Riparian Areas
Riparian areas are the water rich land areas surrounding water. They are some of the most productive pastures we have, but must be managed carefully. Learn about grazing management in these sensitive areas at Montana State’s extension service website – Stream and Riparian Managment
Helping Farmers Save Energy and Resources
The National Center for Appropriate Technology website is a great resource for training, publications, websites, technical assistance and helplines about technologies that can help farmers and ranchers keep pace with our changing world. Learn the latest & local info on farm self-sufficiency. Click http://www.ncat.org/
Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can help by providing technical and financial assistance for the development of alternative uses of manure, timing and application, storage facilities, and improved feeding management technologies. Check it out at www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov
Irrigation Management
Find out how to maximize production with the minimum amount of water, while protecting our limited resources. Learn about irrigation for alfalfa, wheat and other crops, tools of the trade and more at http://waterquality.montana.edu/docs/irrigation.shtml
Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is one that produces abundant food without depleting the earth’s resources or polluting its environment.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service has resources to help you manage your farm to maximize production and maintain the health of your land. Link directly to their resources below or go to the
- Livestock
- Marketing
- Water Management Water Quality, Conservation, Drought and Irrigation
- Soils & Compost
- Pest Management
- Field Crops
- Farm Energy – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Targeted Grazing – a natural approach to vegetation management and landscape enhancement
Agricultural Water Conservation Clearinghouse
The Agricultural Water Conservation Clearinghouse website is a portal for all kinds of tools and electronic resources on how to save water in agriculture, through increased crop water use efficiency, improved irrigation application efficiency, increased capture and utilization of precipitation, adoption of new technologies for water management, and other methods. There is a searchable library, a set of tools and guidebooks, and links to state-specific resources. The clearinghouse was developed by university partners in the northern Great Plains, and funded by the US Department of Agriculture.
Farmers & Ranchers
More information is on our Farmers & Ranchers page
Agricultural News
- On-site Guide for Livestock Operators An operator’s guide to self-assessing their operation and its relative risk for impacting surface and ground water.
- New Magazine for Grazing Check out the first issue of the new “On Pasture” magazine. It’s FREE! Learn how to turn your livestock into land managers. Find the link here http://onpasture.com/2013/03/19/welcome-to-on-pasture/
- Cover Crops Help Control Weeds Martha Mintz produced a good article on how cover crops help suppress weed populations. A-Cover-Crop-Bonus-Weed-Suppression-No-Till-Farmer This NRCS photo of cover crops looks pretty good!
- Support Agriculture by Supporting Bumblebees Bumblebees do best in areas of high plant diversity. Support healthy populations of crop pollinators by supporting plant diversity.
- Keeping Farm Land in Production Flathead Farm Hands and the Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) are working on a new project to get beginning farmers both in class and on-the-ground training.