Are the 2022 maps ready yet?
Yes, maps are ready to be printed for you to pick up or the maps can be emailed to you. Please call this office to make arrangements to obtain your farm maps.
_________________________________________________________________________
When will I know if my CRP offer was accepted?
Letters of acceptance and rejection were mailed or emailed last week. If you have not received a letter yet, please check your email then feel free to call this office at 701-523-5531 ext. 2 to find out the status of your offer.
_________________________________________________________________________
When is the deadline to apply for the Grasslands Reserve Program?
The deadline to submit an offer is Friday, May 13, 2022. Producers interested in submitting an offer should contact this office immediately to schedule an appointment. For more information on the GRP please click here.
_______________________________________________________________________
Is it true that the Feed Transportation Program has been modified to include the trucking of livestock to feed?
Yes. It was recently announced that the ELAP Feed Transportation Program had been updated to cover above normal costs of hauling livestock to forage/pastures during the 2021 drought. This office is currently awaiting additional instructions on how to process this type of applications, but we encourage producers who hauled their livestock to feed to watch this newsletter for more information and the deadline to apply.
This office is also awaiting information on how to process feed hauled after January 1, 2022 as a result of the 2021 drought.
_________________________________________________________________________
Is it true that I must provide pictures of the livestock I lost for the Livestock Indemnity Program?
NO. Pictures are not required to document losses. Dated pictures are one method that producers can document livestock losses, but losses can also be documented in a calving book, on a calendar, a herd book, or other such document. If you have suffered losses we suggest you take the following steps:
1) Contact the FSA Office at 701-523-5531 ext. 2 or email ndbowman-fsa@usda.gov to file a notice of loss. The notice of loss must be filed within 30 days of realizing the loss and must include the type of livestock lost, the date the death occurred and the weather event. For example: baby calves were lost on April 12th and 13th due to blizzard conditions.
2) Document the losses. Write down the type of livestock, the number of head and when they died on a calendar or in a calving book. If you have had losses that were not due to weather conditions, please indicate the date of death and the cause of loss. These losses can count towards normal mortality if documented correctly.
For Example: Calving Book Documentation
| Cow ID |
Birth Date |
Sex |
Calving Ease |
Notes |
| 450 |
4/10 |
B |
5 |
dead - sack over head |
| 475 |
4/10 |
B |
1 |
|
| 490 |
4/11 |
H |
1 |
twins |
| 388 |
4/11 |
H |
1 |
|
| 256 |
4/12 |
H |
1 |
dead - blizzard |
| 351 |
4/13 |
B |
|
dead - blizzard |
| 571 |
4/14 |
B |
1 |
|
| 681 |
4/14 |
H |
1 |
|
| 412 |
4/14 |
H |
1 |
|
When submitting an application for payment, producers will be asked to provide verifiable beginning inventory of the type of livestock for which losses are being claimed. For more information on the Livestock Indemnity Program click here
_________________________________________________________________________
Is there a loan deficiency payment (LDP) on wool?
Yes. Wool sheared in 2022 may be eligible for a LDP payment if all eligibility requirements are met. Producers must sign a form CCC-633EZ, page 1 before losing beneficial interest in the wool. Wool producers would then need to make an application for payment. When making an application for payment, producers will be asked to provide the number of head sheared, date sheared, breed of sheep and net pounds produced. The LDP rate on ungraded wool this week is $0.40/pound.
_________________________________________________________________________
How can I sign up for text messages from the Service Center?
Producers can text NDBowman to FSANOW (372-669) to subscribe to text message alerts from Bowman/Slope County
NDSU Extension specialists warn ranchers to ensure grazing readiness before turnout.
Following a cooler-than-normal spring 2022 and the 2021 drought, ranchers should expect a delay in grass development and growth this spring.
“Air temperature is the main environmental factor that determines the rate of grass development,” says Miranda Meehan, North Dakota State University Extension livestock environmental stewardship specialist. “Each leaf produced on a stem requires a specific amount of accumulated heat, or heat units. The temperature when plants initiate development, or the base temperature, is 32 F for cool-season and 40 F for warm-season grasses. The temperature or heat units that a plant needs to accumulate to produce a leaf can be expressed as growing degree days.”
According to Kevin Sedivec, rangeland management specialist and interim director of the NDSU Central Grasslands Research Extension Center at Carrington, perennial grasses start to accumulate growing degree days the first day after March 15 that the average daily air temperature exceeds 32 F for five consecutive days. The number of growing degree days needed to reach grazing readiness varies between species from 443 days for crested wheatgrass to over 1,000 for most native species. Search online for “NDSU Extension Determining Grazing Readiness” for more information.
“Grazing readiness is the developmental stage where the plant is able to recover from the stress of grazing,” says James Rogers, Extension forage crops production specialist at the NDSU North Central Research Extension Center near Minot. “Grazing readiness for most domesticated pasture is at the 3-leaf stage, whereas grazing readiness for most native range grasses is the 3 1/2-leaf stage.
All cool-season grasses, which are the dominant grasses in North Dakota, initiate growth from a tiller that was established the previous growing season. However, drought and/or grazing stress during the fall of 2021 may have caused tillers to die, setting back plant development this spring.
“Pastures that have had tiller loss must be given adequate time to recover,” says Sedivec. “Grazing too early in the spring can result in decreased total forage production for the entire grazing season. You may sacrifice 45% to 60% of forage production for the year by grazing too early.”
Grazing too early will reduce plant vigor, thin existing stands, lower total forage production, and increase disease, insect and weed infestations, says Rogers. Pastures and range damaged by grazing too early and that are severely overgrazed may take several years of deferment or even rest before the stand regains productivity.
A loss of forage production due to grazing prior to grazing readiness will reduce the recommended stocking rate and/or animal performance.
“Due to the combination of cool temperatures and drought stress, producers should expect delays in grazing readiness this spring and manage accordingly,” says Meehan. “This would include avoiding grazing native range until grazing readiness has been achieved.”
Strategies to avoid grazing native range prior to grazing readiness include:
Grazing domesticated grass pastures, such as crested wheatgrass and smooth brome, in May.
Providing supplemental forage to livestock on domesticated pasture or hay land.
Using winter annuals that were established last fall for early spring grazing or hay.
Continuing dry lot feeding in May.
“While it may be tempting to start grazing early due to a lack of forage resources, it can have long-term impacts on forage production,” warns Sedivec. “Remember, it takes grass to grow grass. Early spring grazing, especially following a drought, can be costly in terms of total forage production during the entire grazing season.”
NDSU Agriculture Communication – April 26, 2022
Source: Miranda Meehan, 701-231-7683, miranda.meehan@ndsu.edu
Source: Kevin Sedivec, 701-231-7647, kevin.sedivec@ndsu.edu
Source: James Rogers, 701-857-7682, james.rogers.1@ndsu.edu
Editor: Elizabeth Cronin, 701-231-5391, elizabeth.cronin@ndsu.edu
|
