Backyard chicken trend linked to spike in salmonella cases

The discussion about allowing backyard hens in Minot is taking place right now. One of the factors being considered is whether these animals a risk to public health? And how do we balance that against the benefits of fresh, locally sourced food? On the public health side of the equation, this story out of Des

Read & Share   sourced from: Star Tribune

North Dakota grapes see successful harvest despite drought

When one thinks of North Dakota grown products, grapes don’t typically rise to the top of the list. And it turns out that drier years, while tough on many other crops, are good for grapes. Check out the story on the Bismarck Tribune.

Read & Share   sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

What Mongolian Nomads Teach Us About the Digital Future

North Dakota’s prairie-grass ecosystem and nomad economy were converted to an agriculturally based economy by the area’s early European settlers, but across the Pacific in the heart of Asia, the Mongolian nomads still live a lifestyle largely free of the traditional modern conveniences. This in-depth article from Wired captures the spirit of the lifestyle; it

Read & Share   sourced from: WIRED

Farmer promotes food, farming, and ranching in Saskatchewan

More and more, modern food consumers have less and less sense of where their food comes from and how it’s produced. And in a place like North Dakota and our agricultural neighbors to the North, that’s a problem we need to be conscious of. That problem is what’s inspired many farmers and ranchers to take

Read & Share   sourced from: Estevan Mercury

Wildlife management or hunting? By either name, it’s being considered in Minot

Jill Schramm with The Minot Daily News has the story on the City of Minot’s ad hoc committee tasked with charting a path to deal with a growing number of wildlife-human interactions.

Read & Share   sourced from: Minot Daily News

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Theodore Roosevelt National Park holds bison roundup in South Unit

The bison in Teddy Roosevelt National Park are a major attraction, but because the park is limited in size and fenced, it’s not able to support a bison population of unlimited size. That means bison management practices are required from time to time, and this fall is one of those occasions. Many of the animals

Read & Share   sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

In ‘This Blessed Earth,’ the outdated romance of the family farm

The farms and small towns of our parents and grandparents generation are less and less each season. New technology, out-migration, changing geopolitics — they’re all factors contributing to the ebb of the family farm culture. If the topic interests you, “This Blessed Earth” is a new book featured in this MPR article.

Read & Share   sourced from: Minnesota Public Radio

A 17-pound walleye is swimming in Lake Sakakawea

Every spring Game and Fish wardens trap fish on Lake Sakakawea and harvest their eggs for the fish hatchery. This year, trapped in those nets was a behemoth walleye. Mike McFeely writes of the tale that’s documented with pictures.

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

Optimistic investors pumping $75 million into meatless burgers

There are two companies chasing the concept of the meatless burger, and before you dismiss the idea with some picture of a bean patty or veggie burger, the goal is a burger that looks and tastes like real beef, and they’re closer than you realize. It may seem far-fetched or impossible, but the impacts on ranchers

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

The Gulf Of Mexico’s Dead Zone Is The Biggest Ever Seen

When agricultural producers use too much fertilizer, the surplus that isn’t absorbed into the land and plants runs off into the water shed. When it gets to the end of the downstream line, it dumps into the ocean or a lake. In North Dakota’s case, one of those end-of-the-line watershed deposits is the Gulf of Mexico.

Read & Share   sourced from: NPR

EPA chief to discuss water regulations during visit to state

Scott Pruitt, the EPA’s top administrator, will be visiting North Dakota next week, and the Waters of the U.S. rule making is expected to be a hot topic of conversation. Between agricultural and energy industries and our cultural disposition toward property rights, environmental regulations and rules have big impacts on North Dakota, and it sounds

Read & Share   sourced from: Williston Herald

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How, and why, some farmers are bringing livestock back to the prairie

The way people are eating and sourcing their food is changing, and as a result, so are the farms that produce that food. More and more, consumers are attuned to concepts like animal welfare and locally sourcing. That means there’s a growing market for the farms of our grandfathers — the smaller operations with a

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Western wheat crop down by a third or more

The yields are starting to come in, and it’s what would be expected in a drought year. Numbers vary widely across the state, but in the areas with less rain, the yields per acre are down from the averages of the recent good years. The Bismarck Tribune has the story on the early data. Hopefully,

Read & Share   sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

10 Farming Myths to Think About on Your Next Grocery Run

It’s true, here in North Dakota we’re closer to our food production here than most parts of the country, but that doesn’t mean some misperceptions about dinner gets from the farm to the table aren’t out there. This quick article from Science Alerts calls out the common myths about modern agriculture and food production and

Read & Share   sourced from: Science Alert

The biggest infrastructure project in the US is a 3,000-mile bike path

It’s called the East Coast Greenway; it connects Maine to Florida, and it’s being funded by private donors, state, and local governments. The goal is connectivity. Read the full story on Quartz.

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

Paddlers promote ‘positive trace ethic’ by cleaning up litter along Minnesota, St. Croix and Mississippi rivers

The old mantra for the environmentally minded heading into the wilderness was, “take only pictures, leave only footprints”. But for a few, it seems that’s not good enough. The concept is called adventure stewardship, and the goal is to go out and have the fun recreationally but leave the environment better as a result. In

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum