Montana State University–Northern

Abstract Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) production in the semiarid northern Great Plains of the United States has increased dramatically over the past two decades. Lentil in rotation provides agroecosystem benefits of more efficient water use, pest cycle disruption, and biological nitrogen (N) fixation. Increasing N fixation could alleviate soil acidification and groundwater impairment, decrease N fertilizer costs, and increase lentil seed yield. Despite widespread farmer adoption of lentil in the region, little is known about the benefits of fertilizer or inoculant type on N fixation. The aim of this study was to determine how nutrients (potassium (K), sulfur (S), and foliar‐applied micronutrients) and rhizobial inoculant types (seed‐coat powder and granular) influence N fixation of lentil. The study was conducted at two field sites in Montana from 2019 to 2021. Fixed N amounts were calculated using both an N difference approach and 15N natural abundance method. N fixation was highly responsive to climatic conditions and soil characteristics. The amount of N fixed did not respond to K fertilization, likely because soil test K levels were sufficient. In a moderately dry year at a site with low soil sulfate‐S, fertilizer application of 5.6 kg S ha−1 increased N fixed by 40%. Inoculated lentil fixed more N than uninoculated lentil in two site‐years, but there were no differences in N fixed between inoculant types. Inoculation response was not related to field cropping histories with legumes. The study shows that S fertilization and rhizobial inoculation have potential to increase lentil N fixation amounts in the northern Great Plains.

This chapter analyzes an often-overlooked aspect of Shakespeare’s own acts of adaptation: the ways in which he utilized fairy stories and folk tales from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Britain to imbue A Midsummer Night’s Dream with a sense of the fantastic, preserving fairy lore that might have otherwise been lost. The chapter concentrates on how Shakespeare adapted fae demeanor and behavior from folklore for theatrical production. The chapter looks especially at the adaptations of Oberon, Titania, and Robin Goodfellow, otherwise known as Puck. Shakespeare’s most important fairy characters are an amalgamation of Celtic tales, classical mythologies, and contemporaneous folklore. Shakespeare’s adaptation would have been familiar enough to his audience to offer comfort while crafting something new and enticing. Understanding this mosaic form of adaptation allows for a more complete understanding of Shakespeare’s appeal as an adaptor.

Simple SummaryReplacement beef heifers represent the future of a herd for many cow-calf producers. Producers must invest significant resources into the development of these females as well as consider their maintenance and production costs as mature cows. As a result, selection focuses on replacement heifers that are more efficient in limited nutrition forage base systems. Producers can improve lifetime productivity by ensuring their replacements are of an ideal age and size to be bred as a 2-yr old. Selection criteria may include reproductive ability and breeding history, milk production, and weaning/yearling weights. The ability to select replacement females that are more efficient without negatively affecting overall productivity will help to decreased inputs and alleviate the need for additional expenses such as supplemental feed resources. This study evaluated heifer post-weaning voluntary feed intake (g/kg BW) classification on performance and reproductive measures, as well as impacts on lifetime productivity of 519 commercial Angus beef females. Heifer post-weaning voluntary feed intake (g/kg BW) was calculated over 80 test days following weaning using GrowSafe units. Heifers were categorized based on voluntary feed intake (g/kg BW) as either low (<−0.50 SD from the mean), average (±0.50 SD from the mean), or high (>0.50 SD from the mean) within year. Cow body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) at breeding displayed an age effect (p < 0.001), with 2- and 3-year-old cows having lighter BW and lower BCS than 4-yr-old and older cows. Cow BW at weaning showed significance for age and intake (p < 0.001) with younger cows being lighter than older cows, while low intake classified females had greater BW at weaning compared to average and high intake females. Additionally, calf 205-d weights and calf weaning weights (p < 0.01) were significant for age with calves born from older cows weighing more than younger cows. Weaning weight ratio displayed a linear increase with increasing intake classification (p < 0.01). Heifer yearling BW was significant for intake (p < 0.01) with low and average intake heifer classifications having greater heifer yearling BW than cows that had high intake classification as a heifer. Age and intake classification did not impact (p ≥ 0.22) pregnancy status or AI conception. In summary, heifer post-weaning feed intake classification had only minor impacts compared to age effects on lifetime productivity of Angus beef females.

"The Idealist: Jack Trice and the battle for a forgotten football legacy." The Historian, 84(2), pp. 322–323

Abstract The introduction of cover crops as fallow replacement in the traditional cereal-based cropping system of the Northern Great Plains has the potential to decrease soil erosion, increase water infiltration, reduce weed pressure and improve soil health. However, there are concerns this might come at the cost of reduced production in the subsequent wheat crop due to soil water use by the cover crops. To determine this risk, a phased 2-year rotation of 15 different cover crop mixtures and winter wheat/spring wheat was established at the Northern Agricultural Research Center near Havre, MT from 2012 to 2020, or four rotation cycles. Controls included fallow–wheat and barley–wheat sequences. Cover crops and barley were terminated early July by haying, grazing or herbicide application. Yields were significantly decreased in wheat following cover crops in 3 out of 8 years, up to maximum of 1.4 t ha−1 (or 60%) for winter wheat following cool-season cover crop mixtures. However, cover crops also unexpectedly increased following wheat yields in 2018, possibly due in part to residual fertilizer. Within cool-, mid- and warm-season cover crop groups, individual mixtures did not show significant differences impact on following grain yields. Similarly, cover crop termination methods had no impact on spring or winter wheat grain yields in any of the 8 years considered. Wheat grain protein concentration was not affected by cover crop mixtures or termination treatments but was decreased in winter wheat following barley. Differences in soil water content across cover crop groups were only evident at the beginning of the third cycle in one field, but important reductions were observed below 15 cm in the last rotation cycle. In-season rainfall explained 43 and 13% of the variability in winter and spring wheat yields, respectively, compared to 2 and 1% for the previous year cover crop biomass. Further economic analyses are required to determine if the integration of livestock is necessary to mitigate the risks associated with the introduction of cover crops in replacement of fallow in the Northern Great Plains.

Abstract‘Flathead’ (Reg. no. CV‐1164, PI 693237) hard red winter (HRW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was developed and released by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station in 2019. Flathead was derived from a composite of two very closely related single crosses of the predominant cultivar ‘Yellowstone’ to stripe rust resistant source PI 640431, a hard white spring wheat backcross derivative of WA007900 that carries stripe rust all‐stage resistance genes Yr5 and Yr15. Flathead was developed using a modified bulk breeding method and selected as an F5:6 head row after phenotypic selection for stripe rust resistance at Kalispell, MT. Flathead was tested under the experimental number MT1564 in Montana yield trials from 2015 to 2019. Flathead is a high‐yielding HRW wheat cultivar with early maturity, short stature, medium grain protein concentration, excellent milling and baking quality, and a high level of all‐stage resistance to predominant races of stripe rust. Flathead was released for its early maturity, improved stripe rust resistance, and improved grain yield relative to other Montana‐adapted early heading cultivars.