Roosevelt County

Roosevelt County, the 20th largest county in Montana, is located between the Missouri River and Sheridan County, and between the North Dakota state line and Daniels County. It includes 2,385 square miles with farmland encompassing 86% of the land in Roosevelt County. Wolf Point is the county seat, and other incorporated cities include Bainville, Culbertson, Froid, and Poplar, where the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribal headquarters and the Fort Peck Community College are located. Other communities include Brockton and Fort Kipp. Montana State University Extension is an educational resource dedicated to improving the quality of people’s lives by providing research-based knowledge to strengthen the social, economic, and environmental well-being of families, communities, and agricultural enterprises. The Roosevelt County MSU Extension staff provides services in the following areas: 4-H Youth development, Agriculture and Horticulture, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Community and Economic Development.

5th Grade Bread Fair 2024

Using our local resources to feed our families is what agriculture is all about. As an extension of the National Hard Spring Wheat Show held annually in Williston, 5th graders from around the area learn about our abundant resources and what it takes to make a loaf of bread. This year the Culbertson, Bainville, Froid, and Medicine Lake Froid schools did the activity called “Bread in a Bag,” and the students work together to make Honey Wheat Bread. The wheat is milled at the North Dakota Grain Mill, honey is provided by Dave Huelsman, oil from local canola, and other ingredients from Horizon Resources. They first make a “bread sponge” of the wet ingredients and then let it rest. Students are taught about local farmers, agriculture production, and nutrition. After letting it rest, they then add their flour and knead their dough in the bag. They let their dough rest again, and then learn about prices of wheat, the farmers share of a loaf of bread and how wheat is produced. Finally, they shape their loaves and let it rise before cooking. The 5th graders can then take their loaves to feed their families. Students are also provided with a book from the North Dakota Wheat Commission and is titled “The Story of Wheat for Kids,” and its about bread and the recipe to go home and create it again. They learn where wheat is grown, the different classifications of wheat, the composition of the kernel, and how it gets from the field to your table. The book also discusses the nutrition facts about bread, the farmers share of a loaf of bread, all the manufacturing that takes place, and by-products. Montana and North Dakota are ranked #1 and #2 among many crops such as wheat, durum, barley, lentils, chickpeas, canola, flax, safflower, and honey. All of the ingredients-except yeast, is locally sourced or milled to showcase the fantastic agricultural that is eastern Montana and western North Dakota. This multi-state program put together over 1500 kits for area youth.

Caption: Students kneading bread dough

Credit: Wendy Becker, MSU Extension Agent

Grills Gone Wild 2024

Learning the basics of grilling can be a daunting task. There are so many options when it comes to grilling, barbecuing, or meat in general. The price of meat has increased and matching the right cut with the right method of cooking has become economical. There are also different types of protein that need to be considered that match a consumer’s budgets. Preferences for beef, chicken, pork or other meats can be paired with sales that are happening, but knowing other issues also helps in the decision-making process. Often the 4 main objectives should make an informed consumer: cut, cooking method, quality, and consumption. How many people do you plan on feeding? What is your grill type, can it possibly do both indirect or direct cooking? What quality of meat can be afforded on a quality grade USDA scale? Does the cut you prefer match the method of cooking that you have available. For instance, when a steak should have direct cooking, do you only have an indirect grill. The workshop that was put on in Culbertson at the park addressed all of these questions as well as other consumer questions about raising food for consumption. Another issue is food safety and how to keep surfaces, meat, and temperature proper to avoid contamination and sickness. Reaching 26 consumers with these goals in mind helped achieve this with a program that isn’t normally just aimed for producers. Over the past 50 years the number of people involved in agriculture has significantly decreased and less than 1% are engaged in raising agriculture. The public want to make sure that their food is from a safe, environmentally friendly, and risk of food-borne illness remains low. Montana’s #1industry is still agriculture, and advocating with programs like this help to remain relevant for future generations.

