Idaho Fescue

Rough Fescue

Sherman Big Bluegrass

Sandberg Bluegrass

Prairie Junegrass

Basin Wildrye

Streambank Wheatgrass

Thickspike Wheatgrass

Western Wheatgrass

Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Slender Wheatgrass

Blue Grama

Green Needlegrass

Indian Ricegrass

Legumes

Alfalfa

Big Sky Ladak Alfalfa

Roundup Ready Alfalfa

Sainfoin

Alsike Clover

Red Clover

Yellow Blossom Sweet Clover

Cicer Milkvetch

Birdsfoot Treefoil

Tame Dryland Items

Smooth Brome

Meadow Brome

Sheep Fescue

Hard Fescue

Paiute Orchardgrass

Russian Wildrye

Dahurian Wildrye

Tall Wheatgrass

Intermediate Wheatgrass

Pubescent Wheatgrass

A/C Saltlander

Crested Wheatgrass

Hycrest Crested Wheatgrass

Siberian Wheatgrass

Wetland Native Items

Nuttal Alkaligrass

Tufted Hairgrass

Tame Wetland Items

Reed Canarygrass

Garrison Creeping Foxtail

Seeds and transplanting

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B20

(15 cm), add organic matter (such as peat moss, compost, or manure), and mix well. Rake to level.

• Plant when the soil is moist; if the weather is dry, then water the soil the day before transplanting.

• To transplant to the garden, knock the seed tray on the ground to loosen the compost and leave a space to insert a trowel or fingers beneath the compost. Break away a row of plants and gently separate each plant, ensuring there is a good root system. Dig a planting hole with a trowel; make it wide and deep enough to accommodate the plant’s root system. Set the plant so that the base of the stem is level with the surface of the soil. Fill the hole and firm down the soil around the plant.

• Encourage bushy plants by pinching out the growing tip.

• The spacing between plants depends on the species of plant. A general rule is to space plants apart half their eventual height, except for plants that spread, which should be spaced full height apart.

• Don’t smother new plants with too thick a soil blanket.

• Nourish young plants well during growth spurts. Water with diluted water-soluble fertilizers or manure tea from a watering can, or side-dress the plants with compost.

• Weeds rob seedlings of nutrients, so constant weeding is important to ensure sturdy plants.

• Once plants flower, keep the color coming by removing faded flower heads (deadheading).

• If a flowering plant blooms and then fades, revitalize it by shearing off the faded blooms and one-third of the top growth, then fertilize. This restores the performance and blooming of “past their prime” plants.

• It helps to pinch out the center of young flowering plants, such as petunias and fuchsias, to encourage more bushy side growth. Tall delphiniums, sunflowers, and dahlias may need to be tied to stakes.

• When moving perennials, it is a good time to acquire more plants. Pull off the side shoots and transplant in a new location where the soil has been loosened and well watered. It is advisable to do this on a cloudy day.

• When choosing plants from a garden center, always pick healthy stock. Select stocky, deep-green plants with buds slightly showing. Spindly plants in full bloom make poor transplants. Avoid plants with discolored or wilted leaves.

• When transplanting, select plants that are about as tall as they are wide, dark-green in color, vigorously growing, and free of spots or lesions on the leaves, indicating disease problems.

• If bedding plant transplants have become root bound (roots are crowded and encircling each other), gently loosen the root ball at planting time.

• Set the root ball of the transplant into the hole, filling in around it with soil. Leave enough space between seedlings to allow each plant to reach its mature potential without crowding its neighbors.

• Transplant larger nursery stock the same way you would seedlings. Control invasive plants, such as tansy, mint, or bamboo by planting them in their pots to contain their runners. Just cut the bottom out of the pot before planting.

• Do not fertilize transplants for several weeks. Instead, water thoroughly, using a splash of B vitamins to help overcome transplant shock. Water regularly until plants show new growth, indicating they’re rooting and surviving well.

• Grow varieties of plants that require little or no staking and plant closely so they support each other.

• Before planting shrubs in the garden, lay the plants out in their pots roughly in the place where you plan to plant them. This way you’ll be able to check if they are in the right places before any heavy work has been done.

• When bringing delicate plants indoors to protect them from cold weather, put several into the same pot to take up less space.

• If tender buds or shoots become frozen, thaw them out slowly by spraying with cold water before the sun shines. Otherwise they may get scorched.

• Planting seeds too closely together or overwatering can cause damping-off disease where the base of the seedling turns brown and dies.

Cyrus McCormick

Timothy www.bigskyseeds.net

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Cyrus McCormick is considered the “Father of Modern Agriculture.” He invented the world’s first mechanical reaper in 1831, which helped replace manpower for machine power to harvest crops. His invention is often cited as key in the westward expansion of the United States. Jo Anderson, a slave, also worked with McCormick to develop the mechanical reaper.

Lover’s Day

When is Lover’s Day? This holiday is always observed on April 23

Do you see it? Do you smell it? Can you sense it? Love is in the air. That’s because it’s Lover’s Day. This April 23 holiday another day for romance and perhaps…marriage!? And, you can’t have too many days that celebrate passion and romance.

When you’re in love, every day is Lover’s Day. Sometimes, however, shy and timid people need a little incentive to express their love or to take a “leap”. Valentine’s Day is one such opportunity. Today’s holiday is yet another chance at love.

Some people plan their weddings on Lover’s Day. It certainly is an appropriate date.

So, what do you do on Lover’s Day? For starters, express your love to that special someone in whatever way you feel is appropriate. It doesn’t have to be gifts. We suggest you cap off this day doing what lovers do…………………..

A line from the poem Locksley Hall, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: “In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.”

How to celebrate this romantic day:

Do what lovers do.

Are you currently unattached? Get out in public and search for that special someone. Write a poem to that special person.

Send your lover an old-fashioned, hand-written love letter. Have a romantic, candlelight dinner at home or in a restaurant.

Fencing impacts on wildlife movement

Wildlife must move to find resources and landscape connectivity is critical for their survival but fences and other linear features such as roads and railways can create obstacles to movement and contribute to population declines. Despite the extensive use of fencing globally, its impacts on wildlife are difficult to quantify due to a widespread lack of data.

A new study offers tools to evaluate the effects of fences on wildlife migrations in southwest Montana, using both modeling techniques and high-quality satellite imagery. When paired with wildlife location data, these maps can elucidate a far more accurate picture of how fence density and fence type impact daily and seasonal movements. The results of this study were highlighted in Advancing fence datasets: Comparing approaches to map fence locations and specifications in southwest Montana published in Frontiers in Conservation Science as a part of a collection of scientific papers focused on fence ecology.

“We simply don’t have maps for fences in the way we do for roads or buildings. And this is a huge limitation for wildlife ecology given the extent of fencing on the landscape and the rapid pace of habitat change occurring across the globe,” said Simon Buzzard, senior coordinator for Wildlife Connectivity at the National Wildlife Federation and lead author of the study. According to Buzzard, southwest Montana is home to a diversity of wildlife species that must migrate to find food, shelter and suitable breeding habitat but fences can get in the way. “High-quality data can help landowners and resource managers prioritize conversions to wildlifefriendlier fence designs to ensure wildlife can continue their migrations into the future,” Buzzard said.

Fencing is a fixture of working lands in the West and proven strategies exist to build fences that are less of a hindrance to migrating wildlife while keeping livestock contained. In addition, conservation partnerships can provide the necessary resources to modify fences to wildlife-friendlier designs in priority areas. Increasing the bottom-wire height to 18 inches allows for pronghorn and juvenile elk, moose and deer to cross under a fence while lowering the top wire to 40 inches helps jumping animals avoid entanglement.

However, the study found only 3% of sampled fences in Beaverhead and Madison Counties had wildlife-friendlier bottom wire heights of 18 inches or higher, and only 6% had top-wire heights measuring 40 inches or less.

“This is what you might expect, given that historically, fences were likely not built with wildlife in mind. But now we have the science, the capacity and the relationships we need to revisit this and create something that works for both wildlife and people,” said Jim Berkey, director of the High Divide Headwaters program in southwest Montana for The Nature Conservancy, an organization that assisted with the study.

The study also found that fences on public lands were not, on average, more wildlife-friendly than fences on private lands in this region of southwest Montana. This area is a patchwork of private and public lands, and recent movement data shows extensive pronghorn migrations (some reaching 200 miles roundtrip) across land boundaries and the state border into Idaho.

“Identifying fences on a map gives a basis for partnerships to rally around and target conservation efforts, leading to more available habitat for wildlife on the move,” said Andrew Jakes, Great Plains Science program manager for Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and co-author of the study.

There is greater attention at the federal level to provide funding and policy directives for federal agencies to work with states to conserve migration routes, such as the Bureau of Land Management’s Habitat Connectivity on Public Lands Instruction Memorandum. In addition, several western states such as Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and New Mexico have executive orders or state laws in place protecting migration corridors. These, and other policies, can help provide funds and data analysis to prioritize fence modifications to wildlifefriendlier standards where it’s needed most.

Visit the National Wildlife Federation Media Center at NWF.org/News.

First college football game

The first college football game was played on November 6, 1869, between Rutgers and Princeton (then known as the College of New Jersey) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Rutgers won.

Sweetpotato clones with improved

insect resistance and weed tolerance

By Jessica Ryan, ARS

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Clemson University are developing new, insect-resistant, and weed-tolerant sweetpotato germplasm that will improve weed management and sustainability for this nutrient-packed vegetable.

The researchers, whose efforts appear in the journal Weed Technology, bred and selected fast-growing sweetpotato clones that have semi-erect to erect canopy architecture, resulting in upright plant growth. They identified two sweetpotato clones that had reduced weeds, exhibited broad insect resistance, and produced higher yields.

“Weed management is consistently ranked among the top priorities of the U.S. sweetpotato industry,” said Phillip Wadl, a research geneticist at ARS’s U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina.

“Breeding sweetpotatoes that are competitive with weeds offers a practical solution, because many widely grown sweetpotato cultivars tend to grow long vines in a sprawling manner, whereas sweetpotatoes with fast-growing upright and compact plant architecture can outcompete weeds.”

aerial view of sweetpotatoesAn aerial view of different growth types of sweetpotato. ARS researchers are developing sweetpotato germplasm with more upright growth and less vining.

According to Wadl, spreading vine growth allows weeds to establish in areas where the plant canopy has not completely shaded the soil surface and can lead to the quick establishment of weeds.

“Failure to control weeds can result in yield losses,” said Wadl.

“Additionally,” he added, “the widely grown sweetpotato cultivars in the U.S. have low levels of resistance to soil-dwelling insect pests. For sustainable management of weeds and insect pests, combining insect resistance with a vigorous upright growth habit is necessary to ‘stack’ traits and develop varieties that exhibit erect, upright plant habit and resistance to insect pests.”

To manage weeds, sweetpotato growers typically use herbicides, between-row cultivation, mowing, and hand-weeding. However, each method has its drawbacks and is not always sustainable for crop production.

Researchers are taking another approach by looking at how other vining crops get upright plant growth.

Sliced and whole Ruddy sweetpotatoAn attractive sweetpotato cultivar Ruddy (left) is sweet and moist and highly insect resistant unlike the widely grown and popular U.S. cultivar Beauregard.

“Compact bunch- or

bush-type varieties have been developed for other traditionally vining crops such as bean, cucumber, winter squash and watermelon,” said Wadl. “For sweetpotato, a small number of bush-type cultivars already exist but are not resistant to insect pests.”

Wadl and the researchers plan to continue ongoing research to develop new insect-resistant germplasm in collaboration with Dr. Matthew Cutulle’s vegetable weed science program at Clemson University’s Coastal Research and Education Center.

“Reducing the critical weed-free period in a crop or the amount of time that a crop must remain weed-free to avoid yield loss is critical to the profitability of growers,” said Cutulle.

“The sweetpotato clones that are generated out of Dr. Wadl’s program have improved plant architecture that decreases the critical weed-free period and increases the competitiveness of sweetpotato versus weeds.”

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Knocking at the door

By Joe Zeleznik, Forester, NDSU Extension

We got some pretty big news in early March. Emerald ash borer (EAB) was found in Moorhead, Minnesota, by the city’s forestry crew.

EAB is a non-native insect that’s been in North America for more than 20 years, killing ash trees. It was discovered in the United States near Detroit, Michigan, and has been slowly spreading towards North Dakota.

On the one hand, the find in Moorhead wasn’t much of a surprise. We’ve known for a long time that EAB would eventually make its way to our area. Previously, the closest infestation in Minnesota was Sauk Centre, about 130 miles southeast of Fargo.

EAB was discovered in Sauk Centre in 2019.

And then, it didn’t come any closer in 2020, 2021 or 2022. The recent find is a big jump. The insect likely arrived via human means.

What does the Moorhead discovery mean for North Dakota?

That’s such a broad question that it’s difficult to give an easy, direct answer. If you don’t have ash trees in your yard or shelterbelt, then there’s no risk to your trees. And there’s a big difference, at least in the short run, depending on where you live. I’m pretty sure we won’t find EAB for a while in, say, rural McIntosh County. A find in Fargo is much more likely.

If you suspect that your ash tree is infested with EAB, you can report it to the North Dakota Department of Agriculture via their website at http://www.ndda.nd.gov/eab or via email at reportapest@nd.gov.

In the short run, folks in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area must think about making some decisions.

Do you want to keep your ash trees for the future, or is it time to remove and replace them? It’s not an easy choice.

City foresters throughout the region have been working for years to reduce the percent of ash trees in the urban forest. It’s a difficult task, as green ash was the most-planted tree species for a long time.

I can understand why.

Green ash grows quickly and is adapted to a variety of sites across the state – sandy soils, wet sites, and even salty areas have green ash growing in them. Green ash often can tolerate the compacted soils found in urban areas. It’s an amazing tree.

And the risk to that species just went up.

Looking at costs and benefits can help with your decision making. For trees that have poor structure or are in declining health, it’s pretty easy to justify removal and replacement. That’s actually been the main approach of those city foresters working towards diversification. Remove the trees that don’t provide much benefits – perhaps those that are still small or are located under power lines – but keep the ones that are in good health and are structurally sound.

Even though there’s a cost to removing trees and planting new ones, there are benefits as well, and the risk of loss is substantially decreased.

Retaining those larger, healthier ash trees also comes at a cost. There are several effective chemical treatments available for controlling EAB. While many of these are available to homeowners, the treatments that professionals offer are usually more effective, as the professional-grade chemicals are at higher concentrations than those available for homeowner use.

The chemical insecticides used to control EAB must be reapplied every 1 to 2 years, depending on which one is being used. That annual cost has to be factored into your decision making. In any given area, EAB is likely to take at least 10 years to work its way through the local population of ash trees. Do you want to continue to treat your ash tree – or trees – for that long?

Decisions. And they’re not easy ones.

My wife and I have to decide what to do with our own ash trees. I’m pretty sure we’ll take out the one that’s closest to the house. It lost a major branch about five years ago, and I’ve already planted its replacement underneath the current crown. That young tree is now four years old and is establishing well.

Will we treat the other ash tree and keep it? Or should we take it out?

Only time will tell.

#####

Q: Why did the one armed man cross the road?

A: To get to the second hand shop.

#####

Being an astronaut is funny. It’s the only job where you get fired before you start work.

World Penguin Day and Penguin Awareness Day

When is Penguin Awareness Day? This holiday is always observed on January 20

When is World Penguin Day? This holiday is always observed on April 25

Penguin Awareness Day, and World Penguin Day are great opportunities to learn about and appreciate one of the few natives of Antarctica. On these days, spend a little time learning about them…. a pictorial book or internet site is fun. You can also watch a documentary of these cute and popular, grounded birds.

These days are also a time to wear black and white—penguin colors. However, wearing a tuxedo in their honor is optional. It is also popular today to tell a penguin joke or two.

Did you know? Penguins are found in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, the Falkland Islands, and the Galapagos Islands. Elsewhere, they are only found in zoos.

How to Celebrate Penguin Days

Go to a zoo or aquarium to see them. They are fun to watch when they are active.

Waddle like a penguin.

Watch a nature documentary featuring them.

Research them on the internet.

Go to the library and read out a book about them.

World Penguin Day

History and Origin of Penguin Day

World Penguin Day coincides with the annual northward migration of penguins. This happens each year on or around April 25th. They do not fly. Rather, they walk or waddle their way to and from.

DId You Know? The only bird that can swim but not fly is the Penguin.

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Manure additive shows swine odor reduction

By Robin C. Brandt, Senior Lecturer; Agricultural and Biological Engineering; Herschel A. Elliott, Professor; Agricultural and Biological Engineering; Eileen E. Fabian, Professor; Agricultural and Biological Engineering; Michael L. Hile, Graduate Student Agricultural and Biological Engineering; Robert E. Mikesell, Senior Instructor, Animal Science, Penn State Extension

As such, humic manure additives represent one practice that can be useful in a comprehensive strategy for odor avoidance and control.

A demonstration project performed by Penn State researchers on a full scale swine finishing operation found that a humic additive demonstrated statistically significant swine odor reduction. This was true for odor emission rate from barn ventilation exhaust and field odor concentrations where the swine manure had been surface-applied.

It is important to recognize that these results cannot be universally extrapolated to other odor control products or even necessarily to other scenarios using the same additive. Producers must be cautious in assuming that odor reduction claims are directly translatable to their specific conditions.

