Inside Ag October 2019

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OCTOBER 2019

Farming in Norway

By JILL SCHRAMM

Senior Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com Norwegian farmers watch the market and weather as closely as their American counterparts, but their agricultural operations typically look much different than those of Norwegian descendants in North Dakota.

Regardless of the country, farmers deserve more respect than they often receive for the job they do in feeding the world, said Liv Høyland, who manages a sow operation near Stavanger, located along the coast in southwest Norway.

Southwestern Norway is the country’s largest sow-producing region.

Høyland, who has hosted tourist visits to her farm, joined Juven Travel and Tours at its booth at Norsk Høstfest Sept.

25-28. Also at the booth was Karl Nyland, a retired dairy and livestock producer from northeastern Norway.

Nyland, 87, has made 44 visits to America to see friends he’s made and attend Norsk Høstfest in Minot. A regular at Høstfest, he attended for the first time in 1975.

Both Nyland and Høyland have been involved in the hog business.

Høyland has 1,100 sows that she rents to neighboring farmers, during which time the piglets are born and belong to the renter.

“We only rent out perfect sows,” she said.

Older sows that produce smaller litters, sows that don’t prove to be good mothers or animals that have defects are sent to slaughter. Her farm sends many of its sows to slaughter each year, acquiring replacement sows from her son’s operation.

Høyland’s farm raises a Landsvin and Zopig cross. The breed is favored because of its mothering instincts, which lead to better piglet outcomes, she said.

She employs three workers and two veterinary staff.

Much of the work involves caretaking, and women are some of the best employees in that type of work, Høyland said.

Høyland said she didn’t grow up on a farm but joined her husband in agriculture after their marriage. She took over management once her husband retired, although he still provides input and drives truck in transporting sows.

From start to finish, the operation is focused on positive growing conditions for the pigs, Høyland said. That mindset extends to their sow renters.

“We have contact with the farmers, so they treat the sows very well. We are very particular about medicine. We try not to use medicines,” Høyland said, adding that vitamins are used if the animals show deficiencies.

“The feeding system starts at 7:30 in the evening,” she said. “They go free so they can eat whenever they want.”

The feeding system uses electronic monitoring that captures a sow’s identification chip and measures how much was eaten, producing a summary each morning that can be reviewed to determine how the pigs are faring. If a pig is not showing up at the feeding station, it prompts an investigation into what might be wrong, Høyland said.

The makeup of the feed, generally a pelleted grain mix, varies depending on a sow’s need and stage of pregnancy.

“People think you can just feed them whatever. It’s so much more,” Høyland said of the science behind the feeding system.

Submitted Photo

ABOVE: Sows roam in a barn on the Hoyland farm near Stavanger, Norway.

Jill Schramm/MDN

RIGHT: Liv Hoyland stands next to a Norsk Hostfest banner at the festival Sept. 25.

The waste collection system also is automated. Waste left by the pigs falls into a collection system, where it is pumped into a holding facility and remains until eventually spread on land as fertilizer.

Høyland said their farm has been using its current operating system for the past 10 years.

Nyland, who farmed from about 1950 until 20 years ago, had raised a small number of sows and sold the piglets once they reached marketable size. Sows were taken to the boars for breeding until later years when artificial insemination became popular. Specialists in artificial insemination travel around to the farms to impregnate the sows.

Nyland also had a mechanized milking system for his 15 to 20 head of Norsk Røøt Fe cattle. Milk was sold to Tine, an

Norwegian producers champion agriculture

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OCTOBER 2019 Oslo company that produced milk and cheese for the market.

At one time, the farm had horses, whose jobs in the fields were eventually replaced by tractors. Through a translator, Nyland said he keeps a couple of tractors still, even though the livestock operation is gone and pasture land is rented out.

His pride and joy is his 52year-old Volvo 400.

Nyland said he loved farming because he enjoyed the livestock, especially the cows. Seeing the barns now gone saddens him, he said.

Farms in Norway have grown bigger, Høyland said, although the Norwegian government imposes caps.

She said the government places limits, too, on certain commodities, such as milk, sows and hens, to avoid price reductions from overproduction.

“We manage to do that anyway,” Høyland said. “We

produce too much at the moment so we want to reduce and get the prices up.”

