MONTHLY NARRATIVES
(Program Highlights)

RICHLAND COUNTY

CROPPING SYSTEMS
Dale L. Siebert

LIVESTOCK MEETING
On November 21 Ron Smithberg, Adult Farm Management instructor, and myself hosted an educational meeting for livestock producers at Wyndmere. The meeting covered Using Alternative Feeds, Livestock Marketing and Figuring Breakeven Costs of Backgrounding. A livestock feeder, Tom Bresnahan of Casselton, also spoke to the group on his custom feeding operation and their marketing philosophy on their fed cattle.

AG HALL OF FAME
I represented the North Dakota Association of Extension Agents on the Agriculture Hall of Fame selection committee. A committee meeting was held in Valley City on November 18 to select the 2004 inductees. The Agriculture Hall of Fame was authorized by the North Dakota legislature and the inductees will be honored at the North Dakota Winter Show March 6. There are several good nominations from around the state and selections are always interesting and difficult.

4-H FUN DAY
The annual 4-H Fun Day was held in Wyndmere on Saturday, November 22. Youth from around the county attended the day long program. I was asked to teach a session on making bird feeders. This is always an enjoyable day and youth that attend always seem to have a good time working on the various projects that are offered.

COUNTY AGRICULTURE AND TERRORISM
Along with Tim Matz local veterinarian, I met with Harold Narum from Disaster Emergency Services in Bismarck. We identified potential areas where bioterrorism attacks could occur in the county. Concentrated livestock areas and grain storage areas where identified as the most likely targets. Once areas were identified they were evaluated as to potential risk and potential to cause damage to the county in the event of an incident or accident involving bioterrorism.

WASTE LIME GIS PROJECT
Yield results from the waste lime spreading study that was conducted on the Russell Mauch farm of Barney were positive with yield increases of 15-30 bushels of corn identified on the areas of the field where the waste lime was spread. While we have positive results we need further study to determine if these results will repeat in the future. Fields will be monitored again next year to determine if these results can be repeated in the future.

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

FUN DAY
Richland County 4-H Fun Day was held in Wyndmere this year. Traditionally this event has been held in Hankinson, but we inverted Fun Day and Achievement Days locations. This proved to be successful in both cases since we attracted new audiences and showcased different events to traditional audiences. Both hosting locations were great to work with and the facilities were wonderful.

United Way, our foundation sponsor, makes this day of mini-workshops available and affordable to youth county-wide. A variety of classes are taught by 4-H Ambassadors, older 4-H youth, 4-H Leaders, parents, area residents and our office staff. Youth pre-register for classes in order to plan for supplies and lunch. Five dollars covers an entire day of fun. The event provides a wonderful opportunity to learn a new skill/craft or get an introduction to a new pet. This year we handed out our 4-H annual awards over the lunch hour. Non-4-H members were given the chance to witness proud moments. We will be doing an informal survey to collect evaluation feedback.

TWIN TOWN LEADERSHIP
I have enjoyed participating in the planning for the Twin Town Leadership Program. It has been fun to network and brain storm with the diverse planning team. I was invited to be on the interview team for the hiring of Region V Parenting Resource Coordinator. Rebecca Berge-Buss will be our new coordinator. For a variety of reasons there has been a huge turnover in that position. Rebecca is the fourth coordinator to be in this region since I started my work in Richland. I look forward to the parenting outreach opportunities Rebecca will offer to Richland County. I was also given the opportunity to present a lesson to the literacy group in Fairmount. It was an enjoyable group to discuss the concept, Who Moved My Cheese with.

FNP
Pamela Leino-Mills

NUTRITION CLASSES
During November I conducted 24 classes for the children participating in the Richland County Afterschool Program. The children continue to be enthusiastic about what they are learning about nutrition. They especially like preparing and eating the snacks related to their lessons.

This month I conducted three classes at NDSCS. The classes are targeted to students with children who live in student housing. Topics covered included Choosing a Healthful Breakfast, Snacks, and Let�s Get Moving.

In October and November I conducted individual education sessions for 36 WIC customers in Hankinson, where I spend one day per month working in conjunction with the Richland County WIC Director.

I was invited once again to spend a day teaching six health classes at Circle of Nations School.

RADIO
Finally, I had an opportunity to address the listening public over the radio courtesy of KBMW in Wahpeton.

21^st CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
Adrian Biewer

JA PROGRAM
Our fund raising for the Junior Achievement Program has went well. We received over $600 from 22 businesses in Richland County. We are training program teaching volunteers in December and plan to implement the program in January and February. Students will participate in four, 30-45 minute economic lessons for one month.

SHOOTING SPORTS
The 4-H Shooting Sports Program winds up for this half year at Christmas vacation. Training has been completed at all sites. After vacation, students will begin participating in a school league and an Afterschool 4-H Air Gun Tournament in February.

BLANDIN TRAINING
I participated in a Blandin Community Leadership Training during November 17-21 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. We discussed and examined the process of developing collaborations and partnerships for strengthening our community. I met many new faces and developed some networks that will be helpful in the future of the afterschool program.

SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is the next challenge of the afterschool program. The CCLC board of directors is building the framework for sustainability of the program. In the coming weeks we will be meeting with area vendors, business leaders, and schools to develop a means to bring support to the program.

ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES
Adult Education classes continue to meet with good success. In collaboration with NDSU Parenting Center, we presented "When Your Child is Angry" in Wahpeton and "Responding to Hurtful Behaviors" in Fairmount. Attendance has been good with between 6 and 12 people attending. The classes qualify for childcare and foster care certification.