Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010

Front CoverLive Area - 7x9

Trim - 8x10

Bleed

september 2010

in this issueVeterinarian column

equine column

apples

agricultural heritage notebook

and through the pasture, she was chased more than once by a bull wearing a nose ring and chain that did not serve to slow him down. She said, “I think my mother paddled me a few times to discourage use of that path to Spasoffs!” Further research might reveal the exact date of the origin of the barn and its attached house. Evidence including the bank barn’s basic design, gambrel roof construction, and design details of the milking stanchions points to pre-World War I. Most likely it was built by the McMurrys, who may have lived in the house portion while they planned and began building the grander abode nearby when their orchard business was booming. Some of the construction details of the older house are similar to those used in the newer one, which might even be an indication that all three structures were kit-built. During the early 1900s pre-cut materials and plans for houses and barns could be purchased by mail-order from a number of different companies. This might

explain the window located in the wall between the house and the barn in spite of the lack of daylight or view. The odd transom over the door leading to the barn might have been intended to circulate air from a nonexistent sunporch that was instead replaced by a barn. A dormer entrance on the north side of the barn leads to nothing but open space both inside and out. The builders also evidently had diffi culty fi guring out how to attach a gambrel roof barn to a simple gabled roof house while still utilize a common wall. I would characterize the joint as “cobbled together.” Whatever their construction history, it is obvious that the human history associated with these buildings is disappearing with the passing of folks who remember the details. We are losing the race against time to preserve our important cultural roots. Those roots are what bind us together in a community, and are well worth the effort it takes to nourish them.

Page 34 - Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010 Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010 - Page 3

Fall is the loveliest of sea-sons in the Bitterroot Valley, as the colors along the river intensify and then grow muted, preparing for winter.

It is the busiest season, of course, in the valley’s historic orchards – both those in the commercial apple-producing business and those with a handful of trees tended by

families and neighbors.My children and I have long loved visiting the

orchards in fall, sometimes picking our own apples, sometimes picking up a ready-to-go box and a gallon or two of cider. Combine that with a hike up a moun-tain canyon or along the river at the refuge, and there’s no finer fall day.

I was reminded of those outings while reading Stacie Duce’s great stories for this edition of the Ravalli Republic’s Agriculture Quarterly – one on the antique, and now hobby, orchards in the Bitterroot Valley; the other on her family’s much-loved canning traditions.

Fall is also the time, it turns out, to give serious thought to another agriculture pursuit: beekeeping. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a commercial beekeeper, you’ll want to read Perry Backus’ story on the industry and the many local experts available to help novices and experts alike. Here’s a hint: Start planning (and ordering) now for next year’s hives.

This edition of Agriculture Quarterly also includes a pair of must-read articles on weeds – and their control – from Jeff Schmerker and Rob Chaney. One brings alarming news of a new and particularly aggressive weed invading western Montana: Japanese knotweed can grow 15 feet in a year, which makes it essential to get after quickly.

In addition, we have a variety of extremely informa-tive columns from our friends in the Bitterroot Valley on cattle management, the care and tending of hobby cows, nitrates in hay and more.

I think you’ll enjoy our salute to fall and agriculture. If you have ideas for stories you’d like to see in future editions, please drop me a line at [email protected].

A note of introduction from the Editor

In 1918 and 1919, sugar beets were a popular crop in the Bitterroot Valley.

SHERRY DEVLINphoto KURT WILSON - Missoulian

Page 4 - Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010

IN THIS ISSUEBitterroot’s Apple-laden Legacy Endures ... 5

Preserving Harvest An Important Skill ........ 9

Make Your Own Honey As A Beekeeper .. 11

County Weed District Adopts New Plan .. 14

Japanese Knotweed ................................... 16

Animals Need Proper Nutrition Too ......... 18

Turn of the Gardening Season ................... 21

The considerations of raising Cattle in the Bitterroot Valley .......................................... 24

Nitrate in Cereal Hay Presents Danger ..... 26

Local Ranches Recognized ........................ 28

Agricultural Heritage Notebook ............... 30

How did you like our second issue of Agriculture Quarterly? Do you have any ideas you’d like to share with us for our next issue?

Let us know. Sent comments to: 232 West Main, Hamilton, MT 59840 or [email protected] this page: top to bottom, Will Moss, Will Moss,

Agriculture Quarterly is published by the

Ravalli Republic Newspaper

a division of Lee Enterprises

Kristen BoundsPublisher

Sherry Devlin, EditorClint Burson,

Dara Saltzman & Jodi Wright,

Production & DesignBrent Schlimgen & Cheryl Tenold,

Project Sales

Agriculture Quarterly is copyright 2010,

Ravalli Republic.

ravalli republic

232 west Main StreetHamilton, MT 59840

ravallirepublic.com

Working to ensure that important local places, stories, and traditions are stewarded for future generations.

Contribute ONLINE and receive a FREE 1 year membership to the National Trust for Historic Preservation (includes Preservation Magazine)

406.375.9953 www.BRCHT.org

Cool air surrounds us even though the temperature outside is nearing 90 degrees. We speculate about why someone would build a barn on top of a spring-fed creek and marsh, risking serious deterioration of the foundation, and come up with a possible answer. If all the drainage troughs were still intact, water could fl ow from one end of the barn basement to an outlet under the opposite end. The water would not only wash away waste from the milk cows, but would keep cans of milk cool until they could be taken to market. My later research on the technique used to build this barn revealed it to be a bank barn, more common in Minnesota than Montana. The advantages are ease of fi lling the upper story with hay from ground level, and more constant temperature for animals housed in the basement, with direct access to pasture or corrals, usually on the south or east side of the building. Quinty excuses herself and I poke around for another half hour or so, snapping more photos to show construction methods that might help date the structure. I stop at the house to thank my hostess, and fi nd her on the sun porch, artist’s paintbrush in hand. I later fi nd out that her mother was an artist and musician of extraordinary talent. The legacy continues. My research is just beginning. My fi rst stop is the Ravalli County courthouse, Clerk and Recorder’s offi ce, to trace the chain of title on the property. It was originally part of a 160-acre homestead granted to Edwin W. Waddel in 1892. Waddel owned it until 1902, when he sold part of it to W.E. McMurry and his wife Grace. The McMurrys deeded it to Hamilton Nurseries, a company they formed, in 1908, and they built up a large operation that provided fruit tree seedlings to the many orchards that were springing up across the Bitterroot Valley at the time. Unfortunately, with the end of the apple boom, Hamilton Nurseries was forced to relinquish the land to mortgage holder Citizens State Bank in 1918. The next deed was to Evan Spasoff in 1929. Mention is made in that deed of a previous lease between Citizen’s State Bank and Spasoff, so he may have begun farming it shortly after Hamilton Nurseries folded. Fannie Spasoff enters the chain of title in 1932, and the couple owned the property until their deaths in 1962 and ’64. Bettye Smith is named as buyer on a deed from the Ravalli County public administrator in 1965. To fl esh out the barn’s story, I head to the Ravalli County Museum, and its archive of newspapers that

begin in the 1800s. I fi nd obituaries for W.E. McMurry and for both Spasoffs. McMurry came to the Bitterroot from Minnesota (remember bank barn?) at the turn of the century, via Missoula, and worked in a mercantile store in downtown Hamilton before he began cultivating fruit trees. He also served a short term as mayor of Hamilton. Evan Spasoff emigrated from his native Bulgaria in 1910, lived for a short time in Minneapolis (another Minnesota connection!) then moved to the Bitterroot. He became the leader of a large scale Bulgarian truck farming cooperative that shipped high quality produce by wagon over Skalkaho pass to Anaconda and Butte to satisfy the miners’ appetites for fresh vegetables. Western News calls Spasoff “a farmer of great ability, a most industrious worker.” Spasoff’s wife Fannie came to the Bitterroot later from Iowa. An article appearing in Western News after Fannie’s death explains why the farm property was then auctioned. Evan Spasoff apparently had a son by a previous marriage. In both Evan’s and Fannie’s wills, that son was left $1.00 from the estate, thus eliminating the possibility of an inheritance claim. There is no doubt an interesting story attached to that bit of information, but no one is left to tell it. Armed with the bare facts, I do some more sleuthing, calling a friend whose surname matches that of one of Evan Spasoff’s pallbearers. She is unable to give me any more details about the barn, but refers me to another friend who happens to be the daughter of one of the other Bulgarian cooperative farmers who lived next door to the Spasoffs. I call a charming Virginia Koloff Simmons and chat for quite some time. She recalls that “Mr. Spasoff had a beautiful barn” and that she used to pick berries at his place. She didn’t remember whether he also ran a dairy, but does admit that several times when taking a forbidden shortcut to the berry patch, over a stile

Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010 - Page 33

was removed. The original cedar shingles let shafts of light into the interior, but the wood trusses still appear to be in good condition. Quinty steps back out into the bright sunshine, and trots down the bank to the barn’s lower level. I admire her fortitude as she collects foxtails with her fl ip-fl opped feet and knit tights. She pays no attention, forging on to show me more of the barn’s secrets. She pries open another worn door, and we carefully step into the gloom of the basement under the house portion of the building. There are two rows of milking stanchions, a total of about a dozen, with space for fodder, and drainage troughs built with

two perpendicular layers of heavy planks in the fl oor. Cows, right under the kitchen! That’s a European tradition for sure. An alleyway leads to the basement under the barn, but access is blocked by old planks and siding, so we go back outside. “Yikes!” Quinty exclaims, “There’s a regular river running under the barn here! I don’t remember that when we played here as children.” We peer into the barn basement, but would need rubber boots to go further. We can see another dozen milking stanchions, an area that might have been used for processing milk, and a manger for draft horses, complete with two old harness collars and a bridle hanging on the wall.

A FULL SERVICE BUILDING & CONTRACTING COMPANY

Specializing in:• Pole Buildings• Horse Barns• Wood Frame Metal Clad Buildings• Pre-Engineered All-Steel Buildings• Garages• Drafting & Design

1345 Hwy 93 N., Ste 2, Victor • 961-6808www.schrockconstructioninc.com


STACIE DUCEFOR THE RAVALLI REPUBLIC

While Ravalli County’s apple business didn’t blos-som as some hoped more than 100 years ago, remnants of vast orchards are an annual reminder that even small har-vests can be sweet.

On the edges of many Bitterroot Valley ranches, farms and fields sit haphazard apple trees. Most are McIntosh by variety. Some are prized pos-sessions yielding just enough

fruit to keep a family in apple-sauce and sweet cider for the season. Other deserted trees have become gnarled dessert buffets attended only by nib-bling deer.

For the Rennaker family

whose cattle ranch is nestled on Old Darby Road, antique apple trees lean against wooden fences. When the branches become heavy and lean nearly to the ground of the dusty road, it’s time for

the family to gather and press cider in ceremonious fashion.

“We have four trees and the neighbors let us have their apples,” said Lillian Rennaker. They use an old cider press brought by her father-in-law when he came to the Bitterroot from Missouri in the 1920s, at age 18.

“It’s a cool old press,” she said. “It’s been fixed two or three times, but it certainly works.”

