Trader's Dispatch - November 2022

Regenerative Ag Conference

A regenerative ag conference will be held on November 18th from 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. in Holdrege, Nebraska. This event will feature Gabe Brown who owns and operates Brown’s Ranch east of Bismark, North Dakota.

In addition to farming and ranching, Brown is an author and keynote speaker who shares his experiences in utilizing regenerative agricultural strategies.

This event is being hosted by Green Cover, Central Com munity College, and Nebraska Extension at the Tassel Per forming Arts Center (1324 Tilden St., Holdrege, NE 68949). There is a small fee associated with the meeting which will increase after November 14th so register early if you plan to attend this conference. Registration is through the Central Community College in Holdrege. Participants can either register online or contact their office at 308-995-8133.

More information about this event can be found on the following website in addition to the registration link (https:// greencover.com/event/soil-health-and-regenerative-agricul ture-conference/).

Montana Farmers Union recognizes youth

Montana Farmers Union recently recog nized several Montana youths for their dedi cation to agriculture and MFU education programs. The youth, along with several MFU members and Locals, were recognized during MFU’s 107th Annual Convention held in Helena earlier this month.

MDA accepting applications for LFPA

The Montana Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Pro gram (LFPA). Funds will be sub awarded to organizations statewide to increase the distribution of local food from and to underserved constituencies, and to facilitate the establish ment of business relationships between underserved farmers and food purchasers in underserved communities.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service established the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) in early 2022. Cooperative agreements will allow for state and tribal governments to procure and distribute local and regional foods and beverages that are healthy, nutritious, and unique to their geographic area. The food will meet the needs of the population, and serve feeding programs, including food banks, schools and organizations that reach underserved communities.

Grants will be awarded from $50,000 to $200,000 over a two-year period for this effort.

Those interested in applying for the LFPA can do so via the direct amplifund link by visiting agr.mt.gov/lfpa.

Receiving the highest youth honor through MFU of becoming a Torchbearer were Shania Van Spyk of Great Falls, Na tasia Van Spyk from Great Falls, Robert Jack Anderson of Great Falls, Tyson Harper of Billings, and Ella Padgett, who attends Montana State University.

Taking the Torchbearer Pledge signified their transition from youth programs to becoming engaged adult members of MFU.

To receive the award, youth must have completed at least three years of work in the senior youth leadership program, consisting of attending camp, serving as a camp dean, attending MFU events, and service in their community. They must also demonstrate their knowledge of cooperatives and Farm ers Union history.

Several other youths and MFU members also were recognized during Convention.

Henry Merrill of Big Sandy, Denton Everhart from Great Falls, Reagan Aaberg of Conrad, and Lorelei Wakkinen from Dutton received the Mildred Stoltz Award for their positive attitude, kindness, good verbal skills and understanding of coop erative principles that they demonstrated during Junior Camp at Arrowpeak Camp this summer. They are four of nearly 200 campers who attended various programs at the facility this year. The winners received a commemorative camp photo and frame, $50, a one-year MFU membership and free camp registration for next year.

Scholarship winners for 2022 also were recognized during Convention. Winners for 2022 are: Abby Clark, Phillip Prewett, David Shane and Cory Kelly.

The 2023 scholarship program for gradu ating seniors, college students and nontraditional students opens for applications mid-November. More information can be found at montanafarmersunion.com.

Education is one of MFU’s guiding prin ciples – along with legislation and coopera

From left: 2022 Camp Assistant James Van Spyk, Henry Merrill, Denton Everhart, Reagan Aaberg, and MFU President Walter Schweitzer.

Montana Farmers Union recognizes youth

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

tion. As such, it is integral to MFU’s programs, as well as MFU’s support of youth ag education through participation in Ag in the Classroom, Farm to School, school visits, and through sponsoring and actively participating in youthfocused county-wide ag days around the state.

MFU also has longstanding relationships with FFA and 4-H through sponsorships, grants, and the opportunity to activate a free MFU membership for being a member of those organizations.

Members and local chapters who received awards for their dedication, involvement, and investment in driving the mis sion of Montana Farmers Union forward were:

Tammy Copenhaver of Hingham for her involvement with planning the annual Women’s Conference, as well as her willingness to serve on other MFU committees, including the Resolutions Committee;

Charlotte Kelly of Chester for her longtime support of MFU’s education efforts, specifically her dedication of time and resources to hold an annual day camp in Chester, as well as for her involvement in planning the annual Women’s Conference;

Teton Local for their efforts and support of the camp pro gram with camperships; and Flathead Local for its successful re-organization efforts.

MWB Committee board set to meet

The Montana Wheat and Barley Committee Board will meet on Monday, November 28, 2022, in-person and via Zoom. The agenda is tentatively set to address budget and general updates.

The meeting is set for Monday, November 28, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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.

Applications for LFPA

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

For more information and project guidelines, please visit agr.mt.gov/lfpa. The deadline for application is Friday, De cember 2nd, 2022, at 2:00pm.

A Q&A call will be held on Thursday, November 17th, 2022, at 2:00pm via Zoom. To request information to join the meeting virtually, please email Alicia Hamm at alicia. hamm@mt.gov.

Published monthly by Trader’s Dispatch Inc., PO Box 997, Conrad, MT 59425-0997. Free on request to farmers, ranchers, heavy equip ment owners and truckers in the Western United States.

Non-qualifying in-state annual subscription fee is $15. Out-of-state nonqualifying U.S. annual subscription $25. Periodicals Postage Paid at Conrad, MT and at additional mailing offices.

Deadline for December issue WEDNESDAY, November 30.

send us ad copy along with any photos you wish to include. Photos should be high resolution sent as JPGs. No thumbnail photos please.

MFB Annual Convention

The 103rd Montana Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention is slated for November 14-17 at the Hil ton Garden Inn in Missoula. Registration is now open, and members can expect to hear top-notch speakers on various topics, discuss policy for the coming year and enjoy the camaraderie with farmers and ranchers from across the state.

Highlights of the con vention include prominent speakers Ara Megerdichian, Montana State University, who will address leadership skills, Jordan Levi, Arcadia Management, who will cov er bringing cattle producers and feeders to the table and Roger Rickard, owner of Voices in Advocacy®, who will share achieving suc cess in advocacy efforts. Workshops include a look at environmental regula tions, how to ditch stress and unhealthy habits, ways to add value to your herd, creating the farmers’ story and a water review update.

The heart of the conven tion is bringing together vot ing delegates from county Farm Bureaus to debate and discuss policy for 2023. Each county meets in Sep tember to develop policy based on issues of concern; that policy is brought to the state convention for a vote. Some policies will then progress to the American Farm Bureau Convention.

The Delegate Session in cludes the election of MFBF officers who will lead the or ganization moving forward.

The Young Farmer & Rancher Committee will be holding two rounds of the YF&R Discussion Meet— the preliminary round and the Final Four—November 15. The Discussion Meet brings together voting mem bers ages 18-35 to discuss agricultural challenges and develop solutions. Thanks to participating Montana Polaris dealers, the 2022 MFBF YF&R Discussion Meet winner will receive the keys to a 2022 Polaris Ranger as well as an ex penses-paid trip to compete during the American Farm Bureau Discussion Meet in January in Puerto Rico.

The convention allows plenty of time to visit the trade show, enjoy socials and attend the Finale Ban quet Wednesday night with nationally known comedian Greg Warren.

Signup for Dairy Margin Coverage

Dairy producers can now enroll for 2023 coverage through the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program, an important safety net program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that helps producers manage changes in milk and feed prices. Last year, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) took steps to improve coverage, especially for small- and mid-sized dairies, including offering a new Supplemental DMC program and updating its feed cost formula to better address retroactive, current and future feed costs. These changes continue to support producers through this year’s signup, which begins October 17 and ends December 9, 2022.

“Dairy producers are the backbone of many agricultural communities across rural America,” FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said. “Dairy Margin Coverage provides critical assistance to our nation’s small- and mid-sized dairies, helping make sure they can manage the numerous and often unpredictable uncertainties that adversely impact market prices for milk. This year showed why enrolling in DMC makes good business sense. Early in the year, some economists predicted that DMC would not trigger any pay ments for the calendar year, but then fast forward to now, when we’re starting to see payments trigger and a return on investment.”

DMC is a voluntary risk management program that offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer.

So far in 2022, DMC payments to more than 17,000 dairy operations have triggered for August for more than $47.9 million. According to DMC margin projections, an indemnity payment is projected for September as well. At $0.15 per hundredweight for $9.50 coverage, risk coverage through DMC is a relatively inexpensive investment.

DMC offers different levels of coverage, even an option that is free to producers, aside from a $100 administrative fee. Limited resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged or a military veteran farmers or ranchers are exempt from paying the administrative fee, if requested. To determine the appropriate level of DMC coverage for a specific dairy operation, producers can use the online dairy decision tool.

Supplemental DMC

Last year, USDA introduced Supplemental DMC, which provided $42.8 million in payments to better help small- and mid-sized dairy operations that had increased production over the years but were not able to enroll the additional production. Supplemental DMC is also available for 2023.

Supplemental DMC coverage is applicable to calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Eligible dairy operations with less than 5 million pounds of established production history may enroll supplemental pounds.

For producers who enrolled in Supplemental DMC in 2022, the supplemental coverage will automatically be added to the 2023 DMC contract that previously established a supplemental production history.

Producers who did not enroll in Supplemental DMC in 2022 can do so now. Producers should complete their Sup plemental DMC enrollment before enrolling in 2023 DMC. To enroll, producers will need to provide their 2019 actual milk marketings, which FSA uses to determine established production history.

DMC Payments

Additionally, FSA will continue to calculate DMC pay ments using updated feed and premium hay costs, making the program more reflective of actual dairy producer ex penses. These updated feed calculations use 100% premium alfalfa hay rather than 50%. The benefits of these feed cost adjustments were realized in the recent August 2022 margin payment as current high feed and premium hay costs were considered in payment calculations.

More Information

In addition to DMC, USDA offers other risk management tools for dairy producers, including the Dairy Revenue Pro tection (DRP) plan that protects against a decline in milk revenue (yield and price) and the Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) plan, which provides protection against the loss of the market value of livestock minus the feed costs. Both DRP and LGM livestock insurance policies are offered through the Risk Management Agency. Producers should contact their local crop insurance agent for more information.

The first drink of Kool-Aid was taken by chemist Edwin Perkins of Hastings, Nebraska, in 1927.

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Nutrien Ag Solutions donates to MSU-WARC

Nutrien Ag Solutions donated $25,000 towards the capital campaign to build a new laboratory and office building at the Western Agricultural Research Center (WARC) in Corvallis, Montana. With of fices throughout Montana, Nutrien has a substantial stake in the agricultural indus try in the state and interest in the research conducted at the MSU Research Centers across the state.

“We have collaborated with faculty and staff at various MSU Agricultural Research Centers in a number of ways and have ob served first-hand the critical role that they play in helping Montana growers succeed and prosper, “said Ryan Holt, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Snake River Division Seed Manager, “we consider ourselves partners in meeting the needs of the agricultural producers in Montana.”

In the 2021 state legislative session, Montana State University received funding for long-range building projects, including WARC which received $1.2 million with a charge to raise $300,000 as a match.

“It’s outstanding to see the support from farmers, eaters, and the ag industry,” said Dr. Zach Miller, superintendent and profes sor at WARC. “This investment will ensure that we can continue to serve high-value, specialty crop growers and value-added ag businesses.”

Situated on 29 acres east of Corvallis, WARC is the main site for fruit and veg etable research in Montana. The current faculty and staff work out of former houses & a horse barn that were built over 80 years ago that are outdated, unsafe & undersized for research purposes. The new facility will consist of 3 modern labs, offices, a confer ence meeting room, cold storage room, seed and equipment storage. Existing buildings will be converted into usable spaces, for example, for educational workshops, hous ing for graduate students and other needs.

“Investments like this are needed to continue providing Montana growers and producers the support they need - and to continue maximizing research partnerships with companies like ours,” said Holt.

“This generous gift exemplifies the wonderful public – private partnerships that keep Montana Agriculture the number one industry in Montana”, said Dr. Darrin Boss, Department Head, Research Cen ters. “Nutrien’s gift will allow us to come one step closer to our fundraising goals to launch the new facility at WARC. The outstanding support for WARC and our other Research Centers are a testament to the critical research that occurs every day at these facilities. The unbiased, locally adapted research that is being conducted is aimed at keeping Montana’s Agricultural operations profitable and sustainable so future generations can take over successful Agricultural Operations.”

A strong program of applied research and producer education is needed to sup port farmers and facilitate the growth of the specialty crop industry in Montana. Neighboring states have seen investments in specialty crop production transform into thriving industries and we are beginning to see growth in this direction, with rapidly in creasing vegetable farms, farmers markets, orchards and vineyards. These farmers need to know what will grow well in Montana and how to do it successfully.

The MSU Western Agriculture Research Center is part of the Montana State Uni versity Agricultural Experiment Station network. Established in 1893 by the state legislature to “to conduct and promote studies, scientific investigations and ex periments relating to agriculture, natural resources, and rural life, and to diffuse information thereby acquired among the people of Montana.”

WARC is about 50% of the way towards the fundraising goal from grants & corpo rate contributions. Donations are being ac cepted by sending checks to MSU Alumni Foundation and write 93627 – Western Ag Research Center Improvements in the notes of the check. The mailing address is MSU Alumni Foundation, PO Box 172750, Boz eman, MT 59717. To donate online, click this donation link: https://www.msuaf.org/ give-warc.

The national animal of Scotland is a unicorn

Unicorns have featured in many cultures over the years, going as far back as the middle ages. They’re a symbol of purity, innocence, and power in Celtic mythology. Unicorns were first introduced to the royal coat of arms of Scotland around the mid-1500s. The unicorn was believed to

be the natural enemy of the lion, which is the national animal of England.

Since the 1707 union of England and Scotland, the royal arms of the United Kingdom include a unicorn and a lion. This displays unity between the two countries

Dry bean harvest in the Nebraska Panhandle

By Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension Water & Integrated Cropping Systems Educator, Panhandle Research, Extension & Education Center

Dry bean harvest in the Nebraska Pan handle and eastern Wyoming is taking lon ger than usual this season due to extended planting this spring by growers. Warm temperatures combined with more windy days this summer contributed to less pods setting on the plants resulting in lower-thanaverage yields. Hail was a factor for growers but was not widespread.

The Pathfinder Canal breach during the irrigation season was also a factor for grow ers on the north side of the North Platte River. Dry bean harvest this season should be completed within the next several weeks. Overall yields this growing season is around 39 bushels per acre, slightly down

from previous years. There were approxi mately 107,000 acres of dry beans harvested in Nebraska this season.

Nebraska is number one in the nation in Great Northern dry bean production and number two in Pinto and Light Red Kidney dry bean production. Dry edible beans are a major source of protein, vitamins, and minerals, and realize a $158.4 the start of a million dollar impact to the state’s economy.

John Thomas, Nebraska Extension Edu cator, will present results on the 2022 dry bean on-farm research conducted in the Panhandle on February 15, 2023, at the Knight Museum, Alliance, NE.

Can you hear this?

An old man decided his old wife was get ting hard of hearing. He called her doctor to make an appointment to have her hearing checked.

The doctor said he could see her in 2 weeks, and meanwhile, there’s a single, informal test the husband could do to give the doctor some idea of the dimensions of the problem.

“Here is what you do. Start about 40 feet away from her and speak in a normal con versational tone and see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response.”

So that evening she’s in the kitchen cook

ing dinner, and he’s in the living room, and he says to himself, “I’m about 40 feet away, let’s see what happens.”

“Honey, what’s for supper?” No response. So he moves to the other end of the room, about 30 feet away, “Honey, what’s for sup per?” No response.

So, he moves into the dining room, about 20 feet away. “Honey, what’s for supper?” No response. On to the kitchen door, only 10 feet away. “Honey, what’s for supper?” No response.

So, he walks right up behind her. “Honey, what’s for supper?”

For the 5th time, CHICKEN!”

Direct harvest of dry beans using a flex-head and combine.

Dry bean harvest in the Nebraska Panhandle using a conventional combine.

Dry bean harvest in the Panhandle using a Pickett dry bean specialty combine.

Cow-Calf Cost of Production Workshops

The Cow-Calf Cost of Production Workshops will pro vide a hands-on learning experience for producers to learn how to calculate a unit cost of production for a cow-calf operation. The two-day workshops will be held on Novem ber 29-30 at the 4-H Building in Kimball, Nebrasda from 8:30am - 4:00pm and December 6-7 in Arthur, Nebraska at the Fairgrounds from 8:30am - 4:00pm.

Having information to make effective business decisions is important for ranch success. Enterprise analysis and unit cost of production (UCOP) are tools that can help ranchers identify where value is being created on the ranch, where costs are occurring, and what changes could be made to improve profit.

For cow-calf producers, UCOP is figured as cost per pound of weaned calf. Knowing what it costs to develop a bred heifer, harvest a ton of hay or put a pound of gain on a stocker, or a yearling are valuable information for the ranch business manager.

It takes time to set up and calculate a UCOP, but the benefits are:

Knowing what present costs are.

Projecting what unit cost of production will be in 2023. Identifying opportunities to improve profitability. Using information to make management and marketing decisions.

Participants in the work shops will work through a sample ranch to deter mine the profitability of four common ranch enterprises: cow-calf, stockers/breed ing heifers, hay, and land.

Participants will go through the steps of analyzing costs and calculating what it costs to produce a unit of product for each enterprise. Partici pants will also learn how to identify how changes could improve ranch profitability.

Sound difficult? Handson, group activities, and examples of how to calcu late key numbers will help participants through the process. Participants will receive access to Excel® spreadsheet templates that can help them analyze cost of production for their own operation. Follow-up con sultation is available after the workshops.

The workshops are lim ited to 30 people, please preregister one week before the program to ensure space is available and to be included in the meal count. The cost of the workshop is $50 per person and payment is due the day of the workshop. To register for the Kimball work shop contact Aaron Berger at 308-235-3122 or aberger2@ unl.edu. To register for the Arthur workshop contact Randy Saner at 308-532-2683 or randy.saner@unl.edu.

#####

Teacher: “Anyone who thinks he’s stupid may stand up!”

Nobody stands up.

Teacher: “I’m sure there are some stupid students over here!!”

Little Johnny stands up.

Teacher: “Ohh, Johnny you think you’re stupid?”

Little Johnny: “No...I just feel bad that you’re standing alone...”

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Using a cornstalk nitrate test to evaluate nitrogen management decisions

By Jeremy Milander - Water and Crops Extension Educator | Javed IqbalExtension Nutrient Management and Water Quality Specialist | Mitiku MamoExtension Crops and Water Educator | Amy Timmerman - Extension Educator

Late-season cornstalk nitrate tests can be a valuable tool to help evaluate the efficiency of your nitrogen management program. One limitation of this test that is particularly relevant this growing season is that the test should not be used if moisture was a limiting factor. Under rainfed condi tions during drought seasons, the test will be more indicative of water stress than nitrogen.

Nitrogen management is a dynamic pro cess. You start with a specific nitrogen ap plication plan, but as the season progresses, you adjust based on conditions in the field. At the end of the season, a nitrate test can help determine whether the crop was under-, adequately or over-fertilized with nitrogen.

The test should not be the only tool used to evaluate nitrogen management as knowl edge of the field — management practices and the growing season are critical for in terpreting results. The results of the test should also be interpreted with yield data when available.

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The stalk nitrate test would be useful when doing a strip trial or comparison of two different nitrogen management prac tices. The test could also help to diagnose where to sample for carryover nitrates next spring. It is easier to sample the stalks, and if they are very high, that would indicate that probably is still nitrogen in the soil that could be utilized by future crops.

There are situations in addition to water-limiting circumstances in which the stalk nitrate test would not be effective for evaluating nitrogen. Other stresses such as disease, insect or weed pressure, hail or high winds may make it difficult to pinpoint if the results are truly reflective of plant nitrogen uptake.

The test is also more effective at detecting excess nitrogen, as deficiencies can be eas ily spotted visually by leaf yellowing. If the test comes back in the excess range, it would indicate that a reduction in the nitrogen rate might be possible next season; however, the results are best used as a tool when com paring trends from several years due to the unreliability of just one growing season’s data. One also needs to keep in mind that due to various factors, attaining optimal nitrate concentrations in all fields every year is unrealistic. (For more information on recommended rates, see the Nebraska Ex tension Nebguide, “Nutrient Management Suggestions for Corn” [EC117] or visit the CropWatch Soil Fertility page, where there is a recently updated nitrogen rate calculator and other resources to help with nitrogen management.)

Take cornstalk samples up to three weeks after black layer formation on 80% of the kernels. Published information indicates the stalk test can be taken as early as when the milk line is one-fourth of the way down the kernel. For silage corn, it is recommended to sample at the time of harvest or within 24 hours after harvest, as long as there is no rainfall between the time of harvest and sampling and the cutter bar has been raised to provide a 14-inch stalk height.

To take the test, remove an eight-inch segment of the stalk from six to 14 inches above the ground. Collect 15 samples from randomly selected stalks from about an acre

My friend said he knew a man with a wooden leg named Steve, so I asked him, “What’s the name of his other leg?”

area that is representative of a larger area. Keep in mind there is variability within fields and even within soil types, and this is likely to affect results. Sheaths should be removed from the stalks and diseased stalks or stalks damaged by hail or insects should not be collected. Separate samples should be taken for different soil types and management areas. Place samples in paper bags instead of plastic to allow the stalks to dry some and avoid mold. Samples should be shipped within 24 hours of sampling or refrigerated until shipped.

Summary

Although the cornstalk nitrate test has some limitations, it can be effective when used as a part of nutrient management plan along with soil tests, yield data and knowledge of the field and growing season. If used correctly, the test has potential to significantly reduce input costs, as it has the ability to detect excess plant nitrogen uptake (Table 1). With a cost of about $15 per sample (depending on which lab samples are submitted to), it could be a vi able option to help evaluate your nitrogen management plan.

Q: Why is a swordfish’s nose 11 inches long?

A: Because if it were 12 inches long, it would be a foot!

Figure 1. For a nitrate test, remove a segment of cornstalk from six to 14 inches above the ground. (Photo by Jeremy Milander)

Figure 2. Your sample should be an eight-inch seg ment of the cornstalk, with sheaths removed. (Photo by Jeremy Milander)

The Commitment to Conservation

By Trampus Corder, Certified Crop Advisor and Broker/Owner of Corder and Associates, LLC

Land conservation is a universal objective among land owners, farmers, and ranchers in Montana. Buyers consider ing purchasing land in a conservation easement should be vigilant as more planning is often required. Thus, obtaining a buyer’s agent for adequate guidance and representation is resourceful. The buyer must ask all the pertinent questions so they can decide accordingly. The first Montana conservation easement was created in 1976. Today, Montana is the national leader in the number of conservation easements with over 2.6 million acres conserved by the agreements. Conserva tion easements are becoming more popular as farmers and ranchers discover the benefits of doing so.

A conservation easement, simply put, helps farms and ranches stay farms and ranches. They can range in complex ity and flexibility, and once recorded, goes with the land’s title. Under a conservation easement, landowners donate or sell most of their development rights to protect the land’s natural, cultural, and productive features. Over 2,500 Mon tana farmers and ranchers have made the decision to place a conservation easement on their land.

