MonDak Ag Research Summit

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2022/2023  |  2020/21  |  2019  |  2018  |  2017 

MonDak Ag Research Summit returns Jan. 19

Features Grasshopper Workshop, and Crop, Disease and Weed Studies

Are you worried about grasshoppers or wheat stem sawfly this coming year? Are you interested in intercropping and disease management in dryland pulses and irrigated sugarbeet? How about adding new soybean varieties and cereals to your irrigated rotations? What about weed management in row crops and rangeland, and soil health measures?

All those topics and more will be featured in the 2023 MonDak Ag Research Summit returning this January 19. The summit is coordinated by North Dakota State University’s Williston Research Extension Center (WREC), Montana State University’s Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab in Sidney. The three facilities are partnering once again to showcase agricultural research underway in eastern Montana and western North Dakota of interest to local producers.

The 2023 MonDak Ag Research Summit will be held on Thursday, Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mountain Time / 10 am – 4 pm Central at the Richland County Fairgrounds Event Center in Sidney at 2118 West Holly Street.

The summit is a collaborative effort among the three research stations to encourage interaction between farmers and researchers. It features scientists from all three facilities reporting on current research projects of interest to producers and residents of the MonDak.

In addition to the research talks, the event allows for one-on-one discussions with scientists, providing producers the opportunity to share their questions and research needs and ideas directly with the scientists. A morning poster session will also give attendees time to browse additional research projects underway at the local research facilities and speak with the scientists doing that work.

The summit is free and lunch is provided courtesy of the Northern Pulse Growers Association. Other sponsors for the event include the City of Williston, Sustainable Oils, Sidney Sugars, Inc., Agri-Industries, and the Montana-Dakota Beet Growers Association.

Up to three private applicator credits are available for Montana producers attending this event, two for attending the afternoon sessions and one for selected talks in the morning.

This year’s speakers and topics are listed below. Please note that the morning Irrigated and Dryland sessions are concurrent unless otherwise indicated.

Morning DRYLAND Session, Part 1:

• Chickpea & Flax Intercropping for Disease Management – Chengci Chen, MSU EARC Superintendent
• Managing Root Rot Disease in Peas/Lentils – Audrey Kalil, NDSU Plant Pathologist
• No-Till Yields and Water Use Efficiency – Jim Starika, NDSU Soil Scientist
• A Simple, Rapid, Reliable, and Inexpensive Method of Measuring Soil Health – Upendra Sainju, USDA-ARS Research Soil Scientist

Morning IRRIGATED Session, Part 1:

• Introduction to the NDSU Soybean Breeding Program – Carrie Miranda, Asst. Prof, NDSU-Fargo, Soybean Breeding Program
• Intercropping Study Data – Justin Jacobs, NDSU Irrigation Research Specialist
• Selecting Cereal Varieties for Irrigated Production – Chengci Chen, MSU EARC Superintendent
• Overhead sprinkler-irrigated cropping systems with different levels of rotation diversity and tillage intensity – Bart Stevens, USDA-ARS Research Agronomist

Morning JOINT Session:

• Weed Control in Row Crops – Charlemagne Lim, NDSU Extension Weed Scientist
• Poster Session | Break

Morning DRYLAND Session, Part 2:

• Influence of Native and Introduced Grasses on the Performance of Wheat Stem Sawfly and its Biocontrol Parasitoids – Tatyana Rand, USDA-ARS Research Ecologist
• High Protein Peas – Bill Franck, MSU EARC Research Scientist
• Durum Yield Following Bioenergy Feedstocks, Fallow, and a Cover Crop Mix – Brett Allen, USDA-ARS Research Agronomist
• Does Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) Depend on Insects for Seed Production? – Josh Campbell, USDA-ARS Research Entomologist – Pollination Specialist

Morning IRRIGATED Session, Part 2:

