One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
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The St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group continues moving forward with state legislative funding. The mission remains as it was in 2003 when the group started, to find a workable solution to rehabilitating an irrigation project before it sustains catastrophic failure. In recent activity, the Working Group lost its long standing basin co-chair, Randy Reed. Since the inception of the Working Group Reed had represented the basin members as co-chair. Reed recently lost his battle with cancer in...
The carcass results from the 2015 4-H and FFA livestock show at the Phillips County Fair are complete. Carcass results are eligible to be submitted to the Steer of Merit program, sponsored by the Montana Stockgrowers; Symbol of Excellence program, sponsored by the Montana Pork Producers Council; and Montana Certified Lamb program, sponsored by the Montana Wool Growers. For meeting individual carcass requirements, youth winners and the breeders of their animals receive a certificate from the...
Approximately 65 area producers attended the four crop tours the second week of July. Producers were provided an opportunity to review the latest in wheat and barley genetics. Peggy Lamb, Agronomist from the Havre Research Center provided research results from the experimental plot at Loring. The 10 year average yield from the trials at Loring is 34.6 bushel. Vida, Oneal, and Reeder are the top three yielding wheats at the trial. For barley varieties the 10 year average is 67.7 bushel with...
During the recent crop tour, the presence of a new weed in our area was discussed. It is Narrowleaf hawksbeard, a relative of the dandelion. This weed is very prolific and will take serious management considerations in crop and summer follow for clean fields. Here is some information on biology and management . Any reference of chemical name is no endorsement of the product. Identification Narrowleaf hawksbears is a winter annual and sometimes summer annual – but a real opportunist. Narrowleaf h...
The annual crop tours hosted by the Phillips County Extension Office and local sponsors will begin on Tuesday, July 7th at 5:00 pm at the Flansaas/Lumsden/Blunt Farms south of Loring. Wednesday will be at north Wagner, Thursday will be east of Malta on highway 2, and Friday the crop tour will be east of Saco along Highway 2. 2015 Crop Tour Schedule · Tuesday, July 7th, 5:00 pm Flansaas/Lumsden/Blunt Farms, First Security Bank sponsor · Wednesday, July 8th, 5:00 pm Mortenson Farms, First State B...
The 4-H Livestock Committee, 4-H Council, and the Phillips County Fair Board are in agreement to not have any poultry exhibits at this year’s fair. High Path Avian Influenza (HPAI) has had a major impact in the US with destruction of 48 million poultry nationwide. There have been two cases in Montana in Judith Basin and Flathead Counties in 2015. HPAI is carried by wild waterfoul and is easily transferred to domestic poultry. The disease is also highly contagious among a flock. For these r...
.This news and other information were discussed at the Phillips County Livestock Association spring meeting Friday May 15, 2015 at the First State Bank. The meeting drew 25 area producers. The report of Brazil was mentioned at the meeting under new news. The news release was created by JBS chief executive Wesley Batista, who heads the world's largest meat seller. "Without any doubt this would benefit the flow of volumes from Brazil but today markets are global. It's not like in the past," he...
Poultry veterinarians in Minnesota believe an outbreak of avian flu has spread between farms, indicating the implementation of a U.S. strategy to contain the deadly bird disease failed in at least some cases. Virulent H5 avian influenza strains have spread to 14 states in five months and affected about 26 million birds in the worst outbreak of the disease in U.S. history, according to the USDA. Officials believe this is a new strain and there is no immunity with in the flocks. If a flock is...
The most glaring number that the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) provided at the March 24 St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group (SMRWG) meeting in Havre was not the $40 million construction cost for a new diversion structure. It was the fact that the current snow pack in the St. Mary/Milk River system was only at 65%. This highlights the importance of a reservoir and conveyance system. Reservoirs were able to capture fall storm events and 2015 early spring runoff. This gives the irrigation project...
Producers are reminded that testing small grains seed for germination is a must, especially if you are holding seed back from last year. Sprout and germination of a seed from last fall’s moisture will affect the seed's ability to germinate this year. Producers can count out a representative 100 seeds and place them on a wet paper towel on a cookie sheet. Place the seeds on the cookie sheet in rows evenly spaced. Cover with plastic wrap and place the cookie sheet in a window where the sun s...
The Jim Schumacher Memorial Livestock Day was held February 11, 2015 at the Great Northern. In attendance were 35 livestock producers. Dr. Anne Johnson informed producers on the best methods to maintain their vaccination equipment and proper calibration techniques. Producers should “shoot” their ratcheting syringe into a plastic 20 cc syringe for calibration. Having recently returned from the State Veterinarian conference Johnson noted that there is nothing new in the research and dev...
