Building on the momentum of its first annual scholarship, Durango® Boots opens applications for its second annual scholarship in celebration of the ‘National Day of the Cowgirl’ holiday. The scholarship will be awarded to a young woman who is pursuing a degree in the Western industry and will be executed in partnership with the Dude Ranch Foundation. Scholarship applications will be open on September 15 and will close on December 31, 2024.
For more information or to apply to the scholarship visit - https://nationaldayofthecowgirl.com/.
“After an incredible response and an amazing group of applicants for our first annual ‘National Day of the Cowgirl’ Scholarship, we are really excited to open up applications for this year,” shared Erin DeLong, marketing manager for Durango®. “We have been spending the last month celebrating this year’s award winner, Katelyn Collins, who is currently at Texas Tech studying equine science. We look forward to building out additional scholarship recipients to create a team of hard-working young women who will inspire others to strive for professions within the western industry.”
The National Day of the Cowgirl scholarship presented by Durango® Boots is open to students in the U.S. and Canada, and will be awarded in the amount of $30,000 over three years, with the first installment to be applied to the 2025-2026 educational year. It will be awarded to one female undergraduate student currently in their first year of
AUCTIONS
Oct 11 - 24, Musser Bros Auctions & Real Estate, Brand Nelson Excess Equipment A11
Oct 11 - 27, Smith Sales Co., Fall Machinery & More, Online A14, A15
Oct 11 - Nov 7, Musser Bros Auctions & Real Estate, Fall Excess Equipment, Online A5
Oct 18 - 22, Grizzly Auctions, Fall Farm/Ranch & Open Consignment, Online A6
Oct 21 - 31, Smeltzer Auctions & Real Estate, Blue Sky Equipment Reductions & Canfield Moving, Online A12
Oct 29 - Nov 12, Yellowstone Auction, Farm, Ranch, Construction, Online...A7 Nov 17, Smith Sales Co., Corn Silage, Online A16
MWBC Board set to meet
The Montana Wheat and Barley Committee (MWBC) Board will meet on Monday, October 28, and Tuesday, October 29, 2024, in-person at the Montana Wheat & Barley Committee offices in Great Falls, MT, and via Zoom. Meetings will be held on Monday starting at 9:00 a.m. and Tuesday at 8 a.m. The agenda is tentatively set to hear updates, review harvest results, and address general updates. The public is invited to participate at the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee board meetings. To view an agenda for the meeting and learn more about the committee, visit the MWBC’s website at montanawbc.com.
For information to join the meeting virtually or to request an agenda, please contact the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee at 406-761-7732 or by email at wbc@mt.gov.
PRODUCTION SALES
Montana Ag Technology Innovation and Investment Summit
Registration is now open for the second annual Montana Ag Technology Innovation & Investment Summit. In coordination with the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Montana State University, the Montana Agricultural Business Association (MABA) is proud to bring the event to Bozeman, MT, on November 6th, 2024.
The Montana Ag Technology Innovation & Investment Summit is honored to join Montana State University’s Celebrate Ag week this November. The second annual summit event is a strategic opportunity to bring cutting-edge agriculture technology and innovation to the forefront of North America’s agriculture economy. Building on last year’s inaugural event, the 2024 summit explores the nexus between research, innovation, and investment oppor-
tunities through a compelling sector that has the power to alter the course of the global food and agriculture system.
“We are very excited to bring the Montana Ag Technology Innovation and Investment Summit to the Montana State University campus during the annual Celebrate Ag week. The collaboration and innovation that stem from this event are vital to the success and growth of the agricultural ecosystem here in Montana,” said Christy Clark, Director of the Montana Department of Agriculture.
To learn more, register, or view a tentative agenda, please visit: mtagtechinvest.io/.
“The Montana Agricultural Business Association is proud to partner with the Montana Department of Agriculture and
BQA and BQAT certification workshop
By Jesse Fulton, Director of Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance Nebraska Extension and Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance will offer a Beef Quality Assurance and Beef Quality Assurance Transportation Certification on Tuesday, October 29, from 4-6 p.m. at the Prairie Winds Community Center in Bridgeport. Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)
will present the latest on the BQA and BQA Transportation (BQAT) programs and certify or recertify producers in BQA and BQAT.
“By becoming or staying BQA and BQAT certified, you are an integral part of beef’s positive story to consumers. A story that can increase their understanding - and
The leaves are just starting to change colors along the Blackfoot River in Western Montana. The river is at a very low level this year.
DISCS FOR SALE
Krause 2165 Rockflex 45-ft. tandem disc, Serial # 1827, front spacing @ 8 and rear spacing @ 8 with 19” front blades and 21” rears, no scrapers.
Krause 1529 (not Rockflex) 19-ft. offset folding disc, Serial #1105, front spacing @ 8 and rear spacing @ 9 with 20” front blades and 18” rears, scrapers.
Both located 5 miles south of Terry, Montana If interested phone Andy Pehl, (406) 853-2327
If the Moon were to slam into the Earth, the gravitational forces here would tear it apart before impact. However, the burning lunar debris raining down would raise the temperatures on Earth so high that it could wipe out all life.
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Montana Ag Technology
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Montana State University to lead this important conversation on investing in Montana-built ag innovation. After a compelling inaugural summit, we can’t wait to see the kinds of connections made this year that will have a lasting impact on the Montana agriculture landscape,” said Chris Averill, Executive Director of MABA.
Join researchers, entrepreneurs, capital allocators, fund managers, and agribusiness executives to network, collaborate, learn, raise capital, and lean into developing the ag technology and innovation ecosystem. The full-day agenda is packed with networking opportunities, educational seminars surrounding artificial intelligence, climate mitigation strategies, innovation, and more.
The Summit Committee is still accepting sponsorship support. To request more information on sponsorship opportunities, please email mtagtechsummit@gmail.com.
The Montana Agricultural Business Association advocates for sound science-based policies that protect the crop and fertilizer industries. MABA currently has registered members from more than 230 companies, including retailers, distributers, seed companies, and fertilizer suppliers. Visit mtagbiz. org to learn more.
BQA and BQAT certification workshop
confidence - in how you and your operation are raising and transporting an animal that is fit to enter the beef supply chain,” said Jesse Fulton, Director of Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance.
The BQA and BQAT programs educate beef producers and transporters on best management practices for animal health, proper stockmanship, and proper animal welfare guidelines.
“Beef cattle producers, who are committed to producing quality, wholesome, and safe beef and beef products for consumers, are encouraged to attend to stay up to date on BQA practices,” Fulton said.
Many commercial beef packing facilities require producers who sell fed cattle to them to be BQA certified and those who deliver cattle to their facilities to be BQAT certified.
Producers are invited to attend. BQA and BQAT certification is valid for three years. If your last BQA or BQAT training occurred before 2021, your certification could soon be expired.
The certification fee is $20 per person or a flat fee of $100 for operations that bring five or more people. Attendees must register online at bqa.unl.edu or by calling the Panhandle Research and Extension Center at 308-632-1230. Those who call in their registration must be prepared to give their name and phone number. Additionally, an email address will need to be provided for certificates to be electronically issued. For all other inquiries, contact Nebraska BQA via email at nebraskabqa@unl.edu or by phone at 308-633-0158.
Deadline for November issue Wednesday, October 30
Our Advertising Deadline for the November 2024 issue of the Trader's Dispatch will be October 30th. Phone us at (406) 271-5533.
Wyoming Wool initiative launches third annual Lamb-a-Year Program
The Wyoming Wool Initiative, in partnership with the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, is now accepting donations to support its 2024-2025 Lamb-a-Year program.
This flagship program, now in its third year, offers UW students valuable industry experience and provides regional sheep producers with individualized lamb quality data.
“Lamb-a-Year is a value discovery program where producers donate lambs, we feed out those lambs here at the Laramie Research and Extension Center, collect performance and meat quality information, and give that information back to producers,” says Whit Stewart, UW Extension sheep specialist. “Lamb-a-Year is an investment in the sheep industry in the state of Wyoming.”
Participating producers are asked to donate feeder lambs of 70-90 pounds to be picked up by the Wyoming Wool Initiative in the fall. In order to receive meaningful results, donors are encouraged to enter at least two lambs into the test, which begins in mid-October and runs through February 2025.
Last year, 25 producers donated a total of 107 lambs to the program.
“Some producers have shared data from Lamb-a-Year with potential buyers as a means of marketing the genetic potential of their lambs,” Stewart notes. “Others have used the lamb quality information to better understand the optimal finishing weight of their lambs.”
Lamb sales help support educational programming for students and producers, workshops at the annual Wyoming Sheep and Wool Festival, meat science curriculum, lamb quality research, and more. Producers receive a tax-deductible charitable gift receipt based on the market value of their lambs.
A total of more than 160 youth and university students from UW and other institutions benefited from educational opportunities related to the 2023-2024 Lamb-a-Year program, the Wyoming Wool Initiative reports.
“Lamb-a-Year funds enhance our ability to deliver curriculum in a unique way,” Stewart comments. “I think that’s when we’re doing things right, [when] we’re getting students out of the classroom.”
To learn more about the Lamb-a-Year program and its impact on students, visit https://bit.ly/lay-impact.
To donate a lamb(s), visit https://bit.ly/ lay-2024 and fill out the online form by Sept. 30, 2024.
The Wyoming Wool Initiative will coordinate with donors to arrange drop-off and pick-up locations this fall, with all lambs delivered to the Laramie Research and Extension Center by Oct. 9. For more information, contact Stewart at woolinitiative@uwyo.edu.
The Wyoming Wool Initiative also accepts cash and in-kind donations, such as feed, to support the Lamb-a-Year program. To make a donation, visit https://bit.ly/lay2024. Contact Stewart at woolinitiative@ uwyo.edu with questions.
SDSU Extension Farm to School supports ‘feeding kids great food’
In 2019, Wall School District became the first school in South Dakota to use beef from local ranchers in its lunch program. It was a hit with students, staff and local beef producers.
The program’s success inspired more schools’ food service directors. In 2024, 69 schools in South Dakota reported serving local beef in school meals in what’s commonly called Beef to School, a component of the Farm to School program supported by SDSU Extension.
Anna Tvedt, SDSU Extension Nutrition Field Specialist, said Farm to School supports school districts that want to serve locally sourced food in their school meal programs. Tvedt helps with education and implementation, which means she spends a lot of time working with food service directors across the state. They’re leading the way, and Tvedt is happy to support their efforts.
“They are such a fun and passionate group who believe their calling in this world is to feed children,” Tvedt said. “It’s very rewarding for me to see their passion shine through by serving high-quality, locally sourced foods in their unique Farm to School programs.”
Farm to School and Beef to School’s benefits are many, starting with the most important: the food just tastes better. Tvedt said food service directors report seeing school meal participation jump because students want to eat the school lunches.
And it isn’t just the school that benefits. Beef to School supports local producers, and bolsters South Dakota’s No. 1 industry – agriculture. Tvedt added that local producers are proud their products are being served to students in their own communities.
“That combination of passion for feeding kids great food and for supporting the local economy in a lot of these communities really made food service directors jump right into Farm to School and Beef to School once they realized it could be done,” Tvedt said. “It’s great to know that students in South Dakota are receiving high-quality, nutritious food in their school meals.”
Those interested in the SDSU Extension Farm to School program and resources can visit the Farm to School program page or contact Anna Tvedt.
Wyoming sheep producer Ivan Laird drops off donated lambs for the 2023-2024 Lamb-a-Year program. Back to front: grad student Aaron Kersh, UW sheep specialist Whit Stewart, producer Ivan Laird and grad student dylan Laverell. Photo courtesy of the Wyoming Whool Initiative.
The 26th Annual Dakota Feeder Calf Show and Feedout is set for October 19 in Turtle Lake, North Dakota.
Interested consignors will deliver 500- to 700-pound steer calves before 10 a.m. CST on the day of the show. Each producer can consign one or two pens containing three or four calves. The calves are exhibited and evaluated that afternoon and then shipped to the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center feedlot to be fed to finished market weight.
“After 25 years of comparing calf performance, North Dakota cattle ranchers are finding superior growth and carcass characteristics,” says Karl Hoppe, Extension livestock specialist at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center. “Since cow herd genetics can change over time via bull and heifer selection, sending cattle to the Dakota Feeder Calf Show and Feedout gives the rancher information on how their selections are advancing their herd.”
NDSU Extension and Carrington Research Extension Center partner with the Dakota Feeder Calf Show to provide producers an opportunity to experience retained ownership of calves beyond the cow-calf segment of cattle production.
“There are several ways to collect growth performance carcass data from your calves,” says Colin Tobin, an animal scientist at the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center. “The best is to feed out your entire calf crop. That takes considerable time, effort and funds. An alternative is to consign a group of calves to a feedout project. Your risk is less and a feedout project provides a substantial amount of information about the calves.”
Dakota Feeder Calf Show chair Darwin Chesrown has been consigning calves since the feedout started.
“I still enjoy comparing my weaned calves in October to the finished calves in May,” says Chesrown. “The calves really grow and I do see differences in herd sires.”
During the 2023-24 feedout, the calves gained an average of 744 pounds in 222 days, with a total feeding cost (excluding interest) of $1.02 per pound of gain. The average sale weight was 1,342 pounds. The calves were fed with a market weight break-even point of $178.17 per hundredweight.
“It’s the variation among cattle that makes this project educational and a real eye-opener,” Hoppe says.
In the 2023-24 feedout, the spread in net return per head between the average of the top and bottom five herds was $205.89. The spread between the top and bottom herd is more noticeable ($323.85 per head). Average daily weight gain in the feedlot was 3.6 pounds for the top-profiting herd and 3.1 pounds for the bottom herd.
“Small differences in production have a huge impact on profit,” Hoppe says.
Feedout project staff will gather data on the rate of gain, feeding costs and other characteristics during the trial. After the calves are marketed, the staff will collect and provide information to the entrants on carcass weight, meat quality, feeding expenses and value. Calves should be pre-vaccinated for BVD, PI3, IBR and BRSV, Mannheimia, Clostridials and histophilus somni. Booster vaccinations will be administered upon delivery to the show.
Producers will be assessed an entry fee of $20 per calf. Dakota Feeder Calf Show officials will present awards to producers at the end of the trial.
For more information or to preregister calves, visit ndsu. ag/feedout. Direct additional questions to Hoppe or Tobin at 701-652- 2951 (office), 701-650-8810 (cell) or karl.hoppe@ ndsu.edu, or Chesrown, Dakota Feeder Calf Show Committee, at 701-448-9286.
National Day of the Cowgirl scholarship
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college who aspires to contribute to the Western way of life through the passionate pursuit of a career within the Western, agriculture, farm and ranch, equine, or western sports industries. The chosen candidate will be announced in the spring of 2025.
National Day of the Cowgirl, a national holiday launched in 2022 by Durango®, is commemorated each year on September 15 in celebration and recognition of the spirit of the American cowgirl. The observance, officially secured by Durango® Boots through the National Day Archives on September 15, 2022, was established to recognize the women who personify the western lifestyle.
Funding awarded to support specialty crop growers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced over $3.1 million in funding awarded to Montana through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). Through this program, the Montana Department of Agriculture will fund projects that strengthen Montana’s specialty crop industry through marketing, education, and research.
“We are happy to once again be partnered with Montana on the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The innovative projects funded through this program will strengthen U.S. specialty crop production and markets and ensure Americans have sustained access to fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops and support the region’s specialty crop growers to help ensure their long-term success.”
Through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, the Montana Department of Agriculture will fund 16 projects. Among the department’s projects is funding to Montana State University to design and plant a teaching and outreach space at the Bozeman Horticulture Farm that demonstrates fruit crops and cultivars that perform well in Montana. Additional funded projects focus in areas such as disease management, fertilizer research, and marketing.
“Montana’s producers are the backbone of our state,” said Montana Department of Agriculture Director Christy Clark. “These grants support outreach efforts and vital research that directly help our farmers and ranchers to diversify, innovate, grow their operations, and drive Montana’s largest industry.”
The funding to Montana is part of a total of $72.9 million in non-competitive FY 2024 funding awarded to 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. The funding supports farmers growing specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and nursery crops. USDA’s support will strengthen U.S. specialty crop production, expand markets, and ensure an abundant, affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops is available to all Americans
The heaviest pumpkin ever grown in the United States weighed 2,528 lbs. It was grown by Steve Geddes of New Hampshire in 2018.
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I submitted 10 puns to a joke-writing competition to see if any of them made the finals. Sadly, no pun in ten did.
BLACK ANGUS BRED HEIFERS
100 head AI bred to CAR Legendary 026 reg #19940742, due January 20-25 36 head bull-bred to LBW calving ease sons of Sitz Logo, due February 10-16 21 head bull-bred to LBW calving ease sons of Sitz Logo, due in March
All heifers were Ultrasounded late July and were in big rough country Heifers are on killed reproductive vaccination program. Will be retested prior to delivery.
Located between Park City and Columbus, Montana
approximately 400 acres grass, 35 acres around the building site. Estimated 1,400 acres currently seeded to winter wheat. Several parcels running for 11 miles from E to W near Freeze Out Lake and N of Fairfield, MT. Ranch style home built in 1971, 1980 sq. ft. (needing repairs), 40’x50’ shop building that is heated and insulated, 2 large metal storage buildings of 40’x100’ & 60’x140’, office & lumber & chemical storage building 30’x60’, and estimated 100,000 bushels grain storage bins. Tri County Water District provides water to property. Good big game hunting and trout fishing in the nearby Bob Marshall Wilderness in the Rocky Mountains. Incredible Value for a Total Price of $6,955,000, terms possible. For more details, call Fort Benton Realty LLC, Brokers Shane Ophus at 406-788-6662 and Mark Pyrak at 406-788-9280, or Agent Dennis Franz at 406788-1163, or email to markpyrak@gmail.com, OR to sgophus@itstriangle.com, OR to fden5069@gmail.com
UW Extension Offers Recommendations to Prevent the Spread of Palmer Amaranth
By Brooke Ortel
Palmer amaranth. Photo by Albin, stock.adobe.com.
As Palmer amaranth continues to spread across the Intermountain West, the University of Wyoming Extension has released a new publication on how to identify this invasive weed, best practices for preventing its dispersal, and the limited options available for its control.
Now considered one of the most damaging agricultural weeds in the U.S., Palmer amaranth was first reported in Wyoming in 2018. To date, reports of the weed have been recorded in four counties.
“Palmer amaranth is a new weed in Wyoming with a notorious reputation for being difficult to manage,” says Kelsey Brock, UW Extension invasive plant specialist. “As far as we know, Palmer amaranth is still relatively rare in Wyoming, and we hope it’s still possible to prevent widespread establishment.”
Co-authored by Brock, research assistant Daniel Coles, and Andrew Kniss, head of the UW Department of Plant Sciences, “Palmer Amaranth: A New Threat to Wyoming’s Agriculture” outlines what is currently known about the plant and provides an illustrated identification guide. To view a free downloadable copy, visit https://bit.ly/palmer-wy. Palmer amaranth is especially damaging to row crops and crops that emerge later in the growing season, the authors report. In addition to reducing crop yield, the weed can act as a host for insect pests and release chemicals that impede the growth of other plants. In dry conditions, Palmer amaranth can also generate high levels of nitrates, in some cases becoming toxic to livestock.
According to the new publication, Palmer amaranth is predicted to cause roughly twice as much yield loss in Wyoming as redroot pigweed. The new invader can germinate more readily in cooler conditions than redroot pigweed, grows more quickly, and is currently resistant to more than twice as many herbicide modes of action.
Since there are no effective long-term treatments for the weed at present, it is imperative to take preventive measures and proactively identify any suspected cases. According to the authors, “In some cases, prevention may be the only feasible option because this plant is exceptional in its ability to rapidly evolve herbicide resistance and alternatives may be expensive, time consuming, and possibly ineffective.”
Palmer amaranth has been documented as traveling via manure-based fertilizer; contaminated seed, including agricultural and restoration mixes as well as bird feeder seed; “hitchhiking” on vehicles and footwear; waterways, both man-made and natural; and the excrement of birds and other animals.
While further research is needed to better understand how and why Palmer amaranth has continued to spread across the West—and how it can be managed more effectively— the authors encourage Wyoming residents to report any suspected cases.
“If we don’t act now, I fear the economic impact to crop production will be significant,” says Brock. “Even though crop producers have the most to lose, everyone in Wyoming can help by keeping an eye out for Palmer amaranth and reporting any sightings to their local weed and pest office.”
Contact Brock at kbrock5@uwyo.edu or (307) 7663113 with questions or assistance with identification. Weed specialists at local weed and pest offices or UW Extension offices can also help with identification.
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The word “piranha” comes from the Tupi language of South America and means “toothed fish.” In some local dialects of the Amazon region, the name for common household scissors is also “piranha.”
2024 Montana Ram and Ewe Sale results
On September 11 and 12, Miles City hosted the Montana Ram and Ewe Sales at the Eastern Montana Fairgrounds. The offering included over 400 commercial ewes, and 260 rams from consignors across Montana. Buyers hauled sheep home to Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oregon, Arizona, and across Montana.
The Montana Wool Growers Association would like to extend a big thank you to all buyers and bidders of both sales. Thank you to Lewistown Livestock Inc for clerking and sale management and Sam Fraser of Frontier Productions, LLC for the online sale hosting. Thank you to our auctioneers, Kyle Shobe and Cole Morrison, for another year of great teamwork from the auction block.
For more coverage and pictures of both sales, please see MWGA on Facebook.
99th Annual MT Ram Sale (September 12)
A total of 260 bucks were offered and sold, for an overall average of $1,525/hd. The Ram Sale grossed $396,600.
The blackface breeds averaged $924/hd on 39 head. Dawe Suffolks of Big Timber topped the blackface portion of the sale, selling a Suffolk buck for $2,700 to Mike Hoggan of Valier, MT.
Rambouillet bucks sold with an overall average of $1233/ hd on 48 head. Helle Rambouillet of Dillon had the top lot, a pen of 2, purchased for $2,100 each by Peter Wirtzfeld.
Three South African Meat Merino Cross bucks were offered by Montana Ag. Experiment Station of Bozeman, high seller for $600.
The Targhee sale average was $1765 on 170 head. The high selling ram overall, was a Targhee consigned by Sam Ortmann of Wolf Point, MT. The buck sold for $7500 to Turner Sheep Co. of Wyoming. Two Targhee lots sold for $7,000/hd.
Garrett and Katie Harrington of Rocking ‘H Welding donated two panels and a gate to be auctioned off at the beginning of the Ram Sale. Proceeds from the donations were collected to benefit those producers affected by the Remington Fire. Together 25 donors raised $5685!
Sale Gross on 260 rams: $396,600.
Rambouillet average on 48 head: $1233.
Blackface Breeds average on 39 head: $924.
SAMM average on 3 head: $400
Targhee ram average on 170 head: $1,765.
11th Annual Montana Ewe Sale (September 11)
A total of 478 ewes sold, for an overall average of $354/ hd. The ewe sale grossed $169,155.
John and Betty Sampsel of Hughes Newford Co, of Stanford, MT donated a yearling Targhee Ewe to kick off the Ewe Sale. The proceeds from the donations were collected to support legislative efforts. Together 10 donors raised $6925!
The Roeder family of Montana Sheep Company topped the sale with a consignment of 10 head of Targhee ewes, selling for $700/hd to Chip Dye of Alzeda, MT. The volume buyer was Bill Schaefer of Hoven, SD.
Whitefaced ewes sold on site averaged $351/hd.
Blackfaced ewes sold on site averaged $650/hd.
Sale Gross on 478 Ewes: $169,155.
Total sale average on all ewes: $354/hd
Whiteface yearling ewe average on 473 head: $351/ hd
Blackface ewe lamb average on 5 head: $650/hd
Average on pens of 10: $408/hd
Average on pens of 20: $383/hd
Average on off-site lots: $290/hd
Please plan to attend the 12th Annual Montana Ewe Sale and 100th Annual Montana Ram Sale September 10 & 11, 2025
Irrigating
$3,190,000
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WSU to develop advanced vaccine for costly tick-borne pathogen
By Devin Rokyta, College of Veterinary Medicine
Washington State University researchers have been awarded an $800,000 grant to develop a safer and more effective vaccine for Anaplasma marginale, a tick-borne pathogen responsible for billions of dollars of losses globally for the cattle industry.
Led by WSU College of Veterinary Medicine professor Kelly Brayton, the researchers aim to address the limitations of existing vaccines by creating a solution that will not only be universally effective against all strains of the prolific bacteria, but will also not require cold storage, making it more accessible for remote and under-resourced regions.
“Anaplasma marginale poses a serious threat to livestock worldwide, leading to substantial economic losses and impacting cattle health,” Brayton said. “Our goal is to provide a practical and effective solution that will help protect cattle from this debilitating pathogen and reduce its economic impact.”
Anaplasma marginale, transmitted through tick bites, can cause severe anemia, illness, abortions, and even death in cattle. In the United States alone, the disease costs cattle producers an estimated $300 million annually. Current vaccines are not approved for use in the U.S. and have notable drawbacks, including that they are not effective against all strains of the bacteria and the need to be maintained at low temperatures, which is impractical in many areas.
The team plans to use a unique approach to develop a DNA vaccine, a type of vaccine that uses a small piece of DNA containing genes that code for specific proteins — or antigens — from pathogens like viruses or bacteria. When the DNA is introduced into the body, the cells take up the DNA and use it to produce the antigen, triggering an immune response.
Unlike traditional vaccines that rely on a single antigen, this new vaccine will introduce a “cocktail” of 10 antigens using a gene gun, a device that shoots tiny particles coated with genetic material into target cells at high speed.
“Often, vaccine testing involves one antigen at a time. If it doesn’t work, researchers move on to the next. But combining multiple antigens might stimulate enough immunity to benefit the animal,” Brayton said. “Using multiple immunogens also makes it less likely for the organism to adapt and evade the immune response.”
The researchers will initially test and refine the vaccine on controlled herds before conducting field trials in the U.S. and South Africa against multiple strains of Anaplasma marginale. A key part of their strategy involves working with tick challenges, a method that mimics real-world conditions more closely than traditional injection challenges.
“Many studies just inject the pathogen because they don’t have the ability to do tick challenges, but we do thanks to our specialized facilities and our partnership with the USDA,” Brayton said, referring to the long-standing collaboration between WSU and the USDA focusing on agricultural research and innovation. “When ticks feed, they secrete substances into the host that dampen the initial immune reaction. We believe this is why protection from injection challenges doesn’t always translate to real-world effectiveness.”
Brayton said the new methods that will be used in the project could hold promise not only for combating Anaplasma marginale but also for future vaccine development.
“One of the biggest issues with vaccine development has been the piecemeal approach — testing one antigen at a time,” she said. “We believe that our approach of using a comprehensive array of antigens will be really important and could pave the way to new and more effective vaccines.”
Brayton is collaborating with WSU co-investigators Jason Park, an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, and Massaro Ueti, a research veterinary medical officer in WSU’s Animal Disease Research Unite and the USDA Agricultural Research Service, on the four-year project. Additionally, Nicola Collins at the University of Pretoria in South Africa will contribute to the research efforts.
This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Ticks used in research are shown in the lab of Jason Park, an assistant research professor in WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine (photo by College of Veterinary Medicine/Ted S. Warren).
Optimism about the future of swine production in North Dakota
While the North Dakota swine industry is small compared to the rest of the Midwest, opportunities exist for future expansion.
Taw Scaff, a new swine specialist for North Dakota State University Extension, sees a promising future for the swine industry in the state.
“I have witnessed the swine industry’s positive impact on rural communities,” says Scaff. “Swine production facilities engage in sustainable production practices to foster relationships while building and advancing communities.”
According to Scaff, North Dakota has great potential for two types of swine operations: 1) nucleus and multiplier herds and 2) commercial sow and wean-to-finish farms. Nucleus and multiplier herds are vital to the swine industry. They house sows, gilts and boars used for genetic advancement. Housing herds in remote areas away from other swine facilities helps ensure animal health. Multiplier herds receive progeny and semen from different nucleus herds for cross-breeding to produce animals specific to their farm needs.
“North Dakota, with its current low inventory of pigs and available land, is poised to become a prime location for swine production systems to house nucleus and multiplier herds,” Scaff says. “This potential could provide other swineproducing states such as Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa with greater flexibility and access to these herds, sparking a new era of collaboration and growth in the swine industry.”
Commercial sow farms supply wean-to-finish operations with weaned pigs to raise to market weight for pork production. Weanto-finish farms raise pigs from weaning for about six months until the animal reaches market weight.
The expansion potential for swine production systems in neighboring states is limited due to land availability or proximity to other swine farms. Relocating or expanding sow operations into North Dakota could provide nearby states additional space for finishing pigs while maintaining a higher health status in the sow herd.
North Dakota’s abundant crop production could supply the swine industry with feedstuffs. The recent addition of soybean crushing and ethanol facilities and the continued processing of other grains and crops in the state could provide valuable by-products to swine producers.
Potential benefits also exist for North Dakotans.
“The swine industry gives back to the community by providing jobs in rural areas, creating manure rich in nutrients as an economical fertilizer for farmers, and generating income to support local businesses,” Scaff says.
Scaff joined NDSU in the Department of Animal Sci-
ences earlier this summer. He is responsible for conducting applied studies and demonstrations on campus and at commercial swine farms, and he will collaborate with Extension agents and specialists to support their education and research programs.