Introduction

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Odor-related nuisance complaints associated with animal production facilities can occur as residential sprawl encroaches on once rural areas. Odors, once considered simply an inconvenience, can now threaten the survivability of some animal operations. Malodors are associated with collection storage, transport and disposal of animal manures. Limiting odors from animal agricultural operations is one of the most difficult and pressing issues facing agriculture.

Some commercial products include dried bacteria or enzymes that are claimed to enhance the ability of the microbial community to remove odorous compounds. Some additives are adsorbents that selectively bind odorous gases and prevent their release to the atmosphere. Finally, some inorganic chemicals alter the manure pH which will suppress the release of specific odorous gases.

Effectiveness of Manure Additives

The efficacy of odor control additives is highly variable. In general, studies to-date show that no additive totally eliminates odors, and most have very limited success in odor reduction. Yet manure additives have anecdotally provided on-farm odor control under specific conditions. The lack of universal success of odor control additives is likely due, in part, to their inability to degrade all of the important compounds that collectively contribute to manure odors.

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In recent years, many innovative treatment strategies such as anaerobic digestion and solids separation have become available to farmers for managing livestock manure odors. While these methods have proven effective, they tend to be costly and require special operational expertise. Strategies such as diet modifications and application of manure additives are popular because of the ease of implementation. Many commercial additives are advertised to reduce manure odors. While there are many testimonials and marketing claims supporting the effectiveness of additives, few have been evaluated under controlled, unbiased conditions. Of those additives that have been investigated, studies show that odor reduction is inconsistent, temporary, or even nonexistent. Yet, manure additives continue to be a popular method of manure odor control.

Manure Additives for Odor Control

Livestock manures contain literally hundreds of compounds, many of which are a potential source of malodorous gases. Some compounds are directly volatilized and can contribute to odor, while other compounds are converted to potentially odorous gases through microbial breakdown. Many of the most offensive odors associated with manures result from microbial breakdown of organic matter.

In a broad sense, odor control additives either act to change the nature of the odor itself, act on the complex microbial community that synthesize the odorous compounds, or modify the physical-chemical environment to suppress release of odorous gases. Some additives may work through more than one mechanism. Additives that alter the nature of the odor include masking agents or counteractants that cover or neutralize the targeted odor. Strong oxidizing agents or germicidal compounds suppress the microbial processes that generate odors, or chemically oxidize the compounds to less odorous ones.

Many of the past studies on manure additives have been conducted in the laboratory and collected data that were not subject to strict methodological procedures suitable to statistical analyses. As protocols for reliable field olfactometry odor evaluations are now available (Brandt et al., 2011), the capability exists to rigorously evaluate odor reduction potential of manure additives under actual conditions in full-scale animal production operations.

Odor Detection and Quantification

Direct sensory methods (olfactometry) using human subjects are considered the most reliable means of detecting and quantifying odors. Olfactometry approaches fall into two categories: portable field-based and stationary laboratory-based. Both approaches involve controlled mixing of odorous air with odor-free air to achieve known dilutions that are presented to a panel of pre-qualified human assessors. Starting with highly diluted samples below human detection, progressively higher concentrations are used until an odor can be first detected. This is called the threshold level. Odor strength is then inversely proportional to the dilution ratio. For example, strong odors can be detected even when highly diluted with odor-free air. The dilution ratio where this sensory threshold occurs with field olfactometry is called dilutions-to-threshold, D/T (St. Croix Sensory, 2003). A strong odor will have a high D/T value, while a weak odor will have a low D/T value.

Field Olfactormeter Odor Dilutions-toThreshold (D/T) = volume of odor-free air/ volume of odorous air

For direct field-based odor measurement, hand-held portable olfactometer units (Figure #1) are used where human assessors sniff odorous air at various pre-set dilution ratios.

Figure 1. Field Olfactometer Odor Panel

Double cropping forages on crop ground

By Jerry Volesky, UNL

There are many producers looking at ways to grow more forage for hay or pasture. Double cropping annual forages can be an option.

Successful double cropping of annual forages requires good planning and timely operations along with some timely moisture. To use this approach this spring, small grains like oats or spring triticale, would need to be planted here in late March to early April. Grazing of these plantings can begin around the third week of May last until early July if stocked and managed properly.

As portions of this spring planting get grazed out, the double crop of a summer annual grass like sudangrass or pearl millet can be planted. With adequate moisture, the summer annual grass will be ready to graze in forty-five to fifty days and may last through September.

This double crop forage strategy works even better if winter annual cereals like winter rye, wheat, or triticale were planted last fall for spring forage. They will be ready to graze earlier than any spring planting and like the spring plantings, as portions are grazed out, plant summer annual grasses to begin grazing them by mid-summer.

Another strategy is to plant the summer annual grasses first in mid- to late May. Graze portions of them out in August, then plant oats or turnips or both for late fall and winter grazing.

Of course, adequate moisture or irrigation is needed for these options to produce both double crops. Thus, it is wise to have a nearby pasture where animals can be placed and fed temporarily if extra time is needed to grow sufficient forage for grazing.

Subsistence farmers

Subsistence farmers are farmers who produce the food they need to survive on a daily basis. They are farmers who raise enough food for themselves and their families. The food is not intended to be sold in a market.

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Manure additive shows swine

odor reduction

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B28

Alternatively, samples of odorous air can be collected in special bags and transported to a laboratory for evaluation using a dynamic triangular forced-choice olfactometer (DTFCO). This instrument dilutes odor samples with odor-free air for presentation to a panel of assessors under highly controlled conditions (the international gold standard). Laboratory DTFCO detection threshold (DT) is calculated a little differently than for field olfactometry, but calculation results are similar for strong odors.

Odor D/T (field) or DT (laboratory) measures are dimensionless odor concentration dilution ratios and are, therefore, dimensionless values. A pseudo-dimension called odor units per cubic meter (OU/m3) is directly assigned to DT results to calculate an odor emission rate (OER), when air movement can be determined (or assumed). In the case of mechanically-ventilated animal housing, once the odor DT concentration has been established using olfactometry, the OER can be calculated using ventilation fan air flow rate (in cubic meters per minute, for example).

OER = Odor emission rate (OU/min) = odor concentration DT (OU/m3) x fan air flow rate (m3/min)

Manure Additive On-Farm Demonstration Project Methods

A demonstration project was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a commercial humic-based additive1 for the control of liquid swine manure odors. Humic additives are extract solutions from partially decomposed stable organic matter. This microbially resistant solution of dark brown colloidal organic decomposition products is characterized by large complex molecules with high chemical reactivity. Humic materials are incompletely understood, but are known to act as a biostimulant.

Two similarly-operated, 2,250-pig, tunnel-ventilated finishing barns (Figure #2) on one farm were used for the demonstration.

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Barns were widely-separated by 1,800 feet of woodland and fields and were occupied by pigs of similar age. The underfloor manure storage pit (5-ft deep) of one barn received monthly additions (shock-treatments) with the additive while the other barn received no additive. After 20 weeks when hogs were finished for market and barns cleaned for restocking, treatments were switched so the previously untreated barn received the amendment.

Treatment by the farm operator involved pouring the liquid additive through the center-aisle slotted floor at seven equallyspaced locations in each of the two rooms of each finishing barn (Fig #3).

Five monthly shock-treatment applications each used 3.3 gal of amendment per 1,000-ft2 of manure pit surface area. Two evaluations were conducted to quantify the odor-control efficacy of the additive. First, the OER from the two barns were compared. Second, odors from land application of the two manure sources were evaluated.

For the barn evaluation, one ventilation tunnel fan was operated at the end of each barn exhausting air horizontally (Figure #4).

A four-person odor assessment team was located 30-feet away facing the barn exhaust fan. Each assessor was equipped with a Nasal Ranger® Field Olfactometer (NRO) unit and collected four separate observations each (16 total observations). Whole-air samples were also collected in odor-free Tedlar® bags during NRO observations and transported to campus for laboratory olfactometry. Exhaust fan output for each barn observation set was also measured to enable calculation of odor emission rates for both field and laboratory olfactometry assessment methods.

For the field study, manure removed from each of the two barns was field-applied in a 20-foot wide swath (7,000 gal/acre) in a 200-foot diameter ring. The odor assessment panel, stationed in the middle of the manure ring (Figure #1), gathered D/T data using field olfactometer units. Surface isolation flux chamber whole-air samples from manure-spread areas were collected in odor-free Tedlar® bags and transported to the olfactometry laboratory for evaluation (Figure #5).

Figure 2. Demonstration Hog Finishing Barn

Figure 3. Underfloor Manure Storage ShockTreatment

Figure 4. Finishing Barn Tunnel Ventilation Fans

Figure 5. Surface Flux Chamber and Vacuum Suitcase Sampler

Fertilizing cool season grass pastures

By Brad Schick,

UNL

Fertilizing cool season grass is something many producers do each year while accounting for forage needs, moisture, the value of the forage, and fertilizer costs.

Fertilization of smooth bromegrass pastures should occur late March through April. If the nitrogen is a single application, usually between 80 to 100 lbs. of actual N per acre is suggested for eastern Nebraska. The recommended application rate declines westward across the state with about 30 to 40 lbs. N per acre suggested for the Panhandle.

If doing split applications, usually it’s 2/3 in the spring and 1/3 in the fall when growth resumes on the cool season grasses. With fertilized pasture, be sure to include a rotational grazing plan that will effectively harvest the extra forage and provide the greatest return on the fertilizer investment.

Something to consider when deciding to fertilize cool season grass pastures, or any pasture for that matter, is that during drought years the forage quality might still be very high even though yield might be reduced. Again, moisture limits the efficiency of fertilizer.

Research conducted in Eastern Nebraska has shown a 30% increase in forage yield with fertilization and the economic optimum rate is between 80 to 120 lbs. per acre. A crude protein increase from 16 to 20% was seen with fertilizer applications up to 160 lbs. That is a lot of fertilizer, but it did increase crude protein and organic matter digestibility while decreasing NDF or neutral detergent fiber. Always be aware when applying fertilizer, especially in pastures and fields near water sources such as ponds. Assure phosphorous and potassium levels are adequate for forage as well.

Brome pastures are hardy and we can and do graze them hard in Nebraska. Haying or grazing operations can benefit if managed correctly with fertilizer.

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Q: Why didn’t the melons get married?

A: Because they cantaloupe.

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Two old friends crossed paths after not seeing one another for almost a decade.

Utkarsh: “What are you doing these days?”

Sparsh: “PHD.”

Utkarsh: “Wow! You’re a doctor!”

Sparsh: “No, Pizza Home Delivery.”

Dairy goat production is an alternative livestock enterprise suitable for many small-scale or part-time livestock operations. Some dairy goat producers have been successful in pasteurizing goat milk and building an on-farm jugging business, while others have ventured into processed milk products for retail distribution, especially specialty cheeses, yogurt, soap, and lotions. The potential also exists for selling milk to processors, usually on a regional basis. Although fluid milk and processed products are important markets, dairy goat producers should also consider the potential for selling animals to hobbyists and youth involved in vocational agriculture dairy projects.

In much of the developing world, goat milk is the primary milk source for humans. Goat milk is often sought for its perceived health benefits and unique taste. Although many health effects have been attributed to consuming goat milk, scientific evidence does not support most health claims. Goat milk is similar in composition to cow milk (Table 1), but some important dif-

Dairy goat production

Penn State University

ferences exist in the protein structure. Because of these differences, people who have allergies to cow milk can often drink goat milk, and the smaller fat globules in goat milk stay in suspension longer, which leads to the perception of “natural homogenization.” Goats are excellent browsers, which allows them to consume plants containing aromatic or flavor compounds that can impart the smell or flavor to the milk or cheese, thus providing an opportunity to generate unique specialty products.

Marketing

The main marketing issue for prospective dairy goat producers is market entry for their product. There are few commercial processors to whom raw goat milk can be shipped, so many dairy goat producers build on-farm processing plants to produce products such as pasteurized bottled milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and kefir. Selling processed products directly on the farm or in the store does require additional management and marketing skills; however, profit margins tend to be higher per unit sold compared to sell-

ing to a commercial processor. It is against the law in most states, including Pennsylvania, to sell raw milk or raw milk products unless it has been inspected by state milk inspectors. Some alternative uses for goat milk include creating health care products such as soap and lotion or as an on-farm substitute for milk replacer in lamb, veal, and pig diets. To use goat milk as an alternative feed source requires the dairy goat producer to buy and market lambs, veal calves, or piglets. Experience in managing and marketing these other livestock is also required, but it allows for the use of goat milk without state inspection. Dairy goat producers must also realize that income from the kid goat crop is important. In addition to marketing the milk, the producer must also have a kid goat marketing strategy. It may be beneficial to raise kid goats to different market weights for different market seasons. Many ethnic groups are interested in purchasing kid goats, but producers must be aware of the desired weights and times when demand is great-

est in such markets. For more information on raising meat goats, see “Agricultural Alternatives: Meat Goat Production.”

Production

The eight major dairy goat breeds in the United States are the Saanen, Sable, Nubian, Toggenburg, LaMancha, Oberhasli, Nigerian Dwarf, and Alpine. The lactation period for dairy goats averages 284 days, with peak production usually occurring four to six weeks after kidding. Representative production data for the various goat dairy breeds can be found in Table 2. Volume and composition of milk produced are primarily controlled by the goat’s genetics, but they are also greatly influenced by the diet consumed.

Dairy goats reach sexual maturity at four to five months of age. Young does should be bred at a body weight ranging from 70 to 80 pounds, which is usually at an age of seven to 10 months. The gestation period ranges from 145 to 155 days with an average length of 149 days. Does normally produce between one and three kids per year (single-born kids weigh approximately 6 to 6.5 pounds at birth). Birth weights generally decline with multiple births and are often associated with increased mortality. Quality of nutrition during pregnancy influences birth weight and kid survivability. Pregnancy nutrition becomes an important part of good management as twin births are desired in an effort to improve productive efficiency. Does giving birth to twins produce more milk and have greater total kid weight per maintenance doe unit. Daily weight gains after birth range from 50 to 150 grams

Manure additive shows odor reduction

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B30

Results

Barn exhaust fan odor flux rates were reduced by 21% (OU/min, P < 0.001) for both field & laboratory odor assessment methods. Land application manure-ring odor D/T and DT concentration levels were reduced by 21% (P = 0.15) and 60% (P < 0.001) for field & laboratory assessment methods, respectively. The monthly manure storage shock treatments involved less than eight hours labor over a full 20-week hog finishingcycle. The total estimated cost for the humic amendment including labor was $0.70/hog. Product farm delivery costs would be in addition to this and vary by location.

Conclusions

Under the controlled conditions of this demonstration project, the humic manure additive demonstrated a statistically significant ≥21% odor reduction for both the barn ventilation exhaust and land-applied manure using field and laboratory odor assessment methods. This odor reduction level may not be readily discernible at the source by many people. However, dilution at distance from the source (e.g. at the property line) could make a significant difference when it comes to nuisance odor complaints, especially when combined with other odor mitigation practices, such as land application via shal-

low disk injection.

It is important to recognize that these demonstration project results showing odor reduction efficacy of one manure additive cannot be broadly extrapolated to other products or even to other scenarios using the same additive. Indeed many scientific studies have concluded that most additives have little or no impact on manure odor generation. Production of malodorous gases from manure is extremely complicated and depends on the nature of the manure, the specific agricultural practice under consideration, frequency and rate of treatment, and numerous physical, chemical, biological, and metrological conditions. For many commercially available products, scientifically validated evidence to support odor reduction claims is lacking. As shown in this project, that does not mean that all products are ineffective in reducing odors. It is thus important that producers be cautious in assuming that odor reduction claims are directly translatable to their specific conditions. Moreover, the control of manure odors is an issue of such complexity that it requires a combination of control strategies. As such, manure additives represent one practice that can be useful in a comprehensive strategy for odor avoidance and control.

GRAVEL SCREENER FOR SALE

Runs good $2500 obo Phone (406) 842-7429, Sheridan, Montana

ITEMS FOR SALE

1998 Thor Wanderer Lite travel trailer, 4-season, 22-ft. overall length, 5th wheel with tandem axle, awning, a/c, gas and electric frig, stove, good tires, middle bathroom and shower, rear dinette, clean, good hunting or camping trailer, 1/2-ton towable, never lived in $5900

Pump for firetruck, low hours, with front bumper, nice $2000

Phone 406-777-1435

12-ft. utility trailer with heavy poly 1250 gallon tank, pintle hitch, new 2” gas power pump. Great for ranch use. Room for fuel and lube unit $2900

8-ton triple axle equipment trailer, 20ft. with beavertail and ramps. Good tires with electric brakes. Great for skid steer, etc. Clean $6900

FLATBED TRAILER FOR SALE

1973 AMC flatbed semi trailer, 12-ft. storage container mounted in front. Has front and side roll up door access. Two water tanks with total capacity of 3500 gallons. $10,000 obo

Phone (406) 658-2106, Malta, Montana

WHEEL LOADER FOR SALE

Fiat Allis 645B loader

$17,500

Phone Larry Swanson (406) 468-8235

Pendroy, MT

MACHINERY FOR SALE

Flexi-Coil 600 36-ft. chisel plow. Also air seeder with Friggstad 140 bushel tank. Mounted harrows, packers and seed boots. $8000

White 5542 combine, 16-ft. header, excellent condition, low hours.

Mayrath 10”x40-ft. auger, PTO drive.

8”x24-ft. auger with 16 hp Kohler engine.

Versatile 24-ft. pull-type swather, PTO drive.