• Safflower Production Under Irrigation – Jerry Bergman, recently retired WREC Director
• Managing Cercospora and Fungicide Resistance – Frankie Crutcher, MSU EARC Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology
• Crop Water Use and Water Use Efficiency – Jay Jabro, USDA-ARS Research Soil Scientist
• Irrigation Scheduling: Why Is It Important, How Do We Utilize It in Our Operation, and Is Water, Just Water? - Tyler Tjelde, NSDU Research Agronomist

Lunch – Catered by Famous Dave’s | Sponsored by the Northern Pulse Growers Association | Sponsor Presentations

Afternoon RANGELAND Session:

• Palmer Amaranth: Weed to be Aware of – Charlemagne Lim, NDSU Extension Weed Specialist
• Leafy Spurge and Russian Olive Research – Natalie West, USDA-ARS Research Ecologist
• Crested Wheatgrass Response to Combined Fire and Grazing – Carissa Wonkka, USDA-ARS Research Ecologist
• GRASSHOPPER WORKSHOP:
  • Rangeland Grasshopper Biology and Management - Dave Branson, USDA-ARS Research Entomologist
  • Best Pest Management of Cropland Grasshoppers – Janet Knodel, NDSU Professor and Extension Entomologist and Travis Prochaska, NDSU Extension Crop Protection Specialist

Everyone interested is encouraged to attend. Again, the summit is free, but preregistration is encouraged for determining a meal count. You can register online at https://tinyurl.com/2023agsummit or by calling or emailing Beth Redlin at 406-433-2020, beth.redlin@usda.gov, or Violeta Hobbes at 701-774-4315, violeta.hobbs@ndsu.edu. 

 

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MonDak Ag Research Summit moved online due to Covid-19

Webinar Series starts Thursday, Jan. 14

Click here for more information on our 2021 Webinar Series 

While the arrival of new vaccines for Covid 19 should enable a return to in-person events, the sheer mechanics of their mass distribution mean that early 2021 events are still primarily virtual. That’s certainly true for the 4^th Annual MonDak Agricultural Research Summit, typically held late in the year, but now moved online and converted to a webinar series, beginning Thursday, January 14. Webinars will be held on Zoom every other Thursday, with one Tuesday thrown in, and all will run from 10:00-11:30 am MT/11:00 am-12:30 pm CT.

According to organizers, the virtual format, while not allowing for face-to-face interaction between scientists and producers, does allow for broader discussion on some topics of interest through the addition of several keynote speakers, with soil fertility expert Dr. Clain Jones of Montana State University first up. Each webinar in the series will feature a different keynote speaker, followed by three shorter reports on research of use to farmers and ranchers in this region by scientists working in the “MonDak Research Triangle.” The triangle, which originated and hosts the Summit each year, includes Montana State University’s Eastern Agricultural Research Center and the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab, in Sidney; and North Dakota State University’s Williston Research Extension Center in Williston.

And, note, too, pesticide applicator points for Montana participants will also be available for those joining in select live webinars. Sorry, viewing the subsequent recordings – also to be made available online – does not qualify for points.

Dates and keynote speakers for the 4^th Annual MonDak Ag Research Summit series are below. All are Thursdays, except Feb. 9, which is a Tuesday. Additional information will be announced as details are finalized.

• January 14: Clain Jones, Professor and Extension Soil Fertility Specialist; College of Agriculture; Montana State University – Bozeman
  • “Fertilizer Considerations During and After Drought”
• January 28: Tom Scherer, Associate Professor (Extension Engineering); Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering; North Dakota State University – Fargo
  • “The Mechanical Aspects of Precision and Variable Rate Irrigation”
• February 9: Mary Burrows, Professor; Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology; Assoc. Director, Montana Ag Experiment Stations; College of Agriculture; Montana State University – Bozeman
  • “Managing Root Rot of Pulses”
• February 25: Brian Jenks, Weed Scientist; North Central Research Extension Center – Minot; North Dakota State University
  • “2021 Weed Control Update in the MonDak”
• March 11: Patrick Gilchist, Warning Coordination Meteorologist/Service Coordination Hydrologist, NOAA, National Weather Service Station – Glasgow, MT
  • “Seasonal Outlooks and Potential Climate Change Impacts for Eastern MT and Western ND”
• March 25: Keynote TBD – Topic: Marketing

For more information click here. Any questions contact Beth Redlin (beth.redlin@usda.gov; 406-433-2020) or Kelly Stehr (kelly.stehr@ndsu.edu; 701-774-4315). 