Pigs in Norway are produced for the domestic market and aren’t exported.

Norway produces only about 40% of the food it consumes, making it predominantly an importing country for food, Høyland said.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States in recent years has been either the world’s largest or second largest exporter of pork and pork products, with exports averaging over 20 percent of commercial pork production in most years. Hog operations are heavily concentrated in the Midwest and in eastern North Carolina. Since 1990, the number of U.S. farms with hogs has declined by more than 70% as enterprises have grown larger.

Høyland’s son raises

sows on his farm in Norway, where he also grows potatoes and wheat. The crops are grown under contract and sold to a potato processor and farmers’ cooperative.

Høyland said they have insurance on the hogs and buildings but there is no crop insurance. If a crop fails, farmers can seek state assistance. Unless the loss is significant, though, the amount of assistance doesn’t justify the degree of hassle associated with applying for aid, she said.

Høyland’s farm is a member of Norsvin, a farmers association that provides agricultural improvement education and lobbies on farm policy.

Høyland said she finds agriculture to be an exciting Submitted Photo industry with a good future in Norway. Enough so that ABOVE: Sows rest inside the Hoyland barn. she hopes to eventually see RIGHT: Karl Nyland. her daughter take over the family farm some day.

!G !PPR AI S AL S

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OCTOBER 2019

Consumers meet North Dakota lamb in 2019 Esmond producer introduces North Dakotans to taste of lamb

ESMOND – More than 400 North Dakotans were introduced to local lamb and lamb products this summer through a project by gardendwellers RANCH of Esmond.

With grant assistance from the American Lamb Board, the North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission and the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association, Adam Mawby, owner of gardendwellers RANCH, hit the markets with recipes, tasting guides, hats, cutting boards and even ground lamb to give away at 11 different events across the northern and central portion of the state.

The goal of the project was to introduce consumers to the taste and benefits of lamb while promoting the ranchers and farmers who raise lamb for meat. Grant funds were used to pay for giveaway items such as shirts, hats and shopping bags and to purchase and process ground lamb to give consumers in an effort to increase the popularity and sale of lamb meat. Consumers were also well armed with recipe books produced by the American Lamb Board.

Mawby, who raises Katahdin lambs for meat sales, netSubmitted photos ABOVE RIGHT: Adam Mawby explains the worked with other lamb producers and provided potential management of his Katahdin flock to participants consumers with contact information for producers in their area. He attended farmers markets at Grand Forks, Devils in the Farm To Table Dinner.

Lake, Rugby and Minot to meet face-to-face with potential ABOVE: Adam Mawby shows off one of his consumers and explain the benefits of locally-raised lamb.

Katahdin breeding ewes, Blossom.

He also held an open house at his ranch location near Es-

mond, attended the Capital Farmers Market in Bismarck and was the featured producer at a Farm To Table Dinner with over 50 people in attendance. The dinner featured lamb pate’ as an appetizer and a main course starring lamb meatballs.

“Lamb is an excellent, but underused meat. It has many health benefits and fits into many special dietary needs.

In my conversations with consumers I was surprised to find out that more people than I thought had tried lamb meat before. However, it was either years ago before newer meat breeds and management practices improved the flavors, or it had been improperly cooked,” Mawby said.

“Consumers need to be given ideas and recipes that are easy to prepare, and they need to know how and where to purchase it. That’s why it was important for me to connect with other producers and be able to give out their contact information.”

Mawby estimated he connected with more than 400 people throughout the summer and at least 200 of them received ground lamb, lamb promotional products or tasted prepared lamb recipes from the American Lamb Board.

To gauge the response of consumers, Mawby gave postage-paid response cards with each pound of ground lamb. To date, 100% of the response cards returned rated the lamb as having excellent flavor and ease of cooking.

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OCTOBER 2019

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OCTOBER 2019

ND congressional delegation comment on status of US, China tariff war Hoeven

Armstrong

Cramer

By ELOISE OGDEN

Regional Editor eogden@minotdailynews.com The tariff war between the U.S. and China remains a hot topic.

Each member of North Dakota’s congressional delegation have commented on the status of the tariff issue with China in relation to U.S. agriculture.

“The Administration is working to reach an agreement that holds China accountable for their unfair trade practices, including intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, unfair subsidies and agriculture market access restrictions,” said Sen. John Hoeven.

