VOL 3 ISSUE 3 2019 farm406AGRICULTURE FOR REAL LIFE GROW BIG? DIVERSIFY? GET OUT? Trends in Montana Farming pg 18 The Bird & The Herd Balancing Land Use & Preservation pg 35 Carbon Sequestration Valuing Carbon-Rich Soil pg 46 www.farm406magazine.com Helping Montana Farmers Feed e World For Over 40 Years At Columbia Grain we continue to invest in value-added Montana agriculture every year. We are locally managed and community minded. We take pride in creating jobs and supporting the local economy. www.columbiagrain.com Why Insurance? Helping Montana Farmers Feed Why ese? e World For Over 40 Years At Columbia Grain we continue to invest in value-added Montana agriculture every year. We are locally managed and community minded. We take pride in creating jobs and supporting the local economy. Be Con dent in Your Coverage! PIONEER insurance agency Protection for Farm, Ranch, Crop & Business 1618 Front St • PO Box 128 • Fort Benton, MT 59442 • Fax 406.622.5001 Pioneer Insurance is an Equal Opportunity Provider www.columbiagrain.com 406.622.5033 • www.pioneeragency.com Feeding the world sustainably so it can thrive As the planet evolves, so does our approach to nourishing it. Constant population growth presents a unique challenge, but at Cargill, we’ve been addressing the issue from every angle. We’re forever in pursuit of new solutions, developing the innovations that help us feed the planet while conserving its resources. Learn more by visiting cargill.com/foodsecureworld © 2017 Cargill, Incorporated feeding the world 7.75x10.375.indd 1 1/16/17 3:31 PM Protect your savings with FDIC coverage up to $1.5 million. Our Insured Bank Deposit program oers the assurance of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protection. This interest-bearing savings solution gives you the convenience of having your savings and investments on one statement. Getting started is easy. Call your nancial advisor 406 today to learn more. Deposits are FDIC-insured up to $1.5 million or $3 million for joint accounts of two or more people. More information about the Insured Bank Deposit program, including the program disclosure, is available from your nancial advisor or at www.edwardjones.com/bankdeposit. For more information about FDIC insurance, go to www.fdic.gov. Michael Plummer Tom Katz Eric Borggard, CFP ® 1321 8th Ave N • Ste 101 720 River Dr S • Ste 300 720 River Dr S • Ste 300 Great Falls, MT 59401 Great Falls, MT 59405 Great Falls, MT 59405 406-727-7433 406-727-5540 406-727-3427 Amanda Maher Kelley Aline 702 2nd St S • Ste 1 209 Smelter Ave NE • Ste 2 Great Falls, MT 59405 Great Falls, MT 59404 406-952-0413 406-452-1339 www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC 6 farm406 In This Issue 10 LATEST IN APPS 12 INNOVATIVE TOOLS & EQUIPMENT 15 MSU FOUNDATION SEED PROGRAM 18 THE HOLLOWING OUT OF THE MID-SIZED FARM 25 JOHN WICKS AND GWYN GIVENS 31 AGAWAM OASIS: ADDED VALUE TO THE LIGHTNERS’ FARM 35 406 THE BIRD AND THE HERD 45 NEW USDA-APHIS IDENTIFICATION 46 RANCHING FOR CARBON: MONTANA RANCHERS PILOT CARBON CREDIT PROGRAM ON RANGELAND 53 RECIPES 58 ADVERTISER’S DIRECTORY Cover Photo: Alexis Bonogofsky Ranching For Carbon • Page 46 Photo By Alexis Bonogofsky farm406 farm406 7 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS EDITORIAL Dr. Anton Bekkerman is an associate professor in the PUBLISHER Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University, joining the faculty in 2009 after David F. Leray completing his PhD at North Carolina State University. EDITOR Hayley Lenington-Leray Diane Charlton is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics CREATIVE DIRECTOR at Montana State University. She completed her Ph.D. Ted Stuff at University of California, Davis. SALES/MARKETING Jack May “A journalist by training, Reagan Colyer writes for the Montana State University news service covering the MSU College of Agriculture.” CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Anton Bekkerman, Alexis Bonogofsky, Diane Charlton, Reagan Colyer Kate Fuller, Hayley Lenington-Leray, Brock Smith, Kate Fuller is an assistant professor and extension Ellie Stone, Megan Van Emon, Suzanne Waring specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University. CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Alexis Bonogofsky, Ali Spoon, Eric Visocan, Sara Young John Grassy has worked as a journalist, book editor, author and public affairs specialist for more than 30 CULINARY SPECIALIST years. He has served as Communications Officer for Chandee Bomgardner the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation since 2007. Brock Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department RESOURCE PARTNERS: of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE: State University. He mainly studies effects of oil and Andy Fjeseth, Communications officer natural gas shocks in both an international and domestic PO Box 200201 | Helena, MT 59601-0201 US setting. 