Although the wheat flowering period seems far down the road, the season is moving fast, so this is a good time to sign up for Fusarium head blight alerts. Producers can receive the alerts by mobile phone, email or both. Updates on other wheat or barley disease risks also can be provided. (Photo courtesy U.S. Wheat & Barley Initiative)

Sheep producers should have their grain and hay tested for ergot before feeding it to their animals. Ergot is a fungus that can form in seed heads of cereal grains, such as wheat, barley, oats, rye and triticale, and mature grasses, such as brome, timothy, quack grasses and blue grasses. Feeding ewes ergot-contaminated grain during late gestation has resulted in premature births, severe dystocia associated with a failure to dilate, and lower milk production. (Photo by Reid Redden, NDSU)

Warm spring temperatures following a warm winter could lead to problems such as mold growth in stored grain. Problems are especially likely in grain that exceeds the recommended storage moisture content or did not stay cool during the winter. Dry grain that has a higher than recommended moisture content. Regularly monitor the grain for temperature, moisture content and insect infestations. Also keep grain cool during the spring and summer. (Photo by Ken Hellevang, NDSU)

Even though spring is around the corner, dairy calves still need the added nutrients provided in cold-weather feeding. One way to cut the labor costs of feeding liquid to calves in the form or milk or milk replacer is to reduce the number of daily feedings from two to one. However, research has shown that calves have better growth rates if they receive nutrients three times a day. Producing more efficient animals could offset the additional labor costs. (Photo by J.W. Schroeder, NDSU)

Tires can make great containers to hold feed and water for cattle, but those tires also can pose health risks. If the tires have wire in the walls, the wire can break off and cattle can swallow it. Cattle ingesting wire can develop hardware disease, a condition that could result in their death. Performing regular maintenance on the tires is the best way to avoid hardware disease. (Photo by Carl Dahlen, NDSU)

Shearing sheep before lambing begins can have a tremendous inpact on flock productivity. Research shows shearing prior to lambing may improve blood flow to unborn lambs, resulting in healthier and more productive lambs. Shearing before lambing also can result in a cleaner environment for newborn lambs, help the lambs nurse sooner and improve the value of the wool clip.

The 2012 Field Crop Insect Management Guide has information and pesticide recommendations for most crops grown in North Dakota. The guide also has information on managing pests on rangeland and noncrop areas. The recommendations conform to the current federal and state laws and regulations relating to pesticide chemicals.

The 2012 Weed Control Guide has an easy-to-follow format that will help producers with sometimes difficult herbicide application decisions. The guide also lists other publications that are available to provide even more specific information.

The guide is based on federal and state herbicide labels, research at North Dakota Research Extension Centers and other information from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.

The flavor quality of milk starts at the farm. Make it a practice to check the flavor of your milk regularly because milk flavor can change in quality suddenly if production conditions are altered. For most effective flavor evaluation, milk samples should be warmed to the 55 to 70 degree range. Temperatures below 50 tend to mask potential off-flavors.

An unusually fortunate combination of events occurred in 2010 for North Dakota producers, according to “Financial Characteristics of North Dakota Farms, 2001-2010” by Andy Swenson, farm management specialist. Yields were very strong, with records set for corn and sugar beets, while wheat, barley and canola had the second highest in history. Grain prices improved during the small-grain harvest and continued upward the rest of the year. This provided additional profit opportunities for those who had inventories of 2009 crop year grain to sell.