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March 2003
CROPPING SYSTEMS
Dale L. Siebert
PRIVATE APPLICATOR CERTIFICATIONS
Private Applicator Pesticide Certification continued during March with training sessions in Wahpeton
March 5, Colfax March 11, Wyndmere March 13 and Hankinson on March 17. A total of 340 private
applicators were certified this season out of a total of 360 that were due to expire. The training sessions
were all well attended and the farmers attending indicated the training was informative and useful even
though a number of them had been certified for a number of years.
FARM PROGRAM
Farm program assistance continued through March as the deadline for sign up was April 1. Farmers
continued to have questions on the best option for participation and found the computer program to be the
most helpful in helping to make that decision. Although this program took up a large part of my time the
past several months, it did create a renewed awareness in the Extension Office and the types of assistance
that we have to offer. Several farmers offered to pay for the assistance and were surprised when I told
them their tax dollars took care of funding our office. The local FSA office referred numerous people for
assistance and the program strengthened the working relationship with them. They indicated that the
farmers I assisted were much better prepared and understood the program much better when they came in
to sign up.
QUICKEN WORKSHOP
As a part of the adult education component of the 21st Century After School Program I taught a Quicken
Computer Workshop at Abercrombie on March 4 and 6. This workshop taught the basics of the Quicken
program to participants, taught them how to set up accounts and categories and how to do reports.
Participants attending have indicated to me that they have begun to set up their farm accounts on the
Quicken program.
IP AND SPECIALTY CROPS
Identity preserved and specialty crops were the topics of a workshop held in West Fargo on March 6. This
workshop was the result of a joint effort between myself, Rudy Radke, High Value Crops Specialist and
John Kringler, Cass county Extension Agent. The program subjects included The Future of IP
Production, Maintaining Identity in an IP System, the Economics of IP and a panel of buyers who contract
and purchase IP and specialty crop production. The program was especially well covered by the Farm and
Ranch Guide with several articles devoted to the subject following the program.
RICHLAND-WILKIN GARDEN DAY
The third annual Richland - Wilkin Garden Day was held on March 22 at the Tech Center at NDSCS.
This program is planned by the master gardeners of Richland and Wilkin Counties and the Richland and
Wilkin County Extension offices. This year 20 different topics were offered on various gardening topics.
Participants could choose five to attend throughout the day. Classes were taught by a variety of Extension
specialists and master gardeners from the two states. I taught a session this year on Sampling for
Diagnosis. The session was on how to recognize, sample and prevent disease and insect problems. A
total of 65 participants attended in 2003.
4-H EDUCATION NIGHT
During March I also taught a lesson at 4-H Education Night on camps and award trips and the financial
assistance available to participants.
TOWNSHIP OFFICERS MEETING
I met with and planned the annual spring township officers meeting with the local township directors. The
annual meeting was held on March 24 and I arranged with Dr. David Hopkins, Department of Soil
Science at North Dakota State University, to discuss saline soil development and how we might manage
it. Saline soil is a big issue in the county and will have an impact on townships when they determine
valuations.
CORN PLOT
I met with the Richland County Corn Grower Directors on March 13 to plan the county variety plot for
2003.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT/4-H
Colleen M. Svingen
SUPPORT STAFF AWARD
The highlight of the Annual Spring Conference this year for Richland County Extension was Deb
Evenson, as our Administrative Assistant, received a Meritorious Support Staff Award. Deb is very
deserving of this award in every aspect of her work. Deb's work is explanatory and she is consistently
pleasant and fun loving. We are so happy to have her be the "super-glue" on our team!
4-H EDUCATION NIGHT
Leaders and Extension staff presented 4-H programs and opportunities that are available to our youth. It
was fun to witness the leaders heartfelt enthusiasm for the 4-H program. The quality of the presentations
was outstanding. In fact, we are asking the leaders to go before the camera with a 4-Her's filming a
production of the 4-H year. The video will be a project for a member and used for educating new
members and motivating veteran members.
RADIO SPOTS
Dale and I are both fortunate to be afforded the opportunity of weekly radio spots on the local radio station
1450AM. This gives the county opportunities to get to know Richland County Extension and 4-H events,
as well as giving us a chance to dissimilate the current research. It is somewhat of a challenge going on
radio live via the phone line, but the requests for further information and dialogue prove to be invaluable.
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
I have been on the Richland-Wilkin Healthy Communities, Inc. Board for the past year. The board
obtained a grant prior to my employment with Richland County. During this past year the board's focus
has been on implementing the regulations of the grant. Early in March we hosted a community meeting to
develop a vision for improving the well-being of the Wahpeton/Breckenridge communities. This board is
composed of many organization leaders with strong personalities and goals. These people can make things
happen for the twin town community. We have now laid the foundation for strong partnerships with
successful results for both involved communities that can be replicated in other areas of the county.
FNP
Pamela Leino-Mills
CIRCLE OF NATIONS CLASSES
During March I conducted classes at the Circle of Nations School on advertising, label reading and how to
make tasty meals and snacks using the Food Guide Pyramid. In the Power of Advertising classes, the kids
did a blind tasting of three brands of peanut butter. Many found that they liked the cheapest brand better
than their "favorite" brand. The label reading classes focused on how much fat and other nutrients are in
one serving size of a product. The most surprising thing to most students was what one serving size is.
Most were astounded to see how much fat is in a bag of potato chips vs. one serving of potato chips. In
the food preparation classes, students made five different main dishes and snacks using nutrient dense,
low fat foods.
21st CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
Adrian Biewer
SUMMER PROGRAMMING
Summer programming has been finalized and registration is expected to go out May 1. We are excited
about our activities and look forward to a summer of fun and learning for our children. As a move toward
developing sustainability, we implemented fees for the summer program. Students will pay a $5.00
activity fee per day and pay for game and race tickets.
We have provided an opportunity for families to join us on three separate occasions. The Lake Tewaukon
trip, the FM Redhawks baseball game, and race night are family activity nights.
NATURE OF LEARNING GRANT
Staff from Lake Tewaukon Refuge and the afterschool consortium are teaming to work on the Nature of
Learning grant. The grant is offered by the National Wildlife Refuge System to communities to promote
conservation and clean water. We plan to present a proposal that will reintroduce native grasses and
flowers back into the North Dakota environment. The grant includes programming during the afterschool
year and three summer outdoor classroom experiences.
YEAR END EVENTS
The afterschool program is in the process of finalizing year end events. Evaluation of the program is in
process and data collection will be completed by the end of May. Our 21st Century APR Evaluation is in
progress and will be completed by May 1. I will provide information gathered in the APR on our program
in the future. |