Purchasing property with a conservation easement on it means that due diligence is vital to be sure your goals for the property can be achieved. If we represent a buyer consider ing such a property, the first thing we do is inquire about the conservation easement and ask for a copy from the seller or the easement holder. The next step is learning about the easement holder and their philosophies and mission. For as long as you own the land, you’ll need to work with the easement holder, so it is good to determine compatibility. An easement is very unique to the features of the land it is in accordance with and the intentions of the easement holder or landowner. Uses typically restricted include subdivision for residential development, substantial commercial or industrial activities, dumping of hazardous waste, surface mining, and any other uses that would interfere with the habitat or open space. There are many important questions to ask such as how often is the property monitored? What uses are allowed and prohibited? Can the easement be amended and how? Are there building sites designated for infrastructures? Is there a mandated grazing plan? What are the stipulations for hunt ing and fishing? In conjunction, uses that can be allowed or encouraged include continued agricultural and silvicultural use, construction of agricultural infrastructure, wildlife and fisheries protection and restoration projects, outfitting or guest ranching, and landowner control of access.

An appraisal will be done on the property, and it may be a good idea to share the conservation easement with the ap praiser. The appraiser can then account for the restrictions in the valuation of the property. The effect the easement has on value is dependent on several factors such as what part of the state and where the property is located and the kinds of restrictions outlined in the conservation easement. To get an idea, terms restricting or prohibiting development usually decrease a property’s value by 30-40 percent. Not all value can be accounted for in these kinds of transactions though. Farmers and ranchers that can pass on the land can rest easy knowing it will continue to be productive for livestock and wildlife. Land that has been cultivated for generations will carry the landowner’s legacy of conservation. In turn, the buyer can participate and become part of the legacy when purchasing and carrying out the tradition of stewardship.

Farmers and ranchers face a common fear when it comes time to sell. The land they’ve spent their lives caring for might become a subdivision. Not sure if a conservation ease ment is right for you? Although it can vary, there are numer ous reasons a farmer or rancher would agree to a conservation easement. Farmers or ranchers who donate a conservation easement may be eligible for federal income tax and estate tax benefits. Because the land is voluntarily diminished for public benefit, the landowner can receive potential federal income tax benefits. Another option includes the landowner being paid for entering into a conservation easement rather than donating the value. The landowner can also convey an easement to a land trust. There are many benefits and pos sibilities, but the end goal remains the same—to preserve the land. With a conservation easement, private lands can be conserved permanently, and farming and ranching prac tices can continue. Montana’s a unique and beautiful place because of the open space, the roaming wildlife, and the existence of working farms. Don’t let an encumbrance of a conservation easement deter you from buying a property.

Montana Make It With Wool Program

The 2022 Montana Make It With Wool program was completed November 6th. There were 16 entries across the state this year with lots of amazing talent being shown in those entries. It is exciting to receive new interest in each category this year.

We are geared up to join the Montana Woolgrowers in Billings on December 2nd and 3rd for the State MIWW contest and style show. The style show theme this year is “Marshmall‘ewe’ World” and is working into a great produc tion. We hope you are planning on joining the Woolgrowers this year at Convention and will take in the MIWW Style Show on December 3rd. Our contestants will be showing off their beautiful creations and you don’t want to miss it.

Montana MIWW is busy constructing a wool quilt for an item to be included in the live auction during the banquet this year. The quilt is being constructed from testing swatches and scraps from previous MIWW entries. It is stunning!! It will make a great bed topper or a couch cozy on those upcoming cold Montana winter nights.

There will also be two afghan entries on display at the Convention from the Quilt/Afghan competition which is spearheaded by Jean Harrison. Beautiful work on those entries.

We could not have a MIWW program at the scale that it currently is without our sponsors. We want to thank all of our sponsors for their continued support.

Montana Wool Growers Association – Promotion and Outreach

Montana Farmers Union

Bob Gilbert and Susie Rebeck

Nickels Gaming Parlour – Helena

Bob, Marie, Ben and Jamie Lehfeldt of Lehfeldt Ram bouillets

Kevin and Shirley Halverson

Gene Todd

James A. Englert – given In Memory of Edna T. Englert

Mike and Thelma Green

Jack and Kathryn McRae of McRae Brothers Targhees

Jerry and Leslie McMillen

Sam and Nancy Ortmann

David and Jennifer Breck

Leo and Darla Barthelmess

Ken McKamey of McKamey Ranch Co.

Dave and Ruth Hinnaland

Liz and Yvonne Jones of Rafter Ranch

Maxine Korman of Korman Ranch Targhees

John and Karen Helle of Helle Rambouillet

Melissa Somerville

Brent and Tracie Roeder of Montana Sheep Company

Max, Dawn and Levi Hofeldt of Hofeldt Livestock

Dave and Jenny Scott of Montana Highland Lamb

If you are not currently a sponsor for the Montana MIWW program and would like to become one, please contact Amanda at aspowell11@hotmail.com and ask how to make that happen.

See you all in Billings in December

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In a Catholic school cafeteria, a nun places a note in front of a pile of apples, “Only take one. God is watching.” Fur ther down the line is a pile of cookies. A little boy makes his own note, “Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”

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• 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

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• Convey Technology helps with early season stresses such as cool soils, excess moisture, and drought. Also improves nutrient use ef ficiency.

• 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.

MSU Extension cropping seminars

By Tyler Lane, MSU Extension – Chouteau County

Montana State University Extension will host a free, an nual cropping seminar series January 9-13 in Great Falls, Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Shelby, Chester, Havre, Fort Benton, and Stanford. Speakers will cover cereal grain varieties, pulse management, soil fertility management and estate planning.

Cereal grain varieties update will be presented by Dr. Jed Eberly from MSU Central Agricultural Research Center, Peggy Lamb from MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center and Wyatt Medina from Western Triangle Agricul ture Research Center. Presentations will cover local test plot results and Integrated Pest Management of cereal grains. Dr. Eberly is an Assistant Professor in Agronomy and Soil Microbiology. His responsibilities include managing the small grain variety trials and conducting research in soil microbiology for improving plant and soil health. Peggy Lamb is a Research Scientist in charge of the Variety Testing Program. Current collaborative research activities include variety development and testing of small grains and many other crops. She also conducts research on sawfly manage ment, crop fertility, insecticides, fungicides, and crop man agement. Wyatt Medina is a Research Associate in charge of managing all on and off-station variety trials under the supervision of Dr. Justin Vetch. He is a recent graduate from Oklahoma State University, where he received a degree in plant and soil science, along with a concentration in crop production and management.

Progress in Pulse Crop Breeding for Montana will be presented by Dr. Kevin McPhee, MSU Pulse Breeder. Dr. McPhee’s research goals include development of highyielding pulse crop (pea, lentil, and chickpea) varieties using conventional breeding approaches. New varieties are targeted with good agronomic characteristics, resistance to disease, and adaptability to environmental stresses present in Montana and regionally.

Soil fertility management be presented by Dr. Clain Jones and Dr. Manbir Rakkar. A variety of topics will be addressed including the 4Rs, acidity and volatilization of foliar ap plications. Dr. Jones is the MSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialist. He teaches a range of nutrient management topics, including cropping systems, economics of fertilizer use, and reducing nutrient losses. Dr. Rakkar is an Assistant Research Professor at Montana State University. Her research pro gram is focused on resolving soil acidification issues. She is investigating various techniques to prevent, mitigate and adapt to soil acidification in Montana.

Estate planning will be presented by Dr. Marsha A. Goetting. Dr. Goetting is a Professor and Extension Family Economics Specialist at Montana State University in Boze man. Dr. Goetting is well known throughout the state for her authorship of 50 MontGuides (fact sheets) in the estate planning area.

There is no charge for the seminars, and all producers are encouraged to attend. The Great Falls seminar will begin at 9:30 a.m. with registration. The Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Shelby, Chester, Havre, Fort Benton, and Stanford seminars will begin at 8:30 a.m. with registration.

Both commercial and private pesticide licensing recerti fication credits will be available.

Dates, locations, and contact numbers for each cropping seminar are listed below.

Monday, January 9:

Great Falls at Great Falls College MSU’s Heritage Hall at Great Falls, MT 59401. Contact Rose Malisani at 406454-6980.

Tuesday, January 10: Choteau at the Stage Stop Inn located at 1005 Main Av enue North Choteau, MT 59422. Contact Jenn Swanson at 406-466-2491.

Conrad at the Pondera Shooting Sports Complex at 972 Granite Road Conrad, MT 59425. Contact Dan Severson at 406-271-4054.

Wednesday, January 11:

Cut Bank at the Glacier County Library basement located at 21 1st Ave SE Cutbank, MT 59427. Contact Kari Lewis at 406-873-2239.

Shelby at the Comfort Inn Conference Room at 455 McKinley Ave, Shelby, MT 59474 Contact Kim Woodring at 406-424-8350.

Thursday, January 12:

Havre at the Hill County Fairgrounds 4-H Chuckwagon located at 1676 US Highway 2 West. Contact Colleen Pegar at 406-400-2333.

Drought

Daren Redfearn, UNL

So, what happens to forage plants during a drought? Nearly three-fourths of Nebraska’s pastures are classified in poor to very poor condition from the drought. Stick around and I’ll help you understand the drought recovery process for pastures.

The goal of drought planning should focus on reducing negative impacts on forage plants that occur during the drought from overgrazing. Following a return to more favor able growing conditions hopefully next spring and summer, practicing proper grazing management could aid pasture re covery after the drought. Pastures can recover from drought with proper management, but overgrazing and prolonged stress can limit productivity for many years.

Drought alone rarely kills well-managed pasture plants. The most noticeable effect on forage plants during droughty conditions are reduced forage production. Root growth is also limited which restricts the ability of the forage plant to extract deeper soil moisture and nutrients.

Sometimes, drought-stressed pastures are in better condi tion than they appear. This can be especially true for pastures that were well-managed prior to drought. In many cases, pastures can quickly recover from drought. The key elements for pasture recovery are rain and rest.

MSU Extension cropping seminars

CONTINUED FROM PAGE A18

Chester at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall located at 10 East Madison Avenue. Contact Jesse Fulbright at 406-759-5625.

Friday, January 13:

Fort Benton at the Ag Center located at 1205 20th Street Ft. Benton, MT 59442. Contact Tyler Lane at 406-622-3751.

Stanford at the City Hall located at 102 Central Avenue, Stanford, MT 59479. Contact Katie Hatlelid at 406-5662277.

What it takes for a farmer to grow wheat

By Catherine Wissner, UW Extension Laramie County, Cheyenne

It’s easy to pick up a loaf of bread or a bag of flour at the grocery store, go home and enjoy a sandwich or make a batch of cookies. Have you ever considered what it takes to grow wheat that makes that bread or cookie?

There are six types of wheat, each one has a specific pur pose and grown in very specific areas of the United States. Growing wheat from spring to fall is a very labor and equip ment intensive operation.

The most common wheat grown in Laramie County and the US is Red Hard Winter Wheat used for general baking and soft breads. Some Spring Soft and Spring Hard Red Wheat is grown here, they are used for artisan breads and some cookies.

In Laramie county red-hard winter wheat is planted late September to mid-October. It is harvested in late July. There is much more to the story than just plant and harvest. Winter wheat is a cool season crop, planted when the weather starts to cool off for best germination. The ideal soil temperature for wheat germination is between 55 and 75 degrees. It then needs a period of exposure to cool or cold temperatures to trigger development in the spring. During the winter the wheat is busy growing deep roots and prefers a cover of snow and soil moisture at least 3 inches deep.

Harvesting wheat is typically done by a crew or team of nomadic “Harvesters”. These harvesters start mid-May in Texas and move north to Montana early August. A combine harvester machine is used that reaps, threshing and winnow ing into a single process. Reaping brings the wheat into the reach of the thresher where the grains are separated from the stem and the winnowing spreads the stems/chaff back onto the ground. The grain, or wheat berries, are stored in the combine until it’s filled, a tractor towing a grain chaser bin or a semi grain trailer drives along-side the combine. There the grain is off loaded into the grain trailer.

The next step, involves a screen or sieving process to separate wheat from foreign grains, stones and other impuri ties to get it ready for milling. Cleaning at this point gives the farmer a better price for their wheat.

After cleaning it’s taken to a grain elevator for storage. At some point it will be hauled on a grain trailer or put on a rail car to a grain mill for processing into flour. At the mill the wheat goes through a separator and aspirator both fine clean the wheat then a scourer to remove roughage. Another step involves a magnetic separator. Next a tempering process to get the wheat berries ready for blending in the grinding bin. The almost flour goes through a sifter, a purifier, back to a sifter where it’s separated out for various uses. This is a very simplified process that the wheat berries go through to become flour.

Wheat is grown in alternating years fallow and growing strips, fallow allows the soil to “rest” for a year. In the fal low strips weeds are the biggest issue. Weed control starts in spring just when the weeds are 10 inches or less. The most economical way is to plow the weeds under. Weeds are plowed under two or three times in a given summer de pending on rain. In mid to late August the field is plowed deeply in preparation for seeding. The farmer heads back out to start seeding the field in September or October with a seed planter.

As you can see that loaf of bread involves a lot of manpower, tractor power and many trips through a wheat field. A trip to the grain elevator, a ride to the flour mill. Then off to the baking facility. Once into a loaf of bread, a ride to the grocery store. Where it’s put into your cart and driven home, it’s final ride.

(From left to right) Keeley Nichols, Eddyville, Kollyn Nichols, Eddyville, and Karsyn Nichols, Eddyville, all won purple showmanship ribbons in the junior division for the Goat Contest at the Dawson County Fair.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

Summers Ultimate NT sprayer, pull type, triple nozzle bodies, 110-ft. booms, induction cone, windscreens, Raven rate controller, electric over hydraulic boom fold controls,18.4-38 tires. $6000

International 4100 tractor, 140 hp, 4WD, 4 wheel steer, cab, 23.1-26 tires, no 3-pt. or PTO. $2500

Gysler 24-ft. chisel plow, good match for International 4100 above. $500

2007 Dodge 3500 6.7 Cummins 4WD, automatic, regular cab, long chassis, duals, 12-ft. re frigerated box van, 190,000 miles. $25,000

Massey Ferguson 750 combine, Perkins 6 cylinder diesel $1000 Hedstrom Farm Kalispell, MT Scot Hedstrom 406-752-3106

Recipe Patch by Geri

Turkey Carcass Soup

1 turkey carcass

4 quarts water

1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped 6 small potatoes, diced 4 large carrots, diced

1 large onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 ½ cups shredded cabbage

½ cup uncooked barley

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 large bay leaf

¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground paprika ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning 1 pinch dried thyme

Place turkey carcass into a large soup pot; pour in water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a sim mer, and cook until the remaining meat falls off the bones, about 1 hour.

Remove turkey carcass from the pot. Remove and chop any remaining turkey meat. Discard carcass.

Strain broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean soup pot. Add chopped turkey to the strained broth and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and stir in tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, cabbage, barley, Worcestershire sauce, salt, parsley, basil, bay leaf, pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning, and thyme. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 1 more hour.

Remove bay leaf before serving.

Fresh Tomato Soup

4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

1 slice onion

4 cloves garlic

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste

In a stockpot, over medium heat, combine the tomatoes, large slice of onion, garlic cloves, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes to blend all of the flavors. Remove from heat and run the mixture through a food mill into a large bowl, or pan. Discard any stuff left over in the food mill.

In the now empty stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux, cooking until the roux is a medium brown. Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato mixture, so that no lumps form, then stir in the rest. Season with sugar and salt, and adjust to taste.

Lentil Soup

¼ cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 cups dry lentils

8 cups water

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

½ cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons vinegar

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until lentils are tender, at least 1 hour.

When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper; taste and adjust as needed.

Grazing vs baling corn residues

By Ben Beckman, UNL

As harvest progresses, crop residues are readily becoming available as a forage source. Producers looking to capitalize on these feeds often consider two options for use, grazing or baling. Which option is best for you?

Grazing corn residue allows animals to be selective about what they eat. Animals choose higher quality grain, leaf, and husk first, grazing soiled or lower quality feed when it becomes the only choice available. With proper stocking, corn residues will meet nutrient requirements in dry cows. However, quality of residues will decrease with time as stalks are subjected to weathering.

Practices such as strip or rotational grazing can help extend the grazing period and balance quality. Initial investments in fence and water sources are drawbacks of grazing, but once the labor of putting fence in is completed, the cows do the work of harvesting.

Baling on the other hand requires labor and fuel to har vest and put-up residues. Because of the tough nature of corn residue, wear and tear on machinery is a consideration. How residues are harvested is also important and can greatly impact final quality. If the initial raking of residues is par ticularly aggressive, the dirt(ash) content of the final product will be high.

Because of the generally low quality and the risk of sort ing, grinding corn stalk bales before feeding is beneficial. This does however add additional cost and equipment re quirements for use.

Finally, baled residues are usually fed away from the field where they are harvested, resulting in nutrients losses where harvest occurred. The value of these losses depends on fer tilizer price and how much residue is removed. Spreading manure from the feeding location back on the field can help mitigate some of this loss.

Mr Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on TV. #####

Alligators will give manatees the right of way if they are swimming near each other.

Preparing for calving season

Spring calving season is around the corner. As a beef producer, what do you need to know to be prepared for calving season?

Cows have a higher demand for nutrients when they start lactating so make sure cows are consuming the nutrients that they need. Start by testing your forage to see if they need any supplementation. If hay is lacking in energy and/or protein, then corn and/or a protein byproduct can help meet cows’ needs. Supplemented corn does not need to be processed, because cows adequately digest whole kernel corn.

Check cow body condition score (BCS). Cows should be a 5 BCS, while heifers should be a 6 BCS. If cows or heifers are below that BCS, consider supplementing energy and/ or protein to provide the herd with needed nutrients. Over conditioned cows will result in lowered fertility.

Check vitamin and mineral supplementation strategies. Do your cows have access to vitamins and minerals? If nutrient supplementation already occurs, consider adding a vitamin and mineral pack to what is supplemented. When cows transition into lactation, they transition into their highest nutrient demanding phase. As producers, we want to make sure we provide those nutrients to our herd. For some, a few pounds per head of an energy, protein, vitamin, and mineral supplement is all that is needed until the pastures become lush. In early spring, do not forget to ensure cows have a source of magnesium to help prevent magnesium deficien cies or grass tetany.

Nutrition is important for embryo development. Live animal physiology has been linked to proper fetal develop ment. This concept is called fetal programming. Weaning more pounds and developing more productive heifers starts with providing the nutrients required to grow and develop a fetus. Poor or inadequate nutrition can easily hold back a beef operation from being profitable. Also, be aware that 75% of growth occurs in the last trimester of pregnancy. Try ing to regain all lost cow weight in late pregnancy can lead to larger than normal calves and potentially calving issues. Ideally, cattle will be supplemented as needed throughout pregnancy and lactation.

Are you prepared for calving issues, otherwise known as dystocia? Always have a veterinary-client-patient rela tionship and discuss with your veterinarian about how to handle medical emergencies. Timely intervention is key to preventing calf or cow loss. Cows can calve at undesirable times of the day, so know how long it takes your veterinarian to arrive when called at 3 AM on a weekend. This gives an estimate on how far in advance the vet needs called. In ad dition, know your genetics. Does the bull or sire have good calving ease? Is the animal a cow or heifer? Large calves in small heifers are problematic, so keep that in mind when breeding heifers and watching them calve. Cows prefer to calve on their own in privacy. Do not add to their anxiety by sitting or standing outside of her pen or pasture that she is in. If calving progress has stalled, consider intervening to make sure the calf is positioned correctly. A normal calf will come out like a diver dives into a pool, front feet first and pointed down. Forms of dystocia include feet are pointed up, there is a head and no feet, there is only a tail, or the feet are not positioned correctly.

Some equipment to have include shoulder sleeves, an antiseptic, pulling chains, and sterile general-purpose lube. For successful calf extractions, some training should be completed with your veterinarian. Lastly, have a handling facility easily accessible. More stress is added to the cow and time is wasted if the cow is chased around the pasture to get her to a working chute. Ideally, cows will be placed on a pasture, paddock, or pen that is easy to move cows in and out in case of calving difficulties. One of the most im portant pieces of equipment to have on a beef operation is an easily accessible working chute. If a veterinarian visits to pull a calf, then the veterinarian will want to see the cow properly restrained before intervening. Working chutes make handling cattle, especially during dystocia, safer for all who are involved.

In conclusion, body condition score cattle and test your forage to see if it meets your cattle’s nutrient requirements. Supplement energy and protein as needed, but always supple ment vitamins and minerals to your cattle. Try to avoid your cattle, especially heifers, from rapidly gaining a bunch of weight late in pregnancy, because this feeding strategy can lead to calving difficulties. Initiate and keep a good com munication pathway with your veterinarian in case dystocia occurs. Also, make sure you are ready to handle cattle safely for you, your family, and your veterinarian.

Guidance on handling HPAI-suspected wild birds during hunting season

Hunters should dress game birds in the field when possible and practice good biosecurity to prevent any potential disease spread.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed multiple cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in North Dakota in wild birds, backyard poultry and commercial poultry flocks. All positive cases in domestic flocks this fall have been attributed to interactions with wild birds.

With wild birds testing positive for HPAI, hunters, homeowners and landowners should be aware of what steps to take if they see sick or deceased wild birds, advises North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension specialists.

“The primary carriers of avian influenza A are waterfowl, gulls, terns and shorebirds,” says Dr. Gerald Stokka, NDSU Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist. “H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in wild birds throughout all U.S. migratory flyways. Wild birds can be infected without showing symptoms of the infection.”

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently believes that the public health risk from the current HPAI

outbreak is low,” says Dr. Stokka. “People should not handle dead wild birds and also should avoid transporting sick or dead birds.”

“If you hunt and have poultry do not wear hunting clothes in with your poultry,” says Miranda Meehan, NDSU Extension livestock environ mental stewardship specialist. “Infected birds shed bird flu viruses in their saliva, mucous and feces.”

“Hunters of wild birds are more likely to have in creased exposure to the virus which may increase risk of infection,” says Mary Keena, NDSU Extension livestock environmental management specialist. “Hunters should dress game birds in the field when possible and practice good biosecurity to prevent any potential disease spread.”

“Dogs are not at high risk to contract the virus,” says Dr. Stokka. “Dog owners should be aware that due to HPAI, there have been numerous cases of mortality in eagles, hawks and owls that have oc curred as a result of scaveng ing on dead bird carcasses.”

Avian influenza surveil lance and testing in wild birds is being done by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health In spection Service (APHIS) and the North Dakota Department of Game and Fish.

Wild sick and dead birds should be reported at https:// gf.nd.gov/wildlife/diseases/ mortality-report. Wild bird avian influenza questions can be directed to 701-204-2161.

“According to the CDC, if you must handle wild birds or sick or dead poultry, mini mize direct contact by wear ing gloves and washing your hands with soap and water after touching birds,” says Dr. Stokka. “If available, wear

respiratory protection such as a medical face mask. Change your clothing before contact with healthy domestic poultry and birds after handling wild birds, and discard the gloves and facemask, disinfect footwear, and then wash your hands with soap and water.”

The North Dakota Department of Game and Fish suggests the following steps be taken to reduce risk of infection:

Do not handle game that is found dead or appears to be sick.

Do not eat, drink or smoke while cleaning game, and avoid contamination of your eyes, mouth, nose, or any open cuts or sores with blood or other fluids from game that you are cleaning.

Wash hands, cleaning utensils and other surfaces with soap and hot water immediately after cleaning game.

“There is no evidence that anyone has con tracted the virus from eating a fully cooked bird, either domestic or wild,” says Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU Extension food and nutrition specialist and professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences. “It is always a safe practice to fully cook wild game to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, regardless of whether there is a threat of HPAI.”

Moisture content of forage

Moisture content of forage at baling has a direct impact on bale heating and subsequent forage nutrient content at feeding, says North Dakota State University Extension for age crops production specialist James Rogers.

“Managing moisture content of forage at baling this year was a challenge,” says Rogers. “For many it seemed that at the point hay was dry enough to bale, a rain shower would delay baling.”

Controlling moisture at baling can reduce damage to the hay by microorganisms.