 

2019 MonDak Ag Research Summit set for Dec. 12th

The North Dakota State University Williston Research Extension Center (WREC), Montana State University Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab in Sidney are partnering once again to showcase agricultural research underway in eastern Montana and western North Dakota. Local research results ready to roll out in your fields will be featured at the upcoming third annual MonDak Ag Research Summit in Sidney, Thursday December 12. But that’s not all. Several outside speakers are also planned to address timely questions producers have on our long term erratic weather patterns (10 inches of rain in September!) and what it means for spring planting, as well as feeding weather damaged grain to livestock, and tips on managing irrigation equipment.

Addressing the first two issues is Dr. Kevin Hyde, coordinator of the Montana Mesonet for the Montana Climate Office, Dr. Hyde builds out and maintains a statewide network of climate monitoring stations. He works directly with producers and managers to develop and implement education programs to grow understanding in how to use weather and soil moisture data to support agricultural decisions. Based out of the University of Montana in Missoula, Kevin currently teaches undergraduate coursework in Watershed Hydrology. Dr. Hyde will also address measurement and interpretation of soil moisture data and be available throughout the day to chat with participants.

Addressing livestock feeding of damaged grain is Dr. Janna (Kincheloe) Block, a Melstone, MT native, who served as a County Extension Agent in western Montana for several years after graduating from Montana State University. She has a Ph.D. in Ruminant Nutrition from South Dakota State University and has served as a North Dakota State University Extension Livestock Specialist based out of the Hettinger Research Extension Center since January of 2017. Her program there focuses on development and demonstration of livestock management strategies to optimize various production systems. Specific topics include feed sampling and analysis, ration formulation, mineral supplementation, and livestock business management. She also raises commercial Limousin cattle with her husband Ross on their family ranch near Midland, SD.

Of course, irrigation issues are another topic of continual interest in the MonDak, and one, which will be addressed by Dr. Tom Scherer, Extension Agricultural Engineer and Associate Professor at North Dakota State University. Dr. Scherer has extensive experience with irrigation, water quality and subsurface drainage in the upper Great Plains and will be discussing scheduling and machine maintenance at the Summit. He has developed numerous educational aids, bulletins, circulars, demonstration units and also edits a monthly irrigation newsletter. He has performed over 300 irrigation pumping plant efficiency tests and checked the uniformity of numerous center pivot sprinkler packages and has also helped develop four irrigation-scheduling applications including a GIS-based web application on the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) website.

Other guest speakers (TBD) will address the new American Harvest, Inc. CBD oil plant being developed in Sidney, along with Dr. Chengci Chen, Superintendent of the MSU Eastern Ag Research Center in Sidney, who will report on his research into hemp as a new crop option. Also planned is a special session for “urban farmers” with guidance planned in garden composting and propagation tips for house plants.

The Summit runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Richland County Fairgrounds Event Center in Sidney, MT and is organized by the MonDak area’s three ag research facilities – North Dakota State University’s Williston Research and Extension Center, Montana State University’s Eastern Ag Research Center in Sidney, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Northern Plains Ag Research Lab, also in Sidney. The collaborative program focuses on “ready to use” research findings by the more than 20 scientists employed at the three facilities who have expertise in irrigated and dryland agronomy, plant pathology, soil science, plant and insect ecology, molecular biology, weed and insect biocontrol, and much more!

Sponsors for the event include the City of Williston, Sidney Sugars, Inc., Agri Industries, Montana-Dakota Beet Growers Association, American Harvest, Inc, and Cargill in Great Falls.

