Agriculture Magazine March 2012

MARCH

2012

M A G A Z I N E

In this issue

Disappearing farmland mob grazing caring for goats and more

Page 2 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

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Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 3

Photo courtesy of the Ravalli County Museum

This photo, from the Ernst Peterson Collection, is of a “beaver slide”, a mechanism for stacking hay, in the Big Hole Valley in the 1950’s.

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Page 4 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

in this issue

Raising Sheep in the Bitterroot.................... 5 Dissappearing Farmland............................... 7 Never Sweat Ranch........................................ 9 Victor School Greenhouse.......................... 12 Mob Grazing................................................ 14 Sprinkler Irrigation....................................... 16 Dirty Fingernails........................................... 18 Caring for Goats.......................................... 20 Noxious Weeds & Herbicides.................... 24 Agriculture Heritage Notebook................. 25 Plant Immune Systems................................ 26

MAGAZINE How did you like this issue of Agriculture Magazine?

Do you have any ideas you’d like to share with us for our next issue?

Let us know. Sent comments to: 232 West Main, Hamilton, MT 59840 or editor@ravallirepublic.com Photos on this page: Wendy Beye, NRCS, Ravalli Republic, Perry Backus Cover Photo by Perry Backus Agriculture Magazine is published by the Ravalli Republic & Missoulian Newspapers, divisions of Lee Enterprises Jim McGowan, Ravalli Republic & Missoulian Publisher Sherry Devlin, Editor Jodi Lopez & Dara Saltzman, Production & Design Agriculture Magazine is copyright 2012, Ravalli Republic/Missoulian.

232 W Main, Hamilton, MT 59840 ravallirepublic.com

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 5

S

Photo by Stacie Duce

Ellingson runs 200 head of sheep on 500 leased acres between Hamilton and Darby

Raising Story by STACIE DUCE

heep in the Bitterroot

HAMILTON – It was a mid-life crisis that turned Jim Ellingson from a career in custom home building to sheepherding, but he couldn’t be more grateful.

“Some guys get a blonde and a convertible when they go through a mid-life crisis,” he said. “I had my blonde and no need for a convertible – but a fourwheeler, well, maybe.”

He said he was burned out on the building industry and felt he needed “more elbow room” and flexibility in his life. He found a partner, leased 500 acres from the Urquhart family on Old Darby Road and fully intended to follow in their footsteps of raising Angus.

“But my partner backed out and spring was coming,” he said. “We looked around at our options and

my son bought 20 head of sheep. I didn’t really know much about it and thought I knew more than I did after occasionally feeding bottle-baby lambs as a kid.”

Seventeen years later, the Ellingson sheep herd has grown to 200 and Jim admits, “I’m really glad I did it, but it has nothing to do with financial gains. The best part has been getting close to the earth and understanding life a little better. I really think it would do anybody some good to run sheep for a year or two and go through all the experiences of the seasons.”

Ellingson’s kitchen table is typical of many Montanans. Strewn about are piles of bills, maps, a few Bibles and a pistol snapped in its leather case – handy when mountain lions or coyotes come courting again.

“I always thought I understood the Bible,” said Ellingson. “But until I raised sheep, I didn’t understand it at all. For me, the 23rd Psalm got a whole lot bigger.

Page 6 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

And anytime I read about shepherds and flocks, it just has so much more meaning. Most read about ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ and think of mad people crying, but now I think about sheep. Did you know that sheep don’t complain and they really don’t make noise at all. But if you find a sheep grinding it’s teeth and shedding a tear, that’s a sure sign that they’re about to die.”

Life and death. The cycles of the season. Our dependency on the elements. The interdependence that each blade of grass has on rain and sunshine. Each is a theme that expounds in Ellingson’s mind as he works in all kinds of weather.

“We live in this world and it’s so fragile,” he said. “And yet it’s wondrous in that it repairs itself so quickly. Being out here, I’m cued into the fragility and resiliency of the earth a lot more.”

His philosophical side helps Jim cope with the reality of the international commodity markets and rising costs of doing business.

“If I would have understood the commodities when I started and realized that everything is sold based on a break-even price, I never would have done it,” he said.

“That’s why it’s so hard to be a farmer.”

at 138 pounds. But by crossing his Merino breed that produces fine wool with Targhees and Ramboulees, Ellingson is producing nice mill wool on large carcasses that top out at 195 pounds.

The result?

“A magnificent rack of lamb on a cruise ship’s banquet table,” Ellingson said. “Now top restaurant chefs and cruise ship chefs are specifically requesting American lamb and that’s a real plus for the industry.”

The wool sheared from Ellingson’s sheep is sold to a business in Billings that then sells on consignment.

“Our wool is fine enough to be sent to Italy for suits and dresses,” he said.

Jim and his wife Edie tried their hand at producing wool products and had some historic replicas of Lewis and Clark’s sleeping bags made in time for the sesquicentennial celebrations a few years back.

“We sold a couple hundred to re-enactors and collectors but kind of saturated the market,” he said.

His home showcases treasures like incredibly soft wool hides, a coyote and wolf hide to represent his prevalent foes as well as a set of horns from one of his rams that curl and spread 39 inches from tip to tip. He also has a collection of pottery and carpentry projects that keep him busy during the While Ellingson used to down time. have a bigger herd, he cut “Last year we had a small back because of higher female mountain lion who Photo by Stacie Duce prices for corn, hay, diesel killed eight, wounded eight Jim Ellingson entered the world of agriculture about fuel and fertilizer. But this year,17 years ago after a self-proclaimed mid-life crisis and didn’t eat a thing,” he the selling price for lamb has prompted him leave the building industry and find some said. “I lost three rams and never been higher. thousands of dollars for nothelbow room by raising sheep on Old Darby Road.

“It would be great if I had ing.” Coyotes are common, more to sell,” he said. “In the world market our dollar is but wolves were sighted across the river from his herd so weak. It may look like we’re making money from our on two separate occasions almost a month apart. sheltered point of view but in reality costs are higher “There’s always a challenge. It’s a roller coaster,” he than they’ve ever been so by the time you’re done, you said. “I’ve learned to wake up every day without a solid realize it’s still a commodity with break-even pricing.” plan because I never know what I’m going to have to The world market does affect Ellingson’s rural herd face out there. It’s tough but it’s so worth it.” in that most lambs sold for meat used to come from New Zealand and Australia and typically topped out

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 7

Disappearing armland

F

PERRY BACKUS - Ravalli Republic

A herd of elk graze Thursday on the 67-acres just off Skalkaho Road under consideration for development as the Grantsdale Subdivision.