“During these negotiations, our farmers have been disproportionately targeted by retaliatory tariffs and China not purchasing ag products, especially soybeans, is having an impact on prices. That’s why I worked as chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Committee to secure trade assistance for our producers, including two rounds of Market Facilitation Program payments. Most recently, I worked to ensure that funding for this trade assistance was included in the recently-passed funding extension and

MFP payments were not blocked or delayed,” he said. “While this assistance is vital, ultimately, our producers need access to foreign markets. That’s why I continue urging the Administration to finalize trade negotiations,” Hoeven said.

He noted in late September that recently, both the U.S. and China have made efforts to de-escalate and lead negotiators are expected to meet in October.

“China also began purchasing U.S. agriculture products, including more than 1.5 million tons of soybeans. Additionally, we should increase pressure on China by approving the USMCA (United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement), which needs to originate in the House, and by putting in place trade deals, like the agreement with the EU (European Union) to import additional U.S. beef and with Japan to lower tariffs on $7.2 billion of U.S. agricultural goods,” Hoeven said.

Congressman Kelly Armstrong said in late September, “The single best thing we can do for North Dakota ag producers is pass USMCA. It has the votes to pass today, and I’m still hopeful that Congress can get it done, despite this misguided push for impeachment. The recent agreement with Japan is a See COMMENT — Page 8

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US, Japan trade agreement good for ag producers

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finalized a trade agreement with a signing ceremony at the United Nations on Sept. 25. The trade agreement will eliminate or reduce tariffs on about $7.2 billion of U.S. food and agricultural products.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s fact sheet states the deal President Trump is delivering “will provide our farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses with market access for high quality U.S. food and agricultural products to 127 million Japanese consumers.”

“In the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, Japan has committed to provide substantial market access to American food and agricultural products by eliminating tariffs, enacting meaningful tariff reductions, or allowing a specific quantity of imports at a low duty (generally zero). Importantly, the tariff treatment for the products covered in this agreement will match the tariffs that Japan provides preferentially to countries in the CP-TPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) agreement.” the information said.

Key Elements: US Ag Exports to Japan Out of the $14.1 billion in U.S. food and agricultural products imported by Japan in 2018, $5.2 billion were already duty free.

Under this first-stage initial tariff agreement, Japan will eliminate or reduce tariffs on an additional $7.2 billion of U.S. food and agricultural products. Over 90 percent of U.S. food and agricultural imports into Japan will either be duty free or receive preferential tariff access once the Agreement is implemented.

See TRADE — Page 8

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Comment

Continued from Page 8

positive development for farmers, opening up new markets for $7 billion in U.S. agricultural products. Japan is one of the top export markets for North Dakota wheat.

He went on, “China is not an equitable actor on the world stage, and President Trump’s tough negotiations with them have been a long time coming. I know farmers didn’t ask to be on the frontlines of this fight, but I’m confident that President Trump will negotiate a strong trade deal that creates opportunities for our producers. There’s been some progress recently, with China making purchases of U.S. soybeans and pork.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer said in Sept. 27 comments, “Talks between China and the United States are set to resume on October 10th. The Chinese are coming back to

the table and discussing specific agriculture issues.

They’ve also agreed to purchase American soybeans and pork. While the relationship is warming – ice is thawing – and real substantive action is being taken, we have to remember who (we) are dealing with. No deal with China is ever over until it is over.

“China’s pattern of almost agreeing to a deal, then backing out, makes securing other bilateral deals even more important. President Trump recently wrapped up a deal with Japan and is moving forward on a deal with India.

These are important moves, expanding market access for our farmers and putting the pressure back on China. I look forward to working with the administration – as I did for deals with Japan and India – to secure more bilateral deals and finalize a good agreement with China, Cramer said.

