May 26, 2005

Central Grasslands Research Extension Center Schedules Field Tour

North Dakota State University’s Central Grasslands Research Extension Center north of Streeter is holding its 24th annual field tour June 15.

The event starts at 6 p.m. at the office near the livestock unit. The tour program, which will last about two hours, includes:

• North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station Director Ken Grafton will provide an update on activities.
• Jimmie Richardson, chair of the NDSU Soil Science Department, will make a presentation on how grazing management can improve forage production during droughts.
• Amanda Blakley, Extension Service range and natural resources specialist at the center, will introduce the center’s new model farm, a two-year project to evaluate best management practices that NDSU range and livestock researchers developed, and show livestock producers how to maximize their operations’ sustainability.
• A panel from the North Dakota Private Grazing Land Coalition, a producer mentor network, will discuss grazing on former Conservation Reserve Program acreage; range monitoring; grazing economics; drought planning; and the conservation security program, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Recourses Conservation Service oversees.

The panelists are producers Gene Goven, Turtle Lake; Gabe Brown, Bismarck; Ken Miller, Fort Rice; and Darell Evanson, Lisbon; and Jeff Printz, state range management specialist with the USDA.

The conservation security program provides farmers and ranchers with financial rewards for practicing conservation on land being used for farming or ranching. The program, which Congress authorized in 2002, also provides incentives for farmers and ranchers who are willing to expand their conservation efforts through management activities.

Producers must provide at least two years of records that document their management plan. Those records need to include herd size, grazing rotation dates, pasture management data, types of crops planted, tillage practices, soil testing results, and pesticide and fertilizer application information. Producers also must be using at least two pastures for their rotational grazing system. Payments are based on the management level.

Printz said he wants to let producers know that they need to start keeping good records if they want to take advantage of this program.

The program is being offered on a limited basis in 220 watersheds nationwide. In North Dakota, producers in Burleigh, Emmons, McLean, Sheridan, Oliver and Morton counties could be eligible this year.

The field tour is free of charge. A free roast beef supper and door prizes will be available for participants at the Streeter Memorial Hall after the tour.

For more information about the tour, contact Paul Nyren, center director, at (701) 424-3606 or p.nyren@ndsu.edu.

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Source: Paul Nyren, (701) 424-3606, p.nyren@ndsu.edu
Editor: Ellen Crawford, (701) 231-5391, ecrawfor@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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