New Irrigation and Horticulture Programs

This year’s Summit includes a new program structure with concurrent sessions targeting irrigated and dryland research in the morning and a new horticulture session and general ag talks in the afternoon. Altogether, 24 different research presentations are planned, along with two poster sessions featuring another 2 dozen ongoing research projects at the three host facilities. The researchers on those projects will be on hand to answer questions regarding their work.

 

2018 MonDak Ag Research Summit set for Nov. 14

PDF's to download: Poster (744KB)  |  Brochure (754KB)

The North Dakota State University Williston Research Extension Center (WREC), Montana State University Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab in Sidney are partnering once again to showcase agricultural research underway in eastern Montana and western North Dakota.

The 2nd annual MonDak Ag Research Summit will be held on Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mountain Time at the Richland County Event Center in Sidney.

The summit was established last year and is a collaborative effort among the three research stations to encourage interaction between farmers and researchers. It features scientists from all three facilities reporting on current research projects of interest to farmers, ranchers and residents of the MonDak.

In addition to the research talks, the event allows for one-on-one and small group discussions with scientists, providing producers the opportunity to share their questions and research needs and ideas directly with the scientists. The summit is free and lunch is provided courtesy of the Northern Pulse Growers Association. Other sponsors for the event include the City of Williston, Sidney Sugars, Inc., Montana-Dakota Beet Growers Association, Agri-Industries, Dawson County Implement, Cargill and Tri-County Implement.  More than 120 people participated in this event in 2017.

This year’s program schedule is as follows and begins with a special guest speaker addressing emerging and persistent weed issues in this region.

Morning topics and speakers:

*Weed control of horseweed, narrowleaf hawksbeard, kochia, Russian thistle and others – Guest Speaker Brian Jenks, NCREC, Minot, ND

*Rangeland and aquatic weed update – John Gaskin, USDA ARS

*Integrating biocontrol into your weed management plan – Natalie West, USDA ARS

*A fungus bait formulation for grasshopper, Mormon cricket control – Stefan Jaronski, USDA ARS

*The effect of tillage and rotation on rhizoctonia root and crown rot – Audrey Kalil, WREC

A morning poster session will also give attendees time to browse more than twenty additional research projects and speak with the scientists doing the work. After the poster session, the morning program will continue with the following presentations:

*Effect of tillage, irrigation, and nitrogen on sugarbeet yield and sugar content - Chengci Chen, EARC

*Tillage vs no-till effect on corn, soybean, barley and sugarbeet yield (Nesson) and water use efficiency under irrigated conditions -  Bart Stevens, USDA ARS

*Economics and soil health of sustainable cropping systems – Don Tanaka, WREC

*Dryland pea production and water use affected by tillage, crop rotation, and cultural practice – Upendra Sainju, USDA ARS

A free lunch sponsored by the Northern Pulse Growers Association will be served at the conclusion of the morning session. Brian Gion, Marketing Director of NPGA is our guest lunch speaker.

The afternoon program will feature small-group discussions where attendees can meet with scientists by subject area to discuss current industry topics. The discussion groups will run concurrently with another series of research talks of interest to area producers. Attendees will be able to move back and forth between the afternoon talks and discussion group tables as desired.

The afternoon talks include:

For those interested in horticulture, Kyla Splichal, WREC horticulture specialist, will present on high tunnel use and construction.  

For those interested in cover crops, Brett Allen, USDA ARS will discuss cover crops as replacement for fallow in semi-arid durum cropping systems.

For those interested in variety selections, Yesuf Mohammed, EARC, will discuss pulse crop variety selection and performance, and Justin Jacobs, WREC will discuss spring wheat and durum irrigated varieties.

New to our discussion groups this year is the presence of an area producer at some of the small group tables who will discuss their experiences working with local scientists and what they’ve both learned in that partnership.
 
Everyone interested is encouraged to attend. Again, the summit is free, but preregistration is encouraged for determining a meal count. You can preregister online at https://tinyurl.com/mondaksummit18 or contact Beth Redlin at 406-433-2020, or by email at beth.redlin@ars.usda.gov.