“Just like everything that surrounds us, forage plants are covered in microorganisms,” Rogers says. “These organ isms survive in either oxygen-rich (aerobic) or oxygendepleted (anerobic) environments. When hay is dried to a low moisture content, aerobic organisms cannot survive. If hay is baled when moisture is too high, aerobic organisms survive inside the bale. Since they are living organisms, a food source is required, which they obtain from soluble carbohydrates in plant cells. These organisms also respire, giving off carbon dioxide and generating heat which leads to multiple consequences.”

Moisture content at baling is the number one driver of the severity and duration of bale heating. This relationship between bale moisture content and heating holds true regard less of bale size. However, as bale size and density increase, the intensity of heating tends to increase. For example, if a small rectangular bale and a 5-foot diameter round bale were both baled at 20% moisture content, the round bale would reach a peak higher internal temperature compared to the small rectangular bale.

Results of heat damage to hay nutrient content are mul tiple. First is the effect it can have on crude protein content. Crude protein content is affected when nitrogen content of a hay (nitrogen x 6.25 = crude protein) becomes linked to carbohydrates through a chemical reaction (Maillard), which is a result of heat generation from baling with high moisture.

Well-cured hays will contain a small percentage of heat damaged or insoluble protein, but when this percentage is greater than 10%, crude protein needs to be adjusted down to account for the insoluble protein, says Rogers.

A second and often over looked impact of heating is re duced energy content of hay. As aerobic organisms acquire soluble carbohydrates from plant cells, the forage’s energy, often expressed as Total Digestible Nutrient (TDN) content, decreases. When TDN content is lowered, fiber density (neu tral detergent and acid detergent fiber) increases. As a result, heat damaged hay can have reduced crude protein and energy and increased fiber density resulting from excess moisture content and heating. In addition, dry matter loss, visible mold, odors, off colors and dust often occur with heating that can lead to refusal and respiratory issues in livestock offered heat damaged hay.

“Controlling moisture at baling is the best way to reduce potential for heat-damaged hay,” says Rogers. “Target mois ture at 20% or less for small square bales and 16% to 18% for large bales. If hay has been baled and moisture content at baling was elevated, test the hay for nutrient content prior to feeding. This gives you an opportunity to adjust supple mentation if necessary.”

Another management strategy is proper storage.

“Avoid indoor storage of high-moisture bales as spontane ous combustion can occur,” says Rogers.

When storing outdoors, stack in rows with space between rows to allow for air flow. Store in a way that allows for the escape of excess moisture from hay and a continuation of drying.”

Welcome rainfall this spring and summer has given many livestock producers the opportunity to replenish hay supplies decimated by drought and winter feeding demands. While welcome, the moisture has made hay curing a challenge.

“Moisture content at baling is the main factor in determin ing bale preservation and nutrient content over time,” says Rogers. “Excessive moisture at baling leads to bale heating and a potential reduction in crude protein and TDN but, an increase in fiber density. The only way to know what these exact losses are is to test. As they say, without a test it is only a guess.”

Contact your county NDSU Extension agent for help test ing your forage quality.

Bees

More than 100 agricultural crops in the U.S. are pollinated by bees. In fact, one out of three bites of food people eat is thanks to honeybees. Bees contribute to more than $15 bil lion worth of crops every year through pollination.

The Antarctic Treaty, drawn up in 1959, reserves the continent for explora tion and scientific research and prohibits its use for military purposes. To date, 47 countries have signed the charter, technically the first arms-reduction treaty of the Cold War.

Beef Quality Assurance during the fall run

By Jesse Fulton, Extension Educator, Director of Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance

It seems the year is just flying by with fall already upon us, which means it is about time for the “Fall Run”. Mil lions of cattle are being transported across the U.S. over many miles. A past Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) survey indicated that feeder calves traveling to Texas or Nebraska feedyards traveled 468 ± 415 miles.

Because we live in the age of “everyone has a camera in their hand”, it is important for producers and livestock haulers to remember that during this time, our bumper-pull trailers, gooseneck trailers, or cattle pots are giant billboards for the cattle industry. As cattle industry representatives, we must always be aware that our actions during cattle trans port could be scrutinized. Additionally, the condition of the cattle we are transporting could also come under scrutiny and should also be considered.

Because transportation can be a stressful period for cattle, it is important that we do everything we can to limit the stress on animals being transported. If we don’t, we may see nega tive impacts on cattle welfare and performance due to stress. Research has shown that stress from shipping can have an impact on calves’ immunity and prolong the amount of time calves are off feed following shipping.

There are several pre-shipping suggestions that have been made as a result of previous research. These include:

Cattle are fed and watered within five hours prior to being loaded if the trip length is over 12 hours

Cattle being loaded for trips longer than four hours should be fed within 24 hours prior to loading

Cattle should have access to water at all times prior to loading

Cattle should be handled as little as possible and as gently as possible prior to transport

Cattle should receive a minimum of five hours of rest following 48 hours of transport1

Cattle should be in good health and fit for transport Do NOT transport non-ambulatory cattle

Do NOT transport cattle showing signs of sickness or actively sick

Do NOT transport cattle with a Body Condition Score less than or equal to 2

Cattle with a Mobility Score of 3 are considered “compro mised” and should be handled and transported with special provisions

Do NOT transport cattle with a Mobility Score of 4 The National Beef Quality Assurance Transportation (BQAT) program works hard to ensure cattle producers and haulers are well aware of the industry standards and expecta tions when it comes to cattle transport. This program covers best management practices of several different topics for those transporting cattle, including Principles of Stockman ship, the importance of biosecurity, evaluation of fitness for transport, pre-trip planning and loading, considerations dur ing travel, unloading, and risk and emergency management. Because the cattle industry sees the importance and value of the BQAT program, many major packers require BQAT certification for anyone delivering cattle to their plants. It is easy to get BQAT certified. The recommendation of the Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance (NEBQA) program is to get certified in-person. If you attend an in-person NEBQA event, you will achieve your BQA and BQAT certification all at one meeting. This will reduce the time commitment it requires if you need both and choose to certify online. More information on in-person events can be found online at bqa. unl.edu. Additionally, certified NEBQA trainers across the state of Nebraska can also be found online.

While we recommend attending an in-person meeting, we understand that sometimes it just isn’t feasible to leave the operation. Therefore, those wishing to become certified can do so online. By going to BQA.org, you can certify in either the BQA or BQAT programs. Each program requires about 2 – 3 hours of time to complete.

If you have any questions about Nebraska’s BQA pro gram or the BQA program in general, feel free to contact Nebraska BQA at any time (Email: nebraskabqa@unl.edu or call: 308.633.0158).

Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney’s (1765—1825) invention of the cotton gin catapulted the rise of cotton production in the Deep South which, some historians note, led to an increase in slavery and contributed to slavery issues.

Over the past couple of years

Manfacturing has stressed to our customers that securing your product needs early was of utmost importance.

THIS

Montana Holster & Shoulder Rig

44/45/357 500/460/454

1911’s Taurus Judge

Great for Horseback Riding, Bowhunting, Backpacking, ATV riders Carry your

1980 Joy 125cfm Diesel Compressor

4 cyl John Deere diesel, 125 psi., 1569 hrs., trailer mounted, runs great, new battery and fuel filter $5750

2000 Ford F650 Compressor Truck

210 hp 3126 Cat Diesel, 6 spd manual, AC, PS, PB, 90% 11R22.5’s, 26K GVW, 16-ft. service bed, IR 175 cfm die sel powered compressor, hose reels, large hydraulic winch, 210K miles $22,500

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

2007 Bobcat 325G Mini Excavator

3200 hrs, 90% tracks, Kubota diesel, 55” blade, hydraulic thumb, qc 18” bucket, 6200#, runs and works great $28,500

1990 International 7100 Service Truck 26K GVW, IMT3016 6000# crane, 240 hp DTA466, RTO6610 trans, AB, PS, Lin coln Ranger 8 welder, 75% 295/22.5’s, 15-ft. service body w/drawers and workbench bumper $22,500

ACS 72” Wheel Loader Forks 644ER hydraulic side shift, positioner, tilt, forks are 8” wide x 72” long, Military rated for 10K, ACS Coupler available $3600

Topcat 72” Grader/Dozer Attachment fits standard skid steer mount, 6 way hydraulic, 72” blade, new $5250

1990 Grandall 534B-8 Telehandler Forklift 9000 lb lift capacity, 4x4, Clark 3 spd. powershift, Perkins 4-236 turbo diesel, 36-ft. lift height, 60” forks, 50% 14.0024 tires, aux. hydraulics $25,500

1989 Ford L8000

5 Yard Dump

Ford 7.8L 6 cylinder 215 hp die sel, Allison 5 speed AT, live hy draulics, PS, air brakes, 32,000 gvw, air gate, hitch, 75% 22.5 tires. Runs and works great $19,500

Big game conservation partnership with State of Wyoming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the state of Wyoming are formalizing a partnership to support the voluntary conservation of private working lands and migratory big game populations in Wyoming. As part of the agreement signed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Governor Mark Gordon, USDA will pro vide a new package of investments in key conservation programs for fiscal year 2023, which includes funding to support increased staffing capacity and the deployment of streamlined program application processes for agricultural producers and landowners. Producers in the Wyoming pilot area will be able to apply for conservation programs that meet their unique needs starting this fall.

Using lessons learned from this partner ship pilot, USDA seeks to scale up this model across the West as part of President Biden’s commitment to support voluntary, locally led, producer-driven conservation efforts.

“Conserving private working lands and tribal lands through voluntary, collabora tive incentives not only empowers produc ers to address a range of natural resource concerns, but also helps them care for our nation’s most important wildlife habitats and corridors,” said Secretary Vilsack. “We’re pleased to announce an agreement, which is the product of consultation and partnership with the State of Wyoming and local stakeholders. This agreement will help create new and enhanced opportunities through USDA’s conservation programs to keep working lands working and give farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners new opportunities to conserve wildlife and migration corridors.”

“Wyoming leads the nation in our ap proaches to conserving wildlife, particularly big game migration. We do that with strong landowner partnerships and recognition that habitat conservation can be done on multi-use lands,” said Governor Gordon. “Private landowners have long provided key habitat for wildlife across Wyoming. Offering voluntary funding opportunities to landowners to maintain this valuable space for wildlife is a recognition of their role in conservation.”

Package of Opportunities for Produc ers

Based on extensive feedback obtained from listening sessions throughout Wyo ming, USDA will be offering producers a package of opportunities they can choose from to meet their operations’ unique needs. Programs include the Environmental Qual ity Incentives Program (EQIP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and Grassland Conservation Reserve Pro gram (Grassland CRP) and will be avail able across a wide range of lands including grasslands, shrublands, and forested habi tats located on tribal and privately owned working lands.

In 2023, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) plans to invest $6 million in additional EQIP assis tance and $10 million through ACEP.

EQIP focuses on integrating practices on working lands, such as prescribed graz ing systems. ACEP helps producers who want to protect sensitive landscapes and prime farmlands from conversion to noncompatible land uses such as residential subdivision through establishment of longterm conservation easements.

These programs will complement a Habi tat Lease offering through the Grassland CRP program, which helps producers and landowners maintain and protect grasslands

while still enabling haying and grazing ac tivities to continue.

As part of this pilot, USDA has also developed special guidance that allows compatibility between programs, enabling producers to stack different farm bill pro gram benefits in ways that fit their spe cific requirements. Producers who sign up through EQIP will also receive additional ranking points on their Grassland CRP ap plications.

NRCS and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will announce details on how to par ticipate soon.

Broader Efforts

This pilot, first announced in May 2022, leverages and compliments other ongo ing conservation efforts on working lands such as those conducted under the Working Lands for Wildlife’s (WLFW) Framework for Conservation Action in the Great Plains Grasslands and Sagebrush Biome, unveiled last year by USDA. Both efforts emphasize a commitment to voluntary, incentivebased approaches; identifies and elevates the critical role of private, working lands; and stresses the importance of supporting state, tribal, and landowners to advance their conservation priorities. The pilot also further focuses FSA’s commitment to assisting producers in protecting and main taining grasslands through grazing and for supporting plant and animal biodiversity within National Priority Zones.

Working Lands for Wildlife is NRCS’ approach that has enabled more than 8,400 producers across the United States to con serve 12 million acres of prime wildlife habitat since 2010. This approach has had ample success in the West, where it has focused on protecting working lands from exurban development, removing invasive weeds and invading conifers, reducing wild fire risk, and protecting wetlands. Resulting conservation actions played a key role in the no-list decisions for the gopher tortoise, greater sage-grouse, Bi-State sage-grouse, and New England cottontail as well as the delisting of the Louisiana black bear.

The Importance of Grasslands to Cli mate, Biodiversity and Communities

Importantly, these efforts are helping landowners keeping grasslands intact. One out of every three acres in the Continental United States are grasslands, with 90% lo cated in the West. These are places like the Great Plains and the Sagebrush Sea where grazing animals, both domestic and wild, roam through grasses and shrubs. Grass lands are the backbone of the beef industry, and they support rural communities, wildlife habitat, and recreation.

These wide-open grazing lands also hold 12% of all terrestrial carbon on our planet, most of it stored deep beneath the soil. Unfortunately, grassland ecosystems are the most imperiled on Earth. In the United States, a million acres per year are lost to make way for row-crops and subdivisions. Conserving working grasslands and shrub lands is critical to USDA’s climate mitiga tion and adaptation strategies.

More Information

USDA is engaged in a whole-of-govern ment effort to address climate concerns and conserve and protect our Nation’s lands, biodiversity and natural resources including our soil, air and water. Through voluntary conservation practices and partnerships, USDA aims to enhance economic growth and create new streams of income for farmers, ranchers, producers and private foresters. Successfully meeting these chal

Soybean cyst nematodes

By Sarah A. Sivits, Dawson/Buffalo/Hall County Extension

Harvest is a great time of year to identify problem spots in the field where there’s unexplained yield loss. One potential explanation for yield loss in soybeans is damage caused by soybean cyst nematodes (SCN). This small roundworm is the number one yield limiting pest in soybeans in North America. The reason this pest is such an issue in soybeans is because SCN can cause up to 30% yield loss without any noticeable above ground symptoms. Nematodes feed on the roots and unless there is very serious infestation, most growers don’t even realize the pest is present until harvest time and yields were less than anticipated.

As of January 1st, SCN has been confirmed in 59 Nebraska counties, including Dawson, Buffalo, and Hall counties. Just because this pest has been confirmed in the county doesn’t mean that every field is infested. However, SCN can be easily transported with equipment, waterfowl, and even boots so it’s possible SCN may be present in your field, but not at high enough levels to detect visible damage at this time. Yield losses may be widespread, but often you will see pockets where yield loss is noticeable. This would be a great place to start looking for SCN. Fall is typically the time when agronomists and consultants will be collecting soil samples for fertilizer recommendations next spring. If you’re already collecting soil samples, why not collect some for SCN, too? The Nebraska Soybean Board currently sponsors free SCN soil sample testing through UNL’s Plant & Pest Diagnostic Clinic in Lincoln. The most effective way to sample for SCN is to take your yield maps, head out to the field with a soil probe and collect soil samples in the affected areas. Collect 15-20 soil cores through the root zone at a depth of 6-8 inches from every 20 acres. Combine soil cores from these sampled areas into a bucket, mix well, then fill a sample bag with at least two cups of soil for testing. It’s best to collect in several places, which might include field entryways, flooded areas, field borders, or areas where you notice higher levels of sudden death syndrome or brown stem rot. Soil samples can be placed in an SCN sample bag (found at your local Extension Office) or a gallon Ziplock bag and submitted to UNL’s Plant & Pest Diagnostic Clinic for testing.

Depending on the results, it might be wise to look at your current program for managing SCN. In the past, many com panies have focused on using PI 88788 as their resistance package as it allowed for good SCN management while not sacrificing yields. This quickly became the resistance pack age used most frequently by seed companies but, unfortu nately, we are seeing some of these populations overcome this resistance package. Therefore, talk with your seed dealer to see if any other packages are available in their lineup, including Peking (PI 548402) or PI 89772. Crop rotation to a non-host crop, like corn or wheat, would also be helpful in addition to managing winter annual weeds (i.e., henbit) and planting cover crops (i.e., radishes, mustards, and canola) to help manage SCN populations. If you have tested for SCN in the past—great! It’s strongly recommended to sample every 3-5 years to ensure what you’re doing is still working or if something needs to be changed. Research has also shown that SCN reproduction is greatest in dry years, so sampling might be wise this year. Plus, testing is completely free thanks to the Nebraska Soybean Board, so why not test? If it’s too hectic to test for SCN this fall, no sweat. Testing can technically be done any time of the year while soybeans are growing. It’s just easier to see the row and trouble spots following harvest, but so long as soil cores are collected through the rootzone in problem areas, that should give you a good idea of what’s going on in the field. Questions about SCN sam pling or testing can be directed to your local Extension Office or by contacting Dylan Mangel, UNL’s Extension Soybean Pathologist (402-472-2559; dylan.mangel@unl.edu).

Big game conservation

lenges will require USDA and our agencies to pursue a co ordinated approach alongside USDA stakeholders, including state, local and Tribal governments.

For more information, landowners can contact USDA at their local USDA Service Center. On farmers.gov, landown ers can create a secure account, apply for NRCS programs, electronically sign documents and manage their conserva tion contracts.

It took the creator of the Rubik’s Cube, Erno Rubik, one month to solve the cube after creating it; as of June 2018, the world record is 4.22 seconds.

OPEN LETTER TO PRODUCERS

Hoven Equipment is sad to announce AGCO is terminating our 44-year relationship.

Why is this happening?

In 2002, AGCO Corporation created the Challenger brand of farm equipment and set up many Caterpillar dealerships across North America. Tractor and Equipment in Great Falls, MT being one of them. From 2002 to 2014, Hoven Equipment and Tractor and Equipment sold the same equipment, aside from different color paint and decals.

The exception being AGCO allowed Tractor and Equipment to sell AGCO’s application equipment, track tractors and four-wheel drive tractors under the Challenger brand, while Hoven Equip ment could only sell the Massey Ferguson and Gleaner brands, which did not offer a full line of equipment.

In 2012, the New Holland full line brand of farm equipment be came available in Great Falls, and Hoven Equipment applied for the dealership, and was accepted in 2013. This allowed Hoven Equipment to compete in the grain markets in North Central Montana. In 2013, AGCO and their sales representative elected to stop seeing and supporting Hoven Equipment. Because of this lack of support from AGCO and their sales representative, our relationship declined over the years. However, AGCO’s service department continues to provide strong support to Hoven Equip ment and AGCO equipment owners.

Hoven Equipment will continue to provide parts and service for AGCO equipment through December 31st, 2023. What happens after December 2023 is yet to be determined. Hoven Equipment is willing and able to continue to support AGCO Equipment in the Great Falls and Lewistown trade area.

Hoven Equipment continues as a strong competitor in the farm equipment industry with the New Holland, MacDon, Versatile, Vermeer, Morris, Haybuster and Bobcat brands. We will continue to do everything we can to provide service to our customers and solve problems.

Sincerely,

The Teammates of Hoven Equipment

USED COMBINES

New Holland TR98 combine. stk# 19692. (G)

Massey Ferguson 8570 with 30-ft. header. stk# 9896. (G)

Case IH 2188 combine with 30-ft. header & 15-ft. pickup header. stk# 29206. (cons) (G)

Case IH 1660 combine. stk# 13168.(cons) (G)

Massey Ferguson 850 combine with 24-ft. header, air reel. stk # 22248. (cons) (G)

USED HEADER

MacDon FD75D 45-ft. header. stk# 29023. (L)

Morris

Call (G)

Canola Roller 34371 adapter 9-ft. stk#28550. (G)

JCB 84” snow thrower. stk# 27476. (G)

Gradall telehandler forks, hydraulic angle.stk# 24230. Call

Melroe 501 plow with Valmar. stk# 25282. (cons) (G)

Gysler 46-ft. plow and rotary harrow. stk# 28579. (cons) (L)

Supply chain issues force rethinking to doing business

Prior to the pandemic in 2020–21, if a grower needed a pallet of water-soluble fertilizer, they would get on the phone with their supplier, and the fertilizer would arrive at their operation within a week’s time.

Today if you made the same call, you may find that the specific product that you need is out-of-stock or that delivery cannot be made for 2–3 weeks or longer. Supply chain issues are being observed in every area of agriculture, and farmers/ growers may need to change how they operate if they are going to remain competitive in the market.

Most agricultural operations do not want to be in the warehouse business and have not invested in dry storage facilities on their farms. Farm and greenhouse operations, like manufacturers, have adopted a “just-in-time” philosophy in which raw materials or supplies arrive onsite from their suppliers as needed by the farmer/grower. The adoption of a “just-in-time” philosophy by agricultural businesses reduced the need for on-farm warehousing since large amounts of supplies or inventory would not be required to be kept in inventory to operate efficiently. Utilizing a “just-in-time” philosophy also meant that farmers/growers would not need to tie up large amounts of capital in inventory or supplies that may not be needed for the immediate future.

COVID-19 created an epidemic of supply chain shortages and price volatility. One hydroponic lettuce grower saw his profitability take a tumble when his supplier indicated that they could not locate monopotassium phosphate fertilizer. The grower spent hours on the phone trying to track down this specialty fertilizer before finally locating a supply in California at triple the Pennsylvania price. In the interim, the absence of this key ingredient in this grower’s hydro ponic solution left him with nutritional imbalances that compromised both crop lettuce quality and marketability. In this case, the grower’s adherence to a strict “just-in-time” philosophy negatively impacted farm profitability because he had not maintained a supply of this specific fertilizer in his inventory.

I do not believe that supply chain shortages will go away in the short term, so farmers/growers may wish to reconsider how they operate their businesses. First, farmers/growers must take the time to have honest, frank discussions with their key suppliers. One supplier confided to a farmer/grower that a key component to growing their garden mums was back ordered and that the manufacturer did not anticipate delivery for 18 months. For the grower to produce this crop in 2022, they begged and borrowed mum pans from every relative they had in Pennsylvania to meet their production needs for this year. When they finally placed their mum pan order with their supplier, they purchased enough containers to carry them through 2024. In the future, this grower has decided to carry a two-year supply of mum pans on his farm. To some people, it may seem like this grower is hoarding pots, but in reality, he is just protecting his ability to deliver products to his customer while trying to remain profitable.

Throughout Pennsylvania, agricultural businesses are being forced to adapt to meet ongoing supply chain issues. Some farmers/growers are building dry storage facilities to maintain larger inventories of key supplies like fertilizers and plastic pots. Some farmers/growers are joining or form ing buyers’ groups to increase their purchasing power to get more favorable pricing from suppliers and manufacturers. On some operations, farmers/growers are trying to adopt a more sustainable approach by making their own compostbased potting mixes or by reducing their need to purchase nitrogenous fertilizers by growing nitrogen-fixing cover crops in their vegetable fields.

There are many ways to remain profitable when economic uncertainty looms, and if you have a suggestion that you would like to share with me and our readers, please contact me at the Cambria County Extension office, 401 Candlelight Drive, Suite 220 Ebensburg, PA 15931, or email me at tgf2@ psu.edu. I will take some of our readers’ best suggestions and share them with you in a future article.

Why are bananas curved

Philosophers have pondered the shape of bananas for a long time, arguing until the sun goes down as to why they’re curved.

Bananas go through a process called “negative geotropism.” This process causes the fruit to grow upwards towards the sun instead of towards the ground.

This, in turn, gives the banana its familiar curved shape.

Canine Parvovirus

From Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a highly contagious viral disease of dogs that commonly causes acute gastrointes tinal illness in puppies. The disease most often strikes in pups between six and 20 weeks old, but older animals are sometimes also affected. A rare variant of the disease may be seen in very young (neonatal) puppies is myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscle).

Cause

What causes parvovirus infection?

