The Ekalaka Eagle - Your Community Builder

It is that time of year again for the Annual MSU Extension Winter Ag Series. The Extension Winter Series program is a cooperative effort between the region’s County Extension offices. Each year a series of lectures are presented in each of the Southeast Montana counties providing timely information of interest to our rural population.

The Winter Ag Series will be held in ten locations from January 7 to January 11. The program will be in Jordanand Circle on Jan. 7, Broadus and Ekalaka on Jan. 8, Baker and Wibaux on Jan. 9, Glendive and Terry on Jan. 10 and Miles City and Forsyth on Jan. 11.

Ekalaka - Tuesday, January 8 - Parish Hall

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Making Alternative Forages Work for You - Emily Meccage

5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Managing Risk of Prussic Acid - Elin Kittelmann/Emily Meccage

6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Meal served by the Puptown Pioneers Homemaker Club

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Rangeland Restoration and Management - Jeff Mosley

7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Rancher “Rules of Thumb”- Bridger Feuz

Baker - Wednesday, January 9 - Fallon County Fairgrounds

11:00 – 12:00 p.m. Making Alternative Forages Work for You - Emily Meccage

12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Managing Risk of Prussic Acid-Elin Kittelmann/Emily Meccage

12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Meal Served by the Willard Homemakers, provided by the Bank of Baker

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Rangeland Restoration and Management - Jeff Mosley

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Rancher “Rules of Thumb” - Bridger Feuz

Here is some more information about the topics that will be covered.

Making Alternative Forages Work for You - Dr. Emily Glunk Meccage, MSU Extension Forage Specialist and Assistant Professor at Montana State University in Bozeman, coordinates and conducts research on best forage management practices, from fertilizing and grazing recommendations, to appropriate species for producer needs. She will share production data from research at Montana Experiment Stations to compare annual forages with alfalfa in addition to discussing grazing strategies when nitrate might be an issue.

Managing the Risk of Prussic Acid - Elin Kittelmann, MSU Extension Fallon/Carter County Agent and Emily Glunk Meccage, MSU Extension Forage Specialist and Assistant Professor at Montana State University in Bozeman, will discuss the issues around utilizing sorghum and sudan grasses for livestock feed. They will discuss why prussic acid is a concern, what factors affect the level in forages and what management options producers have.

Rangeland Restoration & Management - Dr. Jeff Mosley, MSU Extension Range Management Specialist. A focus on understanding the impact that the Drought of 2017 had on our rangelands and how to manage these lands back to good health. The explosion of previously unknown annual plants this spring combined with crested wheatgrass dying have many ranchers (and range specialists) scratching their heads. How can these annuals be managed? What has brought this on? Is re-seeding necessary? If so, what species should be used? Seeding rates? Do grazing systems need to be changed? Jeff will help you assess these questions and develop a strategy to implement the answers.

Rancher “Rules of Thumb” - Bridger Feuz, University of Wyoming – Livestock Marketing Specialist/Area Educator will explore the “rules of thumb” often shared among ranchers. As he traveled around Wyoming and many other western states conducting workshops on economic ranch tools for producers, ranchers would share “rules of thumb” that they use to make decisions. Bridger started collecting those rules of thumb and writing them down. He says, “I received some good rules, some fun rules and some not-so-good rules.” Bridger uses the tools on the Wyoming Ranch Tools website, uwyoextension.org/ranchtools to analyze some of the rules of thumb a little more closely. His presentation is humorous and informative and a great introduction to the economic decision making tools available to producers.

If you have questions or would like more information please contact the Fallon/Carter County Extension Office. Please RSVP by December 31st. (406) 778-7110 or [email protected]