LAURA LUNDQUIST Ravalli Republic

Agricultural land is a vanishing commodity in the Bitterroot Valley and other popular areas of Montana. But as more people appreciate the benefits

of locally-grown crops, one group is trying to help counties retain the cropland they still have.

The Ag Land Network of Montana is offering an ag-focused webinar series, the first of many planned opportunities for farmers and ranchers to interact and share ideas on how to save and promote their land and livelihoods.

The network, organized last fall, is a statewide collaborative of Montanans who care about their community’s legacy of working farms and ranches.

Webinars are web-based seminars that participants can stream on their computers. Such technology allows people in even the most remote corners of Montana to be able to join in as long as they have a computer connection.

In a state as big as Montana, that kind of reach is essential.

Organizer Paul Hubbard said the choice of webinar subjects were determined by a poll sent out to about 50 farmers and ranchers across the state who were the first to get involved with the network.

“We surveyed 40 of them and asked, ‘What is the main challenge to preserving farming in your community?’” Hubbard said. “We wanted to find out what would be useful for them.”

The first webinar on Feb. 29 was sort of an orientation, providing an overview of the Ag Land Network and highlighting the comments that farmers included in their poll responses.

The subsequent webinars of this series are on March 14 and March 28. The topics include an overview of the tools available to build public support for farming, and a census of policies from different counties that help maintain working farms and ranches.

Hubbard said he hadn’t heard of many states doing things to protect agricultural land so once again, the independent spirit of Montana may be breaking new ground.

The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation was the first of the few such organizations back in 1977 and has the benefit of being part of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Over the past 30 years, it’s permanently protected more than 280,000 acres on 2,100 farms.

It will be a while before the Ag Land Network of Montana can pull off something like that and it’s not likely it will be incorporated into the state government.

Page 8 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

“We need this to be a grassroots effort across the state so we’d welcome anyone,” Hubbard said. “We’re learning the ropes from one another so the more experience we have from people, the better.”

Hubbard said the need is already dire and it’s growing. The statistics he had ready at his fingertips included the 30,000 acres of farmland lost in Missoula County since 1986.

“That’s the same as three football fields a day lost to development,” Hubbard said. “And it’s even higher in Gallatin County. When the land produced export crops, that’s a loss of value and livelihoods.”

Hubbard hopes that grassroots groundswell will burgeon this year because the state Legislature hasn’t been all that helpful to those hoping to preserve farmland.

So ag voices need to gain strength before the next Legislature meets, Hubbard said.

“House Bill 542 would have stripped away the rights of a local community to consider the impacts a new subdivision has on agriculture, which it’s been able to do since 1975,” Hubbard said. “We won that and now that we have the right to plan at the local level, let’s do it.”

Hubbard said the bill backers will probably come back with the same bill in 2013 so the group is trying to gather its collective knowledge now. He said most of

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the impetus for the network is coming from state farmers and ranchers.

The concept isn’t new to those in Ravalli County, particularly those associated with the county Right to Farm and Ranch Board. In 2006, it helped county residents vote in an open lands bond program to conserve valley farmland.

Former board chairman and dairy owner Dan Huls said he received an invitation to join the Ag Land Network but hadn’t had the time to check into it yet.

“I’m waiting until I can learn more,” Huls said. “It sounds like it fits with our Open Lands concept.”

Hubbard wants knowledgeable farmers such as Huls to become part of the statewide brain trust of the network because they’ve already figured out what works best within each county and know the needs of the community.

“We aren’t against development,” Hubbard said.

“We just want to do it in a way that helps maintain farms and ranches.”

To sign up for webinars or for more information, go to http://missoulacfac.org/aglandnetwork.html or contact Paul Hubbard at 721-0543.

Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at 363-3300 or laura.lundquist@ravallirepublic.com.

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 9

The Lee family has owned the Never Sweat Ranch for 30 years; although the historic name is not indicative of Cody Lee’s work ethic to manage current operations.

Never Sweat STACIE DUCE

for the

Ravalli Republic

HAMILTON – On the first stormy night since calving began in early February, Cody Lee said he didn’t get much sleep. At 28 years old, he’s taken

over the family ranch that’s nestled at the base of Ward Mountain south of Hamilton and possesses a long-time Bitterroot legacy.

His father, Darrell Lee, bought the “Never Sweat Ranch” a few years before Cody was born and many

Ranch

of the historic outbuildings are still intact, including a solidly-built, octagon-shaped wooden grainery that is now only home to a tree that reaches up to the sky where a roof once was.

Cody said an old road to Darby west of the Bitterroot River used to go through their front pasture and was a stopping point for travelers during the Marcus Daly era. He said legend has it that in the 1950s, the owner of the ranch kept the place looking nice even though he appeared to work little. So as a

Page 10 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

joke, someone posted a hand-painted sign along the road in the pasture that read, “Never Sweat Ranch.“ “The name stuck,” said Cody with a laugh although it doesn’t reflect his work ethic nor the hours he logs during calving and haying seasons.

He and Joe Bohlander, a neighbor from down the road, are about the same age and run the ranch together.

Four years ago Cody came back from college and a job working in the lumber industry and has been committed to the ranch’s success.

“I’ll give it a few more years and if things go right which I hope they do,” he said, “then I’ll stick it out and keep the ranch managed in the family.“ This year was poised to be the best yet for their Angus herd, but tragedy struck a significant portion of their bred cows.

“It should have been the best but might be our worst because oneCody Lee; left and Joe Bohlander work together to manage the Never Sweat Ranch third of our herd grazed on lupine and their calves are coming out dead south of Hamilton.

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Cody and Joe are nursing a calf that has been afflicted by Crooked Calf Syndrome; a birth defect caused when her mother grazed on purple lupine during a critical developmental stage of gestation leaving her neck twisted and her front legs malformed.

or deformed. I’ve been really curious to know if other ranches are having the same problems,” he said.

Cody consulted with local veterinarians and learned that if pregnant cows feed on fields infested with lupine specifically between 40 to 70 days gestation, then their calves are at risk for death or deformation.

The USDA has dubbed it “Lupine-induced Crooked Calf Syndrome” which results in skeletal malformations including a twisted spine, neck and one or both forelimbs.

Last year’s wet spring provided the perfect conditions for lush lupine.