New Holland 114 swing tongue, hydraulic hay mower. $1500

New Holland 281 small square baler. $450

AT Ferrell Clipper large seed cleaner. $2000

60-ft. sprayer, 500 gallon tank. $1500

13.5-ft. chisel plow. $450

Call Bill O’Connell at 406-581-8569

Located north of Bozeman, MT

DRILLS, SPRAYER & TRACTOR FOR SALE

2021 Bourgault 91300 tank (7500 acres) complete with 2017 Bourgault 3320 Parallel link drill, 86-ft. 10” spacing, mid row banders, high flotation center section, saddle tank complete with lift, X35 monitors, Intelligent Ag Blockage.

2022 Case IH 620Q track tractor, 36” tracks, PTO, hi-flow twin flow hydraulics, 113 gpm, 6 remotes Call

Reasonable offers considered.

2012 Case IH 4430 Patriot high clearance sprayer, 1200 gallon tank, 120-ft. boom, Viper Pro monitor, 2 sets of tires, 3080 engine hours, always stored inside.

2014 Bourgault 3320 Parallel link drill, 76-ft. 10” spacing, MRB, high flotation center section, Case IH 580 bu. tank.

Roger Wilde, Rawco Farms Inc. (385) 471-5568

Dairy goat production

per day (0.1 to 0.33 pound per day), but meat goat crosses can exceed 250 grams per day (0.55 pound per day). Rate of gain will be determined by diet and the end product desired (e.g., replacement doeing or various weights depending on the meat market).

The three most important management recommendations to ensure efficiency and productivity of a dairy goat enterprise are as follows:

Manage young does to have them ready for breeding at seven months of age. This increases the total lifetime herd production of milk and meat and reduces the number of nonproducing animals in the herd at any one time.

Encourage freshening of the does over as wide a time span as possible. This provides your customers with a year-round source of milk.

Cull animals to eliminate low producers. This can increase the herd productivity if animals are culled for genetic reasons.

Nutrition

To maintain milk production and good health, goats should be fed a diet balanced for energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins based on requirements defined by the National Research Council. To reduce costs, forages such as hay, silage, and pasture should constitute most of the daily diet. Goats are efficient browsers and can select a high-quality diet from lower-quality forages, especially when consuming nontraditional pasture plants (e.g., weeds, shrubs). Available forages should be evaluated based on plant species and maturity, with the highest-quality forages reserved for pregnant, lactating, and growing animals. Supplementing the diet with grain mixes to provide additional energy and protein is important, especially during lactation. Grain mixes may also contain supplemental minerals and vitamins. Feeding grain should be limited because a high-grain diet with low fiber intake can lead to rumen health problems (e.g., indigestion, acidosis) and lower milk fat content. Availability of dietary energy is important for high milk yields, while protein and fiber affect milk quality. High-producing does require quality forages and supplemental grain at a rate of 1 pound per 2.5 to 3 pounds of milk.

Forages generally do not contain sufficient minerals to meet dietary requirements, so supplements are usually required. Mineral mixes of salt with calcium, phosphorus, and trace minerals are typically used. Legume forages (e.g., alfalfa, clover) contain sufficient calcium and will only require phosphorus with a trace mineral supplement.

If pasture is the predominant source of forage, then vitamin supplements are not critical. If only hay or silage is used, then supplemental vitamins A, D, and E will be required. Vitamins can be supplied in a free-choice mineral source or the grain mix. Commercial cow rations or custom grain mixes varying from 14 to 20 percent protein can be fed to goats (Table 3). Most products formulated for sheep will not contain enough copper for goats.

It is important to routinely use a technique called “body condition scoring” to evaluate the adequacy of the nutritional program you use. Body condition scoring categorizes animals in scores from 1 (emaciated) to 5 (obese) based on the amount of palpable subcutaneous fat over the loin, ribs, and sternum. Does should have adequate (score 3) body reserves in late pregnancy as they enter lactation. High-producing does lose significant body condition during early

lactation, but they should regain it again during late lactation and early pregnancy. Details on body condition scoring can be found on the American Dairy Goat Association website.

Herd Health and Biosecurity

Goats, for the most part, are a hardy species that require only basic necessities to survive and produce a quality product. Most herd problems are related to nutrition and reproduction, but a few diseases are of concern. Some goat diseases can also infect people, so handlers must be careful. Seek the services of a veterinarian to help you develop an appropriate herd health program.

Parasites, both internal and external, are the most important concern for goat health and productivity. Weight loss, rough hair coat, and diarrhea are common signs of parasitism. Anemia (pale mucous membranes) can also be an indicator of internal parasites. A veterinarian or trained herdsman can determine if internal parasites are present by examining a fresh fecal sample. An increasing problem with parasite control in goats is parasite resistance to dewormers due to repeated use of dewormers without other parasite-control management. Basic parasite control practices include:

Treating only sick animals

Practicing proper sanitation such as keeping feeders and waterers free from feces and bedding

Avoiding overcrowding

Practicing good pasture management and rotation

Isolating sick animals

Isolating new animals for 30 days before incorporating them into the herd

Because of year-round parasite problems, goats from the southeastern United States often harbor dewormer-resistant internal parasites. You will need to address this biosecurity issue if you plan on purchasing animals from this area.

Important infectious diseases of goats include caseous lymphadenitis (CL), caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE) virus, Mycobacterium avium spp. paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease), and contagious ecthyma (or sore mouth). These diseases are best controlled by practicing good biosecurity since they are readily passed by animal contact or through milk from an infected doe. There is essentially no treatment for these diseases, and vaccines are available only for CL and sore mouth. It is recommended that you only vaccinate for sore mouth if there has been a history of the disease on your farm or within the herd. Work with a veterinarian to establish good screening test protocols for purchasing animals and a basic farm biosecurity program to prevent disease spread.

Other health problems for goats include foot rot, abortion, and mastitis. Foot rot is typically a bacterial infection of the skin

Grass tetany

By Ben Beckman, UNL

Fresh spring growth is a welcome site for producers looking for animal forage. However, lush spring growth may be the perfect condition for a case of grass tetany. While turn out may be a ways off, mitigating this risk starts now.

Grass tetany is the result of low levels of magnesium in an animal’s blood stream. Low magnesium levels in lush, newly growing grass are often a main cause. In lactating animals, low dietary magnesium paired with a drain on calcium from milk production increases risk even more. Calcium aids in magnesium absorption. This means, high milk producing and older animals are most at risk for developing tetany.

To prevent tetany problems this spring, it’s best to wait till grass in pastures has grown to at least 6 inches high before grazing. Legumes like alfalfa or clover, are a good source of magnesium, so grazing mixed grass and legume pastures can help balance mineral demands.

While cultural practices can reduce risk, providing correct and adequate mineral supplementation may be the most certain remedy. Cattle should be consuming 3-4 ounces daily of mineral containing supplemental calcium and 10-13% magnesium oxide. This should start at least 30 days before grazing begins, to ensure proper intake has been established.

Most high magnesium minerals utilize magnesium oxide, which is bitter tasting and can reduce animal consumption. Mix magnesium fortified mineral with salt into a complete package or feed with a highly palatable protein or energy supplement to improve intake

High magnesium mineral should be provided for animals until cool season grasses slow down growth and the levels of lush, fresh forage are reduced, around mid-May.

Dealing with grass tetany in the spring doesn’t have to negatively impact your herd. Plan now to adjust grazing management or mineral supplementation for a tetany-free spring.

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How does the moon cut his hair?

Eclipse it!

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How do you make an octopus laugh? With ten-tickles!

between the hooves. Foot rot control starts with biosecurity to prevent infected animals from being brought onto the farm. It can also be reduced by good preventive care that includes routine hoof trimming. Nutrition and infectious agents can cause abortion in goats. Toxoplasmosis, transmitted by young cats, can cause abortion in both women and goats. Prevention requires keeping cat feces from contaminating feed consumed by pregnant goats. Mastitis, an infection of the udder, is a major concern with dairy goats. Providing sanitary conditions, good milking procedures, well-ventilated housing, and dry bedding is the best defense against this disease. Injuries to the udder and teat ends also contribute to this disease, which can lower milk production and cause permanent damage to the doe.

Housing and Equipment

There are four requirements for efficient dairy goat housing. First, the building should be adequately ventilated, and the walls and ceiling should be free from condensation. Second, the bedded area should be dry and clean. Third, feeders and watering devices must be well built and located so that feed and water are not contaminated with animal waste. Ready access to good-quality water is essential for milk production and herd health. Fourth, housing should be arranged to minimize the amount of labor and time required for maintaining a clean facility. A number of housing systems can be successfully used for goat production. In the northeastern United States, either loose (manure pack) or confinement (individual stalls) housing systems, with or without pasture access, are necessary to provide sufficient protection from adverse weather. Building adequate fencing to keep the goats contained can be a real challenge. The best fencing for goats is electrified woven wire or 2-foot by 4-foot livestock panels that are at least 48 inches high.

The milking area should be separated from the stable area and have a nonporous floor, such as concrete, to make cleaning easy. The milking platform should be 15 to 18 inches higher than the floor to permit easy milking. Milk must be cooled immediately after milking and held at a temperature under 40°F until processed or consumed. Cooling is critical to retain milk flavor and quality. Bacteria in warm milk begin to multiply quickly and cause milk quality to deteriorate. Cold water is more efficient than cold air for cooling milk. The refrigerator or cooler for small herds should accommodate a pan of water equal to the amount of milk in one or more milking buckets. A herd producing 10 or more gallons per day will need a waterimmersion cooler or a bulk tank cooler.

Environmental Regulations

All agricultural operations in Pennsylvania, including small-scale and part-time farming enterprises, operate under the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law. A specific part of this law is the Nutrient Management Act. Portions of the act may or may not pertain to your operation, depending on whether you have livestock on your farm. However, all operations may be a source of surface water or groundwater pollution. Because of this possibility, you should contact your local Soil and Water Conservation

Dairy goat production

District to determine what regulations may pertain to your operation. All farms with any livestock in Pennsylvania are required to have an approved manure management plan in place.

Risk Management

You should carefully consider how to manage risk on your farm. First, you should insure your facilities and equipment. This may be accomplished by consulting your insurance agent or broker. It is especially important to have adequate levels of property, vehicle, and liability insurance. You will also need workers compensation insurance if you have any employees. You may also want to consider your needs for life and health insurance and if you need coverage for business interruption or employee dishonesty. For more on agricultural business insurance, see “Agricultural Alternatives: Agricultural Business Insurance.” Second, check to see if there are multiperil crop insurance programs available for your crop or livestock enterprises. There are crop insurance programs designed to help farmers manage both yield risk and revenue shortfalls. However, individual crop insurance coverage is not available for all crops. If individual coverage is not available for what you grow, you may be able to use the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program to insure the revenue of your entire farm operation. Information from your Schedule F tax records (or a “Substitute Schedule F for WFRP Purposes” if you do not file a Schedule F) from the past five

has a program called the Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP) that is designed to provide a minimal level of yield risk protection for producers of commercial agricultural products that don’t have multiperil crop insurance coverage. NAP is designed to reduce financial losses when natural disasters cause catastrophic reduction in production. A basic level of coverage (50 percent of expected production at 55 percent of the average market price) is available for a fee of $325 per crop per county (fees are capped at $825 per producer per county, but not to exceed a total of $1,950 for producers growing crops in multiple counties). Higher levels of protection at the 50, 55, 60, and 65 percent levels at 100 percent of the average market price are available for additional premium. NAP coverage is available through your local USDA Farm Service Agency office. The application fee for this program may be waived for eligible limited-resource farmers. Costs and returns are often difficult to estimate in budget preparation because they are numerous and variable. Therefore, think of the data in these budgets as approximations and make the appropriate adjustments using “Your Estimate” column to reflect specific situations. These budgets are developed for a herd size of 50 does; however, your scale of production should be based on your market considerations. More information on the use of crop budgets can be found in “Agricultural Alternatives: Budgeting for Agricultural Decision Making.” consecutive years is used to calculate the WFRP policy’s approved revenue guarantee. Operations that have expanded over time may be allowed to increase the approved revenue amount based on an indexing procedure. Depending on the number of commodities grown, you have the choice of coverage of 50 to 85 percent of your approved revenue. Coverage and premium costs depend on the level of diversification in your operation; the maximum level of insured revenue is $8.5 million (based on maximum adjusted gross revenues of $17 million and the 50 percent coverage level). WFRP also provides replant coverage if it not already covered under an underlying individual crop policy. More information on WFRP can be found online. Finally, the USDA Farm Service Agency

Preliminary farm real estate market survey results

By Jessica Groskopf and Jim Jansen, UNL

UNL released the Preliminary Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey Results earlier this month. The survey revealed that Nebraska agricultural land increased in value for the reporting year ending February 1, 2023. This marks the second-largest increase in the market value of agricultural land in Nebraska since 2014 and the highest non-inflation-adjusted state-wide land value in the 45-year history of the survey.

This article reviews the preliminary results for the Northwest District of Nebraska. The Northwest District includes Banner, Box Butte, Cheyenne, Dawes, Deuel, Garden, Kimball, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, and Sioux Counties.

The average farmland value in the Northwest District of Nebraska is estimated to be $935 per acre, 13 percent higher than the prior year. In the Northwest District, dryland cropland saw the largest increase in value, rising 21 percent to an average of $905 per acre. Center Pivot Irrigated Cropland had the smallest percentage increase with a 7 percent change to $3,280 per acre.

Preliminary UNL Farm Real Estate Survey Results, Average Reported Value of Nebraska Farmland for Different Land Types in Northwest Nebraska per Acre as of February 1, 2023, Percent Change from 2022

All Land Average, $935, +13%

Dryland Cropland (No Irrigation Potential), $905, +21%

Dryland Cropland (Irrigation Potential), $985, +15%

Gravity Irrigated Cropland, $2,760, +10%

Center Pivot Irrigated Cropland, $3,280, +7%

Grazing Land (Tillable), $735, +18%

Grazing Land (Nontillable), $575, +13%

Hayland, $930, +12%

Land industry professionals responding to the annual survey attributed the rise in Nebraska agricultural real estate values to current crop and livestock prices, purchases for operation expansion, the financial health of current owners, and as a hedge against inflation.

Cash farmland rental rates are also reported by the survey. Cropland rental rates in the Northwest District saw a 9 to 12 percent increase while grazing rates, both pasture per acre and cowcalf pair, saw a 7 percent increase over last year.

Preliminary Reported

Cash Rental Rates for Various Types of Nebraska Farmland and Pasture in Northwest Nebraska, LowHigh Land Quality Range, 2023 Average, Percent Change from 2022

Reported per acre per year, unless otherwise noted.

Dryland Cropland, $28-

$49, Average: $37, +10%

Gravity Irrigated Cropland, $110-$185, Average: $145, +12%

Center Pivot Irrigated Cropland, $155$230, Average $190, +9%

Pasture, $13- $20, Average: $15, +7%

Cow-Calf Pair (Per Pair, Per Month), $38.15- $51.95, $46.05, +7%

Land values and rental rates presented in this report are averages of survey participants’ responses by District. Actual land values and rental rates may vary depending upon the quality of the parcel and local market for an area.

Preliminary land values and rental rates are subject to change as additional surveys are returned. Final results from the survey will be published in June 2023 and will be available online via the Nebraska Farm Real Estate website: https://cap.unl.edu/ realestate

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What do pirates pay for corn?

A buck an ear!

GREENWAY’S

Graze Yearlings1500 on a 130 Acre Pivot for 30 Days 3.5 lbs. of Gain Per Day (69% TDN) 5-7 wt. Cattle*

Greenway Seeds Grazing Corn (GX80) is the No. 1 grazing corn in the nation because it is 5-6 days earlier than the competition. This allows the rancher to plant 5-6 days later and still reach peak sugar content (pre tassel) before the frost shuts you down!

OVERSEED

ALFALFA

with Grazing Corn

Plant with a grain drill following second cutting on an older field alfalfa. Ready to graze in early September.

“We planted GX80 following second cut alfalfa. If we had to do that over we would follow third cut. We grazed 400 head for two weeks on 20 acres” Cory Veterre - Greenriver, Utah

HERE’S WHAT RANCHERS ARE SAYING

Casey Calvin - Monte Vista, CO

We grazed lambs on GX80. They ate it all the way to the ground. Unbelievable! (See website for photos)

Crawford Cattle - Winnemucca, NV

Planted mid July, it was way over our heads. We were surprised as to how long we were able to graze. We also baled some of it. We’re buying again.

Roberti Ranches - Loyalton, CA

We grazed pairs. They ate it all to the ground. We also baled it. The cows like it. We plant GX80 every year.

Coffin Butte Farm and Ranch - New Leitzigg, ND

We planted 400 acres on dryland and fed out 800 pair. We grazed it from Oct 20 to Nov 24. The corn was 7-1/2 ft. tall. The program was a success!

Greenway Seedsman

• Increased early season vigor

• Phosphorus and Zinc to drive rooting & cold start the crop.

• Zinc to help with early season hormone production, ie. Auxin for root and shoot growth.

• Convey Technology to help with early season stresses, such as cool soils and excess moisture. It also improves nutrient use efficiency.

• Other essential nutrients target at each specific crop, ie. Boron for cell wall strength; Manganese for efficient photosynthesis.

• Second chance for a starter fertilizer

• Formulations are targeted at early season root growth (more root = more efficient moisture and nutrient uptake).

• Proactive way of managing the crops nutritional requirement.