For years, they have turned

Bitterroot’s Apple-Laden Legacy Endures


in Montana, and I am anxious to explore this beautiful old example of a European and New England farm building style. I pull into the yard and park beside the Smith’s restoration-in-progress, a different house that was built near the barn sometime around the end of World War I. Though the farmstead is just a stone’s throw across the river from town, the remnants of an apple orchard and brush along the river shield it from the hustle and bustle of people in a hurry. There is a rustle of deer moving through the tall grass, and birds sing their territorial boundaries. Quinty arrives in her Mini Cooper, accompanied by a cloud of dust from the lane. She is breathless, apologizes for being late (not much -- I don’t mind at all), and is dressed in tights and fl ipfl ops from yoga class. She offers me a tour of the main house. We visit for a few minutes at the sunny kitchen table so I can begin to stir up some memories of her childhood in the house and the old barn before we launch our expedition. She recalls that her mother and father, Bettye and Bob Smith, purchased the property at an auction after the death of the owners in the early 1960s. It had been the site of a thriving truck garden operated by a Bugarian couple, Fannie and Evan Spasoff. Quinty’s mother was particularly enthralled with the stand-alone house, and immediately began working to make it liveable. One of the fi rst projects was to move a toilet that resided in the hallway just inside the front door to a more discreet location. Another concern was cleaning up after the poultry that enjoyed the sunny south bedroom upstairs. Fifty years of loving work has made the handsome old house glow. After Quinty chats for a minute with a niece who drops by on her last day before leaving for college, we head for the barn. The afternoon sun turns the tall

grass around the buildings to gold, a complement to the fading red paint clinging to the barn and attached house. “Watch your step,” Quinty cautions, as she drags the wooden porch steps into position below the front door of the weathered house, which is obviously of an earlier vintage than the one we just left. There is a yawning gap in the foundation beside the steps. I make sure there is some strong support above the dark space before I step up into the house. We wander through its fi ve high-ceilinged rooms, noting that it was wallpapered and apparently

had a water tap and drain in what appears to be a kitchen area. Several chimneys evidence a parlor heated by a wood or coal stove and meals prepared on a wood kitchen range. Our imaginations served to picture furnishings, walls that are no longer in place, a pantry, bedrooms, and perhaps a hired man’s room with a separate entrance. The gloom is alleviated by light fi ltering through large casement window. A well-worn door topped by a partially open transom window leads directly from one room into the spacious barn. Oddly, there is a window in the wall shared by the house and barn (to keep an eye on the hay?) The barn’s fl oor seems solid, but the small window at the opposite end has become a

parallelogram rather than a rectangle. The building is developing a defi nite lean to the south, and I hear a trickle of water running somewhere beneath my feet. A wooden ladder leads to the basement, but we decide it looks too precarious to test. A large door leads north to ground level, large enough for a hay wagon to pass through. I point out that most old hay barns have a hayhook and trolley system along the ridgepole, and that it’s missing here. With a closer look into the shadows, however, we notice a pulley with old ropes still attached hanging high up at one end of the gambreled vault; it appears the trolley


There used to be a television human-interest segment called “Everybody has a Story” broadcast on Sunday mornings. The host chose interviewees by throwing a dart at a map, then fl ipping open a phone book for the selected town and randomly calling a phone number. My method of choosing the barns featured in this series of articles is nearly as accidental, yet each building has had a wonderful story to tell. During the 15 years I’ve lived on the shoulder of Blodgett Canyon, I’ve driven by the Smith barn at least a

thousand times, but had no idea what delightful details awaited discovery. I fi nally found time to call co-owner Quinty Smith and arrange to meet her for a tour of the building. I arrive a little early, park on the lane, and snap a few preliminary photos of the barn, which is mostly camoufl aged by trees this time of year. If I look closely, I can see a slight difference in roofl ine that defi nes a break between living quarters and a barn. A house that shares a common wall with a barn is very unusual

A Barn in a Bank

Agriculture Heritage Notebook

The Heritage Trust is delighted to be a part of the Ravalli Republic’s Agriculture Quarterly and will be bringing you stories of our local agricultural history and heritage in each issue.

For this issue we asked Wendy Beye to highlight an historic valley barn and the family that owns it. Wendy, is working on the BitterRoot Barns Project. Wendy’s barn photos will ultimately serve many purposes, but her primary objective is to write a book about selected historic Bitterroot barns. Beyond their architectural beauty on the landscape, Wendy incorporates the stories of the families that own, use, and steward the barns. The Bitter Root Cultural Heritage Trust is proud to be a partner to the BitterRoot Barns Project.

The Bitter Root Cultural Heritage Trust works in partnership with families, neighborhoods, and communities to restore historic structures, bring back traditional events and celebrations, encourage interpretation, and affi rm cultural values.


Got Weeds?We have the Answers!

714 North 1st, Hamilton

363-3351

$2399$999

their cider-making chores into a party. When their son, Loyd, was helping coach Darby var-sity football, the boys would make and sell the cider as a fundraiser.

“Now we usually have church youth groups come and make an activity out of it,” said Lillian. “Anybody who comes usually has a great time.”

By the end of September, the apples are ready for harvest but if the goal is to make cider, the process can be much less particular.

“The thing with making cider,” said Lillian. “is you can lay down a tarp and shake the tree and you don’t have to worry about climbing and pick-ing them.”

As for this year’s prospects, “I have noticed we don’t have a lot on ours this year,” she said. “We’re not loaded with

apples and I’ve heard a few people say their apples didn’t set on as good as usual.”

No matter how many gallons of cider they make, “we’ll enjoy it,” she said. “Freshly made cider from crisp apples is truly out of this world.”

Barbara Buckallew was just a baby when her parents put her and her brother in apple boxes to nap while they picked fruit in Corvallis’ east-side orchards. When she was 7 years old, they bought four acres off Dutch Hill and planted an impres-sive garden. The land was part of the Bitterroot’s infamous orchard experiment, so several trees remained and her parents finally had apples of their own.

After Barbara married, she and her husband built a small house on the west side of her

parent’s property. On one side of the new house was a small stick of a tree poking up from the ground. Barbara left it undisturbed and over the next 38 years, it flourished.

On a crisp, yet sunny September afternoon, Barbara marveled at her bounty this year. Last year’s yield was mini-mal, “but we’re making up for it,” she said, looking up at the heavily laden branches. “I usu-ally have a great harvest every other year.”

She picks the apples to make applesauce and pie filling and shares the fruit with her chil-dren. When apples fall to the ground, she throws them over the fence into the field where deer have the mess cleaned up by morning.

“I thought deer were the only ones who liked my apples, but the other night I looked


out the window at the tree and saw a raccoon staring back at me,” she laughed. “I guess rac-coons like my apples too.”

All but an acre around her home has been sold and the ground across her fence is now fallow. Her parent’s home is no longer standing and even her husband passed away seven years ago. But the stoic apple trees remain.

Barbara has no intention of leaving the land where she has spent most of her 60-plus years. She has her dog, Cooper, for company and plenty of apple chores to keep her busy this autumn and beyond.

BONDED

35+ YEARSEXPERIENCELICENSED INSURED

PHONE: 406-363-5139 CELL: 406-239-4721Bitterroot Spraying Service wants to remind you that it is

important to schedule your spraying service early!

Bitterroot Spraying ServiceOnsite Inspection • Land Management Plans

Complete Herbicide Application for Small AcreagesFertilizing and More

363-0235 LICENSEDINSURED

CUSTOM CUT CONSTRUCTION Foundation to Trim...

Let us build your dreams!BOB CUMMINGS

CUSTOM HOMESREMODELING

POLE BARNSHORSE STALLS

GARAGES


of bio-economic indexes designed to assist commercial producers in simplifying the genetic selection process. In addition, the Fall 2010 Sire Evaluation Report includes updated research reports for docility and heifer pregnancy.

The semi-annual analysis for the Sire Evaluation Report utilizes more than 19 million measures used to generate over 55 million EPDs for the Angus breed.The American Angus Association provides programs

and services for nearly 33,000 members nationwide and thousands of commercial producers who use Angus genetics. Go to www.angus.org for more information.

ROB CHANEY/MissoulianA recent sale of Mytty Angus Ranch Bulls.


RAVALLI REPUBLIC

Two Bitterroot Valley ranches have been recognized in the American Angus Association’s 2010 Fall Sire Evaluation Report. Mytty Angus Ranch of Florence owns six bulls listed in the fall report published by the association, which is based in St. Joseph, Mo., and issues reports in spring and fall. The new report features the latest performance information available on 5,871 sires, and is currently accessible at www.angussiresearch.com. In addition, Cara P.

and Thomas W. Ayres of Stevensville own one bull listed in the fall evaluation. “This report provides both Angus breeders and commercial cattle producers using Angus genetics with accurate, predictable selection tools for improving their herd,” says Bill Bowman, American Angus Association chief operating offi cer and director of performance programs. Expected Progeny Differences are generated from the performance database of the American Angus Association, which

includes information submitted by nearly 9,000 Angus breeders this past year through the Association’s Beef Improvement Records program. The fall 2010 evaluation includes updated research reports for heifer pregnancy and docility. Expected Progeny Differences are listed for growth and maternal traits, as well as carcass traits that integrate performance records from the carcass, ultrasound and DNA databases. Decision-making tools also include $Values, the suite

Local Ranches Recognized in 2010 American Angus Association Fale SireEvaluation Report


My parents’ kitchen recently transformed into a beehive of activity with a singular goal of all on duty – to bottle the baskets of peaches before bed-time.

The scene brought back vivid memories of my childhood, when gardening, canning and football seemed to be my dad’s only fall-time pleasures.

True to the past yet evolved with ele-ments of the present: The flat-screen, high-definition television was blasting college football, my mom was prepping glass bottles and lids, my sister sat slicing and pitting, and my dad ran in and out with bowls of blanched peaches boiled on his portable propane burner on the back patio.

In the midst of it all stood my 12-year-old

Duce’s Wild

Stacie Duce

Preserving Harvest An Important Skill


twin daughters peeling peach skins with such precision that the rest were hard-pressed to keep up.

Before I had time to offer my services, my dad stuffed $10 in my pocket and commanded I run to the store for more can-ning lids. I returned just in time to be sent to the basement for more jars.

It wasn’t long before my sister’s back was aching and I took over pitting duties and the race to keep up with my daughters. As the last peach slid into the jar, they finally noticed their entire mid-sec-tions were covered in sticky juice and they laughed instead of complained.

As my dad set the last batch of bottles to be processed in

his contrived outdoor kitchen, I said, “Your mother would be so jealous.”

He silently shook his head in agreement.

I remember my grandma’s kitchen in the fall. She was the epitome of homemaking prow-ess with her ability to bake bread, keep a spotless house and line her pantry with jars of preserves.

While I never learned to love a bowl of her bottled cherries or a bite of pickled beets, I’d give anything to sit and eat with her now.

My kids are lucky enough to have similar harvest-time memories with both sets of their grandparents. They have learned to pick raspberries and make blue-ribbon jam. They

know the process of taking fruit from the tree to the jar and enjoying it midwinter. They’ve shredded zucchini and stacked the bags in the freezer for future baking treasures.

But I have shielded them from canning tomatoes, mainly because I don’t have to try very hard to still feel the sting of tomato juice in my eye while smashing them through the Victorio strainer as a kid. Nevertheless, when I really need tomatoes, I know mom’s got a shelf full.