“Everything was covered in purple lupine last year,” said Cody. “The mountain sides, the road sides had flowers blooming everywhere. It’s a pretty flower but my opinion is that it’s the worst weed that’s ever walked because it’s killing animals. The problem really deserves some awareness.“ Cody’s stepmother, Sherry Lee, currently sits on the Ravalli County Weed Board, and he hopes their experience during calving season helps put lupine control higher on the noxious weed list and as a topic of conversation.

Only his cows that grazed on land in the Skalkaho drainage where lupine was rampant have had problems calving, Cody said. “So that’s how we figured the problem but hopefully our March calves were exposed late enough in gestation to not have any more loss.”

Of his 200 head of cattle, about 60 were exposed to lupine at the wrong time and half of those have deliv-

ered resulting in 13 calves dead and five or six who survived but have deformed front legs. One calf was brought into a hay-filled kennel in the shop where Joe built wooden braces for her deformed legs. She can stand with assistance and mews contently even though her neck sways far to one side. Cody and Joe hope to nurse her to health enough to give her to someone who would appreciate and care for the calf.

They’ve also garnered hope from another calf with the eartag numbered “54” who was born six months premature.

“He shouldn’t have even been born yet,” said Cody.

“He came with so many wrinkles that we named him Riggles.“ Riggles spent two weeks in the shop being bottlefed and then two weeks in a field wearing a jacket until he bulked enough to brave the weather.

“Now, he’s one of the best calves on the ranch,” Cody and Joe both agreed.

“But he’s like a pet now and as smart as a dog,” said Cody. “He’ll climb into your car if you let him and he’ll actually sit and stay on command. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen one born like that and make it. Now, he’s probably the nicest looking calf out there.“ With the mild winter, half of his calves born and his birthing problems defined, Cody hopes the rest of the season goes forward without a hitch.

“It’s been good to keep the ranch in the family and we really enjoy the work,” he said.

Page 12 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

WHITNEY BERMES - Ravalli Republic

Josie Lewis, left, and Amanda Corder work on cleaning up at plant in the greenhouse behind Victor School. The eighth graders are taking part in the school’s agriculture program, which is in its first year.

Victor School WHITNEY BERMES Ravalli Republic

VICTOR – It was an unseasonably warm latewinter day in Victor, the kind that gets you excited for spring, the kind that is perfect for working in a greenhouse.

That’s exactly what a class of Victor eighth-graders was doing.

The dozen or so students buzzed around the greenhouse behind Victor School; some tended to seedlings; a few sorted through and cleaned up piles of donated pots; others measured the outside of the greenhouse to learn its dimensions for a scale drawing.

It was hands-on learning at its finest.

And just a year prior to that, those opportunities

Greenhouse

didn’t exist.

That eighth grade class is part of Victor School’s new agriculture program, which planted its roots at the beginning of this school year.

The program is for seventh-graders through seniors and boasts about 50 kids this year.

So far, the classes have been exploratory, explained Kristy Rothe, agriculture teacher. Next year’s curriculum, however, is more specific: Agriculture I, Agriculture II, advanced animal science and veterinary technician, food science, horticulture and wildlife management, and agriculture leadership.

“It’s very busy to start a program and write all the curriculum,” said Rothe, who is in her first year of teaching at Victor.

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 13

But she has received a lot of help.

“There’s just been an outpouring of support from everything,” she said. That includes the school students and staff as well as the community, she said.

The addition of an agriculture program in Victor has been a perfect fit, Rothe said. It offers a range of classes that aren’t just for kids who grew up on farms and ranches.

“Agriculture can fit in any community, urban or rural,” she said. “It can really be tailored to meet the needs of students.

“Ag isn’t just farming any more.”

Part of the new agriculture program is a new chapter of Future Farmers of America. Victor’s group has about 50 students in its inaugural year.

“We’ve done really, really well,” Rothe reported.

“My kids are really smart and motivated.”

The group has traveled around Montana for five competitions so far and had more lined up for the rest of winter and spring.

And with two existing chapters in the Bitterroot already – Darby’s second-year program and the longstanding Stevensville group – Rothe said she has received a lot of help from those clubs as well.

“I really get both perspectives,” she said.

For Rothe, who is a transplant from Osh Kosh, Wis., making the transition from a school with over 1,800 students to Victor’s K-12 population of 345 has been a great experience.

“You really get to know your kids,” said Rothe, whose average class size is 10 students.

The greenhouse, which was given to the agriculture program in the fall, was filled with tubes holding seeds of native grasses, stacks of pots and other items that had been donated to the program throughout the winter.

“We’re figuring out what we can use so we don’t have to buy so much,” Rothe said.

Later on in the spring, the kids will be planting veg-

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etable seeds and sell those along with the plants to raise money. They will also donate plants to the Victor community garden.

Josie Lewis and Amanda Corder worked together cleaning up a potted plant and watering rows of tubes filled with seeds.

Corder sang the praises of getting away from textbooks and into the greenhouse.

“It’s all been fun,” Corder said. “You’re always doing something hands on.”

And for Lewis, who is also on the FFA team, traveling around the state to compete has been a blast.

“We get to go to new places and meet new people,” Lewis said.

Reach reporter Whitney Bermes at 363-3300 or whitney.bermes@ravallirepublic.com.

WHITNEY BERMES - Ravalli Republic

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Page 14 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

Mob

G Is that Legal? razing

By STACY PEASE

If you would have approached me a month ago and asked me what I thought of “mob grazing,” I probably would have suggested we call law enforcement. After attending a workshop in Missoula

last month on Irrigated Pasture Management, I have a new perspective on high intensity grazing and what sort of benefits it may hold for producers in our valley.

“Mob grazing” (something I like to call intensive grazing on steroids) is a very intensive rotational grazing system with extremely high stocking densities.

Cattle are on a short duration rotation in small paddocks using electric fence.

You may be wondering why a rancher would want to mess around with “mob grazing.” Greg Judy, a Missouri cattleman, explains it well in the Pharo Cattle Company Newsletter (May/June 2007) when he says, “The results have been mind boggling! We have already increased annual forage production by close

Submitted Photo

to 400 percent. The grass roots are deeper, thicker and healthier.”

I’m sure your reaction to this statement is similar to what mine was; my first reaction was disbelief and my second reaction was, yeah, that may work in Missouri, but it will never work in Montana.