“Dr. Scaff is passionate about developing relationships and helping new and current swine producers and allied industry representatives to grow the swine industry in North Dakota,” says Mohamed Khan, NDSU Extension assistant director and program leader for agriculture and natural resources.
Scaff received his Ph.D. from Purdue University, where his research focused on swine nutrition and reproduction. He grew up in a small rural community in Oklahoma and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oklahoma State University.
To learn more about the potential for swine production in your area, contact Scaff at 701-231-4292 or taw.scaff@ndsu. edu. Learn more about his background and programs at ndsu.ag/swine-specialist.
HAY FOR SALE 2023 & 2024
Alfalfa, Sainfoin, Alfalfa/Grass mix, Grass and Combine Grass/Straw
Small squares and 3x3x8 bales – Test results available for all baled in 2023 Will load 3x3’s in open truck and trailer. Please Call 307-250-6005
Heartland Cattle Co.
Prepping soil and seeds for next year’s blooms
By Jeanne Yeoman, Nebraska Extension Master Gardener
Roots continue to grow until ground temperatures are below 40 degrees, so this is a good time to be sure your landscape is ready for fall. Mulch perennial beds with organic material such as bark chips or shredded leaves to suppress weeds, preserve moisture, and give roots a longer time to grow. Mulch should be no deeper than 3 inches and placed about 2 inches away from plant crowns to ensure good air circulation. Applying compost or worm castings in the fall adds nutrients and has other beneficial soil effects. Be sure to keep watering until the soil freezes because roots surrounded by moist soil are less likely to suffer cold temperature injury.
The end of the growing season is a good time to evaluate your landscape and see which plants grew well and which ones did not. Often problems occur because the right plant wasn’t planted in the right place. “Right plant, right place” is simply a matter of choosing a plant that is well-suited to the location where it will be grown. Don’t be afraid to move plants to a new location if they are underperforming or overtaking a garden space at the expense of other plants. Fall is a great time to transplant - find a location that offers more of the preferred growing conditions and your plants will be a lot happier.
Late summer/early fall is an excellent time to plant and divide man perennials. Fall is a time for more active root growth when temperatures are moderate. Fall transplants will be larger than the same plant transplanted in the spring, and these plants will be more established and ready for hot summer weather.
Plant in time to allow 6 to 8 weeks before the first bard frost.
Mulch the plants well. This keeps the soil warmer giving extra time for root growth
Give fall transplants a deep final watering after the first hard frost
To improve cold hardiness let the entire plant remain in place over the winter
Did you know that fall is a great time to plant seeds for next spring? Perennials hardy in USDA zones 3-5 are good candidates for fall seeding, as well are seeds from self-seeding annuals. Many plants, including some native flowering plants, require a period of cold temperatures before their seeds will germinate. This process, known as cold stratification, mimics nature. The cold temperatures and snow cover over the winter and the warm-up in spring triggers them to break dormancy. Wait to plant seeds until after the first killing frost, but before the ground freezes. This ensures that your seeds don’t sprout and will remain dormant throughout the winter.
Fall is a good time to reflect on your garden and start planning for next year. Consider starting a Garden Journal - a place to keep notes, observations, plans, photos, success and failures - anything that relates to your garden. How you organize your garden journal isn’t important - the goal is to have a place to record all your important observations as the seasons go by. You can review your notes from previous seasons to determine what worked well and what didn’t, helping you make more informed decisions for next year. You can also keep track of the things you want to plant in your garden, or how you’d like to redesign or where to improve.
Family ties
They are here among us, we can’t see Them, and they leave no prints in the dust
As they watch over the whole house to keep Us safe in them we put so much trust
This house has been in the family for generations
Many have passed on but they have not gone away
As young and old watch over us we are still
A happy family cause they are here with us to stay
I feel them on the stairs, in the hall and They help in the kitchen to fix the family another meal I think they are the ones who make and give
This house that warm and welcome feel
Oh yes they are all here day or night
Such a gathering of a family none of us can see
It could be all this is just in my
Heart deep down this is good enough for me
Copyright Robert Lee Ridgway robertleeridgway@hotmail.com
Fall Machiner y & Mor e Auction
Timed Online Machinery & More Auction Sunday Oct. 27, 2024
Miles City, MT
Expecting 1,000+ Items, Multiple Locations: Savage, Colstrip & Miles City, MT
From I-94 Take Exit 141 then go
8v92 Detroit, Allison Automatic, 1,500 GPM pump, 300 gallon tank, Low Original miles, 15,850 miles, approximately 4,436 hours, Seller states this truck had the best frame
Lots of storage, Hydraulic outriggers, good
lance Body; Runs and Drives. Odometer reads 256,638 Miles, approximately 165" long, 8ft wide, and 7.5ft tall. Recently taken
tion of I Joist, Multiple bunks of cull lumber in a variety of sizes; Over 3,000 sq. ft of first quality Norwegian Tongue & Groove pine; Couple Bunks of 1x6 & 1x8 Red Cedar;
ty of metal siding and roofing from a massive
D140673444 Build Date: 04/29/2014 Shows
Semi: Freightliner w/ CAT 3406B, Sleeper,
heavy portable panels; 8 panels with swing gates; Tub & Alleyway; Multiple Squeeze
ers 2019 Maverick 24 ft. Stock trailer 1992 20 ft. Titan Stock trailer, & 3 others; Paul w/ damage from transport accident; 2004 Wayne Toy hauler; 2008 Arctic Cat 4 wheeler w/ plow, never sat outside a day in
tion site. Runs good, drives smooth, and stops. Shows 216,837 miles, DT466E & 6 Speed Allison. Hour meter reads 8,567
Building located next to each other, in Miles
TRACTOR FOR SALE
To feed or not to feed rye grain
By Jacob Klaudt, K-State Research and Extension news service
Cereal rye grain possesses many uses within crop and livestock production. Growers make rye part of their cornsoybean crop rotation to boost yields, while ranchers needing an alternative feed might hay it for their livestock.
Recently, a listener who plants rye as a cover crop asked the hosts of K-State’s Cattle Chat podcast if rye grain can be included in cattle rations. Kansas State University beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster said “yes,” noting it depends on the class of cattle.
“Cattle can have rye grain in their diets,” he said. “It is nutritionally similar to other cereal grains like oats and barley, with a higher fiber content than wheat.”
Producers often plant rye for its cold tolerance and relatively low soil and moisture requirements. Lancaster said an after-harvest benefit includes rye grain’s ability to replace corn (one of the more expensive feedstuffs) in certain cattle diets.
“There is a study that looked at growing cattle on rye instead of corn as a grain source and those researchers saw no difference in cattle performance,” he said.
“Whether it is growing replacement heifers or backgrounding feeder cattle, I think a producer could pretty much substitute all of the corn in a diet with whole rye grain.”
On the other hand, producers may not want to feed rye grain to cattle in the finishing phase of the feeding period.
“Another part of that research evaluated finishing cattle on rye grain rather than corn,” Lancaster said. “Overall, the cattle that had rye grain in their diet had a lower dry matter intake, their average daily gain was lower and feed conversion was worse.”
Producers who elect to feed rye grain do not need to have it processed before feeding, according to Lancaster.
“The same study assessed hammer milling rye versus feeding it whole. Processing did not seem to improve cattle performance, so I do not think producers need to spend the money to have it milled,” he said.
Additionally, producers should scout the rye seed heads in a field prior to feeding, K-State veterinarian Bob Larson said, to avoid health problems caused by ergot fungus
“Rye is at a bigger risk for ergot fungus than other cereal grains,” he said. “It can be quite damaging to animals that consume it. The arteries in their body constrict, and the blood flow to their tails and feet can be restricted to a degree where they are damaged and may even fall off.
“Go out and walk through that field you are planning on feeding rye from and look at the seed heads. The fungus is a little bigger than a rye seed and will be a dark black or brown.”
Larson said even if only a portion of a field has ergot fungus, a producer should not feed any grain from that crop to livestock.
K-State veterinarian Brad White wrapped up the conversation, saying: “I think with that caution (regarding ergot toxicity) in mind – and depending on the kind of cattle you are feeding – rye can certainly be a component of a ration.”
Apple Day
Celebrated on: October 21st
Braeburn, Discovery, Red Jonagold, a million varieties with a million evocative names, and each one more delicious than the last. Every year the orchards spill forth a cavalcade of crimson, gold, and green, and it’s not just the leaves of Autumn. On the heels of this rolling bounty comes the rich smell of apple pies, spicy ciders both alcoholic and not, and all the tastes and smells of this seasonal treat.
History of Apple Day
First made an official event in 1990 in Covent Garden, this event has been celebrated every year and has grown from a local event to one celebrated all over. It has grown from a simple celebration of the apple to a recognition of cultural and genetic diversity in food that should not be allowed to pass from the world.
How to Celebrate Apple Day
You can celebrate Apple Day best by gobbling down one of any number of delicious apple varieties.
End
Year Specials!
$2.95/lb
Greenway Seeds. Caldwell, Idaho
Alan cell: 208-250-0159
Did you hear about the invisible man who went to the doctor? He’s still waiting to be seen.
Fall thistle control
By Jerry Volesky, UNL
Did you spray thistles this past spring and summer? If so, it would be a good idea to revisit those areas as there are likely some remaining or new growth that has occurred. Late September through early November is a key time to control thistles in pastures and hayland.
There are several biennial thistles, but musk, plumeless, Scotch, and bull thistles are our most problematic. Biennials require portions of two growing seasons to flower/reproduce. They develop from seed the first season into a flat rosette. When trying to control biennial thistles, destruction of rosettes prior to flowering (bolting) is an effective means of preventing seed formation and subsequent spread.
Another thistle to look out for is Canada thistle. Canada thistle is a creeping perennial that can be controlled with fall spraying, in conjunction with other management options in the spring.
While in the rosette stage, thistles are more effectively controlled using herbicides. It is important to note that fall spraying of thistles is not a silver bullet and effective control often needs repeated applications. It will take several years of timely control before the soil seed bank is reduced. There are many herbicides labeled for thistle control. Take care when purchasing products and always read/follow label directions before use.
GrazonNext® HL, Milestone®, Chaparral®, Graslan® L, Stinger®, Overdrive®, and Tordon 22K® are all products that are labelled for use on biennial thistles as well as Canada thistle. 2,4-D mixed with dicamba is also an effective option but should be sprayed when temperatures are warmer for the highest efficacy. When using Tordon 22K® or Graslan® L, both products are restricted use and contain picloram. Use extreme caution around other vegetation, especially trees, as both products will kill woody plants.
Death Customs
Muslims do not use caskets (unless required by law). The body is washed three times, wrapped in a white shroud, and placed directly in the ground with the head pointed toward Mecca.
4WD, ROW CROP AND UTILITY TRACTORS
Fall seeding is upon us. See our
2023 John Deere 9RX540 with E18 transmission, 36” Camso track, fixed 87” spacing, engine brake, 110 GPM dual hydraulic pump, 1000 PTO, standard Mid rollers, tow cable, Ultimate Comfort, air seat plus cab suspension, Ultimate visibility package, Signature Edition, Intelligent power management. Stock #88307
$672,000 (2)
2022 John Deere 9RX640 with 120” track spacing, PTO, 115 GPM high flow hydraulic pump, Active Command steering, Intelligent Power Management, 8 SCXVs, 36” Camso 6500 tracks, poly mid rollers, tow cable, Ultimate cab comfort package, Ultimate visibility package, 20 front weights with bracket, extended warranty 11/29/2026 or 1500 hours. Stock #88918 $687,500 (1)
2021 John Deere 9620RX with 760 mm/30” track, narrow spacing, PTO, display, large hydraulic pump, Performance Package, E18 transmission, 18F/6 R speeds with efficiency manager, 4600 command center with extended monitor, StarFire 6000 receiver, SF1 command center premium activation, 3.04600 processor Premium Command View III cab with cab suspension, premium radio package, Cummins X15 14.9L (912 cu. in.) 6 cylinder tier 4/ Stage V compliant diesel engine. Stock #91049 $595,000 (12)
2018 John Deere 9520RX with 520/362 hp, 4WD, cab, 18/6 PowerShift, 30” DuraBuilt 6500 (with poly mid rollers), 5 SCVs, no 3-point, 1000 PTO, premium radio, premium CVIII cab with suspension, no ACS, Hi-Flo hydraulics, Cat 5 drawbar, electric mirrors, premium lighting, 4600 command center with activation, no SF6000. Stock #89082 $440,000 (1)
2018 Versatile 610 DT with 605 hp, 16 speed power shift transmission, 36” track, deluxe cab, LED lights, guidance ready with receiver and 10” display, differential lock, 6 SCVs, 2 set of low pressure couplers. Stock #91193 $405,000 (12)
2009 John Deere 8330 AutoTrac ready, IVT, full GPS, 4 SCVs, 3-point hitch, PTO, weights front and rear, 380 tires, front and rear wheel extensions. Stock #90100
$165,000 (15)
2008 John Deere 7630 with cab, MFWD, IVT, guidance ready, 540/1000 PTO, singles, deluxe Command View cab and Command ARM with John Deere Active seat, AutoTrac ready, left hand reverser, control and field cruise, deluxe comfort package, 3 deluxe rear remote cylinder control valves with electro-hydraulic controls, 480/80R46 rear tires, JD loader with bucket and grapple. Stock #90104
$89,000 (12)
2023 John Deere 6R 230 with Command Pro (40K), front suspension, AutoTrac ready, 4600 display with AutoTrac Activation, no receiver, Ultimate cab, heated rear window, Ultimate seat, cab suspension, Panorama glass roof with premium lights, 5 rear E-SCVs, 540E/1000/1000E PTO, loader ready, (no loader), Cold Start II, fuel heater, front weight bracket with 18 weights, 380/90R50 duals, (1200 lbs. weights), 380/85R34 front singles with turntable fenders. Stock #88845 $317,500 (14)
2022 John Deere 6155M with PowerQuad+ 20F/20R transmission, AutoTrac ready less display and receiver, 3 SCVs, 540/1000 PTO, front suspension, 480/89R42 rear and 420/85R28 front tires, beacon and work light package, loader ready with JD 640 loader/bucket/grapple. Stock #89861 $160,000 (15)
2015 John Deere 6150 with IVT transmission, Premium cab, 4 SCVs, 540/540/1000 PTO, 3-point hitch, Cat 3/3N, 480/80R46 rear and 420/90R30 front tires, GreenStar ready, 3 function mid hydraulics, loader and rear weights. Stock #90687 $115,000 (3)
2023 John Deere 6R 145 with 20 speed AQ, front suspension, 4200 display with AutoTrac activation, no receiver, AutoTrac ready, 640 R loader with grapple and lights, cab suspension, Panorama glass roof with premium light package, heated rear window, 3 rear E-SCV 540E/1000/1000E PTO, dual 480/80R42 rear with fender extension (1800 lbs wheel weights) 420/85R28 front with turntable fenders, Cold Start II fuel heater, 3 pt quick coupler. Stock #88833 $205,000 (14)
2023 John Deere 6155M with PowerQuad+ 20/20 transmission, AutoTrac ready, display less receiver, 3 SCVs, MFWD, 2 speed PTO, 480/80R42 rear and 420/85R28 front tires, beacon light, work lights, Panorama roof, JD 6450 loader with bucket and grapple. Stock #89994
$182,500 (15)
2021 John Deere 6130R tractor with premium cab, 620R loader, bucket, grapple, 24 speed AutoQuad, MFWD with TLS, 3 electric SCV’s, 540/1000 PTO, 4200 display, front fenders, 460/85R38 rear tires, 340/85R28 front tires, rear wheel weights. Stock #88926 $170,000 (11)
2012 Case IH-Steiger 500 Quadtrac with 30” track spacing, 1000 PTO, 16/2 speed PowerShift, guidance ready with receiver and display, luxury cab, 6 SCVs. Stock #91610 $190,000 (12)
SELF PROPELLED SPREADERS & SPRAYERS
Several used John Deere and competitive self-propelled sprayers and applicators in stock! Variety of boom and widths available.
Several units are ready to roll with turnkey GPS!
DRILLS & SEEDERS
Fall seeding is upon us.
See our lineup of good used seeders to get that crop seeded quickly.
2023 John Deere 616R with 132-ft. carbon fiber, 20”, CVIII cab, Exact Apply, premium radio, auto solution control, hi-flow pump, 5 sensor boom level, boom air purge, ultimate visibility lights, eductor, ultimate comfort package, Cat I cab filtration, fence row nozzles, skinny tires. Includes 4.0 AT activation, 4600 armrest display, section control, SF6000. Stock #89331
2023 John Deere N560 no till drill, 60ft. 10” spacing, double shoot, All Run Blockage, cast serrated closing wheels, spoked narrow gauge wheels, C850 tow behind cart. Stock #88700 $780,000 (1)
2011 John Deere 1890 60-ft. drill with 7.5” spacing, single shoot, 6 run double shoot system, single shoot air package for tow behind cart, All Run Blockage warning system. Stock #83118
$585,000 (12)
2021 John Deere 616R with 132-ft. carbon fiber, 20”, CVIII cab, Exact Apply, premium radio, AutoSolution control, hiflow pump, 5 sensor boom level, boom air purge, ultimate vis lights, eductor, Ultimate Comfort package, Cat I cab filtration, fence row nozzles, skinny tires. Includes 4.0 AT activation, 4600 armrest display, section control, SF6000. Stock #89240
$499,000 (1)
2022 John Deere 412R 120-ft. 20”, CVIII cab, premium radio, high flow solution pump, AutoSolution control, no Exact Apply, eductor, boom level, boom air purge, ultimate visibility lights, fence row nozzles, 380/90R46, Includes 4600 with AT activation, SF6000. Stock #89332
$432,500 (14)
2018 John Deere R4045 with 132-ft. carbon fiber, 20” CVIII cab, premium radio, AutoSolution control, Exact Apply, front fill, 5 sensor boom level, boom air purge, LED lights, eductor, leather, fence row nozzles, 800 float tires (75%) and VF480/80R50s (75%) includes 4600 with Command Center premium activation, SF6000. Stock #86870
$369,500 (1)
2015 John Deere R4045 with Command View II Plus cab, guidance, section control, 120-ft. boom with auto boom leveling, stainless steel tank, foam markers, RH and LH fence row nozzles, no eductor, 420/95R50 tires. Stock #86591
$169,000 (12)
2014 John Deere R4038 100-ft, 20” spac-
ing, 1000 gallon, SS, BoomTrac 5, CVII cab, manual solution control, boom air purge, LED lights, 380 tires (65%). Includes SF3000, AT activation, section control. Stock #89239
$180,000 (1)
2012 John Deere 4940 with 120-ft. boom, 15” spacing, 380/105R50 tires, Hi-Flo solution pump, stainless steel plumbing, BoomTrac Pro 5 leveling, SF3000 receiver, AutoTrac and section control activations. Stock #88812......$137,500 (1)
2014 Case IH Patriot 2240 with 90-ft., 20” spacing, 600 gallon, SS, Aim Command, 420/85R38 (80%), manual solution, eductor, front fill, AccuBoom height. Stock #84805
2022 JD N560 no till drill, 60-ft., 7.5” spacing, Pro Series openers, Truset down pressure, narrow spoked gauge wheels, crumbler closing wheels, JD All Run Blockage, 430 tow between cart with 12” conveyor (KSI flip over hopper), no section control. Stock #90471
$420,000 (4)
$149,000 (1)
2006 John Deere 1890 36-ft. drill with 7.5” spacing, single shoot, All Run Blockage, solid gauge wheels, 270 bushel tow between cart, 8” fill auger. Stock #85261
$140,000 (11)
$117,500 (2)
2014 Case IH Patriot 2240 120-ft. boom, 20” spacing, 1000 gallon SS tank, Aim Command Pro, boom height, section control, 650/65R38 Viper 4 control, Nav II controller, section command. Stock #89336
$170,000 (2)
2012 John Deere 1890 60-ft. drill with 7.5” spacing, 8 run, single shoot, primary blockage, 350 bushel tow behind cart, 12” conveyor, rear duals, ground drive and variable rate. Stock #90382
$132,000 (12)
2007 Case IH SPX3310 with 90-ft. boom, 20” spacing, stainless tank and plumbing, 6 section Trimble guidance. Stock #89328
$42,500 (1)
2021 John Deere 542C 42-ft. air drill, 7.5” spacing, single shoot, Pro Series spoked gauge wheels, All Run Blockage, 340/60R15 single wing tires, tow behind 1910 cart, SN1A81910HCNF795479. Stock #87427 $265,000 (4)
2010 John Deere 1835 50-ft. drill with 12.5” spacing, 550# trips, 3” rubber press wheels, DBL shoot, drill with midrow banders, rock guards and scrapers, dual wing wheels, primary blockage on seed, no blockage on fertilizer, 430 bushel tow between cart, double shoot, 6 runs, 10” auger, 710/70R38, SN A01910T735486. Stock #89162
$59,000 (14)
2010 John Deere 1830 60-ft. hoe drill, 10” spacing, single shoot, steel packers, mechanical depth control, primary blockage, 1910 tow behind air cart.S/N 1A81910HVAG740107. Stock #90380
2021 John Deere N560C with Relative-Flow™ Blockage monitoring, independent rank lock, tank scales. Capable SeedPlus ready, electric drive with hydraulic air seeder power generation, 33x155 - 16.5 in. on MF front, dual 500 on MF rear with walking beam, dual 33x13.5 - 16.5 in. on wings, no walk beam spoked gauge wheel - 7.5 & 15 inch spacing volumetic, serrated seed closing wheel. Stock #90665
$172,500 (12)
$97,500 (12)
2012 Versatile SX275 with 120-ft. boom with boom leveling, stainless steel tank, narrow tires, hydraulic tread adjust, guidance ready with receiver and display 20” spacing. Stock #86825
$85,000 (14)
2011 Versatile SX275 self propelled sprayer with 120-ft. booms, 1000 gallon tank, Cummins engine, Allison transmission, Raven display with AutoTrac, section control and boom height, air suspension, 380/90R46 tires with rear duals, 3 way nozzle body. Stock #88788
$103,000 (11)
2015 John Deere 1890 60-ft. with 10” spacing, 90 Series openers, mix of spoked and unspoked gauge wheels, mix of smooth and serrated closing wheels, All Run Blockage (JD), 430 tow between cart with Intelligent Ag section control, 12” conveyor with standard hopper. Stock #88790 $217,500 (14)
New Holland PS2070 60-ft. hoe drill, 10” spacing, PS1060 cart, roughly 25,000 acres. Stock #86634 $55,000 (11)
Case IH ATX5010 50-ft., 10” spacing, SS, tire packers, 3” spread tips, no blockage, 2 tanks - 230 bushels. Has new hoses and points. Stock #85109.....$32,500 (1)
2005 Case IH ATX4812 48-ft., 12” spacing, rubber packer wheels, 1” tips, includes 3380 tow behind air cart. Stock #83627 $26,000 (1)
2012 John Deere 1890 60-ft. no till drill, 10” spacing, single shoot air package for tow between cart, All Run Blockage system for seed, 430 bushel cart, Uniforce down pressure system. Stock #86592
$192,500 (12)
2015 John Deere 1890 60-ft. no-till drill, 7.5” spacing, SS, All Run Blockage, solid gauge wheel, 430 bushel tow behind cart, 3 tank, 8 run, hydraulic drive (section command), 10” fill auger. Stock
$190,000
2008 Bourgault 5710 Series 2 59-ft. drill, 12” spacing, 5.5” pneumatic press wheels, 2007 tow behind 6550ST 550 bushel 4 tank cart. Currently has 14” sweeps with 6” spreader boots. Set up for organic. Stock #88896 $45,000 (12)
2020 Lemkin Compact Solitair 9/600K HD 20-ft. drill, 5” spacing, double disk openers, single shoot air system, grain and fertilizer boxes, blockage system. Stock #90906
$145,000 (15)
2016 Lemkin Compact Solitair 9 20-ft. drill, grain and fertilizer, 3 point hookup. Stock #89944
$115,000 (15)
#87427
#91194
#89239
#89240
#87613
#90868
#90868
(12)
Dean Brandt (406) 899-4763 Phil Gates (406) 750-3071 office: (406) 268-9614
email: mtmtlfab@gmail.com
#####
“Though a tree grows so high, the falling leaves return to the root.”
#####
“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”
A garden fungus
By Carrie Knutson, Horticulture agent, NDSU Extension
There is truly so much beauty and wonder in nature if we take a few minutes in our busy schedules to appreciate it. I was looking at a tree last month when there was much more moisture, and something in the mulch caught my eye. No, it wasn’t an insect, not this time anyway. It was a type of fungus called bird’s nest fungi. Bird’s nest fungi are small. You might easily step on them in the garden without noticing it. They range in size but are usually under onequarter inch in width
I learned about bird’s nest fungi in college. Its name and appearance have always stuck with me. The main reason is that the fungus is easily identified and appropriately named. The name matches its appearance, as it looks like a miniature bird’s nest with eggs in it.
Bird’s nest fungi are very different from the typical mushrooms in our yards. Remember, the part of the fungus that we see is the fruiting body. The nest structure of the bird’s nest fungi we see is called a peridium. It contains the “eggs,” which are specialized structures called peridioles. They contain the fungal spores. The peridioles are released and spread by water drops.
You might be wondering why I am devoting my time to discussing the beauty and wonder of a fungus. Bird’s nest fungi, other mushrooms and fungi, along with bacteria, molds and other organisms have an important function in our ecosystems. They help decompose or break down plant material. They absorb nutrients and help release them into the environment. If we didn’t have decomposers, our yards, gardens and forests would be full of plant material.
We can get flushes of mushrooms during periods of wet weather. The wet weather last fall and this spring resulted in mushrooms popping up in unexpected places. You might not have noticed their absences during the dryer years, but it is hard to miss their presence during rainy weather. If mushrooms are unsightly to you or you have pets or small children, you can rake up the mushrooms and dispose of them. If you have mushrooms growing in mulch, use a rake to move the mulch around to increase airflow. Chemical control of mushrooms is not recommended.
Finally, a note of caution because we are discussing mushrooms. Do not eat wild mushrooms unless you can 100% positively identify them, as many mushrooms are poisonous. Because I can’t end a discussion on fungi any other way, “Why did the carrot invite the mushroom to his picnic? Because he is a fun guy (fungi)!”
True TV science
•
at noon.
Game of Thrones (2011-). This fantasy series feature surreal weapons and unbelievable ways of killing off our favorite characters, but surprisingly, some of it is plausible. Season Six mentions a mystical sword made of meteorite. Ancient Egyptians, before they had the technology to smelt iron, crafted swords and daggers from meteoritic iron. King Tutankhamun, Mughal Emperor Jahangir, and Attila the Hun had such weapons. And when the character Khal Drogo kills his brother-in-law Viserys Targaryen by crowning his head in molten gold, it recalled natives of South American who poured hot gold down the throat of a gold-taxing Spanish governor in 1599. (The fire over which Drogo heats the gold would have to be an impossible 1,947 degree F, but if he added lead to the mixture, that would lower its melting point and make the storyline feasible.)
The Walking Dead (2010-). In this postapocalyptic series, dead people are reanimated in the form of uncoordinated, confused zombies. In reality, Haitian voodoo priests have apparently turned people into the “walking dead.” They administer a nerve toxin from pufferfish that brings the victim to the brink of death, paralyzed and smelling rotten. Then the witch doctor may use a poisonous plant called angel’s trumpet to “resurrect” them, leaving them delirious and sometimes brain-damaged, yet able to walk.
Penny Dreadful (2014-2016). Considering the show’s werewolves, witches, and other fictional characters, it’s hard to believe that some of its storylines may have a factual basis. The character of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, for instance, uses dead bodies he finds via the black market to conduct experiments with electricity, ultimately bringing them back to life. In the 1790s, Italian doctor Luigi Galvani electrified dead animals to make them twitch and in doing so, pioneered the creepy-sounding field of electrophysiology. And resurrectionists did steal freshly dead bodies from graveyard to deliver them to medical “professionals.”
How offspring performance influences culling decision
By Lisa Moser, K-State Research and Extension news service
The decision to eliminate someone’s job after years of solid performance is not one that many employers make without serious consideration.
In the case of a beef cattle operation, the decision to sell the cow from the herd is often influenced by a variety of factors, including her performance, the quality of her offspring, cattle prices and marketing opportunities among others, say the experts at Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle
performance is unknown.”
Larson added that the weaning weights of the calves will vary depending on the dam’s age.
Another factor that can influence the size of the calf is the cow’s diet during pregnancy, according to Lancaster.
“If those smaller calves are born to cows that aren’t getting enough nutrition in the mid-to-late gestation, it can have a stunting effect on those calves,” he said. Institute.
Speaking on a recent Cattle Chat podcast, the experts addressed a question from a listener who asked about how a calf’s performance should be factored into the decision to sell its mother.
“The decision to cull a cow from the herd is a complex decision and it usually isn’t just one thing that drives that decision,” K-State veterinarian Brian Lubbers said.
Specific to a calf’s performance, if the cow is in good body condition but the calf is not at the appropriate weight for its age, K-State beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster said it is likely that the cow is not supplying enough milk to meet that calf’s dietary needs.
“If the calf looks rough and the cow is in good shape, it tells me that calf is relying too much on the grass to meet its nutritional needs, and in a drought environment that can be challenging,” Lancaster said.
K-State veterinarian Bob Larson agreed and advised producers to evaluate the cow’s udder.
