MONTHLY NARRATIVES
(Program Highlights)

RICHLAND COUNTY

CROPPING SYSTEMS
Dale L. Siebert

SMALL GRAIN AND WEED CONTROL PLOTS
With the early start on spring planting in 2004 I was able to get an early start on test plots as well. The small grain variety yield trials were planted on the Gary Woodbury farm at Barney on April 15. A week later the sugar beet weed control trials were planted by Dr. Alan Dexter on April 22 with the soybean weed control plots in co-operation with Dr. Richard Zollinger, Extension Weed Specialist yet to be established. These trials provide useful data to Richland County and area farmers. The research also aids NDSU Researchers in making their recommendations. The Richland County Crop Improvement Association also provides assistance in establishing these plots.

CORN VARIETY TRIALS
The 2004 Corn Variety Yield Trials were established on Friday, April 23 on the Korey Skovholt farm near Mooreton. The Richland County Corn Growers sponsor these trials each year to provide local yield data on the elite varieties from the various seed companies. The Richland County Extension Office assists with planting the trial as well as serving as a point of contact for the seed companies to enter varieties as well as disseminating results to local farmers. This year there are 51 different varieties entered in the plot so we should have some good comparisons next fall when we harvest.

4-H
On April 19 I participated in a 4-H Council meeting to plan coming events for that group. The main topic of discussion was 4-H Achievement Days planned for July 16-17 in Hankinson ND. The leaders also discussed the leasing of the 4-H Barn and the other planned events.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Richland County Extension Advisory Committee met on April 12 in Mantador at the Southeast Water Users meeting room. Marie Hvidsten, Rural Leadership Development Director, gave a presentation on the Abilene Paradox, a group decision making program. The committee then began work on a local mission statement and other organizational matters. They plan to meet again on May 5 to finalize their mission statement. Also on the program is a presentation on the Future Directions of the NDSU Extension Service. This will be given by one of the administrators from NDSU.

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCE/4-H
Colleen M. Svingen

UNITED WAY
Deb, Dale and I wrote our United Way Proposal this month. We will present it next month to the United Way Board along with 4-H Leader, Mary Mauch. The United Way organization is a huge supporter of 4-H and youth development in Richland County. We hope to be able to continue to receive funding for the valuable programs they sponsor. These programs reach out to all county youth and are planned and implemented by 4-H Leaders.

PRIESTER CONFERENCE
I was able to promote and present our women�s retreat nationally at the Extension Health Priester Conference in St Louis MO. It was also an opportunity to promote our communities by sharing information from the chambers. This excellent professional development opportunity is possible due to allocated funds by NDSU�s President Chapman. This developmental opportunity is envied by our peers nationally. This conference material is partially interesting to me due to its focus on healthy people and healthy communities. The theme for this conference was: Impacting Health and Wellness: People and Communities Changing Risk Behaviors.

NELD CONFERENCE
I also attended the second in a series of four sessions of the National Extension Leadership training in Montgomery AL. This training was strategically located in Montgomery to help focus on the topic of diversity. The training was very good, but very intense. Many of the participants had a layover in Memphis and we discussed how exhausted we felt after discussing and learning about intense topics.

FOOD SAFETY WORKSHOP
Faith Evangelical Free church hosted a four-hour food safety training in their church. It was quite a long evening for the students ranging in ages from about 13 to 70 something. Deb assisted me in keeping the hands on lessons moving quickly and our evaluations were favorable. We will do a follow-up evaluation to see if long term changes have been made by the students.

TECHNOLOGY
We are using technology more and more in our office. The video technology is used to plan the state wide women�s retreat with five locations throughout the state on line simultaneously. The "ask an expert" and "book chat section" of the web page is fully functional. The rural librarians are enjoying expanding their technology expertise. Their students have become their teachers in some situations!

FNP
Pamela Leino-Mills

PROGRAMMING
This spring, Muriel Hedrick, Richland County Resource Coordinator, and I have been planning how I can augment what she is doing to help those she works with in the county. I am eager to work with the folks that Muriel refers to me.

21^ST CCLC
The school year is coming to an end. I conducted 37 classes this month for the five schools participating in the 21^st Century After School Program. It will feel strange not seeing those enthusiastic kids every afternoon. I�ll miss them, and look forward to September. My NDSCS classes are also over until September. I conducted four of them this month.

HOME VISITS
During April, I visited several people in their homes and in one of the senior centers; people who cannot easily travel. It was rewarding to be able to visit with them and give them practical nutrition and food safety tips they had asked for.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE
I participated in the third Advisory Committee meeting, held at the SE Water Users� Building in Mantador.

21^st CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
Adrian Biewer

AIR GUN LEAGUE
Air gun league was completed this month with the top three shooters in each site to receive a trophy for 1st, a plague for 2nd, and a medal for third. "Dead Eye" awards were given to shooters who completed a dead center bulls eye in competition. Recreational programming for the afterschool program has moved outside this month. Fishing, archery, and golf are happening at each site.

21^ST CENTURY GRANT
We received good news this month. The guidelines for the State 21^st Century Grant have been adjusted. The adjustment allows three of our schools to qualify for funding. We are applying for $390,000 to fund the project. If we are successful, the grant will greatly reduce the fees that will be required for students to participate in the program.

ALLIANCE PIPELINE GRANT
Alliance Pipeline awarded us a $5000 grant to use as scholarships for income eligible students in the program. We would like to thank them very much for their support. Other businesses in the area are also working to provide some support for our program.

SUMMER PROGRAM
Summer program registrations have been collected. As expected, charging sustainable fees has reduced enrollment in some activities. This week we reissued the program registration with reduced fees. We made the decision to offer less activities to apply more funding to the popular activities to reduce fees.

NEW SITE COORDINATOR
Tiffany Carlson will resign her site coordinator position at the end of the school year. She is expecting a new addition to the family in June and plans to spend the summer enjoying motherhood. Sharon Smith has accepted the job. She is a former extension agent with North Dakota State University and 4-H programmer. We look forward to having her join our staff.

NDSU Extension Service, North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Duane Hauck, Interim Director, Fargo, North Dakota. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. We offer our programs and facilities to all persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, Vietnam era veterans status, or sexual orientation; and are an equal opportunity employer. This publication will be made available in alternative format upon request to people with disabilities (701) 231-7881.