Since that time, I have learned of at least five ranches in Montana that are using mob grazing and having very impressive results. I was even able to tour one of the ranches that utilizes mob grazing right here in Ravalli County.

The same Pharo Cattle Company Newsletter contained an interview with a rancher from south-central Montana who has been implementing mob grazing.

Zach Jones, a Montana rancher, wanted to increase the profitability of the ranch by decreasing the dependency on fossil fuel technology and increasing stocking rates and stock densities. Through utilization of mob grazing, Jones was able to run his heifer calves out on grass year-round, eliminate the need to hire extra help,

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 15

and he was able to start liquidating haying equipment.

Since implementing mob grazing, he has been able to increase production by 126 percent animal days (2.3 times as many cattle). He has also been able to do this with 50 percent of the original labor force.

Within the current market, most ranches are not profitable every year, and with input costs near an all time high, many ranch families are forced to subsidize their income with in-town jobs. The mob grazing technique ultimately increases forage production and reduces the need for hay. This results in a significant decline in input costs for fuel, equipment and labor.

The fundamentals behind mob grazing are that livestock raised on perennial pasture can be the most efficient form of agricultural production. Grazing livestock can capture the maximum amount of free energy from the sun and can minimize input costs derived from oil and iron. Easily stated, livestock are the “ultimate combine” for harvesting stored solar energy. Mob grazing seeks to mimic natural herbivore patterns by forcing cattle to form large herds, which results in: elimination of selective grazing; short, intense grazing periods followed by long periods of rest; even utilization of forage; even distribution of urine and dung; and, a significant amount of carbon trampled into the soil surface, thus feeding soil biology.

It has been said that stock density is the most powerful tool livestock producers can use. The realized benefits of mob grazing are: an increase in forage supply; improved nutrient cycling; increase in water infiltration; better livestock nutrition and reduced parasite loads; a reduction in weed infestations; and, a reduction in the amount of mechanically harvested forage and nitrogen-based fertilizers.

The implementation of a mob grazing type of rotation can seem time-consuming and even intimidating in the beginning. NRCS specialists are available to offer technical assistance in the design and implementation of grazing systems. One of the great features of this type of grazing system is the flexibility. Many producers who have shifted to mob grazing started out using the system on a small, trial size pasture to determine if the benefits would warrant the change in management. If you are interested in learning more about grazing systems and how they may benefit your livestock operation, contact the NRCS Hamilton Field Office for assistance.

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Page 16 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

Shifting from Flood to prinkler Irrigation S

By STACY PEASE

We’ve all been noticing that irrigation in the valley has been shifting from the traditional flood irrigation to irrigation with sprinkler systems. If you

are one of the agricultural producers still using flood, you may be wondering why folks are going through the effort of switching irrigation methods.

Conversion from flood to sprinkler irrigation provides many benefits to farming operations including savings in water, energy and labor. With the conversion to sprinkler irrigation, producers are able to cover more ground more uniformly, which increases the overall efficiency of their operation. In most situations, conversion from flood to sprinkler irrigation will result in an increase in crop yields. In addition, land that was once used for ditches can be converted into productive

Submitted Photo

cropland.

Perhaps the greatest benefit to farmers improving irrigation systems is the increase in total irrigation efficiency. Irrigation efficiency can be described as the ratio of net volume of water beneficially used by the crops to the volume of water applied to the crops.

Irrigation efficiencies can vary greatly depending on many climatic and geologic factors such as wind, soil type, solar influences and precipitation. However, the delivery system used can have a significant effect on irrigation efficiency and it is one factor that producers can control.

Irrigation efficiencies reported for flood irrigation systems range from 45 percent to 60 percent, while sprinkler irrigation efficiencies range from 65 percent to 80 percent. In most case studies, average irrigation efficiencies increase from approximately 50 percent

to 70 percent after converting from flood to sprinkler irrigation. Depending on the site characteristics, flood irrigation can result in inefficiencies such as waterlogging or deep drainage.

Waterlogging can cause plants to shut down, delaying further growth until the excess water drains from the root zone. Deep drainage can occur with floodinduced over-irrigation. This causes the water to move below the root zone, resulting in rising water tables. In regions with naturally occurring saline soils, these rising water tables may bring salt up into the root zone leading to problems of irrigation salinity.

Another important factor to consider when deciding whether to make the change from flood irrigation to sprinklers is labor savings. Sprinkler systems have been shown to save significantly on labor as opposed to flood irrigation. Recent analysis indicate labor costs may be reduced by close to 90 percent with new pivots that incorporate modern automation equipment.

Flood irrigation requires more labor and attention on a daily basis as irrigators must regularly move dams throughout the day to ensure adequate water cover and avoid ponding. When dam movement is not done at adequate intervals, excess water can cause leaching and erosion, which results in a loss of topsoil and nutrients.

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 17

Even under the best water movement with flood irrigation, excessive leaching of soil nutrients can still be an issue. Leaching of soil nutrients can require additional fertilization which results in an increase in costs for fertilizers, equipment, fuel and labor. Sprinkler systems can save producers time and money, as most sprinkler systems require relocation only every 12 hours. In addition, because sprinklers provide more uniform and consistent water cover, soil erosion and nutrient loss are minimal, which results in both labor and input savings.

Sprinkler systems can offer many economic and environmental benefits over flood systems. The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides technical assistance to agricultural producers considering irrigation improvements. NRCS also has a program called the Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP) that provides cost-share funds to producers converting from flood to sprinkler irrigation. If you are considering installation of a sprinkler system and would like assistance, contact the NRCS Hamilton Field Office at (406) 363-5010.

Stacy Pease is a soil conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, and writes from Hamilton.

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Page 18 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

Dirty by

Molly Hackett

Fingernails

Some plants have evolved spines and sharpedged leaves to keep animals from eating them.

Cactus, of course, is the prime example of a spiny defense. Some plants even produce chemicals which make animals sick; grazing creatures may eat on the plant once but won’t come back and eat it into the ground. For example, the acid crystals in rhubarb leaves cause sore tongues on browsing mammals; deer, elk, or cattle will choose another variety of plant for lunch.

Plants which protect themselves from animals are common knowledge. But plants protecting themselves from other plants? Yes, indeed. Plants which defend their space by generating chemical competition may have been noticed as far back as the first farmers.

Plants competition was certainly well documented in writings from the ancient Roman Empire. However, the specific study of plant toxins which attack other plants is very recent.