• Convey Technology helps with early season stresses such as cool soils, excess moisture, and drought. Also improves nutrient use efficiency.

• Speeds up recovery from herbicide hangover - the correct supply of nutrients helps the crop metabolize the herbicide more quickly.

• Contains novel Phosphorus nutrition, providing increased nutrient uptake and movement within the plant.

• Targeted at the reproductive phse of the plant.

• Proactive way of managing the crops utritional requirement

• Contains other essential nutrients targeted for each specific crop, ie. Boron to aid pollen tube growth, Zinc to help produce Auxin, to ensure healthy pollen tube growth.

So you want to fly a drone

By Heidi Reed, Agronomy Educator, Penn State Extension

As unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) capabilities improve and costs come down, having a drone on the farm is becoming more appealing. In addition to useful imaging and remote sensing capabilities that can help with crop management, drones can allow mid or late season pesticide applications or cover crop broadcasting without wheel track damage. They are also more maneuverable than airplane or even helicopters, especially for small, irregularly shaped fields.

Before you make the leap and buy a drone, make sure you consider current Federal and your state regulations around UAV flight and pesticide applications.

Federal Aviation Administration Rules

Drones weighing under 55 lbs at takeoff are regulated under 14 CFR part 107. Each drone pilot must have a current part 107 remote pilot certificate. First-time pilots must be at least 16 years old, be able to read, speak, write, and understand English, be in physical and mental condition to safely fly a drone, and pass an aeronautical knowledge exam. The required steps for prospective pilots to register with the FAA, register for the knowledge exam, and complete the application for the certificate are outlined in detail in the FAA website. Existing part 61 certificate holders can also get the part 107 certificate following the completion of an online training course. Once the certificate is obtained, it must be easily accessible by the remote pilot during all drone operations. Maintaining the certificate involves continued training courses to keep their aviation knowledge up to date. At the time of publication, an online course is required to be completed by all pilots within 24 calendar months to maintain their remote pilot certificate.

Next, each drone must be registered with the FAA. Register your drone under part 107. Registration costs $5 and is valid for three years. You will need to provide basic contact information, the make and model of your drone, and starting in September 2023, the specific remote ID serial number provided by the manufacturer. Make sure your drone is labeled according to FAA guidelines.

In addition to the pilot licensing and drone registration requirements, waivers and certifications may be required to complete specific drone operations. These waivers and permissions vary widely, including operations that take place in certain regulated airspaces, operations taking place at night, and many others. One of the most significant exemptions required for agricultural drone operators is dispensing chemicals and agricultural products with UAS, regulated under 14 CFR part 137.

Part 137 – Agricultural aircraft operations

14 CFR Part 137 importantly defines agricultural aircraft operation as the operation of an aircraft for the purpose of dispensing substances that act as a pesticide, plant regulator, or defoliant, or those intended for plant nourishment, soil treatment, propagation of plant life, or pest control, or otherwise engaging in other dispensing activities affecting agriculture, horticulture, or forest preservation, except the dispensing of live insects.

Agricultural aircraft operations require that exemptions be requested depending on the specific nature of the operation. The FAA supplies the following guidance for part 107 drone pilots based on the weight of the drone:

Drones weighing less than 55 pounds at takeoff, including the weight of the substance being dispensed, are operated under 14 CFR part 107 and require exemption from §107.36 Carriage of hazardous material as well as several part 137 regulations.

Drones weighing 55 pounds or more are operated under 14 CFR part 91 rather than the aforementioned part 107, and require exemption from several 14 CFR part 61, 91, and 137 regulations.

For information on how to petition for exemption, see part 11.63 and Part 11.71.

Environmental Protection Agency Rules

EPA has yet to address drone applications specifically and have mostly left regulation up to states to individually address it. As drone pesticide applications become more popular, EPA will likely offer standardized guidance, but this is not yet the case. Currently, products permitted for aerial application under the “Directions for Use” heading, are also permitted for drone applications. This allowance is subject to change at any time.

Notes on spraying

Remote pesticide application system (drone for spraying) calibration differs from ground application, as there is not a consistent swath width set by the boom width and nozzle

CONTINUED FROM PAGE C2

spacing. Therefore, special attention must be paid to measuring the swath width, to make sure that overlap is correct and there are no skips or over-application. One method for determining swath width is provided on the Farming for Tomorrow website.

Limitations

The main limitation with drones for ag product applications is the small payload compared to manned aircraft or ground vehicles. Keep in mind, since drone payloads are rather small (i.e., <5 gallons), the minimum spray volume dictated on the label may still be too large for practical utility of some units, even though that pesticide may be allowed to be aerially applied. For example, the Roundup PowerMax3 label allows aerial applications, but the minimum spray volume is 3 gallons/acre. Make sure to follow product label guidelines when making drone applications.

Beehive

This is another style with origins that date back to the 18th century. During the outlandish wig phase, when the bigger and more extravagant the piece, the more money and social status it carried, ‘hives were very popular. Women allegedly even used them to house trinkets, such as small caged birds. In the 1960s, the beehive surged in popularity, and today the crown of the beehive queen belongs to cartoon character Marge Simpson, who sports a tall blue updo.

Tallest man

The tallest man ever recorded was American giant Robert Wadlow (1918–1940), who stood 8 feet 11 inches. Wadlow’s size was the result of an abnormally enlarged pituitary gland.

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In September 2007, a guy named Kevin Shelley broke 46 wooden toilet seats with his head in one minute to create a world record.

2021 John Deere 6120R 498 hours, Comp Warranty April 2025/2000 hours! $161,790

2021 John Deere 5115

hours, loader/grapple,

year/5000 hour warranty $99,500

Responsible shooter for Gopher/Prairie Dog control. Free of charge in Central Montana. Phone (406) 590-4559

So you want to fly a drone

Reddig Equipment and Repair

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CRAWLERS

1963 Cat D4D Call

Cat D6D logging, gearmatic free spool winch and arch, angle blade with hydraulic twin tilts, under carriage usable, some minor leads. Starts and runs. Call

1996 Deere 650G LGP, 6-way hyd blade, 14,000 hours, excellent undercarriage, operates as it should Call

Deere 650G, sweeps, screens, winch, 7600 hours $49,900

1994 John Deere 450G, OROPS with sweeps, rear and side cages, 6-way blade, good running machine. 9000 hours.

$31,000

2006 Komatsu D61 PX-15, 6-way blade, 5888 hours...$60,000

Buying Your Used Machines

EXCAVATORS

Cat 320CLU thumb, coupler, 14,000 hours.

$69,900

2015 Cat 312E hyd wedge coupler, 50% undercarriage, clean, tight. 15,500 hours. Call

2014 Cat 312E Call

2013 Cat 305E, 4700 hours, cab, air, heat, front blade, hyd thumb, auxiliary hyds, 2 speed, clean. Call

LOADERS

2012 Cat 924K high lift machine, hydraulic quick coupler, 12,000 hours. $74,500 1994 Cat IT28F, runs and operates. Does not shift properly $17,900

Poultry and bird owners encouraged to ramp up biosecurity plans now

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a disease carried by wild birds and affects domestic birds. Avian influenza is caused by the influenza Type A virus (influenza A). The virus is shed in the feces and respiratory secretions of infected birds and is able to survive for weeks in cool, damp environments.

While the transmission rate from animals to humans is low, it is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be shared between species. There have been several detected cases in wild mammals, including two cases in red fox in North Dakota.

With millions of birds set to begin migrating this spring, now is the time for poultry and bird owners to ramp up biosecurity efforts.

“One of the first clinical signs of HPAI is sudden, unexplained death,” says Dr. Gerald Stokka, North Dakota State University Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist. “Most HPAI cases are reporting a decline in water and feed consumption prior to the unexplained death.”

Decreased egg production and depression in layers may be another sign that birds are not feeling well. Purple or dry combs, being quieter than normal, frequent laying down and swelling around eyes are other symptoms birds may experience.

“The best way to reduce the potential for transmission of HPAI is to reduce interaction between wildlife and domestic flocks,” says Dr. Stokka. “Wild birds and mammals, such as foxes, coyotes and raccoons, are transmission vectors to your domestic flocks.”

NDSU Extension specialists have developed tips for reducing transmission of HPAI.

To reduce transmission between wildlife and domestic birds:

If possible, keep poultry housed until the risk for transmission has decreased. Non-lethal methods to deter wildlife are available on the U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife damage webpage: aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/wildlifedamage/sa_reports/ct_wildlife+damage+management+tec hnical+series.

Reduce the attractiveness for wildlife to stop at your place by cleaning up litter and spilled feed around your domestic flock housing.

ATTACHMENTS

$62,000

2005 Cat 308C, 4600 hours, Progressive link hyd thumb, front blade, pin grabber coupler, auxiliary hyds, good undercarriage

1989 Cat EL 200B Call

2004 Deere 200CLC, pin grabber Q/C, progressive link thumb. 12,000 hours $49,500 before going thru the shop

Deere 50D thumb, coupler, blade, open ROPS, 8000 hours.

$39,900

Hitachi EX200-5, runs and operates as it should $20,000

2012 Hitachi ZX120-3, wedge coupler, progressive link thumb, 36” bucket, backup camera, average undercarriage, 6007 hours. Good looking mid-model machine Call

Kobelco SK27SR-5 mini excavator, 1700 hours, ROPS, front blade, hydraulic thumb, 50% rubber tracks, 5500 lb. weight. Call

2006 Deere 200CLC 10K hours, hydraulic thumb Call

2016 Kobelco SK35SR-6E, 863 hours, ROPS, front blade, hydraulic thumb, 50% tracks, 8500 lbs. Call

2017 Bobcat E85 compact excavator Call

2015 Cat 303.5E mini excavator, open ROPS, front blade, hydraulic thumb to be installed, auxiliary hydraulics, pin grabber coupler, 3600 hours Call

TRAILERS

1994 CPS belly dump trailer, 3 axle, air brakes, 29-ft. from pin to center of first axle, 10-ft. bottom hopper, 9-ft. spread on back 3 axles, tires at 15%, 11r22.5 tires. Call

GRADERS

2010 Deere 770GP, new cutting edges, good tires, operates well, 14-ft. moldboards, 10,000 hours, 168” moldboard est. length $92,000

1980 Deere 670A, motor grader, operates and runs, 14.00x24 tires, 14-ft. moldboard, front scarifier/ripper, block heater, cab $24,500

1988 Gallion A600, articulating joint, 14-ft. moldboard, International engine, rear hyd ripper, power shift transmission, power steering, tires at 10% on front, 50% on rear, 4570 hours on meter $17,500

1975 Gallion T-500A, motor grader, Detroit engine, 4600 hours on meter, tires at 35%, 12-ft. moldboard, hyd side shift and hyd pitch, power steering Call

SKIDSTEER

2020 Deere 332G manual quick coupler, 2 speed, wheel machine (new tires), enclosed cab, heat, A/C, comes with 84” bucket. 4600 hours. $46,000

Compaction

• Hydraulic Breaker • Buckets

• Skidsteer forks • John Deere 4000 Series H, winch, includes all controls for each, mounting plate, drive shaft $14,000 Henke snow plow off Cat 621B loader, ACS coupler, hyd angle snowblade with float, hyd snowgate. $7500 3325 winch arch available, good condition, includes cable, handle and misc, PTO shaft available. Came off John Deere 450C. $4500

BACKHOES

2008

MISCELLANEOUS

2002 Gradall 534D9-45, 9000 lb lift, 45-ft reach, newer tires, angle forks system on front. Approximately 7000 hours. Call Tennant Sweeper 830-II ex-county owned. $29,000

FORESTRY

Cat 320B LL log loader. For parts Call Deere 690E log loader For parts

Timberjack 2520 feller/buncher, parts machine Call

Towtem clam bucket $31,500 Several slide booms for parts available

Out

If you come in contact with or handle wildlife, change into clean clothes, wash your hands and disinfect your footwear prior to contact with domestic flocks.

Report sick or deceased wildlife to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department at https://gf.nd.gov/wildlife/diseases/ mortality-report .

In the event you need to handle or dispose of carcasses to reduce potential interactions, be sure to follow the appropriate procedures: ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/highlypathogenic-avian-influenza.

To reduce transmission between domestic flocks: Keep your distance. Restrict access to your property and your flock. Allow contact from people who care for your birds but minimize visitors.

Do not haul disease home. If you have been near other poultry or bird owners, such as at feed stores, clean and disinfect car and truck tires. New birds should be kept separate from your flock for at least 30 days.

Do not borrow disease from your neighbor. Do not share lawn and garden equipment, tools or bird supplies with your neighbor or other flock owners.

“The best defense against HPAI is having a biosecurity plan in place,” says Mary Keena, NDSU Extension livestock environmental management specialist. “It is your job as a flock owner to create a line of separation between your clean flock and the potential unclean issues that wildlife or visitors may bring.”

More information about biosecurity can be found on the USDA Defend the Flock Resource Center webpage: www. aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-diseaseinformation/avian/defend-the-flock-program.

“Poultry testing positive for HPAI are prohibited by law from entering the marketplace,” says Miranda Meehan, NDSU Extension livestock environmental stewardship specialist. “Poultry and poultry products are safe to eat, and proper handling and cooking is always advised.”

To date, in 2023, there have been no positive HPAI cases in domestic poultry or birds in North Dakota. Report sick birds to your local veterinarian. If you do not have a local veterinarian for your flock, contact the North Dakota State Veterinarian’s office at 701-328-2655.

2012 Cat 320EL RR good undercarriage, progressive link hyd thumb, pin grabber hyd coupler, aux hyds to the end of the stick, 42” dig bucket, pattern changer. Clean and well maintained machine.11,000 hours. $110,000

Deere 310SJ backhoe, 40% tires, smooth bucket on backhoe, front 4x1 bucket, extend-a-hoe, pilot controls on backhoe, powershift transmission, cab with heat/AC, 4x4. 5500 hours. $53,900

Jennie and Seth Becker of Stick Leg Ranch at Valier were popular presenters at Montana’s Next Generation Conference. They shared lessons they’ve learned through the direct marketing of their beef and pork. Photo by Kari Lewis.

E15 fuel could help you, the environment and N.D. farmers

By David Ripplinger, Bioproducts and Bioenergy Economist and Assistant Professor, NDSU Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics

On May 31, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a policy change that allows E15 fuel to be sold year-round across the country. This change provides a great opportunity to learn more about the fuel.

E15, sometimes marketed as Unleaded 88, is a gasoline blend containing 15 percent ethanol. It has slightly higher octane and slightly less energy than regular gasoline.

There are a few reasons why consumers may purchase E15: it may cost less than regular gasoline, even on a mileage equivalent basis; it has a smaller carbon footprint; and it expands the market for U.S. corn.

It is important to note that it’s not how much energy there is in a fuel, but how well that fuel is converted to mechanical energy by the engine that matters. A fuel with higher energy density or octane doesn’t guarantee that a vehicle will get better mileage.

With about 2% less energy per gallon than regular gasoline, quick math can provide guidance for the purely financially-motivated consumer regarding E15 use.

If regular gasoline is $2.50 per gallon, to get the equivalent energy for the same price or less, the consumer needs to save five cents per gallon ($2.50 x .02) or more on E15. Again, actual mileage changes will vary.

Because ethanol has a smaller greenhouse gas footprint than straight gas, higher ethanol blends have smaller footprints than those with less or no ethanol. E15’s footprint is about 1% smaller than E10’s footprint.

Summertime E15 sales had been prohibited because it exceeded volatility standards designed to reduce smog. A special carve out for E10, which has approximately the same volatility as E15, was made in 1990. With the EPA’s new rule, environmentally conscious consumers can now buy fuel with a smaller greenhouse gas footprint and equivalent volatility.

In what may be a surprise to many consumers, E15 has been approved by the EPA for all car and truck engines beginning with the 2001 model year. Nearly all recent model year vehicles sold in the U.S. are approved by their manufacturers to use E15.

A sure way to see if your vehicle is warrantied to use E15 is to grab your owner manual or check your gas cap, as they usually have fueling information on them.

Now is a good time for consumers to take a few minutes and revisit the fuel their cars or trucks are approved to use and do some quick math to see if E15 works best. Five minutes could help consumers’ pocketbooks, the environment and North Dakota farmers.

National Peach Cobbler Day

When is National Peach Cobbler Day? This holiday is always celebrated on April 13

How sweet this April 13 holiday is! Peaches are one of America’s favorite fruits. When you put it into a cobbler recipe, you’ve got a real treat. Undoubtedly, people will be asking for seconds.

Peach Cobbler is a deep-dish fruit pie, made with peaches and biscuits (or its equivalent). While it is best to be served hot, it is still delicious when consumed cold, too.

Back in the 1800s, American settlers traveling to the west did not have the ingredients to make a then-popular suet pudding. They used peaches and dough to cobble together this tasty fruit pie. We are sure glad they did!

For the record! The largest Peach Cobbler ever made was baked at the Georgia Peach Festival in 2007. It measured 11′ X 5′ and 8″ deep.

Here are some ways to enjoy National Peach Cobbler Day: Go to a restaurant and order peach cobbler for dessert. Buy one from a bakery and bring it home or to work. Make peach cobbler yourself for your family. See the link to our recipe below.

Make it and invite your neighbor over to enjoy it along with a little neighborhood gossip.

the Trader’s Dispatch helped you find what you were looking for? Please tell an advertiser!

