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Doug Goehring, North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner and Ron De Young, Director of the                Montana

Department of Agriculture, were the keynote speakers at a breakfast during the Mon-Dak Ag Open. De Young talked about ag diversification, processing and  market quality while Goehring

spoke about work with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding pesticide

regulations.  

 

Pictured are Goehring (left) and De Long (right)

 

Attendees of the Mon-Dak Ag Open discuss their views of the regional agricultural industry. Click Here for the Williston Herald's Video from the Mon-Dak Ag Open. 

 

 

 

 

At last year's Montana State University's Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) Field Day in Sidney, Mont., MSU and local officials talked about the need for a facility expansion. This year, he is seeing his dream of a new building come true - in more ways than one.  Both of the facilities he is director at in North Dakota and Montana will expand.  In Sidney, construction is underway on a $2.5 million facility and in Williston, the Ernie French Center is undergoing a $1.68 million expansion.  See Entire Story.

Glenn Muske has joined the North Dakota State University Extension Service as its rural and agribusiness enterprise development specialist.  He supports entrepreneurs and small-business owners through educational programming and informational efforts. He also works with communities to help them encourage and understand the entrepreneur. ntrepreneurship.  See Entire Story.

Jamestown, N.D. businessman Maynard Helgaas, has been working with the Green Vision Group (GVG) to develop an energy beet processing plant.  Helgaas said sugarbeets were selected for the study because of their high energy content and the fact that they are so adaptable to North Dakota.  "Making ethanol from sugarbeets is a very efficient process," he said. "It takes less energy than (converting) corn and produces twice the ethanol per acre than corn."  See Entire Story.

 

2010 is shaping up to be another successful year for the Montana Beef Quality Assurance Program. With several educational "Twilight Trainings" across the state this summer, many Montana ranchers have learned valuable tools to ensure their cattle are handled in a low-stress manner - which benefits not only the cattle but also the ranch's crew and its bottom line.  See Entire Story.

 

 

An oilseed processing venture that left more than $800,000 in unpaid bills when it went broke last year may resume doing business with a $100,000 bond and a promise to pay cash to oilseed suppliers, state regulators decided Wednesday. North Dakota Oilseed Mills LLC, which is based in Northwood, about 40 miles southwest of Grand Forks, is a successor company to Northwood Mills LLP, which became insolvent in April 2009 after a large canola oil sale fell through.  See Entire Story. 

A farm advocacy group last week aired findings of a scientific panel challenging an environmental group's contention that pesticide residues on some fruits and vegetables pose health risks to consumers. The Alliance for Food and Farming, based in Watsonville, Calif., said the Environmental Working Group's "dirty dozen" list of fruits and vegetables "is misleading to consumers and an impediment to public health because it discourages consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables."  See Entire Story.

Despite a recent setback, the giant Palouse earthworm is still a contender for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that the rare annelid, which may grow up to three feet long, warrants further study for possible inclusion on the list of endangered and threatened species.  Agricultural interests worry that federal protection for the species could result in restrictions on farmers. "This could be a threat to the livelihood and the makeup of the Palouse itself," said Travis Jones, executive director of the Idaho Grain Producers Association. See Entire Story.