The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
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Highly productive. Disease resistant. Cold tolerant. This may sound like a description of a new corn variety, but it’s not. It’s actually a list of desirable traits that Jamestown resident Megan Mahoney hopes to see among our nation’s honey bees. To achieve her goal, Mahoney is using advanced techniques to produce high quality and genetically consistent queen bees that will be sold to commercial producers. That’s important for us who live in our nation’s number one honey-producing state. In...
I was outside watering last week when a crowd of small, red insects scattered in all directions from the base of one plant. I quickly recognized the insects to be immature boxelder bugs. It is a sign of things to come. As the days grow cooler, boxelder bugs will cluster together, often on the south- and west-facing sides of our homes. They are looking for heat. The bugs are fairly harmless. They don’t bite or contaminate food. If you can ignore them for a few more weeks, a hard frost will t...
Rainfall amounts varied significantly across Foster County during August. A series of weather systems brought as much as 1.5 inches of rain to parts of the county during the middle part of the month. Other areas haven’t been as fortunate. McHenry, for example, reported just 0.3 inches of precipitation between Aug. 1 and 31. That’s just 13 percent of normal. Rain showers slowed small grain harvest for a brief period, but combines were soon back in the field and making rapid progress. On Aug. 26,...
Drive by my house and you’re likely to say to yourself, “There’s a lawn that has some issues.” Dandelions, thistles and a host of other weed species have gained a large foothold in my yard. Getting them under control is going to take some work. The good news is there is no better time to get started than now, during the month of September. Dandelions and thistles are getting ready for winter by transporting nutrient reserves to their root systems. We can take advantage of this phenome...
“I liked how hands-on all the sessions were and how all the Extension staff were willing to work with us.” That was the comment of a participant in the Junior Beef Producers Workshop, recently held at the NDSU Carrington REC. The workshop was designed to provide 13- to 18-year-olds with practical, interactive experiences related to beef production. The participants spent the morning at the REC’s Beef Research Unit, where among other activities, they sampled hay bales, judged the body condi...
“Our crops look really good.” That was the positive report of one Foster County producer at the end of July. “Our corn has tasseled,” the man continued. “I always say if that happens before Aug. 1, we can be sure that the crop will mature before the first frost.” “Our soybeans are doing well too,” he added. He paused and then said, “Now, if we can just avoid a hail storm. In my experience, this is the time of year when hail seems mostly likely to get us.” +++ As the cropping season progresses,...
“Our crops look really good.” That was the positive report of one Foster County producer at the end of July. “Our corn has tasseled,” the man continued. “I always say if that happens before Aug. 1, we can be sure that the crop will mature before the first frost.” “Our soybeans are doing well too,” he added. He paused and then said, “Now, if we can just avoid a hail storm. In my experience, this is the time of year when hail seems mostly likely to get us.” +++ As the cropping season progresses,...
Last week I noticed potatoes blooming in some of the community garden plots. The next four to six weeks are critical to prevent the development of potato scab, the most common disease affecting potatoes in gardens. Scab is caused by the bacterium Streptomyces scabies. The bacterium occurs naturally in many soils. Dry soil increases the ability of the microorganism to form colonies on tuber skins. Therefore, keeping the soil moist after blooming is one key to preventing scab development. Some...
I was walking through chest-high grass in a pasture last week, heading towards a dugout that I’m monitoring for livestock water quality. I heard a small splash as my foot hit the ground. Just a wet-spot, I thought, and continued walking. Two steps later, the splash was much bigger, and water started flowing over the tops and down inside my work boots. What a contrast to last summer when I walked through the same pasture with nothing but short, brown grass around me. It’s deeply satisfying to...
The NDSU Plant Diagnostic Lab is a tremendous resource that relatively few people know about. The lab has been serving North Dakotans for more than 40 years, helping to identify pest and disease problems in lawns, gardens and crop fields. Just last week, I submitted to the lab several branches from spruce trees that were losing needles. Three days later, I received a response saying that the trees were afflicted both by a fungal disease and by spider mites. The report also gave recommendations r...
Thank you to many volunteers whose efforts made the 2022 Foster County Fair a success. A total of 126 4-H’ers, including 37 Cloverbuds, exhibited projects at the fair. The exhibits included 373 static projects, 7 horses, 29 rabbits, 13 swine, 34 sheep, 26 goats, 14 dairy and 27 beef. Be sure to check out the terrific photos from the fair which are posted on the Foster County 4-H Facebook page. +++ Many people have said to me that it always rains during fair week. That proved true again this y...
My wife and I recently spent a wonderful evening enjoying pie and ice cream with a group of friends. While we were together, I had my first opportunity to taste haskap and aronia berries. I understand now why haskaps are sometimes called a “better blueberry”. Haskap berries are large and sweet. They are not only delicious straight off the vine but also good for making pie, jelly and even wine. And unlike blueberries, haskaps thrive in our North Dakota environment. The bushes I saw formed an attr...
