Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Carrington, ND

Permit No.2

Foster County SCD and NRCS are Equal Opportunity Providers and Employers

6720 Highway 200 Carrington, ND 58421

FOS TER COUNT Y SOIL

CONSERVATION DIS TRICT

Allied Agronomy Bank Forward Bessette Motors C and J Oil Company Central City Lumber Central Steel Building & Construction Community Credit Union Crop Production Services Dakota Central Telecommunications Dakota Crop Services Erickson Implement Farm Credit Services of North Dakota

Hi-Way Drive In Kracht Implement Kensal Farmer’s Elevator—Kensal and

Bordulac locations NAPA Auto and Truck Parts Northern Plains Electric Cooperative Peavey of Carrington Pipestem Feeders RENK Seed, Kent Ableidinger, Dealer Rosenau Equipment State Farm Insurance Co.

We Appreciate the Support and Thank These Local Sponsors for our 2013 Issue Newsletters

Phone: 701-652-2551 ext. 3 Fax: 701-652-3667

E-mail: dionn.schaaf@nd.nacdnet.net

"Fostering" Our Natural Resources

For descriptions of trees and shrubs log on at: www.lincolnoakes.com or

www.ag.ndsu.edu/trees/handbook.htm

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

www.fosterscd.org www.facebook.com/fosterscd

SARE

Till it to me Straight…. Foster County Soil Conservation District

Board meetings are tentatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on July 8, August 12, and September 9 (second Mondays). Please contact the district office at 652-2551 to confirm dates and times.

USDA Service Center will be closed for Independence Day on Thursday, July 4, and Labor Day on Monday, September 2.

“Talking Dirt” on KDAK (1600 AM) will be at 8:20 am on July 3, August 7, and September 4 (first Wednesdays).

Check us out online at www.fosterscd.org. and www.facebook.com/fosterscd .

Chairman Curtiss Klein 701-653-5708

Vice Chair Robert House 674-3606

Supervisor James Fandrich 652-3485

Supervisor Karl Hoppe 650-8810

Supervisor Mike Sabinash 435-2958

NRCS District Conservationist Brandon Kottke

652-2551 Ext 101

SCD Manager Dionn Schaaf Ext 102

Soil Con. Tech. Nichole Johnson Ext 112

Ed. Coordinator Jill Vigesaa 701-799-5488

Foster County Extension Agent Joel Lemer

652-2581

Watershed Coord. Katie Gussiaas Ext 114

Foster County SCD 2013 Supervisors, Advisors and Staff

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Issue No. 65

Summer 2013

Good stewardship of our land, air and water includes conservation practices. Agricultural sustainabil-ity was our parents, grandparents and great grandparents goal in farming the land. Sustainable agriculture has been in the national policy debate for many years. A country without food creates unrest in its people. As a public issue, sustaining agriculture is paramount. Creating and maintaining a vibrant agriculture is a huge task. Crafting flexibility in agricultural methods and seeking out new perspective is part of food policy. SARE is the acronym for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. SARE is a nationwide federal program which embraces three broad goals for sustainability – Profit over the long term, Stewardship of our nation’s land, air and water, and Quality of life for farmers, ranchers and their communities. For a wide array of information, please check out the internet site: http://www.sare.org/ North Central SARE provides competitive grants through five grant programs: Farmer Rancher, Re-search and Education, Professional Development Program, Graduate Student, and Youth Educa-tor. For more detailed information on these grants, please go to : http://www.northcentralsare.org/Grants/Our-Grant-Programs North Dakota SARE is focusing on three initiatives during 2013: 1) Focus on Soil Health, 2) Scaling up Local Foods, and 3) Carbon, Energy, and Climate. If you are interested in learning more about SARE and developing a local SARE program or project, check out the site: http://www.northcentralsare.org/State-Programs/North-Dakota/SARE-in-North-Dakota

A wide variety of SARE information and SARE educational resources can be found at http://www.northcentralsare.org/ Karl Hoppe /Bill Hodous State Co-coordinators, ND SARE

ISSUE NO. 65 Page 2

2013 Foster County Women’s Ag Day Our 2013 Women’s Ag Day was held on Tuesday, April 2 at the Carrington Research Extension Center. This year’s theme was

“Grilling Up a Good Time!” It featured a cooking demonstration by Nancy Jo Bateman from the North Dakota Beef Commission on using beef for grilling and proper grilling in general. Her presentation was entertaining and educational, and was well received by the ladies attending

Nichole Johnson from the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) gave a short presentation about the agency. Chanda Engel gave the invocation, and Alexandra and Madison Richter provided a short musical program. Volunteers from the FFA and a volunteer from the National Honor Society assisted the Women’s Ag Day Volunteer Committee in serving a supper of grilled beef skewers, pasta coleslaw salad, a dinner roll, fruit, and a chocolate dessert. The skewers were prepared by Barton Meats and grilled by Robin Willyard, while the salad and dessert were made by Cheryl Fettig.