Of all the activities grandpar-ents can do with their grand-children, teaching harvest-time skills might just be at the top of our family’s list – right next to learning the intrinsically impor-tant game of football. WillingServantsMT.org • 406-363-2898

Willing Servants is dedicated to the humane treatment of abandoned,

neglected or abused equines.

Our purpose is to provide permanent or temporary housing, food, health care, and, when necessary, a fi nal act of kindness.

Additionally, Willing Servants assists owners with equine education and also in

times of personal or natural catastrophe. We will always strive to serve, with respect

and dignity. Willing Servants is a non-profi t organization

the nitrate level in the affected hay increases. If the hay has a nitrate level over 1.2 percent, it shouldn’t be fed at all.

What can be done to reduce the chances of growing a hay crop with toxic levels of nitrate?

Bear in mind that nitrate will be present in your soils regard-less of farming practices. Even without fertilization, nitrate is a naturally-occurring molecule playing a significant role in the nitrogen cycle. But also be aware that application of nutrient sources, whether from chemical fertilizer, manure, compost, or turning under of nitrogen-rich crop residues (such as alfalfa roots) will increase the level of nitrate in the soil. The higher the soil nitrate level, the higher the chances of toxic levels of nitrate in the hay produced.

So there’s a balance that needs to be considered between fertilization for yield and quality vs. the potential for nitrate problems developing. But, obviously, coming out of alfalfa, there’s going to be a fair amount of residual nitrate beyond the control of the pro-ducer.

Crop maturity is also a con-sideration. The nitrate level in plants will tend to decline as the plant matures. A field of cereal hay might be at the

desired stage for forage quality considerations, but if a tested sample shows undesirable nitrate levels, a producer can choose to wait before harvest-ing and in most cases will see a decline in nitrate levels.

Thought should be given to the selection of a suitable cereal forage species. Field research conducted here in the Bitterroot Valley at the Western Agricultural Research Center (WARC), Corvallis, and in the Judith Basin at the Central Agricultural Research Center, Moccasin, showed clearly that of five different cereal species (two varieties of each of oats, wheat, barley, triticale and spelt), oats accumulated nitrate much more readily than the other species in high-nitrate environments.

If the potential for nitrate accumulation was low, for instance where the nitrogen fertilization was low and the crops were harvested at a late stage of maturity, nitrate was uniformly low in all species.

But when nitrogen fertiliza-tion was high, and the crops harvested at anthesis, oats were significantly higher in nitrate levels than the other species. Oats were also sig-nificantly more likely to accu-mulate toxic levels in the mid-range of accumulation

potential.Another point for con-

sideration is the balance of other soil nutrients. Work conducted at WARC and at the Northwestern Agricultural Research Center, Creston, showed that in some instances, the addition of sulfur to the soil, along with the nitrogen fertilizer, significantly reduced the accumulation of nitrate in Haybet barley.

This was the case when the nitrogen to sulfur ration in harvested plants was over 14 to 16. This is roughly the ratio of nitrogen to sulfur in plant protein, indicating that a deficiency of sulfur may lead to nitrate accumulation by restricting protein manufacture in the plants.

The take-home message is that an overall soil fertility pro-gram is as important in cereal nitrate management as it is in overall yield and quality.

Your County Extension office can provide you with additional information on managing cereal hays.

Mal Westcott is a profes-sor and superintendent of the Western Agricultural Research Center at Montana State University.



MAL WESTCOTTFOR THE RAVALLI REPUBLIC

Cereals such as barley, oats, wheat and triticale are some-times grown for forage crops rather than for grain. This is a common practice in the Bitterroot, most often seen in fields being rotated out of alfalfa for a year or two. The cereal is harvested for hay at an immature stage, most desirably

in the period between flower-ing (anthesis) and soft-dough stages of development. This will provide the highest quality of forage.

A common problem in cereal hays is the accumulation of nitrate to potentially toxic lev-els. Nitrate presents a hazard to livestock once it enters the bloodstream, where it replaces oxygen on hemoglobin mol-

ecules, resulting in anoxia, a lack of oxygen. This can be manifested as aborted calves or even the death of adult ani-mals.

If a hay contains nitrate levels over 0.3 percent, recommen-dations call for mixing it with nitrate-free feeds before being fed to livestock. The percent-age of nitrate-free feeds in the ration should be increased as

Nitrate In Cereal Hay Presents Danger

PERRY BACKUSRAVALLI REPUBLIC

So you want to become a beekeeper, but you have no idea how to make that happen.

Well it’s not really all that hard, says Scott Debnam, the University of Montana’s senior beekeeper.

You can get all the supplies you need in starter kits that range from $145 to $359 for the advanced package that includes a hive, frames and a full bee suit from wholesalers on the Internet.

The most important part comes from right here in Montana.

Beginning beekeepers can purchase a three-pound pack-

age of honey bees – that’s about 15,000 to 20,000 of the critters – and a queen bee from Western Bee in Polson.

“They are the No. 1 supplier of bees in the whole world,” Debnam said. “They have a long history in the business of bees.”

Typically, a package of bees will run you about $70 or so.

By midsummer, your invest-ment will have more than tripled.

“By July, you could have 75,000 bees working for you,” Debnam said. “Once a queen starts laying, she produces up to 3,000 eggs a day. She lays up to three times her body weight.”

You need to plan ahead to

make this all happen, though.Bee orders need to be

placed by February. The folks at Western Bee will

make the trip to California to pick up your bees.

And then, just to make it all a bit easier, the University of Montana’s beekeepers make the drive back and forth from Polson to pick up the packages for beekeepers in the Missoula area.

“For the last two years, we drove to Polson to pick up everyone’s bees who live close to Missoula,” Debnam said. “And then those people who come to Fort Missoula to pick up their bees can watch us hiv-ing our packages.”

Make Your Own Honey As A Beekeeper


Page 12- Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010

“Hiving a package” is bee-keeper’s speak for introducing the bees to their new home.

Debnam said the event is kind of like a mini-seminar. If people want, they can even try it out for themselves so they’ll know just what to do when they get home.

Once the bees are intro-duced to their new hive, beekeepers need to perform a couple of simple precaution-ary steps to ensure their bees don’t come down with the dreaded foulbrood disease.

That’s as easy as picking up the common antibiotic Tetracycline from an agricul-tural store and mixing it with powdered sugar to feed to the

hive over a 15-day period.“You just sprinkle it on top

of the frame,” Debnam said. “It’s very important to treat for foulbrood. It’s such a vicious disease that once it gets into a hive, the only way to treat is to destroy the hive.”

Most beekeepers treat their hives for mites, too.

After that’s done, it’s time for the new beekeeper to learn some patience.

The first year, the bees will be focused on filling the frames inside the hive with wax. Once the combs are filled, then bee-keepers can begin harvesting the superfluous honey their bees will produce.

One frame will produce 10 pounds of honey, which is

enough to feed a family. “Bees are awesome,”

Debnam said. “If it was me or you that was snatched out of our bed and then moved 2,000 miles, we’d be mad and want to leave … bees just go right to work as soon as they’re put into their new hive.”

“Bees will take care of them-selves,” he said. “You just need to give them the freedom and space to be themselves. Bees just want to be bees.”

“Treat them good and they will treat you good,” Debnam said.

Want to learn more, go to http://agr.mt.gov/crops/bee-keepers.com Lifeline Creamery Farm Store

2424 Meridian Rd., Victor, MT 59875Store Hours: M-F 11-6pm, Sat 11-4pmBetween Victor Steakhouse & Victor Merc off Hwy 93

• Organic Cheddars• Organic Jacks

• Fresh Cheese Curds• Organic Brie & Feta

• Organic Sausages• Organic Meats• Organic Butter

• Fresh“Cream on the Top”

Organic Milk


up to control this.Do my neighbors have

cattle? Are the fences good? A heifer or cow in heat (ready to breed) will attract a bull from a great distance – fences are usually NO obstacle to him. In other words, if you don’t remove the bull and keep him separate except during the assigned breeding season, he will breed his 5- and 6-month-old daughters if they come into heat.

As a veterinarian, my primary concerns is, do you have facili-ties to handle these animals or a way to move them to a place where they can be confined and treated? At the very least, you need some way of confin-ing or corralling them to load in and out of a stock trailer.

My preference is heavy metal cattle panels, anchored to large diameter wooden posts, and ideally head catch equip-ment to further restrain them.

Another consideration is, are these animals pets or live-stock in your eyes? How much money are you willing to spend if they get sick? In the changing atmosphere of the valley, these are questions I have learned to ask to better determine a course of action or recommen-dation for a particular situation.

It comes down to finances and what you are willing to do as an owner regarding treatment of the animal if they are sick.

How will you handle these animals health-wise? Will you vaccinate to avoid preventable disease and possible death? Will you try to control parasites, internal and external?

Once you have decided that indeed you do have the facili-ties and financial resources to have cattle, then you likely will want to give some thought to what type of cattle best meet your needs and plans.

In general, the main dif-ference in types of cattle is: beef cattle and dairy cattle. More recently a third choice is miniature cattle. I have seen these cattle in a show or exhi-bition situation, but have little firsthand information. I would imagine they would make good pets, be fairly low cost related to feed and would likely be a choice for grazing down a few acres of grass. One of the original intentions was to reach a market for consumers who prefer smaller cuts of beef.

If you consider raising dairy cattle or even have just one cow for milk, remember she must be milked twice daily. Rain or shine, hot or cold,

the cow needs to be milked. Another option in this regard is to raise purchased calves (in addition to her own), that nurse the cow out once you have obtained the milk you want for your home use. The calves can then be sold or fattened and raised for slaughter.

Beef cattle – cows, calves or yearlings – are often purchased just to graze down a few acres.

The questions I posed earlier are still very relevant whether you are talking about beef, dairy or miniature cattle.

I have not addressed specific nutritional needs or specific health care in this article, but these are things you need to discuss with your chosen vet-erinarian.

Whatever you decide to do with regard to raising cattle, be sure you’re prepared and informed before the auction-eer’s gavel hits the podium or the handshake with the pro-ducer down the road occurs.

I hope you can get a glimpse of the lifestyle I’ve known all my life and share the love I have for those big brown-eyed crea-tures.

Enjoy them, but be sure you know what you are getting into!

LINDA KAUFFMANFOR THE RAVALLI REPUBLIC

As I have watched the Bitterroot Valley change from the early 1980s to the present, my opinion is that it has changed for the most part from rural to urban in setting. I have found many families that for various reasons want to share in that rural atmosphere by owning livestock.

In deciding if you want to have cattle, there are several questions you should address:

Am I raising animals to produce offspring? If so, am I going to market these animals or am I planning on increasing the herd size? This might easily be answered by the amount and type of land available to you.

What land resources do I have available to

keep these animals? Is my land irrigated or dry? How many animals will my property support? Am I going to lease pasture? Do I have the financial resources to buy hay to feed the ani-mals 9 to 12 months out of the year, depending on pasture availability and the weather?

Is there a year-round natural water source? How will I water the animals in freezing or sub-zero weather?

Do I have the fences and facilities to handle these animals?

