Agriculture and Horticulture
Winter 2012 Programs in Toole and Surrounding Counties
Young and Beginning Producer Webinars
The Extension offices in the Western Triangle are cooperating to offer more young and beginning producer programming. If you would like information on these programs, please contact your local Extension office. We do not have contact information for many of the new producers in the region!
The Young and Beginning Producer Webinars are presented by Drs. George Haynes and Gary Brester, MSU Agriculture Economists. Webinars are interactive on-line classes available to all. You will need broadband internet and the link to the webinar 'classroom' to attend. Webinars are recorded and available for later playback if desired. Please email or call Jeannie to get the link the classroom and any handouts available.
Webinar Schedule:
January 23: Entrepreneurship in Agriculture. This webinar will discuss financial issues surrounding the starting a new farm/ranch business or continuing an existing farm/ranch business, family business considerations (intermingling of financial resources), and a primer on farm/ranching budgeting and partial budgeting.
February 27: Leasing Cropland and Livestock
March 26: Accessing Agricultural Credit
Regional Malt Barley Workshop Feb. 14, Conrad
The Regional Malt Barley Workshop will be in Conrad at the Pondera Shooting Sports Complex, with registration at 9:00 a.m. Pre-registration is required by noon February 13 for the lunch and social hour. Please register with the MSU Pondera Extension office at 406-271-4054. The Malt Barley program is free and is sponsored by American Malting Barley Association, Inc.; Anheuser-Busch, Inc.; Cargill Malt; Centrol Crop Consulting; the Institute of Barley and Malt Sciences; Malteurop North America, Inc.; MillerCoors; Montana State University Extension; Montana Wheat and Barley Committee; Montana Grain Growers Association; North Dakota Barley Council; North Dakota Grain Growers Association; North Dakota State University Extension, Rahr Malting Company.
The Montana State University Extension and the institute of Barley and Malt Sciences have team up to offer current information on barley production in the upper Triangle region of Montana. Experts from Montana State University, North
Dakota State University, the USDA Risk Management Agency, malting and brewing companies, the National
Barley Growers Association and Northern Broadcasting New System will contribute to this day-long workshop.
3 Private Applicator and 3 Commercial Pesticide Credits are available. The agenda is available online.Contact Jeannie or your local Extension office for more information.
Regional Fumigation Program Feb. 23, Conrad
February 23 in Conrad at the Pondera Shooting Sports Complex, starting at 8:30. Classes will also be offered in Glasgow February 21 and Lewistown February 22. Limited space may be available so please register by contacting 'MSU PEP; ctharp@montana.edu; (406)994-5067' by February 15th. There will be a $10 charge at the door.
The MSU Extension Pesticide Education Program and the Montana Department of Agriculture are offering Fumigation Programs targeting pesticide applicators conducting rodent & structural fumigations. Each program will offer 6 private applicator recertification credits as well as 6 commercial / government applicator credits in the categories of Dealer, Demonstration/Research, Agricultural Vertebrate Pest Control, Industrial, Institutional, Structural & Health Pest Control, Seed Treatment and Grain Elevator Pest Control.
The agenda is available online. Contact Jeannie or your local Extension office for more information.
Master Gardener Program
The Toole County Extension office will be offering a Level 1 Master Gardener program starting January 24, 2012. The class will meet Tuesday nights from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Class will be at least eight weeks long. The class will cost $50, which will include the instructional book. Please email Jeannie or call 424-8350 if you are interested in participating.
The Montana State University Master Gardener website has more information about the Master Gardener program.
If you are a current Master Gardener participant, please log on to the Master Gardener website to get all your class material and record your volunteer hours.
Wheat and Barley Variety Information and Triangle-area Variety Trial Reports-2011 Season
- Spring wheat variety trial results, 2012 Cut Bank, Devon and Knees variety trials
- Winter wheat variety trial results, 2012 Cut Bank, Devon, Knees and Pendroy variety trials
- Winter wheat variety response to disease pressure
- Winter wheat variety response to stripe rust, August 2011 update
- Durum variety information
- Durum wheat variety response to disease pressure
- Durum variety information 2010
- Barley variety trial results, 2012 Cut Bank, Devon and Knees variety trials
Stripe Rust and other Foliar Diseases
MSU Extension Plant Pathology Website
Dr. Mary Burrows, MSU Extension Plant Pathologist, has excellent information on managing stripe rust. Please use the resources on her website to determine if you have stripe rust and how to manage it. Contact Jeannie at the Toole County Extension office if you need further assistance on identification or management of rust.
The variety information in the section above has information on wheat and barley response to foliar diseases as well as the results from the 2011 variety trials.
If you need to apply fungicides, this spreadsheet (updated April 2011) has information on fungicide efficacy for several foliar diseases and fungicide products.
Drought Committee: Weather Stations
The Toole County Extension Office and Toole County support the operation of six weather stations in Toole County. The data from the stations can be accessed at: the MesoWest website. To see the Toole County stations, on the left side in the Data Selection area, 'All Networks' from the Network drop down menu and click 'Map it!'. You can choose what data is displayed from the Display menus on the left side of the screen. The stations supported by Toole County are in the MCSCN network and are: KNGMT (Crooked Coulee), DEVMT (Devon), LOHMT (Lohr), GALMT (Galata), KEVMT (Scott Bye Farm), SUNMT (Sunburst) and Taylor's.
Several stations are also available online at wunderground.com. To see that data, search for a local zip code and scroll down to the Weather Stations section.
Pesticide Applicator Licenses
MSU administers the Private Pesticide Applicator program with the Montana Department of Agriculture. Contact your local Extension office for assistance with Private Pesticide Licenses.
Commercial Applicator Licenses are handled directly through the Department of Agriculture. In this region, you will need to contact the Department of Agriculture office in Great Falls by phone at: (406)761-0655 extension 5 or by email. You can find upcoming Commercial Applicator Classes by going to the MDA Pesticide Training and Registration website and choosing Approved Courses. Then select your license category from the drop-down menu.