Solution to hemlock woolly adelgid pest

By Autumn Canaday, ARS

Hemlocks, Tsuga species, are evergreen trees that can be found in forested ecosystems and in landscape plantings. They are in the pine family and often assume a conical shape. Hemlocks are not poisonous and may even be used as Christmas trees during the holiday season.

Unfortunately, hemlocks in the U.S. are vulnerable to attack by a small insect called the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). This insect looks like tiny cotton balls on the needles of the tree and can kill the trees by feeding on the sap. The adelgid has decimated stands of hemlocks in the eastern U.S. While insecticides and biological control measures can offer some relief, the best way to combat HWA is to develop genetic resistance in the trees.

To address this agricultural challenge, USDA-ARS researchers at the U.S. National Arboretum, led by Horticulturist Susan Bentz, developed hybrids between the native (susceptible) Carolina hemlock and a resistant Asian species, Tsuga chinensis. Two of these hybrids, Tsuga ‘Traveler,’ and Tsuga ‘Crossroad’ – were recently released to the nursery industry. Both have resistance to HWA and have outstanding ornamental and growth characteristics, including symmetrical, upright habits. These hybrid hemlocks are the first to be introduced to the horticultural trade and represent new strategies for managing HWA in landscape settings.

“This has been a long-term project that utilized the Arboretum’s horticultural, scientific, germplasm and collaborative resources,” said Susan Bentz. “We are excited to have developed a sustainable approach to this problem.”

Both ‘Traveler’, now patented, and ‘Crossroad’ are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture Zones 6 and 7 and will perform well in moist, well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. These cultivars can be clonally propagated by cuttings taken in December or January or in early summer. Rooting occurs slowly and the resulting plants transplant well from containers into the landscape.

Propagating nurseries interested in ‘Traveler’ or ‘Crossroad’ should contact usna.comments@usda.gov for more information.

AIR DRILLS FOR SALE

Case IH 8500 45-ft. air drill with 10” spacing $8500

2012 New holland 70-ft. air drill, 430 bushel tow between cart, variable rate $65,000

2005 Case IH ATX air drill with 3380 and 12” spacing, variable rate $32,500

2005 Flexi-Coil 5000 39-ft. air drill with 10” spacing, variable rate $38,000

Phone (406) 485-2340 or (406) 853-2012

FULL TIME DRIVER WANTED

Cow-Boy’s Trucking is seeking to hire a full time operator.

Dedicated runs from MT to ID weekly. High Sided Belt Trailer.

2 years CDL experience required.

Pay: DOE

Phone Heath (712) 395-0688 for more information.

HUNTING LAB AKC PUPPIES NOW!!

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Balewagons & Retrievers

North Dakota 4-H’ers sweep national hippology contest

North Dakota 4-H members earned top rankings during the hippology contest at the Western National 4-H Roundup in Denver, Colorado. Representing North Dakota was the hippology team from Ward County, who were the overall national champion team. Members are Emily Fannik of Max, Olivia Lebrun of Berthold, Anne Schauer of Carpio and Mikaela Woodruff of Edgeley. They also brought home individual top placings. Hippology is the study of horses that consists of a team learning vet science, nutrition, horse care and general horse industry knowledge. The contest has four main components: horse judging, station identification, a written test and a team problem.

Haying Equipment Miscellaneous

“At nationals, the dial adjusts to more challenging multiple rounds of the four components as compared to the North Dakota State 4-H contest,” says Emily Burkett, North Dakota State University Extension 4-H youth development agent in Ward County.

The team completed a written exam, a series of PowerPoint slide identifications, four horse judging classes and four team problem scenarios. In the horse judging portion of the contest, they analyzed two performance and two halter classes of reining, hunter under saddle, performance mares and performance geldings.

The North Dakota team came out on top, bringing home the following placings:

National champion – Overall

National champion – Exam and Slides

National champion – Horse Judging

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National champion – Stations and Lab Practicum

Reserve national champion – Team Problem

Individual placings by event were:

Overall

Woodruff – national champion

Schauer – reserve national champion

Fannik – third place

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The region of the U.S. that consumes the least alcohol (the “Bible Belt”) is also known by many doctors as “Stroke Alley.”

Lebrun – fourth place

Exam and slides

Fannik – national champion

Woodruff – reserve national champion

Schauer – fourth place

Lebrun – fifth place

Horse Judging

Schauer – national champion

Woodruff – fifth place

Fannik – sixth place

Lebrun – seventh place

Stations and Lab Practicum

Woodruff – national champion (with a perfect score)

Schauer – reserve national champion

Lebrun – fourth place

Fannik – fifth place

Volunteer coaches who have assisted the team throughout their 4-H career include Burkett, Paige Brummund, NDSU Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Ward County; Christopher Rockeman, Donnybrook; and Kathy Baer, Garrison.

“The effort and dedication it takes to learn the diverse and challenging contest content is not a simple task to accomplish,” says Brummund. “Since two team members are college students while the other two are seniors in high school, seeing this incredible group of young women finish their 4-H Hippology careers is bittersweet.”

This is the second year in a row North Dakota has won the National Hippology Contest. Last year, a team from Benson County placed first.

The next North Dakota 4-H Hippology season is beginning. Practices are in Minot on Tuesdays and Berthold on Wednesdays. To learn more about hippology, contact Burkett at 701-857-6450, or find information on the NDSU Extension website at www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/ county-extension-offices/ward-county/4-h or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ WardCounty4HYouth.

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“What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case I definitely overpaid for my carpet.”

–Woody Allen

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In 1990 Sacromento, CA, officially renamed its manholes “maintance holes.” Why? For “gender equality.”

The North Dakota 4-H hippology team was overall national champion and took home numerous individual and team placings at the National Western 4-H Roundup. Team members are (from left): Anne Schauer, Mikaela Woodruff, Emily Fannik, Olivia Lebrun and coach Paige Brummund. (NDSU photo)

Whisker facts

A cat’s whiskers are a marvel of form and function. Here are a few facts about them that will have you feline fine.

• On average, cats have 24 cheek whiskers–12 on each side of their face–that are arranged in four horizontal rows.

• Each whisker is rooted in the cat’s upper lip, and ever root connects to 200 or more nerve endings.

• As a cat moves around an object–a bush or a sofa–air currents create a tiny breeze. The whiskers pickup up the changes in air pressure, helping the cat to avoid objects in its path.

• Whiskers also direct huning cats to their prey. In one experiment, a blindfolded cat was placed in an enclosure with a mouse. When the cat’s whiskers touched the mouse, the cat grabbed its prey and delivered a killing bit in one-tenth of a second.

• Once the prey is in the cat’s mouth, the whiskers curl forward to sense any movement that might mean the animal is still alive and not safe to eat.

• The width of a cat’s outstretched whiskers is usually the same as the width of his body, enabling him to measure whether a hole or opening is wide enough for him to enter. When a cat gains too much weight, though, his whiskers stay the same size. So a fat cat may misjudge the size of his body and get stuck in a hole or cat door.

• Cats also have whiskers on the backs of their front paws, which help him walk over uneven ground without stumbling. Paw whiskers also help cats determine the size and position of captured prey.

• Cats use their whiskers to communicate. Whiskers held out to the side indicate calmness or friendliness. When they’re pointed upward, the cat is alert or excited. Backward-pointing: Look out–that’s a defensive or angry cat.

• Whiskers are such an important part of a cat’s physiology that the feline fetus develops whiskers before any other hairs. And when kittens are born, they’re blind and deaf, but the touch sensors on their whiskers are fully operational.

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Where, oh where are my glasses, dear God? Where oh where could they be? I need them fast. Oh, look on top of my head, you say? You’re always right! Thank you.

If you have items you want advertised in the May 2023 issue THE VERY LATEST WE CAN ACCEPT THEM is April

Ventenata

RETIRED - WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM GONE

John Deere 5020 tractor with 3-point and good tires $5000

New Holland 1033 bale wagon, newer remote cables and first table chain, good tires. Excellent condition $5000 Parked for 3 years.

Phone (406) 648-5450, Hinsdale, Montana

STORAGE CONTAINERS & BRIDGES

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20-ft. & 40-ft. Heavy Duty Bridges

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Call for Trailer Parts

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Hillsboro Pickup Flatbeds In Stock

By Audrey Harvey and Jane Mangold, Department of Land Resources and Environmental

Ventenata, also known as wiregrass or North African grass, is a non-native winter annual grass that is relatively new to Montana and has the potential to impact range, pasture, wild lands, and annual crops. Its low forage value and shallow root structure can lead to decreased agricultural production and increased risk of soil erosion.

Species name: Ventenata dubia (Leers) Coss. Family: Poaceae

History and status: Ventenata originates from eastern Europe and was first found in North America in the early 1950s in Washington and Idaho. Ventenata was first documented in Montana in the mid-1990s. Montana listed ventenata as a Priority 2A noxious weed in 2019 due to known infestations and continual spread in native rangeland, pastures, and along roadsides. Isolated infestations occur from western Montana through southern Montana (Figure 1).

Identification: Ventenata is a winter annual grass that typically grows 6-18 inches tall. It has a distinguishing long, membranous ligule (up to 0.3 inches in length) with reddish-black nodes along the stem (Figure 2). Seedlings and mature leaves are narrow and folded lengthwise. Open and airy panicles emerge in late May through June (above, photo by Inna Smith, Flickr), at which time the stems noticeably harden. Ventenata seeds have bent and twisted awns (Figure 3), similar to other species in the Avenaceae tribe, like wild oat (Avena fatua). The awns are developed, bent and twisted by June and July, reaching about 0.1 inch in length.

Not to be confused with: Cheatgrass or downy brome (Bromus tectorum) and Japanese brome (B. japonicus). At the seedling stage, the leaves of cheatgrass and Japanese brome seedlings are twisted and hairier than ventenata. Ventenata seedlings emerge later and are thinner, more needle-like. At maturity, ventenata has awns like cheatgrass and Japanese brome but awns of ventenata are bent and twisted. Ventenata’s panicle is upright and open in contrast to the drooping panicles of cheatgrass and Japanese brome. In addition, cheatgrass turns reddish-purple upon maturity while ventenata remains green to tawny brown. Ventenata can also be confused with the native grass, annual hairgrass (Deschampsia danthonioides), which has similar open and airy panicles with bent awns. It may be found overlapping with ventenata in wetter areas, particularly in western Montana.

Habitat: Ventenata mostly germinates in fall, but some germination can take place in spring. It is adapted to characteristic Mediterranean climates with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Ventenata can invade rangeland, pastures, winter grain and hay fields, Conservation Reserve Program lands, and sagebrush steppe habitats (Figure 4). Field observations suggest it can grow in areas with moderate annual precipitation ranging from 14 to 44 inches and elevations ranging from 33 to 5,900 feet.

Spread: Ventenata reproduces by seeds. Each plant produces about 15-35 seeds. Dense stands of ventenata can produce from 2,800 to 3,700 seeds/ft2. It is known to spread via roadways and contaminated forage. Contaminated seeds from Idaho and Washington are suspected as a major source for infestations in Montana. Awns can easily attach to fur, clothing, and machinery. Some canyon grasslands in Idaho that were once dominated by cheatgrass are now infested by ventenata, and in sagebrush steppe communities, ventenata is associated with medusahead infestations.

Impacts: Of the five known species in the

genus Ventenata, V. dubia is the only one established in North America. Particularly in the Intermountain Pacific Northwest, it has caused substantial ecological and economic impacts in perennial grass habitats. These impacts are less understood for Montana; however, ventenata is generally unpalatable for livestock and wildlife as it matures and can decrease forage value. Additionally, the shallow root system creates conditions conducive to soil erosion. In Idaho an estimated reduction of 50% forage yield and crop quality occurred a few years after initial infestations.

Management: Foremost, maintaining healthy productive stands of perennial grasses and early detection of infestations can limit invasion by ventenata. Mowing has limited success for small infestations as the wiry grass and bent-nature of the awns are difficult to cut and a second flush of seeds may occur. Grazing is not an option as livestock tend to avoid the grass due to its high silica content and thin wiry stature.

Esplanade 200 SC (active ingredient (a.i.) indaziflam), Axiom DF (a.i. flufenacet and metribuzin), and Sinbar WDG (a.i. terbacil) are currently labeled to control ventenata with limited application in rights-of-way and natural areas. This herbicide has been approved for use in rangeland under EPA Section 18 Specific Exemption until August 2020. Outrider (a.i. sulfosulfuron), Plateau/ Panoramic (a.i. imazapic ammonium salt), and Laramie 25 DF (a.i. rimsulfuron) are labeled for use on cheatgrass and Japanese brome and can also be effective on ventenata. In a three-year trial in southwestern Montana, post-emergence applications of indaziflam combined with propoxycarbazone-sodium, rimsulfuron, imazapic, or glyphosate resulted in over 80% control of ventenata. Some injury to perennial grasses occurred with these treatments and bare ground created niche openings for potential plant community changes. Further research on non-target injury by indaziflam is underway and mangement recommendations will continue to be refined.

Reddish-black node and long, membranous ligule of ventenata. Photo

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Thank you, Lord, for a lovely evening of moonlight and starlight and the chance to ponder your beautiful creation after a busy day of doing...well hmmm...of doing not one thing I can remember at this moment.

Ford F350 regular cab, V10, 4x4, automatic with DewEze bed.

Chev 3500 dually, regular cab, 4x4, gas, mounted with DewEze 480 and a T&S cake feeder, 44,000 miles.

Counties in Montana where ventenata has been reported.

by Tim Prather, University of Idaho.

Seeds have bent awns. Photo by Tim Prather, University of Idaho.

TDN Translation: Understanding energy of forages

By Hannah Smith, Nebraska Extension Beef Systems Extension Educator

Total digestible nutrients (TDN) are the common energy reference for both feed content and animal requirement, so how are the two connected and what can we know to better examine TDN of feedstuffs and use energy economically?

The initial measure of energy begins with gross energy (GE), which is the term for all energy contained within a feed and consumed by the animal. By subtracting all the energy that passes through to manure from GE, you get digestible energy (DE). Digestible energy is the measure of energy converted into TDN within feedstuffs.

Where does TDN intersect with cattle management decisions? Most commonly, when analyzing forage sample results, we can see the TDN value as a percent of the dry matter composition. First, understand that the percent TDN indicates forage quality and measures potential for digestibility. The average measure of meadow hay is 53% with a typical range from 49% to 57%. Sandhills range has potential to be 56% but can range from 49% to 68% throughout the year, when evaluating actual selected forages (Table 1).

The relationship between feedstuff digestibility and protein content are somewhat correlated. As plants mature and the protein value starts to decline, digestibility decreases and we will see a lower TDN value. Knowing this allows us to economically evaluate forages beyond just a protein value.

A 1,400 lb, Spring-calving cow currently in midgestation requires 11.6 lb/ day of TDN. On a forage with 50% TDN, the cow’s daily intake would have to be 27.0 lb of hay, as-fed. If the hay is 60% TDN, that intake requirement drops to 22.2 lb/day. The December 1 Nebraska Hay Summary reported Good Quality (9 to 13% CP) prairie hay selling at $205.00/ton. For a cow during mid-gestation (90 days), she would consume 405 lb additional forage of 50% TDN, which costs $41.51/cow more for midgestation alone. Multiply that by 150 cows and the additional economic value during the second trimester is 60,750 lb of hay for an added cost of $6,227.

Protein is the first limiting nutrient when meeting range beef cow requirements because if crude protein falls below 7%, intake will decrease. However, energy is what the cow needs to live and do her job. Evaluating forages on both a protein and energy basis can ensure we know how to manage our feeds this winter, especially in a purchasing scenario, to ensure we get the most value with the resources we have going into a winter with elevated feed costs and inconsistent moisture.

Table 1. Examples of forages and their TDN and crude protein (CP) values. The value for native prairie hay and meadow hay sourced from The Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle, 2016. The value for Sandhills range and meadow sourced from actual cattle diets collected at UNL’s Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory.

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Prairie Fare: Try this quiz about the coldest days of winter

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Ph.D., R.D., L.R.D., North Dakota State University Extension food and nutrition specialist and professor in the Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences.

I participate in many online meetings for my various projects. My colleagues are from across the United States.

We typically give short weather reports as we begin our online discussions. In the winter, they often shudder when I talk about negative Fahrenheit temperatures.

I have suggested face-to-face meetings in Fargo in January, but they politely decline.

During one meeting, our temperatures were in the minus 20 Fahrenheit range on outdoor thermometers.

“How can you handle the cold?” my colleagues in warmer states ask me in disbelief.

Complaining about the cold helps a little. Then you just deal with it.

During warmer months, I have a question for them.

“How do you handle the heat and humidity in your state?” I ask.

We all know that we adapt to our surroundings. I tend to do better in extreme cold compared to extreme heat. When the weather warms up into the teens and twenties above zero, we become giddy at the balmy temperatures.

Both cold weather and hot weather can be life-threatening. Really, how can we handle the sometimes dangerously cold winters in the Midwest?

Here is a short quiz as we approach the coldest days of the year. This information is adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What is the name of the condition where your body’s temperature loses heat faster than it is produced. It can occur in cold temperatures and also cool temperatures above 40 F when a person gets wet.

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Name at least three categories of people who are the most common victims of the condition in question number 1.

What is the name of the condition where you may lose feeling in your hands or feet and the skin may look white, grayish or even waxy?

Name at least three things you should do if you encounter a person with the condition in question number 3?

Name at least five items that should go in an emergency survival kit to be in your vehicle.