There is a modern name usually used for a plant toxin which attacks other plants; that name is allelopath. The term, which means something like “the

neighbors get sick,” was coined by a German plant physiologist in 1937. Widespread study of allelopaths is much more recent. There is still much more unknown than understood about the process, but its importance to every gardener gradually becomes more clear.

Everyone who has close acquaintance with a black walnut tree knows that it can kill plants growing in its shade. Black walnuts produce an allelopathic chemical compound. The allelopath is known as juglone, from the botanical name for walnut trees, juglans. That name, in turn, is a translation of the Latin for “king of the nuts.” So the king of nut trees not only grows large and delicious nuts, it also maintains its place in the landscape by killing off the competition.

The black walnut allelopath is secreted from the leaves and branches; it reaches other plants when the leaves fall and water leaches the toxin into the soil.

Imagine the dismay of an innocent gardener who rakes up fallen black walnut leaves and uses them as mulch.

Instead of spreading a growth-enhancing mulch on his garden, he has spread a mulch laced with herbicide.

Allelopaths affect plants in different ways. One chemical may prevent seed germination; another

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 19

may slow down photosynthesis; still another may limit a plant’s ability to take in water and nutrients. All plants are not equally affected. With black walnuts, for instance, an azalea planted nearby will die quickly. A lilac makes a good companion for a black walnut, since the lilac is unhurt by the walnut’s toxin.

All kinds of plants are known to produce allelopaths—trees, shrubs, grasses, perennials, annuals, vegetables, ferns. We are only beginning to learn about some of them. Not many years back, agricultural researchers discovered that old broccoli plants could be chopped up and spread on garden paths to keep down weeds. They didn’t know why. More recent study has shown that harvested broccoli plants produce an allelopath. This chemical stops the growth of other plants related to the cabbage family, although it doesn’t harm different kinds of plants.

Bird lovers who feed sunflower seeds through the winter often see drifts of sunflower plants the next summer, in the area where the bird feeders hung. They may also notice a scarcity of other plants around the feeders. What is going on? An allelopath, of course. The hulls of the sunflower seeds contain a toxin; it lets the sunflower seeds germinate but prevents many other kinds of seeds from growing.

But why doesn’t the toxin create bare ground around every bird feeder? For one thing, the sunflower allelopath affects only some kinds of plants, not all of them. Also, the toxin is only in the seed hulls. If the hulls are not allowed to pile several inches deep under the feeder, not enough toxin remains to kill plants. The rain and snow of winter dilute the remaining toxin and spread it harmlessly through the soil. The microbes in the soil quickly gobble up the toxin and turn it to their advantage.

What is a gardener to do when there are unknown allelopaths all around? The solution is the same as with most gardening problems: take care of the soil. If garden soil is well drained, toxins move quickly down through it and away from plant roots. If soil has a rea-

sonable organic content, it will be full of allelopatheating microbes. If soil is moist, its water content will continually interact with allelopaths, breaking down and diluting the chemicals.

Make and use compost. Allelopaths break down in a compost pile; aged compost will not contain their toxins.

Healthy soil means healthy plants. Not surprisingly, stressed plants are more damaged by allelopathic toxins. Keeping plants stress-free lets them compete with stray allelopaths. In an interesting twist, allelopaths can be used to benefit gardens. Knowledge of an allelopath permits its use as a weed killer. Corn gluten meal is a good example. Not many years ago researchers discovered that corn gluten contains allelopaths which prevent seeds from germinating. Now corn gluten meal is commercially available every spring, sold as a pre-emergent herbicide. If sprinkled on the ground just before weed seeds would start growing, the meal stops them in their tracks. Since corn gluten meal is also high in nitrogen, it fertilizes existing plants at the same time.

Some desirable plants contain allelopaths which keep unwanted plants away. Allelopaths have been discovered in several grasses, for example. Why does lawn grass seed usually have a high percentage of Kentucky bluegrass? One reason is that it kills weeds; the grass by itself contributes to a weed-free lawn. Of course, the bluegrass allelopath is defeated by the dandelion allelopath, which clears its own space in the middle of that same lawn.

Where stands of native grasses along a roadside are reasonably weed free, it is safe to assume that grass allelopaths are at work. Power companies take advantage of these toxin-producing grasses. Seeded in the cleared space under power lines, the grasses keep the right of way clear by preventing the invasion of brush and large weeds.

Stay tuned. There is still so much to learn about allelopaths, and research about them proceeds apace.

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Page 20 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

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C

aring for Goats

Story

by

LINDA KAUFFMAN

STEVENSVILLE – Goats seem to be one of the latest fads to hit the Bitterroot Valley and as a veterinarian I would like to comment on this as well as give prospective goat owners some things to think about prior to making the commitment to owning one of these animals.

The first question to ask yourself is “What is my goal in owning this animal?”

Are you interested in a pet, 4-H project, weed eater, meat animal , dairy animal or maybe a pack animal for

trips into our surrounding mountains? Maybe you are working on a sustainable lifestyle and goats can provide meat, milk and fiber in a much smaller package than other ruminants such as cattle.

If you are unsure why you want the animal it would be best to reconsider, even if the animal is free.

Animals of any size or shape require commitment on the part of the owner or the results can be disastrous for the animal.

Once you’ve decided why you are gaining your new acquisition, you need to consider what will be involved in having the animal on your property including necessary facilities: fencing, housing, access to water and

protection from predators.

Where will you get the hay or feed for your animal?

Goats are browsers, meaning they prefer shrubs and weeds over pasture grass. Do you have enough for them to browse through the summer or will you need to feed hay year round?

Goats can be escape artists. Do you have the proper fencing to keep them in?

Do you need to re-enforce what you have with electric fence? Where is your property located? Do you need to make modifications so that your animals are not easy prey to mountain lions and wolves? (Yes, this IS NOW and has been an important reality in the Bitterroot Valley.)

People who are serious about becoming goat owners at any level should be serious about doing their homework by researching information on goats.

One source of information that is local and easily accessed is current goat owners; HOWEVER, I have seen some serious problems arise from well-meaning goat owners giving advice to new owners.

Even if you are being given a goat or rescuing a goat from a bad environment, do your homework!

First and foremost, connect with a veterinarian who

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 21

is at least willing to work with goats. Do this immediately, not when you have reached the point of calling GOAT 911!

A website highly recommended by Washington State University small ruminant specialist Dr. Steve Parish is www.sheepandgoat.com., created by the University of Maryland. Washington State School of Veterinary Medicine also has a good website - www. smallfarms.wsu.edu/animals/goats - that can connect you with many other helpful sites relating to all aspects of goats and their care.

