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Blaine County

2020 Challenges for Blaine County Agriculture Producers

Published: 2020
By Julianne Snedigar
Blaine County agriculture producers faced many challenges in 2020. In a year that included the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertain commodity prices, catastrophic failure of Drop 5 in the St. Mary’s irrigation canal system on the Milk River, grasshopper infestation, wind and drought, producers were still able to reach out to Blaine County MSU Extension for assistance. At the beginning of the pandemic, MSU Extension was very quick to gather available resources into one website. MSU Extension shared the website to constituents on their Facebook page as well as through local news media outlets. Throughout the year, MSU Extension staff assisted over 150 producers through forage testing, insect and weed identification, plant disease diagnostics, plant variety information, ration balancing, feed analysis, range monitoring, private applicator testing, and nitrate testing. Blaine County MSU Extension was able to work with producers to provide these services through contact-less means. More than 50 forage samples were submitted for feed nutrient analysis. These samples represented over 7,000 acres (over 20,000 tons) of forage produced in the county. Producers appreciate the low cost of analysis and speed of results. With producers unable to irrigate normally this year, coupled with drought conditions, having the nutrition analysis results is a vital tool for producers when pricing and purchasing forage. In addition, more than 40 samples had nitrate levels tested (high nitrate levels in feed can be toxic to livestock). Less than 20% of the samples came back with elevated nitrate levels; of those, all were still in the 'safe to feed under all conditions' classification. This year, the nitrate test samples represented over 2,000 acres (4,000 tons) of forage that could still be used for livestock consumption. Through testing, producers know forage can safely be used, thus saving an average $25 a ton versus having to purchase additional feed. These services provided by MSU Extension in Blaine County allowed producers to make informed decisions about their operations, thus improving their bottom line. Overall, requests to Extension by constituents for services and additional information has increased by 20% over the past year.
Beef cattle in Blaine County.