The virus that causes the disease known as “parvo”, canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV), first emerged among dogs in Eu rope around 1976. By 1978 the virus had spread unchecked, causing a worldwide epidemic of myocarditis and inflam mation in the intestines (gastroenteritis). We now know the virus is not limited to dogs, but is capable of causing infec tions in wild canines such as coyotes and wolves, and other wild animals, including foxes, raccoons and skunks. CPV is closely related to feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), a virus that has been know since the 1920s to infect cats and mink and other animals. CPV probably arose as the result of 2 or 3 genetic mutations in FPV that allowed it to expand its host range to infect dogs.

Three decades after its first appearance, CPV strikes puppies with deadly disease much less frequently due to the development of effective vaccines in the late 1970s, but outbreaks still occur frequently, and vaccinating your dog is of the utmost importance. Puppies and adolescent dogs are especially susceptible to parvovirus, and you should avoid bringing your puppy to public places where there is likely to be lots of virus (animal shelters and kennels) until after their vaccinations are complete.

Why and how might my dog become infected?

Canine parvovirus can be found in almost any environ ment, but not every dog who comes into contact with the virus becomes infected. Several factors come into play in infection, including the immune status of the dog and the number of viruses the dog is exposed to. If the combination of factors is just right and a dog does become infected, a specific sequence of events is begun as the virus attacks the body.

What happens during infection?

Once a dog or puppy is infected, there is an incubation period of three to seven days before the onset of first symp toms. Inside the dog, CPV needs the help of rapidly dividing cells in order to successfully cause disease, and the virus usually begins by attacking the tonsils or lymph nodes of the throat. Once inside the lymph nodes, the virus typically invades lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) for one or two days, creating many copies of itself. These viruses hitch a ride inside the lymphocytes, where they are sheltered from the host defenses, and enter the bloodstream. Many of these CPV-infected lymphocytes are ultimately killed, causing a reduction in the number of circulating lymphocytes, a condi tion called lymphopenia.

Once in the bloodstream, the virus again targets rapidly dividing cells, hitting hardest in the bone marrow and in the cells that line the walls of the small intestine. In very young dogs, CPV can also infect the heart, leading to inflammation of heart muscle, poor function, and arrhythmias.

In the bone marrow, the virus weakens the body’s ability to protect itself by destroying young immune cells and causing a drop in the protective white blood cell count. This prob ably makes it significantly easier for the virus to invade the gastrointestinal tract, where the virus does its worst damage.

The virus causes this destruction by targeting the epithe lium of the small intestine, the lining that helps to absorb nutrients and provides a crucial barrier against fluid loss and bacterial invasion from the gut into the body. The cells that make up the epithelial surface are short-lived and are replaced continually by new cells born in the rapidly-dividing areas known as the crypts of Lieberkühn. The virus invades these crypts where new epithelial cells are born and disables the body’s ability to replenish the intestinal surface.

By preventing the replacement of old and dying cells with fresh new cells, the virus leaves the intestinal surface unable to adequately absorb nutrients, prevent fluid loss into the stool, or prevent bacteria from moving from the gut into the body. Severe diarrhea and nausea are the initial result, but eventually the intestinal surface can become so dam aged that it begins to break down, and the bacteria that are normally confined to the gut penetrate the intestine walls and enter the bloodstream. This causes both significant fluid loss from diarrhea and widespread infection inside the body. To make matters worse, the body’s immune system is already weakened, as its ability to produce new white blood cells to

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In 2014, Sony made a cassette tape that can store 185TB of data!

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The collars on men’s dress shirts used to be detachable. This was to save on laundry costs as the collar was the part that needed cleaning the most frequently.

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Rowan Atkinson – also known as Mr. Bean – is the voice of Zazu in The Lion King.

Canine Parvovirus

CONTINUED FROM

combat infection has been hampered by the invasion of CPV into the bone marrow. CPV is not always fatal, but when it does kill, death is as a result of either dehydration and shock, along with the effects of septic toxins produced by the intestinal bacteria roaming throughout the bloodstream.

Symptoms and complications

Symptoms often associated with CPV include lethargy, depression, and loss or lack of appetite, followed by a sudden onset of high fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. If your dog is experiencing bouts of bloody diarrhea and/or vomiting, CPV is only one of several potential culprits. Your veterinarian can run several tests to help determine whether your dog is infected with CPV.

Tests and diagnosis

How will my vet diagnose CPV?

By far the most common and most convenient method of testing for the presence of CPV is the fecal ELISA test. ELISA is an acronym for enzyme-linked immunosorbent as say, a technology is similar to that used in home pregnancy tests. In an ELISA test, antibodies to parvovirus are immo bilized on the surface of a testing chamber. A fecal sample is added to the chamber, and antibodies attach to parvovirus proteins that may be present in the stool. A color-changing chemical is then added to the chamber, and if parvoviruses have attached to the antibodies, the chemical will change color and indicate a “positive” result. CPV fecal ELISA tests can usually be completed by your veterinarian in less than 15 minutes. Though the ELISA test is fairly accurate, it is can occasionally produce false positive or false negative results, so further testing may be necessary to confirm a diagnosis.

Veterinarians may also rely on a test that uses a techniques called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to diagnose CPV from fecal samples. The CPV fecal PCR test detects small pieces of viral DNA that are specific to CPV in the stool of an infected dog. This test is very accurate (more so than CPV fecal ELISA), but requires that a fecal sample be sent to a laboratory that specializes in performing PCR-based testing, so it generally requires more time than a CPV fecal ELISA.

A simple measure of white blood cell count is often the clincher for a CPV diagnosis. Because one of the first things the parvovirus infects is the bone marrow, a low white blood cell count can be suggestive of CPV infection. If a dog has both a positive ELISA reading and a low white blood cell count, a fairly confident diagnosis of CPV may be made.

Treatment

What are the treatment options for dogs with CPV?

Treatment options for dogs suffering from CPV involve supportive care and management of symptoms. Treatment options will vary, depending on how sick the dog is, but certain aspects are considered vital for all patients.

A hospital stay is often necessary so that the dog can receive intravenous fluids and nutrients to replace the vast quantities lost via vomiting and diarrhea. An intravenous drip is preferred because the digestive tract of stricken dogs is usually in distress and can’t tolerate or absorb what the dog needs. Blood transfusions may also be helpful to boost low blood cell counts that may result from CPV infecting the bone marrow.

Antibiotics may be appropriate therapy for a dog suffering from CPV, administered either intravenously or as injections, to help fight the infection if intestinal bacteria have entered the bloodstream. In addition, medications to control nausea and diarrhea are sometimes useful. Many dogs will respond to medical therapy if it is initiated in a timely fashion, and those dogs that recover from CPV infection retain lifelong protective immunity against the strain that infected them.

Prevention

How do I vaccinate my pet against CPV?

Since the advent of a number of effective canine vaccina tions for CPV, this infectious disease has become much less of a threat to dogs. This does not mean, however, that CPV does not remain a serious problem, and vaccination of your dog should not be considered an option – it is a must.

Veterinarians usually administer the CPV vaccine as part of a combination shot which includes, among others, the distemper, canine adenovirus, and parainfluenza vaccines. These shots are given every 3 to 4 weeks from the time a puppy is 6 weeks old until he is at least 16 weeks of age. A booster vaccination is recommended one year later, and then at one at three year intervals thereafter.

How else can I help prevent the disease?

The tiny parvovirus is extraordinarily hardy. They are capable of surviving for months outside an animal, even through the winter, and are resistant to most household cleaning products. Infected dogs can shed vast numbers of

CONTINUED FROM PAGE A38

viruses, making it difficult to disinfect an area once it has been exposed to an infected dog. These facts highlight the importance of isolating any dog that is infected with CPV from other dogs. Given the fact that most environments (in cluding dog parks, lawns, and even homes) are not cleaned with disinfecting products regularly, a puppy can be exposed to CPV without any warning, making the vaccine protection all the more important.

If your home and yard have been contaminated by an infected dog, there are steps you can take to disinfect them before introducing a new dog or puppy. Despite its relative resistance to cleaning agents, we do know that CPV can be inactivated by bleach. Cleaning with a solution of one part bleach mixed with approximately 30 parts water is an ac ceptable method for disinfecting any indoor area (including bedding, food/water bowls, and all surfaces) that once housed an infected dog. There is evidence suggesting that CPV loses some of its ability to infect an animal after one month in an indoor environment. Outside, you cannot (and should not) bleach your lawn, but rain or watering can dilute the concen tration of the virus over time. This dilution, combined with the sanitizing effects of sunlight can bring the numbers of viruses down to an acceptable level in a few weeks.

Squirrels cause 10% to 20% of US power outages

Harmless and cute as they seem, these fuzzy little creatures aren’t as innocent as you think!

Squirrels tend to chew things, but combine this with power lines, and there’s going to be a problem.

Fortunately, squirrel-induced blackouts are much easier to fix. But, let’s face it, there’s only so much damage one squirrel can do.

These blackouts are much smaller than one caused by a storm, as generally, there’s just one cable to repair.

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The first film with a $100 million budget was True Lies, which was made in 1994.

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“Digging a hole to Chi na” is theoretically possible if you start in Argentina.

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Strawberries can also be white or yellow, and some can even taste like pineapples!

The deadline for advertising for the December 2022 issue of the Trader's Dispatch will be November 30th.

Affordable

Ag

Ag Wise, Kremlin MT

Badland Truck Sales, Glendive MT

Bass Auction Co. Inc., Lewistown MT

BC Trucking & Livestock, Milt Hartman, Highwood MT C8

Ben Taylor, Valier & Shelby MT B13

Big Equipment Co., Havre MT B15

Big Iron Auctions A13, C5

Big Sky Equipment, Conrad MT A21

Big Sky Pipe, Great Falls MT C24

Big Sky Sawmill & Wood Products, Vaughn MT A8

Billings Farm & Ranch Supply, Billings MT A2

Bjorn Johnson Construction, Missoula MT A16

Bobcat of Mandan, ND B3

Bobcat of Williston, Ironhide, Williston ND C38

Bouma Truck Sales, Choteau, Great Falls MT INSERT

BTI Feeds, Cut Bank MT B13

Buckley Auction MT C30

Bull Mountain Fencing, Yoder, Dan, Round up MT C12

Burks Tractor, Twin Falls, Caldwell ID C6

C & B Operations, LLC, Billings, Culbertson & Plenywood, MT, Sheridan, WY, Powell, WY B8, B9

Capital Trailer & Equipment, Helena MT A4

Cascade Machine & Supply, Great Falls MT C33

Centrol Crop Consulting LLC, Brady & Conrad MT C16

Circle G Salvage, Walhalla, ND C16

Circle S Seeds, of Montana, Three Forks MT C26

Corder & Associates, Fort Benton MT C34

Courtesy Ford, Conrad MT A19

Cut Bank Tire, Cut Bank MT A23

Dakota Truck & Farm, Minot ND C29

DBL Sales & Service, Dave & Brock Linker,

Coffee Creek MT A4, A24

Doane Western of Montana, Bozeman MT A22

Double Diamond Truck & Equipment Sales, Missoula MT C15

Dry Fork Ag, Ledger MT B16

Exchange Services, Inc, Whitefish MT C35

First State Bank, Shelby, MT A22

Fisher Metal Products, Fort Benton, MT C11

Flaman Rentals, Power MT C3, C20

Fox Ford, Wolf Point MT A20

Fraser’s Oil Inc., Inverness MT A18

Frieling’s Agricultural Equipment, Great Falls MT A17, A39, C23

Frontline Ag Solutions Dillon, Dillon MT C13

Frontline Ag Solutions, Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Dillon, Lewistown, Havre, Ches ter, Great Falls, Belgrade, Livingston MT C8, C9

Gateway Arch & Fence, Wayne Thiem, Bozeman MT B2

Glasgow Rental, Glasgow MT B5

Glass Trucking, Denton MT A25

Golden Harvest Seeds, Big Sandy MT C32

Golden Triangle Rental, Great Falls MT B5

Gordon Repair, LLC, Miles City MT C14

Greenway Seeds, Caldwell ID A8, B4

Greyn Fertilizer, Choteau, Dutton, Valier MT A35, C4

Grossenburg Equipment, Winner, Pierre, Philip, Belle Fourche SD, Wayne, Bloom field, Harrington NE, Sundance WY C25

Heartland Ag Systems, ID, KS, MT, ND, NE, SD, WA A25

Hedman, Inc, Grass Range MT A37

Helfert’s Helena Farm Supply, East Helena MT C2

Henke Enterprises, SprayFlex & Big Dog Mowers, Chester MT C18

Hi-Line Rental, Havre MT B5

Hoven Equipment Co., Great Falls MT A32, A33

Hwy 12 Equipment & Repair, Baker MTC14

Ironhide, Bobcat of Williston, Williston ND C38

J & T Equipment Sales, John Jones, Ste vensville MT A30

J Bar T Bins & Steel Buildings, Jeremiah Johnson & Thad, Chester MT B10

Jamieson Motors, Inc., Chinook MT A38, B10

Jim Nielsen Trucks & Parts, Butte MT....C18

Johnsen Trailer Sales, Inc., Bismarck & Fargo ND B3

Krogmann Mfg. C38

Lattin & Sons, Power MT C3, C20

Lewistown Honda, Lewistown MT C31

Lewistown Rental, Lewistown MT B5

M & M Auto, Trailers, & Welding, Stevensville MT C20

M & W Machine, Three Forks MT C34

MDS Construction Supply, Great Falls MT A28

MEDA B16

Montana Fence, Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell MT A26

Montana Holster & Shoulder Rig, Norm Schertenlieb, Great Falls MT A30

Montana Metal Fabrications, Great Falls MT C36

Montana Valley Irrigation, Great Falls MT B4

Mountain Equipment, Cody WY C28

Mountain View Metal Works, Wilsall MT C15

MT Tractors, Matt Pendergast, Stevensville MT A36

Musselshell Valley Equipment, Roundup MT A11, A23, A40, C31

New Homes of the Future, Billings MT C16

North Star Equipment, John Myers, Simms MT C7

Northern Ford, Cut Bank MT C21

Northern Prairie Auto Sales, Wolf Point MT A31

Norwood Sales, Inc., ND & NE C27

Oxbow Engineering LLC, Randy Pierce PE

Three Forks MT C20

Pete’s Auto Sales, Great Falls MT B1

Platinum Auto Center, Big Timber MT C6

Precision Truck & Trailer, Havre MT C17

Price Truck & Equipment Sales, Missoula MT C30

R & L Seed & Machine LLC, Geyser MT C14

R & M Exterminators, Cheney WA C24

RDO Equipment, Kalispell, MT C24

RDO Equipment, Missoula MT C24

Reddig Equipment & Repair, Kalispell MT A31, B12

Rehbein Ford, Inc., Plains MT A36

Reinke, RPH Irrigation Services, Choteau MT A28

Rockwell Scales, Simms MT C38

Roger Rader, Inc, Sun River MT C35

RPH Irrigation Services, Reinke, Choteau MT A28

Severinsen Irrigation, Zimmatic & GSI, Fair field MT C19

Shop Specialties, Valier MT A38

Shortline Ag, Scobey MT A10

Sod Buster Sales, Polson MT C10, C34

SprayFlex, Doug Henke Chester, MT C18

Steel Etc, Great Falls MT C40

Stokes Fencing, Conrad MT A25

Sullivan Brothers Construction, Conrad MT C22

Sunrise Hoppers, Bow Island AB Canada C30

Super SmartRooms/Superform ICF, Jerry Gangstad, Avon MT A19, C19

T & T Farm Supply, LLC, Chester MT.....C19

Taylor Farm Store, Shelby MT B13

TCB Transport LLC, Todd Bedosky, Geyser MT C32

Three Forks Lumber & Ready Mix, Three Forks MT A20

Tiber Tractor Co., Chester MT C3

Tom’s Shop, Grass Range MT C36

Treasure State Seed, Fairfield MT C29

Treasure State Wood Boilers, LLC, Charley Bucklin, Bigfork, MT C27

Tri County Implement, Sidney MT C33

Triangle Ag Service, Fort Benton MT C35

Triple T Sales, Chinook MT A34, C37

TT&E Inc, Victor MT A12

Valley, Montana Valley Irrigation, Great Falls MT B4

Valley Trailer Sales, Belgrade MT C22

VW Mfg, Loren Hawks, Chester MT A29

Wichman Ag Supply LLC, Hilger MT C14

XB Trailer Sales, Great Falls MT C39

Zimmatic, Severinsen Irrigation, Fairfield MT C19

Zimmerman Manure & Silage Hauling, Fair field MT C31

Keyhole Steel Brace SyStem

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Nightshade in corn residue

Jerry Volesky, UNL

While droughty areas or corners in cornfields can raise concern about potential nitrates when grazing residue, one might also be aware of any black nightshade in your corn residue that you are grazing or plan to graze? If these fields have too much black nightshade, be careful, it might be toxic.

Black nightshade is common in many corn fields in the fall, especially those that had hail damage in the summer or any situation where the corn canopy became thin or open. It usually isn’t a problem, but if the density of nightshade is very high, there is the potential that it could poison livestock.

Black nightshade plants average about 2 feet in height and have simple alternating leaves. In the fall, berries are green and become black as the plant matures. All plant parts contain some of the toxin and the concentration increases as plants mature, except in the berries. Freezing temperatures will not reduce the toxicity.

It is very difficult to determine exactly how much black nightshade is risky. Guidelines say that a cow would need to consume 3 to 4 pounds of fresh black nightshade to be at risk of being poisoned. These guidelines, though, are considered conservative since there is little data on the actual toxicity of nightshade plants. Also encouraging is that reports of nightshade poisoning have been very scarce in the past.

Fortunately, even though nightshade plants remain green fairly late into the fall, cattle usually don’t appear to seek out nightshade plants to graze. However, green plants of nightshade might become tempting toward the end of a field’s grazing period, when there is less grain, husks, or leaves to consume.

Scouting fields to estimate the general density of night shade plants will help you determine any potential risk. Secondly, and particularly near the end of a field’s grazing period, closely observe what the cattle are eating to see if animals might be selecting nightshade plants.

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The first refrigerator was invented by Thomas Moore in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1803.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEi7qf61i1E

The first flea circus preformance took place in New York City in 1835.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Trader’s Dispatch

Harvey Wallbanger Day

History of Harvey Wallbanger Day

The origin of Harvey Wallbanger Day is in dispute, with some people saying that it was first created as early as 1971 from literary references, and others saying that it was created in the Los Angeles Blackwatch Bar in 1952. The drink is said to be named after a famous surfer who spent time in the bar and was created by one Donato “Duke” Antone who was a three-time world cham pion mixologist. There’s only one problem with that theory, culinary historian Robert Simonson said there’s no evidence that the Blackwatch Bar ever existed, nor that Duke was working in Los Angeles at the time, two very problematic points in the story indeed.

One must admit that it makes a nice story, but as there doesn’t seem to be any truth in it, let’s look at something that’s a bit more certain. George Bednar was an executive in charge of the McKesson Imports Company, and as part of his marketing technique, he developed the character “Harvey Wallbanger” to help promote the drink. Both the character and the tagline he developed were resound ingly successful in promoting the drink.

How to celebrate Harvey Wallbanger Day

The best way to celebrate Harvey Wallbanger Day is simple, at some point during your day enjoy a nice refreshing Harvey Wallbanger.

How To Make A Harvey Wallbanger

1 oz Vodka

Orange Juice

Ice Galliano

Orange Slice

To make this drink, you simply take the vodka and pour it into a highball glass with ice, and add orange juice until it’s almost full. Pour a measure of Galliano over the back of a spoon to float it on top of the drink and garnish it with an orange slice.

Frosted sorghum and prussic acid

Brad Schick, UNL Colder temperatures have already caused some freez ing in the Great Plains and Midwest. What have those temperature done to the for ages and how can livestock be kept safe?

Short-term freezing temperatures may cause sorghum species such as sorghum-sudangrass or any grain (milo) or forage sor ghum to become lethal to livestock. Prussic acid forms when plant cell membranes are broken due to freezing and allows the chemicals in the cells to mix. This forms a cyanide compound that can be deadly to livestock if consumed. Sudangrasses have the lowest risk while forage and grain sorghum have the highest. The millet species do not have prussic acid issues.

The good news is that after seven days, the toxic chemicals dissipate into the air. Every time there is a freeze (without tempera tures low enough to com pletely kill the plants), that seven day clock resets, just like the 30 minute lightening delay at football games. The new growth on sorghums that have had frost damage are very dangerous as they have the highest concentra tions of prussic acid. The forage can also be cut and hayed to reduce prussic acid by at least 50%.

If there is a chance of freezing temperatures, re move livestock from the pasture and wait the seven days before grazing once again. The hours immedi ately after a frost have the highest level of toxic com pounds. If there is regrowth in the days after a freeze, wait to begin grazing until those shoots are 15-18 inch es tall or five to seven days after the plant has been com pletely killed by the frost. If sorghum family plants have had extra nitrogen applied or are growing in high nitrogen soils, the risk of prussic acid is even higher.

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There were 3 men in the desert. They all wanted something to cool them down. One brought a pail of water. The second brought an umbrella. The third took out a car door. The other two said,”Why do you have a car door?” The person said, “So we could roll the windows down when we get hot!”

Paradise Valley, Nevada

Nightshade concerns

By Sarah A. Sivits, Dawson/Buffalo/Hall County Extension

With high feed costs and drought stressed pastures, cattle operators are looking to corn/soybean residue as a feed source this fall/winter season. A concern this fall is the amount of eastern black nightshade present and how that will impact cattle graz ing. This herbaceous plant is in the nightshade family with smooth stems, triangu lar leaves, and star-shaped flowers that develop into clusters of green berries which turn dark purple when mature.

Most of the time, this plant will be in clumps but sometimes it can be found throughout the field. Being that this plant is in the night shade family, it contains alkaloids in all parts of the plant.

Freezing temperatures will not reduce the toxicity and it’s difficult to deter mine how much nightshade is risky for cattle consump tion. Guidelines say that an average cow would need to consume 3-4 lbs. of fresh black nightshade to be at risk for alkaloid poisoning. Most cattle do not normally seek out this plant when grazing. Cattle are selective grazers and so long as there’s enough feed available, they will avoid consuming weed species and focus on resi due instead. However, as feed sources become more limited towards the end of the grazing period, they may start to seek out green plants, including eastern black nightshade.

Scout your fields prior to turning out cattle and watch fields closely during the grazing period if you choose to graze. Strategic fencing can be used to avoid areas with higher nightshade den sities, and it may be helpful to provide supplemental hay on that field before moving them to a new field. Move cattle to a new field once their primary feed sources become limited to avoid eastern black nightshade ingestion.

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Q: What says “Eoo?”

A: A cow with no lips.

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A woman answered the doorbell with a man stand ing on her porch. The man said, “I’m terribly sorry. I just ran over your cat and I would like to replace it for you.”

The woman replied, “Well that’s alright with me, but how are you at catching mice?”

Pasture recovery from drought

By Daren Redfearn, Nebraska Extension Forage and Crop Residue Specialist

There are three critical time periods that occur during drought. These are immediately before, during, and fol lowing drought. These phases appear to be separate and are usually described as such. However, there is overlap between them that may encompass a period of six to nine months. The goal of drought planning before a drought occurs should focus on reducing the negative impacts that occur during the drought. The goal of drought planning during the drought should focus on short-term and long-term pasture recovery. Following a return to more favorable growing conditions, practicing proper grazing management practices should be implemented to aid forage plant recovery after the drought. However, overgrazing during prolonged drought can limit productivity for many years.

An important question to consider is, what happens to forage plants during a drought and after a drought? The an swers to these questions help us understand that the drought recovery can be aided by the drought planning process.

First and foremost, drought rarely kills well-managed pasture plants. A general observation from research in drier climates is that drought effects are increased when combined with other disturbances that remove plant tissues, such as fire and grazing. The most noticeable effect on forage plants during droughty conditions are reduced forage yields due to low soil moisture. Root growth is also limited which restricts the plant’s ability to extract deeper soil moisture, as well as nutrients essential for growth.

