Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
It has been a while since I have updated producers on upcoming NDSU Extension events, so there are many I wanted to discuss including a Sunflower Production Meeting which I hope will encourage producers to consider sunflowers in their crop rotation in the future. "Getting it Right Crop Production Webinars" are annual conferences held between December and March featuring the latest research-based production information presented by NDSU specialists. Half of the licensed private pesticide applicators in Eddy County will get a chance to meet with me at Pesticide Trainings, as your licenses are set to expire on April 1.
Sunflower growers in Eddy County are being urged to participate in the election of a county representative for the North Dakota Oilseed Council – Sunflower. The Oilseed Council was created by legislative enactment to facilitate the production, development, marketing and promotion of sunflower, safflower, rapeseed or canola, flax and crambe. County representatives represent the producers in the counties where they live. Their role is to serve as a liaison between the producers and the council. This enables the county representative to: influence how the checkoff dollars are invested, influence the industry’s direction, expand their network of fellow producers, leaders and key influencers in the industry, and increase their industry knowledge. The election for Eddy County will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 at 1 p.m. at the Eddy County Extension Office, 205 3rd Street SE, in New Rockford, N.D. Newly-elected county sunflower representatives from District 5 will assemble March 14, 2024 at 10 a.m. at the Benson County Courthouse Courtroom, 311 B. Ave South, Minnewaukan, N.D. Scott Knoke, Extension Agent, ANR, NDSU Extension, Benson County will be the supervisor.
Following the elections will be a Sunflower Production Meeting. Sunflower Disease Diagnostic Series Cards will be discussed and available for growers to use in their fields to identify diseases. The new Sunflower Nutritional Disorders Diagnostic Series will also be discussed and available. At 1:30 pm, Lacey Zahradka, Trading Manager for ADM’s Northern Sun Sunflower Processing Plant, will have a Sunflower Market Outlook presentation and be available for questions. Hybrid selection, planting date, seed population and distribution, and desiccation as a tool for managing blackbirds and other harvest issues will also be discussed.
"Getting it Right Crop Production Webinars" are coming up for Dry Bean (Jan. 30), Sunflower (Feb. 27) and Canola (March 12) from 8:30 to noon. Participation is free, thanks to sponsorship from the North Dakota commodity groups: Northarvest Bean Growers Association, National Sunflower Association and Northern Canola Growers Association. Register online at https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/getting-it-right. Certified crop adviser continuing education credits will be available for meeting participants. If you missed "Getting it Right Soybean" sponsored by the North Dakota Soybean Council or will miss the upcoming webinars, videos will be available on YouTube.
If you have not finalized your variety selections for 2024, individual NDSU field crop variety trials can be viewed at https://vt.ag.ndsu.edu where you can see data as graphs and compare varieties. The 2023 North Dakota State University Variety Trial Results and Selection Guides are now available online and in print. These guides can be accessed online at ndsu.ag/varietytrials23.
2024 Private General Pesticide Trainings are coming up soon. A Private Applicator is anyone who uses, or supervises the use of, any restricted pesticide for purposes of producing any agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by the person or his employer or, if applied without compensation other than trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities, on the property of another person. Private applicator includes all farms and ranges that produce commodities such as cattle, emu, equine, greenhouse, nursery, fruit, vegetables or row crops. If you think you need a private applicator license you can attend a training and then take a 30-question exam, or you can take a 60-question exam if you do not want to attend a training. 2024 Private General Pesticide Trainings are Feb. 15, 22 and 26 and March 13 from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at the Eddy County Extension Office at 205 3rd St. SE in New Rockford. Please contact the Extension office at 701-947-2454 if you would like to sign up for a training or schedule an exam. If your certification is expiring this year and you are unable to attend one of the four scheduled trainings in Eddy County, please contact the office for help registering in another county. Thank you to all of you that have pre-paid or reserved your spot for the training.
The Eddy County Extension office will be hosting a 3.5 hour Private Structural and Commodity Fumigation Zoom Training on Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 2:30 pm. Please contact the Extension Office if you are interested in Fumigation testing or training.