“If the calves are smaller than expected, make sure to confirm the cow has a functional udder,” Larson said
The experts agreed that studying the individual records can help make the decision to sell a cow that, historically, has raised small calves.
“By looking at the yearover-year records, a producer can see what the trend has been,” K-State agricultural economist Dustin Pendell said
Those records can also tell producers the breeding date, pregnancy status and date of calving, and Larson said those are important to know when evaluating the performance of the cow-calf pair.
“If the calf’s performance is lower than average, I’d look at when the cow calved relative to the others in the herd and her pregnancy status,” Larson said. “If she has a calf each year that is within a reasonable weight per day of age, then I’d keep her in the herd rather than replacing her with a cow whose
Preparing calves for the auction
By Lisa Moser, K-State Research and Extension news service
Anyone who has ever left the house in a rush knows that it is not the ideal way to start the day, as important things can be left behind. And, the stress of the exit can leave a person feeling uneasy.
Similarly, when preparing young calves for sale day, moving them in a hurry and not following health protocols can not only be stressful, but it can also result in lost income due to lower sale weights, according to the experts at Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute.
Speaking on a recent Cattle Chat podcast, the experts agreed that with proper planning, young calves can make this transition with minimal stress.
K-State agricultural economist Dustin Pendell said producers first need to decide how they want to market the calves.
“Look at the marketing options to see if there is a certain program that matches with your management system, and then follow the protocols of that program,” Pendell said. Examples he gave were preconditioning and vaccination programs.
K-State veterinarian Bob Larson added that a lot of special calf sales will have vaccination requirements for not only the type of vaccine to give, but also guidelines for when the vaccinations must be administered.
“Vaccines work best when they are delivered at a time when the calf isn’t particularly stressed, so if we can vaccinate them and then turn them back with their mothers, they are likely to respond well,” Larson said. “Also, these vaccines need time, so if they are administered the day before we co-mingle them it doesn’t provide much of a benefit.”
Along with making sure the calves are properly vaccinated, the experts say it is important to minimize the amount of weight lost between the ranch and the auction market.
“The main thing we are concerned about is the amount of shrink the calves experience, so if you are pulling them away from their mothers the morning they go to the sale, be sure to follow low-stress handling techniques to reduce the amount they will defecate and urinate tied to stress,” Lancaster said.
Some producers will follow a preconditioning protocol that involves weaning the calves and exposing them to a feed bunk and other water sources, Lancaster said. “The preconditioning diet should have about 30% forage, and then the morning you take them to the sale barn just hold them off of feed.”
Along with giving the calves time to adjust to a new diet, K-State veterinarian Brian Lubbers said there is a benefit to exposing them to close contact with people and machinery.
“Calves that are used to seeing humans and farm equipment will make the transition to the feeding phase of production go smoother, allowing your calves to perform better and build your reputation of selling high-quality calves,” Lubbers said.
Also, when you are taking the calves to an auction, Pendell suggested letting people know.
“Let your customers know when you are taking the calves to market through the community and social media channels,” Pendell said.
And the last tip they offered was to make sure the person driving them to the auction is a cautious driver.
“Research has shown that the driver matters – how they approach corners and stop signs is important,” Larson said. “Remember when you are delivering your calves, which is your paycheck, it is important that they arrive in the best possible shape.”
Dream Discovery: Lead shot
British plumber William Watts came up with the process for making lead shot used in shotguns. This process was revealed to him in a dream. At the time, making the shot was costly and unpredictable–the lead was rolled into sheets by hand, then chopped into bits. Watt had the same dream each night for a week: He was walking along in a heavy rainstorm–but instead of rain, he was being showered with tiny pellets of lead, which he could see rolling around his feet. The dream haunted him; did it mean the molten lead falling through the air would harden into round pellets? He decided to experiment. He melted a few pounds of lead and tossed it out of the tower of a church that had a water-filled moat at its base. When he removed the lead from the water, he found that it had hardened into tiny globules. To this day, lead shot is made by being dropped from a height into water.
Quantum mechanics 101
The name sounds intimidating, but it can be broken down like this: A quantum is the tiniest bit of energy inside an atom. And mechanics is the study of motion. So quantum mechanics is the study of the motion of particles inside atoms. An electron, for example, is one such particle that orbits an atom’s nucleus. But it doesn’t move like a planet orbiting the Sun. Experiments have shown electrons can behave like waves. Trying to predict where one will be at any moment is a guessing game because electrons can instantly jump from one orbit to another–making quantum leaps. It gets weirder. Two quanta (the plural of quantum) can share a mysterious link, even if they’re far apart. In one experiment in 2012, scientists took a connected pair of photons (quanta of light) and separated them. Photon 1 was then altered, and amazingly, Photon 2, on an island 88 miles away (143 km), was instantly altered as well. The two were entangled, a strong connection between quanta that no one can explain.
Scientists have managed to create useful inventions using quantum mechanics–one of the first was the transistor, in 1947.
This world-changing device replaced vacuum tubes, which were big, breakable, and needed a lot of electricity. Transistors made the computers of today possible, as well as digital cameras, CD and DVD players, cell phones, ATMs, and lasers. Still, there’s much about quantum mechanics that scientists can’t explain. Even Richard Feynman, a quantum physicist, once said, “I think it is safe to say that no one understands quantum mechanics.”
Not up to snuff
Meaning: Below standard
Origin: “Englishmen were so fond of finely powdered tobacco, or snuff, that its use was nearly universal throughout the kingdom. Connoisseurs would pride themselves on knowing their snuff. One decided as not up to snuff was considered an amateur at judging powdered tobacco. But soon the phrase expanded to any person or product considered to be less than discerning”
#####
What do skeletons order at a restaurant? Spare ribs. #####
A pumpkin is not a Jack O’ Lantern until it is carved.
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Water-use efficiency study
Published in Catching Up with CALS University of Idaho researchers have been flying drones fitted with near-infrared cameras over eastern Idaho wheat and barley research plots to assess how efficiently different varieties use water.
Jared Gibbons and Lance Hansen, both UI Extension educators based in Madison County, earned a drone pilot’s license and recorded images over university cereal variety trials in Aberdeen, Idaho Falls and Tetonia from early June through late July, making at least three flights above each site.
“Are certain varieties of barley or wheat more efficient at using water than others? There really wasn’t anything that had been done to look at that across varieties, and it’s a tricky thing to measure because you’re talking about a very narrow band of how effective they are with water,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons came up with the idea as a means of finding uses for several small drones and a few larger drones his county office obtained for a program that teaches 4-H youth about drone technology. The project was funded with about $6,000 in Innovative Project Grant dollars through UI Extension. The cameras cost roughly $500 each and are about the size of a wallet.
“Those drones are capable of doing other things and I thought, ‘We’ve already got the drones. Let’s get more use out of them,’” Gibbons said.
Gibbons plans to review the data this fall. If he discovers statistically significant differences in water-use efficiency among varieties, he’ll share the information at cereal field days and include the data in an informational booklet about cereal varieties.
Healthy plants absorb most of the red light that’s visible to the human eye for use in photosynthesis and reflect nearinfrared light, which isn’t part of the visible spectrum. As plants become stressed due to factors such as inadequate water, the balance shifts somewhat and they begin absorbing some near-infrared light.
Based on the reflection of near-infrared light, his software assigns a score ranging from -1 for dead plants or bare soil to 1 for perfectly healthy plants. Trial plots should work well for the experiment, given that they all receive the same amount of water, fertilizer and other inputs and are grown in replication in a common environment.
Gibbons plans to repeat the experiment next season if he generates conclusive data.
“I’m interested in doing this in dryland trials,” Gibbons said. “I think there’s potential to see more difference in the sites that are not irrigated.”
He also plans to evaluate how certain management practices affect water utilization, as well as the amount of water required for plants to convert certain forms of nitrogen into growth.
Furthermore, he’s already used the drones and cameras to aid colleagues’ research, including a project evaluating annual alfalfa as a means of fixing additional nitrogen and a project evaluating herbicide effectiveness.
“Now that I’ve got the cameras that’s a one-time cost and I can keep using them for other projects within the district,” Gibbons said.
Green City: Copenhagen
Population: 1.2 million
How green is it? Copenhagen, Denmark, has been addressing environmental issues for decades. The result is that the water in its harbors and canals is so clean that people actually swim in them. There are also more than 186 miles of bike paths in the metro area, and residents and tourists can borrow bikes for free. Some major streets even have a “green wave” system so bike riders can speed through intersections without stopping–they hit timed green lights the entire way. Now more than half of Copenhageners bike to work or school.
The city is filled with parks, and plans are in the works to guarantee that at least 90 percent of Copenhagen’s population will be within walking distance of a park or beach. About 20 percent of the city’s electric power comes from wind turbines, hydroelectric power, and biomass (energy from organic matter like wood, straw, and organic waste), but the goal is to stop using coal altogether. The city is encouraging residents to buy electric- and hydrogen-powered cars and is investing more than $900 billion so that by 2025, Copenhagen will be carbon-neutral.
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1/4 tsp ground black pepper, plus more for garnish
6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 Tbsp chopped Calabrian or pimento peppers
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 (10-ounce) baguette
4 Tbsl salted butter, melted
Thinly sliced green onions, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss 3 cups of the halved tomatoes with salt on the baking sheet. Bake until they are bright in color, puckered, and brown in some spots, about 25 minutes. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. While the tomatoes are cooling, stir together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, onion powder, black pepper, and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese until combined in a medium bowl. Add the roasted tomatoes, Calabrian peppers, and dried basil; stir until smooth and combined. Spread the filling across the bottom of a 10-inch ovenproof skillet and use a silicone spatula to smooth the surface. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar
cheese and arrange the remaining 1 cup of fresh halved cherry tomatoes on top, cut side up. Bake at 350°F until the cheese is melted and the dip is warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the dip rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. While the dip rests, increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Slice the baguette on an angle into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange the slices on a clean baking sheet lined with parchment paper; brush each slice with melted butter using a pastry brush. Bake at 400°F until toasted and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Garnish the dip with a few grinds of black pepper and green onions. Serve with the toasted baguette slices.
Tortellini Salad
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 cup black olives
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 (10-ounce) packages tortellini
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
8 ounces pepperoni slices
6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
Cherry tomatos, carrots, broccoli or cauliflower optional
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Stir in the red onion. Set aside. Once the water comes up to a boil, cook the tortellini until al dente following package directions. Drain into a colander set in the sink. Rinse with cold running water until the pasta cools to room temperature. Drain well. Add the cooled tortellini, bell peppers, cucumbers, black olives, artichokes, pepperoni, feta, (other veggies as desired) and basil to the dressing. Toss well to combine. Taste and season with salt and black pepper, if needed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to chill and let the flavors come together. Toss together once more before serving.
Grilled Broccoli
6 cups fresh broccoli spears
2 Tbsp plus 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Place broccoli in a large bowl. Combine lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper; drizzle over broccoli and toss to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Toss broccoli; drain broccoli, discarding marinade. Place cheese in a small shallow bowl. Add broccoli, a few pieces at a time, toss to coat.
Prepare grill for indirect heat using a drip pan. Place broccoli over drip pan on an oiled grill rack. Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 8-10 minutes on each side or until crisp-tender. #####
ghoulish figures.
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Environmental influences on herd health
By Lisa Moser, K-State Research and Extension news service
Experiencing too much sun exposure and drinking poorquality water can have serious negative effects on a person’s health. That can be true for cattle as well, according to the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute experts who spoke on a recent Cattle Chat podcast.
“It is important for beef producers to observe their cattle as well as monitor the pastures and water supplies on a routine basis,” K-State veterinarian Bob Larson said.
Managing sunburn in cattle
• Increased early season vigor
• Phosphorus and Zinc to drive rooting & cold start the crop.
• Zinc to help with early season hormone production, ie. Auxin for root and shoot growth.
• Convey Technology to help with early season stresses, such as cool soils and excess moisture. It also improves nutrient use efficiency.
• Other essential nutrients target at each specific crop, ie. Boron for cell wall strength; Manganese for efficient photosynthesis.
• Second chance for a starter fertilizer
• Formulations are targeted at early season root growth (more root = more efficient moisture and nutrient uptake).
• Proactive way of managing the crops nutritional requirement.
• Convey Technology helps with early season stresses such as cool soils, excess moisture, and drought. Also improves nutrient use efficiency.
• Speeds up recovery from herbicide hangover - the correct supply of nutrients helps the crop metabolize the herbicide more quickly.
• Contains novel Phosphorus nutrition, providing increased nutrient uptake and movement within the plant.
• Targeted at the reproductive phse of the plant.
• Proactive way of managing the crops utritional requirement
• Contains other essential nutrients targeted for each specific crop, ie. Boron to aid pollen tube growth, Zinc to help produce Auxin, to ensure healthy pollen tube growth.
If producers notice cattle developing skin lesions including redness and swelling, the animal may be experiencing photosensitization, Larson said.
K-State veterinarian and diagnostic toxicologist Scott Fritz said this condition occurs in cattle when they consume certain plants and are exposed to ultraviolet light, leading to a surplus of photodynamic agents in the body.
“Photosensitization looks like a severe sunburn in cattle, and it often appears in the non-pigmented areas of the cow,” Fritz said. “A lot of times their hair falls off and the skin can slough off as well.”
Fritz said that can happen when cattle consume a photodynamic agent or when there is damage to the liver that keeps the animal from metabolizing chlorophyll appropriately.
One of the common plants in Kansas that can cause the condition is St. John’s Wort. But grazing certain plants is just one of the causes of this condition, K-State veterinarian Brian Lubbers said.
“Some antibiotics can cause photosensitivity,” Lubbers said.
To understand what type of disease the cattle are experiencing, Fritz advised producers to work with their veterinarian to do diagnostic testing.
“If this is happening in the liver, the likelihood of a good outcome is low, but if it is just a matter of removing the cattle from the pasture, the animals in the herd have a good chance of recovery,” Fritz said.
In either case, palliative care is the only course of treatment, Fritz said.
Maintaining high-quality water
Another issue that can lead to cattle sickness is poor quality water, said the veterinarians
“It is important to know the water quality,” K-State beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster said. “For example, if the water source is high in sulfur, then we would need to be careful when feeding corn gluten feed and distillers grains that naturally have a high sulfur content, and adjust accordingly.”
As part of that water quality assessment, Larson said it is important to check the water source routinely.
“It requires vigilant observation to make sure the water sources are clean and free of algae buildup,” Larson said. “We want to make sure there is nothing that is going to keep the cattle from consuming water.”
He said that sometimes birds or mice fall into the water sources and die and that can lead to bacteria buildup. It can also happen when cattle defecate in the water source.
How much the cattle will drink each day varies greatly, K-State veterinarian Brad White said.
“In hot weather conditions, cows and calves may consume twice as much water as they do in cold weather,” White said.
Five freaky facts about… TESLA
Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 during a lightning storm. While growing up in Croatia, he complained of “blinding flashes of light” followed by visions that he later said inspired his greatest inventions.
Tesla was afraid of round things, especially pearls. He detested pearls so much that he wouldn’t speak to a woman who was wearing them.
Tesla could fluently speak eight languages: Serbo-Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, and Latin.
The more you use your brain, the lighter your eye color becomes… according to Tesla. He said that a life of science had lightened his eyes.
Tesla had an odd fascination with the number three that lasted until the end of his life…in 1943, three days before what would have been his 87th birthday (divisible by 3) in room 3327 (also divisible by 3) on the 33rd floor of his hotel.
Weird dyes
Three thousand years ago, fishermen in the eastern Mediterranean found a sea snail called a murex that had an unusual property: if you squeezed its sluglike body, it oozed a deep, brilliant purple substance that made a beautiful dye. The color became so prized that the area become known as Phoenicia, the “Land of Purple.” The dye was named “Tyrian purple” after Tyre, the capital of Phoenicia.
It took nearly six million snails to make a single pound of dye, and a single ounce of dye cost a pound of gold. Only the wealthy could afford purple clothes, and purple became the royal color of the empires of Egypt, Persia, and Rome. By the fifth century, the murex snail population was on the verge of extinction. Kings and popes needed alternatives to Tyrian purple. In 1464 the Catholic Church introduced “cardinal’s purple,” a maroon dye made form an insect called a kermes (which gave its name to the new dye’s color, carmine). A hundred years later, the Spanish brought another insect-derived dye–cochineal–back from Mexico and Peru. The Aztec king Montezuma had worn robes dyed in this brilliant red. Cochineal is still used today in food coloring, cosmetics, and more.
Got hay? A guide to purchasing forage
By Jacob Klaudt, K-State Research and Extension news service
According to the U.S Drought Monitor, approximately 20% of Kansas presently faces drought conditions, while 40% remains abnormally dry.
Many issues arise from this lack of rainfall that affects livestock producers. Kansas State University beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster said ranchers who grow their own hay encounter forage fields that yield less than normal, which leaves them needing to buy more
“Producers are now purchasing hay from different parts of the state and country to make sure they have enough feed resources for the upcoming winter,” he said.
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“People who need hay for livestock with higher nutrient requirements have started looking elsewhere to find higher quality forage than they were able to put up themselves this year.”
With remote transactions and contactless payments becoming more common, Lancaster said producers must “get eyes” on the forage before they purchase it to ensure its quality
“There are several different aspects we can evaluate by visiting the farm and looking at hay in person,” he said. “One of the biggest things is its leaf-to-stem ratio. The highest quality hay will have more leaves with fewer stems and seed heads.”
Additionally, Lancaster urges buyers to ask sellers for a forage test to guarantee its nutritional value.
“It will tell you things like a hay’s protein percentage and fiber amount,” he said. “A forage test will also provide a relative feed value. This figure can be compared to a standard number that allows a producer to see where that hay ranks and what is considered good quality.”
He added: “You want to ask the person taking the samples for the analysis ‘What cutting did this come from?’, ‘Where in the haystack did this hay originate from?’ and ‘Was it taken using a bale core?’, so you have a good representative sample of the hay that is there.”
Beyond verification, producers should evaluate a forage’s price relative to its quality using a cost per unit of nutrient value.
“Figure out what the key nutrient you’re going to need out of the hay you’re buying and determine its cost per unit (usually measured in dollars per pound),” Lancaster said.
“In beef cows, the main nutrient of concern is energy, so look at the cost per unit of total digestible nutrients (TDN), which estimates a forage’s digestibility.”
Buyers must also establish how hay was stored prior to a transaction, according to Lancaster.
“Particularly, (buyers should think about) how it was stored since the forage sample was taken for analysis because additional moisture after that will affect the quality that you are going to actually get compared to the quality when that sample was acquired,” he said.
“Ask the seller ‘Was it covered?’ and ‘Was it raised off the ground?’ to figure out how much moisture a given bale was potentially absorbing in storage.”
Moreover, producers should consider buying hay on a tonnage basis instead of per bale.
“Livestock eat pounds; they do not eat volume. Having a total weight in tons gives a producer the ability to better calculate how much is needed and if enough is being purchased,” Lancaster said. “When bales are not wrapped to the same density, their sizes and weights can vary greatly.”
The rock painting hoax
Background: A new piece of ancient artwork turned up in the British Museum in 2005. The artifact was a rock bearing painted images on animals, a man, and an unusual tool. The sign beneath it read: “Early man venturing toward the out-of-town hunting grounds.”
Exposed! The “tool” in the picture was a shopping cart; the “artifact” had been secretly placed there by British hoax artist Banksymus Maximus, also known as “Banksy” He designed it to look like the authentic ancient pieces in the museum–and it stayed up for three days before “experts” at the museum noticed it. (The sign on the piece also dated it to “the Post-Catatonic era.”) The museum took the hoax in good humor, and even returned the piece to the artist. It quickly went up at Banksy’s latest show at another museum, with the label “On loan from the British Museum.”
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Billings, MT 59102
Phone 406-254-1247 Cell 406-697-4040
See: www.mcmurrycattle.com for videos and information about bulls available for 2024 mcmurrycattle@gmail.com
FFA students gather information on the Ag industry and careers at field day
By Chabella Guzman, PREEC Communications
FFA youth from around the Panhandle came together on Wednesday, August 28, for the WESTCO-UNL FFA Field Day in Gering and at the Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff.
WESTCO started the FFA Field Day three years ago. This year, it grew to include the UNL Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff, but the field day has been growing in more ways than one. “It’s been a growing process. The first year was pretty small, we didn’t have as many chapters, and in year two, it just exploded,” said Cole Vejraska, WESTCO Agronomy Sales Manager. In the morning, half of the 250 students were at the Center.
“It’s our first time teaming up, and we have a whole bunch of activities here related to different Ag-related management, livestock systems, and water systems. Just giving the kids a chance to do some handson activities here and learn about some of these systems,” said Troy White, UNL assistant professor of Practice Ag Leadership Education and Communication.
The center had 11 activity stops where students could learn about plant diseases, 4-H robotics, entomology, range, weeds, and more. Many activity stops had handson demonstrations or were built around games. Most stations were indoors, but a few, including the Weed ID Walk led by Nevin Lawrence, Nebraska Extension integrated weed management specialist, were outdoors.
“They’re learning,” said Bill Gifford, Banner County High School Ag Education instructor. “He (Lawrence) gave us some great tips on how to identify certain plants
and some interesting facts about those certain plants too, so that was great.” The Weed ID Walk was one of the Banner County FFA student’s first stop. Gifford said their interests vary from plants to animals and technology,
The FFA students at the Center rotated to the cornfield plots in the afternoon, east of Gering and the WESTCO sessions. The cornfield had farm equipment as part of some stations, where students learned about various careers in agriculture and what it takes to grow a crop.
“Our main goal is to have students learn and, at the same time, just expose them to the idea of careers in agriculture and various different aspects,” Vejraska said. “I think a lot of the (FFA) Chapters are here today. I did hear David (Briggs, CEO of WESTCO) talking about Bayard. This is the first time in three years that they’ve actually been able to be here due to scheduling and other things. So, they were really excited to be here.”
While the day was hot, with a temperature of 98 degrees, the FFA students stayed hydrated with water at the stations that dealt with healthy corn roots, sensors, and precision ag.
“We try to have all of our stations really focus on hands-on activities,” said Greta Birch, WESTCO Precision Ag Specialist. “The feed station where they have a cow with the cannula has been a big hit. And they really seem to enjoy hopping up in the big rigs and seeing the inside of them.”
The day also had some college recruiters for students interested in pursuing careers in agriculture.
Nevin Lawrence, Nebraska Extension integrated weed management specialist, left, shows Banner County FFA students Tobey May, Micah Dittbenner, and Brentsen McGowan how to identify common weeds in our backyards. Photo by Chabella Guzman
Randy Brown, left, and Tommy Briggs WinField United representatives wait for the FFA students to review the corn roots before discussing what they see at the WESTCO/WinField United corn plots east of Gering.
Photo by Chabella Guzman
Common Mullein, an invasive weed on Nebraska’s Horizon
By Gary Stone - Extension Educator, Mitchell Stephenson - Extension Range and Forage Management Specialist
Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) is a concept to identify potentially invasive species prior to or just at their establishment. Developing an Integrated Pest Management plan (IPM) to manage, contain, and eradicate the invasive species before it spreads can help avoid costly, long-term control efforts.
One such invasive species that could affect western Nebraska is common mullein, an herbaceous biennial forb found throughout the Great Plains and most of North America. It is a county or state noxious weed in Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming.
Common mullein is also known as Jacob’s staff, flannel leaf, velvet plant, velvet dock or flannel plant. Originally from Europe, it was first reported in North America in the mid-1700s as an ornamental, a medicinal herb, and used as a piscicide — a chemical substance poisonous to fish.
Common mullein reproduces and spreads by seeds. It is a prolific seed producer; large mature plants can produce up to 240,000 seeds per year that remain viable in the soil for more than 100 years. Seeds germinate in fall and form a basal rosette. During the second year of growth, the plants “bolt” and produce a flower stalk. Seed can be spread by wildlife, vehicles, construction equipment, livestock, forages, feed grains, soil and gravel.
Common mullein has an extensive fibrous and tap root system. The root system allows the plant to access soil moisture better than native plants, giving it a competitive advantage, especially during dry years.
Rosettes can be over two feet across. An individual rosette leaf can be over one foot long and covered with dense hairs, giving it the feel of velvet. The flower stalk can be two to eight feet tall. Leaves are alternate and progressively smaller to the base of the seed head.
Flowering usually occurs in June and July when single flower stalks packed with sulfur-yellow colored flowers bolt. The flowers are five-lobed and united at the base. Seed capsules are woolly and contain numerous small seeds.
Habitat
Common mullein is adaptive to a wide range of environmental conditions, favoring disturbed sites. It is often found in rangeland, pastures, waste areas, roadsides and woodlands. It has no forage value for livestock and can reduce grass production.
Management Prevention is the best and cheapest management option. Having well-established grasses and forbs on a maintained pasture or rangeland with proper grazing and rotational grazing techniques can go a long way to prevent its establishment. Detecting infestations early through scouting, monitoring and proper identification are key management factors given how quickly it infests and spreads.
To manage common mullein and promote your desired plant community, create an Integrated Pest Management plan (IPM) combining multiple control strategies.
Mechanical Control. Pulling or cultivating small common mullein plants can be an effective control method, as long as the plants are young (before they go to seed). Mowing
Figure 1. Stand of common mullein (All photos by Gary Stone)
Figure 2. Common mullein rosette, pre-bolt stage.
Common Mullein
can be effective to reduce seed production but must be repeated throughout the season. Biological Control. Consider using biological control insects, such as the curculionid weevil (Gymnetron tetrum) and the mullein moth (Cucullia verbasci). The weevil larvae feed on the seed in the seed capsule and can destroy up to 50% of the seed. The moth larvae feed on the foliage. Biological control methods should be entered into only after full consideration of potential non-target species impacts. Other management methods must be used in combination to reduce and control the infestation.
Chemical Control. Consider the site, overall weed complex, forbs, shrubs and trees when selecting a herbicide. Consult the specific herbicide label for recommendations or requirements on the timing of application, amount of water carrier, and herbicide rate, and carefully follow all label directions.
The dense hairy leaves of common mullein can affect herbicide coverage and uptake and cause erratic control. When the herbicide label allows, use of a crop oil concentrate (COC), methylated seed oil (MSO), or other oil-based adjuvant may improve herbicide penetration through the hairy leaf surface, although grass injury may occur. Generally, treatment should occur during the spring rosette to early bud/bolt stage. Retreatment of areas infested with common mullein may be needed due to the long life of the seeds.
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Figure 3. Common mullein flower stalk.
STOKES FENCING
Conrad, Montana
Lance Stokes (406)
Fencing Done Right
FFA members recognized for achievement at the South Dakota State Fair
From August 28 until September 2, 2024, 362 FFA members from 71 FFA chapters competed in livestock exhibitions, farm safety quiz bowl, agriscience fair, and a variety of agricultural displays. In addition, 56 district FFA officers and 8 state FFA leaders coordinated with industry volunteers to provide educational experiences to fair attendees at the Ag Adventure Center.
The top awards and results through various competitions are listed below.
Chapter Sweepstakes Results:
1st – McCook Central
2nd – Beresford
3rd – Bridgewater-Emery
4th – Arlington
Chapter Display Results Top 5:
1st – McCook Central
2nd – Bridgewater-Emery
3rd – Beresford
4th – Miller
5th – Arlington
Sponsored by Valley Queen Cheese.
Agricultural Exhibit Results:
1st Equipment Restoration – McCook Central FFA
1st Medium Metal Project – Tom Connor, Howard
1st Small Metal Project – Jaxen Dockter, Wilmot
1st Medium Wood Project – McCook Central FFA
1st Small Wood Project – Bentlee Holt, Lake Preston
1st Home Accessory Project – Isaac Boden, Beresford
1st Pallet Board Construction – Arlington FFA
1st Horseshoe Project – Isaac Boden, Beresford
1st Metal Art & Plasma Cut Design –Michael Freeman, Ethan
1st Router Signs - Arlington FFA
1st Corsages/Boutonnieres - Anna Arhart, Wessington Springs
1st Cut Floral Arrangements – Anna Arhart, Wessington Springs
Grand Champion Breeding Heifer – Alayna Caulfiend, Florence Reserve Champion
Breeding Heifer – Ty Bergh, Florence
Top 5 Breeding Heifer Showman – (1) Kyla Peskey, Huron, (2) Creighten Werning, BridgewaterEmery , (3) Sienna Kessler, Northwestern Area, (4) Chance Blum, Chamberlain, and (5) Ireland McAreavey, Tri-Valley
How a microwave works
Like visible light, radio waves, and X-rays, microwaves are waves of electromagnetic energy. What makes the four waves different from each other? Each has a different wavelength and vibrates at a different frequency.
Microwaves get their name because their wavelength is much shorter than electromagnetic waves that carry TV and radio signals.
The microwaves in a microwave oven have a wavelength of about four inches, and they vibrate 2.5 billion times per second–about the same natural frequency as water molecules. That’s what makes them so effective at heating food.
A conventional oven heats the air in the oven, which then cooks the food. But microwaves cause water molecules in the food to vibrate at high speeds, creating heat. The heated water molecules are what cook the food.
Glass, ceramic and plastic plates contain virtually no water molecules, which is why they don’t heat up in the microwave. When the microwave oven is turned on, electricity passes through the magnetron, the tube that produces microwaves. The microwaves are then channeled down a metal tube (waveguide) and through a slow rotating metal fan (stirrer), which scatter them into the part of the oven where the food is placed.
