Brad Brummond Ag & Natural Resources 284-6624 [email protected]Agriculture It was another interesting year to say the least but I think it came off as well as could be expected and I think a lot of areas in the state would love to have our crops and pastures. The big questions revolved around the potential drought and weed resistance. 35 questions on the effect of dry weather on crop yield 25 called on harvesting drought affected forages and nitrate tests 20 calls on feed testing forages and understanding relative feed values 10 questions on putting hay up for sale and the feedlist program I hooked up 3 western producers with Walsh County forage producers to sell much needed hay out west. 10 questions on grazing cover crops and another 15 on planting them 8 questions on possible Prussic Acid poisoning in forages and cover crops and discussing management strategies to save livestock Weed Resistance- I worked with 10 growers on resistant kochia and waterhemp to glyphosate. We have waterhemp now in every region of the county and a lot of suspect kochia. Was able to confirm one field of glyphosate resistant kochia in the Fairdale area. 20 comments on weed resistant article I published in August, all very positive. 4 producers hand rogued waterhemp from crop fields One producer did a weed survey of his farm and found a six foot tall waterhemp in a fence row. 4-H The theme for our 4-H judging program this summer is; we are the Champions! The Walsh County Senior Land Judging team won the state contest and had the top 4 high individuals. We now qualify to move onto the National Land Judging contest in Oklahoma City this spring. I believe this is my 5th state championship we have won in Land Judging for seniors. Our Junior Land judging team also took first place to complete the sweep. Andrew Myrdal was the high individual judger. He may have even been the highest place in the 4-H and FFA contest. We had 4 top 10 finishes to roll to this title. Land judging teaches soil texturing and classification It teaches how slope plays into land class and erosion July-September 2017 Narrative NDSU Extension/Walsh County
It was another interesting year to say the least but I think it came off as well as could be expected and I think a lot of areas in the state would love to have our crops and pastures. The big questions revolved around the potential drought and weed resistance.
35 questions on the effect of dry weather on crop yield
25 called on harvesting drought affected forages and nitrate tests
20 calls on feed testing forages and understanding relative feed values
10 questions on putting hay up for sale and the feedlist program
I hooked up 3 western producers with Walsh County forage producers to sell much needed hay out west.
10 questions on grazing cover crops and another 15 on planting them
8 questions on possible Prussic Acid poisoning in forages and cover crops and discussing management strategies to save livestock
Weed Resistance- I worked with 10 growers on resistant kochia and waterhemp to glyphosate. We have waterhemp now in every region of the county and a lot of suspect kochia. Was able to confirm one field of glyphosate resistant kochia in the Fairdale area.
20 comments on weed resistant article I published in August, all very positive.
4 producers hand rogued waterhemp from crop fields
One producer did a weed survey of his farm and found a six foot tall waterhemp in a fence row.
4-H
The theme for our 4-H judging program this summer is; we are the Champions! The Walsh County Senior Land Judging team won the state contest and had the
top 4 high individuals. We now qualify to move onto the National Land Judging contest in Oklahoma City this spring. I believe this is my 5th state championship we have won in Land Judging for seniors. Our Junior Land judging team also took first place to complete the sweep. Andrew Myrdal was the high individual judger. He may have even been the highest place in the 4-H and FFA contest. We had 4 top 10 finishes to roll to this title.
Land judging teaches soil texturing and classification
It teaches how slope plays into land class and erosion
It teaches judgers how to classify land from basically 1 to 6 with six being range
It teaches judgers management strategies based on the capabilities and limitation of the land
Teaches them to recommend fertility application
Walsh County Consumer Choice team is also state champion and will go to the national contest in Denver in January.
I do not know if you understand how special these accomplishments are. Many counties in the state have NEVER won a state contest let alone go to nationals. We have two in one year and we have a history of excellence in our 4-H program. It is something we take a lot of pride in.