406-444-3684 | [email protected] MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION Having grown up on a farm that is still in the family, Suzanne Waring maintains an interest in advances being P.O. Box 172230 | Bozeman, MT 59717-223 made in agriculture. (406) 994-1750 | [email protected] Interim Director of Extension CODY STONE MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE CULINARY SPECIALIST Communications Director REAGAN COLYER College of Agriculture | MT Agricultural Experiment Station Chandee Bomgardner is a Montana native with roots 406.994.7866 | [email protected] firmly planted in faith, family, farming and food. Her love for culinary arts is best witnessed in her art studio No public funds are used in the publishing of farm406 magazine. (commercial kitchen) where she creates new recipes and blends life into old family favorites. Chandee and her husband own Bomgardner Catering. SUBSCRIPTIONS CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS If you are moving, renewing, have a question, please call Winston Publishing. A new subscriber’s first issue will be mailed within 8 weeks of order receipt. Alexis Bonogofsky is a fourth-generation Montanan, Our standard subscription rate is $35 per year. sheep rancher and freelance writer and photographer focusing on agriculture and rural Montana. WINSTON PUBLISHING P.O. Box 1707 • Great Falls, MT 59403 or call 406-452-1177 or email us at [email protected] Any reproduction of all or part of without the express Ali Spoon is a Missoula-based photographer specializing farm406 in weddings, portraits, and commercial photography. Ali written permission of the publisher is prohibited. has been published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, and the Dallas News. PRINTED IN THE USA All statements, including product claims, are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim. The publisher does not adopt Eric Visocan hails from Fort Benton, Montana and is the any such statement or claims as its own and any such statement or owner of Burnt Image Photography LLC and Montana claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. Jigsaw Puzzles. Eric specializes in commercial, portrait and landscape photography and sells epic photographs of Montana landscapes. Photographer Sara Young is a native Montanan specializing in creative portrait photography, with a love for photojournalism. The bulk of her current work is shooting weddings and family portraits, as well as mentoring budding photographers around the state. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... farm406 WWW.FARM406MAGAZINE.COM 8 farm406 latest in apps AgriSync (update) AgriSync enables farmers and advisors to connect and resolve support issues using a mobile video customer service platform. A recent major update created several new features. When a customer uses AgriSync’s mobile call system, the call is simultaneously sent to a selected team of advisors with the new VoiceHub feature. While on a live call, an advisor can create a ticket in AgriSync with the Text to Join feature and invite the farmer to join a live video session by simply clicking a text. Using the Broadcast feature, users can create a simple broadcast message to share pro-active tips and reduce redundant support questions. Available for iPhone, iPad and Android .................................................................................................................................................. Pioneer Launches Corn Yield Estimator The new Pioneer Corn Yield Estimator app uses machine learning, artificial intelligence and a little input from the user to fine-tune in-field corn crop measurement. Now available to farmers as part of the Pioneer mobile app, the Corn Yield Estimator takes a picture of the ear and instantly counts kernels on the ear. The yield estimator takes counts, include stand count and an estimate of kernels that count, the stand per bushel and more quickly estimate field performance. count and kernels per The yield estimator walks the user through the process bushel to estimate yield of lining up the ear of corn to be sampled, taking the for a field. Using a smart necessary number of images and entering the remaining phone to do the kernel information before providing a yield estimate. The tool count means that a user requires that husks and silks be removed before taking can enter a field, strip the picture, but the ear does not need to be pulled from down a representative the stalk. sample of ears, do the Available for iPhone,