The walls of the oven are made of metal, which reflects microwaves the same way that a mirror reflects visible light. So when the microwaves hit the stirrer and are scattered into the food chamber, they bounce off the metal wall and penetrate the food from every direction. A rotating turntable helps food cook more evenly.
Do microwave ovens cook food from the inside out? Some people think so, but the answer seems to be no. Microwaves cook food from the outside in, like conventional ovens. But the microwave energy only penetrates about an inch into the food. The heat that’s created by the water molecules then penetrates deeper into the food, cooking it all the way through. This secondary cooking process is known as conduction.
The metal holes in the glass door of the microwave oven are large enough to let out visible light (which has a small wavelength), but too small to allow the microwaves (which have a larger wavelength) to escape–so you can see what’s cooking without getting cooked yourself.
The deadline for advertising in the November 2024 issue of the Trader's Dispatch will be October 30th. Phone (406) 271-5533 or email: advertising @tradersdispatch.com
Why Advertise in the Trader’s Dispatch?
Reason #3: We are a Montana family-owned business with all production being done in Montana. Our printing is done by another family-owned business in Iowa, just the way we like it!
FFA members recognized for achievement at the South Dakota State Fair
2004 Chevrolet C4500
6.6 Duramax, PS, AC, AT, 90% 225r19.5 tires, 81K miles, 12ft. service body, 16K GVW. Runs and drives great.$15,500
1995 International 4900
Hi-Rail Crane Truck
210hp DT466, 10spd, AC, PS, AB,7.5 ton National crane exh. brake, 60% 22.5 tires, full rail gear, aux. hydraulics
$15,500
1986 Freightliner FLC112 10 yd Dump
400 Cummins, Jake, 9spd, 15’ box, plumbed for pup, 75% 11r24.5’s, roll tarp, air gate, spring suspension, steel frame, runs and works great. $25,500
Under CDL Dump, 85K miles, 5.9 Cummins, 5 spd manual, AC, PS, PB, 24K gvw, 16-ft. landscape dump, 10 ton pto hoist, new pump, new 245/19.5 tires
$17,500
2005 JLG G6-42A 4x4x4 telehandler
6600 lbs. lift cap, 42-ft. lift height, JD 4045 turbo, 5600 hours, 4WD, Crab-Steering, 4 spd, powershift transmission, 48” Forks, 60% foam flled tires, weights 20K#, runs and works great
$37,500
1999 Freightliner FLD112 Rollback truck, 430hp C12 Cat, 10spd autoshift, 27-ft. x102”, 30K power tilt rollback, new 11r22.5 steer & 70% drive tires, Jake, AC, PS, Tilt, Cruise, 4.11 ratio Full lockers, double frame, 490K miles, runs and drives great $32,500
1992 International Crane Truck 10 ton lift capacity, 45-ft. reach, upper bucket controls, 18” auger, 240hp DTA466, 8II trans., 14-ft. service body, 90% 11r22.5’s, aux. hydraulics, runs and drives great. $15,500
1991 Autocar 12-yard Dump
425 hp Cat 3406B, 18 spd., Jake, lift axle, full lockers, 15.5ft. box, 60% 11R24.5’s, 700K miles, pintle hitch, air gate, runs and drives great $31,500
1997 Gradall 534C-10
Telehandler
4x4, 40’ lift height, 4BT Cummins, 7100 hrs, outriggers, 10K capacity, 60% 14.00x24 tires, runs and works great
$32,500
1998 Caterpillar TH103
Telehandler
10,000 lb capacity, 44-ft lift height, outriggers, 4x4, 3 way steering, 48” forks, 75% 14.00x24 tires, 9100 hrs, runs and works excellent. $34,500
Grand Champion Market Steer – Cassandra Twedt, Beresford
Reserve Champion Market Steer – Jenna Eich, Howard
Top 5 Market Beef Showman – (1) Payton Beare, Highmore, (2)Cassandra Twedt, Beresfo rd, (3) Seth Smith, Doland, (4) Cailey Sime, Milbank, and (5) Nate Struck, West Central Breeding and Market Beef Showmanship sponsored by Kevin & Amber Blagg & C & R Supply, Inc..
Grand Champion Market Heifer – Payton Beare, Highmore
By Julie Garden-Robinson, food and nutrition specialist, NDSU Extension
After a hectic several days, my body and brain were tired but still a bit “wired.”
In fact, I woke up at 3 a.m. thinking I needed to keep working on projects. I had finished them.
Has that ever happened to you?
What should a person do? I did what you should not do. I turned on ultra-early morning TV.
“Infomercials” caught my attention. These advertisements can make you feel insufficient in many parts of your life. Effective marketing makes us feel a “need” for items.
As I flipped through the channels, I could order a better wardrobe and jewelry, a new mattress, home-exercise equipment, all sorts of dietary supplements and many kitchen appliances.
However, I did not call the toll-free number and spend my money on a supplement to improve my brain health.
I decided closing my eyes was my best strategy. Unfortunately, I overslept and had 10 minutes to get out the door in the morning.
Besides sleep, you may find the best strategy for brain and body health is in your refrigerator, freezer or cupboards. A good pair of walking shoes also can support brain health, if you use them regularly.
When you take care of your heart through regular exercise and a healthful diet, you also are taking care of your brain.
Many of the risk factors for age-related memory impairment are the same risk factors for heart disease. High blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity increase our risk.
Instead of turning to supplements, take a closer look at your diet. Think of the body as a car. Consider food as fuel.
Oxidative damage in the human body is similar to how a car rusts. The free radicals that affect our body are like the salt, sand and other elements that damage a car. Oxidative damage occurs when harmful molecules called free radicals
Nourish your brain with food and fitness
CONTINUED FROM PAGE A39
cause damage to the body’s cells.
The natural antioxidants in fruits, vegetables and pulses (such as black beans and chickpeas) can help protect the cells throughout the body. Too much damage to our cells can promote everything from heart disease to some brain health issues.
Be sure to eat a balance of foods from all the food groups: grains, dairy and other calcium sources, a variety of protein foods, along with fruits and vegetables.
These are some examples of antioxidant nutrients and foods that are their best sources. Are these foods regularly on your plate or in your grocery cart?
• Citrus fruits, broccoli, brussels sprouts, strawberries and cantaloupe are excellent sources of vitamin C.
• Vegetable oils (corn, canola, sunflower, soybean and olive oils), nuts, leafy greens and some fortified cereals provide vitamin E.
• Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and some fortified breakfast cereals provide vitamin B12.
• Leafy, green vegetables, dry edible beans and fortified cereals provide the B vitamin folate.
• Dark-colored vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, spinach and winter squash provide beta-carotene.
• Omega-3 fats are brain-healthy too. The fats are found in fish, especially pink salmon, trout, albacore tuna and shrimp. A plant-based omega-3 fat is found in flaxseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil and walnuts.
• Selenium is an antioxidant mineral found in seafood, mushrooms, whole grains, poultry, liver, beef, soybeans, seeds, nuts and a variety of other foods.
If you rarely eat any of the above foods, you may want to visit with a dietitian or healthcare provider to make some healthful adjustments to your diet as a first step.
Regular physical activity and learning new skills go hand in hand with nutrition and brain health. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity. In one study, dancing was the No. 1 physical activity that helped decrease the onset of dementia. Doing crossword puzzles also helped lower the risk of dementia.
Regular physical activity can help you sleep all night, so you are less likely to wake up and watch infomercials at night. Sleep is good for your brain too.
Here’s an antioxidant-rich salad with healthful fats.
Southwest Chickpea Salad
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn, thawed, or 1 (15-oz.) can corn, drained and rinsed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 medium avocados, diced
1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
Dressing:
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled, for garnish (optional)
In a large bowl, combine black beans, chickpeas, corn, tomatoes, avocados and olives. In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice, olive oil, cumin, chili powder, salt and cilantro. Add the dressing to the salad and toss until combined. Garnish with feta cheese.
Makes 10 servings. Without feta cheese, each serving has 210 calories, 8 g fat, 9 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber and 400 mg sodium.
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A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, “This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.”
The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, “Which do you want, son?” The boy takes the quarters and leaves.
“What did I tell you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns!”
Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream parlor.
“Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?”
The boy licked his cone and replied:
“Because the day I take the dollar the game is over!”
Why Advertise in the Trader’s Dispatch?
Montana Valley Irrigation Announces Launch of Montana Valley Metals
Montana Valley Irrigation, a leader in agricultural irrigation, is proud to announce the launch of Montana Valley Metals, a new division created through the acquisition of Rocky Mountain Metalworks. This strategic move expands Montana Valley Irrigation’s capabilities in the metalworking sector while ensuring continuity for existing customers of both companies.
Montana Valley Metals will build upon the strong foundation established by Rocky Mountain Metalworks, offering high-quality metal fabrication and powder coating services to a diverse range of industries. The new entity is committed to maintaining the excellence and reliability that customers have come to expect, while also leveraging Montana Valley Irrigation’s resources and expertise to drive innovation and growth.
“We are thrilled to expand our metalworks division with the equipment we are gaining access to at this beautiful facility,” said Chris Music, owner of Montana Valley Irrigation. “This acquisition allows us to broaden our service offerings and create exciting new opportunities for our customers and employees alike.”
Key points of the transition include:
1. Seamless continuation of services for all existing Rocky Mountain Metalworks customers
2. Plans for expanding production capabilities and introducing new product lines
3. Commitment to supporting local industries and contributing to Montana’s economic growth
Montana Valley Metals is poised for significant growth, with plans to invest in cutting-edge technology and expand its workforce in the coming years. The company will continue to operate from its current facility in Great Falls, MT, with potential for future expansion.
For more information about Montana Valley Metals and its services, please visit montanavalleyirrigation.com/metals or contact them at (406) 590-1717.
New Nourish program topics released this fall
North Dakota State University Extension is launching seven new Nourish online modules in October 2024. The new topics will focus on accurate health information, cooking for one or two, muscles, the immune system, pets and your health, well-being, and medications.
Nourish is a program providing North Dakotan adults, especially those age 50 and older in rural counties, with information and strategies about nutrition and health. Participants in the series will learn how to eat more nutritiously and be more physically active so they can stay healthy and reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases.
Extension agents will hold in-person classes in many rural North Dakota counties. Participants also may take part in self-paced online modules beginning Oct. 15 or according to the county-based schedule. Participants are asked to sign up for the series of seven weekly classes. Prizes and certificates will be provided for those who complete at least six of the seven classes or online modules.
Visit https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/nourish for more information and the locations of Nourish classes. Participants who are unable to attend a class or want more information on the topic covered in a session will be able to enroll in both web-based and face-to-face classes.
Classes will include hands-on activities and time for discussion. Participants will receive material such as handouts and healthful recipes to take home.
Anyone can sign up for the free monthly newsletter by visiting the website or contacting your local NDSU Extension office. Participating county Extension offices also will have Facebook pages to interact with their clients.
“Our goal is to provide nutrition and overall wellness education and online support to help adults sustain a healthy lifestyle,” says Julie Garden-Robinson, Extension food and nutrition specialist.
“Good health is important for enjoying a high quality of life and for maintaining independence in later life,” says NDSU professor and project co-director Sherri Stastny. “This program offers the tools to help us enhance our overall well-being.”
The project is supported by a Rural Health and Safety Education program grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
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Pumpkin is a great source of beta carotene, which gives it its orange color (just like carrots and sweet potatoes). Beta carotene turns into vitamin A after you eat it, which is great for your eye and skin health, and supports your immune system.
Rise of the futurists
For most of human history, if you sought advice from a shaman, a soothsayer, or Norstradamus, you’d hear whatever the bones or the crystal ball “told” them. In the mid-1400s, the advent of the printing press (and with it the book industry) made the world’s accumulated knowledge available to the masses (at least to the ones who could read). That advance ushered in the Ag of Enlightenment, followed by the Industrial Revolution. People began to look at the future from a more scientific point of view.
The first futurists weren’t necessarily scientists, but had a keen understanding of both history and human nature. That concept is called foresight. “It refers to a process of visioning alternative futures through a combination of hindsight, insight, and forecasting,” explains Tuomo Kuosa in his book The Evolution of Strategic Foresight. (Hind)sight is about systematically understanding the past, (in)sight is about systematically understanding the true nature of the present, and (fore)sight is about systematically understanding the future.”
One of the first men to display that foresight was Irish satirist Jonathan Swift. In his 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels, the hero travels to a strange island full of futuristic gadgets–one of them a giant “Engine” containing “Bits” that allow even “the most ignorant Person to write Books in Philosophy, Poetry, Politicks, Law, Mathematicks, and Theology” It’s all “linked together by slender Wires.” Swift basically described electricity, computers, and the Internet hundreds of years before they were invented.
Even more impressive, Swift wrote about “two lesser stars, or satellites, which revolve around Mars.” How did he know that Mars had two moons 150 years before they were discovered? He wasn’t psychic (as some assumed), just logical: the two planets closest to the Sun have no moons, ours has one, and it was known even that the large outer planets have several moons. Mars, Swift concluded, would most likely have two. His foresight was spot-on.
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Every part of the pumpkin is edible, including the skin, leaves, flowers, and stem. Pumpkin and other squash blossoms can be eaten raw. They’re also particularly tasty when lightly battered and fried!
Construction Equipment, Billings & Bozeman MT A44
Ag Trucks & Equipment, Great Falls MT C17
Albaugh, LLC, Seed Start A39
ASH Supply, St. Ignatius, MT A11
Badland Truck Sales, Glendive MT B11
BC Trucking & Livestock, Milt Hartman, Highwood MT C26
Beartooth Mahindra, Billings MT B6
Ben Taylor, Valier & Shelby MT B23
Big Equipment Co., Havre MT A27
Big Sky Equipment, Conrad MT C7
Big Sky Mahindra, Great Falls MT A39
Big Sky Pipe, Great Falls MT C28
Big Sky Sawmill & Wood Products, Vaughn MT B4
Billings Farm & Ranch Supply, Billings MT B2
Bjorn Johnson Construction, Missoula MT C4
Booker Auction, Mukilteo, WA A37
BTI Feeds, Cut Bank MT B23
Bull Mountain Fencing, Yoder, Dan, Roundup MT C36
C & B Operations, LLC, Billings, Culbertson & Plentywood, MT, Sheridan, WY, Powell, WY C38, C39
Cascade Machine & Supply, Great Falls MT C13
Central Heating & Air Conditioning, Billings, MT C34
Montana Fence, Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell MT A10, B24, C18
Montana Fiberglass Inc, Lewistown MT C12
Montana Holster & Shoulder Rig, Great Falls MT C20
Montana Metal Fabrications, Great Falls MT A20
Montana Shed Center, Great Falls MT C19
Montana Valley Irrigation, Great Falls MT A42
Mountain View Canvas, Fairfield MT C27
Mountain View Metalworks, Wilsall MT A37
Mountain West Ag Services, Garneill MT A21, C8
MT Tractors, Matt Pendergast, Stevensville MT B17
Muddy Creek Truss, Fairfield, MT A18
Muggli Bros, Inc., Miles City, MT C13
Musselshell Valley Equipment, Roundup MT A8, A35, C23
Neal Hay Sales, Augusta MT C42
New Homes of the Future, Billings MT A26
North Star Equipment, Great Falls MT C29
Northern Ford, Cut Bank MT C41
Northern Prairie Auto Sales, Wolf Point MT A10
Nuseed, Breckenridge, MN B13
Pedigree Truck & Trailer Sales, New Salem, ND A30
Pete’s Auto Sales, Great Falls MT C31
Poteet Construction, Missoula MT A30
Precision Truck & Trailer, Havre MT A31
Price Truck & Equipment Sales, Missoula MT C12
Quality Custom Sheds, Moore MT A34
Quality Sales, Great Falls MT B15
R & L Seed & Machine LLC, Geyser MT C16
R & M Exterminators, Cheney WA A23
RDO Equipment, Kalispell, MT B2
RDO Equipment, Missoula MT B2
Reddig Equipment & Repair, Kalispell MT A22
Redhead Equipment, Regina SK Canada C33
Reinke, RPH Irrigation Services, Choteau MT C35
Riverside Cabins, LLC., Vaughn MT A22
RMB Bins, Severinsen Irrigation, Fairfield MT A6
Rockwell Scales, Simms MT C26
Rocky Mountain Radiator, Helena MT B14
Roger Rader, Inc, Sun River MT C42
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Cinncinnati has a large German population, and when the city was awarded a professional football team in 1966, owners almost called it the Rhinos - a play on Germany’s Rhine River. After somebody pointed out that rhinos are fat and slow, the owners went with the Bengals, the name of a football team that played in Cincinnati in the 1930s.
2024 Transboundary Grassland Partnership Workshop
By Haylie Shipp, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance
The 2024 Transboundary Grassland Partnership (TGP) Workshop will take place in Shelby, Montana this October, marking a significant opportunity for cross-border collaboration on grasslands conservation. The workshop, set to run October 22-24, will bring together ranchers, conservationists, indigenous leaders, and policymakers with a shared goal of sustaining healthy transboundary native biodiversity while supporting grassland ecosystems and communities.
Kicking off on October 22, the workshop will feature an optional field tour through Blackfeet Nation, offering participants a firsthand look at work being done on the ground. The tour will be followed by a two-day conference, October 23 and 24, covering a variety of pressing topics, including:
Community Building in Rural Places
Grassland Partnerships
Challenges and Opportunities in Ranch Succession Planning
Transferring Indigenous Knowledge
Mesic Restoration
Registration is now open for the TGP Workshop, with an early registration deadline of Friday, October 11. After this date, registration prices will increase. Participants will also have the option to attend the workshop virtually, ensuring that those unable to travel to Shelby can still engage with the event. For all registration details, including pricing, locations, and virtual attendance options, please visit www. RanchStewards.org/events.
The Transboundary Grassland Partnership focuses on communication, connection, and collaboration across the shared grassland ecosystems of the Northern Great Plains, recognizing that conservation does not stop at international, state, or tribal borders. Watersheds, wildlife migration patterns, air quality, and invasive species all impact the landscape across various boundaries, making cross-border partnerships essential for effective conservation outcomes. With the workshop, TGP aims to strengthen ties between all stakeholders and promote conservation strategies that can be applied across jurisdictions. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from experts, share their own experiences, and contribute to the development of innovative solutions for maintaining healthy, resilient grasslands.
Garden Pests
Slugs and snails
Bury empty shallow cans or empty grapefruit halves in the soil so that the top is level with the ground, fill the can or grapefruit with beer, and the slugs crawl in, drink, and die. Bake eggshells in an oven to harden and then place around plants to prevent slugs damaging them. The slugs cannot get over the hardened shells. Or completely encircle the base of the plant with washed, roughly crushed eggshells. Ash and grit can also be effective.
Sprinkle slugs with salt to kill them.
Vaseline smeared around plant pots stops slugs getting to the plants inside.
Make a slug catcher by using a 1 litre plastic drink bottle. Cut the bottle two thirds of the way up all the way around, making two pieces. Cut around the neck of the bottle and discard the neck. Invert the section of bottle that is left to form a funnel inside the other part and staple together if necessary. Put about 2” of water into the bottle along with a few slug pellets. This should be sunk in the flower bed so that the top is level with the soil. The idea is that the slugs and snails climb into the bottle, but as the slug pellets are contained within the bottle they are not harmful to birds and animals that come into the garden.
To prevent slugs and snails from attacking your plants, place a handful of bran in the bottom of a terra-cotta flowerpot and lay the pot on its side to distract them from your plants.
To deter slugs from crawling up into flowerpots on a patio, wind some copper wire just under the rim (or a little lower) around the pot–it will give them a little electric shock.
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Theodore Roosevelt was the only presidnet to be blind in one eye. Roosevelt took a hard punch to his left eye in a boxing match. It detached the retina, leaving Roosevelt blind in his left eye for the rest of his life. The boxing match occurred in 1908, while Roosevelt was president.
October, 2024 is Fire Prevention Month
According to the National Fire Protection Association, seven people die every day from home fires on average, taking more lives each year than all other natural disasters in the U.S. Fire Prevention Month helps educate families about the dangers of fires, how easy it can be for fires to start, and how much easier it can be to prevent them.
As a popular holiday, Fire Prevention Month gives people the chance to learn how they can make their lives safer while also learning about the history of national fire emergencies.
History of Fire Prevention Month
Similar to Fire Prevention Week, Fire Prevention Month memorializes the Great Chicago Fire, a fire that desolated the city of Chicago and has left over 100,000 homeless in October of 1871. The National Fire Protective Association sponsors this month-long observance as a way to teach parents and children how to prevent fires in their own homes and learn what to do when a fire occurs. Through October, families get to learn about better ways to prevent fires, including methods such as inspecting your heat sources, maintain your electrical cords and updating your smoke alarms.
This monthly holiday began during the early 1900s, wherein 1922; the National Fire Protection Association sponsored Fire Prevention Week as a way to prevent events like this from happening. This sister holiday was approved by President Calvin Coolidge, who proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance in 1925.
How to Celebrate Fire Prevention Month
Here are some ways that you can participate in Fire Prevention Month:
• Develop a fire escape plan with everyone in your household and practice it at least twice a year.
• Install smoke alarms in your home, on every level, and outside each sleeping area. Test them once a month and replace the batteries at least once a year if required. Teach children what smoke alarms sound like and what they should do if they hear one. Make sure all household members know two ways to escape from every room.
• Establish a family meeting spot outside.
Jersey cattle breed for beef?
Written by Patrick Anampiu, Raising Cows
Jersey beef is one of the best-tasting beef out there. Being tender, juicy, and well marbled, many dairy farmers around the world are turning to Jerseys for beef after their milking period ends.
While it is easy to raise Jerseys, it is important to learn a few things before taking the plunge.
Where Do Jerseys Come From?
The Jersey breed hails from a tiny island off the coast of France called the Isle of Jersey (island of Jersey).
Thanks to the Jersey cow breed’s small size, high-quality milk and high production, it was introduced to England in the 1740s and North America in the 1850s.
The Jersey cow has been a purebred animal for almost 6 centuries now. Today, Jersey cows are among the highest milkproducing cattle breeds in the world, so they are widely sought-after.
They are brown, cream, gray, fawn, or red-tinted and have a light abdomen, regardless of shade, their muzzles, flanks, and tails are dark.
They have a large udder just like most other dairy cows.
Both cows and bulls have small, curved horns.
A mature cow weights from 800 to 1200 pounds. While a mature bull weighs 1200 to 1800 pounds.
They can produce 10,000-17,500 pounds of milk per year.
The expected lifespan is 18 to 22 years, but it is not uncommon for them to live for up to 30 years.
The are best known for strong milk production as a dairy breed (they hold the world record!)
They are easy calvers and heifers attain reproductive age sooner than other dairy cows. They have a docile temperament and are easy maintenance. They do well in cold and warm climates.
Jerseys are found around the world with large populations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Zimbabwe, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Studies show that Jersey cows are less vulnerable to mastitis than Holsteins.
Are Jerseys Good For Beef?
Jersey beef has become very popular as people are increasingly looking for yellowfat beef, which is sign of a pasture-fed diet. In the past, consumers preferred white-fat meat due to its visual appeal.
Yellow fat comes from grass-fed diet while white fat comes from grains. The yellow-fat beef is due to high levels of vitamin D and carotene. This increases when cows are put on a grass-fed diet and are allowed to free range instead of being
artificially fattened through feed grains in feedlots.
Ultimately, Jersey beef has a great beef flavor. To add more fat to the meat and reduce the chances of having ‘gamey’ flavor, you can add some grans to your cow’s regular diet.
Jersey cows have much less meat per cow than a 100% beef breed. A jersey cow will have a thinner build than a beef breed, which obviously leads to a lower carcass weight.
However, Jersey beef can be a profitable choice in the dairy beef sector. What jersey cows lack in size is more than made up in the meat quality when it comes to tenderness and taste.
Raised on a grass diet and supplemented with grain, they can produce well-marbled and high-quality beef within a short period on less feed and fewer mediccations.
Jerseys are low-maintenance cows and have wonderful grazing ability due to their small size. Due to their low-maintenance needs and small size, it is easy to transport several Jersey cows.
On local feed, Jersey cattle have approximately 3.95 percent of protein and 4.84 percent of butterfat.
They are ideal for crossbreeding with beef breeds to reduce calving-related issues, and with other dairy cattle to ensure calving ease and low incidences of dystocia.
When it comes to feeding, Jerseys eat around 2 to 2.5 pounds of pasture or hay every day. If fed grain, the typical ratio is 16 percent, which balances perfectly well with hay or pasture.
A Jersey cow produces 30 to 35 liters (8 to 9 gallons)of milk every day.
Compared to other dairy breeds, Jerseys can help you save around 13 to 18% on overall feed costs. Feed costs make up around 55% of a dairy cow’s operational input.
Reduced feed and maintenance requirements in Jersey cows can mean less agricultural land and lower feed sourcing and storage costs.
Less manure from your Jersey herd will also benefit the ecosystem as there will be less phosphorous in it.
Comparatively, Jerseys produce more milk at a much lower cost than most other dairy breeds of cattle, while being more fertile and having a short calving period.
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I don’t trust stairs.
They’re always up to something.
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If you rearrange the letters of “mailman” they get really mad.
We’d appreciate it if you tell an advertiser you read his ad in the Trader’s Dispatch.
Fertilization and water, ensuring your plants thrive to next year
By Anita Gall, University of Nebraska Master Gardener
Do you realize that sprinklers, pets and people can cause compaction in the lawn? After a summer of stress it is time to aerate your lawn and fall is one of the best times to do this. Aeration removes plugs of soil and by opening up the soil it allows water, air and nutrients to reach the roots more effectively. After aeration it is an excellent time to overseed any bare or sparse areas as temperatures are cool enough for the seed to germinate and get established for the following year.
As temperatures begin to cool, plants turn their focus from top growth to root development making the fall a great time to plant trees and shrubs. Make sure that you choose species that are native or well suited to our area, know how big the plant will get, look up to make sure there are no overhead lines that a tree could grow into and do not plant too deep. Late fall and winter watering are important for establishment.
Fall fertilization of your lawn is probably the most important application that you can make. As temperatures cool the lawn starts to pull its energy into its root system. Applying a formulation of fertilizer with a lower nitrogen and higher phosphorus from mid-September to mid-October helps stimulate root growth regenerating roots lost by the hot, dry summer weather. Mid-September is also a good time to spray the weeds in your lawn.
Put your fall leaves and grass clippings to good use by adding them to landscape beds and garden areas. Make sure the grass clippings have not had chemicals applied to them. Over the winter the leaves and grass clippings will break down into a rich, organic compost that will improve the quality of the soil. It will help to hold moisture through the winter and can even improve compaction over time with the continual addition of organic matter to the soil profile.
Fall and winter watering is one of the most important steps you can do to help evergreens or newly planted trees and shrubs through the winter. It is important to keep the ground moist but do not overwater, use a screwdriver to poke into the ground around the plant. If it pushes in easily, you have enough moisture but if it is hard to push, add more water. Slowly give the plant a deep watering within the drip line of the tree. If we have an open winter you will need to water, use holidays to remind you to give your plants a drink.
USDA launches online Debt Consolidation Tool
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing the launch of the Debt Consolidation Tool, an innovative online tool available through farmers.gov that allows agricultural producers to enter their farm operating debt and evaluate the potential savings that might be provided by obtaining a debt consolidation loan with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) or a local lender.
“Providing producers with options to structure their debt in a manner that affords them every opportunity to meet the goals of their agricultural operation is the best way to ensure the nation’s farmers and ranchers build financial equity and resilience,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux.
A debt consolidation loan is a new loan used to pay off other existing operating loans or lines of credit that might have unreasonable rates and terms. By combining multiple eligible debts into a single, larger loan, borrowers may obtain more favorable payment terms such as a lower interest rate or lower payments. Consolidating debt may also provide farmers and ranchers additional cash flow flexibilities.
The Debt Consolidation Tool is a significant addition to FSA’s suite of improvements designed to modernize its Farm Loan Programs. The tool enhances customer service and increases opportunities for farmers and ranchers to achieve financial viability by helping them identify potential savings that could be reinvested in their farming and ranching operation, retirement accounts, or college savings accounts.
Producers can access the Debt Consolidation Tool by visiting farmers.gov/debt-consolidation-tool. The tool is built to run on modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or the Safari browser. Producers do not need to create a farmers.gov account or access the authenticated customer portal to use the tool.
Porktober
From bacon to ham, from pork chops to pork loin, the meat that comes from pigs and hogs is a favorite for many families, individuals, restaurants and more. And Porktober provides people with a delicious reason to celebrate!
History of Porktober
Porktober was launched in Scotland in 2022 as an effort to support the pig producers from around the country. Both Scottish Craft Butchers and National Craft Butchers organizations have collaborated together to promote the nutritional and value attributes of this meat. And since it is the most widely eaten meat in the world, it’s an opportunity that many people can get involved with, not just in Scotland but all over the globe.
In the US, this is sometimes referred to as National Pork Month, but no matter what it is called, Porktober offers a delightful opportunity for pork farmers, butchers and others who simply love pork products to show a special kind of appreciation for this tasty meat.
