Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 88
Tent Caterpillars Galore Over the last week, there have been many unknown visitors in local trees. Tent caterpillars, both Eastern and Forest, have made a large appearance this year in Williams County. Although they are around every spring, I haven’t seen this many out and about the past few years. Tent caterpillars feed on tree leaves; they like the following trees; ash, aspen, basswood, birch, chokecherry, cottonwood, elm, maple, pin cherry, poplar and other hardwoods. These caterpillars o...
Farm Stress Recently in North Dakota newspapers Inforum and the Bismarck Tribune, there have been some articles about farmer suicide rates. Farming and ranching is a high stress job, as there are many aspects that need to be managed at one time. According to the 2016 study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who work in farming, fishing and forestry were 3.4 times more likely than other American workers to die by suicide on the job. Sean Brotherson, NDSU Extension...
Now that the weather forecast looks to be nice the next week or so, I am hopeful that spring is here to stay! Those that spend any time outdoors will have to start looking at themselves, and their animals, for ticks. There are three species of ticks that can be found: American dog tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick and winter tick, American dog tick is the most common. With the worry of Lymes disease being carried in ticks, here in North Dakota we are lucky that the black-legged tick, also known as...
Calf diarrhea, more often referred to as “scours”, is a big topic with a basic problem; the loss of fluids and electrolytes from the calf. Most of these cases occur within the first 3 and 16 days of life. A variety of conditions may result from scours if steps are not taken to treat an animal, conditions such as; loss of fluids leading to low blood volume, electrolyte imbalance and acidosis, the animal essentially dies of shock. There are two forms of scours: those involving excess sec...
With spring upon us, that means mud and muck. Those in the agriculture industry are thankful for the snow and moisture after last year’s drought. One of the downfalls of the mud is the challenge it creates for livestock producers; feeding, moving and maintaining animal health can be a challenge. One issue that can occur with livestock standing for a period of time in moist wet conditions is, foot rot. Foot rot is a sub-acute or acute necrotic (decaying) infectious disease of cattle. This d...
As much of North Dakota just received some much needed moisture in the form of snow, most of us are not thinking much about spring landscaping and maintenance. Every year I receive calls in May or June asking when they should trim their trees and shrubs. Well for most woody plants, that time of year isn’t suggested. March is a great time to trim deciduous and coniferous species as they are still dormant, which will minimize sap flow. Do note that if you are going to trim maple or birches, they h...
As we start the third month of 2018, ranchers have a lot on their minds. For many, March and April are their calving seasons, starting some of their busiest weeks. As exciting and tiring calving season can be, we have to think about spring. As we all know, 2017 was one of the driest years on record for most of North Dakota, so many are wondering what 2018 will be like. Some people might not like the little snow we have received, but for those that work in agriculture, we want so much more. With...
The family farm or ranch often is more than a business; oftentimes it also is a family legacy that has been cultivated, nurtured and maintained for generations. This makes each farm/ranch operation unique and, in turn, makes designing a farm succession plan just as unique and challenging for each family. No two plans will look alike. The goal is to find a personalized plan that will reflect your family’s goals and objectives. Creating a plan will bring value not only to your operation but to y...
Farmers, ranchers, consultants, scouts, seed inspectors, insurance adjusters, handlers, workers, and especially custom pesticide applicators are routinely subjected to ticks and mosquitos. For years, people have been advised to use DEET to treat their skin and clothing. However, treatments to clothing only provide repellency for up to six hours with DEET. Thus permethrin, either applied to clothing or impregnated into the clothing can provide much longer protection. In the case of permethrin...
A common agronomic practice that will be considered in the upcoming weeks is tank mixing a fungicide with a herbicide. Here are a couple reminders when making the decision on an early season (tillering) fungicide in wheat. Diseases Being Targeted An early-season fungicide is geared at managing residue-borne diseases. The pathogens responsible for these diseases are able to overwinter on host residue and can start an epidemic under conducive environmental conditions in the spring. The most...
Rangeland grazed too early can take years to recover. The recent warm temperatures may have producers itching to get their livestock out on pasture, but they need to make sure their forages are ready to be grazed before turnout. “Grazing forage too early in the spring can be costly in terms of total forage production during the entire grazing season,” North Dakota State University Extension Service rangeland management specialist Kevin Sedivec says. “Grazing before grass plants reach the grazi...
High-quality Seed (part 2) Last week I wrote the first section with information from the NDSU publication Selecting High-quality Seed of Cereal Grains written by Joel Ransom, Cereal Crops Agronomist. This week I am going to continue off of last weeks information, and start with the continuation of the factors to be avoided when selecting grain. Dead seed can result from frost damage, sprouting or other weather damage, high moisture during storage or diseases. Molds or fungi, even when...
High Quality Seed (part 1) With the weather, overall, starting to feel like spring, farmers get an itch. With the nice weather, longer days and drying soil we want to get into the field as soon as possible. This year I have received a few calls about seed varieties, seed rates and of course, vomitoxin. The following information is from the NDSU Extension publication Selecting High-quality Seed of Cereal Grains written by Joel Ransom. Farmers are particular about the variety of seed they grow....
