Sorted by date Results 26 - 42 of 42
USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) Billings Regional Office reminds producers in Montana and Wyoming that the sales closing date for the Pasture Rangeland and for ageinsurance program is November 15. In Montana a gridded rainfall index is used as a proxy for rangeland and forage production, and is intended to reflect how much precipitation is received relative to the long term average for a specified area and timeframe. In Wyoming a gridded vegetation index gathered by satellite is used to observe long-term changes in greenness of v...
Based in Calgary, TransCanada Corporation, Canada's second largest pipeline company patiently awaits a ruling on the Keystone XL pipeline. The ruling is expected to be made by the end of the first quarter of 2014. The Keystone XL pipeline is a proposed 1,179 mile, 36 inch-diameter crude oil pipeline beginning in Hardisty, Alberta, Canada and extending south to Steele City, Nebraska. The pipeline will transport crude oil from Canada along with crude oil from producers in the Bakken region of Nort...
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s fall mule deer survey indicated production in 2013 was higher than in 2012. Biologists counted 1,761 (1,224 in 2012) mule deer in the aerial survey in October. The buck-to-doe ratio of 0.46 (0.37 in 2012) is similar to the long-term average of 0.43 bucks per doe, while the fawn-to-doe ratio of 0.74 (0.59 in 2012) was the highest since 2009, but still below the long-term average of 0.91 fawns per doe. Bruce Stillings, big game supervisor in Dickinson, said the combination of no antlerless harvest a...
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is currently working with 18 landowners in 16 hunting units across the state who would like to host hunters with antlerless deer licenses in 2013. Participating landowners are located in hunting units 2C, 2G2, 2I, 2J2, 2K2, 3A4, 3B3, 3C, 3D1, 3D2, 3E1, 3E2, 3F1, 3F2, 4B and 4E. The program is not intended for buck hunters, but designed to direct hunters with antlerless licenses to specific areas to reduce deer populations. Interested hunters can get their name on a list of possible participants by...
Deer Bow - Aug. 30 Pronghorn Gun/Bow - There will not be a pronghorn season Bighorn Sheep - Oct. 18 Bow; Oct. 25 Gun. Only lottery winners Elk - Unit E5: Sept. 7, Unit E2: Oct. 5, Unit E4: Sept. 7 Deer Gun - Nov. 8 Moose - Units M5 & M6: Nov. 16 Deer Muzzleloader - Nov. 30 See more at: http://www.ndtourism.com/information/north-dakota-hunting-seasons-date#sthash.KweabqsE.dpuf...
The 2013 Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) and Montana CattleWomen (MCW) Annual Convention and Trade Show will meet at the Holiday Inn Grand Montana in Billings, Mont. on Dec. 12-14. The Convention will offer opportunities for attendees to learn tips to improve their ranch or business, find out about new products available for their animal health and ranch supply needs at the trade show, and for members to weigh in on policy discussions. Members who attend convention will be eligible to win a Ford Super Duty truck from the Montana Ford...
An organization in North Dakota believes it’s just as important to harvest the stories coming out of western North Dakota as it is to capture the natural resources there. To achieve their goal, the North Dakota Humanities Council (NDHC) will send two professional writers with North Dakota roots to communities directly affected by the recent oil boom to host writing workshops exploring the ways oil is transforming the landscape and culture. According to NDHC director Brenna Gerhardt, “Nothing is more important to a culture than its stories. The...
Beginning today, 131,000 people in Montana will see their food assistance benefits cut, when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) expires. This boost took effect in 2009 and aimed to strengthen the economy and ease hardship. However, Congress chose to end the increase early, before struggling families have fully recovered. For a household of three, the early reduction will mean a loss of $29 in benefits each month, the equivalent of nearly two days’ worth of meals. These c...
Dedication and hard work is rewarded with great accomplishments, and few know this better than Watford City's 18-year-old rodeo competitor, Samantha Jorgenson. Among her many achievements, Jorgenson has claimed the title of NDRA Lady's All Around Champion the last two years, as well as the 2013 North Dakota High School Lady's All Around Champion. For the Jorgenson family, rodeo is a way of life. "It's definitely a family thing," Jorgenson says about her training. Both her parents and her little...
Scientists discovered some 70 years ago that they could fight wheat stem sawfly by growing a new type of wheat. The wheat had a solid stem instead of a hollow one, making it harder for females to lay eggs and leaving less room for larvae to grow. Montana wheat farmers still benefit from that breakthrough, and Montana State University now has a new grant that could add weapons to their arsenal, said MSU wheat breeder Luther Talbert. With a five-year $500,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Talbert and his c...
Earlier this year, Laura Brutscher helped young Montanans become "honey bee investigators" during a summer camp at Montana State University. The MSU graduate student has now received a major fellowship to expand her own honey bee investigations. The Project Apis m.-Costco Fellowship will give Brutscher $50,000 a year for three years to research honey bees and the pathogens that infect them. Her mentors as she continues studying the role of microbes in honey bee colony health and how they relate...
The Ag Department at Williston State College is getting ready for the 4th annual Carcass Challenge. Students in the program take calves donated from area livestock producers to Hovde Feedlot in Arnegard, feed them the same rations, and weigh and process them monthly and study the data. When they are ready to be processed, they are brought to Prairie Packing and sold as quarters, halves, or wholes. The proceeds fund the Ag Ambassador program. The Ag Ambassador program helps communicate the importance of agriculture in our area. “Students i...
The ditches are drained and it's time for paperwork and construction at Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project (LYIP) according to project manager James Brower. The accounts are being finalized, with personnel going through last year's audit and preparing for this year's. Staff has just finished verifying water assessment dues and new property owners. That information is given to the county courthouses so they can send out water assessments. In addition to routine maintenance, LYIP crews will be...
For years, Connolly Saddlery was known for their custom hand-made saddles. The detailed tooling and integral craftsmanship were sought after and quickly became well known throughout the country. In 1978, with the retirement of the head saddle maker, Connolly Saddlery stopped making custom saddles. However, 34 years later the Connolly stamp is being tooled into quality leather again. In 2012, for their 100 year anniversary, the current owners Dave & Barb Wagner, re-launched the Connolly Saddle....
The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) will “pony-up” up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for striking and dragging a Shetland pony to death near Bottineau, N.D., in late September. The 84-year-old cattle producer organization’s reward is in addition to a second reward fund being administered privately by the horse’s owner, Dave Boppre. The Turtle Mountain Veterinary Service of Bottineau is a collection point for private donations. “Animal stewardship is a priority fo...
Livestock producers that suffered losses due to natural disaster are urged to keep thorough records of all losses, including livestock death losses, as well as expenses for such things as feed purchases and extraordinary costs because of lost supplies or increased transportation costs. USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Aaron Krauter said that both versions of the pending Farm Bills contain a reauthorization of the lapsed disaster programs such as the Livestock Indemnity Program that are retroactive for losses occurring from...