A third site I found to be helpful is from the University of Kentucky: www.uky.edu/ag/animalscience/ goat.

Once you have decided why you want to get a goat, researched the breed you are looking for and goats in general, and are prepared to have a goat on your property, then you are ready to find the right animal.

Again, research - especially from references given to you by the breeder or goat owner - would be ideal.

Many larger breeders have websites (the Washington State small farms website lists several breeders as sources of information regarding goats in general, as well as listing some specific breeders).

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Page 22 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

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tuberculosis.

Another fairly common chronic disease in goats is Johnes disease that causes a severe, debilitating diarrhea.

These diseases are not uncommon across the country, difficult to treat and can be devastating to a goat herd, so do your research!

As a goat owner you also need to be aware of a bacteria called coxiella burnetti that can infect humans and causes a disease called ‘Q Fever.’

Sheep, goats and cattle are the most common reservoirs for the disease.

A good thing to remember whether you are buying a car or an animal is “let the buyer beware.” Find a reliable, reputable source for your new animal.

I would like to add some other general comments.

Be aware that goats can carry several chronic debilitating diseases and show no outward symptoms. This can be a real problem if you are hoping to develop a herd and need to optimize production of meat, milk or fiber.

It is wise to test any animal you bring to your property for CAE (Caprine Arthritis and Encephalitis), CL (Caseous Lymphadenitis), brucellosis, and possibly

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Infected animals shed the bacteria in their birth products, milk, urine and feces. Humans typically become infected through inhalation of contaminated aerosols and dust.

In 2011, 15 cases of human acute Q Fever were reported in Montana. One outbreak was associated with interstate shipment of infected goats from the state of Washington.

Some human cases required hospitalization; however, no deaths were reported. You can read more at http://cdc.gov/qfever.

Once you have acquired your new goat(s), it is important that you are aware of their normal behavior.

While this may sound silly, it is not - if you don’t know the normal behavior you will not be able to recognize the abnormal behavior that is often an early sign of illness.

At least one of the websites noted earlier lists and describes normal behavior in goats. You should also discuss this with an experienced goat owner or your veterinarian.

The feeding of goats is a topic for another day, but do your research and remember you CAN “kill them with kindness” - a fat goat is not a healthy goat.

Also, remember that our valley soil is deficient in many minerals and this affects how and what you need to provide for minerals and salt.

Please consult with your veterinarian for recommendations regarding vaccinations and deworming.

Times are changing and parasites are becoming resistant to many if not all of our existing deworming products. This fact is affecting how and when we deworm, and many veterinarians have adopted new protocols.

GOOD LUCK and have fun with one of my favorite small ruminants!

Linda Kauffman, DVM, owns and operates the Burnt Fork Veterinary Clinic in Stevensville.

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Page 24 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

Noxoius Weeds & erbicides

By LAURA TACKES

H

Noxious and invasive weeds can cause serious problems on Montana pastures and fields. Her-

bicides can be effective at controlling these weeds and helping to protect our state’s agriculture, the biological diversity of its rangelands, forests and wildlife. As a result, though, some of these herbicides can be unintentionally present in mulch, soil, grass hay or manure.

While modern herbicides break down naturally over time, their presence in material used as soil amendments (grass clippings, mulch, manure, etc.) can pose concerns for sensitive plants, including some species of garden vegetables and ornamentals. Consequently, it’s essential for users of herbicides to read and follow the label (misuse is a violation of federal law), and before obtaining soil amendments you should ask questions about where they came from and their potential to have been derived from material treated with herbicides.

Some herbicides, when present on treated vegetation, can pass through an animal’s digestive tract unchanged, without adverse effect to the grazing animal, and be excreted in urine and manure. If that material is then composted, herbicide unintentionally present in the compost may be present at levels that adversely affect sensitive plants. Adverse symptoms include poor seed germination; death of young plants; twisted, cupped and elongated leaves; misshapen fruit; and reduced yields. (It should be noted, however, that many of these same symptoms can also result from dis-

eases, insects and other natural causes.)

If you suspect that material you plan to use as a soil amendment may contain materials that could damage your plants, one practical solution is to conduct a simple, inexpensive bioassay with bean plants (as described at www.manurematters.com/na/en/bioassay). It is also wise before acquiring or using livestock manure (whether fresh, aged or composted) to ask what the animals were fed, and what, if any, herbicides were used on hay, pasture or rangeland grasses the livestock consumed. If you are not satisfied on these points, it might be a good idea to test the manure with a bioassay before accepting it. The same is true for hay or grass clippings used as mulch or in compost. Particular care might also be appropriate before accepting grass clip-pings from golf courses and other commercial turf fields where herbicides are commonly used.

If you find yourself with a small quantity of herbicide in manure, grass clippings, hay or compost, your best option may be to spread it on a grass pasture or rangeland, or grass hayfield or to arrange for its proper disposal. For more information regarding herbicides in soil amendments, please contact your local county cooperative extension agent, county weed district coordinator or the Montana Department of Agriculture.

Additional information is also available online at www. pesticides.montana.edu/PAT/Coordinators/non-target%20plant%20toxicity/index.html.

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 25

Agriculture Heritage Notebook The Bitter Root Cultural Heritage Trust works in partnership with families, neighborhoods and communities to restore historic structures, bring back traditional events and celebrations, encourage

Story and photos by WENDY BEYE

LONE ROCK – On the second day my husband and I were flying our search pattern above the Bitterroot Valley to identify and photographically record historic barns, we saw the Hanlan barn, with its distinctive mottled green roof and a warm brown wooden silo attached on the south end. From

interpretation and affirm cultural values.

The Heritage Trust provides an article for each edition of Agricultural Magazine, highlighting the Bitterroot Valley’s agricultural history and heritage.

the air we could see that the silo was not in very good shape, missing its cover, but I knew that this would be a barn with an interesting story. Three years later I finally began discovering its secrets.

Near the end of September 2011, when I was working on another barn story in the area, I decided to see if I could find the Hanlan barn on the ground.

The phone numbers I found under the Hanlan name

Page 26 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

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Hanlan silo barn first house.

all proved to be dead ends, so I wasn’t sure who now owned the barn. I knew it was near the Lone Rock School northeast of Stevensville, so I drove out Ambrose Creek Road to the Lone Rock junction, and ended up right in the barnyard of the beautiful old silo barn. I knocked on the doors of the three houses on the property, but no one seemed to be home. I decided to walk down the lane next to the barn to get a better look at the building.