Note, too, that approvals for Montana pesticide applicator points and certified crop adviser continuing educator units are pending for this event. 

 

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November 15, 2017 MonDak Ag Summit

Written by Clair Keene, Area Extension Specialist/Cropping Systems, Williston Research and Extension Center

PDF's to download: Poster (294 KB) | Registration Brochure (359 KB) 

SIDNEY, MT – Did you know that there are not one, but three agricultural research facilities in the MonDak? They are the NDSU Williston Research Extension Center in Williston, the MSU Eastern Agricultural Research Center in Sidney, and the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab also in Sidney. Together, these three research stations have over two dozen scientists and researchers working in the areas of agronomy, soil science, plant pathology, weed science, horticulture, and entomology. If you would like to meet these researchers and learn about the important work they do, please join them for the MonDak Ag Research Summit to be held on Wednesday, November 15th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Mountain Time at the Richland County Event Center in Sidney, MT. This event is free and open to the public.

The MonDak Ag Research Summit is a collaborative effort among the three research stations and will feature scientists from all facilities reporting on current research projects of interest to farmers, ranchers, and residents of the MonDak. The morning program starts with Dr. Audrey Kalil of WREC speaking about scab management in wheat and Dr. Frankie Crutcher of EARC discussing seed treatments for management of Rhizoctonia root rot in sugarbeet. Next, scientists Tatyana Rand, Stefan Jaronski, and John Gaskin from the USDA-ARS Pest Management group will discuss biological control of wheat stem sawfly and noxious weeds. Biological control is an exciting area of research that identifies and evaluates beneficial organisms such as predatory insects or fungal pathogens for their ability to control pests.

A morning poster session will give attendees time to browse over two dozen research projects and speak with the scientists doing the work. The MonDak Research Summit wants to encourage interaction between researchers and farmers. Researchers will be available to chat and want to hear from you what production issues you think need to be addressed.

After the poster session, the program will continue with a section on long-term projects underway to evaluate cropping strategies in both dryland and irrigated production systems. Dr. Don Tanaka of the WREC will share results on a project looking at diverse dryland crop rotations that incorporate full-season or half-season cover crops. Dr. Bart Stevens of the USDA-ARS will present work looking at rotating sugarbeet and soybean under irrigation, and Dr. Stevens and Dr. Chengci Chen of EARC will talk about a joint project investigating reduced tillage strategies for sugarbeet production.

The morning program will conclude with a panel discussion on hard red spring wheat, durum, and pulse crop variety performance. Tyler Tjelde and Austin Link of WREC will discuss small grain varieties in irrigated and dryland systems, respectively, and Dr. Chen will discuss pulse crop varieties. A free lunch sponsored by the Northern Pulse Growers Association will be served.

The afternoon program will feature small group discussions where attendees can meet with scientists by topic area and pick the brains of the experts in the room. For those interested in horticulture, Kyla Splichal of WREC will present on the potential of high-tunnels for local vegetable production in the MonDak, and for ranchers and land managers, Dr. Dave Branson of USDA-ARS will discuss his work on predicting grasshopper outbreaks and understanding grasshopper ecology. The last session of the day will be a social and give attendees another opportunity to talk with researchers and view posters highlighting a wide variety of projects.

If you want to attend, please register by phone or if you have questions, call Beth Redlin at 406-433-2020. Pre-registration is free and will enter you for a chance to win a set of collectible model tractors donated by T&E of Williston. As an additional incentive to pre-register, the first 50 people to pre-register will receive a weatherproof cell phone pouch and a water bottle. Pre-registration closes November 10th.

Admission is free at the door, but attendees are strongly encouraged to pre-register so that there will be enough lunch for everyone, as well as to ensure they are eligible for the model tractor drawing. For pesticide applicators and agronomists, those attending the Ag Research Summit are eligible for 2 private and 2 commercial MT pesticide applicator points and 2 Certified Crop Advisor CEU’s.

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