Will I grain-feed these animals? Am I set up to feed them in a corral or small pasture? Cattle are often like schoolyard bullies: One takes charge and gets most or all of the feed, not let-ting the others eat – if the facilities are not set

The considerations of raising cattle in the Bitterroot Valley


Post & RailArchways

Yard & PasturePrivacy & Picket

Prompt Service • FREE EstimatesFully Insured • 35 Years Experience

Marlin Ostrander owner/contractor • MT contractor license #12574

See our Fence Display on North First Across from the “Smoke Stack” in Hamilton

363-6804

On Site Retail Store, Shipping avaliable.PHONE 363-3599 • [email protected] Sleeping Child Road, Hamilton • valleyirrigation.net

D E S I G N • I N S T A L L • R E P A I R

• Aluminum & Buried Mainline • Irrigation Pumps• Wheel moves, Handlines & Big Guns • Reinke Center Pivots

QUALITY IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT

We build & sell quality sprinkler stands.


JEFF SCHMERKER

Ravalli Republic

You can do all the pulling and spraying you want, but if your neighbor’s got weeds, it’s pretty likely you will get them, too.

Enter the Ravalli County Weed District, which recently won approval from the Ravalli County Commission to imple-ment a plan aimed at control-ling weeds.

The plan formally adopts current weed district practices and a state law available to counties on a volunteer basis

for years; state law prohibits allowing weeds to go to seed or propagate, but enforcement of that law has been at the dis-cretion of counties. Kellieann Morris, the county’s weed con-trol supervisor. said now land-owners can report problem weed areas off their property to the weed district, which can then assess the problem and take action if necessary.

Weeds are often difficult to control, Morris said, so there is a small window for getting rid of them -- just a few months in summer.

“You have just a couple of

months to treat weeds before they go to seed,” she said.

Morris said she hears from landowners several times a day about problem weeds on neighboring properties.

If Morris or her office does determine a property to have problem weeds, that land-owner will be notified and given 10 days to develop, with the office’s assistance, a weed-riddance plan. Failure to do so means Morris makes second contact. Failure to act after a second 10-day warn-ing gives the county the ability to conduct weed killing on its

County Weed District Adopts New Plan


MEDICINE • SURGERYDENTISTRY • GERIATRIC PREVENTATIVE • NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING • RANCH CALLS

We are committed to compassionate, high-quality health care.

Burnt Fork Vetrinary Clinic •Dr. Linda S. Kauffman3682 Eastside Highway (across from Stevenville Feed & Farm)

Stevensville • 777-3844

CATS • DOGS • HORSES • LLAMAS • ALPACAS • GOATS • SHEEP • PIGS

be vigilant to catch the seeds before they blow away on the wind.

One form of insurance is a bag made of an old nylon stocking or other well-ventilated fab-ric. If the bag is tied over a stem while the pod is still green, the seeds can ripen inside and be harvested later. Fresh seed must get dry – very dry -- if it is to survive storage. At room tem-perature it needs at least a week in an uncov-ered container to exhale its moisture. Large seeds may need a month. After it is completely dry, the seed lives longest if it is kept cold and dry. That means a tightly covered container in a freezer or refrigerator.

Some perennial flowers ripen seeds and start new plants themselves. That is a valu-able characteristic for short-lived perennials like foxglove, lupine and lavender. To avoid a field of these self-sowing plants, it is best to cut off most of the bloomstalks when the flow-ers fade, leaving only a few to develop seeds. Those seeds, like the seeds of half-hardy annu-als, can be left to winter outdoors and ger-minate next spring. Only if a flower bed is to be tilled, burying seeds too deeply to survive, need the seeds be harvested and stored in the house.

The perennial plants themselves can be cut down whenever they look ugly. Some will stay green until spring. Some, like ornamental grasses turn brown, but blow gracefully in the wind. Some disappear into dormancy. Some offend the eye by early fall. There is no rule about when they must be cut to the ground. As long as leaves are green they continue to feed the roots. As long as plants stay in flow-erbeds, they protect the soil from wind and encourage weed seed to stay airborne and land somewhere else. The good principal is to leave the perennials in the garden as long as possible.

Gardeners are often working and thinking months ahead of the calendar and now is no exception. The focus now is preparing the soil and plants for next year’s gardens. Within two months, the first seed catalogs will be avail-able. Within five months, there will be baby plants growing in houses, greenhouses and cold frames. The next garden season is already upon us.


compost, they are better left in the pile for another year.

Usually the top three-quarters of a pile needs more decay time and only the bot-tom few inches are ready for their next cycle through the garden. There are several ways to separate finished and unfinished compost. We like to fork piles of it onto a piece of half-inch screen, or hardware cloth, and rub it with the edge of a garden knife or trowel. Everything that falls through is finished compost. The rest goes back into the compost bin to continue its recycling until next year.

This is a good time of year to spread some of that com-post on the patches of lawn that look less than lush. With

cooler weather and shorter days, the grass looks happy again and any patches of poor soil underneath are very vis-ible. Spreading half an inch of compost, home-made or purchased, on those patches will feed the grass. Too deep a layer might kill the grass under-neath, but the plants can grow right through a half inch.

Annual flowers are finishing their time of bloom and ripen-ing seeds to grow seeds to grow next year’s plants. Some of them can be left alone. The seeds will ripen, drop onto the ground, live through the winter and begin to grow at the proper time next spring. These are called half-half hardy annuals. They include poppies, cornflowers, larkspur, love-in-a-

mist.Other plants, often called

tender annuals, have seeds that will not survive a Montana winter. They include nastur-tiums, heliotrope, zinnias, and marigolds. If gardeners want to keep them growing from year to year instead of buying new seeds or plants, they must har-vest and store the seeds. Any seed to be saved has to be rip-ened on the plant. If seed pods are cut off while they are still green, the seed will be imma-ture and will never grow. The best way to identify mature seeds is to watch for the seed-pods to change color. When the pods are tan or brown, the seed is ripe. Since many plants open their seed pods and scat-ter their seeds, gardeners must


Plant FoodCrop Protection

Custom ApplicationSeed • Weed ControlFarm Planning Needs

115 Main StreetStevensville

cenexmontana.com

406-777-5441

Serving theBitterroot Valleyfor over 75 years!

own -- and bill the landowner for the work, plus a 25 percent fee. Failure to pay the bill means it can get tacked on to property tax bills or attached as a lien to land titles.

Since the measure was adopted in August, Morris said she’s been deluged with calls about problem weed areas. There’s been wide support for the plan, she said, although there has also been scattered criticism from residents upset that their rights are being vio-lated.

While anonymous complaints are being responded to, Morris said, priority is being given to complaints from individuals who give their names when raising concerns about weedy areas.

“What we are doing now is looking at the property and making sure the complaints are legitimate,” Morris said. “Once we do that, we can work with the landowner to develop a plan.”

Key to the program is making sure the weed office has a big toolbox to use when addressing weed problems on private land. Some people may not have the money to create an ambitious weed-killing program; others may have limited mobility; still others may want to kill weeds but not use a chemical.

“We have been doing this already for years and a lot of people did not realize that,” Morris said. “And what we have now to tackle this problem are options to fit everyone’s budget and lifestyle.”

Treatment options available to the county and landowners include herbicide, biological con-trols and good-old weed pulling. Any chemical used by the county under this program, Morris said, will be non-residual.

Morris said the department aims to be friendly and proactive in weed control on both private and public lands. Most people who have a weed problem on their land likely don’t know it.

“In many cases, people don’t know what nox-ious weeds are,” Morris told commissioners. “They think knapweed is the Bitterroot alfalfa.

It’s hard to convince folks these weeds are bad.”For more information, call the weed office at

777-5842.

Reach reporter Jeff Schmerker at 363-3300 or at [email protected].


ROB CHANEYOF THE MISSOULIAN

Japanese knotweed is the latest reason staff members at the Missoula County Weed District are losing sleep.

“It grows 10 or 15 feet in a year – it makes you feel like an excellent gardener,” weed district biologist Lindsey Bona

said as she surveyed a wall of the bamboo-like plant near Hawthorne Elementary School. “People are still mistakenly giv-ing it to each other.”

Like the attractive-but-treacherous Dalmatian toadflax and oxeye daisy, Japanese knotweed probably got started in Missoula as an ornamental

garden favorite. It puts out leaves as large as a man’s hand and sprays of white flowers. A single season’s growth will cre-ate a fence between neighbors even a cat can’t get through.

Then it reveals its true nature. Virtually nothing can out-compete knotweed, including all the native cotton-

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

A wall of Japanese knotweed growing near Hawthorne Elementary School hides a neighboring house as Missoula County Weed District analyst Lindsey Bona displays a sample stalk. The noxious weed regrows quickly when cut or dug up, and is resistant to many herbicides.

Japanese KnotweedAgriculture Quarterly, September 2010 - Page 21

After three months of frantic attempts to keep up with the garden, there is finally time to draw a breath, look around at all the plants we have been car-ing for, and enjoy the results of all that hard work in the long, hot days of summer. Sunrises are later, some days the wind has a cold bite. Sunshine on the shoulders feels friendly and warm instead of scorching and dehydrating. Gardeners are ready to move on from one season to the next.

There is time now to check the compost pile, to turn it, and to harvest whatever brown gold may be hiding at the bottom. There is never enough to satisfy our greed, of course, but plants will all show their gratitude next spring for compost spread around their roots this fall. There is no worry about a fall dusting of compost leeching all its nutrients down through the soil to contaminate the water table with excessive amounts of chemicals. Compost breaks down so gradually that it can provide both winter mulch and spring fertilizer. Mature com-post, ready to come out of the pile, looks like rich, dark brown soil. If there are still recogniz-able pieces of plants in the

Turn of the gardening season

MOLLY HACKETT

GEORGIANNA TAYLOR


is around 40 degrees, beef cattle need 4 to 9 gallons of water daily. Horses need 6 to 18 gallons of water and sheep require 2 to 7 gallons of water daily.

Again all water requirements are dependent on animal size, level of activity, stage of pro-duction, and temperature and environmental conditions.

The moisture content of the feed also affects how much drinking water the animal will need. Animals grazing lush pastures in the spring require less drinking water than those grazing drier fall pastures or eating hay. Feeds higher in

protein, salts and fiber also require higher water intake to facilitate digestion and to bal-ance body metabolites.

Understanding the nutri-tional needs of your grazing animal is very important to ensure the well being of your livestock throughout the year. Knowing how forage quality fluctuates in your pastures and hay will help you manage your production calendar and adjust your feeding plan to meet your animals’ nutrient needs. Pasture plants can vary widely in quality, depending on their growth stage, leaf concentra-tion and age – as well as on

environmental factors and time of year.

Livestock owners are always encouraged to check with their veterinarian on the nutritional needs of their animals. The MSU Ravalli County Extension Service can assist landowners in determining the quality of their forages.

To learn more about manag-ing your pastures for livestock use, contact the Ravalli County Extension Office at 375-6611 or [email protected].

Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010 - Page 17woods, rushes and willows that line Missoula’s waterways. Knotweed has sprung up along many of the city’s irrigation ditches, and the fear is it will reach the Clark Fork or Bitterroot river banks.

And once there, it’s very tough to kill. Even tiny root fragments left in the soil can start new plants. Cutting it triggers greater growth. And cut pieces can form their own plants. It can mus-cle through cracks in sidewalks and driveways.