“Can I help you?” I heard a male voice call.

“Uh-oh,” I thought. “I hope I’m not in trouble for poking around uninvited!“ I walked toward the man, who was coming out of one of the homes, leaning on a cane and flanked by two friendly black Labs. When I reached the gate to his yard, I stopped and introduced myself.

“I’m known in the Bitterroot as the ‘barn lady,’” I said, “and I’d like to do a story on your barn.”

“Oh, how I wish it were mine!” he replied. “I love this old barn, but it’s owned by Mr. Price, who lives up the road a ways.”

We stood and chatted for perhaps a half-hour, and in the meantime his wife returned from a grocery shopping trip. John and Diana Ford provided contacts in the community that proved to be a goldmine for my research on the Hanlan barn. They graciously offered

Hanlan silo barn loft.

their spare bedroom to me if I needed a place to stay while I worked on the story – a wonderful display of true Montana spirit, with a willingness to take in a total stranger after a half-hour’s conversation! I was pleased when they told me they had even read a few of my previous barn stories.

My schedule on that trip didn’t allow me to make any further personal contacts, but when I arrived home, I called Nova Robinson Hanlan, who now lives in Missoula, to set up an appointment to visit with her about the barn she and her husband Floyd used to own. She agreed without hesitation.

I knocked on the door of Nova’s apartment, and was greeted by a clear-eyed woman, slightly stooped from seasons of laboring alongside her husband to make a living in the difficult world of agriculture. I took a minute to introduce myself and explain my mission, eager to begin my interview with this obviously mentally sharp Bitterroot pioneer.

Nova tells me that in 1950, she was hired to teach at the Lone Rock School. At the time, Floyd, her husbandto-be, was working for Mr. Francis Donegan, managing the ranch where the Hanlan barn stands while Donegan worked in the timber industry in the Darby area to help pay the mortgage on the place.

Page 28 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

“I think Floyd and I probably first met at one of the community dances held in the schoolhouse, and we married in 1955,” Nova says. Her eyes mist a bit as she adds, “Floyd passed away in 2003. I really miss him.”

He rests in the Sunnyside Cemetery, just down the road from the ranch he nurtured for nearly 50 years.

Nova goes on to say that she and Floyd decided that they had worked long enough for their absentee ranch owner, and they signed a contract to buy the place from him in May 1956. They soon had a small herd of 25 milk cows – Guernseys, Jerseys and Holsteins – and were kept busy with milking chores, haying and tending a large garden. Nova continued to teach at the school to help supplement the income they earned by selling their milk and cream to Foremost and through Howe’s Creamery co-op.

She admits she didn’t help much with the milking, limiting her relationships with the cows to occasionally hooking up the milking machines. She says with pride, however, that she filled her pantry every year with jars of home-canned goodies from the huge garden she tended.

I ask if they ever used the silo to store feed for their cows. She shakes her head, “No, Floyd was very careful and never even stored hay in the barn. He thought there was a risk of it catching fire. I’m not sure when the barn was built, but by the time we bought the place, the silo roof was already gone. We irrigated out of the Big Ditch, first by flooding, and later we bought some irrigation handline. We put up hay by hand, and stacked it at the edge of the field.”

Luxuries were non-existent in the Hanlans’ world.

Nova says they spent the first 25 years of married life living in an 8-foot-wide mobile home, while Floyd’s elderly parents occupied an old rock-foundation house near the barn. It was a real treat when the couple was able to replace the old trailer with a double-wide in

the 1980s, after Nova retired from teaching school.

They continued the dairy business until 1999, when Floyd’s health deteriorated to the point where he could no longer care for his beloved cows. Nova describes the day she had a neighbor haul the cows to the auction yard in Missoula. She expected to sneak them

by Floyd, who was living in an assisted-care facility in Stevensville at the time. Unfortunately, he was out and about with a friend to have a cup of coffee and saw his cows leaving town. “He was not happy to see them go,” Nova says with a catch in her voice.

To change the subject, I asked Nova how she and Floyd found their way to the Bitterroot. She says that Floyd was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1918, where his parents homesteaded. The family moved to Gillette, Wyo., and Floyd enlisted in the Army during World War II. His duties included packing mules that hauled supplies from Burma to China. After the war, he worked on ranches in the Gillette area for a time, then moved to Broadus, Mont., and finally to Stevensville in 1951.

Nova says she was born in Long Beach, Calif., and moved with her family to Wyoming when she was only six months old. In 1937, her father loaded up his wife and children and moved them to Garnet, Mon., when gold prices doubled and a reinvigorated boom in mining was in full swing. He built a new schoolhouse for the burgeoning community, replacing the one constructed in the late 1800s. Nova attended high school in Drummond, then worked for her room and board in Missoula so she could attend college. The war interrupted her education, and she enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“I’ll bet you can’t guess what the Marines trained me to do!” she says with a laugh.“I was an aircraft mechanic! I worked on fighter airplanes at El Toro Air Base in California, but mostly I just planted geraniums

Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012 - Page 29

in the flowerbeds around the base. The sailors had a hard time getting used to working with a woman, and anyway, the war was winding down.”

After the war, she returned to college, this time in Billings, and received her teaching degree. Her first teaching assignment was in St. Ignatius, then she moved to Marysville near Helena, then to Hall, and finally to Lone Rock at Stevensville. Her teaching career spanned almost 30 years, and though she and Floyd were never blessed with children, their home was always a refuge for boys and girls in need of a freshly baked cookie. Some of those now all-grown-up children still stop by to see her in Missoula.

I asked Nova if I can give her a hug before I left. I feel her frailty in my arms, and am glad to have had the chance to meet such a spirited woman and hear about her life in the Bitterroot when it was still a largely agricultural community. I promise to stay in touch, and to send her some enlargements of the photos I plan to take of the ranch where she and Floyd spent so many happy years.

Hanlan silo from apple orchard

Hanlan silo grain room windows.

After calling Dave Price, who now owns the ranch, for permission to traipse around his property, I return to the barn on a chilly fall day, and spend several hours inside and out of the building. I try to guess when it was built, but am puzzled by some miss-matches in building technique. It has a concrete floor with a trough down the center, end-to-end for drainage, as many modern dairy barns have, and it appears that the floor was poured before the barn was built. Anecdotal evidence supplied by Mr. Price, as well as carpentry techniques, suggest that the barn was raised in the 1920s, but this is the first with a concrete floor I’ve seen in the Bitterroot.