Drovers Cattle Network writer Matt Morgan reported the decline in cattle feedlot placements. The top ten states with feedlot capacity are reported in table 1. Cattle placements were down 4% from last year. Nebraska placements fell 175,00 head to 485,000 head. The 27 month placement low for Nebraska was set in March of 2013 at 350,000 head. Texas placements fell 135,000 to 385,000 head. December marks the first time in the past five months that placements have fallen in Texas. Morgan was asked...
The reason producers see high cattle price is because of the continued shortage of beef cattle in the US. Beginning stocks for 2015 are down 89 million pounds. US beef production for 2015 is estimated down 794 million pounds and imports will be short as well. USDA estimates that beef imports will be down 123 million pounds. According to Montana State University Economist Gary Brester, beef prices will continue to be high for producers until producers start to retain heifers to rebuild the US...
Because of this summer’s weather – Montana has been hot, cold, rainy and, in some parts, snowy – the grain harvest was delayed in many areas, and some barley and wheat have sprouted in the seed heads. These sprouted grains, although not suitable for traditional markets, can be used as a feedstuff for livestock according to Megan Van Emon, Extension beef cattle specialist. Based on research, sprouted grains have similar feed value to non-sprouted grains. Daily gains and feed efficiency in the f...
Pork and beef shortages and the closure of 7 beef processing plants and the loss of 4,575 permanent jobs is now affecting consumers. Drovers Cattle Network managing editor John Maday reported the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Food, released by USDA on August 25, shows large increases in retail beef and pork prices this year, with eggs and milk not far behind. For beef, the report shows a 26.5 percent increase in year-over-year prices from July 2013 through July 2014. For this calendar year,...
Over 50 producers attended four crop plot tours the week of August 4. This is certainly a good showing as crops like peas and winter wheat were ripe and many producers were in the field harvesting. The Loring crop tour is planted by the MSU Havre Research Center and Peggy Lamb. Her data recorded 9.46 inches of moisture in 2013 and the variety plot averaged 60 bushels per acre for the 20 varieties of spring wheat. In 2014 the Malta radio station, KMMR had recorded 6.53 inches of precipitation...
With drought conditions continuing in much of the Western and South Western US and the continued shrinking cattle inventory, L&H Packing Company of San Antonio, Texas closed its doors. The closure will impact the 325 employees. Cattle numbers are still at the 1950 level when the US population was 150 million. Today the US population is 318 million. L&H joins the growing list of victims from the drought. Last week Cargill announced the closure of its Milwaukee beef plant, and in early 2013...
In 2014, Extension celebrates the Smith-Lever Act, which established the Cooperative Extension Service, a unique partnership between the U.S Department of Agriculture, the nation’s land-grant universities, and county government that extends research-based knowledge from Extension Specialist at the state level and County Agents at the local level. For 100 years, the Smith Lever Act has stimulated innovative research and vital educational programs for youth and adults through progressive i...
The Extension Office has received call that army cutworms have been found in some winter wheat. Producers are encouraged to look for feeding on the above ground vegetation as an indication of army cutworms. Army cutworm larvae are nearly two inches long when fully grown, generally colored light gray with lighter markings and a pale stripe running down the back. Larvae feed above ground on the young stems of grasses and wheat at night, retreating under the soil during the day. Scraping the still...
The annual Phillips County 4-H Demonstration Day was held in the Malta Library basement on April 13, 2014. There were five 4-H youth who participated in a demonstration or an illustrated talk. Senior member Riley Mortenson gave a demonstration on "Soft, Smooth and Silky". She received a red ribbon. Participating in the Advance Junior division with demonstrations were: Raina Mortenson with "It's Time to Learn Obedience", Parker Mortenson with "Shear It, Wash It, Spin It", and Pierce Mortenson...
Soil temperatures for crop seeding are obviously cold. It takes a minimum temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit (F) to germinate spring wheat. Barley can germinate at 40 degrees and alfalfa at 37 degrees F. Seeds sitting in a cold moist soil are a better option than seeds sitting in a dry hot soil. Pathogen activity that can damage seeds prosper in warm environments. Test in Billings with dormant seeding have shown no germination issues. As an example of temperatures, as of Monday at 8:45 am at...
While Phillips County is experiencing a cool spell, drought stricken California and other south western states (38% of the U.S.) will produce less agriculture products in 2014. It also means there will continue to be a beef cattle shortage as herds in those areas will shrink. Early estimates are that food prices may rise 3.5% or higher this year. People on fixed incomes and on the low end of the economic spectrum will be hit the hardest. However, all consumers and companies that are still...