Knotweed also appears very resistant to most common herbicides. A big patch near the city sewage treatment plant along Reserve Street shows little ill effect, despite a concentrated effort to kill it.

Its love for waterways further complicates matters, because herbicides used to kill the knotweed can flow downstream to others’ lawns, gardens and farms. Missoula County weed managers started their attack this month, trying to cut down patches and then spray the new growth as other plants go into fall dor-mancy.

Bona cautioned that other removal meth-ods need to be thorough. Those who’ve cut and piled knotweed have returned to find new sprouts growing in the debris. Someone brought in a photo of an osprey nest with a stalk of knotweed growing in it.

This year, Missoula County has some grant money to send crews out to attack knotweed infestations and help revegetate areas. Bona said plants like lilac, buffalo berry, dogwood and chokecherry make good replacements, although they don’t grow nearly as fast as knot-weed.

For more information about controlling Japanese knotweed, call the Missoula County Weed District at 258-4211 or visit the office at 2825 Santa Fe Court.


BOBBIE ROOSMSU RAVALLI COUNTY EXTENSION

Just like the humans who care for them, all domes-tic grazing animals need adequate essential nutrients in their daily diets. Essential nutrients are needed by all liv-ing animals. Grazing livestock need carbohydrates and fat for energy along with protein, vita-mins, minerals and water.

Nutrient requirements vary by species, age, stage of pro-duction and environmental conditions. Understanding nutrient requirements of graz-

ing animals is fundamental for managing forage resources to meet production goals and objectives.

Energy is the fuel for all bodily processes – breathing, walking, eating, growth, lacta-tion and reproduction. Except for water, energy is the No. 1 substance needed by animals. The primary form of energy for grazing animals is forage. Forage plants contain digest-ible fibers, sugars and soluble carbohydrates and a limited amount of starches and fats.

Grazing animals use energy for both maintenance and non-

maintenance functions. Maintenance energy is the

fuel used to keep the animal alive without losing or gaining weight. Cold weather, mud, increased walking and larger body size increase the amount of energy needed for mainte-nance.

Energy above maintenance use is converted into non-maintenance functions such as reproduction, lactation, growth and work.

Protein is the basic com-ponent used to make all tis-sue – muscle, bone, shin, hair organs and milk. Protein is also

Animals Need Proper Nutrition Too


important for daily repair and replace-ment of cells and tis-sue. Plant protein is a grazing animal’s pri-mary source of protein and the amino acids from digested protein are used to build and replace tissue.

Grazing livestock that have fully devel-oped rumens utilize forage differently than simple stomach animals. An animal with a rumen is known as a ruminant and digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the first stomach, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called “ruminating.” This enables the animal to utilize lower quality protein and the fibrous parts of grasses, legumes and forbs. Ruminating mammals include cattle, goats, sheep, giraffes, bison, yaks, water buffalo, deer, camels, alpacas, llamas, wildebeest, antelope, pronghorn and nil-gai. The word “ruminant” comes from the Latin ruminare, which means “to chew over again.”

Minerals are important for a variety of func-tions in the grazing animal. Minerals combine with proteins to form structures such as bones and teeth, help transmit nerve impulses, form enzymes or carry oxygen. In areas with sufficient rainfall or irrigation, well-managed forages sup-ply a large percentage of the minerals needed by grazing livestock. However, soil fertility, soil pH, forage species and forage quality all affect forage mineral content.

Vitamins are involved in the regulation of metabolism and affect reproduction, skin and coat quality, and immune system function. Grazing animals usually get enough vitamin A and E from lush green forage and the produce vitamin D in response to sunlight. Vitamin C and K requirements are low and are provided by the diet, and in ruminant animals the microbes found in the rumen produce nearly all the B vitamins needed. However, nonruminants must consume these vitamins daily.

Water is probably the most vital of the essential nutrients required by all animals. Water is required to maintain proper bodily functions. Water is lost through sweating, respiration and urina-tion. An animal can lose only 10 percent of its body weight before the situation becomes critical. This loss can happen in a matter of

days and can result in death.Therefore it is important to provide animals

with adequate quantities of the best quality, clean water available at all times. Animals can obtain water from three sources: drinking water, feed and metabolism. Drinking water is the most important.

Water requirements vary, depending on ani-mal species, age and stage of production, envi-ronmental conditions, and quantity and quality of feed. For example, when the temperature


BOBBIE ROOSMSU RAVALLI COUNTY EXTENSION

Just like the humans who care for them, all domes-tic grazing animals need adequate essential nutrients in their daily diets. Essential nutrients are needed by all liv-ing animals. Grazing livestock need carbohydrates and fat for energy along with protein, vita-mins, minerals and water.

Nutrient requirements vary by species, age, stage of pro-duction and environmental conditions. Understanding nutrient requirements of graz-

ing animals is fundamental for managing forage resources to meet production goals and objectives.

Energy is the fuel for all bodily processes – breathing, walking, eating, growth, lacta-tion and reproduction. Except for water, energy is the No. 1 substance needed by animals. The primary form of energy for grazing animals is forage. Forage plants contain digest-ible fibers, sugars and soluble carbohydrates and a limited amount of starches and fats.

Grazing animals use energy for both maintenance and non-

maintenance functions. Maintenance energy is the

fuel used to keep the animal alive without losing or gaining weight. Cold weather, mud, increased walking and larger body size increase the amount of energy needed for mainte-nance.

Energy above maintenance use is converted into non-maintenance functions such as reproduction, lactation, growth and work.

Protein is the basic com-ponent used to make all tis-sue – muscle, bone, shin, hair organs and milk. Protein is also

Animals Need Proper Nutrition Too


important for daily repair and replace-ment of cells and tis-sue. Plant protein is a grazing animal’s pri-mary source of protein and the amino acids from digested protein are used to build and replace tissue.

Grazing livestock that have fully devel-oped rumens utilize forage differently than simple stomach animals. An animal with a rumen is known as a ruminant and digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the first stomach, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called “ruminating.” This enables the animal to utilize lower quality protein and the fibrous parts of grasses, legumes and forbs. Ruminating mammals include cattle, goats, sheep, giraffes, bison, yaks, water buffalo, deer, camels, alpacas, llamas, wildebeest, antelope, pronghorn and nil-gai. The word “ruminant” comes from the Latin ruminare, which means “to chew over again.”

Minerals are important for a variety of func-tions in the grazing animal. Minerals combine with proteins to form structures such as bones and teeth, help transmit nerve impulses, form enzymes or carry oxygen. In areas with sufficient rainfall or irrigation, well-managed forages sup-ply a large percentage of the minerals needed by grazing livestock. However, soil fertility, soil pH, forage species and forage quality all affect forage mineral content.

Vitamins are involved in the regulation of metabolism and affect reproduction, skin and coat quality, and immune system function. Grazing animals usually get enough vitamin A and E from lush green forage and the produce vitamin D in response to sunlight. Vitamin C and K requirements are low and are provided by the diet, and in ruminant animals the microbes found in the rumen produce nearly all the B vitamins needed. However, nonruminants must consume these vitamins daily.

Water is probably the most vital of the essential nutrients required by all animals. Water is required to maintain proper bodily functions. Water is lost through sweating, respiration and urina-tion. An animal can lose only 10 percent of its body weight before the situation becomes critical. This loss can happen in a matter of

days and can result in death.Therefore it is important to provide animals

with adequate quantities of the best quality, clean water available at all times. Animals can obtain water from three sources: drinking water, feed and metabolism. Drinking water is the most important.

Water requirements vary, depending on ani-mal species, age and stage of production, envi-ronmental conditions, and quantity and quality of feed. For example, when the temperature


is around 40 degrees, beef cattle need 4 to 9 gallons of water daily. Horses need 6 to 18 gallons of water and sheep require 2 to 7 gallons of water daily.

Again all water requirements are dependent on animal size, level of activity, stage of pro-duction, and temperature and environmental conditions.

The moisture content of the feed also affects how much drinking water the animal will need. Animals grazing lush pastures in the spring require less drinking water than those grazing drier fall pastures or eating hay. Feeds higher in

protein, salts and fiber also require higher water intake to facilitate digestion and to bal-ance body metabolites.

Understanding the nutri-tional needs of your grazing animal is very important to ensure the well being of your livestock throughout the year. Knowing how forage quality fluctuates in your pastures and hay will help you manage your production calendar and adjust your feeding plan to meet your animals’ nutrient needs. Pasture plants can vary widely in quality, depending on their growth stage, leaf concentra-tion and age – as well as on

environmental factors and time of year.

Livestock owners are always encouraged to check with their veterinarian on the nutritional needs of their animals. The MSU Ravalli County Extension Service can assist landowners in determining the quality of their forages.

To learn more about manag-ing your pastures for livestock use, contact the Ravalli County Extension Office at 375-6611 or [email protected].

Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010 - Page 17woods, rushes and willows that line Missoula’s waterways. Knotweed has sprung up along many of the city’s irrigation ditches, and the fear is it will reach the Clark Fork or Bitterroot river banks.

And once there, it’s very tough to kill. Even tiny root fragments left in the soil can start new plants. Cutting it triggers greater growth. And cut pieces can form their own plants. It can mus-cle through cracks in sidewalks and driveways.

Knotweed also appears very resistant to most common herbicides. A big patch near the city sewage treatment plant along Reserve Street shows little ill effect, despite a concentrated effort to kill it.

Its love for waterways further complicates matters, because herbicides used to kill the knotweed can flow downstream to others’ lawns, gardens and farms. Missoula County weed managers started their attack this month, trying to cut down patches and then spray the new growth as other plants go into fall dor-mancy.

Bona cautioned that other removal meth-ods need to be thorough. Those who’ve cut and piled knotweed have returned to find new sprouts growing in the debris. Someone brought in a photo of an osprey nest with a stalk of knotweed growing in it.

This year, Missoula County has some grant money to send crews out to attack knotweed infestations and help revegetate areas. Bona said plants like lilac, buffalo berry, dogwood and chokecherry make good replacements, although they don’t grow nearly as fast as knot-weed.

For more information about controlling Japanese knotweed, call the Missoula County Weed District at 258-4211 or visit the office at 2825 Santa Fe Court.


ROB CHANEYOF THE MISSOULIAN

Japanese knotweed is the latest reason staff members at the Missoula County Weed District are losing sleep.

“It grows 10 or 15 feet in a year – it makes you feel like an excellent gardener,” weed district biologist Lindsey Bona

said as she surveyed a wall of the bamboo-like plant near Hawthorne Elementary School. “People are still mistakenly giv-ing it to each other.”

Like the attractive-but-treacherous Dalmatian toadflax and oxeye daisy, Japanese knotweed probably got started in Missoula as an ornamental

garden favorite. It puts out leaves as large as a man’s hand and sprays of white flowers. A single season’s growth will cre-ate a fence between neighbors even a cat can’t get through.

Then it reveals its true nature. Virtually nothing can out-compete knotweed, including all the native cotton-

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

A wall of Japanese knotweed growing near Hawthorne Elementary School hides a neighboring house as Missoula County Weed District analyst Lindsey Bona displays a sample stalk. The noxious weed regrows quickly when cut or dug up, and is resistant to many herbicides.