Past grazing practices determine the degree of plant dam age due to the drought. Overgrazing coupled with continued, severe removal of top growth results in plants with shallow root systems. Forage productivity can drastically decrease during a drought with shallow-rooted plants affected sooner, and to a greater extent than more deeply rooted plants.

Drought-stressed pastures often are in better condition than they appear. This can be especially true for pastures that were well-managed prior to drought. In many cases, these pastures quickly recover from drought. The key elements, of course, are rain and rest.

Makhpiya-Luta, aka Red Cloud

For most of his life, Red Cloud was fighting. At first, it was to defend his Oglala people against the Pawnee and Crow tribes; by the time he reached his forties, Red Cloud was fighting the white man. His efforts led to the defeat of Fort Phil Kearney in Wyoming in 1867 and kept soldiers at bay for the rest of the winter. In the two years that followed, the government signed the Fort Laramie Treaty and gave the Native Americans land in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. Soon after, the Black Hills were invaded, and Red Cloud’s people lost their land. Until his death in 1909, Red Cloud worked with government officials and agents in an attempt to preserve the culture of his people.

Dave Schledewitz, Oconto, and Livestock Boosters representative presented Jaelin Wolfinger, Lexington, with both the Grand and Reserve Champion Market Sheep trophies.

Virtual workshops on improvements to the WFRP and Micro Farm Insurance Options

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering virtual workshops on November 15 and December 13 for agricultural produc ers and stakeholders to learn about the latest updates and improvements to the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and the Micro Farm insurance options. WFRP and Micro Farm are two of the most comprehensive risk management options available. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) will an nounce in-person events later this fall. These insurance options are especially important to specialty crop, organic, urban and direct market producers. Policy improvements and these workshops are part of RMA’s efforts to increase participation in crop insurance.

“We want to make sure farmers and ranchers know about these very important insurance options. We invite specialty crop, organic, urban and direct market producers to join the virtual ‘RMA Roadshow,” RMA

Administrator Marcia Bunger said. “The RMA Roadshow will include me and leader ship to highlight important improvements to Whole-Farm and Micro Farm and answer your questions.”

Improvements include:

Doubling the maximum insurable revenue under WFRP, now up to $17 million;

More than tripling the size of farm opera tions eligible for Micro Farm to $350,000 in approved revenue; and

Reducing paperwork requirements for WFRP.

‘Road Show’ Virtual Workshops

RMA will host these workshops for agricul tural producers via Microsoft Teams events. Tuesday, November 15 at 8 p.m. PT Tuesday, December 13 at 11 a.m. ET RSVP is not required. Attendees will have a chance to submit written questions during the event.

Reddig Equipment and Repair

Soybean residue value

Todd Whitney, UNL

Baling of soybean residue after harvest has gained popu larity again this fall due to higher hay prices and forage shortages following drought. Further, delayed corn harvests are also slowing stalks residue baling and stalks grazing. According to the USDA AMS Nebraska Direct Hay sales report, large round corn stalks bale values are $110 per ton versus $80 per ton for large round soybean residue bales.

So, the question arises, do soybean residue bale values justify raking & baling costs; reduced soil protection; and nutrient removal? Overall, soybean residue feeding value is less; since this forage is not as a palatable as other fall crop residues. Based on research, it is recommended to leave at least 2 tons of residue in the field to maintain soil organic matter; and even more cover residue may be needed to pro tect fields from wind and soil erosion. So, soybean residue baling is only recommended on fields where yields were higher than 60 bushels per acre linked with only 1 ton of soybean forage produced for every 30 bushels of soybean seeds harvested per acre.

For soybean fields with yields higher than 60 bushels per acre, lightly raking and baling a portion of the residue may be justified especially when forages are in short supply. Our UNL Nebraska Custom Rates guide pegs statewide average baling costs at $16.20 per acre and raking costs at $8.09 per acre. Then, the $55 per ton valuing difference between input costs and market price comes down to placing a final value on nutrients removed and possible soil and water erosion.

More crop residues information is available on our crop watch.unl.edu and beef.unl.edu websites.

Reducing Yucca in rangeland

By Jerry Volesky, UNL

Yucca plants, which are also called soapweed, can be quite common on rangeland in western and central Nebraska. In some areas, they can be quite thick and significantly reduce grass production. There are ways, though, to reclaim those grazinglands.

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

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, Inter national 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

CRAWLERS

1963 Cat D4D Call

1994 Cat D5C, ripper, 6-way hyd blade. 1st gear is out of forward and reverse $19,900

2000 Deere 450H LGP, enc cab, 6-way hyd blade, winch with power in and power out available for additional cost. Very good under carriage. Call

1996 Deere 650G LGP, 6-way hyd blade, 14,000 hours, excel lent 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

LOADERS

1994 Cat IT28F, runs and operates. Does not shift properly $17,900

JCB 4CX Call

MISCELLANEOUS

Bomag BW177PD-3, 66” pad foot roller , push blade for the front, starts and operates as it should. Ready to go to work Call

2008 Deere 310SJ backhoe Call

2002 Gradall 534D9-45, 9000 lb lift, 45-ft reach, newer tires, angle forks system on front. Approximately 7000 hours. Call

ATTACHMENTS

Compaction

John Deere 4000 Series H, winch, includes all controls for each, mounting plate, drive shaft $14,000

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

EXCAVATORS

2015 Cat 312E Call

2014 Cat 312E Call

2013 Cat 305E, 4700 hours, cab, air, heat, front blade, hyd thumb, auxiliary hyds, 2 speed, clean. Call

2005 Cat 308C, 4600 hours, Progressive link hyd thumb, front blade, pin grabber coupler, auxiliary hyds, good undercar riage $62,000

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

1989 Deere 70D hyd thumb, front blad, wedge coupler, enc cab. Call

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

TRAILERS

SKIDSTEER

1999 New Holland LX865 skidsteer, 4500 hours, standard hyds, mechanical coupler, foot controls, 12-16.5 tires at 50%, 2200 lb lift capacity at 50%, overall weight is 7000 lbs, good clean skidsteer. Call

2013 John Deere 333D skidsteer, new tracks, enclosed cab, C pattern tracks, standard/high flow, 5600 hours Call

Once established, yucca plants can increase on drier rangeland sites. They produce a deep taproot that competes aggressively for the limited water in these soils. With sharp leaves protecting the plant, cattle rarely eat it during summer.

Herbicides like Remedy, Tordon, Velpar, or Cimarron Plus can control yucca, but only when each individual plant is sprayed directly. General broadcast spraying to control yuc ca on rangeland is cost prohibitive, although small patches can and should be controlled before they expand. Herbicides are most effective when applied in spring or summer.

When yucca covers too much land to spray, the only cost effective way to reduce its impact is to winter graze. During winter, yucca often is the only green plant around. Sometimes cows actually will get down on their knees, lay their head sideways on the ground, and chew through the base of the plant to get to the moist, tender parts. It has been observed though, that it can take some time for animals to learn to graze yucca and there may be some animals in the herd that will not graze it while others can be quite proficient. After several consecutive winters of grazing, yucca stands can be reduced so grass again thrives during summer.

Now that summer range is going dormant for the winter, grazing will do little harm to your grasses. This might be a good year to reclaim some of your rangeland back from yucca. Winter grazing is your best tool.

First passengers on a hot air balloon

A sheep, a duck and a rooster were the first passengers to take a trip in a hot air balloon.

In 1783 the first hot air balloon was launched carrying a sheep, duck, and a rooster.

The Montgolfier brothers invented the hot air balloon in France. They began to experiment with balloons after seeing the heat of a fire lift their laundry as it was drying.

The inaugural flight took animal passengers as it was unknown how flying at high altitudes would affect people.

The flight was a complete success, and the animals landed, safe and mostly unharmed. Although, the sheep managed to land on the rooster.

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A prisoner was freed from prison and yelled: I’m free, I’m free at last!” and a kid replied “So what? I’m four”

ductive

healthy and in maintaining

CRYSTAL-PHOS™ is a weather and waste proof mineral supplement that cows will consume readily along with BGF-30™. Place a BGF-30™ barrel with every 20-30 head of cows and a CRYSTAL-PHOS® barrel for approx imately every 40-70 head. Studies have shown that cows will consume mineral better from CRYSTAL-PHOS. Try the “combo” program ~ it works!

USDA loan assistance tool

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched a new online tool to help farmers and ranchers better navigate the farm loan application process. This uniform application process will help to ensure all farm loan applicants receive equal support and have a consistent customer experience with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) regardless of their individual circumstances.

“USDA recognizes more must be done to ensure all cus tomers have equal access to our programs and services,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. “The Loan Assistance Tool is another example of USDA taking accountability and ensuring we update our existing systems, processes, and policies to make them equitable for all customers. The tool will help loan applicants better understand the application process and gather the needed documents before the process even begins.”

USDA experiences a high rate of incomplete or withdrawn applications, particularly among underserved customers, due in part to a challenging and lengthy paper-based application process. The Loan Assistance Tool is available 24/7 and gives customers an online step-by-step guide that supplements the support they receive when working in person with a USDA employee, providing materials that may help an applicant prepare their loan application in one tool.

Farmers can access the Loan Assistance Tool by visit ing farmers.gov/farm-loan-assistance-tool and clicking the ‘Get Started’ button. From here they can follow the prompts to complete the Eligibility Self-Assessment and start the farm loan journey. The tool is built to run on any modern browser like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or the Safari browser, and is fully functional on mobile devices. It does not work in Internet Explorer.

The Loan Assistance Tool is the first of multiple farm loan process improvements that will be available to USDA customers on farmers.gov in the future. Other improvements and tools that are anticipated to launch in 2023 include:

A streamlined and simplified direct loan application, re duced from 29 pages to 13 pages.

An interactive online direct loan application that gives customers a paperless and electronic signature option, along with the ability to attach supporting documents such as tax returns.

An online direct loan repayment feature that relieves bor rowers from the necessity of calling, mailing, or visiting a local Service Center to pay a loan installment.

Late fall irrigation

By Todd Whitney, UNL

Fall frosts have ended the life cycle of many annual plants. In some cases, below freezing temperatures have reduced insect numbers and finally ended the harvest challenges of extended green soybean stems and corn plants. Despite the cold nighttime temperatures, many crops are still growing. So, the question arises: “How much irrigation should be ap plied in late fall for perennial and winter-annual crops like alfalfa, wheat, rye and triticale?”

Generally, the fall goal is to have adequate stored moist in the upper 2 feet of soil profile; while leaving enough storage room to take full advantage of off-season precipitation. For sandy soils, it may require 2 inches of water to fill the top two feet of soil; while clay soils may need 4 inches of water to fill the 2-feet profile.

When extreme dry conditions occur in the fall, irrigators will usually water after the winter-annual seeds have been sown. Ideally, fall drilled wheat and rye should have avail able soil water below the planted seeds. When extreme dry conditions occur in the fall, irrigators will usually apply 1.0 to 2.0 inches of water following drilling season.

For alfalfa, daily water use drops significantly in the fall to less than one-fourth-inch per day due to cooler days. Overall, alfalfa requires six to seven inches per cutting for optimum production.

More Nebraska Extension fall crop irrigation publications are available on our cropwatch.unl.edu website: NebGuide G1778 “Irrigation Management and Crop Characteristics of Alfalfa” and EC731 “Producing Irrigated Winter Wheat.” #####

First American to fly in a hot air balloon was Edward Warren in 1784.

First blood transfusion was in June 1667, by Jean-Baptiste Denys, a French doctor, to a 15-year-old boy. (He got lamb’s blood.)

Happy Thanksgiving

Why do farmers need to test their soils?

The nutrients in the food we eat is a vital component to supporting a healthy life style. But did you know that most of the nutrients in our food comes from the soil it is grown in? The October 22nd Sustainable, Secure Food Blog explains why farmers need to regularly test soils to ensure optimum levels of nutrients.A long brown soil core before

Plants need 17 essential nutrients to function and carry their routine physi ological processes. Of these nutrients, three are found in air and water: carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). The remaining 14 nu trients come from the soil. Since humans cannot see, touch, or count nutrients through their naked eyes, they rely on scientific in struments found in soil test ing laboratories to measure them.

That is why every fall, af ter the harvest of cash crop, farmers collect representa tive soil cores from 4 to 6 inches depth at several lo cations on their farm. They send them a soil testing laboratory for analysis.

Once a soil testing labora tory receives the soil, the lab dries, grinds, and sieves the sample to make it uniform before running the tests. Then they perform the re quested tests designed to quantify nutrients in the soil. The results provide informa tion on the soil’s nutrient supplying capacity primar ily phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrients.

Rishi Prasad, a scientist at Auburn University, explains that after soil scientists eval uate the soil test results, they can make recommendations on what is present in the soil and how much additional fertilizer would be needed to achieve optimal crop yields. Maintaining a record of soil test reports also provides valuable information on long-term changes in soil fertility. This allows farmers to make better decisions on fertility management to get optimum yields.

Termite queen

Termite queens live lon ger than any other insect. Some scientists estimate that they can live as long as 100 years.

When the termite queen dies, the pheromone she uses to block reproduc tives development in other termites is no longer pro duced, and then a new queen develops

The biggest, boldest tulips

By Tom Kalb, Horticulturist, NDSU Extension

Planting tulips now leads to greater root development this fall and healthier growth next spring.

Nothing can match the beauty of tulips in spring. Their colors are absolutely brilliant!

Tulips are easy to grow their first year. They are almost foolproof.

Our biggest challenge is to keep our tulips blooming year after year. Many beds of tulips fade away after only a year or two.

That’s why I plant the biggest, boldest tulips available: the Darwin hybrids.

Darwin hybrids produce the biggest blooms on the sturdi est stems. These hybrids are extremely vigorous. With proper care, Darwin hybrids will bloom for many years longer than standard tulips.

There is an amazing palette of colors available, ranging from fiery shades of red and orange to soft tones of pink and apricot. The Apeldoorn and Impression series are very popular, but there are many Darwin hybrids available. Go to your garden center or shop online and explore!

Look for bulbs that are big and firm. The biggest bulbs will give you the most vigorous plants and reliable blooms. The biggest tulip bulbs will be 12 or more centimeters in diameter. The 11/12-centimeter bulbs are fine. Avoid the small 10/11-centimeter size, because these bargain bulbs produce weak plants that likely will fade out after one year.

To maximize impact, plant six or more bulbs of each cultivar. Plant bulbs in clumps or drifts, not in rows.

Now is a great time to plant bulbs. We can delay planting until the ground freezes but earlier planting leads to greater root development this fall and healthier growth next spring.

Tulips demand a well-drained soil. I like mixing in an inch of organic matter (peat moss or compost) to the bed before planting.

Set Darwin hybrid bulbs about six to eight inches deep and about six inches apart.

After planting, sprinkle a bulb fertilizer containing timedrelease nitrogen over the soil surface and work it in. A garden fertilizer such as 5–10–5 can be used as a substitute. Water the bulbs thoroughly to start them growing.

Mulch your tulip bed in November after the ground freezes. This mulch will stabilize the soil during winter, conserve moisture, and prevent bulbs from emerging too early in spring and getting damaged by frost.

It’s very important to maximize the life of your tulip beds. Clip the flower stalks when the blooms have withered. We don’t want the plant to waste any energy on producing seeds.

Instead, we want the plant to focus on refilling the bulb for the following spring. A light fertilization in spring can promote green leaves that nourish the bulb. Don’t remove these green leaves until they naturally turn yellow after refilling the bulb.

Let’s start making plans for a beautiful landscape next spring. It’s tulip time!

Grazing standing corn

By Ben Beckman, UNL

Dry weather may have left your corn field with low yield. If harvesting for hay or silage did not occur, can we capture value in standing corn by grazing?

After a brief learning period, cattle in standing corn will preferentially graze corn ears if any have developed.

Drought-damaged corn may not have many ears, but if much grain has developed, the cattle first need to adapt to a higher grain diet before grazing corn begins. Otherwise, acidosis or other digestive disorders could develop.

Cross-fencing and strip-grazing is needed to minimize trampling waste. Give cattle access to no more than a twoday supply of fresh corn at a time; a one-day supply is even better, especially for younger, growing cattle. Dry cows might do fine if moved just twice each week.

Dry cows may become fat and over-conditioned grazing standing corn, especially if grain is present. Even without grain, barren stalks can be surprisingly high in nutrient con centration because protein and energy that normally would have been transferred to the grain has instead been stored in the stalk and leaves. Diets containing crude protein exceed ing 8% and TDN of 55% are usually expected.

Standing corn can be limit-fed to stretch the supply and/or to minimize over-conditioning by reducing the area allotted to the cows and forcing them to eat more of the lower quality stalks. However, nitrate concentration may be high in the lower portion of the corn stalks. Before forcing animals to consume this part of the plant, test the stalks for nitrates and then manage accordingly.

To mow or not to mow

By Maddy Rohr, K-State Research and Extension news service

While opinions vary on how high to mow the home’s lawn as the fall temperatures lower, Kansas State University horticulture expert Ward Upham shares the science behind why certain species of grass should be kept short in the cold temperatures.

He said winter tolerance differs among warm-season and cool-season grasses, but both benefit from healthy mainte nance practices, including fertilizing, watering and mowing during the spring, summer and fall.

“Cold tolerance is improved by increasing the health of the plants going into the winter, and healthy plants are a result of a sound management program,” Upham said.

The recommended lawn height (in inches) for homeown ers in Kansas is:

Tall fescue: 2.5-3.5

Kentucky bluegrass: 2-3

Buffalo grass: 2-3

Bermudagrass: 1-2

Zoysiagrass: 1-2

“The lawn will benefit more from continuing to mow at the recommended height than from trying to gain some insulation against winter cold by allowing it to grow tall,” Upham said.

Some variability in the recommended lawn height is ben eficial to certain grasses throughout the year.

“For example, it is a good practice to mow warm-season grasses at the higher end of recommended heights during late summer and early fall because this practice should help them store more carbohydrate reserves for the winter, and it may reduce the incidence of certain cool-weather diseases,” he said.

Upham and his colleagues in K-State’s Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly Horti culture Newsletter with tips for maintaining home landscapes and gardens. The newsletter is available to view online or can be delivered by email each week.

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Drivers of expensive cars are less likely to slow down for pedestrians. They are also more likely to feel a sense of superiority over fellow drivers and to break traffic regulations. #####

Giraffes give birth while standing up. Their babies must drop more than five feet (1.5 meters) to the ground as they’re born.

BIG FAT SEED Grain Cleaners

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1990 Freightliner rear auger tender, Willmar 16-ton bed, roll tarp, tip tops, Detroit diesel $28,500

Lawn mushrooms, causes and what to do

by Tim Stephens, Garden Seeker

Have you woken up and stepped outside to notice mush rooms have suddenly appeared in your lawn?

It’s common for lawn owners to freak out when they see mushrooms or toadstools in the lawn but they aren’t neces sarily a bad thing. In 99% of cases, it’s actually a sign of a healthy lawn.

Sometimes though, it can be a problem.

Also, if you have kids and/or pets you’ll need to remove them. As we all know, eating the wrong kind of mushrooms can have serious consequences.

What Are Mushrooms?

In all lawns, there are hundreds, thousands of fungi.

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$27,500

They’re the most active micro-organism in turf. They help degrade lawn thatch and feed on dead organic matter such as fallen leaves, old grass cuttings, dead grass roots, bits of decaying bark or dying tree roots. This, in turn, provides the soil with nutrients which aids grass growth.

Most fungi can’t be seen, it exists as numerous fine threads or filaments called Hyphae. Together these filaments make up what is called ‘Mycelium‘ which is practically invisible to the naked eye.

Although you won’t see most fungi, a few species produce mushrooms or toadstools.

These mushrooms are referred to as ‘Fruit’. They’re the reproductive structure of the fungi and they come in all dif ferent shapes and sizes, not just the classic mushroom shape we’re all familiar with.

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If you look at the underside of a mushroom you’ll see lots of gills. These gills contain millions of spores that get carried through the air and germinate when they land in favourable conditions.

Good Mushrooms vs. Bad Mushroom

Most of the time mushrooms in your lawn is a sign that it is in good health with nutrient-rich soil.

Yes, they might be an eyesore but they’re easy enough to get rid of (more on that later!)

Sometimes though, they can be a sign of trouble.

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If you have mushrooms or toadstools that grow in a circle in your lawn you could be looking at a fungal infection com monly called ‘Fairy Rings‘.

What Causes Mushrooms to Grow in Your Lawn?

Like I said, many people freak out when they see mush rooms popping up in their lawn so it’s worth repeating; In 99% of cases, mushrooms in your lawn is a sign of health.

Mushrooms can’t grow in soil that is devoid of nutrients so the fact that you’ve got mushrooms in your lawn tells you that your soil is fertile.

As well your soil being fertile, there are a few other rea sons why mushrooms might grow in your lawn;

Conditions Are Cool, Damp and Shady

Mushrooms grow best in cool, damp and shady conditions.

If your lawn is covered by shade and the weather is cool after a prolonged period of rain, you might experience a sudden surge of mushrooms.

A Build-Up of Excessive Lawn Thatch

Sometimes mushrooms grow as they feed on the decaying organic material that is in the thatch layer.

If you see clusters of small mushrooms in your lawn, have a look for excessive thatch. If there’s more than half an inch, scarify your lawn.

Drainage Issues

If your lawn has a drainage issue then moisture will sit on the surface.

Check your lawn for soil compaction and spike it in the spring with either a garden fork, a rolling spiker or aeration sandals.

Use a hollow-tine aerator to remove cores of turf from your lawn in the autumn.

Doing this will improve drainage and allow water to penetrate deeper into the soil so it doesn’t sit on the surface. It’ll also improve airflow through the soil which helps keep it a bit dryer.

Decaying Tree Stumps or Wood Under the Surface of Your Lawn

If you see mushrooms popping up in a certain area of your lawn there might be some decaying debris in that area.

In which case you can either;

Leave it – once the fungi have broken it down you’ll no longer see mushrooms, or

Remove it – by taking the turf up, removing the decaying material and replacing the turf.

BETTER TOGETHER

As two farm boys from the Midwest, we are humbled to be part of the evolution from traditional out cry auctions to an online auction platform. Our recent acquisition of Sullivan Auctioneers, illustrates our continued focus on our customer. Together, we are committed to providing sellers, bidders & buyers the best possible online auction experience. While the world has changed a bit since 1986, our values have not. Together, we will continue to provide you an honest and fair online auction. We share over a century’s worth of experience, resources, and knowledge that allow us to secure top dollar for your land & equipment.

BigIron & Sullivan Auctioneers are better together. You can expect nothing but the best.

From our families to yours, we wish you a warm holiday season and look forward to working for you soon.

Ron Stock Mark Stock

Lawn mushrooms, causes and what to do

You Have Recently Re-Turfed Your Lawn

Mushrooms are very common in freshly laid turf.

Harvesting, transporting and re-laying turf can stimulate sporing and the growth of new mushrooms or toadstools. Especially when you water in your new lawn.

This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. If your lawn has mushrooms in it after laying new turf, don’t freak out and leave negative reviews for the turf supplier!

This happens all the time.

How to Remove Mushrooms From Your Lawn

Mushrooms won’t do any harm to your lawn but they can be an eyesore. They can also make you, your kids or your pets very poorly if you eat the wrong ones.

They generally only stick around for a few days and they disappear when the weather dries out. But, it is best to remove them to prevent any accidents.

Because mushrooms are just the fruiting bodies of fungi, picking them out of your lawn won’t kill the underground Mycelium which they grow from.

It will, however, reduce the chances of them spreading their spores to new areas.