The answers are:

1) Hypothermia is the condition where body temperature declines to a dangerous level. It can be life threatening.

2) The most common victims of hypothermia are older adults, infants who are sleeping in cold rooms, people who are outdoors a long time, including homeless populations, and people who use alcohol or illicit drugs, which may mask the sensations.

If you come upon a person with hypothermia, seek medical help. Hypothermia is a medical emergency, so call 911. If help is not readily available, move the person to a warm area. Remove wet clothing and wrap

them in blankets or other coverings to help them get warm. If the person is conscious, provide warm, non-alcoholic beverages.

3) Frostbite is a serious condition that could lead to amputation in the most severe cases. Be sure to wear appropriate clothing, including mittens, hats, boots and layers of clothing.

4) If you come upon a person with frostbit, get the person to a warm area (warm vehicle, indoor shelter). Do not rub the affected area, because that could increase the damage. For frostbite on hands or feet, you could immerse the affected areas in warm – not hot – water once indoors. Seek medical care as soon as possible.

5) Be sure to keep a winter survival kit in your vehicle. The kit should include a shovel, windshield scraper, blankets, warm clothing (hats, mittens), booster cables, tow rope, high-calorie dried or canned food (and a can opener), a container of water, a can and matches (to melt snow for additional water), a flashlight, batteries and several other items on the “Extreme Cold” list (available at http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/ guide.asp).

Remember that staying nourished and well-hydrated is just as important in the winter as it is in other seasons. Your body burns extra calories to keep you warm, whether you are walking outdoors or shoveling snow. You lose moisture as you exhale.

A non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverage will warm you best. Try a cup of peppermint tea or other herbal tea.

For a quick cup of tea, bags are available. See “Take Time for Tea” at ndsu.ag/timefor-tea for more information about the potential health benefits of various types of tea.

Making a pot of tea is a “ceremony” in some cultures. Here’s how to brew tea for the best flavor. Add some honey if you like a sweeter beverage. Grab a blanket, turn on your favorite movie or open a book, and enjoy your warming beverage.

How to brew the best cup of tea

Bring freshly drawn water (preferably not softened or hard) to a boil in a glass or enamel container (not aluminum), remove from the heat and cool for one to three minutes.

In a teapot made of glass, china or porcelain, place about 1 teaspoon of tea leaves for every 6 ounces of water. Allow the tea leaves to move freely in the water (referred to as “blossom”) and then strain when poured. If using an infusion basket or tea ball, select one large enough to allow the leaves to move.

The length of brewing time can affect flavor. Usually steep for three to five minutes. Experiment with the amount of brewing time to get the desired flavor, or follow the manufacturer’s directions.

When time allows, warm the tea cup before serving the tea.

Fall dormancy in alfalfa

By Ben Beckman, UNL

The time for spring planting alfalfa is just around the corner and two traits often confused, are fall dormancy and winter survival. Let’s look at fall dormancy today.

Fall dormancy is a measure of an alfalfa plant’s ability to regrow in the fall after harvest and spring following winter. It is scored on a scale ranging from 1 to 11 with 1 being most dormant and 11 the least. Higher dormancy means a harvested plant will focus its resources in the fall on building reserves to survive the winter and less on new growth.

This tendency toward slower regrowth manifests throughout the year, with less dormant varieties typically recovering faster in the spring and producing overall higher yields. Another role dormancy plays is keeping plants from starting growth during the random warm-ups in the fall and winter months. Plants that break bud during these periods are subject to winterkill.

Finally, fall dormancy can impact the harvest timetable. Lower dormancy rated alfalfa plants will regrow slower after harvest as well. This translates into more time to remove forage from the field before “windrow disease” and field traffic become a concern.

In the past, fall dormancy traits were linked with winter survival. With new varieties, this isn’t always the case, so fall dormancy needs to be evaluated on its own.

Variety selection depends upon your management, production goals, and ability for a stand to make it through winter without sacrificing additional yield. If you have regular issues with stand winterkill, a lower rated variety with improved dormancy. In Nebraska, we recommend dormancy ratings 1 through 5.

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Snowpack percentages increase after above normal

February precipitation

After a large late January storm ended several weeks of dry weather, active weather has persisted. “There were not many days in February in which it wasn’t snowing somewhere in Montana,” said Eric Larson, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Water Supply Specialist. In addition to consistent precipitation during the month, there were a couple large storms that added to the totals. The most significant storm occurred near the end of the month, and similar to the late January storm, delivered several feet of snow to Montana. The largest storm totals accumulated in the Mission and Swan Mountain ranges, where over four inches of precipitation fell. Other mountain locations across Montana received about two to three inches of precipitation. Overall, February precipitation was near to well above normal across most of Montana and northern Wyoming. The Smith-Judith-Musselshell region received over 150% of normal monthly precipitation, while basins in western Montana stretching from the Madison to the Kootenai River basin received about 90% to 110% of normal precipitation. All other basins were somewhere between that range, except for the Bitterroot which only received about 80% of normal February precipitation.

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“As of March 1, most snowpack percentages have increased from last month. This was a timely rebound as many Montana river basins experienced a decrease in their snowpack percentage from January 1 to February 1,” said Larson. Currently the snowpack is above normal in all basins east of the Continental Divide, except the Saint Mary River basin which is at about 90% of normal for March 1. The Bighorn, Upper Yellowstone, Jefferson, and Sun-Teton-Marias River basins currently have a near normal snowpack. The Madison, Gallatin, Tongue, and Powder River basins currently have a well above normal snowpack, at about 115%. The SmithJudith-Musselshell River basin snowpack is also well above normal at about 125%.

Some regions including the Madison, Gallatin, Little Belts, Big Belts, and Bighorn mountains have accumulated a two-to-three-inch surplus of snow water equivalent, which will be beneficial if active weather tapers off in the next couple months. However, those regions are still three to six inches below their normal April peak snowpack levels and lack of snowfall during the next couple months could result in a below normal snowpack in the spring, when it matters most. “River basins to keep an eye on over the next couple months are the Kootenai, Lower Clark Fork, Bitterroot, and Saint Mary. The basin-wide snowpack deficit in these basins currently ranges from three to six inches of snow water equivalent,” said Larson. These basins will need above normal precipitation over the next couple months, otherwise snowmelt provided water supply will likely be below normal this spring.

“With one to two months remaining in the typical snowpack accumulation season, the current snowpack provides insight into what spring snowmelt will bring, and March 1 water supply forecasts are now available statewide,” said Larson. Most of the forecasts are within 10% of normal, which aligns with current water year precipitation and the ensuing snowpack. Exceptions are parts of central Montana (Smith-Judith-Musselshell), southwest Montana (Gallatin and Madison), and northern Wyoming (Wind, BighornPowder-Tongue), which due to abundant precipitation this water year are currently forecasted to have above normal streamflows. Alternatively, western Montana, along the Idaho border (Big Hole, Bitterroot, Lower Clark Fork), is forecasted to have below normal streamflows, which is the result of the below normal precipitation that region has experienced this water year. “Keep in mind, snowpack conditions could change over the next couple months and therefore some uncertainty exists in the March 1 forecasts,” said Larson.

A full report of conditions on March 1 can be found in the monthly Water Supply Outlook Report available on the Montana Snow Survey website. In addition, real-time snow survey data can be found at nrcs.usda.gov/montana. Click on Montana Snow Survey Program.

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Genetics may help jackrabbits survive climate change color mismatch

White-tailed jackrabbits can change their color with the seasons, growing snowy white fur in the winter and brown fur during the summer. But shorter winters brought on by rapid climate change can create color mismatch, making jackrabbits stand out like lightbulbs for predators on snowless landscapes.

Populations of jackrabbits can display brown, white, or intermediate-colored coats during the winter, depending on how snowy their environment is. Now an international team led by University of Montana scientists has discovered three genes that determine jackrabbit color variation from white to brown. The genes control the production of pigments –the same pigments that determine if hair is darker or lighter in people. Understanding how the color variation evolved allowed the researchers to predict that certain jackrabbit populations will be better able to adapt to future declines of snow cover.

Winter landscapes provide formidable challenges for many animals.

“A dark animal will be more easily noticed by predators on a white snowy landscape. For prey like hares and jackrabbits, the ability to remain camouflaged can be the difference between life and death,” said Mafalda Ferreira, a Portuguese scientist who led the study while a graduate student working at UM.

Jeffrey Good, a UM professor of ecology and evolution who coordinated the study, said they applied the same cutting-edge technologies used to study human diseases to decode the genomes of jackrabbits with brown, white, or intermediate-colored winter coats. They then combined genetic results with climate projections to reveal that populations with higher variability in their color genes are better prepared to face the likely reductions in snow cover that will occur during the next century.

Scott Mills, a UM wildlife biology professor who was involved in the study, said this critical variation may help rescue white-tailed jackrabbits from population declines caused by climate change.

Nevertheless, the authors offer a cautionary note to this optimistic prediction. A final and striking result is that this adaptive capacity was found most often in populations threatened by habitat loss, diseases, and targeted extermination by humans. For the team, this highlights how maintaining connectivity between populations will be essential to ensure the conservation of this species and others in the long run.

“Although this might be good news for jackrabbits, our discoveries also serve as a cautionary tale for other animals facing the impact of climate change,” Good said. “When people think about wildlife conservation, what normally comes to mind is the protection of populations and habitats. The jackrabbits and their coat colors show how the genetic diversity of a species is just as important, particularly in this rapidly changing natural world.”

The team’s work was published March 23 in Science Magazine in an article titled “The evolution of white-tailed jackrabbit camouflage in response to past and future seasonal climates.” The article is online at: https://www.eurekalert. org/press/scipak/

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Cory Hawks of Galata and Jeff Habets of the Shelby/Conrad area took a few minutes to visit after Cory’s Regenerative Ag presentation at Montana’s Next Generation Conference. Cory shared his bale grazing experiences with Jeff and other practices he’s recently implemented. Photo by Kari Lewis.

World Art Day

When is World Art Day? This day is always observed on April 15 World Art Day is an international celebration of the fine arts. Sponsored by the International Association of Arts (IAA), the goals of this April 15 holiday, are to appreciate art in general and to spread worldwide enthusiasm and awareness for the arts. Those who choose this career usually begin as struggling artists. They may spend their entire life trying to perfect their work and gain recognition. All too often, an artist’s work does not gain fame until after the artist’s death.

When we think of fine arts, we most often think of painting and sculpture. this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more. Artwork is actually classified into seven categories. They are: Architecture, Cinema, Literature, Music, Painting, Sculpture, Theater.

There are many easy and enjoyable ways to celebrate and participate in World Art Day. Here are just a few ideas: First and foremost, as individuals or in groups, visit museums and art galleries.

Museums and art galleries – offer extended hours today.

Museums and art galleries – put on special demos and educational programs.

Get the kids involved. Teach them about the different forms of art. Provide them with a hands-on way to experience the creation of artwork.

Purchase a piece of artwork for your home or office.

Wherever you go, make a conscious effort to be on the lookout for artwork. You will be amazed at how many works of art are prominently displayed, yet you walk by them every day without noticing.

Help to support a “starving artist”.

History and Origin of World Art Day

This special day was created in 2011, at the General Assembly of the International Association of Art in Guadalajara, Mexico. This special day was proposed by delegates from Turkey.

The date of April 15, was selected for World Art day, as this is the birthday of Leonardo DaVinci.

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National 4-H Congress delegates gain leadership skills

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Attending the 2022 National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Georgia, was an experience of a lifetime for four North Dakota delegates. The delegates were Marit Ellingson, Amilia Lillehaugen and Andrew Myrdahl from Walsh County and Alex Lahlum from LaMoure County. Becca Yarger, North Dakota State University Extension agent from Dunn County served as chaperone.

state of North Dakota,” says Lahlum. “On top of having a fantastic time with everyone and meeting people at Congress, the service project I did at the elementary school touched me, as I felt I made a difference in the lives of these children.”

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“My experience at National 4-H Congress was unforgettable and helped develop leadership skills I can apply at the county, state and national levels,” says Ellingson. “The workshops and speakers stressed the importance of giving back to those around you, being a positive figure in the lives of others, and finding joy in difficult circumstances.”

The four North Dakota delegates joined more than 800 youth from across the U.S. in workshops that helped them improve their leadership skills. Congress delegates heard from nationally and internationally recognized speakers, took part in a servicelearning projects and experienced local culture through visits to locations such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for NonViolent Change and the Atlanta Zoo.

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“During my time at National 4-H Congress, my perspective on the world changed considerably from what it’s like in the small

Lillehaugen came back with ideas to share with her own 4-H program in North Dakota.

“I learned so much about the different opportunities that are available through 4-H and how it can help me grow,” says Lillehaugen. “More youth need to know about these things.”

“This conference has made an incredible impact on my way of thinking, establishing personal and work goals, facilitating community collaboration, and most of all to be motivated to overcome obstacles,” says Yarger, the group’s chaperone.

The National 4-H Congress is one of several national and statewide leadership development opportunities available to North Dakota youth through 4-H.

Applications to serve as a 2023 delegate are due to the NDSU Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development by Aug. 1, 2023.

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Pigs in a Blanket Day

When is Pigs in a Blanket Day? This holiday is always observed on April 24

This April 24 holiday is a day to eat a sausage wrapped in a pancake. Why? Because that’s what “Pig in a Blanket” is.

Somebody somewhere decided that this was a very special treat to them. So, they created a special day to celebrate this culinary delight. Aren’t you glad that they did?

How does one go about celebrating Pigs in a Blanket Day? Cook up some sausage. Make some pancakes. Wrap the sausage inside of the pancake. Add maple syrup. Then, chow down.

How to Celebrate Pigs in a Blanket Day

Go to a restaurant that serves breakfast and order pigs in a blanket. We suggest you look at their online menu before you go to be sure they have it. Make it at home.

North Dakota’s National 4-H Congress delegates, pictured from left: (front) Alex Lahlum, Andrew Myrdal, (back) Amilia LIllehaugen, chaperone Becca Yarger, Marit Ellingson (NDSU photo)

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This article uses excerpts from: What is the role of power in your Ag Legacy? By Caleb Carter, consultant to the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

The older generations have spent their entire professional lives using the power and control that they accumulated through hard work and their long tenures. Having them retire and give up that control and power is difficult for some in those generations. Overall, it is challenging for them to give up control or power.

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The younger generations need to be trained and incorporated into the operation in a planned and measured way. If they are just on the business end of fencing pliers or the manure pitchfork, they are not as likely to hang around the operation like the boomers did 40 years ago. Getting that younger generation started with management and decision making is more important than ever. But it must be done to give the younger producers experiences to learn, but not enough to harm the overall success of operation.

There are four strategies that can help a family better share power and control.

• Respect me: Take family members seriously and treat each other fairly.

• Include me: Involve all family members in decision making that affects the family and the family business.

• Collaborate: Work together to solve problems and reach goals.

• Let me lead: Create opportunities for the next generation to take the lead on projects and act.

Learning in a controlled environment where mentoring can happen. Respect, inclusion, collaboration, and mentorship can all help a family come together under a unified vision, while allowing opportunities for new ideas and including the next generation.

Through discussions with family business owners and managers, they also identified five practices that contributed to these family’s success and longevity:

• Keep the founder’s entrepreneurial spirit alive

• Embrace a motivational style of leadership

• Encourage the next generation to be proactive, innovative, and calculated risk-takers

• Reinforce the emotional value of owning and managing the family business beyond financial wealth

• Make business and family success equal priorities

First, you are not alone. Anecdotal data from Ag Professionals in Nebraska indicates that less than ½ of ag producers have an up-to-date succession plan. Second, as Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” When asked, most rural families acknowledge that they plan to pass their business on to the next generation. However, only 1/3 of all family businesses successfully transition management to the next generation, 70 percent do not survive to the second, and 90 percent do not survive to the third generation.

Despite the findings noted above, the Family Business Institute found that only 48 percent of family business owners and managers had a plan in place to transition the business to the next generation. Don’t let fear of giving up power be what holds you back from developing the most important plan of all. Start sharing power today with the goal of passing on values and life lessons, while preserving family relationships and the family business for the future.

“Regardless of our intent, succession to the next generation is not a given. They have many choices outside the family enterprise, and if they choose to succeed us, they will have to be as interested and passionate about the business as the four generations that have preceded them. More than ever, however, we must make sure that we let our successors write their own generational chapter if we want the family business legacy to survive.”

George Vestey CEO, Vestey Holdings, United Kingdom, (STEP and KPMG, 2020)

Bouncing boy

First appearing in a 1961 Action comic, Chuck Taine drank what he thought was a bottle of soda, but it was really a “super-plastic fluid” that gives him the ability to turn into a gigantic bouncing ball. He even gets to join the Legion of Superheroes (sidekicks of Superboy) along with other uniquely powered characters such as Matter-Eater Lad (his superpower: He can eat anything).