Japanese KnotweedAgriculture Quarterly, September 2010 - Page 21

After three months of frantic attempts to keep up with the garden, there is finally time to draw a breath, look around at all the plants we have been car-ing for, and enjoy the results of all that hard work in the long, hot days of summer. Sunrises are later, some days the wind has a cold bite. Sunshine on the shoulders feels friendly and warm instead of scorching and dehydrating. Gardeners are ready to move on from one season to the next.

There is time now to check the compost pile, to turn it, and to harvest whatever brown gold may be hiding at the bottom. There is never enough to satisfy our greed, of course, but plants will all show their gratitude next spring for compost spread around their roots this fall. There is no worry about a fall dusting of compost leeching all its nutrients down through the soil to contaminate the water table with excessive amounts of chemicals. Compost breaks down so gradually that it can provide both winter mulch and spring fertilizer. Mature com-post, ready to come out of the pile, looks like rich, dark brown soil. If there are still recogniz-able pieces of plants in the

Turn of the gardening season

MOLLY HACKETT

GEORGIANNA TAYLOR


compost, they are better left in the pile for another year.

Usually the top three-quarters of a pile needs more decay time and only the bot-tom few inches are ready for their next cycle through the garden. There are several ways to separate finished and unfinished compost. We like to fork piles of it onto a piece of half-inch screen, or hardware cloth, and rub it with the edge of a garden knife or trowel. Everything that falls through is finished compost. The rest goes back into the compost bin to continue its recycling until next year.

This is a good time of year to spread some of that com-post on the patches of lawn that look less than lush. With

cooler weather and shorter days, the grass looks happy again and any patches of poor soil underneath are very vis-ible. Spreading half an inch of compost, home-made or purchased, on those patches will feed the grass. Too deep a layer might kill the grass under-neath, but the plants can grow right through a half inch.

Annual flowers are finishing their time of bloom and ripen-ing seeds to grow seeds to grow next year’s plants. Some of them can be left alone. The seeds will ripen, drop onto the ground, live through the winter and begin to grow at the proper time next spring. These are called half-half hardy annuals. They include poppies, cornflowers, larkspur, love-in-a-

mist.Other plants, often called

tender annuals, have seeds that will not survive a Montana winter. They include nastur-tiums, heliotrope, zinnias, and marigolds. If gardeners want to keep them growing from year to year instead of buying new seeds or plants, they must har-vest and store the seeds. Any seed to be saved has to be rip-ened on the plant. If seed pods are cut off while they are still green, the seed will be imma-ture and will never grow. The best way to identify mature seeds is to watch for the seed-pods to change color. When the pods are tan or brown, the seed is ripe. Since many plants open their seed pods and scat-ter their seeds, gardeners must


Plant FoodCrop Protection

Custom ApplicationSeed • Weed ControlFarm Planning Needs

115 Main StreetStevensville

cenexmontana.com

406-777-5441

Serving theBitterroot Valleyfor over 75 years!

own -- and bill the landowner for the work, plus a 25 percent fee. Failure to pay the bill means it can get tacked on to property tax bills or attached as a lien to land titles.

Since the measure was adopted in August, Morris said she’s been deluged with calls about problem weed areas. There’s been wide support for the plan, she said, although there has also been scattered criticism from residents upset that their rights are being vio-lated.

While anonymous complaints are being responded to, Morris said, priority is being given to complaints from individuals who give their names when raising concerns about weedy areas.

“What we are doing now is looking at the property and making sure the complaints are legitimate,” Morris said. “Once we do that, we can work with the landowner to develop a plan.”

Key to the program is making sure the weed office has a big toolbox to use when addressing weed problems on private land. Some people may not have the money to create an ambitious weed-killing program; others may have limited mobility; still others may want to kill weeds but not use a chemical.

“We have been doing this already for years and a lot of people did not realize that,” Morris said. “And what we have now to tackle this problem are options to fit everyone’s budget and lifestyle.”

Treatment options available to the county and landowners include herbicide, biological con-trols and good-old weed pulling. Any chemical used by the county under this program, Morris said, will be non-residual.

Morris said the department aims to be friendly and proactive in weed control on both private and public lands. Most people who have a weed problem on their land likely don’t know it.

“In many cases, people don’t know what nox-ious weeds are,” Morris told commissioners. “They think knapweed is the Bitterroot alfalfa.

It’s hard to convince folks these weeds are bad.”For more information, call the weed office at

777-5842.

Reach reporter Jeff Schmerker at 363-3300 or at [email protected].


JEFF SCHMERKER

Ravalli Republic























JEFF SCHMERKER

Ravalli Republic























JEFF SCHMERKER

Ravalli Republic






















LINDA KAUFFMANFOR THE RAVALLI REPUBLIC

As I have watched the Bitterroot Valley change from the early 1980s to the present, my opinion is that it has changed for the most part from rural to urban in setting. I have found many families that for various reasons want to share in that rural atmosphere by owning livestock.

In deciding if you want to have cattle, there are several questions you should address:

Am I raising animals to produce offspring? If so, am I going to market these animals or am I planning on increasing the herd size? This might easily be answered by the amount and type of land available to you.

What land resources do I have available to

keep these animals? Is my land irrigated or dry? How many animals will my property support? Am I going to lease pasture? Do I have the financial resources to buy hay to feed the ani-mals 9 to 12 months out of the year, depending on pasture availability and the weather?

Is there a year-round natural water source? How will I water the animals in freezing or sub-zero weather?

Do I have the fences and facilities to handle these animals?

Will I grain-feed these animals? Am I set up to feed them in a corral or small pasture? Cattle are often like schoolyard bullies: One takes charge and gets most or all of the feed, not let-ting the others eat – if the facilities are not set

The considerations of raising cattle in the Bitterroot Valley


Post & RailArchways

Yard & PasturePrivacy & Picket

Prompt Service • FREE EstimatesFully Insured • 35 Years Experience

Marlin Ostrander owner/contractor • MT contractor license #12574

See our Fence Display on North First Across from the “Smoke Stack” in Hamilton

363-6804

On Site Retail Store, Shipping avaliable.PHONE 363-3599 • [email protected] Sleeping Child Road, Hamilton • valleyirrigation.net

D E S I G N • I N S T A L L • R E P A I R

• Aluminum & Buried Mainline • Irrigation Pumps• Wheel moves, Handlines & Big Guns • Reinke Center Pivots

QUALITY IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT

We build & sell quality sprinkler stands.


“Hiving a package” is bee-keeper’s speak for introducing the bees to their new home.

Debnam said the event is kind of like a mini-seminar. If people want, they can even try it out for themselves so they’ll know just what to do when they get home.

Once the bees are intro-duced to their new hive, beekeepers need to perform a couple of simple precaution-ary steps to ensure their bees don’t come down with the dreaded foulbrood disease.

That’s as easy as picking up the common antibiotic Tetracycline from an agricul-tural store and mixing it with powdered sugar to feed to the

hive over a 15-day period.“You just sprinkle it on top

of the frame,” Debnam said. “It’s very important to treat for foulbrood. It’s such a vicious disease that once it gets into a hive, the only way to treat is to destroy the hive.”

Most beekeepers treat their hives for mites, too.

After that’s done, it’s time for the new beekeeper to learn some patience.

The first year, the bees will be focused on filling the frames inside the hive with wax. Once the combs are filled, then bee-keepers can begin harvesting the superfluous honey their bees will produce.

One frame will produce 10 pounds of honey, which is

enough to feed a family. “Bees are awesome,”

Debnam said. “If it was me or you that was snatched out of our bed and then moved 2,000 miles, we’d be mad and want to leave … bees just go right to work as soon as they’re put into their new hive.”

“Bees will take care of them-selves,” he said. “You just need to give them the freedom and space to be themselves. Bees just want to be bees.”

“Treat them good and they will treat you good,” Debnam said.

Want to learn more, go to http://agr.mt.gov/crops/bee-keepers.com Lifeline Creamery Farm Store

2424 Meridian Rd., Victor, MT 59875Store Hours: M-F 11-6pm, Sat 11-4pmBetween Victor Steakhouse & Victor Merc off Hwy 93

• Organic Cheddars• Organic Jacks

• Fresh Cheese Curds• Organic Brie & Feta

• Organic Sausages• Organic Meats• Organic Butter

• Fresh“Cream on the Top”

Organic Milk


up to control this.Do my neighbors have

cattle? Are the fences good? A heifer or cow in heat (ready to breed) will attract a bull from a great distance – fences are usually NO obstacle to him. In other words, if you don’t remove the bull and keep him separate except during the assigned breeding season, he will breed his 5- and 6-month-old daughters if they come into heat.

As a veterinarian, my primary concerns is, do you have facili-ties to handle these animals or a way to move them to a place where they can be confined and treated? At the very least, you need some way of confin-ing or corralling them to load in and out of a stock trailer.

My preference is heavy metal cattle panels, anchored to large diameter wooden posts, and ideally head catch equip-ment to further restrain them.

Another consideration is, are these animals pets or live-stock in your eyes? How much money are you willing to spend if they get sick? In the changing atmosphere of the valley, these are questions I have learned to ask to better determine a course of action or recommen-dation for a particular situation.

It comes down to finances and what you are willing to do as an owner regarding treatment of the animal if they are sick.

How will you handle these animals health-wise? Will you vaccinate to avoid preventable disease and possible death? Will you try to control parasites, internal and external?

Once you have decided that indeed you do have the facili-ties and financial resources to have cattle, then you likely will want to give some thought to what type of cattle best meet your needs and plans.

In general, the main dif-ference in types of cattle is: beef cattle and dairy cattle. More recently a third choice is miniature cattle. I have seen these cattle in a show or exhi-bition situation, but have little firsthand information. I would imagine they would make good pets, be fairly low cost related to feed and would likely be a choice for grazing down a few acres of grass. One of the original intentions was to reach a market for consumers who prefer smaller cuts of beef.

If you consider raising dairy cattle or even have just one cow for milk, remember she must be milked twice daily. Rain or shine, hot or cold,

the cow needs to be milked. Another option in this regard is to raise purchased calves (in addition to her own), that nurse the cow out once you have obtained the milk you want for your home use. The calves can then be sold or fattened and raised for slaughter.

Beef cattle – cows, calves or yearlings – are often purchased just to graze down a few acres.

The questions I posed earlier are still very relevant whether you are talking about beef, dairy or miniature cattle.

I have not addressed specific nutritional needs or specific health care in this article, but these are things you need to discuss with your chosen vet-erinarian.

Whatever you decide to do with regard to raising cattle, be sure you’re prepared and informed before the auction-eer’s gavel hits the podium or the handshake with the pro-ducer down the road occurs.

I hope you can get a glimpse of the lifestyle I’ve known all my life and share the love I have for those big brown-eyed crea-tures.

Enjoy them, but be sure you know what you are getting into!


MAL WESTCOTTFOR THE RAVALLI REPUBLIC

Cereals such as barley, oats, wheat and triticale are some-times grown for forage crops rather than for grain. This is a common practice in the Bitterroot, most often seen in fields being rotated out of alfalfa for a year or two. The cereal is harvested for hay at an immature stage, most desirably

in the period between flower-ing (anthesis) and soft-dough stages of development. This will provide the highest quality of forage.