To remove mushrooms you can either;

1. Brush them

2. Pick them, or 3. Mow them

If you brush or pick them, make sure you wear gloves as a precaution.

Because the Mycelium will still exist, chances are that mushrooms will come back when conditions are favourable. To completely stop mushrooms growing you must kill the Mycelium from which they grow which is;

1. Nearly impossible, and 2. Not recommended because of the benefits it brings to the health of your lawn

If Your Lawn is Taken Over By Mushrooms, Consider Replacing it

A few mushrooms in your lawn is common and a good thing but if mushrooms have completely taken over, consider replacing it.

A lawn that is packed with mushrooms is horrible to look at and it could be dangerous for kids and pets to use.

Removing the turf could uncover decaying organic matter that should be removed to prevent mushrooms from grow ing back. It might also be wise to replace the topsoil as the amount of Mycelium will be extensive.

How to Prevent Mushrooms Growing in Your Lawn

Completely preventing mushrooms from growing in your lawn is almost impossible. Given the right conditions, they can pop up no matter what you do.

That said, there are things you can do to reduce the chances of them appearing. We already touched on a couple of them earlier in this article but they’re worth repeating;

Scarify Your Lawn to Reduce Thatch

Mushrooms can form as they break down organic material in your lawns thatch layer.

By scarifying you;

1. Reduce the amount of organic material that fungi can feed on in the thatch layer, and

2. Allow more water to penetrate into the soil so it’s not sat on the surface or in the thatch layer.

This reduces the chances of mushrooms from growing. It also reduces the chances of other fungal diseases like Red Thread, Pink Patch and Snow Mould or Fusarium or Ophiobolus Patch from becoming an issue.

Aerate Your Lawn

If the soil in your lawn is compacted then water will sit on the surface. When combined with cool, shady conditions mushrooms grow rapidly.

Aerate your lawn by spiking it to a depth of 2-3 inches in Spring and Autumn with a garden fork, rolling aerator or aeration sandals.

Also, hollow-tine every 2-3 years to remove cores of turf from your lawn. This causes the soil particles to relax and separate from each other.

Aerating your lawn improves drainage so water can pen etrate the soil instead of lying on the surface. It also improves airflow through the soil which keeps it dryer.

Pick Up Leaves and Animal Waste Regularly

Leaves, animal waste and other organic debris is perfect fungi food and will decompose on your lawn if you leave there. This is an environment in which mushrooms grow well.

When an octopus first lays its eggs, they’re smaller than a grain of rice. The eggs are so delicate they have to be constantly watched over.

When the baby octopuses emerge from their eggs, they come out fully formed but tiny. They weigh only 0.001 ounces (0.03 grams).

You’d think this would make them hard to see, but, since eggs are laid by the tens of thousands, they’re easily spotted!

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Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, and Gene Hackman... have all appeared in Japa nese commercials for Kirin beer.

#####

Antarctica isn’t com pletely covered in ice–98% of the continent is. The ice averages 1.34 miles thick, and is 3 miles at its thick est.

#####

At 5.5 million square miles, Antarctica is the fifth largest continent (only Europe and Australia are smaller).

RED

CONTINUED FROM PAGE C6

If your pets use the lawn as their toilet pick it up as soon as you can. Remove leaves and other material at least once a week especially in the autumn and winter.

If Possible Reduce Shaded Areas

One of the key ingredients for mushroom growth is shade.

If mushrooms grow in the shaded areas of your lawn, try pruning the surrounding trees to allow more sunlight onto your lawn. Also, prune any hedges as this will improve air flow over the garden.

If buildings cast shade over your lawn, there might not be a lot you can do. If fences cast it, try replacing solid fence panels with slotted ones. This will let more light through.

Wrapping Up

If mushrooms pop up in your lawn, don’t panic.

National Fast Food Day

Date When Celebrated: Always November 16th Americans are always fast moving, always in a rush. As a result of our fast moving lifestyle, we need to eat quickly, and are usually unwilling or unable to wait long for our food to be prepared. As a result, fast food restaurants, came into existence. They have been a part of the American restaurant scene since the early 1950’s.

Participating in National Fast Food Day is easy. You are probably already doing so, on a regular basis. All you have to do, is eat or drink at a fast food restau rant today. To be a full fledged participant on this special day, eat in fast food restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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2018

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A How-To Guide for the processing of poultry at home

Freedon Ranger Hatchery

Many families are looking into growing and raising their own food to lower the costs associated with food shopping in today’s world or because they want to be able to create tasty, nutrient dense food that and know where it came from. For some, that comes with a curiosity about how to raise chickens, turkeys, and ducks to consume their eggs and meat.

Raising chickens for eggs can be reward ing and accessible for many families to incorporate into their daily lives, but the processing of poultry is a bit more challeng ing. Freedom Ranger Hatchery has provided quality baby chicks for farms and backyards around the United States since 2005. We understand the differences between largerscale chicken farming and smaller, familyfocused chicken farming.

Whether you’re looking to save money by butchering chickens yourself or you can’t get a processor date for the flock you’re cur rently raising, we want to help you safely process your chickens for your family and customers to consume. This lost art is simpler than you think and doesn’t require expensive equipment for the homeowner, backyard grower, or small farmer.

When you’re ready to start raising and processing chickens for your family, buy baby chicks from our NPIP-certified hatch eries to start with healthy, happy birds.

What Is Poultry Processing?

Poultry processing is the safe processing of poultry meat and products for human consumption. While backyard chicken processing might not utilize the same equip ment as large poultry production plants, ensuring your family’s and customers’ safety and humanely treating the birds is es sential. There are many different techniques for the processing of poultry, but the same steps are generally followed, no matter your preferences.

Which Birds Should I Choose to Pro cess?

When your chickens, ducks, or turkeys are ready to be processed, you’ll want to choose adequate ones. The most common type of processed chickens for homestead ers includes young roosters, old hens, or young meat birds of either sex. If you own a small backyard flock, it’s especially im portant that you do not have more than one mature rooster. They can become aggressive towards one another to protect their flock.

Each breed of bird is mature at separate times. For example, a Cornish hen is ready for processing at six to eight weeks, while Freedom Rangers take 9-11 weeks and heritage and dual-purpose breeds take 12 to 15 weeks. Also, egg-laying hens may stop producing eggs after three or four years.

You can process them for chicken meat at this point, but the meat will be tougher than younger birds. You’ll need to tender ize, slow-roast, or use them for broth. Either way, stop feeding them 10 to 12 hours be fore processing to ensure the crop and guts are empty. However, keep them hydrated to ensure the blood runs freely.

What Equipment Do I Need for Chick en, Duck, or Turkey Processing?

You’ll also want to gather the necessary equipment and sanitize your work area be fore starting the process. Keeping the area clean and sanitized when slaughtering and processing poultry is critical for proper food safety. One accidental cross contamination could lead to an E. coli outbreak, resulting in severe illness for your family.

Clean your work area by using a diluted bleach solution. You’ll also want to clean

your supplies, including:

Two or three sharp knives (one for slaughtering, one for eviscerating, and one for cutting up the bird) with blades between four and six inches long

Knife sharpener to use as needed

Waterproof apron and rubber boots

Hairnet

Killing cones mounted on a wood beam, sawhorse, or side of a barn

A scalding tank—a large stockpot filled with water and attached to a heat source

Thermometer

Extra buckets for waste

Extra buckets for clean water

A workbench

Plucker (optional, can be quite costly, $300-$500, but worth the investment if you choose to process poultry routinely and do several birds at once)

A pinning knife (optional)

Lung scraper (optional)

A large bucket of ice water

Coolers full of ice

Gloves

First aid kit in case you accidentally cut yourself

After you’ve gathered the necessary sup plies and cleaned all your surfaces, set up an assembly line of your supplies. Set the scalding tank next to the killing cones, and then the plucker (if you’re using one) a few feet away from it.

Set up your table a few feet from the plucker or the killing cones. Your tools, buckets, and ice buckets should be nearby. You are ready to begin the processing of poultry.

1. Killing

The first step in processing poultry is to kill the bird. A few generations ago, granny would go out back and take an axe to the bird’s head upon a wooden block to prepare it for dinner. Today, there are other ways to kill your chickens, but the most humane way is to use a killing cone.

Hold the chicken upside down so the blood rushes to its head, which also helps to calm it. Pull the chicken’s head through the bottom of the cone and hold it taut. Until you get the hang of things, we recommend killing one bird at a time to prevent spoil ing the meat.

If you don’t have a killing cone, you can suspend the poultry from a clothesline or tree branch by the feet. Either way, you’ll want to ensure a bucket is underneath the bird to catch the blood.

Take your sharpest knife and slit deeply on both sides of the neck, just below the jaw, to cut through the jugular vein and carotid artery. Be careful not to cut through the chicken’s windpipe, which will make the bird panic.

Then, pull the head down firmly to allow the blood to drain. The bird will be uncon scious but may still kick and jerk. The cone will help prevent bruising and keep them in place. Once the bird is entirely still (after a few minutes), you can continue processing.

2. Scalding

Scalding the chicken makes it easier to pluck the feathers. Heat the water in your scalding tank to the right temperature for the type of bird you’re processing:

Young Birds—125 to 130 degrees Fahr enheit for 30 to 75 seconds

Older birds—140-150 degrees Fahren heit for 60-75 seconds

Duck and geese—160 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit for one to two minutes

Dead chickens lying on a table with their head cut off.

Winterizing alfalfa and GDDs

Ben Beckman, UNL

Allowing for alfalfa to winterize before dormancy is a key factor preventing winter kill across a stand. Tradition ally, my recommendation has been to time the last cutting for roughly 6 weeks before the first frost. At a minimum, plants need 3 uninterrupted weeks to complete the transfer of carbohydrates to the crown and roots that is the winteriza tion process. The additional 3 weeks gives us a cushion in case of an early frost.

While this general guideline has proven its worth over the years, many producers would love to have a bit more accurate method to time last cuttings. One way to narrow the no-harvest window down is by utilizing growing degree days (GDD). Researchers at the University of Wisconsin calculated winterkill risk looking at GDD at a base 41°F accumulating until a killing frost of 25°F. They noticed two GDD levels of importance for alfalfa stands; 500 and 200 GDD.

By providing at least 500 base 41°F GDD after harvest, research showed that there was sufficient time for alfalfa to winterize. If harvest occurred with under 200 GDD left, alfalfa plants did now have sufficient time to regrow and deplete carbohydrate reserves to a level that would negatively impact winterization.

While other factors like ground cover and stress of the stand over the course of the year need to factor into the deci sion for a late cutting, this gives us a more accurate calendar point to shoot for if forage is needed.

A tool like the High Plains RCC CLIMOD can be used to look at past years GDD and decide if we can accumulate 500 GDD or less than 200 GDD going forward. When we are between the two wait to cut, but once chances of surpassing 200 GDD are low and extra hay is needed, it’s probably safe to take that final cutting.

Processing of poultry at home

Getting the temperature right is essential in this circumstance, as any higher amount may damage the skin or cook the bird. You may be able to gauge the scalding time by whether or not the skin is peeling off the feet. If not, you may need to turn your temperature up. Grab the bird by its feet from the killing cone and dunk it headfirst into the scalding tank. Swirl the bird in the water for the time specified, moving it up and down and around to get the water into each portion of the bird.

At this point, you may choose to remove the head of the chicken or wait until you are processing its gizzards. To remove the head, pull it upwards and cut through the esophagus and trachea just below the head using one of your sharp knives.

3. Plucking or De-Feathering

After scalding, immediately begin re moving the feathers. If you have a plucker, place the bird into the plucker to quickly remove the feathers. Otherwise, pull against the grain to remove smaller feathers in little handfuls to avoid tearing the skin. Pluck one at a time for larger wings and tail feathers.

Many tiny pin feathers will come off when you scald the bird, but the others need to be plucked by hand. You can also purchase a pinning knife to remove the re maining pin feathers at a farm supply store. If any feathers are too hard to remove, you can scald the bird again for a few seconds.

4. Eviscerating

Once your chickens, turkeys, or ducks no longer have feathers, you’ll want to begin gutting your bird. If you see dark green fluid at any point, it may indicate that you ruptured a bile duct, resulting in a foultasting, unsanitary bird. Therefore, abandon your processing of that specific bird and try again on a different bird.

Otherwise, put on your gloves and grab a clean knife. Rinse the bird in fresh water. There are three primary steps to this stage of the processing:

Gut from the tail end—Remove the yel low oil gland on the chicken’s tail. This gland can compromise the taste of your chicken, so it’s important to remove it first. You’ll cut the gland down to the bone and then slide your knife towards the tail. There should be no yellow gland left on the bird.

From there, cut through the skin upwards until you reach the natural opening to the body cavity. Insert your fingers, stretch the skin, and cut open to the breastbone.

Be careful not to sever the intestines. Next, you’ll want to insert the knife one inch above the vent or anus and carefully cut around it. When you pull it free, the intestines will follow.

Gut from the neck—Turn the bird around. If you haven’t already removed the head, you’ll want to do that now. Then slit the skin from the back of the neck and slide it down to reveal the trachea and esophagus.

Loosen the tubes until you reach the point of the body where you will feel the crop. If the birds have fasted before slaughtering, they should be empty. Otherwise, there may be partially digested food in there.

Pull the crop free and leave it with the esophagus and trachea hanging. Reach in side the bird’s body and find the hard, round gizzard. Pull it out. The rest of the entrails, crop, esophagus, and trachea will follow.

Next, insert your hand into the body cav ity and pull out the lungs. It will feel like a squishy tissue along the ribs. Some farm supply stores sell a lung scraper to help with this step. Finally, remove the neck by cutting the muscle tissue around the bone and bending it to break it.

Cut off the feet—Lastly, you’ll want to remove the feet, also known as chicken paws. Straighten each leg and cut through the joint the remove them. After all the or gans and feet are out, rinse the bird again in clean water.

5. Chilling and Packing

An anatomy chart of a chicken.

After eviscerating your bird, you can either leave it whole or cut it into pieces. To cut it up into pieces:

Lay the carcass on its back

Cut the skin between the thighs and body with a new knife

Hold a leg in each hand and lift the car cass from the board. Bend the legs back until the hip joints snap free.

Cut the legs from the body by cutting from the front to the back close to the back bone, then cutting through the knee joint to separate the thigh from the drumstick. To help find the knee joint, squeeze the thigh and drumstick together.

Remove the wings by cutting inside the wing just over the joint. Cut down and around the joint to remove the wing. Cut off the wing tip or fold it back under the wing.

Separate the breasts from the back by placing the carcass on its neck. Cut from the tail along each side of the backbone through the rib joints to the neck. Cut the back into two pieces by bending it to find the joint and cut through the meat to the skin.

Split the breast lengthwise.

Whether you cut it up or keep it whole, do not immediately package it because you’ll trap bacteria inside. Instead, chill your chicken in a clean bucket of ice water for at least two hours.

After chilling, pat dry and store in a large, freezer-safe, sealed bag in the refrigerator. This rest allows the muscles to relax. Some folks will allow it to rest overnight while others prefer to let them rest for several days after this rest you can cook and eat it or freeze the chicken.

Tips to Ensure Your Processing Goes Smoothly

Now that you know the steps to process your poultry, here are a few tips to ensure it goes well:

Read through all the directions before starting. Ensure you understand each step thoroughly.

Lay out your work area like an assembly line to move easily from one task to another

Always keep food safety in mind by keeping areas clean and not freezing your bird immediately after processing.

Ensure there are no trip or safety hazards in your work area

Wash your hands well before, during, and after handling raw poultry products, as con taminants like fecal matter and blood from internal organs could expose you to disease.

Separate food at various stages. If you keep the gizzards, chicken paws, or necks for human consumption, be sure to refrig erate those as soon as possible to avoid bacterial growth.

The Processing of Poultry Is Easier than You Think!

When done right, you can turn happy and healthy birds into delicious meals safely and humanely by following the steps outlined above. If the processing of poultry in your backyard sounds like something you might want to try, then be sure to save this blog post for future reference! You’ll want to be sure you understand each step thoroughly before you begin so that your process goes as smoothly as possible.

If you have thoughts about raising chick ens for eggs and as a food source, then Free dom Ranger Hatchery can get you started.

Advice for soybean harvest and drying

Consider moisture content at harvest to prevent harvest losses.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, as of September 25, 72% of the soybeans were at leaf drop, near the normal of 86%. The near-term forecast is for continued warm temperatures, so most soybeans should reach or be near maturity, according to Ken Hellevang, North Dakota State University agricultural engineer and grain drying expert.

“There is considerable variation this year due to the chal lenging spring, variation in rainfall, planting date, maturity rating and growing degree days, so it is important to check each field,” Hellevang says.

Soybean moisture content in the field will fluctuate de pending on drying conditions and air humidity. Moisture content can increase by several points with an overnight dew or rain event, and it can decrease by several points during a day with low humidity and windy conditions.

“Field losses, splits, and cracked seed coats increase as moisture content decreases,” Hellevang says. “Shatter losses have been shown to increase significantly when seed moisture falls below 11% and when mature beans undergo multiple wetting and drying cycles.”

He recommends that producers try to harvest as much of their crop as possible before the moisture level falls below 11%. Producers will receive the best price for their soybeans when the moisture content is 13%. Prices will be discounted for beans at moisture contents exceeding about 13%, and beans are prone to storage problems at higher moisture contents.

Because harvest losses increase dramatically when the moisture content is below 11%, harvesting during high humidity or damp conditions may reduce shatter loss, ac cording to Hellevang.

Soybeans at 11% to 12% moisture have similar storage characteristics as wheat or corn at about 13.5% to 14.5% moisture, and 13% moisture soybeans might be expected to store the same way as about 15.5% moisture corn. The 13% moisture content is adequate for winter storage, but for sum mer storage, the moisture content should be closer to 11%.

The amount of natural air drying in bins that will occur in northern states in late October and early November is very limited, since the moisture-holding capacity of air is reduced at lower air temperatures, Hellevang says. As average air temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, natural air drying becomes inefficient and not economical. Adding heat causes the beans on the bottom of the bin to dry to a lower moisture content, and it would increase drying speed only slightly.

Hellevang recommends cooling the soybeans to between 20 and 30 degrees for winter storage and completing the natural air drying in the spring. Start drying in the spring when outdoor temperatures are averaging about 40 degrees.

Soybeans can be dried in a high-temperature dryer, but the dryer temperature needs to be limited to minimize damage to the beans. Refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations for maximum drying temperature. Typically, the maximum drying temperature for nonfood soybeans is about 130 de grees. Even at that temperature, some skins and beans will be cracked. Keep the air relative humidity above 40% to minimize cracking of food grade or seed beans. Roughly, with each 20-degree increase in drying temperature, the air relative humidity is reduced to one-half, Hellevang notes. Air at 50 degrees and 80% relative humidity will have a relative humidity of about 40% when heated to 70 degrees. He recommends monitoring the soybean seeds coming from the dryer and managing the dryer temperature based on the amount of damage occurring.

Food grade soybeans and seed beans must not have dam age to the seed coat, so natural-air or low-temperature drying is the preferred drying method, Hellevang says.

Hellevang also warns of the risk of fires when drying soybeans. Soybean pods and other trash can accumulate in the dryer and become combustible. He has this advice to reduce the risk of fires:

Assure that trash does not accumulate in the dryer.

Assure that the soybeans continue to flow in all sections of the dryer.

Monitor the dryer continuously.

Clean the dryer frequently to reduce the potential for debris to combust.

If a fire occurs, shut off the fan, extinguish the fire and empty the dryer section with the fire.

Homemade Bread Day

Date When Celebrated: Always November 17th

Bakers of the world, rise up and bake some bread, for today is Homemade Bread Day.

Bread has been made for thou sands of years. Estimates date it’s origin back to 5000-10,000 B.C. Modern day lifestyles has relegated homemade bread to the world of specialty baking and holiday baking. People just don’t have time to bake home made bread. We turn to a quick “run” to bakeries and grocery stores, for our bread needs. The arrival of automatic bread makers has created a small resurgence of home made breads, especially specialty breads.

The purpose of this day is easy to understand--- to make home made bread. So, take a little time out of your busy day, and make some bread. Your nose, your taste buds, and your whole family will be glad you did.

Origin of Homemade Bread Day:

From our research, it appears that this special day is sponsored by the Homemade Bread Day Committee of Montague, MI.

Advice for soybean harvest and drying

Cool the soybeans to 20 to 25 degrees for winter storage. Hellevang supports using temperature cables to assist with monitoring the soybeans, but technology does not replace management. He still recommends monitoring the soybean moisture content, inspecting for insects and observing soy bean quality.

Remember safety when working around grain. Protect yourself from grain dust with an N95 mask. Do not go into a grain bin while the grain is moving. It only takes a couple seconds to become helpless in flowing grain. Use the lockout tag-out system to assure that you do not get hurt while working on grain drying and handling equipment.

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Putting reference soils and sampling strategies all together

By Fernanda Souza Krupek – Agronomy Graduate Research Assistant | Steven Mugisha Mizero - Graduate Student, University of Guelph | Daren RedfearnExtension Forage Crop Residue Specialist | Andrea Basche – Assistant Professor in Cropping Systems

(increased diversity, year-round cover and living roots, and reduced soil disturbance in the long-term).

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In spite of such variability and differ ences, it is important to track how changes in management practices (for example, from winter bare to cover cropped soil) are improving the soil. Various soil sampling strategies can be used to determine what these improvements might be. You may also be interested in the relationship between soil health and farm outcomes such as cash crop yield, to be able to answer questions such as: What are the realistic or attainable gains in soil health with cover crops?

Are sampling strategies for soil heath assessments the same as those used for standard soil testing?

How are cover crop-related gains in soil health related to grain yield?

Our recently published work from data generated by the USDA-NRCS Nebraska Soil Health Initiative helps shed light on common questions related to these topics. In particular, we highlight the importance of reference soils, linkages between soil health and cash crop yield, and sampling strategies.

The idea of a reference state is not new. It has been applied for many years to under stand the health of rangelands. But the ap plication of a reference state in agricultural soil health research is still being developed. For example, UNL-NRCS collaborative work is developing the concept of Soil Health Gap and the Soil Health Institute is adopting the concept of Soil Health Targets to evaluate soil health among soils with similar potential.

Following the same idea, we selected sites representing perennial grassland as reference states. These identified reference sites were used to determine soil health benchmarks of the four nearby (< 3 miles) “cover crop versus no cover crop” on-farm replicated strip trials. We compared soil measurements collected from these sites after three years of corn-soybean rotation with and without cover crop (on-farm treat ment strips) relative to the values obtained from reference soil (perennial grassland sites). To calculate a “relative soil health index”, we simply divided soil property measurements for each on-farm treatment area by those obtained for the reference soil sites — essentially a ratio to understand how different the soil properties from the on-farm treatments are from the reference state soil (Figure 1).

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Take Home Message #1: Comparing soil health indicators from “reference” soils, in addition to soil health indicators from im proved (cover crop) areas and control/check (no cover crop) areas, increases understand ing of management impacts.

One way to quantify whether cover crops are returning the most soil health-related benefits is by comparing soil metrics with benchmark values from a theoretical “ref erence state”. These reference sites are meant to be within a system that includes all four pillars of soil health management

In the following figure, we looked at the “relative soil health index” values for mul tiple soil physical (infiltration, aggregate stability), chemical (nitrate, CEC, organic matter), and biological (enzyme activity) properties. We observed that three years of cover cropping into corn-soybean rotation closed the gap in soil health — the proxim ity of relative soil health index values to the reference soil values (Figure 1) — by 55%, 28%, 17%, and 14% in Greeley, Col fax, Howard and Merrick study locations, respectively.

Standard Analysis, Complete Analysis or NutriScan™ Analysis. 0-6 inch, 6-24 inch and 24-42 inch depths Composite or Variable Rate Sampling with prescription writing. 3 GPS guided trucks available. Take the guesswork out of your fertility program with soil sampling from Centrol. Independently owned serving the Golden Triangle since 1985.