Trade

Continued from Page 7

Tariff Reduction: For products valued at $2.9 billion, Japan will reduce tariffs in stages. Among the products benefitting from this enhanced access will be: – fresh beef – frozen beef – fresh pork – frozen pork Tariff Elimination: Tariffs will be eliminated immediately on over $1.3 billion of U.S. farm products including, for example: – almonds – blueberries – cranberries – walnuts – sweet corn – grain sorghum – food supplements – broccoli – prunes Other products valued at $3.0 billion will benefit from staged tariff elimination. This group of products includes, for

example: – wine – cheese and whey – ethanol – frozen poultry – processed pork – fresh cherries – beef offal – frozen potatoes – oranges – egg products – tomato paste Country Specific Quotas (CSQs): For some products, preferential market access will be provided through the creation of CSQs, which provide access for a specified quantity of imports from the United States at a preferential tariff rate, generally zero. CSQ access will cover: – wheat – wheat products – malt – glucose – fructose – corn starch – potato starch – inulin Mark Up: Exports to Japan

of wheat and barley will benefit from a reduction to Japan’s “mark up” on those products.

Japan’s imports of U.S. wheat and barley were valued at more than $800 million in 2018.

Safeguards: This agreement provides for the limited use of safeguards by Japan for surges in imports of beef, pork, whey, oranges and race horses, which will be phased out over time.

Japan Ag Exports to the U.S. The United States will provide tariff elimination or reduction on 42 tariff lines for agricultural imports from Japan valued at $40 million in 2018.

Products include: – certain perennial plants and cut flowers – persimmons – green tea – chewing gum – certain confectionary products – soy sauce The United States has also agreed to modify its global

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WTO (World Trade Organization) tariff rate quota for imports of Japanese beef, enabling Japanese beef producers to compete for a larger share of the global TRQ (Tariff Rate Quota) quantity.

Moving Forward With Japan’s $5 trillion economy, this agreement will expand U.S. food and agricultural exports, increase farm income, generate more rural economic activity, and promote job growth. according to the fact sheet from the Office of the US Trade Representative in Washington, D.C. President Trump and Prime Minister Abe have agreed that these early outcomes will be followed by further negotiations to address remaining areas of interest to each government. The United States and Japan will continue working to achieve a comprehensive trade agreement that results in a more fair and reciprocal trade and economic relationship, according to the information.

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OCTOBER 2019

Corn waiting for harvest stands in several inches of water in this flooded field northeast of Minot. Record September rainfall has kept producers out of many fields this fall.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN

Record rain dampens harvest

By KIM FUNDINGSLAND

Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com Heavy September rainfall has put a damper on the harvest season for many area producers. Many fields, or large portions of them, have simply been too wet for combines to roll. Worse yet, the extremely wet conditions have resulted in some crops sprouting in the field.

“Much of the small grains and canola have sprouted. That causes some real marketing issues,” said Eric Eriksmoen,

research agronomist at the North Central Research and Extension Center south of Minot. “Malting barley that has sprouted is basically removed from the malting market. Then you are left with feed along with most other small grains that are sprouted.”

“I’ve never seen a harvest where the weather pretty much lost the crop and I’ve been working here since 1985,” said Carl Zeltinger, Renville Elevator Company, Tolly. “There’s water everywhere.”

Some estimates place the amount of crop remaining in the fields in Renville

County at 30-50 percent.

“There’s a heck of a chunk out there,” agreed Zeltinger. “And it’s going bad.

Pretty much all of the wheat and durum is sprouted. You can’t make bread flour out of it anymore.”

The September rain in the region started falling on Labor Day with a record 1.42 inches recorded in Minot. The old mark was a mere .52 inches. The month was well on its way to becoming the wettest in recorded history. Through Sept. 29 the total rainfall for the month See RAIN — Page 14

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A learning experience for women in agriculture

By ASHTON GERARD

Staff Writer agerard@minotdailynews.com

Jennifer Hubrig

Paige Brummund

United Community Bank and the North Dakota State University Extension service have teamed up to bring a program focused on educating women of all backgrounds to become better agribusiness managers and partners.

Women in Ag is a five-week course focused on five key areas of agribusiness that go into running and maintaining a day-to-day operation: Human Resources, Financial Risk, Insurance, Market Risk and Succession Planning.

“We have an ag-focused customer base and we really wanted to provide an opportunity,” said Jennifer Hubrig, United Community Bank Vice President — Marketing & Human Resources. “We find that women are very active in their role within the farm — whether they’re working off the farm and still assisting at home, whether they’re a stay at home and still assist-

ing at home or sometimes they’re a full-on partner or running the operation themselves.”