How to Celebrate Porktober
Show some appreciation for this meat and support for the people who produce it by celebrating Porktober in a variety of ways, including some of these:
• Buy Local Pork
• Try a New Pork Recipe
• Learn More About Pork
An ideal way to celebrate and show appreciation for Porktober would be to gain some knowledge and understanding about the facts of this food. Take a look at some of these facts in honor of this important event:
• Pork is a high protein food and proteins are essential for repairing and building tissues in the body.
• In the US, Iowa is the largest pork-producing state with more than 5400 pig farms and marketing 40 million or more pigs on average each year.
• Pork contains more B vitamins than any other type of meat.
• While pork is lighter in color when it is cooked, it is classified as a red meat because of its myoglobin content, which is similar to that of lamb or beef.
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View our website for more photos and information.
Grizzly bear euthanized after a series of conflicts
An adult male grizzly bear was euthanized last week after a series of conflicts with chicken coops, garbage, and other attractants near homes over the last month.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife specialists reported that the conflicts began in early August in the Elk Park area north of Butte where the three-year old male grizzly found chicken feed and then broke into a chicken coop. FWP worked with local residents to install electric fencing and secure other nearby attractants to prevent more conflicts.
The bear was deterred by the electric fencing, but still remained in the area, persistently looking for other attractants around homes. FWP, in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), set a trap to capture and relocate the bear away from the area.
A few weeks later the bear showed up again, this time in the Elliston area, looking for garbage, chicken food, and chicken coops. FWP worked with local residents to secure these attractants, but the bear remained, spending time near people, homes, and small livestock.
The bear was exhibiting bold behavior that indicates it was conditioned to unnatural food sources. This is a habit that is very hard to break and causes human safety concerns, as bears actively pursue food and other attractants in and around homes, ranches, and other occupied areas instead of returning to natural food sources.
USFWS authorized removal of the bear, and the bear was trapped Aug. 28 and euthanized. Grizzly bears are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and the USFWS has final authority regarding management actions.
People can help reduce the risk of bear conflicts by using electric fencing around small livestock. Pet and livestock food, garbage, barbecue grills, and bird feeders can also all be attractants and should be secured to help prevent bear conflicts. FWP and USFWS specialists work to help landowners and communities avoid bear conflicts. If you see a bear or sign near your residence that may result in a conflict, call your local bear specialist at the contact number found on FWP’s website: fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlifemanagement/bear/contact.
For more information on living, working, and recreating in Montana’s bear country, visit fwp.mt.gov/bear-aware.
October is National Pizza Month
Pizza has been around for an incredibly long time, the word itself going back as far as 997 AD in southern Italy. History of National Pizza Month As mentioned above, the term goes back more than one thousand years to when the idea of a flatbread was created. The Pizza was likely derived from a version of what we now know as Focaccia bread, a roman flatbread commonly served with toppings. From that time moving forward, there have been developments that slowly led to the wonderful comfort food that the world knows and loves as pizza.
Some say that Roman soldiers created the first pizza when they added cheese and olive oil to Matzah bread. But one thing is known for certain, pizza as we know it today came into being as a result of the discovery of the tomato in the Americas, and its return to Europe in the 16th century.
The pizza as a flatbread with a tomato sauce started in Naples and quickly became popular. Until the 1830’s it was almost exclusively sold from open-air stands and out of pizza bakeries, a tradition that is largely followed even today.
It morphed into something closer to what we know today as “pizza” sometime around the 18th or 19th centuries in Naples, Italy.
Although no one was happy with the devastating effects of World War II, one of the positives was that allied troops who had been stationed in Italy brought the idea of pizza back to their home countries.
One other fun piece of trivia is the source of the ‘marinara’ sauce is the traditional tomato sauce. Have you ever wondered why it’s called marinara? Because it was created by “La Marinara” the mariner’s wife, to serve to her seafaring husband upon return from fishing the Bay of Naples.
National Pizza Month was originally created as an American observance and was celebrated for the first time in October 1987. It was created by Gerry Durnell, publisher of Pizza Today, a magazine dedicated to this delicious pie. For more than 30 years, this month has been a fitting tribute to this iconic dish
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Our Advertising Deadline for the November 2024 issue of the Trader's Dispatch will be October 30th. Phone us at (406) 271-5533.
Cow “Challenge” Study should help turn tables on H5N1 in dairy herds
By Jan Suszkiw, ARS
ORGANIC HAY FOR SALE
300 ton organic barley clover hay, mesh wrap, round bales. Lab results available. Will negotiate price on complete sale. Will help load.
Phone Tim (406) 262-0011 OR Ron (406) 265-0096
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Animal challenge studies completed by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists show that infecting dairy cows with the H5N1 virus in a laboratory setting can trigger clinical signs of disease similar to those of naturally infected animals on dairy farms.
Understanding how the virus is infecting cows and how the disease progresses in the animals is essential to developing therapeutics, like vaccines. While the study size was limited, the scientists’ validation of a reliable challenge model offers an important step towards filling crucial knowledge gaps that remain, including on ways to prevent the spread of H5N1. USDA continues to stand up additional studies with more animals and additional endpoints.
Popularly known as “bird flu” and scientifically as “Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in the hemagglutinin clade 2.3.4.4b,” the virus associated with the dairy cow outbreak was first detected in a Texas dairy cow on March 25, 2024. Since then, there have been 172 confirmed cases of infected dairy milking cows in 13 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has assessed that the current human-health risk for the U.S. general public remains low, with four cases of H5N1 reported in people (exposed to infected dairy cows) so far.
The USDA scientists’ animal challenge study showing that field infections of H5N1 can be replicated under laboratory conditions is detailed in a paper that will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
The authors, which comprise a multidisciplinary team of scientists with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Iowa State University, conducted the study in a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) agricultural facility in Ames, Iowa, about a month after H5N1 was detected in the Texas dairy cow. This effort built on prior genomic investigations indicating genotype B3.13 of the virus had originated in wild birds the fall of 2023, and that a single “spillover” event into dairy cows likely occurred in late winter 2023.
“At the time we initiated these experiments, the route of infection and transmission between cows was unknown,” ARS study leader Amy Baker and her co-authors write in their publication-pending research paper. “Transmission between farms was linked to movement of live lactating cows, yet within-farm spread to resident cows was observed within days or weeks following movement without a clear pattern of transmission consistent on all farms.”
The BSL-3 facility, which is operated by the ARS National Animal Disease Center in Ames, enabled the team to evaluate two infection routes in a high-containment setting. The first route, a respiratory one, involved exposing the noses and mouths of four, yearling heifers to an aerosol mist containing genotype B3.13 of the virus. The second infection route, an intramammary one, involved inoculating the teats and udders of two, non-pregnant lactating cows so that the progress of the disease and its symptoms could be monitored.
In the first study, the respiratory exposed heifers became
infected but showed minimal clinical signs of disease, limited to an increased but sporadic nasal discharge 1 to 3 days after infection. Lesions were observed in one heifer 7 days after infection.
In the second study, the mammary exposed lactating cows became infected and displayed symptoms within 48 hours of infection. These included diminished appetite, decreased rumen motility, a drop in milk production and thick, yellowish milk—similar to clinical viral mastitis symptoms observed in naturally infected animals on dairy farms. Both cows developed H5 specific immunity in serum and milk from inoculated quarters, Baker notes.
This study, as well as other unpublished data, support the conclusion that respiratory transmission is not a primary route of infection within farms. Additional studies are in progress. Specific knowledge gaps that reliable, repeatable animal challenge methods can help answer are:
Tropisms of the virus within the body over time.
How the virus is transmitted between animals.
Whether HPAI vaccines will work in dairy cattle.
Best practices for disinfection (for example, milking machines).
The team’s research is part of a larger, multi-faceted and ongoing effort by the USDA, CDC, the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration and other partners to protect human and livestock health, as well as ensure the safety of the food supply.
To learn more about USDA’s response to H5N1 in dairy cattle, visit https://www.aphis. usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/ avian-influenza/hpai-detections/livestock.
Fertilizers
An array of fertilizers can now be purchased and they are all blended for every possible type of plant and every possible circumstance.
There are three main ingredients contained in varying amounts in all fertilizers and these are nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), and potash (K).
Nitrogen encourages leafy growth. Phosphate encourages roots to form and is valuable at planting time. Potash stimulates flowering and fruiting.
Fertilizer should always be spread as uniformly as possible in the area where it is required. Labels on the container should specify the dosing instructions.
Always wear gloves and wash hands after handling fertilizer.
Fertilizer for organic gardens: fill a container onequarter full of barnyard manure or well-rotted compost (never use dog or cat feces). Fill to half full with water. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, stir several times during the day. After 48 hours, your fertilizer is ready to use. Dilute the liquid to a light amber color with water. Pour 1 pt. of diluted solution around each plant when setting out, or later as necessary to force growth.
When removing nettles from the garden, put them in a bucket and cover with water. Leave for two to three weeks and the resulting strongly smelling liquid makes an excellent fertilizer, especially good for tomatoes. Place old banana skins around the base of rose plants as fertilizer.
Dissolve 1 lb. dried milk in a little hot water, add to one gallon cold water. Spray on tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers when planting and every ten days afterward.
Four men are in the hospital waiting room because their wives are having babies. A nurse goes up to the first guy and says, “Congratulations! You’re the father of twins.”
“That’s odd,” answers the man. “I work for the Minnesota Twins!”
A nurse says to the second guy, “Congratulations! You’re the father of triplets!”
“That’s weird,” answers the second man. “I work for the 3M company!”
A nurse tells the third man, “Congratulations! You’re the father of quadruplets!”
“That’s strange,” he answers. “I work for the Four Seasons hotel!”
The last man is groaning and banging his head against the wall. “What’s wrong?”, the others ask.
“I work for 7 Up!”
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Nebraska first Lego League team places in top ten at Florida Sunshine Invitational
By Chabella Guzman, PREEC communications
Brightly colored robots sat under colorful banners with team names heralding the owners, Legoborci z Oravy, Sumrall NanoBots, and Panhandle Cookie Bytes. The teams and their robots were among 50 national and international teams gathered for the inaugural FIRST Lego League Florida Sunshine Invitational from June 19-22 at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Panhandle Cookie Bytes, a rookie team of Scotts Bluff County 4-H youth ages 9 to 14, took second place at the 2024 Nebraska FLL contest qualifying for the invitational. In Florida, the team ended up in the Top 10, at the invitational, which only gives out one Champions Award, which went to team TSKY from Japan.
“First of all, they were a rookie team, and it’s almost impossible for a rookie team to make it this far,” said Natalie Creech, co-leader of the Panhandle Cookie Bytes. “We’re grateful for the teams who preceded us, and we could model what they’ve done.”
Many of the teams, including the champions from Japan, were from around the world, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the Czech Republic, and the Republic of Moldovia. In the United States youth age out of Lego League at 15, but the International Lego League allows for teams to have members up to 18 years.
The diversity of the leagues didn’t phase the Cookie Bytes. They explored other team projects, such as soccer, reptiles, and scented Legos, picking up tips and various ways the teams built their robots.
“One thing they took away from the Japanese team was numatics, which is basically like using air pumps,” Creech said. “The
kids really liked the idea and in the future, I’m sure Cody (Creech, co-leader of the group) will be focusing on it for our robots.”
A challenge in Florida, was the humidity, not something the Panhandle Cookie Bytes ever considered when building a robot in the arid Great Plains. “In the humidity, the robot wheels stuck to the robot game board. The solution we came up with was to use baby powder on our wheels,” she said. This allowed some traction on the board, allowing the robot to move as the team had coded it to complete the missions.
The Cookie Bytes were also paired up with an “Alliance” team from Ohio. They helped each other out and got to know each other. On the last morning, the two teams ran their robots together in the Alliance Games. “We had practiced well together. They took part of the board, and we took part to complete missions. It’s just like a tournament with double elimination,” Creech said. When the teams practiced, everything went well. “When we got on the real boards, it didn’t seem like anything went right. In their second round things came together, but there weren’t enough points to carry us on, but it was fun.”
As a young team, the Panhandle Cookie Bytes grew a lot in a short time. “I was very impressed with how they treated other teams, their interaction, and how much they’ve grown in their skills. For some of them, having to present or having to talk to other people about their project or their robot was terrifying for them. We’ve been working on those skills with games I created, and the team was able to present confidently and had ownership of their project,” Creech said.
Noxious Weed Trust Fund Grant applications now available
The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for the 2025 Noxious Trust Fund (NWTF) Grant Program.
Established by the 1985 Montana Legislature, the Noxious Weed Trust Fund grants provide funding for noxious weed research projects, development projects, state and community education, and on-the-ground management through a landowner cost share. Applicants may apply for funding up to $75,000 per project. Applications are due Monday, January 6, 2025, via WebGrants.
To learn more about NWTF opportunities, please visit the Noxious Weed Trust Fund website at agr.mt.gov/NoxiousWeedTrustFund or contact Greta Dige, NWTF Program Coordinator, at 444-7882 or greta.dige@mt.gov.
To apply, please visit: funding.mt.gov/
The Panhandle Cookie Bytes back row from left, Leader/Coach Natalie Creech, Issac Macke, Seth McClain, Lauren Macke, and Cody Creech, Leader/Coach. Front row from left, Gage Creech, Sneha Adeesha Maharjan, Beau Knapper, and Brooklyn Creech, at the FIRST Lego League Florida Sunshine Invitational.
Cyber Cowboys
The term “hacker” dates back to 1960, when students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology spent long hours “hacking” away at their keyboards in their Artificial Intelligence class, trying to make the company do something it hadn’t been programmed to do. Over the years, as hackers discovered they could break into all sorts of systems, they had a choice to make: Should they hack for the good of others…or for themselves? Like cowboys in Western movies, they had to choose whether they’d wear the black hat or the white hat.
Black Hats are the “bad guys” who break into corporate computer systems, stealing credit card numbers, bank accounts, identities, and e-mail addresses. They either use them for their own benefit or to sell or trade to other Black Hat hackers. Because of the criminal nature of their activities, the ethical hackers often call them crackers.
White Hats are the “good guys”–security experts hired to protect companies from the Black Hats. White Hat teams find a hole in a company’s security system and show the company how to fix it. In the White Hat community, there’s an ethical code: They are loyal to their employers and sneer at the greed, theft, and vandalism of Black Hats.
Blue Hats are an offshoot of the White Hats. They’re ethical hackers, but they operate outside of computer security firms and are often contracted to test a system for bugs before it launches. The concept was created by Microsoft to find vulnerabilities in Windows.
Gray Hats follow their own code of ethics; they are a little bit white and a little bit black. They don’t actually steal assets–they find a hole or a bug in a company’s security system (through illegal means), but often report their findings to the company and offer to fix it…for a hefty fee.
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Icy structures called clathrates at the bottom of the world’s oceans contain mass quantities of naturally occurring gases, including methane. The warmer the oceans become, the more the clathrates will swell and belch their methane stores to the water’s surface. The release of these greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere will trigger more global warming and the release of yet more of the clathrates’ gasses.
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FARM EQUIPMENT
ScarecrowsThe Oldest Form of Bird Control
Scarecrows are one of the more popular symbols of Fall and the harvest season. The origin of scarecrows dates back thousands of years, protecting ripening crops from birds. While we think of scarecrows as constructed of straw, they are made of many things. Among the earliest scarecrows were men hired to roam fields to scare birds. Scarecrows continue to be popular today in many home gardens. They help to protect fruits and vegetables as they begin to ripen. That’s why scarecrows are so closely associated with the fall and harvest season, making them a popular symbol of Fall.
History of Scarecrows:
The first scarecrows were in Ancient Egypt, dating back over 3,000 years. They used scarecrows to protect wheat fields along the Nile river from quail. The Greeks, Romans, Japanese and many other cultures, used them to protect their crops, too. Many forms of scarecrows, from life-sized wooden carvings of scary men, to real-live humans were used. In the middle ages, Europeans believed scarecrows had special powers. Native Americans used scarecrows, to keep crows and other birds from their corn crops.
How to Make a Scarecrow:
There is no right or wrong way to make a scarecrow.
• Start with a long, garden stake or pole. It should have a pointed end, to push or pound into the ground. Add a shorter board or pole towards the top, to support and extend the scarecrow’s arms. Use nails or rope, to fasten it to the long pole.
• Take old, ragged pants and shirt. Stuff the pants with straw.
• Now insert the long pole through one pant leg.
• Put the shirt sleeves through the cross pole and button it up.
• Now, stuff the shirt with straw. Then, tuck the shirt into the pants.
• The head can be made of many things... use your imagination:
- An old burlap bag, with a face painted on is common.
- A small head-sized pumpkin with a face painted on.
- A pumpkin candy bucket from Halloween.
• Add a straw hat, and your scarecrow is ready to scare away birds. Or, add it to your fall yard decorations.
The Most Famous Scarecrow: Without a doubt, the most famous scarecrow was in the Wizard of Oz (If only he had a brain). He was played by Ray Bolger, as the farmhand “Hunk”.
Mule Day
Date Celebrated: October 26th
Mule day is exactly what you might think it is – it is a day dedicated to mules! The day originated in Columbia, Tennessee, which likes to think of itself as the self-proclaimed mule capital in the whole world.
History Of Mule Day
The origins of Mule Day date back to 1840 when it first started out as a big event for breeders. Back then, it was known as “Breeders Day” and only lasted a single day. However now, many celebrations span a few days, with some areas even spreading their events out over four fun-packed days. Mule Day started to take shape into the modern celebrations that people love in the 1930s. Instead of being just a livestock show, a parade and other events were added to the celebrations.
How to celebrate Mule Day
There are so many great ways to celebrate this special day. If you live close to any organized events, then you could always go and check them out. Some towns feature parades and mule shows, while others will host fairs and barbecues. There are even some events that include fun lumberjack competitions! At most Mule Day events, there are often craft stalls and contests. Many people enter various crafts into the contests to see if they can win the prizes that are on offer. If you can’t get to a contest, you might want to spend the day simply working on a creative project. Why not do something mule-related, like crafting a horse plushie?!
Now that you know all about Mule Day, you can have a lot of fun appreciating these hard-working livestock. Even if we don’t work these animals quite as much as what we once did, we’re sure that you can agree that there’s nothing wrong spending this day celebrating them!
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What would you call these foods?
By Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU Extension food and nutrition specialist
Whenever I travel, I enjoy the “local foods” and recipes. I often bring another cookbook home in my suitcase.
Besides having many flavors and forms, food has many meanings. Some foods bring promises of fortune and reminders of religious holidays. Others spark memories of our relatives.
For example, cake is traditionally served after many wedding celebrations. In fact, some references say that wedding cake dates back to ancient Rome. Back then, a soft cake was broken above a bride’s head for luck. The couple would eat some of the crumbs from the grain-based cake to launch their lives together.
You may have observed the custom of tossing rice at a newly married couple. The guests were wishing them prosperity and many children.
Pretzels were given to children by monks in ancient Italy to reward them for saying their prayers. The shape of a pretzels was a reminder to the children to fold their arms across their chest in prayer.
During modern-day Mardi Gras celebrations, a king cake often is served with a plastic baby doll baked into the cake. Whoever finds the doll in their dessert becomes the “king” or “queen” for the day. They receive promises of good luck.
We have distinct food traditions throughout the U.S., and the names of foods and recipes can vary quite a bit, even though the recipes are similar.
Just for fun this week, I asked my Facebook friends to name some foods that have other names depending on where they live. I was happy to receive 70 comments on my question, with suggestions ranging from “schmere” (cream cheese spread) to “chips” (french fries, as in “fish and chips”).
I sifted through their responses and developed some questions. You probably have other names for some of the foods.
1. What would you call a sweet carbonated beverage?
Pop Soda
Coke
Soda pop
Punch
2. In the Midwest, “funeral hotdish” often is served after memorial services. Which of these would be a typical menu item?
Cheesy hashbrowns
Macaroni with ground beef and a tomato-based sauce
Scalloped potatoes and ham
Macaroni hotdish
Ghoulosh
I have no idea.
3. What do you call a dessert baked in a pan and cut into squares or rectangles?
Bars Pan cookies
Dessert bars
Cookie squares
Something else
4. What would you call a mixture of ground beef, tomato-based sauce (or ketchup), chopped onions and other ingredients served on a bun? There are so many names for these that you get
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get extra choices.
Slushburger
Sloppy joe
Loose-meat sandwich
Barbecue
Made-rights
Tavern
5. What is the name of seasoned meat wrapped in cabbage leaves and served with a tomato-based sauce?
Cabbage rolls
Pigs in a blanket
Halupsi
Goabki (“little pigeons”)
I would never eat anything like that.
6. What do you call slightly spicy meat, chopped tomatoes, lettuce and/or salsa that is fairly portable depending on its “wrapper”?
Walking taco
Taco in a bag
Navajo taco
Frybread taco
Something else
7. What do you call the accompaniment to turkey on Thanksgiving dinner that may be cooked inside the turkey or in a separate pan?
Stuffing
Dressing
Breading
Sleep-inducing carbohydrates
Something I’d never eat
8. What would you call a cone filled with soft ice cream and sometimes dipped in chocolate or another coating?
Creamee
Dip cone
Whirl-a-whip
Soft serve cone
Now I am hungry for one regardless of the name. Most of these questions have multiple answers that are correct and vary depending on where you live. For example, all the answers to questions 4, 5 and 6 were provided by friends.
Dessert Day
Date Celebrated: October 14th
So, what is more fun than making dinner or lunch? Dessert. It can be made with all things that are sweet and juicy or tart and sour and can come out in ways that are warm and soft, flavorful and crunchy, but it’s always delicious. You can indulge dessert with a range of chocolates, candy, or pastries, cakes, and cupcakes, and what about tarts and pies? Preparing them can make the wait for them all the sweeter, or you can grab a pudding or two on the go just to make the day that much brighter. Dessert Day is your excuse to indulge in your favorite treats.
History of Dessert Day
The origin of the word dessert comes from the French “desservir,” a word which here means “to clear the table.” This, of course, referenced the dish that came after the clearing of the main dishes served as part of the meal. The earliest references to the term dessert being used are in the 1600’s and arrived at the same time as the concept of serving a meal in courses, letting each part of the meal be its own experience. Those masters of decadence, the French, were known to serve a sweet wine as an aperitif, and it didn’t take long before the concept of sweet followings to the main dish became commonplace. The birth of the sugar and honey trade helped to bolster the idea of dessert as it became easier to obtain sweeteners, though for a long time it was still known as a lush decadence reserved for the wealthy.
How to Celebrate Dessert Day
Dessert Day encourages us to celebrate by selecting our favorite delicacies and indulging in them, while also exploring the ever-growing number of options we have to experience in the world of sweets. Dessert can happen at home with family, or you can pick them up from your local store, and there’s always grandma’s house? The only important question on Dessert Day is “What is your favorite dessert, and how would you like it?”
Where Quality Meets Efficiency
CAMPER FOR SALE
Consider options for pregnancy diagnosis in beef cattle
The profitability of any business is crucial, and livestock production is no different. With most revenue originating from the sale of calves produced, retaining non-pregnant cows in a cow-calf operation is hard to justify. Therefore, this time of year is traditionally pregnancy detection season.
“Cattle producers have or soon will be removing bulls from their spring-calving cow herds, bookending another breeding season, and will need to identify which cows will calve next year before winter feed resources are allocated,” says Lacey Quail, North Dakota State University Extension livestock management specialist.
Quail recommends ranchers compare several pregnancy detection options to determine the best fit for their herd management program, as each option has unique benefits and disadvantages. Factors include cost, timing, training required and completeness of the information gained.
Expense
Cost is the first consideration for many producers when deciding the best way to diagnose pregnancy in their herds. Quail recommends producers assess cost along with accuracy, result timeline, and completeness of the method used. For example, monitoring estrus behavior in the herd after breeding is very affordable; however, this method carries considerable opportunity cost. Observing cattle for estrus behavior is time-consuming and potentially inaccurate due to the individuality of estrous cycles and the impacts of nutrition, lactation and environment on cyclicity in cattle. Additionally, with estrus detection, the result is simple: pregnant or open. This method provides no other valuable information regarding fetal age or sex. On the other hand, techniques such as transrectal palpation or ultrasound are more comprehensive, but more expensive.
Timing
Pregnancy detection requires logistical planning as cows may be on summer pasture without handling facilities, or the area veterinarian may have limited availability, among other considerations. Specific methods may align better with the production timeline. For instance, transrectal ultrasound and blood antigen tests can diagnose pregnancy as soon as 28 days after the last possible breeding date, whereas diagnosing pregnancy by transrectal palpation requires a little more time (typically around 40 or more days after breeding). While blood antigen tests are accurate early in gestation, they do not give an immediate result, as it takes time to run the samples. Thus, cattle must be resorted after performing the test, which can be a deterrent due to labor demands.
“If feed resources or cattle handling facilities are limiting factors, it is important to know when each pregnancy detection method can be performed,” Quail says. “Retaining and feeding cows is costly, and opting for earlier detection is often beneficial so that open cows can be marketed earlier.
Training
Each pregnancy detection method requires varying levels of training or expertise. Quail acknowledges the importance of this factor, as trained professionals are often few and far between in many remote areas devoted to cattle production. The detection of estrus and blood antigen tests both require very minimal, if any, training. They are accomplished by visual observation or simply drawing a blood sample. Both methods can be very convenient options for operations that may not have access to trained professionals. As a trade-off, these methods are not as comprehensive as those requiring more extensive training. Ranchers should consider how the timeline and expense of these methods may fit into their management plan
Completeness
Observing for estrus behavior and testing for pregnancy-specific factors with a blood antigen test are the least comprehensive methods of pregnancy detection. There is little reliable information for producers to gain aside from whether a female is pregnant or open. In some operations, that may be all that is necessary; however, in others, it is essential to know if cattle are carrying a calf sired by artificial insemination or natural service, the predicted calving date, or whether to expect a bull or heifer calf at calving. Rectal palpation or ultrasound are the most comprehensive options for answering these questions.
Fetal age is valuable information, Quail says. In operations utilizing synchronization and fixed-time artificial insemination, it is common for natural service sires to be introduced to the cow herd around 10 days after artificial insemination. In this case, distinguishing pregnancies by artificial insemination from natural service is a breeze with palpation or
By Shannon Sand, UNL
As we move into fall, two common questions arise: “What is the current price of hay?” and “Where can I find information on hay costs?” In Nebraska, hay prices fluctuate throughout the year due to several factors, including weather, supply and demand, and quality.
There are a few resources available in Nebraska to track hay prices. The USDA regularly reports prices by location, type, and quality of hay. Additionally, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture offers a Hay Hotline, which features a seller’s sheet listing prices, type, and quantity of hay available.
Several key factors can influence hay prices:
Weather: Drought conditions can significantly reduce hay yields, driving up prices. Conversely, favorable weather can lead to increased supply and lower prices.
Supply and Demand: The balance between hay production and livestock demand plays a crucial role in pricing.
Quality: Factors such as protein content, digestibility, and overall condition of the hay impact its value. Higher-quality hay typically commands a higher price.
Market Conditions: Broader economic factors, including the state of the agricultural economy and global trade, can also affect hay prices.
Hay prices can vary widely depending on location, season, and specific market conditions. Staying informed about these factors is essential for producers and buyers alike when making decisions.
Consider options for pregnancy diagnosis
in beef cattle
CONTINUED FROM PAGE B20 ultrasound is necessary. Pieces of the puzzle that can only be determined by ultrasound are fetal heartbeat and fetal sex. If early embryonic loss (no detection of fetal heartbeat) is in question, or females need to be sorted by those carrying bull or heifer calves, ultrasound is the only option.
“Every operation that raises beef cattle can benefit from pregnancy diagnosis; however, the method used can vary from herd to herd,” Quail says. “To find the most cost-effective method for your operation, consider how soon after breeding you need to detect pregnancy, the labor required, the availability of trained professionals, and the information you need to gain for your management system.”
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“It will never rain roses. When we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.
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Japan celebrates New Year’s Eve by ringing temple bells 108 times. They do this tradition to get rid of Bonno, or the 108 defilements of Buddhism. Some examples are jealousy, pride, and anger. It’s said that by ringing the bell 108 times, 107 times on New Year’s Eve, and one last time after midnight, these 108 worldly desires are left behind.
a limited
Program benefits MT members of cooperative
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced more than $7.3 billion in financing for rural electric cooperatives to build clean energy for rural communities across the country through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program.
With this funding, Basin Electric Power Cooperative will procure additional renewable energy generation and enhance existing cooperative-owned renewable assets, which are expected to total over 1,400 megawatts across Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
“These renewable energy investments will support goodpaying jobs, lower energy costs for rural Montanans, reduce pollution, and strengthen the resilience of our energy grid,” said Kathleen Williams, Montana State Director for USDA Rural Development. “It’s a game-changer for Montana and the region, as it ensures we are contributing to a cleaner, more sustainable future while empowering our rural communities.”
These projects will provide estimated cost benefits of over $400 million to Basin Electric Power Cooperative members over the life of the New ERA program. Greenhouse gas pollution will be reduced by an estimated 2.2 million tons annually, or the equivalent of removing 522,000 gasolinepowered cars from the road each year.
In addition, a new Community Benefits Program will focus on workforce development, agricultural sustainability, and community safety.
“Renewable generation is a key portion of our balanced approach to resource development, and we look forward to adding additional renewable generation to our portfolio in partnership with RUS and our communities through the New ERA program,” said Basin Electric Power Cooperative CEO and General Manager Todd Brickhouse.
Together, New ERA and other investments in rural clean energy in the President’s Inflation Reduction Act make up the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936 as part of the New Deal. These projects will also advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative.
