Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2024 Q4

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

Happy New Year! 2024 rounded out as busy as the rest of the year. Fall was very hot and dry and seemed to stay unseasonably warm well into late November. Harvest continued into October and November as in 2023. Livestock water was in short supply and low quality going into winter due to the dry conditions. Thankfully, hay was in good supply due to adequate precipitation early in summer. As always, wheat midge soil survey sampling kept me busy in October.

Here are some additional activities and events that occurred during the final quarter of 2024:

October:

October Started with the devastating fires that ravaged Williams County. With nearly 90,000 acres burned and 365 stakeholders affected, it was a challenging and emotional fall for many. October was spent making countless phone calls and gathering information and resources to assist with this devastating event. I was able to offer one fall general pesticide recertification in late October for 2025 expirees event though the fire event kept me pretty busy. Additionally, we held a Legislative Update with our local legislators to provide an overview of NDSU Extension in Districts 1, 2 and 23 along with other Extension colleagues from Mountrail, Divide, and Burke counties. I was able to attend the National 4-H Youth Development Conference in Boise, Idaho the second week of October which was a great education and networking event. North Dakota was fortunate to have a good size delegation attend to network with colleagues from around the nation. We held a new 4-H family orientation to assist new families with learning about the Williams County 4-H program as well as North Dakota 4-H.

November:

November was a busy month with the annual Wheat Show planning, Bread Fair planning, as well as a variety of other activities. NDSU Extension Williams County took over planning and facilitating Special Assignment Pizza in coordination with North Dakota Farm Bureau. This event is very popular for local schools and we reached over 500 local 4th grade youth. I presented on meat as a main ingredient of pizza and the importance of the North Dakota livestock industry in providing meat on the first day and dairy products and the dairy industry on the second day. I offered another general pesticide recertification in McKenzie County during November as their Ag and Natural Agent was new in his position. One of the most important programs offered in November was the Western Beef Summit meeting for livestock producers affected by the October fires. This meeting had many excellent presenters available to address questions and concerns regarding livestock health following the fires. In the 4-H realm, 4-H archery season kicked off in November with a large number of 4-H youth taking part again this year. Archery is one of the most popular 4-H programs in Williams County with over 50 youth taking part every year as well as six volunteer archery leaders. Archers meet on Monday nights from November through the first part of April. The Fall 4-H awards banquet also occurred in November with record attendance at the event. 4-H youth received awards for all their hard work during the 2023-2024 4-H year.

December:

December 4-H Livestock Judging kicked off again in December. There are double the amount of youth involved this year which is an exciting growth to this excellent program. I attended a Real Colors Temperament training class in early December to become a certified facilitator. This was a really great class and I enjoyed learning different procedures to train participants about temperament as it relates to communication. The remainder of December was attending various online meetings, archery practices, livestock judging practices, Wheat Show planning and Bread Fair planning. Never a dull moment for sure

As the New Year is upon us, so is the new programming season. The Post-Fire Crop Producer Meeting and Williams County Ag Improvement annual meeting will be held January 16 at the Williston Research Extension Center. The 72nd Annual Hard Spring Wheat Show will happen January 28, 2025 at the Grand Williston Hotel. Additionally, we will be kicking off Bread Fair activities in over 30 schools in February and March.

In cooperation with Divide County, we will be offering a Design Your Succession Plan program in March. Some other events planned include Spring Tree and Garden Workshop, multiple spring 4-H contests, archery, livestock judging, and other 4-H events too numerous to mention. Stay safe and warm and I look forward to working with you in the coming program year!