Hubrig adds that women bring a unique perspective to their operations and wanted to give them an opportunity to come together, learn from each other and pick up some new information on specific risk topics to become better and more effective managers.

In the 2017 Ag Census, the number of male farmers and ranchers fell 1.7% to 2.17 million from 2012 to 2017 while the number of female farmers and ranchers rose by nearly 27% to 1.23 million. Around 56% of all farms have at least one female decisionmaker.

According to Paige Brummund, NDSU Extension Agent, the extension service had held a class called Annie’s Project in the past.

“NDSU has done some women in ag programs in the past but it’s been about five years or so since we’ve had some attendance at them,” Brummund explained. “We partnered up to

revamp some of the curriculum and topic areas to offer this program to the community.”

The seminars offered through this new Women in Ag program follows similar topics to Annie’s Project but modified to better suit the needs of women in the area.

“I utilized some of the needs assessments that I’ve done with farm women over the past decade or so to see what they’re most interested in,” Brummund added.

The class is open to farm women of every knowledge level and involvement in their operation. Brummund explained they are targeting the midknowledge level to benefit everyone.

Another key factor to the program mentioned by both Brummund and Hubrig is networking.

“No matter the level of your involvement in agriculture, we want you to feel welcome to come to this program and meet other women in ag as well,” Brummund said.

See WOMEN — Page 14

Women in Ag Schedule

Women in Ag Social — Oct. 29, 6 p.m. at Off the Vine Human Resources — Nov. 7, 5:30 p.m. at North Central Research Center Market Risk — Nov. 13, 7:30 a.m. at Bearscat Bakery Financial Risk — Nov. 20, Noon at Buffalo Wings & Rings Farm Insurance — Dec. 3, 5:30 p.m. at The Tap Room Succession Planning — Dec. 7, 9:30 a.m. at The Foundry Individual courses: $30 each; Full program: $120 To register or learn more, contact Jen Hubrig at 420-5734 or jhubrig@ucbnd.com

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Rain

Continued from Page 12

recorded at the Minot International Airport was 7.49 inches, easily beating the old record of 6.11 inches set in 1971.

Rainfall for the year through Sept. 29, and it was raining again on the 30th, was 20.05 inches. While Sept. began with 2.62 inches below normal precipitation for the year, it was 4.24 inches over the 114 year average by the 30th.

“It’s a really tough time for a lot of farmers right now,” said Eriksmoen. “The year went backwards on us.

We could have used all this moisture back in May or June. It’s the other way around. It’s not good at all.”

Zeltinger said the historically wet September has also damped the spirits of many.

Rain gauges have shown as much as 10 inches of rain

has fallen in September in some areas.

“The farmers are pretty much down in the dumps,” said Zeltinger. “Soybeans, sunflowers and corn, the late crops, probably have a chance but that could end up being a disaster too.”

Eriksmoen estimated many fields in the Minot region needed a week or more of dry and sunny weather before farmers would be able to get into them with heavy equipment. Most of the soybeans, said Eriksmoen, should be maturing and, barring more rainfall, should be okay for harvest. Sunflowers and corn remain in the fields but are usually among the last crops to come off.

“The sunflowers and corn look pretty decent as long as we can stay away from real strong wind,” said Ericksmoen. “The sunflowers have great big heads on them this year. Big, bulky

heads in the wind just don’t stand up.”

The ground is so soggy in areas of Renville County that tall crops, sunflowers and corn, are vulnerable to high winds. There are already areas where plants have tipped over, their roots unable to hang onto excessively wet and muddy ground.

Some crops that were harvested before fields became entirely too wet to do so required the use of drying equipment, a process which increases costs for the producer.

“It’s a management issue,” stated Eriksmoen.

“How do you lose the least amount of money? Farmers want to provide a quality product to their buyers but they are doing it at a loss to their bottom line if they are drying. Some would be storing and hoping for a better market. That’s probably the right way to do it.”

Women

Continued from Page 14

Hubrig highlighted that one of the goals is for the women to walk away from the program with established friendships and relationships with people they can reach out to.

To make the experience less like a classroom, each seminar will be held in a different location around town, include a guest speaker that specializes in the topic for the day and have an activity for each session.