Collectively, the 16 selections announced Sept. 5, 2024 – funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda – will leverage private investments of more than $29 billion to build more than 10 gigawatts of clean energy for rural communities across the country. The selectees will reduce and avoid at least 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, equivalent to removing more than 10 million cars off the road every year.
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we are supporting a more prosperous future for rural communities by speeding up the transition to clean energy while at the same time keeping monthly bills low and investing in the American workforce with new jobs and apprenticeships,” said Secretary Vilsack. “One in five rural Americans will benefit from these clean energy investments, thanks to partnerships with rural electric cooperatives like Dairyland. Put simply, this is rural power, for rural America.”
The 16 selectees will use New ERA funds to:
Deliver cleaner, more affordable and more resilient electricity to approximately 5 million households across 23 states, representing 20% of the nation’s rural households, farms, businesses and schools. The states served by this set of selectees include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Support more than 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs.
Reduce pollution by 2.9 billion tons over the lifetime of the projects, or more than 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, equivalent to removing more than 10 million gasoline-powered cars off the road.
Build or purchase over 10 gigawatts of clean energy –including 3,723 megawatts of wind, 4,733 megawatts of solar, 804 megawatts of nuclear and 357 megawatts of hydropower – and make enabling investments in transmission, substation upgrades, and distributed energy resource management software, lowering energy costs for rural Americans and enhancing grid resiliency, all of which will help meet growing electricity demand and power President Biden’s manufacturing renaissance.
Build 1,892 megawatt hours of battery storage, which increases grid reliability and significantly reduces outage times for local customers.
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Protein is often the first limiting nutrient on most forage programs, minerals and vitamins play an important role in helping cows stay healthy and in maintaining reproductive efficiency. CRYSTAL-PHOS™ is a weather and waste proof mineral supplement that cows will consume readily along with BGF-30™. Place a BGF-30™ barrel with every 20-30 head of cows and a CRYSTAL-PHOS® barrel for approximately every 40-70 head. Studies have shown that cows will consume mineral better from CRYSTAL-PHOS. Try the “combo” program ~ it works!
Stretch your pasture
Blueprint® products have combined to continually provide high-quality options for your cattle. If you are a returning customer, please refer to this transition guide for a new product name.
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Simply put, Blueprint is the most transparent animal nutrition program available. Blueprint products contain 100% organic trace minerals made from the highest quality, most research-proven trace minerals available.
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If
This Day in HistoryOctober
October 14 Martin Luther King Jr was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1964)
October 15 “I Love Lucy Show” premiered on television. (1951)
• U.S. Department of Transportation was created (1966)
October 16 Marie Antoinette was guillotined for treason. (1793)
• Cuban Missile crisis begins. (1962)
October 17 Mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion. (1931)
October 18 The United States purchased the territory of Alaska from Russia for $7.2M. What a deal that was!! (1867)
October 19 The Senate passed a bill making Martin Luther King’s Birthday a national holiday. (1983)
• The Revolutionary War ended. (1781)
October 21 “Old Ironsides”, the USS Constitution was launched in Boston, MA. (1797)
• Thomas Edison invented the incandescent electric lamp. (1879)
October 23 25,000 women marched in New York City demanding the right to vote. (1915)
October 24 Black Thursday stock market panic. Investors panicked and dumped over 13 million shares of stock. The market then rallied for a few days before the crash on October 29. (1929)
• The United Nations came into existence. (1945)
• Anna Edison Taylor is the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. (1901)
October 25 U.S. forces invade Grenada. (1983)
October 26 The “Gunfight at the OK Corral” occurs. Wyatt Earp, his two brothers, and “Doc” Holliday, have a shootout with the Ike Clanton gang. (1881)
• The Erie Canal opens, connecting Lake Erie to the Hudson River to commercial shipping. It is the first manmade waterway . (1825)
October 27 President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday. (1858) The “Teddy bear” was named after him.
October 28 Harvard University is founded in Cambridge, MA. (1636)
• France presents the U.S. with the statute of Liberty. (1886)
• The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is completed. It was built as a tribute to Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase. (1965)
October 29 The New York Stock Exchange crashed on what became known as “Black Tuesday”, starting the Great Depression. Prices plummeted and billions of dollars were lost. (1929)
• The Internet is created when the first bits and bytes of data are sent between computers at UCLA and Stanford Research Institute. (1969)
October 30 Orson Wells’ “War of the Worlds” is broadcast on the radio, sparking panic as listeners believed the news bulletins about a Martian invasion. (1938)
October 31 Magician Harry Houdini dies from complications of a ruptured appendix. (1926)
• Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi was assassinated. (1984)
Spot of mystery
In the early 20th century, Gold Hill, Oregon, was a small town with little gold left to mine. Sometime in the 1910s, after a rainstorm, a former gold processing office (essentially a small shack) slid off of its foundation and came to rest down a hillside. People went inside and found a place that didn’t make any sense: rocks rolled uphill, and people were able to stand on the walls.
In 1930 that shack–mow called the Oregon Vortex House of Mystery–opened as s tourist attraction where visitors could see the strangeness for themselves:
• Brooms stand on end.
• People get taller or shorter as they move through the house.
• Few animals are willing to enter the area.
Bring in the scientist
Scottish engineer John Litster came to the Vortex in 1929 to study all the strange goings-on. He reportedly even discussed what he called “abnormalities” in the area’s magnetic field with Albert Einstein. Litster thought there was something extraordinary happening, but he never shared his findings with anyone. To this day, no one really knows what he came up with. Legend has it that, before he died in 1959, he burned all his notes, but supposedly he’d written, “The world isn’t yet ready for what goes on here.”
So what’s really going on?
Over the years, people came up with various theories: When the house fell, it moved so fast that it ripped a hole in the earth and created a “gravitational anomaly” where “high-velocity soft electrons” exit the earth. (There are no such things as “gravitational anomalies” or “high-velocity soft electrons.”)
There’s a giant underground magnet that’s causing the strange activity.
The weirdness could be caused by magnetic rocks in the area. (There is no evidence of iron or other magnetic rocks in the ground near Gold Hill.)
High concentrations of volcanic rocks cause the strange events. (Volcanic rocks can’t alter gravity.)
The explanation?
The debate has raged for years. True believers point to magnetic abnormalities, or even the supernatural. But most think the tricks at the Vortex are optical illusions. The House of Mystery is tilted at a strange incline. The floor, walls, and ceiling are built at sloping angles to trick people into thinking everything looks distorted.
Weird Energy: Solar Wind
As long as the Sun shines, solar power may be an infinitely renewable resource. But the Sun provides another source of potential usable power in the form of solar wind. Solar wind is a highpowered stream of charged particles constantly shooting out of the Sun. Brooks Harrop and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University are the leading researchers on the idea and they believe that a Sun-orbiting satellite could be used to capture those beams of energy. Using solar-powered batteries to run an electric charge through a copper wire, the satellite would generate a magnetic field that would in turn attract solar wind particles. The energy could then be zapped to a receiver on Earth via an infrared laser. While all this sounds like science fiction, the principles are scientifically sound. The main problem Harrop and Schulze-Makuych are trying to solve is how to aim and shoot a laser beam from the Sun to the Earth–a distance of nearly 100 million miles–without losing much energy. Harrop and Schulze-Makuch think their technology could at least be used to beam solar wind energy to other satellites and spacecraft. How much energy could solar wind ultimately provide? One hundred billion times the planet’s current power needs.
Dakota Gardener: Notable
By Joe Zeleznik, Forester, NDSU Extension
My meteorologist friends tell me that the word “normal” has very little meaning, as no year is ever really normal. Does that mean that every year is “abnormal?” I fear that the answer would take a long time and involve a deep dive into statistics.
Maybe we’ll just say that the 2024 growing season was weird. Or perhaps we’ll call it “notable.” That sounds a little more scientific.
The year started out with a lot of moisture, throughout much of the region. In some places, it was so wet that farmers couldn’t plant crops.
That moisture was great for trees, especially after dealing with drought for the last several years. They flourished… until they didn’t.
All that rain made it a great year for fungi as well. A number of tree species suffered from foliar-fungal diseases this year. Apple scab hit both the ornamental crabapples and edible apples. Cottonwoods are heavily defoliated in much of the state, especially in the Missouri River valley. Many lilacs lost their leaves more than a month ago, including those in our own yard. The shrubs look dead, but they’re actually alive.
Trees that were healthy before the fungal problems occurred should recover just fine next year. Those that were unhealthy going into this year, may struggle to recover.
There’s nothing we can do about it right now except to rake up the leaves and destroy them, as best we can. It’s a simple management technique called sanitation, and it will go a long way towards minimizing fungal problems next year. Fungicides won’t do anything at this point in the season, but can be applied next spring as leaves are developing to help prevent new infections.
Another notable event in 2024 was the discovery of emerald ash borer (EAB) near Edgeley in August. The insect was discovered in a trap by personnel from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA).
EAB has been at the site since at least 2020, and perhaps even a couple of years earlier.
The find was notable for a couple of reasons. First, NDDA has been trapping at the site since 2009 and the insect wasn’t discovered. New finds of EAB have nearly always been made by tree-care workers, not through trapping.
The second surprise was the location of that find. In rural North Dakota? We expected the first discovery of EAB in North Dakota would be in the Fargo area, given the discovery of EAB in Moorhead, Minnesota, in February 2023.
Like I said earlier, it’s been a weird year. I mean notable. A notable year.
On a personal note, 2024 has been notable because it’s the first time in nearly 30 years that I didn’t plant a tree. I didn’t sow a single acorn, plant a potted tree, or tried to root a cutting.
I could still plant a tree before the year is over, but I’m not sure what species it would be, or where I would plant it. My wife would love a river birch in the yard, but I don’t know if I can find one this late in the year.
I have to admit, I feel a bit disappointed in myself. Hopefully you’ve done better.
I did graft a few apple trees, though. Does that count?
Snapshot of science
Wacky Genius
Princeton, New Jersey, March 14, 1951
Many people know that Albert Einstein’s brain was preserved after his death. Fortunately, his tongue was preserved, too–on film–and made him everyone’s favorite genius. The photo was taken on the campus of Princeton University as the famed physicist was celebrating his 72nd birthday. Asked to smile for the umpteenth time, he stuck out his tongue instead and photographer Arthur Sasse captured it in full extension. Einstein was celebrated for the wild tangle of his long hair and his expressive face, or as one put it, “a cartoonist’s dream come true.” In fact, the scientists became the model of the mad scientist (or absentminded professor) as depicted in the film Back to the Future. But that pointed tongue, at full extension, became the iconic poster of countless college dorm rooms. We can’t be sure but perhaps it was inspiration for the rock group Kiss and bass guitarist Gene Simmons, whose “ten-foot tongue seen around the world” is the group’s enduring symbol.
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Planning for ranch risk exposure related to forage and livestock production
By Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Beef Educator
Managing risk means planning for the worst and hoping for the best. Photo by Maria Tibbetts, UNL Beef communications specialist.
At its most foundational form, ranching is the business of harvesting sunlight energy with plants that are then utilized by animals to produce products that benefit people for a profit.
While the business model of ranching is fundamentally simple, there are a multitude of production risks involved with growing forage, harvesting it with livestock and then delivering products to the customer. Delivery of products can either be to the next segment of the supply chain, or directly to the consumer.
Operations are diverse in terms of the resources they have and their risk exposure. To recognize threats to an operation it is important to first identify, in writing, goals for the production system and the critical components to system success. Knowing the keys to success helps identify potential threats. The following are steps that can be taken to develop and execute a risk management plan for a grazing based, livestock production system.
1. Identify the risks
2. Assess the risks
3. Address the risks
4. Monitor and report on the risks
Ranching is fundamentally dependent on growing and harvesting forage with livestock. Therefore, environmental conditions that significantly reduce forage production and availability are a major threat. For most ranchers, drought is the primary risk factor that can dramatically impact forage production, but wildfire, hail, blizzards, flooding, grasshoppers, extreme temperatures, soil nutrient availability, brush encroachment, noxious weeds etc. all can impact forage growth and accessibility. A written plan for addressing circumstances like drought that provides contingency options and triggers for action, can help producers make timely decisions. The https://drought.unl.edu/ranchplan/ website has several producer drought management plans that can be a helpful place to start when developing a plan for the operation.
The thought of putting a production risk management plan in writing can seem daunting and unnecessary to many CONTINUED ON PAGE C5
What race(s) are you?
Recent breakthroughs in the science of genetics have had a huge effect on the world, with applications in medicine, agriculture, law enforcement, and more. Genetic markers found through DNA tests can also reveal familial and ethnic lineages. And the science behind it, while immensely complex in its details, is pretty simple.
Human DNA is alike in every person–but it’s not exactly alike. Individuals can acquire mutations along the way. Some genetic mutations cause disease, some affect eye or hair color, some do nothing at all. The ones that are used for racial testing are, primarily, one that have no known effects. Say a guy named Bob acquired such a mutation. Bob had 10 kids–and he passed that mutation down to them. They each had 10 kids–and they all got the mutation, too. This kept happening over many generations, and today there are tens of thousands of people with that specific “Bob” mutation. And they’re the only ones on earth that have it. Well, that’s exactly what happened throughout human history.
DNA and fossil evidence suggests that modern Homo sapiens first appeared in northeastern Africa roughly 200,000 years ago. Their descendants began migrating out of Africa about 60,000 years ago, spreading in different directions. Travel then was difficult, so these different groups of travelers didn’t interact for a very long time. The people who would go on to become the Native Americans, for example, wouldn’t interact with the people who went on to become the Europeans for many thousands of years. That long genetic separation resulted in entire groups acquiring DNA mutations that were unique to them. The people who became the Native Americans acquired mutations different from those the Europeans acquired. When means of travel progressed and long-separated groups of people did start interacting, and having children together, those mutations started being shared. And now–we can find them.
Planning for ranch risk
as the thought often is, “I have that all in my head. Besides, whenever I plan, it must change anyways, so what is the point of planning?” The point of planning is to have a documented thought process to prepare for risk exposure when a person isn’t in the middle of a stressful event. A written plan will give greater confidence to act when the event occurs. Getting perspectives from multiple people both in and outside of the operation when developing a risk management plan will help to strengthen it. While plans will have to adjust and change, the act of documented planning will increase effectiveness in responding to realized threats in the decision-making process. Operations deal with production risks on the ranch daily and often don’t even realize that historic events and experiences are influencing the way that they are doing business now. Past production risk incidents such as droughts, blizzards, reproductive failure, disease outbreaks, poisonous plants, input shortages, etcetera are still shaping decision making today. Often past exposure to risk events subconsciously impact day to day operations even though the blow of the risk was actually experienced by a prior generation. Providing a brief explanation of past experiences when developing a plan to address risk exposures can be helpful in communicating the “why” behind a strategy when developing a plan.
The process of discussing, developing and writing a production risk management plan is just as valuable as having the finished plan itself. The procedure of writing the plan down forces thinking and discussion that likely otherwise would not happen. Having a documented risk management plan gives everyone involved in the the operation a framework for discussion on risk exposure and is a reference document. A written contingency plan can prove invaluable if the “decision maker” is no longer able to communicate their thoughts on how a risk should be addressed or if they are no longer part of the operation.
Ranchers deal with risk exposure every day and often don’t even identify it as such. Prioritizing time to develop a plan for addressing perils associated with production systems can help producers identify risks as well as contingencies to successfully navigate the seemingly increasing levels of hazards impacting them and the businesses that they operate.
“I’ve got the fifth sense: I smell dead people.”
–Robin
#####
Williams
Somebody had to: In ‘03 biologist K.W. Moeliker did a study on homosexual necrophiliac ducks.
Say you saw it in
New perspective on antler evolution
By Emily Senkosky, UM News Service
Focused behind a CT scanner, Nicole Lopez, a doctoral student at the University of Montana, looks meticulously at her specimen. Under the scan isn’t a human, but another species entirely. Analyzing the bone density of a set of elk antlers, Lopez is looking for a clue that supports a working theory she has on antlers and how they have evolved to date.
A student in UM’s Ecology and Evolution Program, Lopez is one of the leading ladies pioneering new understanding of the animal kingdom through the female perspective, a viewpoint historically left out of the science lab. In the evolutionary ecology lab of UM biology Professor Doug Emlen, women reign supreme. Their groundbreaking work looks to turn the tide on the going standard for females in STEM – where women are given smaller research grants and make up only 12% of national science academy members.
These fierce female researchers are making new discoveries in a gender-disproportionate field while helping rewrite the script on certain species’ evolution. Through her Ph.D.’s investigation, Lopez aims to take our understanding of elk by the “horns,” both literally and figuratively.
From the Ocean to the Prairie
Growing up in California, Lopez never would have guessed she’d end up scientifically studying trophies such as elk antlers in Missoula, Montana. Ever since she was a kid, she wanted to be a marine veterinarian, and her love for animals started first with a love for the ocean.
When Lopez started her undergraduate and took her first trip out onto the big blue, constant seasickness told her otherwise. Forced to pivot, she decided to study organismal biology, which is the study of the structure, function, ecology and evolution of life on Earth. Essentially, this part of biology looks at the form and function of how species have evolved over time in accordance with their environment.
Her work as a young scientist started in a lab focused on urban evolutionary ecology. The lab looked at various intersections between species and the pressures dispensed by humans and urban development. From skunks to coyotes, the lab hoped to understand what stimuli and environments caused the animals to change their behavior.
“Natural history is trying to fill in the gaps of why certain morphologies arose and what pressures led to them,” Lopez said. “I hope my research will fill in the form and function link better – maybe give us a clearer idea of how some traits evolved.”
This type of research often involves baiting animals, helping researchers to see what they are willing to risk for food. Lopez said this experience was a great introduction to the quirks of evolutionary ecology. Oftentimes, in order to get data, she deployed some innovative tactics to try and outsmart the animals – from crisscrossed wires to river rock traps and a multitude of other MacGyver methods.
Even in her undergraduate, she received funding for her research through Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC USTAR), a scholarship program that provides financial and academic support to underrepresented students interested in research careers and planning to pursue a Ph.D. This and other grants allowed Lopez to work independently and pursue her interests, which was the evolution of mammal forms. Ultimately, that passion landed her in Montana where the deer and the antelope play.
Brains vs. Brawn
Lopez’s most recent research delved into a fascinating evolutionary dichotomy: While males invest heavily in the development of larger weapons (such as antlers and horns) as a signal of strength, females invest in larger brains. Her research revealed this relationship between brain size and weaponry holds across almost 30 species, and big-picture ideas like this have become a cornerstone of her dissertation. More significantly, work like hers is redrafting Darwin’s theory – introducing new scientific questions about genetic and environmental pressures that have shaped the evolutionary path of females.
To better understand the shape of antlers in elk, she is getting her hands dirty. Going out into the rut every fall season, Lopez has worked with local hunters at harvest check stations to collect a large sample of elk antlers. She also uses camera traps to study elk behavior, including antler growth and fighting patterns. Finally, she uses the CT scanner from a local doctor’s office and 3D modeling techniques to study antler shape and size variation – modeling how much force antlers experience when bulls strike each other in combat. Additionally, she studies where on the antler these forces are CONTINUED ON PAGE C8
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New perspective on antler evolution
concentrated. Her biomechanical models will let her predict where exactly branched antlers should fail – and she can test these predictions with the natural breaks on antlers she observes at hunter check stations.
“I think the more we can understand why traits are sexually selected, the more we can understand this species,” she said. “When that happens, I believe wildlife management can be better equipped to preserve those traits in the population.”
Lopez’s adviser, Emlen, is helping her develop a final research question for the project while assisting her in analyzing how the diversity of antler shapes evolved across species.
“Nicole is like a force of nature,” Emlen said. “For years we focused on the weapons of rhinoceros beetles. Now, thanks to Nicole, we are collaborating with wildlife biologists and ungulate biologists around the world.”
Her research has been so revolutionary she has gone international to collaborate with other researchers who work with other antlered species. Lopez will work with Dr. Simone Ciuti, an assistant professor of biology and environmental science at Dublin University. The two will cross-compare their biomechanical modeling of Montana elk and European fallow deer, presenting results at the International Society for Behavioral Ecology conference in Melbourne, Australia, this September.
For Lopez, this work is about more than just understanding elk – it’s about contributing to a broader, more inclusive conversation in evolutionary biology. Her research could redefine our understanding of how different species – particularly those like elk that have a distinct difference in size or appearance between males and females – have evolved under various ecological pressures.
“At the local level, these animals are super well loved by the public and their culture is very important,” Lopez said. “I think trying to connect more with their ecology and the charismatic nature can help people start to value them in new ways.”
In the long run, Lopez hopes to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world conservation issues, helping to not only advance scientific knowledge but also contribute to the effective management of wildlife populations. By focusing on both the brains and the brawn of elk, Lopez is challenging long-standing assumptions about the natural world and helping to write female species into the evolutionary script – one antler at a time.
Journey into space
Journey into Space was a BBC radio show that aired from 1953 to 1958. Unlike most science fiction programs that were complete flights of fancy, this show was grounded in the real physics of spaceflight. In one episode a group of reporters is given a tour of a launchpad on the Moon; the description of the spacecraft is so true to life that the modern listener may forget that the show predated the Apollo Moon landing by 15 years. The realism helped make it one of most listenedto radio series in the history of the BBC, and the last one to attract a larger audience than the television shows that were on at the same time. The episodes are now available on CD. Things to listen for: Lemmy, the clueless Cockney member of the crew. He has presumably spent years training for the first mission to the Moon in episode 1, yet he is surprised to find out that he is weightless in space. Why? In the early 1950s, most listeners had no understanding of spaceflight; having someone explain it to Lemmy was the show’s way of explaining it to the audience.
University of Montana Ph.D. student Nicole Lopez uses a CT scanner recently to analyze an antler in an area medical office. (UM photo by Coral Scoles-Coburn)
Emergency planning is essential for the home, farm, or ranch
By Sonni Cochran, Nebraska Extension Educator, Disaster Education Coordinator
Everyone should have an emergency plan for their home, farm, or ranch operation. The plan doesn’t have to be complicated – it can be very simple. It also doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. Involve everyone in the family, as well as any employees. Below are some guidelines to get you started.
Identify Hazards and Risks - Consider the hazards and risks found in your area. Not everyone will have the same hazards. You may live where severe storms or wildfire risks are common. A possible hazard might even be a highway or railroad intersection near your property.
Create a Map - When seconds count, your home, farm, or ranch maps are a key source of information for first responders. Map your home property. If you have farm or ranch operations, create a map of all locations, including any land you rent. A map can help identify hazards on these properties and help you identify primary and secondary evacuation routes.
Features of the map can include:
Buildings and structures – be sure to label these. Label and number grain bins (Grain Bin #1, Grain Bin #2). Roads, lanes, and driveways.
Locations of all livestock (if you have livestock on several properties, note and map those locations).
Locations for electrical, water, and gas shutoffs. Keep the maps simple and easy to read. Make copies and place them in binders along with other emergency information. Keep the binders in strategic locations (barn, house, vehicle) – wherever you need quick access to provide information to first responders.
Communications Plan - You may not remember important phone numbers in a disaster or even have access to your cell phone. Create a paper copy with contact information for family members, doctors, school, veterinarians, and more. Include at least one contact in another part of the state or country that everyone in the family can text to let them know they are safe. Put this list in your disaster kit and add it to your emergency plan binders.
Talk about these questions with your family:
What if something happens and I’m not with my family or away from the farm or ranch?
How will I reach my family or employees?
How will we let each other know we are safe?
Make a Kit - A disaster or emergency kit or “go-bag” should provide the basic supplies for your household and/or employees while sheltering in place following a storm or if you must evacuate. Consider the needs of your family and don’t forget your pet(s). For information on building a kit, visit https://Ready.gov.
By being prepared and taking action now, you’ll strengthen your resilience and help protect who you love and what you love. For more resources, visit Nebraska Extension’s Disaster Education website at https:// disaster.unl.edu.
Biosecurity basics and beyond
By Jesse Fulton, Extension Educator, Director of Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance
Practicing biosecurity takes a few extra minutes, but is important for protecting U.S. agriculture. Photo courtesy of National BQA Program.
Whenever the topic of biosecurity comes up, it’s no surprise that many people might find their attention waning due to the complexity of the issue or because they don’t feel they have experienced a biosecurity problem. The reality is that every producer has encountered some sort of biosecurity risk or event at one point or another and may not have been fully aware or didn’t consider the “biosecurity” aspect of the matter.
In recent months, our friends in the dairy industry have been facing a major biosecurity issue with an H5N1 bird flu outbreak. This outbreak is zoonotic, meaning the disease can spread between species. To date, no cases have been reported in the national beef cattle herd, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. This event should prompt many producers to think about biosecurity and the biosecurity risks related to their operations.
The overall goal of biosecurity is to protect animals from disease by minimizing the movement of biologic organisms (such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites) within and/or onto an operation. The key principles to achieve this are physical separation of sick or suspected sick animals, cleaning to remove any contamination, and disinfecting to kill any remaining pathogens.
Producers should practice these basic biosecurity guidelines by developing and implementing a daily biosecurity protocol to protect their operations from outbreaks of sickness and disease. The Beef Quality Assurance program has developed a simple template for producers to use in creating this basic daily biosecurity plan. This plan can be found under the templates section at www.bqa.org.
At the end of the day, a disease outbreak can financially cripple an operation if animal performance is greatly reduced or, worse, if the outbreak results in the death of animals.
Beyond basic biosecurity, the National BQA program has recently been discussing enhanced biosecurity plans. Enhanced biosecurity plans go several steps beyond basic biosecurity measures. They are intended for use in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak.
The beef industry’s main foreign animal disease concern is foot and mouth disease. Foot and mouth disease was eradicated from the U.S. in 1929. However, it is still active in other countries and is easily spread. It is considered the most contagious animal disease known.
It’s important to note that foot and mouth disease is not a food safety risk or public health concern. Beef products remain safe to eat. However, public perception would be detrimental. Additionally, one case of foot and mouth disease found in the U.S. would shut down the U.S. beef export market and cut profits for all cattle producers, crippling the U.S. beef industry. To put real financial numbers to that, the U.S. exported over $10 billion of beef and beef products in 2023. Exports add about $425 of value per fed steer or heifer (including meat cuts and offal), which is nearly 20% of the value for every fed carcass.
Because of the financial implications of a foreign animal disease, producers should strongly consider developing an enhanced biosecurity plan or a Secure Beef Supply plan. Developing this plan does not necessarily mean you have to begin implementing it immediately. It only needs to be implemented for the continuity of business in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak. Some beef packers may also require the implementation of a Secure Beef Supply plan to ensure consumers that they are procuring a supply of safe, wholesome, and healthy cattle. Additionally, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture will require the implementation of a Secure Beef Supply plan during an outbreak of a foreign animal disease to receive a livestock movement permit. This permit will be required by the State for all operations within a containment zone during a foreign animal disease outbreak.
National Champagne Day
2013 - Taste of Diamond champagne sells for $2.07 million USD. Also known as Gout de Diamants, this bottle boasts a label made of pure white gold that houses a pure Swarovski crystal and is recognized as the most expensive single bottle of champagne sold worldwide.
Millions awarded to independent meat processors nationwide
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is awarding more than $35 million in grants to 15 independent meat processors across 12 states, including Montana, to expand processing capacity, promote competition, and create jobs in rural communities. The funds are part of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP), a key initiative funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan to strengthen America’s food supply chain.
The investments announced also advance the President’s Investing in America agenda and support the Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, which dedicates resources to expand independent processing capacity.
“For the past four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has advanced a sustainable vision of agriculture that prioritizes the needs of the hardworking producers and small business owners who keep rural communities strong,” Secretary Vilsack said. “Through investments like these, USDA is working to give farmers and ranchers a fair chance to compete in the marketplace, which will increase local food options and lower grocery costs for American families.”
In Montana, Old Salt Meat Company, a business based in Helena, will receive funding through MPPEP Phase 2. With this investment, the company will establish a USDAinspected slaughter facility, scale up its fabrication space, and expand cold storage capacity. This expansion is expected to help Old Salt Meat Company serve six new producers, create 29 full-time jobs, and increase access to locally raised beef for consumers across the state.
Kathleen Williams, Montana State Director for USDA Rural Development, emphasized the importance of this investment for the state’s rural communities.
“This funding represents a significant opportunity for Montana. It allows ranchers to expand their operations while also ensuring that local communities benefit from job creation and greater access to sustainably raised, local meat,” Williams said. “At USDA, we are committed to strengthening our rural economy and supporting businesses like Old Salt Meat Company that are essential to sustaining our state’s agricultural traditions and building resilience for the future.”
Old Salt Meat Co-op operates not only as a processing facility but also includes a retail market and restaurant, allowing them to connect directly with consumers. The expansion of operations under USDA inspection will further their mission to deliver value to producers while supporting Montana’s economy.
“This support will help Old Salt Meats Co-op expand access to meat raised and processed with integrity in Montana” said Cole Mannix, President, Old Salt Meat Co-op. “It means more local jobs, more processing options for ranches, and a more resilient regional economy for meat.”