A common problem in cereal hays is the accumulation of nitrate to potentially toxic lev-els. Nitrate presents a hazard to livestock once it enters the bloodstream, where it replaces oxygen on hemoglobin mol-

ecules, resulting in anoxia, a lack of oxygen. This can be manifested as aborted calves or even the death of adult ani-mals.

If a hay contains nitrate levels over 0.3 percent, recommen-dations call for mixing it with nitrate-free feeds before being fed to livestock. The percent-age of nitrate-free feeds in the ration should be increased as

Nitrate In Cereal Hay Presents Danger

PERRY BACKUSRAVALLI REPUBLIC

So you want to become a beekeeper, but you have no idea how to make that happen.

Well it’s not really all that hard, says Scott Debnam, the University of Montana’s senior beekeeper.

You can get all the supplies you need in starter kits that range from $145 to $359 for the advanced package that includes a hive, frames and a full bee suit from wholesalers on the Internet.

The most important part comes from right here in Montana.

Beginning beekeepers can purchase a three-pound pack-

age of honey bees – that’s about 15,000 to 20,000 of the critters – and a queen bee from Western Bee in Polson.

“They are the No. 1 supplier of bees in the whole world,” Debnam said. “They have a long history in the business of bees.”

Typically, a package of bees will run you about $70 or so.

By midsummer, your invest-ment will have more than tripled.

“By July, you could have 75,000 bees working for you,” Debnam said. “Once a queen starts laying, she produces up to 3,000 eggs a day. She lays up to three times her body weight.”

You need to plan ahead to

make this all happen, though.Bee orders need to be

placed by February. The folks at Western Bee will

make the trip to California to pick up your bees.

And then, just to make it all a bit easier, the University of Montana’s beekeepers make the drive back and forth from Polson to pick up the packages for beekeepers in the Missoula area.

“For the last two years, we drove to Polson to pick up everyone’s bees who live close to Missoula,” Debnam said. “And then those people who come to Fort Missoula to pick up their bees can watch us hiv-ing our packages.”

Make Your Own Honey As A Beekeeper



twin daughters peeling peach skins with such precision that the rest were hard-pressed to keep up.

Before I had time to offer my services, my dad stuffed $10 in my pocket and commanded I run to the store for more can-ning lids. I returned just in time to be sent to the basement for more jars.

It wasn’t long before my sister’s back was aching and I took over pitting duties and the race to keep up with my daughters. As the last peach slid into the jar, they finally noticed their entire mid-sec-tions were covered in sticky juice and they laughed instead of complained.

As my dad set the last batch of bottles to be processed in

his contrived outdoor kitchen, I said, “Your mother would be so jealous.”

He silently shook his head in agreement.

I remember my grandma’s kitchen in the fall. She was the epitome of homemaking prow-ess with her ability to bake bread, keep a spotless house and line her pantry with jars of preserves.

While I never learned to love a bowl of her bottled cherries or a bite of pickled beets, I’d give anything to sit and eat with her now.

My kids are lucky enough to have similar harvest-time memories with both sets of their grandparents. They have learned to pick raspberries and make blue-ribbon jam. They

know the process of taking fruit from the tree to the jar and enjoying it midwinter. They’ve shredded zucchini and stacked the bags in the freezer for future baking treasures.

But I have shielded them from canning tomatoes, mainly because I don’t have to try very hard to still feel the sting of tomato juice in my eye while smashing them through the Victorio strainer as a kid. Nevertheless, when I really need tomatoes, I know mom’s got a shelf full.

Of all the activities grandpar-ents can do with their grand-children, teaching harvest-time skills might just be at the top of our family’s list – right next to learning the intrinsically impor-tant game of football. WillingServantsMT.org • 406-363-2898

Willing Servants is dedicated to the humane treatment of abandoned,

neglected or abused equines.

Our purpose is to provide permanent or temporary housing, food, health care, and, when necessary, a fi nal act of kindness.

Additionally, Willing Servants assists owners with equine education and also in

times of personal or natural catastrophe. We will always strive to serve, with respect

and dignity. Willing Servants is a non-profi t organization

the nitrate level in the affected hay increases. If the hay has a nitrate level over 1.2 percent, it shouldn’t be fed at all.

What can be done to reduce the chances of growing a hay crop with toxic levels of nitrate?

Bear in mind that nitrate will be present in your soils regard-less of farming practices. Even without fertilization, nitrate is a naturally-occurring molecule playing a significant role in the nitrogen cycle. But also be aware that application of nutrient sources, whether from chemical fertilizer, manure, compost, or turning under of nitrogen-rich crop residues (such as alfalfa roots) will increase the level of nitrate in the soil. The higher the soil nitrate level, the higher the chances of toxic levels of nitrate in the hay produced.

So there’s a balance that needs to be considered between fertilization for yield and quality vs. the potential for nitrate problems developing. But, obviously, coming out of alfalfa, there’s going to be a fair amount of residual nitrate beyond the control of the pro-ducer.

Crop maturity is also a con-sideration. The nitrate level in plants will tend to decline as the plant matures. A field of cereal hay might be at the

desired stage for forage quality considerations, but if a tested sample shows undesirable nitrate levels, a producer can choose to wait before harvest-ing and in most cases will see a decline in nitrate levels.

Thought should be given to the selection of a suitable cereal forage species. Field research conducted here in the Bitterroot Valley at the Western Agricultural Research Center (WARC), Corvallis, and in the Judith Basin at the Central Agricultural Research Center, Moccasin, showed clearly that of five different cereal species (two varieties of each of oats, wheat, barley, triticale and spelt), oats accumulated nitrate much more readily than the other species in high-nitrate environments.

If the potential for nitrate accumulation was low, for instance where the nitrogen fertilization was low and the crops were harvested at a late stage of maturity, nitrate was uniformly low in all species.

But when nitrogen fertiliza-tion was high, and the crops harvested at anthesis, oats were significantly higher in nitrate levels than the other species. Oats were also sig-nificantly more likely to accu-mulate toxic levels in the mid-range of accumulation

potential.Another point for con-

sideration is the balance of other soil nutrients. Work conducted at WARC and at the Northwestern Agricultural Research Center, Creston, showed that in some instances, the addition of sulfur to the soil, along with the nitrogen fertilizer, significantly reduced the accumulation of nitrate in Haybet barley.

This was the case when the nitrogen to sulfur ration in harvested plants was over 14 to 16. This is roughly the ratio of nitrogen to sulfur in plant protein, indicating that a deficiency of sulfur may lead to nitrate accumulation by restricting protein manufacture in the plants.

The take-home message is that an overall soil fertility pro-gram is as important in cereal nitrate management as it is in overall yield and quality.

Your County Extension office can provide you with additional information on managing cereal hays.

Mal Westcott is a profes-sor and superintendent of the Western Agricultural Research Center at Montana State University.



RAVALLI REPUBLIC

Two Bitterroot Valley ranches have been recognized in the American Angus Association’s 2010 Fall Sire Evaluation Report. Mytty Angus Ranch of Florence owns six bulls listed in the fall report published by the association, which is based in St. Joseph, Mo., and issues reports in spring and fall. The new report features the latest performance information available on 5,871 sires, and is currently accessible at www.angussiresearch.com. In addition, Cara P.

and Thomas W. Ayres of Stevensville own one bull listed in the fall evaluation. “This report provides both Angus breeders and commercial cattle producers using Angus genetics with accurate, predictable selection tools for improving their herd,” says Bill Bowman, American Angus Association chief operating offi cer and director of performance programs. Expected Progeny Differences are generated from the performance database of the American Angus Association, which

includes information submitted by nearly 9,000 Angus breeders this past year through the Association’s Beef Improvement Records program. The fall 2010 evaluation includes updated research reports for heifer pregnancy and docility. Expected Progeny Differences are listed for growth and maternal traits, as well as carcass traits that integrate performance records from the carcass, ultrasound and DNA databases. Decision-making tools also include $Values, the suite

Local Ranches Recognized in 2010 American Angus Association Fale SireEvaluation Report


My parents’ kitchen recently transformed into a beehive of activity with a singular goal of all on duty – to bottle the baskets of peaches before bed-time.

The scene brought back vivid memories of my childhood, when gardening, canning and football seemed to be my dad’s only fall-time pleasures.

True to the past yet evolved with ele-ments of the present: The flat-screen, high-definition television was blasting college football, my mom was prepping glass bottles and lids, my sister sat slicing and pitting, and my dad ran in and out with bowls of blanched peaches boiled on his portable propane burner on the back patio.

In the midst of it all stood my 12-year-old

Duce’s Wild

Stacie Duce

Preserving Harvest An Important Skill


out the window at the tree and saw a raccoon staring back at me,” she laughed. “I guess rac-coons like my apples too.”

All but an acre around her home has been sold and the ground across her fence is now fallow. Her parent’s home is no longer standing and even her husband passed away seven years ago. But the stoic apple trees remain.

Barbara has no intention of leaving the land where she has spent most of her 60-plus years. She has her dog, Cooper, for company and plenty of apple chores to keep her busy this autumn and beyond.

BONDED

35+ YEARSEXPERIENCELICENSED INSURED

PHONE: 406-363-5139 CELL: 406-239-4721Bitterroot Spraying Service wants to remind you that it is

important to schedule your spraying service early!

Bitterroot Spraying ServiceOnsite Inspection • Land Management Plans

Complete Herbicide Application for Small AcreagesFertilizing and More

363-0235 LICENSEDINSURED

CUSTOM CUT CONSTRUCTION Foundation to Trim...

Let us build your dreams!BOB CUMMINGS

CUSTOM HOMESREMODELING

POLE BARNSHORSE STALLS

GARAGES


of bio-economic indexes designed to assist commercial producers in simplifying the genetic selection process. In addition, the Fall 2010 Sire Evaluation Report includes updated research reports for docility and heifer pregnancy.

The semi-annual analysis for the Sire Evaluation Report utilizes more than 19 million measures used to generate over 55 million EPDs for the Angus breed.The American Angus Association provides programs

and services for nearly 33,000 members nationwide and thousands of commercial producers who use Angus genetics. Go to www.angus.org for more information.

ROB CHANEY/MissoulianA recent sale of Mytty Angus Ranch Bulls.



A Barn in a Bank








363-3351

$2399$999






















A Barn in a Bank








363-3351

$2399$999




















was removed. The original cedar shingles let shafts of light into the interior, but the wood trusses still appear to be in good condition. Quinty steps back out into the bright sunshine, and trots down the bank to the barn’s lower level. I admire her fortitude as she collects foxtails with her fl ip-fl opped feet and knit tights. She pays no attention, forging on to show me more of the barn’s secrets. She pries open another worn door, and we carefully step into the gloom of the basement under the house portion of the building. There are two rows of milking stanchions, a total of about a dozen, with space for fodder, and drainage troughs built with

two perpendicular layers of heavy planks in the fl oor. Cows, right under the kitchen! That’s a European tradition for sure. An alleyway leads to the basement under the barn, but access is blocked by old planks and siding, so we go back outside. “Yikes!” Quinty exclaims, “There’s a regular river running under the barn here! I don’t remember that when we played here as children.” We peer into the barn basement, but would need rubber boots to go further. We can see another dozen milking stanchions, an area that might have been used for processing milk, and a manger for draft horses, complete with two old harness collars and a bridle hanging on the wall.