Figure 1.

Effect

of soil management (cover cropping and no cover cropping) on the relative soil health index (RSH) for different soil properties measured from the Greeley, Merrick, Howard, and Colfax on-farm study locations. The horizontal line represents the benchmark level of the reference soil. Statistical significance is denoted with an asterisk within each soil property bar, representing significance when p < 0.1 (90% confidence level), and represents a significant difference from the check (no-CC) plots. MWD = mean weight

diameter of water-stable aggregates, CEC = cation exchange capacity. (Photo by Andrea Basche)

CONTINUED ON PAGE C18

The four on-farm sites were all testing cover crop versus no cover crop; however, the magnitude of the cover crop manage ment response was not the same. Larger gains in soil health were observed when cropland was under long-term (over 10 years) no-tillage and when cover crop man agement practices, such as species selection and planting/termination dates, resulted in

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Putting reference

CONTINUED FROM PAGE C16

cover crop spring biomass accumulation of over 2,500 lbs per acre. Obtaining larger gains in soil health using cover crops in Nebraska requires a re-think of the current approaches to cover cropping to maximize cover crop ecosystem services in addition to more co-creation of research with farmer partners.

Take Home Message #2: Soil health indicators are not the end to themselves.

What is the return on investment in soil health? To answer this question, better linkages between soil health indicators and farm outcomes are needed. Because crop yield is an important part of the farm’s profitability and was estimated in our on-farm plots, we analyzed the relationship between relative soil health and corn/soybean yields.

Notably, gains in soil health showed some association with increased cash crop yields, but the relationship was some what weak or neutral. A similar study conducted in on-farm corn fields in Texas showed measurements from the Haney Soil Health Tool were weakly related to grain quality (protein and oil content). Another study in Missouri emphasized the importance of better understanding the relationship between soil health indicators and agronomic outcomes as well as the legacy of past field management decisions.

Findings from this and other on-farm research, including cover crop studies that are part of the Nebraska Extension On-Farm Research Network, do not consistently confirm the optimistic predictions about the investment in soil health returning the most benefits (higher ROI than check treat ment). No change in or decreased yields are reported by many experienced farmers using soil health management practices. We believe further research could better account for full economic assessments of practices, as the Soil Health Institute has recently explored in detail in Nebraska and other states. Additionally future research could approach soil health as a fine-tuning of the main factors affecting crop yield potential — water, nutrients, weeds and diseases — rather than numbers of attainable crop yield. This was recently suggested by researchers from Washington State University; a detailed explanation is available of the fine tuning of nutrients and water availability with soil health improvements.

Take Home Message #3: Bringing soil health research to the on-farm research scale requires careful consideration of the role of soil sampling approaches.

Team measures water infiltration Assessing soil health reliably and consistently starts with appropriate soil sampling. In our study, we looked at strate gies regarding the minimum number of water infiltration tests needed to reduce field measurement uncertainties from a spatial and temporal scale standpoint. Water infiltration measurement points within a treatment replication were identified based on soil types according to SSURGO map unit. Our results showed sampling intensity needs to be suf ficiently high (five random measurements per sampling point per soil type, sampling every four to five acres, compared to one or two measurements per sampling point) to accurately represent cover crop impacts on this soil property at the farm field scale.

When considering sampling intensity and soil health analysis on farm fields, there is certainly a trade-off between accuracy and costs. Collecting more samples from the same field increases accuracy but also increases expenses and is time consuming. Scaling up (for example, field versus wa tershed scale) soil health research certainly requires close consideration of sampling approaches and their respective accuracy and cost trade-offs.

Agricultural revolution

Farming began around 10,000 B.C. during the First Ag ricultural Revolution, when nomadic tribes began to farm. Additionally, this is when the eight so-called “founder crops” of agriculture appeared: 1) emmer wheat, 2) einkorn wheat, 3) hulled barley, 4) peas, 5) lentils, 6) bitter vetch, 7) chickpeas, and 8) flax.

The Industrial Revolution led to faster and more efficient farming technology, which helped usher in the Second Ag ricultural Revolution from 1700 to 1900 in developed coun tries. Many less developed countries are still experiencing the Second Agricultural Revolution.

The Third Agricultural Revolution, or the Green Revolu tion, corresponds in the late 20th century with the exponential population growth occurring around the world. It includes biotechnology, genetic engineering, chemical fertilizers, and mass production of agricultural goods.

Sanitation is key to prevent diseases in high tunnels

At the end of the growing season, it is imperative that growers remove all plants (with roots when possible) and any dropped fruit to limit the likelihood of infection from overwintering sources of inoculum. If a grower is planning to compost their high tunnel debris, they should locate their compost and/or cull piles far away from their production areas to prevent windblown spores from infecting the high tunnel crops in the coming year.

Weeds are a scourge in any production system, and when encountered in high tunnels, their impact may be greatly amplified. Weeds will impede airflow in high tunnels, promoting plant diseases like gray mold and powdery mildew. Weeds also compete with crops for light, water, and nutrients and are known to harbor a variety of pests and diseases that may reduce overall crop yield or even cause crop loss. Weeds like crop residue should be physically removed from the high tun nel at the end of the growing season to limit sources of inoculum for the next year.

Tools and equipment used in the high tunnel should be cleaned and sanitized to prevent the introduction of pests, diseases, and weed seeds into the high tunnel environment next season. Products containing hydro gen peroxide and peracetic acid are often labeled for use on hard non-porous surfaces to kill pathogens that may infect horticultural crops. Before using any product to clean or sanitize equipment, ensure that the product is properly labeled for use in your state.

Used wooden stakes of ten serve as a source of inoculum in fields and in high tunnels. Bacterial dis eases like bacterial speck, bacterial spot, and bacterial canker can often be intro duced into production areas on used wooden stakes. Wooden stakes crack and check during exposure to the elements, and the small fissures in the wood serve to collect bacteria and fungal spores. When these “used” wooden stakes are deployed to support crops, the plant foliage will inadvertently come in contact with the stake resulting in infec tion. At the conclusion of each growing season, con sider burning or burying all wooden stakes that were used during the previous growing season. Only use new wooden stakes when supporting vegetable crops in the field and/or high tun nel systems.

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Consider beef direct-toconsumer marketing

Nathan Briggs, Lancaster’s new Penn State Extension Livestock Educator writes that the onset of COVID-19 caused the number of direct-to-consumer animal protein sales to increase. People wanted to secure a source of ani mal protein in light of uncertain events. Beef packers were backlogged due to plant shutdowns and demand increased in direct-to-consumer sales. For this reason, custom abat toirs have had long wait times. If your operation already sells direct-to-consumer, hopefully appointments for your animals have already been made. If you are considering direct sales, some key indicators to monitor to ensure profit ability are your expenses, your cattle growth rates, and your individual market (i.e., what is the customer looking for in your product?).

To ensure profitability in a direct-to-consumer system, all expenses and revenues should be documented through out the year. If expenses are known, the price charged per animal can be calculated to ensure profitability. Cornell has a tool available to help calculate costs and revenues. Visit the Cornell Meat Price & Yield Calculator for more infor mation. Remember, the more accurate the information that goes into the program, the more accurate your conclusions can be. Always remember to consider farm taxes, mortgages, insurances, and personal time into farm expenses. If the operation moves cattle from their calf/cow segment straight into their feedlot segment, make sure the operation considers costs and/or profits from both segments. Keep in mind, the longer the animal resides in your care, the more investment you put into the animal, and, thus, the more risk.

Growth rates are important in the beef industry because they allow producers to speculate an appointment date at an abattoir. Animals that are over fattened tend to cause small packers a nuisance because every retail cut must be trimmed of the excess fat. Over fattening cattle wastes feed, so feed costs increase. Meanwhile, your relationship with your packer becomes strained because you have added to their workload. Investing into better genetics on the front end can save money in the feed bill over the whole feeding period, if you are not over-fattening cattle. Finally, if one knows the entry weight and growth expected for a group of cattle, then a finished date can be calculated. Alternatively, established operations may rely on previous performance to estimate how long the animals may need to remain in the feedlot.

Know the market you are serving. In general, consumers like to know that their animal protein sources are being raised responsibly. Individual consumer preference might differ slightly, but the major consumer interests tend to include the environmental footprint of the operation, the welfare of the animals, and individual story. Tell your story and explain your passion and knowledge for raising beef cattle. Every beef operation is different, so spend the extra time to keep consumers coming back!

The increased demand for direct-to-consumer beef is not necessarily here to stay. In order to secure your future market, spend some extra time getting to know your consumers and their preferences. Track animal weights to know how your cattle are growing. Know the total expenses and revenues for the year and market animals at the appropriate prices to ensure a profit. COVID-19 helped increase the direct-toconsumer beef sales and now I challenge you with retaining those consumers long-term.

Lexi Stubbs had a full day of interviews at the Marias Fair showing off her exhibits in dog, poultry, rabbit, horse, gardening, cat, and baking. Photo by Kari Lewis.

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An average cumulus (white, puffy) cloud can weigh more than a million pounds.

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Studies show that bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists because they are happy just to get a medal at all.

Minimizing storage losses of round bale hay

By Steve Niemeyer and Connor Biehler, Nebraska Extension Educators

Storing big round hay bales by lining them up along the fence row may be easy, but it is not economical. Baled forage probably constitutes the highest percentage of winter feed cost we have wrapped up in a cow. The production of hay uses immense resources, and the ration quality is affected by hay quality. Storing dry hay on the ground without cover causes greater amount of spoilage when compared to other methods of storage. Results found from ranch research done in the Sandhills of Nebraska by the University of Nebraska Extension in 2005-2008 reported no significant nutrient changes in total dry matter pounds, pounds of crude protein or pounds of total digestible nutrients on native hay and alfalfa plots. However, visual damage losses after one year between covered and uncovered with twine or net wrap are reported.

It should be recognized that there’s no one “right way” for everyone when it comes to hay storage. Producers should consider three factors in determining their optimum storage method.

1. Look at hay quality, or value. There is a remarkable dollar difference in a 25% loss on $200/ton of hay vs. $100/ ton hay. The better the quality, the more you’ll save putting it under storage.

2. Evaluate the likelihood of spoilage in your climate. Spoilage, or weathering, is the result of moisture getting into bales, and temperature accelerating bacterial breakdown of the cellulose. Warmer temperatures, combined with moisture increase bale deterioration. Wind can also influence drying time. Moisture gets into bales in three ways: rainfall, snow melt, and humidity. The tops of bales absorb moisture from rain, snowmelt, while the bottom wicks moisture from the ground.

3. Consider the length of time bales will be exposed to weathering. First cutting forages are more susceptible than hay harvested in the fall, depending on when it’s fed. Once you’ve considered your elements, choose a storage method that best fits your needs. Table 1. Shows the amount of loss you can have in a round bale from dry matter in the outer layers of large round bales. An example is a 6-foot diameter bale and a 4-inch outer layer depth that has 21% of volume of the hay in that bale.

Research from past studies shows outdoor storage losses range from 5-35%, this can be reduced by 2/3 with indoor storage and be reduced by 50% with good plastic covering outdoors. Recommendations for Storage Techniques. Make a dense bale: It will shed more precipitation, sag less, and have less surface area to absorb moisture. By using net wrap, you will reduce bale sag and maintain bale shape. In addition, net wrap makes a tight, smooth surface that will resist weathering, insects, and rodents. Store bales on a welldrained location with a 4–6-inch coarse rock base that will minimize bottom spoilage. Store bales end-to-end, in rows, facing in a northwest to southeastern direction whenever possible. Space adjacent lines at least 10 feet apart. Stack ing bales usually increase losses. Locate bale rows away from fences and fields and it is recommended to cover hay if keeping more than one year.

Northern Lights

I stood alone in the darkness watching The northern lights dancing in the sky

It was like the angels in heaven

Dancing for a passerby

It seemed like they were dancing To music that I couldn’t hear

I felt the angels saying, “Tonight’s our chance To let you know we’re near.”

I felt that they were dancing

To a silent drummer that only they could hear Dancing across the sky just for me

I wonder, “Do angels ever shed a tear?”

Just when you thought that they were gone They would show up again for a lonely pass erby

Then nothing else in the world matters As you watch angels dancing in the sky ©Robert Lee Ridgway (Vaughn, Montana) Facebook.com/RobertLeeRidgwayPoet

Eight of the ten largest statues in the world are of Buddhas.

When watermelons are grilled or baked, they lose their granular texture and can even be used as a meat substitute, a “watermelon steak.”

National Wheat Yield Contest 2022 winners

The National Wheat Yield Contest (NWYC) is announc ing the winners for the 2022 contest, which is the seventh year the National Wheat Foundation has held the contest. This year we had a contest record yield of 231.37 bushels per acre that was achieved by Rylee Reynolds in Twin Falls County, Idaho. Rylee’s 231 bu/ac tops the prior contest record of 211 bu/ac in 2019. Rylee and his dad, Gary, both placed as National Winners in the winter wheat irrigated category. Additionally, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) had some great wheat this year; all 4 of the Bin Buster winners are from the PNW.

The contest encourages wheat growers to strive for high yield, quality and profit while trying new and innovative management strategies in their wheat.

“We know that genetics, environment and management all need to be just right for wheat to thrive, and we are proud to see so many wheat growers continue to reach for higher and better yields, while also growing wheat that customers desire,” said Joe Kejr, National Wheat Foundation Chair. There was exceptional participation from all over the wheat growing states. State winners are recognized from 27 differ ent states. See the list of 2022 state winners here.

Six of the winners have never won at the national level before. The contest recognizes winners in two primary competition categories: winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated. Contestants had to prove their wheat would grade at levels 1 or 2 to compete. The 24 winners are shipping in a grain sample that will be analyzed for additional quality parameters, and if they meet all the specified “customer-desired” quality targets, they will receive a $500 award. In addition, national winners will re ceive a trip to the Commodity Classic in Orlando, Florida, in March 2023 and will be recognized at the National Wheat Foundation’s Winner’s Reception.

Our sponsors are critical to the success of the contest. They not only support the contest financially, but they also help their customers with intensive wheat management and encourage them to enter the contest. We want to thank all our 2022 sponsors; WestBred, John Deere, BASF, The McGregor Company, U.S. Wheat Associates, AgriMaXX, Limagrain Cereal Seeds, CoAxium, UPL, Ardent Mills, PlainsGold, Mennel, Dyna-Gro, Ohio Corn and Wheat, Croplan, Miller Milling, GrainCraft, Michigan Wheat, GrainSense, Elevate Ag, FarmLogs, Grow Pro Genetics, Northern Crops Institute, and the North Dakota Mill and Elevator. The official publica tion of the NWYC is DTN/Progressive Farmer.

The national winners for 2022 are:

Winter Wheat-Dryland

Bin Buster Gene Warren WA

1st Derek Berger OR

2nd Kurt Druffel WA

3rd Darren Grumbine PA

4th Erik Olson ID

5th Nick Suwyn MI

1st-% Over County Doug & Janelle Fitterer ND

2nd-% Over County Zach Balahtsis OK

3rd-% Over County Dylan Lindsey OK

4th-% Over County Chris Carlson ND

5th-% Over County Brett Oelke KS

Winter Wheat-Irrigated

Bin Buster Rylee Reynolds ID

1st Joel Zwainz WA

2nd Gary Reynolds ID

Spring Wheat-Dryland

Bin Buster Bruce Ruddenklau OR

1st Trevor Stout ID

2nd Matthew Krueger MN

3rd Jon Wert ND

1st-% Over County Jordan Christman ND

2nd-% Over County Austin Kautzman ND

3rd-% Over County Greg Messer ND

Spring Wheat-Irrigated

Bin Buster Derek Friehe WA

1st Dallin Wilcox ID

2nd Wes Vandyke OR

For more details on the National Wheat Yield Contest, visit yieldcontest.wheatfoundation.org. For questions on sponsorship of the 2023 contest, contact Anne Osborne aosborne@wheatworld.org.

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God, please lend a hand here. I’m overwhelmed with holiday activities. I have 10 wrapped gifts on the counter, and I can’t remember which one is which and for whom.

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Montana State hosts international conference on industrial crops

By Meaghan MacDonald-Pool, MSU News Service

Dozens of experts from around the world gathered in Bozeman, making small talk over coffee with their international peers. They came from 11 countries -- includ ing Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Brazil and across the United States -- to share ideas on integrat ing technology with industrial crops at the 33rd annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops. The conference was held October 9-12.

The AAIC is an international, nonprofit educational and scientific organization that encourages education and research about industrial crops and products. Industrial crops are utilized for non-food and nonfeed applications, providing raw materials and products such as energy, starch, oils, fibers and rubber that are used in differ ent industries. This year’s conference was supported by the Montana State University Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, MSU College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA.

Dilpreet Bajwa, head of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineer ing at MSU, currently serves as president of the association. Bajwa researches biobased materials and biocomposites, with a focus on how natural fibers can be used to make composites for automotives, packaging products and aerospace applications. His re search group shared in a session the results of several research projects currently funded by the USDA NIFA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. De partment of Energy on how nanocellulosic materials can be used for improving fire resistance of polymer composites, energy storage capacity of salt and enhancing the mechanical properties of wood by injecting cellulose nanocrystals.

“I am very excited to host this conference in Bozeman because it gives an opportunity for the agricultural scientists and engineers working in biomaterials and biobased prod ucts a chance to showcase their research and students a chance to participate with presentations, poster sessions and meet people from all over the world who work in industrial crops,” Bajwa said. “It also showcases Montana because this is a state where a lot of fiber and oil crops, like hemp and camelina, are grown and processed.”

The conference featured keynote speak ers, poster sessions and technical sessions on topics such as fiber and cellulosic crops; medicinal and nutraceutical plants; general crops; oilseeds and rubber and resins. Alison Harmon, vice president for research and economic development at MSU, delivered opening remarks, highlighting how the AAIC perfectly meshes with MSU’s landgrant mission to integrate teaching and research and engagement of stakeholders in Montana and beyond.

She cited figures from a 2019 NIFA study that found the biobased industry is a substantial generator of economic activity and jobs and that it has a significant positive impact on the environment. Figures from a 2017 study suggested the industry employs 4.6 million people and contributes $470 bil lion to the U.S. economy, with a multiplier effect of creating another two to three jobs in other sectors for every biobased job.

“This is really important in Montana, as we are proud to be increasing the production acreage of hemp, flaxseed and camelina, and we are also home to an oilseed processing

industry,” Harmon said.

Keynote speakers covered regulatory issues for growing industrial crops, using oilseed crops for renewable diesel, grow ing camelina, dryland farming and more. The six speakers included researchers from MSU and North Dakota State University, members of the Montana Department of Agriculture and industry professionals.

Ron Cowell from Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP spoke about the com pany’s project to create renewable diesel from oilseed crops. Calumet Specialty Prod ucts is a subsidiary of Calumet Montana Re fining, which has a refinery in Great Falls. Along with crude oil, the refinery plans to produce renewable diesel from feedstocks, including camelina, and soybean oils. The refinery produces 12,600 barrels of renew able fuel a day with a production mix of diesel, jet fuel and naphtha, Cowell said.

Calumet uses a process called hydro deoxygenation to create fuel. The process uses a catalyst with molecular hydrogen to break the propane “backbone” and remove normal paraffin’s. The process results in higher yields of diesel and gives off water instead of carbon dioxide, making it better for the environment.

Cowell said Calumet is in Great Falls because of its proximity to the Hi-Line and access to crops in Montana, the Midwest, Canada and other industries.

“We’re providing industrial market for the oil,” he said. “We need (Montana) farm ers and ranchers to grow their products and raise their cattle. We need someone in the middle to crush the seed, extract oil and feed it to us.”

MSU professor Chaofu Lu spoke about some of the research he and his team con duct in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology. Lu is a part of a few projects on developing camelina for sustain able production of bioenergy and biomate rials. One of his research projects received $5.1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to take a systems-level approach to assessing camelina, focusing on yield and nitrogen use efficiency. According to Lu, nitrogen is the greatest component of energy output for camelina production. Crops can only use 30% to 50% of nitrogen applied to the field, so Lu is looking at strategies to mitigate over-fertilization.

Another project Lu touched on is funded by a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. De partment of Energy’s Office of Science to understand the genetic mechanisms of camelina breeding. The idea is to selectively breed for larger camelina seeds. Typically, they are about the size of sesame seeds, but smaller seeds don’t contain enough oil relative to the husk and rest of the seed. Ad ditionally, Lu wants to improve the quality of the oil coming from the seeds. Right now, camelina oil is too high in unsaturated fat, rendering oil that is prone to oxidation and spoilage. Lu is trying to increase the oil’s proportion of oleic acid from about 15% naturally to some 80%.

Lu said the diverse audience may have already known a little about camelina and oil seeds, but the conference showed them more about the potential applications and challenges that go with them.

“This is exposure for them to see that we need to do some basic science to understand the mechanisms (of the plants) so farmers can continue to grow, and we can manage to produce a more desirable choice in the seeds,” he said.

Advice on harvesting and drying sunflower in ND

According to U.S. Department of Ag riculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, as of September 25, 35% of the sunflower had brown bracts indicating maturity, behind the 50% average. The near-term forecast is for continued warm temperatures, so most sunflower should reach or be near maturity, according to Ken Hellevang, North Dakota State University agricultural engineer and grain drying ex pert.

“There is considerable variation this year due to the challenging spring, variation in rainfall, planting date, maturity rating and growing degree days, so it is important to check each field,” Hellevang says.

A predictor of the drying rate is potential evapotranspiration (PET-Penman), which is based on parameters similar to those that affect drying. Values for PET are available on the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network website. Go to “Weather Data” and select the location and time period and it will provide the estimated evaporation during that time period. One inch of evapo ration is equivalent to about 4 percentage points in corn. Unfortunately, the correla tion has not been developed for sunflower, but the relative amount can be estimated.

Field drying normally is more economical until mid to late October in North Dakota and mechanical high-temperature drying normally is more economi cal after that, Hellevang notes.

The amount of natural air drying in bins that will oc cur in northern states in late October and early Novem ber was limited, since the moisture-holding capacity of air is reduced at lower air temperatures, Hellevang says. As average air tem peratures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, natural air drying becomes less effi cient and economical. Add ing heat causes the grain on the bottom of the bin to dry to a lower moisture content and increases drying speed only slightly. Sunflower at 15% moisture can be dried some during late October and early November by heating the air about 5 de grees and using an airflow rate of 1.0 cubic feet per minute per bushel.

Hellevang recommends cooling the sunflower to between 20 and 30 degrees for winter storage and com pleting the natural air drying in the spring. Start drying in the spring when outdoor temperatures are averaging about 40 degrees.

Sunflower can be dried in a high-temperature dryer, but dryer fires are a concern. The fire hazard is not related to drying temperature, but rather to housekeeping and managing the dryer. Hel levang has this advice to reduce the risk of fires:

Assure that trash does not accumulate in the dryer or on the dryer.

Assure that the sunflower continues to flow in all sec

tions of the dryer.

Monitor the dryer continuously. Clean the dryer frequently to reduce the potential for debris to combust.

If a fire occurs, shut off the fan, extin guish the fire and empty the dryer section with the fire.

Oil sunflower should be dried to about 10% moisture for storage over winter and about 7% to 8% if being stored into next summer. Non-oil sunflower can be stored at about 10% moisture during the summer. Cool the sunflower to 20-25 degrees for winter storage. Hellevang supports using temperature cables to assist with monitor ing the sunflower, but technology does not replace management. He still recommends monitoring the sunflower moisture content, inspecting for insects and observing the sunflower quality.

Remember safety when working around grain. Protect yourself from grain dust with an N95 mask. Do not go into a grain bin while the grain is moving. It only takes a couple seconds to become helpless in flow ing grain. Use the lock-out tag-out system to assure that you do not get hurt while work ing on grain drying and handling equipment.

