Foster County Independent - The Official Newspaper for Foster County

My wife and I bought a pig two weeks ago. Actually, we bought half a pig. Our niece’s children are enrolled in the 4-H swine project. The brother and sister duo own several sows, and they’ve devel...

What a change of weather Foster County experienced from the beginning to the end of October. We started the month with a near record high of 89 degrees on Oct. 1, and temperatures remained warmer...

It’s likely you’ve heard news reports saying that El Niño conditions have developed for the first time in three years. El Niño typically causes our winters in North Dakota to be warmer and...

f you think we’ve had a lot of foggy weather this fall, then you’d be right. By my count, the National Weather Service in Bismarck issued seven dense fog advisories in September and two more in...

In 1915, Marius Malmgren’s corn crop yielded 209 bushels per acre, more than four times the national average of 45 bushels per acre. Malmgren was just 14 years old at the time. He was a member of a...

The days are getting shorter, and temperatures are dropping. It’s time to get lawn and garden chores wrapped up for the year. The good news is that raking leaves can be crossed off your “to do...

A storm system passed through Foster County late on Sept. 4, bringing 0.5 to 1.7 inches of rain to the area. Rainfall amounts were greatest in the northeast part of the county where rain was...

Please bring your pumpkins, whether large or small, to the city park on Tuesday, Sept. 19, the final Carrington Market in 2023. I’ll be there with a scale to see who grew the largest pumpkin in...

“Have you found aphids in your soybean fields?” I asked the farmer. “I haven’t looked,” was the reply. “But if there were any, last night’s rain would have washed them off.” I was...

Thirteen gardeners planted 24 plots in Carrington’s community garden this year. It’s been fun watching the gardeners experiment with new crops and new techniques. One technique that really worked...

“Ready, set, go!” said the small, red-haired girl as she tightened her grip on the foot-long four-by-four, holding it tightly against the shop floor. Her blonde-haired counterpart had already...

Great potential. That’s what many Foster County farmers are seeing as they look across their fields. Corn and soybeans grew rapidly this summer due to warmer-than-normal weather in June. One produce...

There’s a 50/50 chance that we still have 60 frost-free days ahead of us. That’s enough time to plant and harvest some garden crops. Plants grow more slowly as the days grow shorter and the...

“My students have accepted the fact that our climate is being affected by rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” said the university instructor. “They want to know what we...

“Do you like juneberry pie with or without rhubarb in it?” asked my friend as we bounced across a pasture in his pickup truck. It’s funny he should ask, I thought to myself, because that...

Do you need to replant? That was one of the questions I asked ten youths who recently attended Junior Crop Scout School at the Carrington Research Extension Center (REC). The young men and women had...

The old saying “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change” has been applied to many places, and it was certainly true in Foster County during the week of the fair. Temp...

My African friend taught me a lesson last year about the proper way to water a garden. I was going down a row of green beans late one afternoon with a watering wand in hand. It was a hot day, and I...

Several of us were visiting about the weather last week, when the man next to me said, “The onion forecast predicts we’ll have a wet July.” Thinking that I hadn’t heard clearly, I asked the...

Foster County gardeners have a great opportunity this summer to get rid of pesticide bottles and packets that are lining the shelves of our garages and garden sheds. Project Safe Send will be...

“How is seeding going?” I asked the farmer. “Not bad” was his reply. “We’re about done with the fields where conditions are good. But now, all the remaining fields are wet.” Too much...

"Is this Ag Day?" a student asked as I passed down a hallway at the elementary school recently. I had a poster display slung over my shoulder and a tray of large plants in my hands. "Yes, we're here...

The National Weather Service got it right in January when they forecast a cold, wet spring in our region. Daily temperatures in Carrington averaged 13 degrees below normal in March and April, includin...

Are you interested in gardening, but don’t have a suitable site? Do you already have a garden, but need additional space for corn, squash, melons or some other crop? If you answered yes to either...

"There was a blizzard in early May 1950," recalled my friend Melvin Schramm. "Nothing had been done in the fields when I arrived home on May 23 to help with planting." The Schramm farm was located...