Ramsey County

December 18, 2006

Howdy!!!
Christmas is a great time of year.  I watched some Christmas programs yesterday that reminded of many years ago.  There was some very good T.V. programs to watch and for our youngsters’, as well.  As we head toward Christmas, with the New Year just around the corner there are many things we can still do to get ready for the end of 2006.  The first one that comes to mind for many and that is the dreaded taxes.  I hope most of you have seen your accountant by now, as marketing or changing your income approach, for 2006, will soon end.  There are many of us that do not have many options, as we gather in the monthly earnings.  Just last week a good deal came our way and with Christmas and other year end bills, that seem to show up (property taxes), good deals are very hard to manage.  We did fall for the deal (20#’s of King Crab).  Funny part of the whole thing is, in my opinion, crab and lobster are not much to eat unless you have them soaked in butter but we thought a Christmas dinner treat would be great.  So we bought the box.  Saturday as I was fishing and had landed my first Walleye I wondered to myself why we didn’t just stick with Walleye.  I figure by the time I get all geared up, for the winter ice fishing season, the price per pound is about the same as the crab meat.  The only consolation is I would be able to furnish food to our dining room table myself.

Another thought, as we burn our way to the New Year, is to start looking for our new seed, for the next growing season.  There are many good deals out there, whether it be for farming or for the flower bed, just make sure you buy seed that has good germination.  There are times we use seed from last year or previous years thinking it will be just what is needed and the best part would be; it is cheap.  Seed stored in a cool/dry place can be used from year to year but a germination check should be done every year to insure no wasting of energy in planting something that won’t grow.  I actually did my own little research last year with some pea seed.  I stored some pea seed in a cool/dry place and then I stored the same seed lot in my garage where is gets the living day lights beat out of it.  I had less than half the garden germination out of the abused seed than the other.  I did know that might happen as I had done a germ test on both lots before seeding (March), but wanted to see if soil could make a difference.

Calendar!!
          December 20                           Carrington Crop Days (9:30-4 pm)
           January 3 & 4                           Lake Region Roundup
           February 8                               Farming Corn for Profit
           February 23                             Marketing Meeting with Ed Usset

524 4th Ave NE #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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