Thursday, November 10, 2016

Funding for Wolf Preadation Compensation for Calendar 2016

Funding Available for Wolf Depredation Compensation and Prevention Projects

The State of Idaho, through the Office of Species Conservation (OSC) has funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to compensate Idaho livestock producers for livestock killed by wolves. Idaho was one of 10 states and a single tribal nation to receive funding through the program. The funding comes through the Services’ Wolf Livestock Demonstration Project Grant Program.

Stripe Rust Update November 9th

I would like to pass along the stripe rust update from Dr. Xianming Chen, USDA-ARS scientist in Pullman, WA.

Our October weather conditions have been conducive for stripe rust, so please report any locations that you see with infections. 

The good news is, there was a good, dry break between harvest and planting next year’s winter wheat. While this will reduce the chances of fall stripe rust infections transferring from infected volunteer wheat, it is important to scout susceptible varieties to determine if we have infection and have the potential for overwintering of the fungus.

If you have symptoms in the field that you have questions about, send me a picture. I can often tell easily if it is stripe rust. 

If you know it is stripe rust, send me a picture with the location(s) and varieties so we can keep track of those locations in the spring 2017. An early warning will help us prepare. We usually do not recommend fall application of fungicides, as infected leaves and the fungus often die over the winter.

Cheers,
Juliet


Juliet Marshall, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Cereals Pathology and Agronomy

Idaho Falls R&E Center
1776 Science Drive Suite 205
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
208-529-8376 office
208-390-4859 cell


Report from Washington Follows

Friday, October 14, 2016

Native Plant Summit November 1-3

THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT
Intermountain
Native Plant Summit
VIII
(aka ‘Back 2 Boise’)
sponsored by the Boise State University Dept. of Biological Sciences
and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Logan, UT
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND FREE OF CHARGE
(SO PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING US)
general sessions
Tuesday & Wednesday, November 1-2, 2016
plant material workshops
Wednesday & Thursday, November 2-3, 2016
Boise State University Student Union
Boise, Idaho
There is no registration fee,but advance pre-registration is preferred.Please e-mail Cody at dakota.ray@ars.usda.gov by Friday, October 21, 2016 to pre-register

Sunday, October 2, 2016

2016 Western Ag Industry Survey Report Available

2016 Western Ag Industry Survey

In early 2016, the idea for the Agricultural Industry Survey originated from a similar effort administered by a group of Colorado Extension Specialists. Members of the Western Extension Committees (WEC) on Farm Management and Marketing, made up of Extension economists from 13 Western States, Guam, and the U.S. Pacific Islands then initiated a survey specific to agriculture in the west.
The survey invitation was emailed to the WEC membership who distributed it through Extension contact channels.

The survey report
is now available…


Take the Ag Legacy Survey




University of Wyoming Extension Offers Legacy Course

Ag Legacy Survey



What is an Ag Legacy?
A legacy is the summation of a lifetime of achievement and the context in which that lifetime will be remembered. A legacy is not just money but a reputation, what was accomplished, and the difference a person makes in the world as they pass through; their mark on the universe.

More importantly, a legacy is something that is passed along years after a person leaves the world as we know it. In historical terms, a legacy is something that is handed down from one generation to the next. Deciding to leave a legacy can provide a road map for the future; embracing the meaning of a life. …to read more click here

We would like to hear from you!
Take just a few moments to share with us your perspective on transitioning management responsibilities to the next generation. Your answers to the Management Showdown questions help us to better understand the issues in transitioning management responsibilities between generations. Click the image at the left to load the Ag Legacy Survey and give us your perspective. . .

DISC MOWERS DAMAGE GRASS IN GRASS-ALFALFA MIXES

.         
            by Bruce Anderson, 
Extension Forage Specialist

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

               Disc mowers are fantastic machines.  Compared to sickle bar mowers, they cut faster, have less maintenance and repairs, and rarely plug.  They can cut the crop shorter and keep going even if they occasionally scalp the surface.  And that’s the problem!
               `With alfalfa, regrowth comes from crown buds using nutrients stored underground in the taproot.  It doesn’t matter if you leave a 1-inch or a 4-inch stubble, alfalfa regrowth rate will be the same.
              

Saturday, October 1, 2016

ARS Releases New Berry Varieties

Two New Berries for You from ARS

/ARSUserFiles/oc/images/photos/sep16/d3633-2i.jpgBy Sharon Durham
September 28, 2016
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticist Chad Finn and his colleagues at the Horticultural Crops Research Unit in Corvallis, Oregon, developed two new berry varieties—a blueberry and a blackberry—and recently released them to the public.
Baby Blues, a blueberry cultivar, is a vigorous, high-yielding, small-fruited, machine-harvestable highbush blueberry with outstanding fruit quality. It is well suited for processing markets that require a small fruit size. Baby Blues should offer growers and processors an alternative to the low-yielding Rubel highbush blueberry, and it should thrive in milder areas where northern highbush blueberries are grown, according to Finn.