Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2025 Q1

Kelly Leo, Extension Agent, B.S., M.Ed.
Kelly.leo@ndsu.edu

The first quarter of every year is very busy for agriculture programming and meetings. It starts the recertification cycle for general and commercial pesticide which keeps agriculture agents busy through the end of March. Additionally, many commodity groups and organizations hold meetings during this season for agriculture producers and agriculture industry professionals. Extension often plays a large role in these meetings as presenters and hosts for such meetings. That was certainly true for me this past quarter. Here are just some of the programs offered by NDSU Extension Williams County this past quarter.

January:

January is a big planning month for the Annual Hard Spring Wheat Show and Bread Fair so much of the month was spent preparing for this large annual event. A post-fire crop producer meeting and Williams County Ag Improvement Association meeting was held January 16 in cooperation with the Williams County Soil Conservation District which included a great lineup of speakers and education for Williams County producers. I also presented at KMOT Ag Expo in Minot to educate youth on careers in the agriculture industry, which was attended by several hundred youth from schools near Minot. 4-H archery resumed on Monday nights with great attendance at this weekly program that begins in November which tends to serve anywhere from 30-45 youth per week for four months. I trained 34 4-H youth in YQCA during January which is a national program designed to educate youth on proper care and stewardship of animals. The 72nd National Hard Spring Wheat Show was January 28 at the Grand Williston Hotel. We hosted over 140 producers and industry representatives again for this amazing event. There was an incredible lineup of speakers and vendors for the annual event. Livestock Judging for 15 Williams County 4-H youth also kicked off in January with practices for the upcoming competitions. The number of youth really expanded from the small group of last year.

February:

The 5th Grade Bread Fair activities kicked off in February. This program serves over 1,500 youth in eastern Montana and western North Dakota and has a huge impact in educating youth on the importance of ND agriculture in the food supply . This program reaches every 5th grade student in Williams County. General pesticide recertification was held toward the end of February which reached 22 producers for this first training and I also assisted Mountrail County with another session. In the 4-H realm, archery practice and competitions continued throughout February as well as livestock judging competitions every weekend in February. In conjunction with the Williams County Soil Conservation District, we hosted a soil health/regenerative ag producer meeting which served about 35 producers from the area. In that same week of February, we also held the MonDak Pulse Day event with about 40 producers in attendance. There were a lot of great speakers and information for our pulse crop producers.

March:

March continued with the busy schedule of Bread Fairs, archery practices/competitions and livestock judging state competition. I delivered a Livestock Quality Assurance training to 4-H youth towards the end of March that was a great, hands-on training for proper care and handling of animals. In addition, I also conducted a cat care and showmanship clinic. I held one additional general pesticide training in March with a good number of agriculture producers attending to finish out the pesticide training season. I also presented at a few commercial trainings offered in March that were hosted by our office as well. I attended the Western Crop and Pest School in Bismarck to receive additional training in crop pests and control measures. March 22 was the Annual Spring Tree and Garden Workshop at the Williston Research Extension Center. This was very well attended again this year with 40 participants with a full day of educational programs for homeowners in the MonDak region. In the same weeks, I hosted the Spring Fever Garden Forums on Monday nights for local gardening enthusiasts. Finally, I held a Design Your Succession Plan class for 11 agriculture producers in Williston. This event was very well attended and families seemed to really learn valuable information for succession planning. There is already a wait list for this class for next fall.

Dog obedience classes for 4-H youth will happen on Mondays in April and May. There will be a final Livestock Quality Assurance Training for all 4-H youth exhibiting at the Upper Missouri Valley Fair in June. I am planning for a small animal workshop in May as well.

Fair preparations begin in earnest throughout the next quarter as the Upper Missouri Valley Fair in the last full week of June. West Farm Safety Camp will be held in Williston this year June 10-12 for youth to receive their certification in equipment operation and farm safety. These are just a few of the upcoming events. Hope you all have a productive spring season!