Weak Calf Syndrome Calving season provides all types of challenges for the rancher. Nothing is more frustrating than when a normally delivered calf is slow to get up and nurse. This could be due an extended labor, a large sized calf, a premature calf, cold weather, wind chill or other factors. Helping the calf nurse or providing colostrum replacement/supplement usually helps the calf eventually show some vigor. However, sometimes the calf dies even with human assistance. While 5 percent death...
10th Annual National Hard Spring Wheat Show Well folks, it is that time of year again. The 64th Annual National Hard Spring Wheat Show is February 7-9. On the 7th there will be over 450 5th graders coming to the Grand Williston Hotel to learn about bread. The kids will learn about wheat from planting and the steps it takes to get to the loaf they buy at the store. During this time, they will make a loaf to bring home that night to bake, a delicious honey whole wheat bread out of the oven....
The Cold is Upon Us As all of us know in our region the last few weeks have been cold, windy and full of snow. This article is going to be discussing safety while traveling and home insulation. Traveling in winter is something that will always have to be done, but we have to be safe about it. Of course taking your time and driving where roads are plowed are common thoughts when driving in winter, but what about a snow emergency kit? A shovel, snow brush, warm blankets, food, and winter clothes...
Body Condition Score There are several approaches and tools to help determine if the beef cow’s nutritional requirements and needs are being met. Some include testing feeds for nutritional content and visually evaluating cow appearance. A standardized scoring system has been developed to rate a cow’s visual appearance from 1 to 9 based on body fat and fleshiness. Higher scores equate to higher condition and weight cows, reflecting current and past nutrition has supported weight gain and bod...
Nutrition and Feeding of Beef Cattle Cattle are ruminants, the digestive system of cattle includes a large fluid filled rumen containing a large population of microbes. Microbes have the ability to break down fibrous components of roughages and initiate feed digestion. As feed passes from rumen to smaller stomach structures, the body absorbs the water and the animal’s digestive enzymes further break down feed for nutrient absorption. As calories define the energy in food we eat, and what is u...
Annie’s Project Some women in the agriculture world have heard of Annie’s Project. So what is it? A program for empowering women in agriculture to be better business partners through networks and by managing and organizing critical information. Farm and ranch women are decision makers, so why Annie’s Project? This is a six-week course that is a discussion-based workshop bringing women together to learn from experts in production, financial management, human resources, marketing and the legal...
Strategic Culling November 29th and 30th there were two great programs in our area for beef producers. Lisa Pederson, North Dakota State University Extension Beef Quality Specialist presented on strategic culling of beef cattle. One thing that was mentioned was that there might be some reasons to cull beyond the “2 O’s”, old and open. Another thing that was mentioned was the economics, that there might be some more potential value for heifer calves and lower culling rate to retain more cows. The...
New Romaine Lettuce is a Winner! Romaine lettuce has become one of the most popular vegetables in our North Dakota Home Garden Variety Trials. It’s more popular than our leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce and iceberg lettuce trials— combined. Gardeners in these trials have discovered romaine lettuce is easy to grow and delicious. This summer, 33 families compared the new romaine variety ‘Fusion’ with ‘Green Forest’, a standout performer in ND for years. ‘Fusion’ is a cross between leaf and romaine...
With harvest over for most, now comes the time to haul and sell your grain. Many operations have to have grain bins and a handling system as heading straight to the elevator isn’t an option, for many reasons. With the cooler temperatures among us, and precipitation soon to be coming in the form of snow below are some tips from North Dakota State University Extension Service Engineer, Dr. Kenneth Hellevang. Natural Air Drying; In-bin air-drying becomes inefficient as outdoor air temperature d...
Farm and Ranch Succession Planning Many people in our area are a part of a farm or ranch operation, it is a family business. Having a family business is difficult, no matter what form of business it is. On December 6th and 13th from 1:00p.m. to 4:30p.m. North Dakota State University Extension Service Williams County will be hosting Design Your Succession Plan. Attendance on both dates is required as it is a seven hour program. This will be at the Williston Research Extension Center. A great oppo...
Upcoming Programs Williams County Extension Service has a few programs coming up over the next few weeks. Bovine Connection, this program is starting back up! This was a great program put on by North Dakota State University Extension Service and Montana State University Extension Service, but had died out over the last five years. MSU Extension and NDSU Extension Service decided to bring this program back to the area. The day will be November 29th in Culbertson, MT. The time will start at...
Reducing Winter Feed Costs As many know that raise cattle, the prices are down this year. One way Kris Ringwall, North Dakota State University Beef Specialist, says might help reduce cost is effective cropping systems. The following information is from BeefTalk: Effective Cropping Systems Reduce Winter Feed Costs article. Grazing of crop rotational systems that include cover crop and crop reside is a managerial change that can decrease beef production costs. This change is further enhanced when...
