The purpose of this publication is to provide information about best practices to maintain safety standards for products sold by local food entrepreneurs. Regulations vary in each state, so be aware of your location’s specific requirements.

Determining how to purchase local food for retailers or businesses can be challenging. This document busts the myths of local food purchasing and selling with guidance from the the North Dakota Department of Health and the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.

Learn best practices for using metal two-piece closures for home-based canning and ensuring a safe seal on canning jars.

Learn best practices for canning with Mason-type jars.

Pulses are the dry edible seeds of legumes. They include lentils, peas and chickpeas. They are an excellent source of fiber, protein and a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Selection of the appropriate species and variety is one important step in making a grass seeding successful. Grass species and varieties differ in growth habit, productivity, forage quality, drought resistance, and tolerance to grazing, winter hardiness, seedling vigor, salinity tolerance and many other characteristics.

Scandinavian immigrants brought many food traditions to North Dakota. You might be familiar with foods such as lutefisk, lefse, Swedish meatballs, rømmegrøt, pickled herring, pickled beets, rye bread and a variety of baked goods.

We use litterbags filled with wheat straw to measure the organisms activity in the soil over time as it related to breaking down old crop residue. The mesh allows microbes and small arthropods to break down the litter. After a growing season, the litterbag is retrieved, cleaned, and measured for how much litter disappeared through the actions of decomposition. Litterbags offer an easy way to monitor activity of a soil’s decomposer community.

This publication describes the common arthropod pests of dry bean in North Dakota. The following pests are included: aphids, grasshoppers, potato leafhoppers, foliage-feeding caterpillars (green cloverworm, painted lady butterfly), armyworms, cutworms, seed corn maggot and spider mites. The goal of this publication is to help pest managers with proper identification. A brief description and photograph of the immature and adult life stages is provided for each pest.

At times, potato growers may experience poor emergence of potato plants. There are number of reasons why potato plants may not emerge properly. This article is intended to provide a list of common problems that can cause poor potato emergence and stand. Utilizing this list can help growers more rapidly identify the cause and improve management of the crop and subsequent crops.

Eating enough fruits and vegetables may help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, type II diabetes and cancer. Aim to have a variety of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet, because different colors of fruits and vegetables provide different nutrients. This pocket guide provides nutrition tips and recipes to add color to your meals.

Supporting children and families during transitions in early childhood is vital to their health and development. This document provides a menu of resources and supports for assisting children and families with transitions in the early childhood years.

Supporting children and their families as they navigate transitions during the years from birth to 5 years of age is a key element of effectiveness in early childhood education systems. This report shares key findings from research in North Dakota on transition issues, challenges and resources discussed by parents and early childhood professionals.

This report presents organized and structured information on soybean production indicators across geographical space and through time.

This report presents organized and structured information on corn production indicators across geographical space and through time.

A guide to ecological sites common to North Dakota

Learn about vitamin D requirements, sources and health facts.

For children ages birth to 5, the best development occurs as families and early childhood professionals share understanding about best practices in nurturing young children. Family engagement matters! Shared activities improve mutual understanding and promote children’s healthy development.

Supporting young children through family engagement opportunities is a key to healthy child development. Engage your child and pursue options to score success with family engagement!

Grandparents occurs in a variety of unique circumstances, including situations of divorce, immigration, blended families or other contexts. This bulletin explores grandparenting in unique circumstances and how grandparents can navigate family transitions, in-law relationships, and other family situations.

This publication will offer management tips to producers purchasing young bulls to add to their herd as sires. Included practices are biosecurity, animal health, cattle management and nutrition.

This chart was designed to provide an estimate of daily food needs based on the recommendations for an average-sized adult at www.choosemyplate.gov. On the following chart, find your gender, age to the nearest 10 years and activity level. Mark the row with your plan. Visit www.choosemyplate.gov for more information.

Water is an important, but often overlooked, nutrient. Livestock water requirements are affected by many factors including, size, productivity, diet and environmental conditions. Limited access or reduced water consumption can result in dehydration, which can be fatal to livestock.

One of the most important steps in establishing and growing lawns, vegetables, trees, and flowers is understanding soil health. This publication explains different soil textures and how to troubleshoot common problems. In addition, the process of taking a soil sample for testing is explained.

The 2020 dry bean survey is the 31st annual survey of varieties grown, pest problems (insect pests, diseases, weeds), pesticide use, agronomic practices and pest management practices of dry edible bean growers in Minnesota and North Dakota. The survey is supported by the Northarvest Dry Bean Growers Association.

Low pH or soil acidity affects nutrient availability, microbial activity as well as plant growth. This publication covers a definition of soil acidity, causes of soil acidity, effect on soil nutrients and crops, and how to identify this issue.

This publication describes the most common natural enemies of insect pests that are found in field crops and gardens. Pictures of each natural enemy are provided for assistance with identification. Predators, parasitoids and entomopathogenic fungi and viral diseases are covered.

This publication summarizes recommendations for growing rye as a cover crop. It includes guidelines for variety selection, planting date, seeding rate and termination timing the next spring.

Accurate sampling and laboratory testing provides actual manure nutrient information. This information allows crop producers to strategize for maximum crop yields and minimal manure nutrient impact to the environment.