This event is intended to show our appreciation for the contributions of women to agriculture in our communities, and the decora-tions and table favors included an emphasis on local farm products. As well as the Beef Commission handouts and several ven-dors, informational materials were provided by the North Dakota Pork Council. Each person attending received small items from the Northern Pulse Growers Association, Giant Seeds, ND Beef Commission, Carrington Chamber of Commerce, and Carrington Health Center. A wide assortment of great door prizes were donated by local businesses.

We would like to again thank all of the sponsors who provided financial support and/or door prizes for the event. The event would not be possible without their generous support. In particular, this year we received a large grant from the ND Corn Council and Corn Growers Association. Other major supporters included Foster County Farm Bureau, Central Steel Building , Foster County Farmer’s Union, and Farm Credit Services, as well as Andy Deterding Ag Aviation, Arrowwood Prairie Co-op, Bremer Bank, Charles Apiaries, Crop Production Services, Dakota Central Telecommunications, Dakota Growers Pasta Company, Erick-son Implement, Farmer’s Elevator (Grace City), Fessenden Cooperative Association, Kensal Farmer’s Elevator, Topp Herefords, and Wholesale Ag. Many other local businesses also contributed, and their support allowed us to provide an evening for 135 at-tendees. For all of their efforts, thank you also to our committee: Donna Anderson, Chanda Engel, Kathy Erickson, Joel Lemer, Rhonda Lura, Donna Veen, Jennifer Wede, and Mary Zink.

ISSUE NO. 65 Page 3

New NRCS District Conservationist for Foster County

This year’s winning entries for Carrington in the Keep North Dakota Clean poster contest were:

Grade 2- Autumn Munson – Only You Can Prevent Wildfires Grade 3 - Isabelle Sundby – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Grade 4 - Jordyn Larson – Habitat, Homes for Wildlife Grade 5 - Kaylie Waldorf – Trees are Terrific Special Needs - Sakkara Pruett – Trees are Terrific Grade 6 - Amanda Jarrett – Help Prevent Runoff Pollution Each received a voucher for a tree from the SCD as a prize. Their posters will be displayed at the district booth during the Foster County Fair.

Keep North Dakota Clean Poster Contest Winners

two trees for the Class of 2025 to plant. The students all pitched in to plant an “Autumn Blaze” maple at the high school grounds, and a “Spring Snow” crabapple tree at the city park. Four children got to take home the kid-sized shovels provided by the SCD and four oth-ers received conservation T-shirts.

Dan Trosen, Economic Development Director James Linderman, NRCS District Conservationist Brandon Kottke, NRCS Soil Conser-vation Technician Nichole Johnson, and SCD Watershed Coordina-tor Katie Gussiaas.

Mrs. Short’s and Miss Horner’s students learned about planting trees and conservation from SCD Supervisor Curt Klein, and SCD Dis-trict Manager Dionn Schaaf. The Carrington Tree Board provided

First Grade Tree Planting

Protect Your Trees!

Back Row L to R: Amanda Jarrett, Kaylie Waldorf, Sakkara Pruett. Front Row L to R: Jordyn Larson, Isabelle Sundby, Autumn Munson.

If you have young trees that you want to protect, you might want to consider putting tree tubes on them. Besides offering physical protec-tion from damage by rodents, rabbits and deer, the tubes appear to help provide the trees with a better growing environment. They pro-tect the seedlings from the wind, provide a miniature greenhouse envi-ronment, and can help protect them from damage by sprays and mow-ers. Local tests have found that trees have significantly faster growth and much better survival with trees tubes in place than without them. Contact the SCD at 652-2551 ext. 3 for assistance.

The Soil Conservation District held its 9th annual First Grade Tree Planting on May 23 this year. This event is part of the City of Carrington’s official Ar-bor Day celebration. The tree planting was attended by Mayor Don Frye, City Auditor Heather Carr, Public Works Director

Hello. I am Brandon Kottke, the new District Conservationist in the Carrington Field Office. I came to Carrington from the Devils Lake Field Office, where I spent the last year and half working as a Soil Conservationist. Prior to Devils Lake, I worked for NRCS in the Minnewaukan Field Office and the Bismarck Soil Survey Office. I graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in Natural Resources Management. Before attending NDSU, I spent several years in the Army as an Engineer. I am originally from Stewart, Minne-sota, a small town in the south central part of the state. I have enjoyed my time here in Carrington so far and look forward to assisting you with all your conser-vation needs. Please feel free to call or stop by the office anytime with your conservation concerns and to introduce yourself.