Custer County

Miles City, located in Custer County, serves as the economic hub for much of Southeastern Montana. With 8,500 of the 11,700 people in Custer County residing in Miles City, much of the county is rangeland, with a portion along the Yellowstone and Tongue rivers producing irrigated crops. Custer County MSU Extension is a non-formal educational program designed to help people use research-based knowledge to improve their lives. The primary mission of MSU Extension is to bring information from the land-grant university to the people of Montana.

Our program includes traditional activities like Winter Series, Arthritis Exercise, and 4-H project workshops and contests, with educational delivery through web-based platforms and virtual and in-person meetings. In 2024, MSU Extension in Custer County offered family and consumer science, agriculture, and expanded 4-H youth programs with the addition of a full-time 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent.

Emergency Grasshopper Suppression Program

Southeast Montana has suffered significantly from high grasshopper populations for several years. These populations have reduced forage production on rangeland and improved pastures, leading to decreased livestock production, cattle liquidation, and lower profits for local ranchers. Crop production has also been affected by this pest.

The grasshopper population map published in October 2023 predicted high population levels in the region for 2024, prompting an educational meeting. This meeting aimed to help landowners understand the pest's impact on production and the available management options to minimize losses. Over 200 attended the meeting at the Custer County Event Center, where details on the Federal USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service rangeland cost-share program were presented. Discussions highlighted the need for suppression on croplands and other grasslands ineligible for the federal program. Thanks to the cooperation of Jerry Singleton, owner of Cowtown Ag Supply, and Dennis Pluhar, an agricultural chemical dealer, MSU Custer County Extension Agent Mike Schuldt initiated a program to provide landowners in Southeast Montana with low-cost chemicals to fight the grasshopper infestation. Chemicals were supplied to landowners at approximately half of the retail price through a government bulk pricing opportunity.

The program distributed 904 gallons of Diflubenzuron, a growth regulator chemical formulated to target grasshoppers, to 33 landowners across eight counties. This chemical was sufficient to treat 57,000 acres of cropland with a total cost savings to producers of $65,090. An additional impact of this effort was the wholesale cost to dealers was set by this program, so the retail price of Diflubenzuron at local chemical outlets was reduced to an affordable level. Reports from growers and dealers indicate an additional 1500 gallons were distributed to area producers with the discount realized by the purchasing program.

Caption: Grasshoppers west of Brockway

Credit: Cord Bieber

Cowtown Cattle Women Enhance 4-H Market Animal Quality Assurance Training

Raising consistent, high-quality animals for the youth market sale at the Eastern Montana Fair is a high priority. Every youth participant in the livestock sale is required to participate in Quality Assurance training during their first year in the program and in a refresher as a senior member. Various teaching methods ensure the 2-hour program is as effective as possible.

This year, the Cowtown Cattlewomen volunteered to supply life-size training props for the program, which included a model of the front end of a cow for proper vaccination demonstrations and a plastic model of the entire carcass that showed where each cut of meat comes from on the animal. Members could practice administering vaccinations and were trained properly to fill a syringe and safely handle a hypodermic needle.

The hands-on demonstration and practice, coupled with a PowerPoint presentation on the impacts of improper vaccination, prepared the participants with the knowledge and skill to properly and safely treat a live animal with the animal, the handler and the consumer in mind. The visual model of cuts of meat reinforced the importance of proper animal handling to prevent bruising. Seeing where the cuts of meat originate illustrated why proper vaccination location and technique are important to prevent damage to high-value cuts of meat. Working with the Cow Town Cattlewomen to utilize the teaching props and their educational materials resulted in an overall improvement in the learning experience for participants.

Caption: Demonstrating where different cuts of meat come from

Credit: Rachelle Weyerbacher

4-H Interview Judging Builds Life Skills for Youth

When a youth 4-H member explains the details and learning process associated with a 4-H project to an adult judge, it builds confidence and communication skills. With over 200 youth members, averaging three projects per member, it is a monumental task to organize interview judging to ensure a positive and efficient experience for both youth members and the judge. Attention is given to scheduling enough time to present to each judge, while also avoiding long wait times between interviews.

With these goals, Custer County 4-H Youth Development Agent Rachelle Weyerbacher and Jayme Lepisto incorporated a new scheduling process and invited 27 judges, up from 17 in 2023. The schedule used a matrix of time blocks and assigned each member interview times, with consideration to schedule family members together to reduce their wait time. The new process succeeded, with 600 interviews conducted in a just a 4-hour time frame.

Caption: Eastern Montana Fair 4-H Interview Judging

Credit: Jayme Lepisto

Supper Sitters Babysitting Class

During the 2023-2024 academic year, Miles City school district shifted to a four-day week, leaving many working parents without Friday childcare. To address this, the MSU Extension Custer County Agent launched Super Sitter babysitting classes for local youth (both 4-H and non-members) ages 10-15. Classes focused on safety, engaging activities, and preparing healthy snacks and were conducted with guest speakers from the Miles City Public Library, a Family and Consumer Science and Life Skills teacher, nurse educators from the Montana Health Network, and a Miles City police officer.

The program quickly proved essential for Custer County, prompting the addition of two more sessions within a month due to high demand. Participants expressed increased confidence in performing the Heimlich maneuver, identifying and mitigating safety risks, and applying basic first aid. The creation of a 'magic babysitter bag' and a 'boo-boo bunny' were highlights, with many participants asking for the five-and-a-half to six-hour course to be longer to cover even more valuable content.

Contact

1010 Main Street
Miles City, MT 59301
406-874-3370
https://www.montana.edu/extension/custer/