I call Nova again to see if she might have an explanation. She says the barn had a concrete floor when they bought the ranch. Later research uncovers a 1917 issue of a magazine called “Concrete,” that describes the “fireproof” practice of using concrete for both barn walls and floors.

It appears that whoever built the Hanlan barn was up-to-date on the latest tech-

Page 30 - Agriculture Magazine, MARCH 2012

niques in barn building.

I spend a frustrating afternoon at the Ravalli County Courthouse trying to trace land ownership records back to the first transfer. The trail runs cold on any transfers previous to the one between Francis Donegan and Floyd and Nova Hanlan in 1956. I decide to wait until I talk to Mr. Price, who is, according to Nova, in possession of the title abstract for the property. On another visit to the Bitterroot, I arrange to see him, and he does have a set of abstracts for all the parcels he bought from the Hanlans. The mystery is solved when we find a notice of satisfaction of a mortgage between Francis Donegan and several mortgagors recorded in 1966, 10 years after the Hanlans contracted to buy the ranch.

This could be evidence of a Montana “handshake” deal where Donegan agreed to continue making mortgage payments after the sale. Tracing back from the mortgagors who released the debt, I find that the original homestead was obtained from Uncle Sam by James Wilson in 1903.

The property ended up in the hands of the Bitter Root District Irrigation Company in 1908 (no surprise, given the remnants of an apple orchard east of the barn), and was sold to Hyatt Haselton of Cleveland, Ohio in 1910. His son, Guy, who owned other agricultural parcels in the area, inherited the land upon

which the barn stands in 1920 when his father died. He owned the ranch until 1929. Because of the Haseltons’ relatively long period of ownership, it’s probably safe to assume that Guy is the dairyman who built the barn, perhaps using the latest method of barn-building being employed “back East.” Support for this theory comes from a water right filing on a groundwater well made by Floyd Hanlan after he purchased the ranch.

The well is described as “hand dug in 1926,” which indicates that at least a house was built at that time.

The well, located near the old house, is still in use.

Satisfied at last that I have found all the information I can on the history of the Hanlan silo barn, I wrap up the story. I hope it brings back some happy memories to Nova, a very special woman, and that some of her former students now know a bit more about their favorite Lone Rock School teacher.

Wendy Beye has lived in Montana for 45 years, and spent almost 20 years as a flight instructor in the Bitterroot Valley. Her unique aerial view of a changing landscape resulted in a desire to help document the evidence of a rapidly vanishing way of life – the beautiful historic barns scattered across the valley floor. As a freelance writer and photographer, she is working on a multi-year project to preserve the agricultural roots that help create our sense of community.

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Plant Immune Systems TOM LUTEY Billings Gazette

BOZEMAN – A Montana State University science discovery 18 years in the making could soon save farmers worldwide billions of dollars through disease prevention.

University researchers have discovered a way to turn on a plant’s immune system, enabling it to fight diseases that would normally be fought with chemical pesticides. MSU’s chemical-free discovery has been sub-leased to Certis USA, a global creator of biological farm products. MSU Scientist Barry Jacobsen said a commercial product could be on the market by early 2013.

Plant diseases brought on by fungus and bacteria cost American farmers billions in chemical pesticide treatments and diminished harvests. Ultimately, taxpayers shoulder a share of the burden as federally subsidized crop insurance is tapped to cover losses.

“What happens in a disease situation is the plant can’t respond fast enough,” Jacobsen said. “The disease gets the upper hand.”

But, if the plant’s immune system is activated before the disease materializes, the tables are turned. That’s what Jacobsen discovered in 1994 while working in a sugar beet field near Sidney. The crop had been devastated by leaf spot, which area farmers had tried in vain to kill with chemical pesticides. Jacobsen and other researchers noticed a few select plants that seemed to fight off the disease. Studying 300 types of bacteria present on the healthy plants, Jacobsen discovered a helpful bacterium, “Bacillus mycoides isolate J, or Bmj.” The Bmj had activated the plant’s NPR1 gene, which triggered a range of immune responses allowing the plant to fight off disease. The plant began generating hydrogen peroxide and the other components that cause cell walls to thicken, making them harder for the bacteria to attack. The plant then produces enzymes to attack the fungi and bacteria. Viruses also were battled back.

That it was the NPR1 gene the Bmj activated was crucial. NPR1 is a gene found in most plants, and most

food crops, with the exception of peanuts, Jacobsen said. The common gene is what makes the MSU discovery important to a variety of plants worldwide.

Bmj is patented by Jacobsen, post-doctoral researcher Nina Zidack and Rebecca Bargabus-Larson, a former doctoral student.

Bmj isn’t going to end the use of chemical pesticides. It should cut back on their use when combined with other disease control methods. It should also help home gardeners, small farmers, and organic farms, which cannot use chemical pesticides. Bmj isn’t genetically modified. It should qualify for organic use.

In tests on Montana farms, Bmj successfully fought several types of crops and in doing so, improved yields where crop losses without Bmj were certain.

On Gary Broyles’ farm near Rapelje, researches applied Bmj on five acres of spring wheat to tackle crown and root rot and did well. Much of the research for Bmj and other MSU projects is conducted on small acreages offered by Montana farmers wanting to improve state agriculture through research.

On Nick Schutter’s potato farm near Manhattan, Jacobsen used Bmj to combat white mold, a constant problem that can claim 5 to 8 percent of a farm’s seed potato crop annually.

“We see yield reductions with white mold and we also see quality reduction,” Schutter said. “When we can treat the white mold and can control it, we see measurable increases in yields.”

Schutter said the cost of managing white mold can cut deep into farm profits. The thought of reducing those costs, as well was increasing yields by as much as 1,500 pounds per acre is very attractive.

One of the reasons Bmj might hit the market early next year is that much of the testing needed to clear Bmj for use was done by Missoula-based Montana Microbial Products. That company could not afford to complete the required testing, which will be completed by Certis.

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D

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JD 568 round baler re M

for 60 months oac

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JD 2320 Compact utility tractor

Triple W.

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for 48 months oac

Missoula • (406) 549-4171 8571 Running W. Rd

Kalispell • (406) 752-2828 3145 Hwy 93 South

Ronan • (406) 676-4380 237 Bouchard Rd

www.triplewequipment.com