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2007 Apache 1010 self-propelled sprayer, 1000 gallon poly tank, 60/90 foot steel boom, autorate, auto boom. PRICE REDUCED $69,900

1995 Case IH 2188 combine with MacDon 960 36-ft header and 1010 15-ft pickup header. $19,995

2006 John Deere 9760 STS combine....REDUCED $10,000 to $39,900

2010 MacDon D60 45-ft. draper header with pickup reel, transport $49,900 Case IH 1015 pickup header $2995

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1998 Freightliner FL70 4x4 lube service truck, 126K miles, 26K GVW, Reman 275 hp 3126 Cat diesel, MD3060 Allison AT, AC, PS, AB, cruise, 14-ft. enclosed body, 4 product tanks, hydraulic compressor, workbench, air greaser, 6 hose reels, 90% brakes, runs and drive great $39,500

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15 yd. dump, 370 hp M11, 8II, Jake, AC, PS, Dbl. frame, 16K front, 40K rears on Hendrickson spring, 50% 22.5 tires, pintle, air gate $31,500

1995 Ford F800 Compressor Truck 89K Miles, 5.9 Cummins, 5 spd. manual, AC, PS, PB, 24K gvw, hyd. reel handler, 375 cm JD diesel compressor, new 245/19.5 tires. $16,500

1997 Ford F800 Water Truck

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1997 Gradall 534c-10 Telehandler

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1980 International Service Truck 210 hp DT466, 5&2 spd., AB, PS, IMT 425AT knuckle boom with remote, hydraulic outriggers, 13 hp Curtis 25CFM compressor, 70% 11r22.5 tires, 12-ft. service body. $19,500

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1998 Caterpillar TH103

Telehandler

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height, outriggers, 4x4, 3 way steering, 48” forks, 75% 14.00x24 tires, 9100 hrs, runs and works excellent. $43,500

2005 Ford F650 Service Truck 210 hp C7 Cat, 6 spd. manual, AC, PS, PB, 26K GVW, Autocrane 8006H, 8000# capacity, remote, hydraulic outriggers, 12’ service body, under CDL, 50% 22.5 tires. $23,500

2001 Chevrolet C6500 210 hp 3126 Cat diesel, 6 spd manual AC, PS, PB, 95K miles, 90% 245/75-19.5 tires, 15-ft. flatbed, PTO hydraulic winch, 26K GVW $19,500

J&T Equipment Sales, Stevensville, MT 406-381-3159 – www.jandtequipmentsales.com

A group of farmers, consultants, researchers, and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service employees collaborate on an activity to first find the soil type and then its appropriate standard at the Nebraska Soil Health School.

Promoting soil health in Nebraska

By Nicole Heldt, Research Project Coordinator, UNL Panhandle Research, Extension, and Education Center; Bijesh Maharjan, Associate Professor and Soil and

Nutrient Management Extension Specialist, UNL Panhandle Research, Extension, and Education Center

Well over 60 area farmers, ranchers, agronomists, and agency representatives filled Bridgeport’s Prairie Winds Community Center to learn about soil health at the first installment of three Nebraska Soil Health School events taking place this year.

“Soil health is defined as the continued capacity of the soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans,” Aaron Hird, USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Soil Health Specialist, said.

On March 2, the University of NebraskaLincoln (UNL) hosted the Nebraska Soil Health School, sponsored by the USDA NRCS. Nebraska Soil Health School lead coordinator, Bijesh Maharjan, associate professor and extension specialist, UNL, welcomed the audience and introduced the keynote speaker, Dr. Jerry Hatfield, retired director of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment. Hatfield began the program by addressing soil health impacts on water, nutrients, and farm profitability.

“We should continue to evaluate and implement practices that increase the value of our soils and create resilience in our cropping systems,” he said. “Opportunity exists for agriculture to meet the demands of the future through our ability to be innovators and revolutionaries.”

The focus of the Soil Health Schools is to offer soil health education while connecting farmers, consultants, educators, researchers, and NRCS employees. The attendees heard from Aaron Daigh, associate professor UNL, Michael Kaiser, assistant professor UNL, and Carolina Córdova, assistant professor and extension specialist UNL on

fundamental soil health physics, chemistry, and biology.

After a brisket lunch, Hird addressed the group by focusing on regenerating soil structure and the soil ecosystem.

“It’s simple — supporting biological activity to build soil structure expands soil function and boosts soil productivity,” he said. “Ninety percent of soil functions are influenced by the organisms living there, which are impacted by management.”

Hird and colleague, Elizabeth Gray, Assistant Soil Health Specialist, USDANRCS, gave demonstrations using monoliths and soils to compare aggregate stability and much more between no-till and conventional management practices. Gray also lead the group through hands-on activities to identify soil color with the Munsell color chart.

In the afternoon, the group heard from UNL extension educators, researchers, and specialists on soil health management practices — no-till, manure, cover crops, and livestock integration.

Presenters and industry representatives interacted throughout the day to answer questions and spark discussion around soil health in the Panhandle.

“The (school was) very informative and exceeded my expectations,” a farmer said. “It helped to create a story for tangible benefits. The water evaporation and soil holding examples were some of the best I’ve seen.”

The second Nebraska Soil Health School will be a two-day event at the West Central Research, Extension, and Education Center in North Platte on June 27-28. An agenda and registration announcement will be coming soon.

Leslie Johnson (standing, right), Extension Educator, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), addresses a group on the role of manure in soil health at the Nebraska Soil Health School on March 2. Johnson with the help of Paul Jasa (standing, left), Extension Engineer, UNL, demonstrates different soil structures as they break apart in jars of water.

Dr. Jerry Hatfield (right), retired director of the USDA Agricultural Research Service National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, discusses soil health practices with a Nebraska Soil Health School participant. The school is a collaborative effort between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service designed to educate and connect people across the state on the latest soil health topics.

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1993 Case 7140 MFWD tractor, 240 hp, 18R42 duals, 2 remotes, 8950 hours $52,500

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Feeding Ionophores in mineral supplements

By Lindsay Waechter-Mead, DVM, Nebraska Extension Beef Educator and Travis Mulliniks, UNL Beef Cattle Nutritionist, Range Production Systems

Ionophores have been safely utilized in the beef industry for a long time. If fed according to the recommended rates, ionophores are considered safe and effective. Ionophores are feed additives used in cattle diets to increase feed efficiency and body weight gain. In addition, ionophores can decrease the incidence of bloat and coccidiosis. Ionophores can be fed to cattle in several different supplemental packages from liquid feeds, cakes, pellets, and loose minerals. The classification of the animal (ie., lactating cow vs stocker) can dictate how ionophores get delivered according to the label. Ionophores approved for use in cattle include monensin (Rumensin®), lasalocid (Bovatec®) and laidlomycin propionate (Cattlyst®).

They are compounds that alter rumen fermentation and fermentation end products. Ionophores function by negatively altering the metabolism of gram-positive bacteria in the rumen. These affected gram-positive bacteria are those that decrease efficient rumen digestive physiology and the energy supplied from the ruminal digestion of feedstuffs. By controlling certain microbes in the rumen, less waste products or methane are generated, and ruminal protein breakdown is decreased. The shift in ruminal bacteria population allows beneficial bacteria to be more efficient through an increase in the amount of propionate and a decrease in the production of acetate. Overall, ionophores can increase the energy status and use feed resources more efficiently.

From a performance standpoint, grazing trials using steers and heifers have shown that formulated intakes of 155 mg/ day of monensin result in an improvement in average daily gain of 0.18 lb per day or a 13.5% increase compared to cattle receiving no monensin. Increasing monensin intake up to 200 mg/day, cattle gained an additional 0.20 lb per day or a 16% improvement compared to cattle without monensin.

Although all ionophores can be toxic, this article will focus on monensin, due to the amount of information available and use in the cattle industry since the mid-1970s. Proper management, avoidance of overdosing, and reading label recommendations will help prevent the occurrence of adverse effects associated with ionophores. Always follow the label instructions when feeding medicated minerals or feeds as overfeeding or incorrectly feeding ionophores can lead to toxicities.

One consistent mistake made by many producers is offering a medicated mixing mineral to their cattle free-choice and not properly managing intakes. For managing mineral costs, mineral consumption of the herd needs to be monitored. Rumensin, for instance, reduces palatability of the mineral supplement which can result in decreased overall mineral intake. Salt is a key driver of mineral intake. If overconsumption is an issue, adding more salt to the mineral can help regulate intake.

The normal safe range of monensin used in stocker calves for increased body weight gain and prevention of coccidiosis is 50 to 200 mg/head/day. Lethal dose of monensin that would cause death of 1% of animals (LD1) is estimated to be 2.5 mg/lb of body weight. Acute oral LD50 or median lethal dose for monensin is 12 mg/lb of body weight. For a 700 lb stocker calf, daily intakes of 1,700 to 8,400 mg/day would result in 1 to 50% of exposed animals to die. Although it may seem difficult to achieve intakes that are 8.5 to 42 times greater than the safe range, it can be an easy mistake at the time of mixing due to the small amount of monensin used in a ton of feed. Drug interactions, such as macrolide antibiotics and sulfonamides, potentiates toxicosis.

The clinical signs of monensin toxicity can be difficult to assess and will vary based on exposure. The first symptoms affect the digestive system, with anorexia occurring approximately twelve hours post ingestion, followed by diarrhea. Death loss begins three days after exposure, with some animals having no clinical symptoms prior to death. Peak death loss occurs between five to 10 days. Heart and skeletal muscle damage may also occur, which presents as weakness, incoordination, difficulty breathing, and nasal discharge.

Diagnosing monensin toxicity requires a review of the entire system – feeding and mixing history, feed intake, clinical signs of sick and healthy calves, and necropsy samples. Diagnosis is challenging due to when symptoms occur and the similarities to different disease processes. Because death isn’t observed until day three post-ingestion, CONTINUED

Feeding Ionophores in mineral supplements

CONTINUED FROM PAGE C28 sampling rations for ionophore levels is unrewarding. The current ration may not be diagnostic if exposure occurred following a one-time mistake in mixing. Rumen contents are unreliable because the animal is often anorexic and monensin may not be detected. Samples of cardiac and skeletal muscle may also be evaluated for damage during necropsy. There is no treatment for monensin toxicity other than supportive care. Long term prognosis to affected animals is guarded due to heart muscle damage, weakness, and poor feed efficiency.

Overall, incorporating ionophores into supplement strategies has a positive response on increasing growing cattle performance. Livestock producers should consider using ionophores to increase calf gain and gain efficiency in a cost-effective manner. Feeding ionophore in beef cattle diets is a safe, cost-effective strategy; however, properly feeding these compounds is crucial.

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Low forecast for wheat

midge continues into 2023

Soil samples from North Dakota counties indicate low levels of overwintering wheat midge larvae (cocoons) for the 2023 season, says Janet Knodel, North Dakota State University Extension entomologist.

A total of 2,040 soil cores were collected from 22 counties in the fall of 2022 to estimate the statewide risk for wheat midge for the 2023 spring wheat growing season. The risk for wheat midge is based on unparasitized cocoons found in the soil samples.

“The majority of the soil samples had zero wheat midge cocoons in the soil for the past three years,” Knodel says. “The percentage was 97.5% with no midge cocoons in 2023, 95% in 2022 and 86% in 2021. This is the record low since the wheat midge larval survey for overwintering cocoons started in 1995.”

Only about 2.5% of soil samples were positive for wheat midge cocoons, with density ranging from 36 to 143 cocoons per square meter. This is a low risk for wheat midge infestation, which is classified as one to 200 midge cocoons per square meter.

“Low risk areas were scattered in eight counties throughout the state, including the northwest area (Burke County), north-central area (Benson, McHenry and Rolette Counties), and the west-central area (McLean County),” Knodel says.

“No soil samples had moderate or high cocoon densities of wheat midge (201 to over 800 midge larvae per square meter),” Knodel says.

Knodel adds, “This dramatic decrease in wheat midge populations since 2019 is probably due to drought in 2020 through 2022. Drought can cause wheat midge to overwinter for two years instead of the typical emergence during the following season. Larvae also are susceptible to dryness and require rain to emerge from the soil in late June through mid-July, and to drop out of the mature wheat heads and dig into the soil to overwinter as cocoons. In some locations, wheat midge larvae remained in the wheat heads during harvest due to the dry environment and ended up in the harvest trucks instead of the soil. Comparing precipitation from May through August with wheat midge cocoon densities for each surveyed county over the past 12 years shows a strong positive correlation between precipitation and wheat midge populations.”

Another reason wheat midge infestation risk is so low could be due to the late spring wheat planting in 2022 due to the cool, wet conditions in early May. Late planting dates reduce the risk of infestation due to the wheat heading after peak emergence of wheat midge.

With the very low populations of wheat midge for the third year in a row, night scouting for adult midges in spring wheat fields is not pressing, unless the field is continuous wheat and/or favorable moist weather in late June to early July occurs during emergence. These two factors can cause rapid increases in the numbers of emerging adult wheat midges, especially in areas that did receive adequate precipitation last year.

Knodel recommends that producers still use the wheat midge degree-day model to predict the emergence of wheat midge and to determine when to scout, and if their wheat crop is at risk.

Producers can access the wheat midge degree-day model on the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) website at https://ndawn.ndsu.nodak.edu/wheatgrowing-degree-days.html.

Select your nearest NDAWN station and enter your spring wheat planting date. The output indicates the expected growth stage of the wheat and whether the crop is susceptible to midge infestation, as well as the timing and percent of wheat midge emerged.

If wheat midge is detected, the economic thresholds for wheat midge are one or more midge observed for every four or five heads on hard red spring wheat, or one or more midge observed for every seven or eight heads on durum wheat.

Knodel says, “This forecast is favorable for growers since the risk for yield loss and reduced grain quality from wheat midge is low. Unfortunately, the bad news is that the beneficial parasitic wasp that attacks and kills wheat midge can’t survive without its host. No parasitized cocoons were found in 2022 and 2021. This is the second time that no parasitic wasps were observed.

“Parasitic wasps play an important role in natural control of wheat midge and parasitize the eggs or larvae,” she adds. “In contrast, the parasitism rate was 15% in 2020, 36% in 2019 and 9% in 2018.”

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Winners of Montana Ag in Color drawing contest

The Montana Farm Bureau Federation has announced the winners of the Montana Youth Agriculture Literacy program drawing contest. “Montana Ag in Color” was developed in recognition of National Ag Week, March 21-27, as a creative competition for elementary school children. Each grade was given a different agricultural theme ranging from “Grains of Montana” and “Cattle in Agriculture” to noxious weeds, farm safety and ag-related careers. One winner was selected from each grade with judges selecting one drawing from the winners to receive the “Farm Bureau Proud” designation.

Kindergarten – Greyson Zimdars, Saco School, Phillips County

First Grade – Abraham Waldner, Zenith Elementary, Glacier County

Second Grade – Khloe Brown, Hillcrest Elementary, Wheatland County

Third Grade – Garnet Gibbs, Gibbs Home School, Dawson County

Fourth Grade – Hennessey Williamson, Malta Elementary, Phillips County

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Fifth Grade – Seterah Pekovitch, Malta Elementary, Phillips County

Sixth Grade – Lyndie Wickens, Winifred School, Fergus County

Seterah Pekovitch, received the Farm Bureau Proud award.

Entries were judged by the Montana Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee on agricultural content, originality, neatness and reproducibility.

“The Women’s Leadership Committee (WLC) had the honor of judging the Montana Ag in Color drawing contest during our WLC training seminar in February. The contest welcomes kindergarten through sixth grade students from across the state,” said MFB WLC Chair Carla Lawrence. “Our committee enjoys judging this contest, although it is a difficult task to choose the winners from such a talented group of artists. We hope the students had a great time and were able to learn about agriculture and the farmers and ranchers who produce food and fiber in Montana and across the nation.” Winners will be treated to a pizza party in their local classrooms and receive a prize package from Montana Farm Bureau during Ag Week. Winning entries will be printed and distributed on usable items and educational materials. They will be posted on the Montana Farm Bureau website and Facebook page.

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Cowboy: Someone who can replace a uterine prolapse in a range cow in a three-section pasture with nothing but a horse and a rope. – Baxter Black

Let us make our future now and let us make you dreams tomorrow’s reality

#####

When the first consistent phone service was established in 1878, Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering the phone with “ahoy.”

Kindergarten – Greyson Zimdars, Saco School, Phillips County

First Grade – Abraham Waldner, Zenith Elementary, Glacier County

The deadline for advertising for the May 2023 issue of the Trader's Dispatch will be April 26th.

Winners of Montana Ag in Color drawing contest

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Why are elevator jokes so good?

They work on many levels!

#####

Why did an old man fall in a well?

Because he couldn’t see that well!

#####

Where do polar bears keep their money?

In a snow bank!

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Knock, knock. Who’s there?

Scold. Scold who?

Scold outside, let me in!

#####

Knock, knock. Who’s there?

A little old lady.

A little old lady who?

Hey, I didn’t know you could yodel!

#####

Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7, 8, 9!

Second Grade – Khloe Brown, Hillcrest Elementary, Wheatland County

Third Grade – Garnet Gibbs, Gibbs Home School, Dawson County

Fourth Grade – Hennessey Williamson, Malta Elementary, Phillips County

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Like a cloud in the sky, that’s me today, Lord. Not paying attention to what’s going on, just floating along. I ate some fresh fruit salad... and then remembered I’m allergic to citrus fruits. Please keep my allergic reaction from being too severe.

#####

Today I’m going to do things in the right order: say my prayers, get out of bed, get dressed, eat breakfast... ummm...say my prayers, get out of bed, get dressed, eat breakfast...say my prayers, get out of bed, get dressed, eat breakfast...I give up, Lord. What comes next?

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Research technologist played part in research history

By Chabella Guzman, communications specialist

In the past 45 years, Rex Nielsen has been part of important research projects at the UNL Panhandle Research, Extension, and Education Center (PREEC) in Scottsbluff.

The center’s involvement in agriculture appealed to him when he applied at PREEC in 1978 after his brother Kim had worked at the center.

