March News
Crop Production Workshop to be held.
On Tuesday March 4th, a crop production workshop will be held at the American Legion Club in Beach. Presentations for the day will focus on specialty crops such as Canola, Safflower and Malting Barley. There will also be a presentation by Lowell Mesman of AgraGate Climate Credit Corp. on Carbon Credits. Lunch will be provided with sponsorships from the Golden Valley Farm Bureau, Beach Co-op Grain, and The Golden Valley Ag Improvement Association. For more information please contact the office.
Pesticide Schedule
The last opportunity in Golden Valley County for pesticide initial or re-certification in 2008 will be Wednesday, March 5th at 1pm in Golva, with registration beginning at 12:30. If you are planning to attend the meeting, please RSVP the Extension office so we can prepare materials for you. If the training dates in Golden Valley county did not work for you this year call the office for trainings still available in the area.
Trees, Trees, Trees,… The Ickies, the Creepies and the Crawlies.
On Tuesday March 11th, Joel Nichols of the North Dakota Forest Service will be in Beach for the 3rd in the Tree series sponsored by Extension and the SCD. Joel’s presentation will focus on tree insects and diseases. The Ickies, the creepies and the crawlies, will be held at 6pm at the Bijou Show House in Beach. This is a rescheduled workshop from January, which was postponed due to inclement weather. For more information call the Extension Office.
Tree Pruning Workshop to be offered.
As a finale to the Trees, Trees, Trees Series, a hands on pruning demonstration and workshop will be held on March 25th, with Joe Zeleznik of the NDSU Extension Service. This demonstration and workshop is open to the public. More information will be available shortly, look for details in the coming weeks.
NDSU Joins Other Land-grant Universities to Develop eXtension Web Site
eXtension is a Web portal to the nation’s largest educational and information system.
The North Dakota State University Extension Service has teamed up with 73 other universities to develop eXtension, a Web site devoted to bringing solutions to today’s complex challenges. The information-packed Web site can be accessed at http://www.extension.org/.
eXtension is a portal to the nation’s largest educational and information system, its creators say. It provides reliable answers based on solid research and trustworthy, field-tested data, along with the knowledge of experts from land-grant universities across the nation. It complements and enhances the community-based programming the Extension Service provides.
Topics covered on the eXtension Web site include horticulture, personal finance, parenting, family issues, horses, beef and dairy cattle, entrepreneurship, geospatial technology, dealing with disasters, cotton, diversity, fire ants, wildlife damage and management, and a program that exposes youth to science, engineering and technology. More topics will be added in the coming months.
“I am excited to be involved in developing this resource because it will provide access to timely, unbiased and accurate information for consumers 24/7,” says Debra Pankow, NDSU Extension Service family economics specialist. Pankow chairs the group that gathers information on financial security.
eXtension provides information a number of ways, including articles from resource area experts and answers to frequently asked questions. However, unlike most other Web-based information resources, eXtension also has experts from universities throughout the country ready to answer specific questions within 48 hours. Once answered, the question and answer become part of the frequently answered questions section of a topic.
Serious Planning Time!
The following is a gardening tip that was sent to me. I thought some of you may enjoy it as well.
Late winter is an excellent time to really look at the bones of your garden and begin planning how to create or improve beds and borders. Study the garden especially from the windows of your house that have prominent views into the garden. You'll want to take extra care designing those garden areas for maximum enjoyment indoors and out. Sketch out a few ideas on paper for a new bed or border design and then test the plan using a garden hose. Take a length or two of hose to "sketch" the new bed or border shape right in the garden. Lay out the hose then stand back to see if the shape and size is what you like, adjusting as necessary. This really helps to visualize how the design will look before committing to digging up an area.