Service lawnmower before winter weather hits

Taking care of a home lawn can be time consuming but rewarding for many homeowners. Kansas State University horticulture expert Ward Upham said as mowing season ends, it is important to service mowers before storing them for winter.

“Make sure you drain the gas tank of gasoline-powered engines or use a gasoline stabilizer,” Upham said. “Untreated gasoline can become thick and gummy.”

Spark plugs should be replaced. Before putting the new one in, place a few drops of oil inside the hole to lubricate the cylinder. Battery terminals usually corrode during the season, so they should be cleaned with a wire-bristle brush before being removed and stored for winter.

“If you remove the battery, be sure to store it in a pro tected location for the winter (a cool basement works best),” Upham said.

Cleaning and storing mowers properly is just one part of end of-season-care. Upham also suggests using this time to sharpen mower blades.

“Sharpening rotary mower blades is fairly straightfor ward,” said Upham, who listed the steps to guide the process: Check for major blade damage and replace what can’t be fixed.

Remove grass and debris with a damp cloth. Dry the blade before sharpening.

Use a grinding wheel or hand-file to remove nicks from the cutting edge. If using a grinding wheel, match the exist ing edge angle to the wheel. If hand-filing, file at the same angle as the existing edge.

File edges to 1/32 inch, or about the size of a period at the end of a sentence.

Avoid overheating of the blade, as this could warp it.

For optimum winter storage, clean the blade with solvent or oil. Avoid using water because it will promote rust.

“Following these tips can help you better prepare your mower for winter storage and also save you some steps this coming spring,” Upham said.

Upham and his colleagues in K-State’s Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly Hor ticulture Newsletter with tips for maintaining home land scapes. The newsletter is available to view online or can be delivered by email each week.

Grazing drought stressed crop residue

Todd Whitney, UNL

Welcome rains have occurred in many Nebraska regions; but our hot and dry summer impacts are extending into the fall; and drought stressed forage stalks are deteriorating more rapidly than normal. These conditions along with shorter than normal grass pastures may be motivating livestock producers to begin fall crop residues grazing earlier.

When it comes to stalks residue, grain sorghum stover will retain nutrient grazing value longer than corn. This year, though, rapidly declining stalks quality, may be encouraging earlier residues grazing of both corn and sorghum soon after grain harvest. Both crop residues provide good nutrition for mid- to late-gestation cattle following fall harvest. Sorghum leaves have similar quality to corn husk and leaves; but their quality still decrease over time.

Although both residues provide the highest nutrient con tent when grazed soon after grain harvest; prioritize grazing corn stalk fields first. Corn leaves tend to detach from stalks within one to two months after harvest and then blow out of stalk fields; thus, dramatically lowering grazing nutritional content. In contrast, grain sorghum stover leaves remain at tached to their stalks much longer into the winter and early spring retaining nutritional value.

Previous grain sorghum yields can be used to set optimum grazing stalking rates. For example, grazing rates might be 1 acre per cow per month for every 100 bushels of harvested sorghum.

Unlike corn residue, grain sorghum stover can have prus sic acid toxicity along with possible nitrate toxicity risk es pecially if cattle are forced to graze the lower 1/3 of drought stressed stalks. Other sorghum stover residues advantages include being less prone to lodging; and lower acidosis (founder disease) from grazing spilled grain than corn.

Fall’s insect invasion

By Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County

As nights cool, it’s not unusual to see an increase in the number of insects and spiders (collectively known as ar thropods) inside the home. On average, homes have 200+ species of arthropods living there. Keep in mind this isn’t a total of 200 insects, but instead of 200 species of insects and spiders, with multiples of each found indoors not being all that unusual. There are reasons why they make their way indoors. Some, like crickets and millipedes, are seeking warmth, with heated homes offering a reprieve from cool temperatures. Other arthropods are predators, like ground beetles and spiders, following the prey indoors.

What can be done to minimize the number of arthropods found indoors? First and foremost, seal all entry points. The smallest crack or opening is an easy access point for insects, wolf spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and leaf-footed bugs. Close openings with a silicone-based caulk as this shrinks less than latex types do. Next, look at the lighting over the front, side, back, and garage doors. Use yellowcolored lights or warm LED bulbs to discourage insects congregating around them and allowing easy access every time a door opens.

Adopt a cleaning strategy to discourage hiding places and food sources. Clear away fallen leaves around the foundation and indoors frequently sweep to remove bits of food found on floors. A final strategy is to use boxed sticky traps (found in hardware stores) inside the home to catch these occasional invaders and monitor what’s found inside the home.

The Asian lady beetle, dermestid beetles, and boxelder bugs like to overwinter beneath a structure’s siding. These insects are not readily found indoors until spring, when warmer weather induces activity that results in them moving through wall voids to the inside of the home. These insects are best cleaned up with the aid of a vacuum cleaner. If an insecticide is used, it should be applied in September with a perimeter spray outside of the home to discourage access to the home’s siding.

Remember that most of the arthropods we find indoors came from outside. Considered nuisance pests, most of these arthropods cause no harm to structures or people.

A: Take away her “w”.

Leftover nitrogen in soil following dry conditions

By Javed

|

Fertility

and Precision Ag Specialist

Nebraska has faced two consecutive dry seasons in 2021 and 2022. The severely dry 2022 season in most of Nebraska (Figure 1) has raised questions about nitrogen application for the next year’s crop. In irrigated or dryland areas with normal production, the management practices may continue as normal, but for dryland areas with drastic yield reductions, there is potential for nitrogen fertilizer adjustment for the 2023 crop.

If corn grain yield is drastically reduced due to drought conditions affecting crop growth, then it is likely that crop nitrogen uptake was reduced as well. This often leaves a considerable amount of unused nitrate nitrogen in the soil. Therefore, it is a profitable and environmentally sound prac tice to sample soil to give proper credit for this residual soil nitrogen when determining fertilizer-N rates for 2023 crops.

‘It is a profitable and environmentally sound practice to sample soil to give proper credit for the residual soil nitrogen when determining fertilizer-N rates for 2023 crops.’

To estimate residual nitrogen, sample soil at least 24 inches, although 36 inches or 48 inches is preferable to bet ter capture nitrate present in the soil profile following dry conditions. These cores should be split into one-foot incre ments instead of mixed together into one sample to give a better understanding of where nitrate is present in the soil profile. Cores should be air dried, refrigerated or frozen if they can’t be submitted with 24 hours to a soil testing lab for soil nitrate-N analysis. A sample consisting of six to eight soil cores should be collected to represent no more than 40 acres if fields are uniform. However, drought conditions often result in uneven yields across fields depending on soil types and landscape position. In fields with soil and yield variability, consider doing the soil sampling by zones within the field to better capture the patterns of residual nitrateN. Yield monitor data, digital soil maps and elevation are some of the data layers that could be used to identify zones for nitrate sampling. More information can be found in our extension circular, “Soil Sampling for Precision Agriculture — EC 154”.

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The depth-weighted average nitrate-N concentration (parts per million) across several soil depths in the rootzone is considered in the university’s N recommendation equation. The depth-weighted concentration is calculated as the sum of the nitrate-N concentration in the zero- to two-feet depth soil sample plus 3.0 (which is the assumed nitrate concentration below two feet) divided by two. For example, if there was 9.0 ppm nitrate-N for the zero to two-feet depth, then the depth weighted average = (9.0+3.0)/2 = 6 ppm. The recom mended N need is then reduced by 8 lb/ac for each ppm of the nitrate-N concentration for the zero- to four-foot depth (e.g. 6 x 8 = 48 lbs/ac N credit). More information can be found in our extension circular, “Fertilizer Suggestions For Corn”. The timing of soil sampling for making N recommenda tions could be important as snowmelt and precipitation dur ing early spring may affect N losses (especially for coarsetextured soils), resulting in under-application of pre-plant or in-season N. Collecting pre-plant soil nitrate-N samples in spring is a good practice for determining residual soil nitrateN to be credited in N rate decisions. However, if you plan to have nitrogen application this fall, consider the following to avoid the over-application of nitrogen while reducing the potential of nitrogen loss.

Sample soil at two-, three- or four-foot to determine re sidual nitrate-N to be credited in nitrogen rate calculations. With the potential of early harvest this year, carefully consider the risks of early N fertilizer application. Apply fertilizer-N (and manure) when the soil temperature is below 50°F at the four-inch soil depth and trending cooler to minimize nitrification losses (Check CropWatch soil temperature).

Apply anhydrous ammonia rather than other N fertilizers.

Limit fall application of N to silt loams, silty clay loams and finer-textured soils.

Consider the use of nitrification inhibitors to slow the conversion of ammonium to nitrate, especially on coarse textured soils.

Avoid fall application on wet or flooding-prone soils. If fall anhydrous is going to be applied, consider applying

Iqbal - Extension Nutrient Management and Water Quality Specialist

Aaron Nygren - Extension Educator | Laura Thompson - Extension Educator

Bijesh Maharjan - Extension Soil and Nutrient Management Specialist | Laila Puntel - Extension Soil

Q: How do you make a witch itch?

Q: What stays in one cor ner but travels around the world?

A stamp.

World Kindness Day

Always November 13

World Kindness Day en courages us to be kind to others, helping to create a nicer, better world.

According to the World Kindness Movement website, World Kindness Day is intended to “build a kinder and more compassionate world”.

Use this day as an opportunity to be kind to family, friends, neighbors, and others. You will find kindness rubs off on others, and generates even more kindness.

Origin of World Kindness Day:

World Kindness Day evolved from a series of confer ences in 1996-1997 in Japan by a group known as the World Kindness Movement. These conferences brought together groups interested in promoting more kindness around the world. It culminated in the “Declaration of Kindness” on November 13, 1997. With this declaration, a new and very special day was born.

Leftover nitrogen in soil following dry conditions

part of the total nitrogen requirement in the fall and applying the remaining in-season, preferably according to the results of pre-sidedress nitrate testing or canopy sensing.

Summary

With the two consecutive dry seasons in 2021 and 2022, there is likely a considerable amount of unused nitrogen left in the soil, which could be used for the 2023 crop. With the higher fertilizer prices, such fertility adjustments for next crop can be profitable as well as environment friendly. So, it is recommended to test your soil and account for all sources of nutrients for the next crop.

Tracking weeds to stop them in their tracks

Eric Hamilton, American Society of Agronomy

Not that long ago, weeds spread at a much slower rate. Seeds would spread to nearby soil and move perhaps a few feet each year or would be transplanted by birds who flew with them several miles away. In today’s interconnected world, though, weeds can hitch a ride on a truck, boat, or even an airplane. What once might’ve taken generations to spread weeds from one region to another now takes no time at all.

This can be unwelcome news for farmers and consumers, who may not want to pay higher prices for the costs of weed control. Lately, one of those nuisances spreading farther than before is Palmer amaranth. One way it spreads is by contaminating livestock feed.

“Palmer amaranth is an aggressive weed that can cause significant reductions in crop yield if it is not controlled. Recently, it has been making its way into the Upper Mid west where it wasn’t previously established,” says Melissa Wilson, professor of manure management at the University of Minnesota. One of her lab’s goals is to track the spread of weeds like Palmer amaranth to stop it in its tracks.

The study was published in Agricultural & Environmental Letters Journal, a publication of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Sci ence Society of America.

Manure, it turns out, is the perfect tool for this investiga tion. Palmer amaranth seeds that contaminate feed will end up in manure, and when that manure is spread on fields as fertilizer, those seeds will grow into harmful weeds. Wilson’s team focused on how best to test manure for weed seeds. “If feed is suspected to be contaminated with Palmer amaranth seeds, testing it directly is definitely easier!” says Wilson. “In some cases, feed may have already been given to live stock after the supplier found out the source may have been contaminated. If the feed is already gone, this only leaves the manure for testing.”

Manure is a complex substance, so separating tiny seeds from it is tricky. The researchers tested six different methods. They all involved passing the manure through fine sieves to catch the seeds. The scientists also tested manure with or without straw bedding. The best method turned out to be rinsing the manure through the sieves with water. “We found that agitation from running water helped dislodge seeds that were caught in solids or in the sieves,” says Wilson. They recovered 90 percent of seeds this way, with or without straw bedding. They were then able to genetically test the seeds to confirm they were Palmer amaranth. That genetic test avoided the lengthy process of growing the seeds to identify their species.

“If farmers suspect that their livestock have been fed contaminated feed, we now have a simple and quick way to test the manure. This will allow them to make appropri ate management decisions more rapidly including manure treatment, like composting,” says Wilson.

Although most consumers are happy not to be a part of the manure/seed separation process, they should see the benefit of this work, too. That’s because any work that helps farmers use manure responsibly is good for the whole food system. “Livestock manure is a great resource for crop production. It provides nutrients and can help improve soil health. But there are drawbacks, including the risk of weed seeds! Our research is helping to reduce the spread of a particularly invasive weed in the Upper Midwest,” says Wilson.

These Sumner Livestock 4-H Club members received purple ribbons and the club’s name will be placed on the plaque for the Club Group of 5: (from left to right) Grant Walahoski, Overton, Jacie Wolfinger, Lexing ton, Paige Walahoski, Overton, Spencer Walahoski, Overton, Parker Walahoski, Overton, Jaelin Wolfinger, Lexington, and Megan Walahoski, Overton.

Always November 17 World Peace Day encour ages us to be kind to oth ers, and teach others to be peaceful.

The creator so this day, encourages us as individu als, to play a role in making the world a better place. The creator believes it starts with us. He suggests we teach our children and others, in ways to promote peace, and avoid war. He also invites us to write our county’s leadership about our support for peace and world harmony. Without peace, the consequences is tragic. Please do your part to promote peace on this day. If we all act on this issue, we theoretically could make war and strife obsolete.

Origin of World Peace Day: World Peace Day appears to be a grass roots effort. It was started by Don Morris of Miami Florida. It was started around 1997. You may also know Don as “Peaceguy”. That’s a pretty good alias!

NH

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UNL scientists propose a novel land classification method for comparative soil studies

In collaboration with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), Dr. Bijesh Maharjan, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist, Department of Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Dr. Saurav Das, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, have been furthering the science of soil health.

In 2020, Maharjan and Das proposed the “Soil Health Gap” concept that compares soil health in cropland and native undis turbed land, and is a measure of soil health decline in croplands since cultivation began,

and simultaneously sets potential soil health targets and goals (Figure 1). However, comparing croplands with reference sites or among themselves can be confounded by agroecological variations, including the vast heterogeneity in soil and climate. Differences in precipitation and soil types can create distinct inherent soil properties and soil health potential. These local fac tors allow the soil to respond differently to management practices. Therefore, compara tive studies in soil health should consider limiting the scope in which comparisons can be made.

Figure 1. Graphical abstract of Soil Health Gap concept.

Figure 2: Workflow for the development of Cropland Reference Ecological Unit and subsequent pairing of reference sites and cropland for comparative studies.

Reference Ecological Unit and subsequent pairing of reference sites and cropland for comparative studies.

Outlook for ND corn harvest and drying

According to U.S. Department of Ag riculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, as of September 25, 36% of corn in North Dakota had reached maturity and 88% had dented. The near-term forecast is for continued warm temperatures, so most corn should reach or be near maturity, ac cording to Ken Hellevang, North Dakota State University agricultural engineer and grain drying expert.

“There is considerable variation this year due to the challenging spring, variation in rainfall, planting date, maturity rating and growing degree days, so it is important to check each field,” says Hellevang.

The amount of drying in the field depends on parameters such as corn maturity, hybrid, moisture content, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation and wind speed. Iowa State University has an online corn dry-down calculator. It uses the location, initial moisture content and typical weather history to predict the dry-down rate.

Another predictor of the drying rate is potential evapotranspiration (PET-Penman), which is based on parameters similar to those that affect drying. Values for PET are available on the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network website. Go to “Weather Data” and select the loca tion and time period, and it will provide the estimated evaporation during that time period. About 1 inch of po tential evapotranspiration results in about 4 percentage points of corn field drying.

Standing corn in the field may dry about 2.5-3.0 per centage points per week in North Dakota during October, assuming normal weather conditions, and about 1 percentage point per week during Novem ber. Corn at 35% moisture content on Oct. 1 might be expected to dry to about 20% to 25% by Nov. 1, Hellevang says. Very little drying occurs during No vember, so typically there is little benefit to waiting to harvest after late October. Therefore, corn moisture content at harvest likely will be in the 20% range this year.

Field drying normally is more economical until mid to late October in North Dakota, and mechanical high-temperature drying normally is more economi cal after that, Hellevang notes.

Natural-air and low-tem perature drying are limited to an initial corn moisture content of about 20% to 21%. Even at that moisture content, air drying is limited in the northern states due to the colder outdoor tem peratures in late October and November. The moistureholding capacity of air is very small at temperatures below about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Expect to store the wet corn over winter by cooling it to 20-30 degrees and drying in the spring when outside temperatures average above 40 degrees.

There are several types of dryers and options for high temperature corn drying. There are cross-flow dryers

with and without corn turners and vacuum or heat reclaim cooling. There are also mixed-flow dryers and in-bin dryers. Each has specific features and benefits. Typical drying cost per point of moisture removed can be estimated by multiplying the pro pane cost per gallon by 0.02. For example, if propane is $1.50 per gallon, the propane cost for drying is about $0.03 per bushel per point of moisture removed.

Corn should be dried to about 15.5% moisture for storage over winter and about 13% to 14% if being stored into next sum mer. Cool the corn to 20-25 degrees for winter storage. Hellevang supports using temperature cables to assist with monitoring the corn, but technology does not replace management. He still recommends monitor ing the corn moisture content, inspecting for insects and observing the corn quality.

Remember safety when working around grain. Protect yourself from grain dust with an N95 mask. Do not go into a grain bin while the grain is moving. It only takes a couple seconds to become helpless in flow ing grain. Use the lock-out tag-out system to assure that you do not get hurt while work ing on grain drying and handling equipment.

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Marsh sees value in wetland

the pivot irrigation system over enrolled acres. In the past, the inability to complete full rotations kept the Marshes from enroll ing in the program because it would reduce irrigation efficiency.

As a result of WREP’s flexibility, the Marshes signed up the 55 flood-prone acres for WREP in 2012. The wetland portion of the site was restored by removing sediment that had accumulated from the uplands. An upland buffer was also established to prevent sediment from accumulating in the restored wetland in the future.

Gayle Marsh says one thing has made his family farm in central Nebraska successful for four generations: frugality. Whether it was his great grandfather walking to Nebraska from Illinois because taking the train was too costly while going on-foot was free, to Gayle’s own insistence on stay ing small so he can manage his 560 acres independently and not worry about labor cost fluctuations, making smart investments and reducing costs has been the bedrock of the Marsh operation since the start of the farm in 1886.

That emphasis on smart business deci sions was evident in Marsh’s management plan for a 55-acre area of his operation that frequently flooded. “We maybe got a harvest on those acres three out of five years,” he said. Other years, he might lose $40,000 on inputs for a crop that would be drowned out.

Every fall after harvest, the Marshes would try to increase drainage on the site using a deep ripping disk to mechanically break up compacted clay soil layers down to 24 inches. This would help with drainage after snowmelt and allow them to plant. In evitably though, the clay soils would swell, and the site would frequently pond water during the growing season. As a result, these acres were only marginally profitable. It didn’t make sense to keep these acres in production, Marsh realized.

As input costs continued to increase, the Marsh family evaluated several wetland programs, but found none fit their opera tion until the Wetlands Reserve Enhance ment Partnership (WREP) was established. WREP was a special option under the Ag riculture Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. As part of WREP, landowners retain the right to pass

Marsh says he loves seeing the variety of wildflowers and native grasses that grow on those acres each spring. He also loves that he doesn’t have to worry about if he’s going to be able to raise a crop there anymore. “It’s one less concern to not think, ‘am I going to be able to harvest it this year?’” he said.

Another benefit he’s seen from the WREP investment was the impact on wildlife. “It’s brought these acres back to nature, back to what this was 100 years ago. The wildlife has really expanded out there,” he said. “There’s pheasant, duck, quail…I’m not a ‘greenie’ but I like to see those natural spaces. Wildlife needs a place to live, too.”

The Marsh family reinvested the ease ment payment for the acres back into the property by purchasing a corner system for the pivot. This corner system allowed them to effectively irrigate the field corners, thereby increasing the production potential on these acres. At the field level, this was a net win. After installation, they could ef fectively irrigate 15 acres of high-quality cropland while transitioning 55 acres of marginal cropland to forage production.

To assist with the transition to forage pro duction, the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture (RWBJV) partners provided 85 percent cost-share to establish perimeter fence, livestock water, and pivot bridges. These bridges allow the pivot to cross the perim eter fence while preventing livestock from escaping.

The RWBJV partners also provided costshare to modify the pivot with Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) technology. This included retrofitting the electric well with a variable frequency drive, installing telemetry com ponents, upgrading the sprinkler package, and installing flotation tires. In addition to the pivot upgrades, the Marshes worked with NRCS and the Natural Resources Dis trict to install a soil moisture probe in the field to allow real time monitoring of the soil moisture profile through the growing season. This information is integrated into CONTINUED ON PAGE C38

Marsh sees value in wetland

Bobcat of Williston 4419 FRONT ST W WILLISTON , ND 701-572-5050

a mapping package that allows the pivot to precisely apply irrigation inputs to the portions of the field that have the greatest water needs and reduce application to other areas, like the wetland, that do not need ir rigation inputs. Monitoring the soil moisture profile also allows the Marshes to schedule irrigation inputs based on the growth stage of the crop.

After enrollment in WREP, the Marsh family agreed to be a part of the Net Farm Income Study conducted by the RWBJV and the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) Agriculture Economics Department. As part of this study, the Marsh tract was compared to conventional pivot irrigated tracts with farmed wetlands to evaluate

economic vitality of conservation programs. The results from this study suggest that based on the RWBJV cost-share producers see a return on their investment in three years and that forage production on floodprone acres can provide greater net farm income.

Marsh agrees with the study. While his flood prone acres occasionally produced a harvest, the bottom line for his operation is better with them converted to grazing ground and adding investment in the sur rounding acres to increase their profitability. He recommends other producers consider the program, especially if they have live stock and need a quality pasture option.

UNL scientists propose a novel land classification method for comparative soil studies

Drs. Das and Maharjan, in their recent publication in September 2022, proposed and discussed a new landmass classification unit, a Cropland Reference Ecological Unit (CREU), for an unconfounded comparison of land use and management. In a CREU, cropland of different managements and the identified reference sites can be compared under a homogenous boundary of soil and climatic factors. Cropland Reference Eco logical Units, together with the Soil Health Gap concept, will offer a method to describe the true soil health potential of land. The ef fectiveness of conservation practices would be illustrated better if evaluated within the scope of this method.

The CREU will provide a leveled plat form for comparative studies where soil health can be assessed and compared for a group of sites that have a similar soil health potential. If measured in the same CREU, soil health at different sites will provide actual differences due to land use or con servation practices. The CREU provides a geographically universal framework for comparative studies by accounting for the

different native potentials based on the soil and climate.

The Cropland Reference Ecological Units are created using the existing NRCS land resource hierarchy (Figure 2), where Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) are segregated into Benchmark Ecological Sites, which are ecological sites paired and categorized by benchmark soil. The benchmark ecological sites are further divided into Dominant Ecological Sites, which represents ecological sites relevant to more than 90% crop cover in the MLRA. Identified Dominant Ecological Sites are divided as a function of soil association and precipitation to create the CREU (Figure 2).

The manuscript published in the Elsevier Journal, Ecological Indicators, illustrates the methods of developing a CREU. This proposed framework addresses the current interests in comparing soil health param eters among croplands and reference sites in a homogenous boundary of soil and climate to set attainable soil health targets. The manuscript can be downloaded at https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109468