“We really wanted to highlight different businesses within Ward County and we also just wanted to provide an opportunity for women who are really busy in all different ways in their lives,” Hubrig said. “It’s not only to get the opportunity to learn, but to also come out, have some fun, enjoy the company of women in the same field that they are and enjoy themselves.”

The program includes Off the Vine, Bearscat Bakery, Buffalo Wings & Rings, The Tap Room, The Foundry and Pockets Full of Posies.

For the discussion on human resources, Christie Jaeger from Common Ground N.D. will lead a discussion on ag advocacy and sharing the value of agriculture with peers.

Kayla Burkhart with Dakota Midland Grain

OCTOBER 2019 will join the program for the Market Risk class to host a workshop and discussion on grain marketing. At that same session, Brummund will also touch on livestock marketing.

United Community Bank’s Todd Vangsness and Kyle Brossart will discuss preparing for loan and budget planning during the Financial Risk seminar. At the Farm Insurance seminar, Kurt Weninger with Drake Insurance will discuss the ins and outs of farm insurance.

“I have a little bit of a passion for the succession planning portion so that class I’m pretty excited to get people there and visit a little bit with them about transitioning the farm down,” Brummund said. Pam Andrist with the American Trust Center will be speaking during the class about understanding that succession planning is important at all stages.

Individual courses are $30 each while the entire program is $120. To register or learn more, contact Jen Hubrig at 420-5734 or jhubrig@ucbnd.com.

“If you are hesitant, we encourage you to maybe just sign up for the first (session), we have a social at the beginning.” Hubrig said. “I can just get you into the social so you can check out the other people that are involved, learn a little bit more about what the program will offer and you can see if you would be comfortable in that setting.”

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OCTOBER 2019

T h e wo rd o n

HEMP in Minot

North Dakota State University North Central Research Extension Center’s Eric Eriksmoen, research agronomist, examines a hemp plant in a plot at the research center south of Minot in late September.

Ashton Gerard/MDN

NDSU North Central Research Extension Center growing, studying hemp for CBD

By ASHTON GERARD

Staff Writer • agerard@minotdailynews.com Researching hemp in North Dakota has been something on North Dakota State University North Central Research Extension Center research agronomist Eric Eriksmoen’s radar for nearly 25 years — though hemp was only recently removed from the controlled substance list in the 2018 farm bill and is now an ordinary agricultural commodity.

Hemp is defined as cannabis containing less than 0.3% of THC. The North Central Research Center was contacted by a company to develop feminized seeds of hemp for CBD production.

History of hemp in North Dakota

“There were three of us at NDSU — one in Fargo, myself in Hettinger and the one in Carrignton — that went through the process, it was

a very rigorous background check with the FBI,” Eriksmoen explained. “That was the first steps in starting this hemp research program that we now have.”

Because hemp was a Schedule I controlled substance at the time, there were many conditions in place with the background checks in order to research the plant. The plot had to be surrounded by a 10-foot-high fence and in a well lit area and have alarm systems that went to the police station.

There also had to be buildings that were separate and locked with certain specifications to keep the hemp material.

“It was a very, very expensive process to do this and when we were talking about several acres of production, a 10-foot fence was just cost prohibiting,” Eriksmoen explained.

Five years ago, the North Dakota Legislature deregulated hemp and put the plant into an ex-

perimental phase to see if it would be a viable crop for the state. At that point, the Langdon Research Center was the designated hemp producer for NDSU. Langdon had been the only place in the state that hemp research was being done for the university.

“In this last farm bill, they deregulated hemp production all-together throughout the United States but it still is up to each individual state to determine what the regulations and rules (would be) and whether or not they even want to legalize it,” Eriksmoen explained.

Because North Dakota had deregulated the plant five years ago, the university is already five years ahead in knowledge of issues and how farmers will deal with hemp production.

Some states, like South Dakota, still have yet to legalize hemp.

See HEMP — Page 18

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Hemp

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Hemp purposes

“After 25 years I said ‘No, I probably won’t be doing hemp research,’” Eriksmoen said. “I was going to leave it to Langdon, but hemp is such a versatile crop; it’s used in so many different things.”

Hemp produces an edible oil and the seeds can be ground up and used for cooking. Hemp hearts. Can be purchased at the local grocery stores as a nutty flavored seed. Hemp fiber is used in a lot of different products and initially was used for rope during World War II. The fiber can also be used for paper and building material — making new industries for the crop.