A FULL SERVICE BUILDING & CONTRACTING COMPANY

Specializing in:• Pole Buildings• Horse Barns• Wood Frame Metal Clad Buildings• Pre-Engineered All-Steel Buildings• Garages• Drafting & Design

1345 Hwy 93 N., Ste 2, Victor • 961-6808www.schrockconstructioninc.com


STACIE DUCEFOR THE RAVALLI REPUBLIC

While Ravalli County’s apple business didn’t blos-som as some hoped more than 100 years ago, remnants of vast orchards are an annual reminder that even small har-vests can be sweet.

On the edges of many Bitterroot Valley ranches, farms and fields sit haphazard apple trees. Most are McIntosh by variety. Some are prized pos-sessions yielding just enough

fruit to keep a family in apple-sauce and sweet cider for the season. Other deserted trees have become gnarled dessert buffets attended only by nib-bling deer.

For the Rennaker family

whose cattle ranch is nestled on Old Darby Road, antique apple trees lean against wooden fences. When the branches become heavy and lean nearly to the ground of the dusty road, it’s time for

the family to gather and press cider in ceremonious fashion.

“We have four trees and the neighbors let us have their apples,” said Lillian Rennaker. They use an old cider press brought by her father-in-law when he came to the Bitterroot from Missouri in the 1920s, at age 18.

“It’s a cool old press,” she said. “It’s been fixed two or three times, but it certainly works.”

For years, they have turned

Bitterroot’s Apple-Laden Legacy Endures


IN THIS ISSUEBitterroot’s Apple-laden Legacy Endures ... 5

Preserving Harvest An Important Skill ........ 9

Make Your Own Honey As A Beekeeper .. 11

County Weed District Adopts New Plan .. 14

Japanese Knotweed ................................... 16

Animals Need Proper Nutrition Too ......... 18

Turn of the Gardening Season ................... 21

The considerations of raising Cattle in the Bitterroot Valley .......................................... 24

Nitrate in Cereal Hay Presents Danger ..... 26

Local Ranches Recognized ........................ 28

Agricultural Heritage Notebook ............... 30

How did you like our second issue of Agriculture Quarterly? Do you have any ideas you’d like to share with us for our next issue?

Let us know. Sent comments to: 232 West Main, Hamilton, MT 59840 or [email protected] this page: top to bottom, Will Moss, Will Moss,

Agriculture Quarterly is published by the

Ravalli Republic Newspaper

a division of Lee Enterprises

Kristen BoundsPublisher

Sherry Devlin, EditorClint Burson,

Dara Saltzman & Jodi Wright,

Production & DesignBrent Schlimgen & Cheryl Tenold,

Project Sales

Agriculture Quarterly is copyright 2010,

Ravalli Republic.

ravalli republic

232 west Main StreetHamilton, MT 59840

ravallirepublic.com

Working to ensure that important local places, stories, and traditions are stewarded for future generations.

Contribute ONLINE and receive a FREE 1 year membership to the National Trust for Historic Preservation (includes Preservation Magazine)

406.375.9953 www.BRCHT.org

Cool air surrounds us even though the temperature outside is nearing 90 degrees. We speculate about why someone would build a barn on top of a spring-fed creek and marsh, risking serious deterioration of the foundation, and come up with a possible answer. If all the drainage troughs were still intact, water could fl ow from one end of the barn basement to an outlet under the opposite end. The water would not only wash away waste from the milk cows, but would keep cans of milk cool until they could be taken to market. My later research on the technique used to build this barn revealed it to be a bank barn, more common in Minnesota than Montana. The advantages are ease of fi lling the upper story with hay from ground level, and more constant temperature for animals housed in the basement, with direct access to pasture or corrals, usually on the south or east side of the building. Quinty excuses herself and I poke around for another half hour or so, snapping more photos to show construction methods that might help date the structure. I stop at the house to thank my hostess, and fi nd her on the sun porch, artist’s paintbrush in hand. I later fi nd out that her mother was an artist and musician of extraordinary talent. The legacy continues. My research is just beginning. My fi rst stop is the Ravalli County courthouse, Clerk and Recorder’s offi ce, to trace the chain of title on the property. It was originally part of a 160-acre homestead granted to Edwin W. Waddel in 1892. Waddel owned it until 1902, when he sold part of it to W.E. McMurry and his wife Grace. The McMurrys deeded it to Hamilton Nurseries, a company they formed, in 1908, and they built up a large operation that provided fruit tree seedlings to the many orchards that were springing up across the Bitterroot Valley at the time. Unfortunately, with the end of the apple boom, Hamilton Nurseries was forced to relinquish the land to mortgage holder Citizens State Bank in 1918. The next deed was to Evan Spasoff in 1929. Mention is made in that deed of a previous lease between Citizen’s State Bank and Spasoff, so he may have begun farming it shortly after Hamilton Nurseries folded. Fannie Spasoff enters the chain of title in 1932, and the couple owned the property until their deaths in 1962 and ’64. Bettye Smith is named as buyer on a deed from the Ravalli County public administrator in 1965. To fl esh out the barn’s story, I head to the Ravalli County Museum, and its archive of newspapers that

begin in the 1800s. I fi nd obituaries for W.E. McMurry and for both Spasoffs. McMurry came to the Bitterroot from Minnesota (remember bank barn?) at the turn of the century, via Missoula, and worked in a mercantile store in downtown Hamilton before he began cultivating fruit trees. He also served a short term as mayor of Hamilton. Evan Spasoff emigrated from his native Bulgaria in 1910, lived for a short time in Minneapolis (another Minnesota connection!) then moved to the Bitterroot. He became the leader of a large scale Bulgarian truck farming cooperative that shipped high quality produce by wagon over Skalkaho pass to Anaconda and Butte to satisfy the miners’ appetites for fresh vegetables. Western News calls Spasoff “a farmer of great ability, a most industrious worker.” Spasoff’s wife Fannie came to the Bitterroot later from Iowa. An article appearing in Western News after Fannie’s death explains why the farm property was then auctioned. Evan Spasoff apparently had a son by a previous marriage. In both Evan’s and Fannie’s wills, that son was left $1.00 from the estate, thus eliminating the possibility of an inheritance claim. There is no doubt an interesting story attached to that bit of information, but no one is left to tell it. Armed with the bare facts, I do some more sleuthing, calling a friend whose surname matches that of one of Evan Spasoff’s pallbearers. She is unable to give me any more details about the barn, but refers me to another friend who happens to be the daughter of one of the other Bulgarian cooperative farmers who lived next door to the Spasoffs. I call a charming Virginia Koloff Simmons and chat for quite some time. She recalls that “Mr. Spasoff had a beautiful barn” and that she used to pick berries at his place. She didn’t remember whether he also ran a dairy, but does admit that several times when taking a forbidden shortcut to the berry patch, over a stile


and through the pasture, she was chased more than once by a bull wearing a nose ring and chain that did not serve to slow him down. She said, “I think my mother paddled me a few times to discourage use of that path to Spasoffs!” Further research might reveal the exact date of the origin of the barn and its attached house. Evidence including the bank barn’s basic design, gambrel roof construction, and design details of the milking stanchions points to pre-World War I. Most likely it was built by the McMurrys, who may have lived in the house portion while they planned and began building the grander abode nearby when their orchard business was booming. Some of the construction details of the older house are similar to those used in the newer one, which might even be an indication that all three structures were kit-built. During the early 1900s pre-cut materials and plans for houses and barns could be purchased by mail-order from a number of different companies. This might

explain the window located in the wall between the house and the barn in spite of the lack of daylight or view. The odd transom over the door leading to the barn might have been intended to circulate air from a nonexistent sunporch that was instead replaced by a barn. A dormer entrance on the north side of the barn leads to nothing but open space both inside and out. The builders also evidently had diffi culty fi guring out how to attach a gambrel roof barn to a simple gabled roof house while still utilize a common wall. I would characterize the joint as “cobbled together.” Whatever their construction history, it is obvious that the human history associated with these buildings is disappearing with the passing of folks who remember the details. We are losing the race against time to preserve our important cultural roots. Those roots are what bind us together in a community, and are well worth the effort it takes to nourish them.


Fall is the loveliest of sea-sons in the Bitterroot Valley, as the colors along the river intensify and then grow muted, preparing for winter.

It is the busiest season, of course, in the valley’s historic orchards – both those in the commercial apple-producing business and those with a handful of trees tended by

families and neighbors.My children and I have long loved visiting the

orchards in fall, sometimes picking our own apples, sometimes picking up a ready-to-go box and a gallon or two of cider. Combine that with a hike up a moun-tain canyon or along the river at the refuge, and there’s no finer fall day.

I was reminded of those outings while reading Stacie Duce’s great stories for this edition of the Ravalli Republic’s Agriculture Quarterly – one on the antique, and now hobby, orchards in the Bitterroot Valley; the other on her family’s much-loved canning traditions.

Fall is also the time, it turns out, to give serious thought to another agriculture pursuit: beekeeping. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a commercial beekeeper, you’ll want to read Perry Backus’ story on the industry and the many local experts available to help novices and experts alike. Here’s a hint: Start planning (and ordering) now for next year’s hives.

This edition of Agriculture Quarterly also includes a pair of must-read articles on weeds – and their control – from Jeff Schmerker and Rob Chaney. One brings alarming news of a new and particularly aggressive weed invading western Montana: Japanese knotweed can grow 15 feet in a year, which makes it essential to get after quickly.

In addition, we have a variety of extremely informa-tive columns from our friends in the Bitterroot Valley on cattle management, the care and tending of hobby cows, nitrates in hay and more.

I think you’ll enjoy our salute to fall and agriculture. If you have ideas for stories you’d like to see in future editions, please drop me a line at [email protected].

A note of introduction from the Editor

In 1918 and 1919, sugar beets were a popular crop in the Bitterroot Valley.

SHERRY DEVLINphoto KURT WILSON - Missoulian

2010 Ravalli County Fair

thank youfairgoers for making this year’s fair a huge success!

1st annual A p p l e D ay Demolition Derby

October 2, 2010 - 4pmgates open at 3pm at the Ravalli County Fairgroundsentry forms & tickets availableat the Fair Office

Pack Horse Cubes50lb.

Omolene #100 Horse Feed

50lb.

12% complete food5/8” pellet for easy feeding on the ground#310183

Nutrient-dense blend of natural whole grains for

lower feeding rate & less risk of digestive upset

Added vegetable oil for healthy coat & skin

#360068

CoupoN

$3 OFFany 50lb bag of Nutrena feedlimited to stock on hand. 1 bag per coupon. May

not be combined with any other coupons or specials. Coupon expires December 10, 2010

CoupoN

$3 OFFany 50lb bag of Purina feed

limited to stock on hand. 1 bag per coupon. May not be combined with any other coupons or

specials. Coupon expires December 10, 2010

Missoula2801 W. Broadway

549-2355

Butte3939 Harrison Ave.

494-6188

Hamilton1189 1st St. South

363-7644www.QualitySupply.com

Dillon851 N. Montana

683-6855

Documents

Agriculture Quarterly, September 2010