Caption: Grilling in the park

Credit: Wendy Becker, MSU Extension Agent

Livestock Risk Protection Program

The Livestock Risk Protection Program has been an option to livestock producers since 2003, however, the program significantly changed in 2018 with the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The program before that was not a strong viable risk management product before that but has gained popularity since then. While Montana saw several other states begin to enroll in the program, Montana was slow to grasp the program. Many didn’t know that the program had changed and it that it could be a feasible program to try. From 2003 to 2019, LRP number of contracts was relatively flat. Soon after, in 2000 the number of contracts doubled every year starting at less than 250,000 head to more than 4.25 million head of feeder cattle 2023. In 2022 there were 264 policies sold, 32,341 head covered, $1,705,326 total premium and $599,203 subsidized, ending with $1,106,123 farmer paid premium. Because this was a hot topic, the Roosevelt County Extension office gained knowledge and practical experience and advise from active risk management agencies. This led to a series of talks around northeast Montana to help producers learn about the value of the program. Over 105 producers participated in 5 different locations to learn about the topic. This also led to follow-up questions and analysis of the program to help enroll or learn more about the topic. Montana has already substantially increased the number of policies in 2023 and 2024.

Caption: Cattle grazing

Credit: Wendy Becker, MSU Extension Agent

Progressive Agriculture Safety Day Frontier School 2024

According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agriculture Health and Safety Fact Sheet, about every 3 days a child dies in an ag-related accident, and every day 33 children are injured in an ag-related accident. The mission of the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day is to provide education and training to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities. In visiting with the schools, children, and community, there is always a story to tell about someone that they know that has died or been in an accident involving agriculture. The Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® (PAF Safety Day) program, which is recognized as the largest rural safety and health education program for children in North America, provides education, training, and resources to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for all children and their communities. Since the inception of the Program in 1995, more than 2 million individuals have been reached in 45 states, two territories, and nine Canadian provinces. This year the safety day came to Frontier School. Students may not all live on a farm or ranch, but they may visit one and our area is very agriculture, so it’s important to know the information. The Frontier PK-8th grade participated in the program this year. The topics covered were Grain Safety, Sun Safety, Healthy Living, Chemical Safety, Water Safety, Farm Equipment Safety, PTO safety, Erosion Safety, and Fire Safety. These stations were all taught in round-robin form by agriculture advocate and education groups. At the end of the rotations the students were presented with take-home bags filled with donated items to complement what they had learned at the safety day. PK-K were also given bike helmets and participated in bike safety. The Progressive Agriculture Foundation provides curriculum, t-shirts, and take-home bags for the students. It is exciting to see so many community members support keeping kids safe.

Caption: Students observing grain entrapment demonstration

Credit: Wendy Becker, MSU Extension Agent

Rock-the-Bike 2024

As extension agents, we attend trainings in various parts of our job. Professional development is a time to reset, refresh, and think about what we can do for our communities. As I was sitting in one of my sessions at the National Association of County Agriculture Agents in Des Moines IA, I was listening to a presentation on a jr cooking program that they developed in Ohio. The program was just like that of what we normally do, however, one picture caught my attention. It was a picture of students using a blender bike to cook with and the students had to pedal and use their own energy. Immediately, I know that this would be something that youth would love doing. I was able to purchase the bike setup and the rest is history. Using the bike as a teaching tool stimulates healthy eating and activity. Students use ingredients to provide healthy snacks, use in a mystery ingredient for a cooking activity or even experimenting what it can be used for. I also discovered an attachment for spin-art that can be used to enhance creativity. This bike has been used in 6 workshops with 200 participants. This program has put an exciting edge to cooking and its fun for the participants when they don’t even know they are doing work. It was also used in a teacher workshop to encourage classroom use. The next step will be to calculate the number of calories or units of energy used for more food science instruction.

Caption: Making Smoothies with a bike

Credit: Wendy Becker, MSU Extension Agent

Contact

307 Broadway
P.O. Box 416
Culbertson, MT 59218
406-787-5312
https://www.montana.edu/extension/roosevelt