“Then we get into the more medicinal things and those are areas that we’re just starting to really understand some of the benefits of hemp,” Eriksmoen explained. “Up to this point in time, there’s not been a lot of scientific studies done for the medicinal side of hemp.”

Due to the lack of research, claims cannot be made for medicinal hemp, or CBD, that it will prevent or cure different ailments.

CBD is produced from the plant itself, not the seed. The leaves are cut and processed for CBD oil extraction.

Having a plant in North Dakota is different for the region because the crops in North Dakota are grown for one specific use.

“This is a crop that has many, many uses,” Eriksmoen said. “Part of the problem right now is that we can produce the crop, we just don’t have any industries that are set up to (process the hemp).”

NDSU and CBD oil production

According to Eriksmoen, NDSU has been involved in seed production of hemp for a number of years. Their goal has been to find varieties that produce the most seed.

“A farmer will go out and plant a field of hemp and harvest the seed, which will then be typically ground for oil extraction,” Eriksmoen explained. “What we’re doing here at the North Central Research Center is looking at the CBD types and we’re working with a company that would like to have foundation seed or a seed industry in North Dakota.”

Part of the mission of the research centers throughout North Dakota is to produce high quality foundation seed. These are seeds farmers can buy to guarantee purity and quality. Currently, the North Central Research Center is working to develop CBD type hemp for North Dakota.

CBD hemp production in a horticultural crop, not a commodity like wheat, so farmers will not plant 100 acres of hemp and collect CBD. Hemp for CBD is a small-scale, 5 acres or less, operation and herbicides are not used for the crop.

Ashton Gerard/MDN

Research agronomist Eric Eriksmoen examines a female hemp plant that was chemically forced to produce pollen in Minot.

“The people that refine and buy the (CBD) products typically want organic, they don’t want pesticide use, they don’t want fertilizers applied to it, because that’s where that market is,” Eriksmoen. “In North Dakota, at this point in time, we don’t have any herbicides or pesticides that are registered for this crop so weed control is an issue.”

For the CBD hemp, methods of weed control are constrained to mowing, hand-weeding the crop, or using a plastic weed barrier — which can be expensive, time consuming and labor intensive.

For the NCRC’s weed control, Eriksmoen hired some high school kids and other individuals to mow the weeds, which he said has worked.

“For a farmer that wants to do this, they need to know that its a horticultural crop, small acreage, and I think there is a viable industry for the CBD types,” Eriksmoen said.

“What I envision is for a farm family…to have a 5-acre plot of CBD that they tend and basically harvest. That 5-acres would generate maybe $5,000 in profit, something to supplement the family farm.”

Eriksmoen stressed that hemp for CBD is not going to be a “silver bullet” to North Dakota’s farm economy.

The seeds alone for CBD hemp varieties are expensive to obtain. Only female hemp plants produce CBD, therefore all the seeds for CBD varieties need to be feminized.

See HEMP — Page 19

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OCTOBER 2019

Hemp

Continued from Page 18

“Those seeds are typically one or two dollars a piece,” Eriksmoen said. “You’re looking at maybe 15 or 20 thousand dollars in seed for a 5-acre plot.”

The risk is also extremely high because there is no crop insurance for CBD varieties of hemp. On the other hand, there is money to be made.

“To be able to produce your own seed is a different process and that’s the process that we go through,” Eriksmoen said. “The objective of my program here at the North Central is to produce feminized seed to sell to farmers.”

The female plants can be forced to produce pollen according to Eriksmoen that will cause the other female plants in the plot to produce feminized seeds.

“We’ve had some issues in the past with people buying seeds at $2 a piece and half of them are males. Well that’s a lot of money that is wasted,” Eriksmoen said.

The North Central Research Center is currently using a chemical hormone process to force some female plants to produce pollen and it has worked thus far. The hemp at the North Central Research Center will be harvested by the end of October.

PAGE 19

NDSU Extension offers fall cattle checklist Fall is the time when beef cattle producers make many management and labor decisions, including repairing cattle working facilities, moving cattle to fall grazing, assessing crop residue opportunities and wondering if winter feed supplies will be sufficient.

Producers have other issues they should consider this time of year as well, according to North Dakota State University Extension livestock specialists.