“(I’ve) always been involved in agriculture, and this place, had a pretty good background,” he said.

Nielsen, a research technologist, has worked with many research scientists. He was among those who worked with soil scientists Charlie Fenster and Frank Anderson in the infancy of no-till research. To reduce soil erosion and retain water or moisture in the ground.

“We were on the ground floor of developing no-till drills. We were the first to do that here,” Nielsen said.

The drills progressed and were noticed by implement manufacturer John Deere. The company worked with PREEC on developing its own drills.

“I think it’s fair to say, now, it’s all over the country (notill practices) and enhances soil properties,” Nielsen said.

In the last few years, Nielsen has worked with Bijesh Maharjan, PREEC soil and nutrient management specialist, on the Western Sugar project using biochar as a soil additive. Biochar or high carbon char is a soil amendment that can increase soil carbon concentration.

Nielsen said since the results came out, the biochar at Western Sugar has been hauled away in truckloads.

Nielsen will continue in agriculture with his brother Kim, as they still own the family ranch near Redington, Neb.

One of his last research projects concerned their ranch and controlling cheatgrass. He worked with Mitch Stephenson, PREEC range and forage management specialist. Cheatgrass is not new to the panhandle but is a challenge for the native plant communities.

“Rex has helped us to develop work to evaluate a new herbicide option on larger pastures on his property,” said Stephenson. “Rex provided valuable insight on other options to continue evaluating this product.”

Nielsen agrees that the herbicide performed well on his pastures, and the Envoy product looks promising.

For all years he has spent in fields, writing grants and meeting producers. Neilson said he enjoyed the research but would miss the people he’s known and worked with the most.

Office: 170 Dana Lane, Belgrade, MT 59714

His last day at the UNL Panhandle Research, Extension, and Education Center was Friday, March 31.

Spring planting alfalfa

By Todd Whitney, UNL

Alfalfa can be successfully seeded in the spring or fall depending on field weed populations, moisture conditions, and timing. Based on higher snowfall, our 2023 spring may be a very successful time to establish new alfalfa stands. Although it may be tempting to drill or broadcast more seeds into open spaces in thin alfalfa fields; remember that live alfalfa roots emit an ethylene chemical toxin which impedes new alfalfa growth. This ‘autotoxicity’ weakens or kills any new alfalfa plants and accumulates in soil over time. Therefore, it is better to drill into new fields; than seed where previous older alfalfa plants have been grown within the past 1 to 2 years.

Once established, alfalfa as a perennial can complete well with weeds. If herbicide resistant weeds are currently growing on fields, then light tillage may be needed to control weeds while creating a firm drilling seedbed. Also, combination light tillage plus herbicide may provide improved seedling establishment. Since new alfalfa seedlings are very susceptible to herbicide injury, carefully follow any chemical label restrictions. Usually, new alfalfa plants must reach two to four trifoliated leaf development before herbicides are applied; noting that 2,4-D usage is not recommended.

Glyphosate-tolerant or Round-up Ready varieties provide more flexibility for controlling weeds currently growing in fields. Initial glyphosate application should occur between alfalfa emergence and 4th trifoliate leaf growth stages to remove non-glyphosate tolerant alfalfa seedlings and control weeds that are present.

Target seeding ¼ to ½ inch depth in the fine-textured soils and ¾ inch depth in sandy soils. Seedlings placed too shallow will dry out rapidly and die due to poor roots. While seeds planted more than 1 inch deep may be unable to emerge after germinating. Further establishment guidelines are outlined in the UNL “Seeding Alfalfa” NebGuide G2247.

Freightliner Century tandem axle truck, 450 hp Mercedes engine, Smartshift autoshift transmission, air tag, pintle and 20ft. ITB aluminum grain box, remote hoist and endgate, feedlot radiator.

Great Falls Sales: Andy – 590-0372; Lance – 788-8012; James – 868-2570; Hunter – 868-8312; Adam – 403-5987

Lewistown Sales: Anna – 231-4251

Call us for all your used equipment needs!

USED TRACTORS

USED CONSTRUCTION

Bobcat

USED MISCELLANEOUS

Wheatheart High & Heavy postdriver. stk# 30419. (G)

Wheatheart Heavy Hitter pounder. stk# 30515. (G)

Morris 1400 Hay Hiker. stk# 21195. (G)

Canola Roller 34371 adapter 9-ft. with Freeform Plastics MT2000 roller. stk# 28550. (G)

Woods GBC48 box blade. stk# 26754. (G)

Land Pride RCR1860 cutter. stk# 29730. (G)

USED SPRAYERS

New Holland SF115 sprayer. stk# 28655. (G)

New Holland T7.210 stk# 22264. COMING IN SOON (L)

USED COMBINES

Case 2188 stk# 29206. (G)

Case 1660 with header. stk# 13168. (G)

New Holland TR98 with headers. stk# 19692. (G)

Massey Ferguson 8570 with 30-ft. header. stk# 9896. (G)

USED HEADER

MacDon FD75D 45-ft. header. stk# 29023. (L)

MacDon 962 stk# 27101. (G)

Gleaner 24-ft. header. stk# 10119. (G)

USED

Haybuster 256 stk# 29172. $2495 (G)

New Holland TM150 tractor. stk# 29559. (G)

Massey Ferguson GC1725TLB tractor. stk# 27315. (G)

Case IH Puma 165 tractor. stk# 30255. (L)

Kubota BX2380 compact tractor. stk# 30042. (G)

Versatile 800 stk# 25280. (G)

Ford TW35 stk# 28433. (L)

Agco 8610 stk# 30061. (G)

USED AIR DRILL

Concord ATD-4012 air drill. stk# 30184. (G)

USED SWATHERS

Case 8840 with 14-ft. header. stk# 28848. $24,900 (G)

New Holland H8040 swather. stk# 30437. $23,500 (G)

New Holland 1118 with 14-ft. header. stk# 27582. (G)

Miller 3275 HT 120-ft. front boom, 1000 gallon, 4WD, Raven Smart Trax, supported by New Holland. stk# 24819. $38,000 (G)

Haybuster BB256 left-hand discharge. stk# 29173.

(G)

Haybuster 2640 round only, left-hand discharge. stk# 30185. (G)

Spra Coupe 7650 full run Raven monitor, mechanical rear drive, front hydraulic assist, 90-ft. boom, hydraulic extend axle. stk# 9067. $49,900 (G)

Versatile SX275 sprayer. stk# 12327. (G)

USED ROUND BALERS

Haybuster 2800 square and round. stk# 30239. (G)

Haybuster 256+II stk# 30261. (G)

Haybuster 256+II round only. stk# 30279. (L)

Vermeer BPX9010R processor. stk# 29561.(L)

Vermeer BPX8000 round only. stk# 11189. (L)

Vermeer BP8000 round only. stk# 11240. (L)

Highline 7000 round only. stk# 29332. (L)

USED AUGERS

Buhler MKX 13x84 auger. stk# 29296. $6995 (G)

New Holland RB560 net/twine. stk# 28314.(L)

New Holland BR780 net/twine. stk# 27848. (L)

New Holland 688 net/twine. stk# 30181. (L)

New Holland 664 net/twine. stk# 30105. (G)

New Holland 660 net/twine. stk# 27027. $2900 (G)

Vermeer 605XL net/twine. stk# 20674. $4900 (G)

Vermeer 605L twine only. stk# 21490. (G)

John Deere 566 net/twine. stk# 29080 $6900 (G)

Hesston 956A twine only. stk# 9821.$6900 (G)

Hesston 856A stk# 22105 $4900 (G)

Gehl RB1870 stk# 28492. $2495 (G)

USED TILLAGE

Melroe 501 plow with 40-ft. harrow. stk# 25282. (G)

Gysler 39-ft. plow. stk# 25477. $6900 (G)

Gysler 46-ft. plow with roller harrow. stk# 28579. (L)

Massey Ferguson WR9760 swather. stk# 17659. (G)

S205 skid steer. stk# 22962. (G)

Bobcat T750 skid steer. stk# 26506. (L) New Holland L228 skid steer. stk# 21279. (G)

New Holland L180 skid steer. stk#30442. (L)

Attach Sledge Pounder skid steer mount. stk# 29228. (G)

Toro TX525 Dingo with stand-on platform. stk# 28506.

2009 Bobcat 325G compact excavator, 2800 hours. stk# 15179. (G)

Blecavator BV130 stk# 30276. (G)

Winners of Montana Ag in Color drawing contest

April, 2023 will be ... Straw Hat Month

Straw hats have always had something of a pastoral air to them, from the conical straw hat commonly seen in rice fields to the wide-brimmed straw hats worn by ‘hayseed farmers’ in America, straw hats say agriculture.

What is largely unknown to many is how far back the history of the straw hat stretches. While some things may only get a single day of celebration dedicated to them, so important is the straw hat that it has an entire month dedicated to it!

History of Straw Hat Month

Straw Hats have appeared in cultures the world over, and have been made from just about every conceivable form of straw or grass as a result. Some of the most common are wheat straw hats, most commonly found in the Italian Peninsula, rush straws, palm leaves, and of course rice straw and bamboo that are used in Asian Conical hats. It may seem a bit early to consider wearing a straw hat, especially since most people associate them with warm summer wear, but they

really can be appropriate for much of the year, especially in milder climates.

The unique properties of the straw hat make it a great piece of attire no matter what weather you face. Is it hot and sunny out? The woven straw hat will let heat escape while protecting your head from the pounding rays of a mid-day sun. Is it raining? A properly woven straw hat will let the rain roll right off your head and away from your face and clothes, helping you to stay dry. They may not be great when dealing with truly cold weather like snow, but wrapping a cloth around your head under the straw hat will help trap heat while keeping the snow or cold winter rain off your head. Modern straw hats are sometimes made with plastic strips, laminated grasses, or woven paper, but for our money, we think that traditional straw hats are the only appropriate wear for Straw Hat Month. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.

How to Celebrate Straw Hat Month

Well, it all starts with your choice of attire now, doesn’t it? Straw Hat Month is a great opportunity to trot out your straw hat collection and share them with the world. What’s that? Don’t you have a straw hat collection? Then this is a great excuse to start to build one!

Sixth Grade – Lyndie Wickens, Winifred School, Fergus County

Fifth Grade – Seterah Pekovitch, Malta Elementary, Phillips County

Baby kangaroo fecal microbes could reduce methane from cows

By Tina Hilding, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture

Baby kangaroo feces might help provide an unlikely solution to the environmental problem of cow-produced methane. A microbial culture developed from the kangaroo feces inhibited methane production in a cow stomach simulator in a Washington State University study.

After researchers added the baby kangaroo culture and a known methane inhibitor to the simulated stomach, it produced acetic acid instead of methane. Unlike methane, which cattle discard as flatulence, acetic acid has benefits for cows as it aids muscle growth. The researchers published their work in the journal Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology.

“Methane emissions from cows are a major contributor to greenhouse gases, and at the same time, people like to eat red meat,” said Birgitte Ahring, corresponding author on the paper and a professor in with the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory at the WSU Tri-Cities campus. “We have to find a way to mitigate this problem.”

Reducing the burps and farts of methane emissions from cattle is no laughing matter. Methane is the second largest greenhouse gas contributor and is about 30 times more potent at heating up the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. More than half of the methane released to the atmosphere is thought to come from the agricultural sector, and ruminant animals, such as cattle and goats, are the most significant contributors. Furthermore, the process of producing methane requires as much as 10% of the animal’s energy.

Researchers have tried changing cows’ diets as well as giving them chemical inhibitors to stop methane production, but the methane-producing bacteria soon become resistant to the chemicals. They also have tried to develop vaccines, but a cow’s microbiome depends on where it’s eating, and there are far too many varieties of the methane-producing bacteria worldwide. The interventions can also negatively affect the animals’ biological processes.

The WSU researchers study fermentation and anaerobic processes and had previously designed an artificial rumen, the largest stomach compartment found in ruminant animals, to simulate cow digestion. With many enzymes that are able to break down natural materials, rumens have “amazing abilities,” said Ahring, who is also a professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering and in Biological System Engineering.

Looking to investigate how to outcompete the methane-producing bacteria in their reactor, Ahring learned that kangaroos have

acetic acid-producing, instead of methaneproducing, bacteria in their foregut. Her students tracked down some kangaroos, took samples and learned that the specialized acetic acid-producing process only occurred in baby kangaroos – not in adults. Unable to separate out specific bacteria that might be producing the acetic acid, the researchers used a stable mixed culture developed from the feces of the baby kangaroo.

After initially reducing the methaneproducing bacteria in their reactor with a specialized chemical, the acetic acid bacteria were able to replace the methaneproducing microbes for several months with a similar growth rate as the methaneproducing microbes.

While the researchers have tested their system in the simulated rumen, they hope to try it on real cows sometime in the future.

“It is a very good culture. I have no doubt it is promising,” Ahring said. “It could be really interesting to see if that culture could run for an extended period of time, so we would only have to inhibit the methane production from time to time. Then, it could actually be a practice.”

, Agco diesel

CVT transmission, 2132 hours. New Leader L3220 G4 stainless steel dry spinner box, belt/chain, MultiApplier ready $151,000

1619 hours, Airmax Precision 2 bed, capable of spreading two products, 70-ft. stainless steel boom, Raven Viper 4 controller, auto steer, automatic section control, variable rate. Amazing machine....$248,500

2018 RBR 380, with 810 Flex Air Bed, 1825 hours with Raven Viper 4. $228,000

New Leader L4000 G4 spreader box, twin spinner, all hydraulic, stainless steel insert, Raven Viper Pro monitor, 4561 hours. Free delivery $92,000

, Willmar 16-ton rear auger tender, tires are fair. Working truck and tender $24,500

Cat diesel engine, AirMax Precision, 70ft. stainless steel boom, Raven SmarTrax, Viper Pro, 4495 hours. Exceptionally clean truck! $84,000

4530 Dry Floater, Flex-Air 810 - VRT dry flow system, 70-ft. boom, Raven Viper Pro, 2922 hours $148,000

2011 Case 3520 3 bin, 3148 hours, Viper Pro, Trimble 750. Very nice truck $109,000

3 wheel floater, 810 air delivery box, deluxe cab, red leather seat, 6 speed Allison automatic transmission, 8.7L Case IH FLP engine, 1512 hours, 1050/50 R32 front and rear tires, Raven Viper 4, Agri-Cover roll tarp $167,000

2008 Sterling Acterra fuel truck, Cummins diesel engine, Allison automatic, tandem axle full screw, 3600 gallon 5 compartment fuel body, dual metered hose reels, frame mounted storage boxes, 218,755 miles.

Vector 300, Cummins, Allison automatic,

2016 Case IH Titan 3540

2011 TerraGator 8204,

2016 TerraGator TG8400B

engine,

2015 Case IH Titan

1985 Freightliner

$38,500

2019 TerraGator TG8400C

2015 TerraGator TG9300B, Soilection Four Bin dry air flow system, 70-ft. boom, Raven Viper Pro monitor, 4530 hours. Must see truck, amazingly clean. $82,500

2015 Case IH 4530, 810 Flex Air system, 70-ft. stainless steel boom, micro ingredient bin, electric roll tarp, Raven Viper Pro, Smartrax, 2384 hours $155,000

2016 Case IH 4540 Case FPT diesel engine, Allison 6 speed transmission, Case FX 810 air spreader, 70-ft. boom. Raven Viper 4 controller, auto steer. $138,000

1969 Lubbock NH3 transport trailer, 10,400 gallons, Blackmer pump. 5 to choose from $45,000 each 1967 Fruehauf 8500 gallon lead and 5700 gallon 1969 Beall fuel trailer $34,000

2018 TerraGator TG8400B floater, 1505 hours, AGCO SISU power, diesel CVT transmission, Air Max Precision 2 bed, stainless steel 70-ft. boom, Raven Viper 4, electric roll tarp $236,000 $228,500

Willmar 16-ton rear auger tender, mounted on 2007 Wilray tandem axle pup, air brakes. Honda powered hydraulic system, roll tarp. $19,000

2007 JCB 406 loader, diesel engine, fresh overhaul, shuttle shift transmission, open cab, 1412 hours $34,500

1989 Kenworth T800 tender truck, 350 Cummins engine, 10 speed Eaton Fuller transmission, steerable pusher axle. 16-ton Wilmar side shooter tender $29,500

2007 John Deere 724J wheel loader, quick attach with 13,019 hours $112,500

2016 TerraGator TG8400B 2713 hours, AirMax Precision 2 with Coap bins, 70-ft. stainless steel boom, electric roll tarp, Viper Pro, Smartax. $155,000

1990 Freightliner liquid tender with pup trailer, 2-2800 gallon tanks, both the truck and pup have gas powered 2” pumps, Detroit diesel engine, 762,178 miles. $44,000

Cat 938F payloader, Cat diesel engine 140 hp. 4 speed shuttle shift drive, enclosed cab, 3.25 yard bucket, 20.5-R25 tires, 10,270 hours. $48,500

Swinger 2000 loader, diesel, hydrostatic, front quick tach bucket, forks, aux hyd, 911 hours $26,000

2004 Peterbilt floater sprayer truck, 76-ft. boom, 20” nozzle spacing, Raven Envizio Pro control valves, 4368 hours $73,000

1996 Freightliner 5 axle tender, Cummins, Rayman 24 ton side discharge $39,500

2013 RoGator 1300, New Leader L4258 G4, Raven monitor, Raven GPS, 3072 hours $88,500