The Carrington REC received 11.9 inches of precipitation between April 1 and June 20. That is 6 inches above normal. McHenry received even more rain, 14.9 inches, during the same period. That amount is the highest among 155 reporting stations across the state. The wet weather delayed planting. As a result, our corn and soybeans are slightly behind normal in development for this time of year. In mid-June, most corn was just several inches tall. It was still difficult to see plant rows in many...
The community garden project is taking shape, despite the challenges of wet weather. Twelve gardeners signed up for the 10-by-20-foot plots this spring. Some of the applicants didn’t have suitable place for a garden in their own yard. Others had a garden, but wanted additional space. The plots were assigned by drawing lots. Soon afterwards, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, and squash were being planted at the site. The gardeners are now busy tending their young plants and looking forward to a h...
“The worst planting conditions of my lifetime.” That’s how one Foster County resident recently described the past two months. “What about the spring of 2020?” I asked. “We had corn in the field until March, and wet conditions prevented the planting of nearly 40 percent of the cropland in Foster County.” He thought for a moment and then responded, “I think this spring has been more difficult.” This year, Foster County experienced its fourth wettest April in 125 years, and that trend continued i...
When my mother-in-law, Marge, moved into assisted living, she discovered a beautiful white peony growing just outside her window. The showy blossoms were something she looked forward to each spring. Marge enjoyed the plant even more when she learned its story. It turned out that a former neighbor, Lois, had occupied the same room some years previously. To brighten her days, family members transplanted a favorite peony from their farmyard to the space outside Lois’ window. The peony thrived, b...
What a difference a month can make! After experiencing its driest ever March, Foster County had one of its wettest ever Aprils. Two major storms hit our country in April, bringing rain, snow, cold and wind. Between April 1 and April 30, the NDAWN station at the NDSU Carrington REC received 3.7 inches of precipitation, which is 2.5 inches greater than normal. Daytimes highs averaged 40 degrees for the month. That’s 13 degrees cooler than normal. And we had four days with wind gusts greater t...
I look forward to carrying our geranium from the basement, where it has been all winter, and placing it again on the steps outside our home. Those brilliant red blossoms make our front door much more inviting. They provide a bright and colorful welcome when I return home each evening. In this area, we typically need to wait until at least May 15 to put out flower pots and hanging baskets. So my geranium is going to stay in the basement a little longer. It’s not too early, however, to begin makin...
I recently received an email from Mark Manoukian, who is the county Extension agent in Phillips County, Montana. The email read like this: I have three cattle producers in North Central Montana looking for summer pasture for approximately 500 pairs. We are out of reservoir water and forage availability is not looking promising. Manoukan’s e-mail is a reminder that although moisture conditions in Foster County are much better than last year, the situation remains critical to our west. A...
My wife and I looked out the window during supper last month and watched as yet another strong gust shook our neighbor’s trees. “It was never this windy when I was growing up,” Melissa said. It wasn’t the first time she had made that comment. The remark prompted me to check weather data recorded at the NDSU Carrington REC. The results showed that Melissa was right. This past winter has been exceptionally windy in Foster County. Since Nov. 1, we’ve had 19 days with wind gusts exceeding 40 miles...
Foster County producers recently elected representatives to four of our state’s commodity groups. The new representatives and the councils to which they’ve been elected are as follows: Jeremiah Blahna, Soybean Council; Tysen Rosenau, Corn Utilization Board; Lee Gregor, Wheat Commission; and Caylor Rosenau, Oilseed Council (Canola). Two Foster County producers are serving on-going terms as representatives: Jeff Edland, Barley Council and Kevin Wolsky, Dry Pea and Lentil Council. The seat for our...
"From now until 2060, we're going to have to produce as much food as we've produced in the last 500 years," says Jerry Hatfield in the 2018 documentary "Living Soil." Hatfield is the retired director of the USDA's National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment. He was also my major professor at Iowa State University. Hatfield continues, "If we want to make sure we can feed the world's population, we're going to have to . . . make sure that our soil has the capability of producing these...
My mother-in-law, Marge Jacobson, owned and operated the flower shop in Langdon for 31 years. She passed away last February, aged 95. Sometimes our lives go in unexpected directions. In 1967, Marge and her husband Floyd were raising four children. Floyd was a carpenter, and Marge earned extra income for the family by operating a cake decorating business out of their home. One day Marge learned that the owner of the local flower shop was hoping to sell the business. She half-jokingly asked Floyd...
North Dakota law authorizes producers of agricultural commodities to establish councils which support their specific industry through research, promotion and education. To my knowledge, the first council formed in our state was the North Dakota Wheat Commission in 1959. Each commodity council is managed by a board of producers. And each county has an opportunity to have a representative who serves as a liaison between the producers and the council. County representatives influence how checkoff...
Winter wheat, soybeans and grain sorghum were the common crops in northeast Kansas when I was growing up. A field of corn was a rare sight. The corn varieties at the time didn't perform well during hot, dry Kansas summers. We grew grain sorghum (also called "milo") because it was a reliable crop under our growing conditions. It also made reasonably good livestock feed. That's not to say that grain sorghum didn't have problems. Timely pesticide application was needed nearly every year to control...