“Scheduling pregnancy checks for cows nursing calves provides a good opportunity to identify cows for market and to vaccinate calves preweaning,” says Karl Hoppe, Extension livestock systems specialist at NDSU’s Carrington Research Extension Center. “Pregnancy checking heifers provides the opportunity to market open females directly off pasture. If pregnancy rates are lower than expected, it is important to evaluate parameters such as the bullto-cow ratio, vaccination program and length of the breeding season.

“It is also important to factor in the age of open cows,” Hoppe adds. “If most of the open cows are young, there could be a nutritional issue affecting pregnancy rates.”

Assessing body condition score (BCS) in cows nursing calves also is a good management practice this time of year.

“Although rainfall and forage production were abundant in many areas of the state, declines in forage quality as plants mature can result in condition losses,” says Janna Block, Extension livestock systems specialist at NDSU’s Hettinger Research Extension Cen-

ter. “It is important to remember that for spring-calving herds, the cow is not only providing for the calf at her side, but also entering the second trimester of gestation with next year’s calf.

“Although nutrient requirements for the fetus at this time are low, critical developmental events such as muscle fiber and organ development are occurring,” Block notes. “Research indicates that severe nutrient deficiencies during this period could impact offspring birth and weaning weights, feedlot performance and even carcass quality.”

If cows are thin now, producers should consider weaning calves, particularly from first-calf heifers or old cows. A March-calving cow with a body condition score of less than 4 at weaning will have to gain approximately 1.5 pounds per day to achieve a recommended condition score of 5 at calving. Reducing the need for nutrients required for lactation is the most efficient way to put condition back on cows, the specialists say.

Bulls also need to be evaluated in the fall for foot, leg and penile injuries, and BCS, Hoppe says. Mature bulls should have minimal weight loss during the breeding season, while yearling bulls will lose some weight during the breeding season and would benefit from improved nutrition when removed from the breeding herd.

Another key component of fall herd management is an assessment of the risk of certain diseases, and the efficacy and safety of specific products such as vaccines.

“The preweaning vaccination pro-

tocol provides an ideal opportunity to follow up on springtime vaccinations and enhance the immune response to respiratory pathogens,” says Gerald Stokka, Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist.

Respiratory disease is one of the primary risks to weaned calves. The bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) is associated with the stress of weaning, diet change, transportation or movement to new surroundings, and often the commingling of different pasture groups on the same ranch. Enhancing the calves’ immunity to specific potential pathogens can decrease the risk of BRDC. Sorting and vaccinating calves while they still are nursing their dams reduces the stress of calf processing.

The infection risk is related to several viral and bacterial pathogens.

Depending on a veterinarian’s assessment of the risk to the herd, calves may need booster doses at weaning or they simply may be separated from their dams without additional vaccinations.

Modified live virus vaccines (MLV), often called five-way viral vaccines, that are labeled for use on nursing calves can provide excellent protection when properly handled and administered according to label instructions, Stokka says. Mannheimia haemolytica infections often are implicated in preand post-weaning respiratory disease cases, and vaccines against this pathogen commonly will be included, very often in combination with the MLV virus vaccines.

In specific herds, other bacterial

vaccines may be necessary, depending on herd history and risk.

“It is important to remember that killed/inactivated vaccines will usually require a booster dose to achieve an adequate level of protection,” Stokka says.

“Consult your veterinarian about specific products related to viral and bacterial vaccines.”

Other health risks to calves include: Clostridial diseases, commonly called “blackleg” — The risk of this infection is difficult to assess; however, the organism that causes these diseases lives in the soil and can cause severe illness and death in susceptible animals. A second vaccine dose administered at this time will enhance protection against this family of pathogens.

Internal parasites if cattle are on grass — Calves with internal parasites will have reduced feed/forage intake, resulting in reduced weaning weights.

Internal parasites also can have a negative impact on the calves’ ability to respond to vaccination. If dewormer products are used at preweaning, calves should be moved to clean pastures to avoid re-infection.

External parasites such as horn and face flies — These populations have decreased dramatically and treatment for them no longer is necessary. Treatment for biting and sucking lice is not recommended at this time. The feeding activity of lice will increase with colder weather, so hold off on treatments until signs of lice appear.

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