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Reason
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Formidable yeasts stop bacterial bullying in ethanol plants
By Jan Suszkiw, ARS
Ever on the lookout for new ways to improve the fermentation of corn sugars into ethanol fuel, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have devised an approach for using genetically modified baker’s yeast to prevent a top cause of costly ethanol plant shutdowns—namely, contamination by unwelcome bacteria
Scientists modified the yeast’s genetic makeup with “coding” to make an enzyme on its outer surface that kills or inhibits the growth of the bacteria—microbial rivals whose release of acetic and lactic acids can keep the fermentation process from achieving its peak ethanol production capacity.
“These bacteria are found everywhere in the environment, especially on plant material. They are actually responsible for the fermentation of vegetables to make products like sauerkraut and pickles,” explained Shao-Yeh Lu, a research microbiologist with ARS’ National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois. “Unfortunately, the acetic acid and lactic acid produced by these same bacteria in a bioethanol fermentation facility will cause stress and inhibit the growth of the baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), which is responsible for the production of ethanol.
Ethanol is considered a cleaner-burning alternative to fossil fuels such as gasoline because its greenhouse gas emissions are 40 percent lower, by some estimates. Unlike fossil fuels, ethanol can be derived from renewable resources, namely, plant-based sources of sugar (e.g., corn) and cellulosic fiber (e.g., miscanthus grass). Estimates vary, but there are between187 and 198 ethanol biorefinery plants nationwide with a total production capacity of more than 17 billion gallons annually. However, meeting the demand for renewable fuels such as ethanol necessitates that the systems in place for producing them be as efficient as possible.
Bacteria that infiltrate these fermentation systems primarily feed on glucose sugars in the corn mash—the same ones the yeast helps convert into ethanol. However, this bacterial “bullying” can diminish the yeast’s conversion of glucose into ethanol by an estimated 16 to 42 percent. In biorefinery plants, this can necessitate a shutdown for cleaning and the use of antibiotics to kill the bacteria at an approximate cost of $4.5 million annually in lost revenues for a facility with a 100-million-gallons-per-year capacity.
Maulik Patel prepares for yeast for corn mash fermentation experimentORISE post-doctoral researcher Maulik Patel prepares for yeast for corn mash fermentation experiment. (Photo courtesy of Moses Martinez, ARS)
“Current methods for eliminating bacterial contaminants in bioethanol production heavily rely on the prophylactic use of antibiotics,” Lu said. “However, this approach is not sustainable in the long term, as prolonged antibiotic use can lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
So, Lu and colleagues decided to even the microbial playing field.
They did this by modifying a baker’s yeast strain with a gene they discovered for making endolysin, a specialized enzyme that kills the bacteria on contact.
In lab-scale trials, use of the endolysin-making yeasts reduced the presence of the bacteria by 85 percent compared to a control group of the yeasts that hadn’t been genetically modified. On average, this reduced acetic and lactic acid levels in the mash by as much as 40 percent and 71 percent, respectively. Ethanol production increased by as much as 40 percent.
According to Lu, modifying yeast to produce endolysin—either on their surface or secreted—is likely to be more cost-effective than adding bulk amounts of the enzyme to contaminated corn mash. Additional research is needed to fully ascertain its potential commercial use, but if validated through larger-scale trials, the endolysin-wielding yeasts could offer an alternative to antibiotics or other costly chemical cleansers.
Lu published a paper detailing the advance in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology together with co-authors Siqing Liu, Kristina Glenzinski and Christopher Skory—all with the ARS Center in Peoria—and Maulik Patel, with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
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The largest pumpkin pie ever made came from the New Bremen Pumpkinfest in Ohio. This Guinness World Record holding pie had a diameter of 20 feet in diameter and weighed 3,699 pounds. Its crust was made from 440 sheets of dough!
Growers sought for potassium study
By Patricio Grassini - Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture, and Cropping Systems Specialist
|
Nicolás Cafaro
La Menza – Cropping Systems Specialist, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture
| Lucia Bonfanti - MSc Student, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture | Walter Cariochi | Nav Guimire | Bruno Lena - Extension Educator | Amy Timmerman - Extension Educator
Nebraska Extension Water and Cropping System team and the Nebraska Soybean Board, and the team led by Assistant Professor Nicolas Cafaro La Menza and Professor Patricio Grassini at the UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture are seeking farmers to participate in a study that will evaluate the impact of potassium (K) fertilization on crop yield.
This study will look at three treatments: the “baseline” without K application plus two K application rates. The goal is to identify environments where yield is constrained by K and help to refine the current K recommendations in Nebraska.
Fields of Interest
Sandy soils and/or low soil K levels (<200 ppm).
Preferably, irrigated fields, but rainfed fields may also be eligible.
Fields following corn/ soybean rotation without history of manure application in previous three years.
Fields with history of silage corn, alfalfa or straw removal are desirable (but no problem if it is not the case).
What We Need from
You
Share yield maps and/ or soil tests from previous years (if available).
Grant us access to the field(s) selected.
Plant these fields as you usually do but, if already applying K, leave a small portion of your field (100 feet wide x 200 feet long) without K fertilizer application.
Share management information of the field (variety, planting date, etc.).
Once we flag the K fertilization plots, avoid wheel tracks within the flagged area, but make sure the flagged area is sprayed as the rest of the field.
What We Will Do for You
After you plant the whole field, we will do everything: flag the area, collect soil and plant samples, apply the potassium fertilizer treatments and hand-harvest the flagged areas before you harvest the whole field.
We will provide you a detailed analysis and report of the data from your farm.
We will provide you soil test and grain/seed quality results from the samples taken from your field.
We will publish the results through the On-Farm Research Network if you agree with that.
If you are interested to participate, please reach out UNL Assistant Professor Dr. Nicolas Cafaro La Menza, (308) 696-6712 or your local extension educator.
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Herbicide errors strain marriages
By Esther E. McGinnis, Horticulturist, NDSU Extension
As a horticulturist, I have seen more than my fair share of strained marriages. My favorite story was told to great effect during a funeral luncheon. The deceased had accidentally filled his lawn sprayer with glyphosate, a herbicide that kills everything, rather than a selective lawn herbicide that only kills weeds. The resulting dead lawn created more than a little marital friction as humorously recounted by his son decades later. Fortunately, the marriage survived and the story provided a moment of levity during the funeral.
More recently, a friend called me with her own story that was more egregious. Her husband was frustrated with lawn weeds and borrowed a farm herbicide meant for pasture applications. He certainly killed his lawn weeds with this illegal application but he also damaged his wife’s prize maple tree. The tree’s prognosis is uncertain and the wife is livid.
When I was hired, nobody told me that my job duties would include marital counseling. However, I am willing to offer some free advice to prevent future problems.
First, thoroughly read the herbicide label including the list of active ingredients. Yes, labels are boring but a few minutes of reading can prevent costly mistakes. Confusing trade names have added complexities for the average consumer trying to purchase a lawn herbicide. A standard lawn herbicide that only kills broadleaf weeds usually contains three active ingredients: 2,4-D, mecoprop (MCPP), and dicamba. Avoid using products that contain glyphosate on lawns because it will kill the desirable turfgrass.
My friend’s husband learned the hard way not to use farm herbicides in residential lawns. These chemicals are extremely potent and may have a residual that lasts for years. Only time will tell if her maple tree will survive. Not only is it dangerous to apply farm chemicals but it is also illegal. Many farm chemicals are restricted use herbicides that can only be applied by certified pesticide applicators. Furthermore, these herbicides can only be applied to specific sites listed on the label such as pastures or cropland.
Trees are very susceptible to various lawn herbicides. When applying herbicides to residential turfgrass, a couple of pointers will go a long way to safeguard trees planted in the lawn. Spraying the entire lawn is unnecessary. Spot spray the weeds to limit the amount of herbicide that accumulates in the soil. If you can help it, avoid spraying near your tree’s root system which may extend beyond the ends of the branches.
Fall is the best time to treat lawn weeds such as dandelions. As the temperature cools and days shorten, perennial weeds start to acclimate for winter by translocating sugars and nutrients from the leaves to the root system. An application of herbicide to the weed’s leaves will then be transported to the root system ensuring a systemic kill. A light frost will enhance this process.
If you have questions regarding lawn weed management, reach out to your county North Dakota State University Extension agent. NDSU Extension is here to help alleviate relationship stress by providing safe and legal herbicide recommendations.
The science behind toys
Slime
Toy slime–sold by Mattel from the 1970s to the 1990s–is what’s called a non-Newtonian fluid. That means it changes density depending on how much pressure is applied. Use a light touch and a non-Newtonian fluid feels as thin as water. Press hard, and it feels thick. In slime, it’s the ratio of polymer to gelling agent that makes it a non-Newtonian fluid. Usually, that’s a 5-to-1 ratio of polyvinyl alcohol (the polymer) to borax (the gelling agent); the rest is water, fragrance, and coloring.
Magna Doodle
What lets you draw on a Magna Doodle time and time again? There’s a layer of honeycombed plastic under the top screen and each honeycomb cell contains thickened water and magnetic particles. When the magnet on the pen is drawn over the screen, it pulls the particles to the surface and the water solution is thick enough that they can’t float back down. (The solution is also colored white so that the particles are more visible.) When the picture is erased, a magnetic bar along the bottom pulls all the particles back down; the water’s thickness keeps them from floating up until the pen is used again.
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Fall calving considerations
By Lisa Moser, K-State Research and Extension news service
It is always exciting when a little one joins the family. In the beef cattle business, calves are typically born during a planned calving season that occurs in the spring or the fall, said the experts at the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute.
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Speaking on a recent Cattle Chat podcast, K-State beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster said the cow’s nutrient requirements change depending on the time of year she calves.
“A cow’s nutrient requirements peak around 60 days postcalving. So, cows that calve in September and October may need to be supplemented in the fall, whereas spring calving cows can get by with lower quality forages at this time of year,” Lancaster said.
He added that producers who calve in the fall need to plan for that additional cost to have cows in the appropriate body condition when they are being bred for the next season, which typically happens in December and January.
However, Lancaster also said that fall-calving cows often enter the calving season at a higher body condition score than spring-calving cows.
“Fall-calving cows that have access to high-quality forage in summer grazing pastures can be at a body condition score of six so after they are bred those cows can withstand some weight loss between breeding and summertime,” he said.
There is also an advantage for the calves born in the fall when they transition to early summer pastures with their mothers, according to Lancaster.
“If there is excess forage growth in May and June, that is a good opportunity for the fall-born calves to really grow during that time,” Lancaster said.
From a health perspective, K-State veterinarian Brian Lubbers said there is a slight advantage to newborn health for calves born in the early fall.
“The nice thing about fall calving is the weather is a little more moderate for the cows and calves compared to herds that calve in January and February, and that can reduce the disease pressure of scours, for example,” Lubbers said.
In reference to the pre-calving protocol for the cows, Lubbers said those vaccinations are most effective when given three months before calving, so there may be additional labor needed to process those cattle at a time when they are grazing summer pastures.
Labor availability is also connected to the decision about when to calve, Lubbers said, noting that producers considering moving their herd from spring to fall calving need to understand the seasonal time demand differences on those caring for the cattle.
“For diversified livestock and crop operations, fall is a busy time for farming and so there may not be the labor available to appropriately monitor the herd through calving,” Lubbers said.
-State agricultural economist Dustin Pendell said marketing opportunities should be a consideration when deciding when to calve.
“Calves that are sold in the springtime may earn a higher price per pound than those that are marketed in the fall due to the changes in the supply and demand at the time of marketing,” Pendell said. “But the tradeoff is the expense of additional feed needed during the wintertime for the fallcalving cows.”
Manhattanhenge
Most of the time, the tall buildings in Manhattan block the sunset. But twice a year, above 14th Street, the sun aligns with the streets’ east-west grid pattern and sets perfectly between the buildings. It last only about 15 minutes, but it’s so striking that people stop on the streets to watch. As solar rays light up the towering buildings, a glowing orange light filters along the streets. The reflection off the buildings also scatters the sunshine, sending bright light along the north-south avenues. Because the phenomenon resembles sunsets seen at England’s mysterious Stonehenge ruins, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson calls it “Manhattanhenge.”
Stonehenge was built by the ancient Celtic Druids to mark the exact moment of the spring and fall equinoxes. But Manhattan’s street grid was established in 1811 for efficiency, not science, so it’s slightly off center–it’s turned 28.9 degrees from true east and west. As a result, the city’s “equinoxes” occur on different days each year. Usually, the dates are in late May and mid-July. But if you miss the exact dates, not to worry. The days before and after Manhattanhenge also create a celestial glow–it’s not quite as magnificent, but still pretty good.
The state of Illinois wins the pumpkin production battle, growing over 12,000 acres of pumpkins each year. That’s twice as many as any other state! (We get many of our pumpkins from family farms in nearby Michigan, also a major pumpkin producer.)
Battling bugs in the garden
By Tom Kalb, Horticulturist,
NDSU Extension Gardens in North Dakota look great this year. The rains have been plentiful in most areas, and our plants are thriving. Be prepared to protect your garden from insect pests. Swarms of flea beetles will be arriving soon, and I see white moths laying eggs on my cabbage today.
Whenever my vegetable garden gets attacked by insect pests, I don’t get sad.
Instead, I get mad. Then I get even.
When I was a farm boy, I sprayed a product called Sevin (perhaps misspelled but very effective) to kill the pests. The bugs dropped to the ground and died. Revenge felt sweet!
Synthetic pyrethroids are widely available at garden centers today. These chemicals kill many insects quickly and protect our crops for several days. Products include zeta-cypermethrin (GardenTech Sevin), permethrin (Bonide Eight) and cyfluthrin (Bio Advanced Vegetable and Garden Insect Spray).
The ultimate foe in Dakota gardens is the hornworm. These giant caterpillars destroy gardens by eating four times their weight every day. Imagine! These “garden gluttons” increase in size 1,000-fold in 30 days. That is like a cat turning into an elephant in a month!
When I see hornworms on my tomato vines, I don’t use Sevin or Eight insecticides. I use my favorite natural insecticide. I call it “Thirteen,” which is the size of my shoe. I pick off the hornworms and step on them.
Besides my shoes, there are lots of natural insecticides available today. In general, these chemicals are safer for us and persist for a shorter time in the environment compared to synthetic chemicals. That’s good.
Spinosad has emerged as one of the most popular and effective organic insecticides. It was discovered when a chemist on vacation in the Caribbean stumbled by a rum distillery and noticed there were very few pests around. He discovered the pesticide in the soil. Spinosad kills a wide range of insects and mites.
Bacillus thuringiensis is another great weapon. Almost harmless to humans, this bacterium causes a gut rot in caterpillars. The caterpillars eat the bacterium and then die. Kurstaki, the most common strain of this insecticide (trade names Dipel and Thuricide), only kills caterpillars. It won’t harm beneficial insects such as ladybugs and bees. I enjoy killing my foes in battle while not harming my friends
Neem oil comes from the seeds of the neem tree. Neem initially acts as a feeding repellent. Bugs exposed to neem will lose their appetite and then suffer hormonal problems. They fail to mature, fail to reproduce, and slowly wither away.
Pyrethrin is another weapon available in our war chest. This organic chemical comes from chrysanthemums. Pyrethrin kills pests immediately and then breaks down in sunlight after only a day or two. It’s a precise killer with no long-term effects in the garden.
As you can see, we have lots of insecticides available to protect our harvest. Choose your weapon wisely and let’s get ready to rumble!
National Pasta Day
Celebrated Every October 17th
Fusilli, Penne, Spaghetti, Capellini and Fettuccine, pasta comes in a myriad of shapes and sizes. Pasta acts as a sort of blank canvas for the almost infinite variety of sauces that can be made to pair with them.
Historians don’t completely agree on the origins of pasta. Many people believe that pasta originated in Italy, while others say that it came all the way from China when Marco Polo was on his adventures in the 13th century.
Still other historians claim that pasta is actually much older than that, to the 4th century BC. In fact, in the place that is now Italy, an Etruscan tomb shows pictures of natives making something that appears to be pasta.
Even Greek mythology gets involved in the stories about the origination of pasta. The god Hephaestus, known as Vulcan, made a device that would create long strands of dough, which some people think may have been a version of pasta or spaghetti.
Not long before he became the President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson is believed to have brought pasta to the US after a trip to Paris in the late 1780s. After eating what he referred to as “macaroni” in France, Jefferson brought two cases back with him and helped influence its popularity in America.
Bulb tips for beautiful flowers next year
By Kathy Tando, University of Nebraska Master Gardener
Nothing quite announces spring in the same way Tulips and Daffodils do. Bulbs are a great addition to any yard but to see them in your landscape you have to think now. Spring flowering bulbs need to be planted in late September through October to give them sufficient time to establish roots to produce sturdy flowers next year. Picking bulbs that state they naturalize easily gives you increasing pleasure with each passing spring.
Be sure and read all the details when purchasing plants. When purchasing bulbs note those listed as very early spring will bloom in March or April. Those listed as mid-spring would send up blooms in late April or early May, late spring around May, and very late Spring generally bloom in June. A mixture of all could give your yard color from March through June.
Do it right and do it once. Bulbs require a well-drained soil to flourish. After digging the hole, add one-part organic matter to every four parts of soil. Be sure to note the correct depth for the bed and then loosen and enrich the soil at least four inches below that for good healthy roots. Properly preparing the bed for your new bulbs will pay dividends in years to come.
You might find this one of your favorite bulb plants even though it is a member of the onion family. Alliums grow on a stock that can reach 4-5 feet tall normally with a big globe-shaped flower. The flower is made up of hundreds of florets that radiate from a central core. More colors and shorter varieties are now becoming available. Plant some this fall and be amazed come this spring or early summer. Maybe not the Charmin but certainly squeeze the bulbs before purchasing. When purchasing bulbs make sure they are healthy and firm without blemishes on the surface. Select the largest bulbs with those qualities for the best blooms. Bulbs that are small for the variety may not even bloom in the first year. If you buy early for the best selection, keep them in a cool, dry area until planting time.
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Montana 2024 barley varieties highlights
This report provides the results of the barley portion of the 2024 Wheat and Barley Variety Survey, conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Mountain Regional Office, USDA. The survey was funded by the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. Access to this report is available for free or online at www.nass.usda.gov/ mt. Thank you to each person who supplied data, and made this report possible.
with large, plump kernels. It was developed at the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. It has high test weight, medium straw length, and mid-season maturity. It is resistant to net blotch, the MCC form of stem rust, and powdery mildew.
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All variety acreage numbers in this publication are based on survey averages. Survey respondents totaled 1,956 with 1,694 usable reports for both wheat and barley. Usable, positive barley reports totaled 578. At the district level, the number of reports for minor varieties is generally limited. Thus, yearly fluctuations in the district variety acreage may be the result of sample variation.
Total area seeded to barley in Montana for 2024 is estimated at 920,000 acres, down from 1,19 million acres planted in 2023. Montana continues to rank first in barley planted acreage in the United States, with 38.3 percent of the 2.41 million acres planted. Malting varieties account for 66.2 percent of planted acres in Montana. Feed varieties totaled 14.8 percent and forage varieties totaled 13.1 percent. Varieties reported in the other and unknown categories totaled 6.0 percent of planted acres.
AC Metcalfe remains the leading barley variety in Montana for 2024, accounting for 25.4 percent of the 920,000 acres planted in 2024. Hockett ranks second with 12.4 percent of the barley acreage. Bill Coors 100 represents 10.6 percent of the barley planted, and ranks third. AAC Synergy ranks fourth with 5.6 percent of barley planted. Haxby accounts for 5.0 percent of the barley acres, and ranks fifth. These top five varieties account for 58.9 percent of the barley planted in 2024.
TOP MALTING VARIETIES
AC Metcalfe is once again the leading malting barley variety in Montana for 2024, representing 25.4 percent of all acres seeded, as noted above. It is a two-row malting barley developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, located in Brandon, Manitoba. It has an 8 percent higher yield, but matures one day later than Harrington. It is resistant to loose smut, and is moderately resistant to the spot-form of net blotch, surface-borne smuts, and common root rot. It has plump kernels and high test weight, but it is susceptible to scald and Septoria.
Hockett is the second leading malting barley variety in 2024, planted on 12.4 percent of the total barley acres. Hockett is a two-rowed dry land variety that was developed by Montana State University (MSU) in 2008. When compared to Harrington, Hockett has a higher yield and better malt quality given dry land conditions. It is susceptible to lodging and stripe rust.
Bill Coors 100 ranked third among malting barley varieties seeded for 2024, planted on 10.6 percent of the total acres. Bill Coors 100 is well suited for irrigation. It has a short straw length, with high yield and early maturity. It is a two-row variety leaving minimal stubble and residue.
AAC Synergy is the fourth leading malting barley variety seeded for the 2024 crop year. An estimated 5.6 percent of all barley is planted to this variety. It is a two-row malting barley, and is adapted to growing in regions of the northern plains. It has a great yield potential, and a favorable quality profile for the malt market.
Conlon is the fifth leading malting barley variety seeded for the 2024 crop year. An estimated 3.4 percent of all barley is planted to this variety. Conlon is a two rowed variety
TOP FORAGE VARIETIES
Lavina is the top forage barley variety planted in 2024, seeded on 3.8 percent of the total barley acres planted. It is a tworowed, hooded hay barley developed by MSU, and is a cross between Haybet and Baronesse varieties. Lavina was released as a replacement for Haybet with the attributes of slightly higher forage production potential, and much higher grain production potential.
Haybet is the second rated forage variety planted by Montana farmers, accounting for 3.5 percent of the total barley acres seeded in 2024. It was developed cooperatively by the Agricultural Research Service, USDA, and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station in 1989. It is a two-rowed, hooded, white-kernel spring hay barley. Compared to Horsford hay barley, Haybet is 3 days later in heading, and similar in plant height and percent lodging. Haybet is higher in hay yield than Horsford, but they are similar in grain yield.
Haymaker once again ranks third among all forage barley acres planted for 2024, with 2.3 percent of all barley planted to this variety. Haymaker is a two-row forage barley exhibiting high yields with excellent feed quality. Because of its height, it is great for baling and silage.
Stockford ranks fourth among forage barley acres planted, with 0.7 percent of all barley planted acres. Stockford is a tworow hooded hay barley. It is medium tall, and matures mid-season. It was developed by WestBred, and is adapted to the intermountain area of the Pacific Northwest and western areas of Canada.
Redrock ranks fifth among forage varieties, at 0.4 percent of total planted acres in Montana for 2024. Redrock is an excellent forage variety. It is a two-row hooded variety with high yield, and has great standability when irrigated.
TOP FEED VARIETIES
Haxby is again the leading feed barley variety planted in 2024, representing 5.0 percent of all barley acreage. Haxby is a two-rowed barley developed by MSU. Yields are equal to Baronesse and Eslick, and are higher than Gallatin and Valier varieties. It is medium height and maturity, and has superior performance in low moisture conditions. Haxby has high test weights in both dry land and irrigated areas.
Claymore ranked second for feed va-
Balance between crop production and protecting the environment
By Maribel Alonso, ARS
Scientists at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL), in Sidney, Montana, completed a study that shows the use of continuous cropping systems can better sustain crop yields while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in semi-arid regions.
NPARL research scientists Upendra M. Sainju, Brett L. Allen, and Jalal D. Jabro evaluated the effect of three long-term (34year project) dryland cropping systems on GHG emissions and crop yields in the U.S. northern Great Plains. The objective was to evaluate improved cropping systems like continuous cropping, which involves growing crops annually and eliminating the summer fallow (unplanted field) period, for GHG emissions and sustainable crop yields in dryland conditions.
“The study revealed that long-term no-till continuous cropping systems can reduce GHG emissions while sustaining crop yields compared to the conventional till crop-fallow system, which is the traditional two-year crop rotation of dryland farming in the Northern Great Plains,” explained Sainju.
A scientist sampling gas.A scientist is sampling gas to evaluate the effect of long-term dryland cropping systems on GHG emissions and crop yields in the U.S. northern Great Plains. (Image courtesy of Upendra Sainju).
As the demand for agricultural production increases, it is becoming more important to mitigate GHG emissions from croplands. Certain cropping systems, management practices, and use of nitrogen-based fertilizers add to the total emissions of N2O (nitrous oxide) and CH4 (methane) that contribute to the approximate 10 percent of the total GHG emissions coming from the agricultural sector.
Implementing innovative agricultural strategies that can maintain or increase crop yields while reducing GHG emissions has become critical. This is especially important in arid and semiarid regions, which make up one-third of the global arable land and account for a significant portion of GHG emissions coming from crop production.
Scientists conducted the study on three different dryland cropping systems that had been producing crop yields and affecting soil health for 34 years. The three systems included no-till continuous spring wheat, no-till spring wheatpea, and conventional till spring wheat-fallow. The study tested N2O and CH4 gas emissions twice a week to once a month throughout the year and analyzed carbon sequestration rates from 2012 to 2019 and crop yields, GHG balance, and
yield-scaled GHG balance from 2016 to 2018.
Overall, the no-till continuous cropping systems reduced net GHG balance by 66149% compared to the conventional till crop-fallow system.
In looking at the two no-till continuous cropping systems studied, Sainju noted, “Although the no-till continuous nonlegume cropping increased carbon sequestration rate and reduced GHG balance and yieldscaled GHG balance, it reduced crop yield due to increased weed and pest pressure and enhanced soil acidity compared to the no-till legume-nonlegume rotation. Therefore, no-till legume-nonlegume rotation is an ideal cropping system to enhance crop yield and reduce GHG emissions compared to no-till continuous nonlegume cropping system in dryland cropping systems of the U.S. northern Great Plains.”
The study is part of USDA-ARS ongoing long-term research on dryland cropping systems. Details about the latest study can be found in the Journal of Environmental Quality.
Montana 2024 barley varieties highlights
CONTINUED FROM PAGE C20
rieties planted in 2024, at 2.5 percent of all barley acres seeded. It is a two-row, bearded barley with high-test weight, medium height, excellent yield, superior straw strength, excellent standability, and Fusarium head blight tolerance.
Champion is the third leading Montana feed barley variety in 2024, accounting for 2.2 percent of the 2024 planted barley acres. Champion was developed by WestBred LLC, Bozeman, Montana in 1997. It is a cross between Baronesse and Camas. It is a two-row spring barley that has a semi-erect to intermediate growth habit. Champion has fair to good resistance to lodging and shattering. It also shows strengths to neck breaking and drought.
Survey respondents were asked to rank barley traits in order of importance where 5.00 is the highest and 1.00 is the lowest when choosing a barley variety for 2024. Drought tolerance was rated highest with 1.91 points out of 5.00. Malt quality was rated second with 1.73 points. Early maturity was rated third with 1.59 points. Contract obligations and lodging resistance were rated fourth and fifth, with 1.45 and 0.98 points, respectively. These, and all traits asked on the survey, are illustrated in the chart below.
SEED CONSIDERATIONS
growers reported that 0-5% of small grain yield is lost to sawfly. This was followed by 23.7 percent of growers who reported that 6-10 percent of small grain yield is lost to sawfly. Growers reporting that 11-20 percent of yield is lost to sawfly were 10.2 percent of the sample. Loss of 31-40 percent was reported by 0.7 percent of growers, and loss of 40 percent or higher was reported by 0.4 percent of growers. Percentages of yearly anticipated grain yield loss attributed to sawfly are illustrated on the graph below.
REASONS FOR NOT GROWING PULSE CROPS
Lastly, farmers were asked if they raise pulse crops. If growers answered no, they were asked to rank the top five reasons why they are not growing pulse crops, where 5.00 is the highest and 1.00 is the lowest. Other was in first place with 2.03 out of 5.0 points. Equipment was ranked second with 1.82 points. Marketing was ranked third, with an average of 1.61 points. Farm location or environment, and transportation were ranked fourth and fifth, at 1.35 and 1.16 points, respectively. These, and all other reasons listed on the survey, as well as their rankings, are illustrated in the chart below.
Growers of both barley and wheat were asked about the factors they consider when purchasing and planning for seed. Growers ranked these factors in order of importance, where 5.00 is the highest and 1.00 is the lowest. Cost was rated highest, with 2.42 points out of 5.00. This was followed by wanting the option to save seed, at 2.18 points. The influence of neighbors, friends, or family was rated third, at 1.41 points. Public variety trial data was rated fourth, with 1.35 points. Allegiance to breeding program or variety owner was rated fifth at 1.14 points. These, and all other seed considerations listed on the survey, are illustrated on the following chart.
A man is driving down a highway, and he hits and kills a rabbit. He gets out of the car and walks over to the rabbit. He picks it up and starts crying, thinking he’s a horrible person. Someone else driving down the highway stops and walks over to him, and asks, “What happened?”
The man replies, “I hit this rabbit with my car and now it’s dead!”
YEARLY ANTICIPATED SMALL GRAIN YIELD LOSS ATTRIBUTED TO SAWFLY
Growers were also asked about their yearly anticipated small grain yield loss that is attributed to sawfly. Sixty-one percent of
The other person gets a thoughtful look on their face and goes back to their car. They rummage around in the trunk, and eventually walk back over to the man holding a spray bottle. They spray the rabbit with the bottle, and it comes back to life. It starts hopping away, turning back every few hops to wave at the two people. The man, astounded, turns to the other person and asks, “What was in that bottle?”
The other person replies, “It’s hare spray.”
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Garden tools
If plastic garden furniture is stained, make a paste of baking soda and water, apply it for a few minutes, then wipe off.
To preserve aluminum garden furniture and metal tools over the winter, apply oil (either cooking oil or motor oil). Wipe off before using again, though.
Paint the handles of gardening tools with leftover paint–the brighter the better–to make them easier seen in the garden.