Every day you make choices. It might be what you are going to eat, what you are going to wear, or what
to buy. Consumer Choices teaches you how to make decisions based on information that you have learned and
studied and on facts that you have collected. It can also help you learn to defend your decisions.
14 Walsh County 4-H’ers traveled to the North Dakota State Fair in Minot to compete in the Consumer Choices state contest. The Walsh County Senior team (pictured) won first place and will be traveling to Denver in January of 2018 to compete at the National Western Roundup. Five of the seven senior team members placed in the individual top ten.
Walsh County 4-H Ambassadors
Research has shown that high-quality youth programs, those proven most effective and rated highly by young people, make an intentional effort to engage youth at the highest level in planning, making choices and reflecting on their learning. Attention to making youth programs fun, interesting, welcoming and encouraging to young people in our 4-H youth development programs is crucial to their continued vitality.
With that in mind and in an effort to re-vamp & increase membership, Walsh County 4-H Ambassadors took part in a
team building and leadership day. We ended our day
with going to the Grand Forks Escape room, where we were able to put our team building and leadership skills to the test. Current Ambassadors were amazed to see how well they worked together to “save the world” and are eager to grow our program.
Family Science & Human Development
FISH! Philosophy – Grafton School District The Fish! Philosophy, modeled after the Pike Place Fish Market, is a technique to make happy individuals alert and active in the workplace. John Christensen created this philosophy in 1998 to improve "organizational culture". Its central four ideas, which have been adopted at some companies and schools, are: choosing one’s attitude, playing at work, making someone’s day, and being present.Armed with our own flying fish, Kari Helgoe (Pembina County) and I, set out to improve the work environment for paraprofessionals at Grafton Public Schools. A carrousel of learning was used as a facilitation tool to brainstorm ways FISH! could be incorporated into their work and the benefits of doing so. As indicated in the evaluation of learning given to participants after the workshop, 100% of participants are going to put at least one of the central four ideas into action; “playing at work” was the most popular.
Upcoming Events:
October 3rd – November 7th – The Nurtured Heart ApproachOctober 5th – Nutrition Education – Walsh County Headstart preschool & parentsOctober 18th – 21st – Walsh County FairNovember 6th – Professional Training – Grafton Public Schools paraprofessionals
November 9th – Nutrition Education – Walsh County HeadstartNovember 13th – Diabetes Support GroupNovember 15th & 16th – Lifestyle Coach Training, diabetes prevention program
Jamie Medbery and I began the “Banking on Strong Bones” program for 18 fourth graders at Minto Public School. These once-a-week lessons focus on the importance of calcium and physical activity.
The program also involves the parents, with newsletters and surveys for the students to take home. Several incentives are given throughout
the program to help them increase their calcium consumption, and prizes will be awarded at the final session. The program is funded by a statewide grant from the Midwest Dairy Council.
I attended the annual FNP Fall conference “Bucket Filling”, September 11-13 at the Cobblestone Hotel and Suites in Devils Lake ND. It focused on physical activity, healthy eating and saving money. Several other topics we discussed are as follows:• Technology in the classroom• Make and Take-Ready to Go Activity Ideas• How to be a Bucket Filler, not a Bucket
Dipper• Panel on Summer Feeding Sites• Panel on Adult Audiences• Panel on Food Pantries • Cooking School Best Practices • Spotlight on Grants-Junior Master Gardner• New Go Wild Curriculum• PEARS and Policy, Systems and
Environment 9PSE) Reporting
• Striving for Personal Wellness
I will be sharing this information with the programs I teach throughout the year! I am currently contacting schools and other organizations that I work with in Walsh and Pembina Counties in preparation for nutritional programs once again this fall. I cannot wait to see the children again. The first month the kids will be learning the importance of fruits and vegetables.
Here are a few pictures of us hiking at Sully’s Hill and of me at our conference after our session on make and takes!
We all had a great time and I decided to balance one project I made on the top of my head!