Clay soil can be difficult to dig; sharpen the end of the spade with a file to make it easier.
Use an old fanny pack to keep secateurs, plant labels, string, a penknife, and other garden tools nearby. The expanding waist strap will enable it to go comfortably over bulky jackets and jumpers.
Wrap a long length of string to one handle of secateurs and a few elastic bands to the other handle; they always come in handy in the garden.
Keep an old oily rag in the garden shed for wiping tools after use, especially at damp times of the year. It will help them rust-free and clean.
To avoid getting kinks in a garden hose, coil in a figure eight, not a circle.
An old wheel rim makes an ideal storage place for a garden hose when not in use. Hang on a garage or shed wall.
If the handles of tools, mowers, or shears are uncomfortable to hold, buy a foam bicycle handlebar grip. Slip the grips over the tool handles, using liquid dish soap or Vaseline if it proves difficult. Or slit the grip and slip it over the handle. Pipe insulating foam could also be used.
If the hose springs a leak, make a temporary repair by inserting a cocktail stick into the hole. Snap the stick off as close to the hose as possible and wrap around with insulating tape or waterproof tape. This should extend by about 2” on each side of the hole. As the wood absorbs the water it will expand and seal the hole.
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NDSU soybean iron deficiency chlorosis scores available
This year presented a significant challenge for soybean producers due to cool and wet conditions causing prolonged iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) symptoms in North Dakota soybean fields, says Ana Carcedo, North Dakota State University Extension broadleaf crops agronomist.
NDSU conducts annual research on soybean varieties to determine their tolerance to IDC. This information is crucial for farmers who deal with IDC in their fields annually. Choosing soybean varieties less susceptible to IDC is the first step in addressing this issue, advises Carcedo.
According to Carrie Miranda, NDSU soybean breeder, “Soybean varieties exhibit genetic differences in their tolerance to IDC symptoms. Producers can use the NDSU data to choose an appropriate IDC-tolerant soybean variety for fields known to have IDC issues in the 2025 season. Selecting a soybean variety with IDC tolerance is an important management decision that can help producers minimize the negative impact of chlorosis on yield.”
In the summer of 2024, NDSU’s soy-
bean breeding program evaluated 170 Enlist, GT27, Roundup Ready, and Xtend soybean varieties, along with 21 conventional varieties for IDC tolerance.
IDC symptoms include yellowing of plant leaves with green veins, as well as yellowing, browning, and stunted growth during the early stages, leading to reduced soybean yields. The test results are based on replicated trials conducted in a location with a history of IDC. Visual ratings were made on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 indicating no chlorosis and 5 indicating the most severe chlorosis. Ratings were recorded at three different soybean growth stages.
The test results are available at https:// vt.ag.ndsu.edu/list/soy. NDSU soybean variety trial yield data will also be published at this link.
While IDC tolerance is important, producers are advised to consider the yield potential and other important traits of soybean varieties. Varieties with similar IDC tolerance can differ significantly in their yield potential.
The North Dakota Soybean Council provided funding for the iron deficiency rating studies.
An iron chlorosis rating scale is used to evaluate IDC tolerance with 1 indicating no chlorosis and 5 indicating the most severe chlorosis. (NDSU photo)
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TRUCKS FOR SALE
1972 International 4300 12-yard dump truck.
1981 Freightliner with Cat 450 hp, 5th wheel, good tires.
1978 International Transtar II 400 Cummins Big Cam II.
1982 40-ft. utility flatbed 5th wheel trailer.
1987 Farmbed 42-ft. trailer, roll tarp.
1984 Mack RL700L V8, 5th wheel.
1974 IHC 1600 truck, 16-ft. grain box with hoist.
1976 GMC 6000 truck, 16-ft. grain box with hoist.
1974 Ford 750 truck, 16-ft. grain box with hoist.
1978 International 1700 truck, 5 yard dump.
1967 Ford 600 truck, 16-ft. bulk box, 20” belt.
1978 Chevrolet C60 line truck, 5000 lb. crane, 40-ft. boom.
1959 Chevrolet C60 truck, 16-ft. bulk box, 24” belt.
1978 GMC C70 tandem, 20-ft. grain box with hoist.
1982 Chevrolet tandem, 20-ft. bulk box, self unload.
1974 Chevrolet C65 tandem, 20-ft. bulk box, self unload.
1954 GM military 21/2-ton truck with 5th wheel, 302.
1956 GM military 21/2-ton truck with 1200x20 tires.
Lots of truck tires with wheels.
Lots of trucks for restoration.
Lots of bumper pull trailers. Lots of trucks not listed.
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Grand Champion Ram – Colton Stiefvater, McCook Central
SD FFA Foundation awards grants for local FFA chapter service-learning projects
By Gerri Ann Eide, CFRE,SD FFA Foundation
The FFA motto all FFA members learn includes the words,” Living to Serve”, making service a core value taught to SD’s over 10,000 high school Agriculture Education students through their FFA participation. With state educational budgets becoming tighter all the time, FFA chapters are forced to choose which worthwhile activities they can still participate in. Sometimes that means service projects do not happen. The SD FFA Foundation recognizes the value of local chapter service-learning projects and wants to enable Agriculture Education programs to focus on student and community development. As a result, the SD FFA Foundation provides up to $500/chapter for service projects in their local communities.
SD FFA Foundation Executive Director, Gerri Ann Eide says, “We want to grow community leaders for tomorrow by encouraging FFA members to take an active role in the betterment of their communities and find pride in the communities at the
same time. These are valuable educational activities that impact agriculture education students for a lifetime.”
Congratulations to the following chapters receiving SD FFA Foundation funds this fall for their service projects:
Bowdle – host “Thank a Farmer” Harvest Appreciation week
Ethan – construct and distribute sleep in heavenly peace beds
Howard – construct a garden shed for the community Garden
Lennox Sundstrom – create and distribute 50 farmer First Aid kits
Platte-Geddes – assemble 120 Birthday boxes for the local food pantry
These grants were made possible, as a special project of the SD FFA Foundation. For more information about the South Dakota FFA Foundation and South Dakota’s FFA programs, visit www.sdffafoundation. org.
Top speed at 20 mph
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Top 5 Breeding Sheep Showmen – (1) Carissa Scheel, Wessington Springs, (2) Olivia newell, Lennox-Sundstrom, (3) Josie Nold, Brookings, (4) Katelyn Dorsey, Highmore, and (5) Kasandra Knutson, Viborg-Hurley
Grand Champion Market Lamb – Elizabeth Albrecht, Howard
Reserve Champion Market Lamb – Andrew Johnson, Harrisburg
Top 5 Market Sheep Showmen – (1)Landon Berg, Bridgewater-Emery, (2)Peyton Bischoff, Huron, (3)Quinton Berg, Bridgewater-Emery, (4)Andrew Johnson, Harrisburg, and (5) Andrea Miller, Canton Breeding and Market Sheep Showmanship sponsored by Knutson Suffolks & C & R Supply, Inc.
2011 SiDumpR sidedump, 3 axle, electric tarp. Rental Unit
2005
4 WHEEL DRIVE TRACTOR FOR SALE
PRRS cost pork producers $1.2 billion per year
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) caused an estimated $1.2 billion per year in lost production in the U.S. pork industry from 2016 to 2020, an 80% increase from a decade earlier, according to a new analysis by an Iowa State University expert.
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The viral disease has been present in U.S. swine herds since the mid-1980s and remains a growing threat, said Dr. Derald Holtkamp, professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine.
“After 40 years of experience fighting this virus, veterinarians and producers are still losing the battle against PRRS,” said Holtkamp, who led the new research and a 2012 study that estimated the virus caused $664 million in annual losses from 2006 to 2010.
Data crucial for producers
The sharp increase in economic damage caused by PRRS isn’t driven by changes in market prices, production cost or the size of the U.S. pig inventory. Those factors only account for about $108 million of the $536 million increase in annual losses, Holtkamp said. The other $428 million is attributed to the portion of herds affected by PRRS and the differences in productivity between affected and unaffected herds.
The new estimate relies on weekly herd disease status data gathered by a swine health reporting program at the University of Minnesota and productivity data collected from pork producers by Iowa State postdoctoral researcher and study co-author Henry Osemeke. Holtkamp presented the study earlier this summer at the International Pig Veterinary Society Congress in Leipzig, Germany.
The increase was larger than Holtkamp expected, but pork industry veterinarians who have seen the data aren’t surprised. “Without fail they say, ‘Nope, that seems right,’” he said.
Holtkamp has a master’s degree in economics, a rare background for a veterinarian. Cost of disease studies are crucial for allocating research funding and informing industry decision-making, he said.
“It’s foundational data for big producers, who plug these numbers into their formulas,” he said.
Improved biosecurity needed
PRRS is the most economically damaging illness for swine producers, causing respiratory distress in pigs of all ages and reproductive problems in breeding stock. Controlling the disease is a continuous challenge in part because the RNA virus that causes PRRS evolves frequently and vaccines have limited effectiveness.
“I’ve been doing this for going on 30 years now, and more than half a dozen times in my career we’ve thought we had things figured out and were on top of it,” Holtkamp said. “But this virus always finds a way. It outsmarts us every time.”
A disproportionate amount of the production loss increase came in herds of growing pigs, as opposed to breeding herds. In the 2006-10 study, growing herds accounted for 55% of lost production. In the new study, 68% of the estimated losses come from growing herds. Holtkamp attributed that to new virus variants and changes in sow immunization methods.
Heightened biosecurity is essential to reversing the mounting impact of PRRS because industry consolidation and growth makes facilities more interconnected, increasing exposure, said Holtkamp, a swine disease expert who often conducts outbreak investigations. Enhanced sanitation of livestock trailers and at facility entrances are common improvements, but every operation is different. Producers should devote resources to identifying their largest biosecurity gaps and most effective prevention measures, he said.
“It can be complicated, but it’s worth it to spend that time to find those risks. You don’t know if you don’t take the time to look,” he said.
Space woman
Millie Hughes-Fulford was born in Mineral Wells, Texas, in 1945; her dad ran a local grocery store. But her passion lay in science, not commerce, and she was inspired by great female scientists like Marie Curie. By 16, she could run the store on her own but longed to go to college, so she went off to earn a PhD in radiation biochemistry from Texas Woman’s University. As if becoming a prominent medical researcher and molecular biologist weren’t enough, Fulford joined the NASA astronaut program as a payload specialist aboard the STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences (SLSI). This nine-day mission onboard the space shuttle Columbia lifted off on June 5, 1991. During the mission, Fulford conducted scientific experiments in space that yielded critical information about bone-cell growth, osteoporosis, and cancer.
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Montana 2024 wheat varieties highlights
This report provides the results of the wheat portion of the 2024 Wheat and Barley Variety Survey, conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Mountain Regional Office, USDA. The survey was funded by the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. Access to this report is available for free or online at www.nass.usda.gov/mt. Thank you to each person who supplied data and made this report possible.
All variety acreage numbers in this publication are based on survey averages. Survey respondents totaled 1,956, of which 1,694 were usable reports for both wheat and barley. Usable, positive spring wheat reports totaled 689, usable, positive reports for winter wheat totaled 623, and Durum wheat reports totaled 179. At the district level, the number of reports for minor varieties is generally limited. Yearly fluctuations in the district variety acreage may be the result of sample variation.
Total acreage of all wheat seeded in Montana for 2024 is estimated at 5.28 million acres, up from 5.26 million acres planted in 2023. Montana is ranked fourth in all wheat planted acreage in the United States, with 11.4 percent of the 46.27 million acres planted.
Dagmar is the leading spring wheat variety in Montana for 2024, accounting for 22.0 percent of the 2.45 million acres of spring wheat planted in 2024. Vida ranks second with 14.3 percent of the spring wheat acreage. SY Longmire represents 8.9 percent of the spring wheat planted, and ranks third. Reeder ranked fourth, with just under 7.4 percent of spring wheat planted. WB Gunnison accounts for 4.1 percent of the spring wheat acres and ranks fifth. These top five varieties account for 56.7 percent of the spring wheat planted in 2024. Montana continues to rank second in spring wheat acreage in the United States, with 22.9 percent of the spring wheat planted in 2024.
Of the top five published varieties, Bobcat is the leading winter wheat variety planted in Montana for 2024, accounting for 21.5 percent of the 1.95 million winter wheat acres planted. Warhorse ranks second with 13.8 percent of acres planted. Keldin ranks third, with 9.2 percent of the acreage. Brawl CL Plus ranks fourth, holding 6.2 percent of winter wheat acres. Yellowstone ranks fifth with 5.1 percent of the acreage in Montana. These five varieties account for 55.7 percent of all winter wheat acres in Montana. The state ranks fifth in winter wheat planted acreage in the United States with 5.8 percent of the 33.48 million acres planted. Alzada is the leading Durum wheat variety in Montana during 2024, accounting for 24.1 percent of the 880,000 acres planted. ND Riveland ranks second with 20.9 percent of the Durum wheat acres planted. Divide ranks third with 12.6 percent of the Durum wheat acres planted. AC Transend represents 7.9 percent of the Durum wheat and ranks fourth. Joppa accounts 4.7 percent of Durum wheat and ranks fifth. These top varieties account for 70.2 percent of the Durum wheat acreage in Montana for 2024. Montana continues to rank second in Durum wheat planted acreage in the United States with 44.2 percent of the Nation’s estimated 2.09 million acres planted in 2024.
SPRING WHEAT
Dagmar is the leading spring wheat variety planted in 2024. Montana producers seeded 22.0 percent of the State’s acres to Dagmar this year. Dagmar is a solid stemmed hard red spring wheat, and shows strong resistance to wheat stem sawfly. It has excellent dryland yields, as well as high gluten strength.
Vida is the second most common spring wheat variety planted this year, representing 14.3 percent of the acreage seeded in Montana. Released in 2005, Vida was derived from a cross of Scholar and Reeder in 1998 by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. It is a high yielding hard red spring wheat, with moderate resistance to leaf and stripe rust. Vida is a semi-dwarf with white glumes and awns; kernels are red ovate with rounded cheeks. Good milling and baking characteristics have made Vida a popular variety each year.
SY Longmire ranks as the third most common spring wheat variety planted for 2024, with 8.9 percent of planted acreage. SY Longmire is a hard red spring wheat with high yield and good protein potential. It is sawfly tolerant with a solid stem, medium maturity, and medium to short plant height. It also shows good resistance to stem and leaf rust. It is especially adapted to North Dakota, Montana, and northern Minnesota.
Reeder is the fourth most common spring wheat variety planted this year, covering almost 7.4 percent of the seeded acreage. Reeder was developed by the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, and was released in 1999. It is an awned, semi-dwarf, hard red spring wheat. Reeder is resistant to upper Midwest stem and leaf rust. It was developed by crossing a relative of Stoa and germplasm from Brazil. Its stay-green trait allows for a longer head-filling period, and in turn higher yield.
WB Gunnison is the fifth most common spring wheat variety in 2024, accounting for 4.1 percent of Montana’s seeded spring wheat. WB Gunnison has excellent yields, good standability, and excellent tolerance to wheat stem sawfly. It has good protein content, and good milling and baking quality.
WINTER WHEAT
Bobcat is the most common winter wheat variety for 2024, accounting 21.5 percent of the state’s planted winter wheat acreage. Bobcat was developed by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and released in 2019. Bobcat is a hard red winter wheat with a solid stem and improved yield potential. Bobcat is marked by medium to late maturity, and is an awned, white-glumed, and semi-dwarf variety. Bobcat was the top performing line where sawfly cutting has occurred. It has above average test weight and average protein. It is resistant to prevalent races of stripe and stem rust, but susceptible to leaf rust. It is also winter hardy.
Warhorse ranked as the second most popular winter wheat variety, planted on 13.8 percent of Montana’s 2024 total winter wheat acres. Warhorse is a solid-stemmed hard red winter wheat released in 2013 by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. Warhorse has medium maturity and has medium short, semi-dwarf height. Warhorse yield is similar to Judee, while test weight and protein are above average. Warhorse is resistant to both stem and stripe rust. Warhorse has acceptable mill and bake qualities. Keldin ranks third in winter wheat acres for 2024 and accounts for 9.2 percent of planted winter wheat acreage. Keldin is a medium late, semi-dwarf hard red winter wheat. It has excellent yield and a strong stem. It also has good resistance to dis-
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Montana 2024 wheat varieties highlights
CONTINUED
ease. It was developed by Pflanzenzucht Oberlimpurg of Germany and licensed to WestBred, LLC.
Brawl CL Plus is the fourth most common winter wheat variety planted in Montana, and represents 6.2 percent of planted acres. It is medium-tall, has excellent straw strength, early maturity, and high yields. It also has good drought tolerance.
Yellowstone ranks fifth in winter wheat acres, representing 5.1 percent of planted acres. Yellowstone was released in 2005, and developed by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. Yellowstone is marked by high yields, medium test weight, height, maturity, and grain protein. It has good milling, and excellent baking qualities. It shows resistance to stripe rust, but is susceptible to stem rust. It is also winter hardy.
DURUM WHEAT
Alzada is ranked as the most common Durum variety, representing 24.1 percent of Montana’s total Durum wheat acreage planted. Alzada was developed by WestBred, LLC in Bozeman, Montana, and was first released for commercial planting in 2004. The variety has competitive yields, along with excellent straw strength and good sawfly tolerance. Alzada has a hightest weight, protein content, and demonstrates good scores for semolina color and gluten strength.
ND Riveland ranks as the second most popular variety for 2024, with 20.9 percent of the total Durum wheat planted acreage. Released in 2017 by NDSU, ND Riveland has medium height, good straw strength, medium maturity, and good overall quality.
Divide is the third most common wheat variety in 2024, representing 12.6 percent of Durum wheat acreage planted. Released in 2005 by NDSU, Divide has above average height, strong straw strength, medium maturity, and good overall quality.
AC Transcend is the fourth most popular Durum wheat variety for 2024, and represents 7.9 percent of the Durum wheat acreage planted. Transcend is characterized by high yield, protein concentration, strong straw strength, and improved Fusarium head blight resistance.
Joppa is the fifth most popular Durum wheat variety for 2024, representing 4.7 percent of the Durum wheat acreage. Joppa is characterized by above average height, strong straw strength, medium maturity, and good overall quality. It was released in 2013 by NDSU.
IMPORTANCE OF WHEAT VARIETY TRAITS
Wheat growers were asked to rank traits in order of importance when choosing a wheat variety for 2024, where 5.00 is the highest and 1.00 is the lowest.
SPRING WHEAT
Sawfly resistance was the highest ranked trait of importance amongst producers when choosing a spring wheat variety, garnering an average of 2.63 points out of 5.00.
Drought tolerance was second, with an average of 2.20 points. Test weight was the third most important trait, averaging 1.93 points. End use qualities was in fourth place with an average of 1.26 points, and early maturity was fifth at 1.09 points. These, and all other traits listed on the survey, are illustrated on the following chart.
WINTER WHEAT
Sawfly resistance was again the highest ranked trait of importance for winter wheat, with an average of 2.71 points out of 5.00. Winter hardiness ranked second, with an average of 2.38 points. Drought tolerance was ranked third at an average 1.76 points. Test weight ranked fourth, garnering an average of 1.45 points. End use qualities was ranked fifth at an average of 0.95 points. These, and all other traits listed on the survey, are illustrated on the following chart.
DURUM WHEAT
When selecting seed, drought tolerance was the highest ranked trait of importance for Durum wheat producers in 2024, averaging 1.67 points out of 5.00. End use qualities was a close second, with an average of 1.64 points. In third place, sawfly resistance had an average of 1.47 points. Color (HVAC) ranked fourth, with an average of 1.36 points. Test weight garnered 1.29 points, and ranked fifth for producers. These, and all other traits listed on the survey, are illustrated on the following chart.
SEED CONSIDERATIONS
Growers of both barley and wheat were asked about the factors they consider when purchasing and planning for seed. Growers ranked these factors in order of importance, where 5.00 is the highest and 1.00 is the lowest. Cost was rated highest, with 2.42 points out of 5.00. This was followed by wanting the option to save seed, at 2.18 points. The influence of neighbors, friends, or family was rated third, at 1.41 points. Public variety trial data was rated fourth, with 1.35 points. Allegiance to breeding program or variety owner was rated fifth at 1.14 points. These, and all other seed considerations listed on the survey, are illustrated on the following chart.
Facts about lightning
* According to a University of Michigan study, men are six times more likely to be struck by lightning than women are.
* Lightning can heat the air around it to temperatures of more than 50,000 degree F.
* The odds of being killed by lightning are about the same as being killed falling out of bed.
##### I never wanted to believe that my dad was stealing from his job as a road worker. But when I got home all the signs were there
Wesley Dagel keeps a diligent eye on the judge during the sheep show at the Marias Fair. Dagel exhibited his first market lamb at the fair and took home both the sheep herdsmanship and Most Promising Beginner in sheep awards. Photo by Kari Lewis.
Alfalfa Hay For Sale
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John Deere side delivery ground driven rake. Asking $3500 New Holland stack wagon/tiller, all hydraulic. Asking $2500
YEARLY ANTICIPATED SMALL GRAIN YIELD LOSS ATTIBUTED TO SAWFLY
Growers were also asked about their yearly anticipated small grain yield loss that is attributed to sawfly. Sixty-one percent of growers reported that 0-5% of small grain yield is lost to sawfly. This was followed by 23.7 percent of growers who reported that 6-10 percent of small grain yield is lost to sawfly. Growers reporting that 11-20 percent of yield is lost to sawfly were 10.2 percent of the sample. Loss of 31-40 percent was reported by 0.7 percent of growers, and loss of 40 percent or higher was reported by 0.4 percent of growers. Percentages of yearly anticipated grain yield loss attributed to sawfly are illustrated on the graph below.
REASONS FOR NOT GROWING PULSE CROPS
Lastly, farmers were asked if they raise pulse crops. If growers answered no, they were asked to rank the top five reasons why they are not growing pulse crops, where 5.00 is the highest and 1.00 is the lowest. Other was in first place with 2.03 out of 5.0 points. Equipment was ranked second with 1.82 points. Marketing was ranked third, with an average of 1.61 points. Farm location or environment, and transportation were ranked fourth and fifth, at 1.35 and 1.16 points, respectively. These, and all other reasons listed on the survey, as well as their rankings, are illustrated in the chart below.
COMBINE FOR SALE
1994 Case IH 1688 combine, Cummins engine, straw chopper, 1010 30-ft. header with trailer $12,500 Phone (406) 289-0141, Conrad, Montana
ITEMS FOR SALE
Case 530 backhoe – parting out Oliver 90 (Froze)
Antique Caterpillar Collection – All gas Call 406-945-1623, Kremlin, MT
1997 John Deere 8200T, weights, GPS, camoplast tracks, 8173 hours.
1975 John Deere 4430 row crop, weights, duals, hydraulic front drive.
1974 John Deere 4430, weights, duals.
1971 John Deere 4020 with front loader.
1969 John Deere 2510 with high lift loader. Phone cell (406) 490-3795, Anaconda, Montana
WANTED TO BUY:
Summer camp brings cattle, history, and STEM to campers
By Chabella Guzman, PREEC communications
A metal fence separated a few boys from a bunch of cattle as they looked at each other. Nodding their heads, the boys agreed it would be nice to take one of the cattle back home with them. The boys were part of the Summer Youth Empowerment Camp, which brought more than 30 children to visit the UNL Panhandle Feedlot and the UNL Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff on July 24.
The campers began their visit to PREEC at the feedlot, where they learned about the cattle, what they ate, and how Pablo Loza, Nebraska Extension feedlot management and nutrition specialist, and his crew cared for them. “We learned the function of someone who works in a feedlot or a scientist who works with a feedlot. Some of the kids had never seen cattle in person, so that was a different experience,” said Maricia Marquez, Empowering Families program director.
After visiting the cattle and having lunch at the Center, the students rotated through five different educational stations. They learned about dry edible beans, the various kinds grown in the Panhandle, and sampled brownies made from beans. There was a soil station where they learned about the importance of healthy soils. The campers learned about how technology was improving agriculture and about birds in Nebraska. Empowering Families hosted the summer camp, which served students in second to
sixth grade. “The camp is about three weeks long and is open to anyone,” Marquez said. “Our home base is the Guadalupe Center, and our activities focus on STEMS: science, technology, engineering, and math.”
In the mornings at the camp, Marquez and her team would break the students up into small groups to do science experiments or an art project. In the afternoon, they would take the children to different historical sites. “Our intent with the camp is to do outreach to low-income families, but also families that have an immigrant background. So some of our youth are Spanish-speaking only. This is a way to keep them engaged and help them learn English.”
Studies have shown that low-income students’ educational attainment falls over the summer if they are not involved in educational activities. “So by doing this in a fun and friendly environment, our goal is to help them maintain their academic engagement throughout the summer,” Marquez said. “It’s also easier transitioning back (to school) in the fall.”
“So that’s our goal, learning and having fun while doing it. Then also, to just integrate folks into Western Nebraska’s heritage. That’s why we went to Chimney Rock, the (Scotts Bluff National) Monument, and have been teaching the students about the history here. We have a lot of history and geological sites that a lot of people take for granted,” Marquez said.
Montana 2024 wheat varieties highlights
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Students at the Summer Youth Empowerment Camp learned about the UNL Panhandle Feedlot from staff Alejandro Casella, second from left, Santiago Ramos, and Pable Loza, Nebraska Extension feedlot management and nutrition specialist. Photo by Chabella Guzman
low boy service
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Neal Hay Sales
Alfalfa, grass, hay barley, grass alfalfa mix 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cutting dairy quality alfalfa. Test available. Delivery available. Located at Augusta, Montana Phone or text (406) 590-8916
FFA Members recognized for achievement at the South Dakota State Fair
Goodbye 2024 crop year, hello 2025! Stay ahead of the game and contact us today for all of your soil sampling needs! Standard Analysis, Complete Analysis, or Soil Health 0-6 inch, 6-24 inch and 24-42 inch depths Composite or Variable Rate Sampling with prescription writing.
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www.centrol-llc.com Jeff Farkell CPAg/CCA 406-788-4875 Joel Farkell CCA 406-581-6243 centrol_llc@outlook.com
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Growth Through Agriculture Grant & Loan Program requesting proposals
The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is announcing the opening of the FY2025 funding cycle for the Growth Through Agriculture (GTA) Program. Montanans interested in innovating or expanding agricultural businesses are invited to apply for funds through the state grant and loan program.
“The Growth Through Agriculture program continues to help Montana businesses and agricultural operations add value, scale up, and access new markets,” said MDA Director Christy Clark. “I encourage producers, business owners, and those with innovative ideas for value-added projects to apply so we as a state can continue to elevate our agricultural ecosystem and economy.”
The Growth Through Agriculture program was established by the legislature to strengthen and diversify Montana’s agriculture industry by developing new agricultural products and processes. GTA grants and loans are awarded by the Agriculture
Development Council, consisting of seven members appointed by the Governor. GTA funding requires the investment of at least $1 in matching funds for every $1 in grant or loan assistance received.
Pre-applications for funding open October 1, 2024, and are due October 31, 2024. Selected proposals from pre-applicants will be invited to submit a full application for funding in January. Information on submitting a pre-application, program guidelines, FAQs, and previously funded projects can be viewed online at agr.mt.gov/GTA. Applicants may apply for grants up to $50,000 and loans up to $100,000. Examples of eligible project activities include equipment purchases, construction costs, advertising and promotion, and consultant services. Those needing application assistance are encouraged to contact their local Food and Agricultural Development Center at agr.mt.gov/Food-and-Ag-DevelopmentCenters.
Rabbit Show Results: Champion Best in Show – Brianna Gilchrist, Winner Reserve Best in Show – Julia Tinker, Brandon Valley
Top 5 Showmen – (1)Julia Tinker, Brandon Valley, (2)Brianna Gilchrist, Winner, (3)Anna Sieperda, Beresford, (4)Hannah Schoenfelder, Huron, and (5)Michael Freeman, Ethan Rabbit Showmanship sponsored by Woehl’s Rabbits. Best of Show and Reserve sponsored by Mark and Staci Schloe.
2012 Case SR250 Skidsteer, joysticks, AC/heat, power attachment, 3210 engine hours. stk# 31622.
2017 New Holland LM7.42 Elite telehandler, reverse fan, rear hyd couple, ext. tool box, continuous flow aux hyd, Bluetooth & aux radio, bucket/grapple, engine hours 3523. stk# 22833 $95,000 (L)
2012 Bobcat 5600 Toolcat with 62” bucket. stk# 14953. (G)
2019 Toro 34225 stand on spreader. stk# 25200. $5000 (G)
SQUARE BALERS
2014 New Holland 340 big square baler, density control, tandem axle, ISO intellview, large 1000 PTO, roller chute, roller windguard. With a free one-season warranty. stk# 30935. $89,900 (G)
2006 Case IH WDX1202S swather with 16-ft. sickle and HDX162 header, single speed, cab & axle suspension, excellent condition, 1632 engine hours. stk# 32080. (G)
RAKES
2022 NEW New Holland 1631 rake, 16 wheel high capacity, single side opening, 60”, rear tandems, rear hydraulic opening. stk# 28671. Payments as low as $5530/oac (G)
2022 New Holland 230 7 bar, hydraulic rake. stk# 28667. $49,900 (L)
2009 New Holland HT154 12 wheel rake, needs 2 new tires. stk# 31739. $9500 (G)
