Reimbursement available

for organic certification costs

Organic farmers, ranchers, processors and handlers have until Oct. 31, to apply for reimbursement of their organic certification costs for fiscal year 2014.

“Organic producers can receive up to $750 of the organic certification costs they incurred between Oct. 1, 2013 and Sept. 30, 2014,” said Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. “The National Organic Cost Share Program has provided North Dakota with $99,000 for certification reimbursement for 2014.”

Applicants must provide a 2014 cost share application form, a copy of a dated certificate or letter from a certifier verifying certification between Oct. 1, 2013 and Sept. 30, 2014, and a completed IRS W-9 Form. Applications must be submitted by Oct. 31.

Applicants who are certified by International Certification Services or the Organic Crop Improvement Association Chapter 1 should apply for reimbursement through the certifier. These organizations certify most North Dakota organic producers. All other producers should contact Emily Edlund at the North Dakota Department of Agriculture at 701-328-2191 or edlund@nd.gov.

More information, including program guidelines and application forms, are available on the North Dakota Organic Advisory Board website at www.ndorganics.nd.gov/ or the NDDA website:www.nd.gov/ndda/program/organic-certification-cost-share-program.

Tree Care this Fall

(Water trees and perennials)

Gary Wyatt, University of Minnesota Extension

Trees and shrubs, especially conifer trees and trees and shrubs planted in the last three years should be watered generously until the soil freezes. Mulching newly planted trees will help reduce winter root damage.

Young maples and thinned barked trees may benefit from some kind of sunscald protection to prevent the bark from cracking this winter and spring. This protection is usually in the form of a plastic tube or tree wrap (remove in spring). These practices can also help in reducing winter animal damage. Other fall management practices which will help reduce winter damage to trees and shrubs can be found at http://z.umn.edu/winterdamage

Protecting trees from rabbits, mice, voles and deer is a major concern in some landscapes during the winter. Mow or remove tall grass to reduce mice and vole damage. If the bark is removed or severely damaged around the tree, it will die. Protective physical barriers such as tree tubes, hardware cloth or fencing can be done when practical.

Odor, taste and visual repellents can be used to repel many wildlife species, but may have inconsistent effectiveness. Human hair, soaps, garlic oil, hot sauce and animal repellents can be applied to branches and foliage to discourage browsing. Weather, application frequency, animal population and feeding pressure affect the success of repellents. Some animals become desensitized to the repellent, so you may want to alternate repellents. A web resource that reviews prevention and control of wildlife damage can be found at http://z.umn.edu/critters

If you’re unsure what is causing problems in your landscape, Extension has a great web site to help homeowners diagnose tree, shrub and plant problems or identifying a weed or insect. This site also has links to the UM Plant Disease Clinic and Soil Testing Lab. http://z.umn.edu/diagnose

Fall is also a good time to plant trees (water till the soil freezes). Recommended trees for all regions of Minnesota can be found at http://z.umn.edu/rectrees Dutch Elm Disease resistant tree varieties can be found at http://z.umn.edu/dedrtrees. The best time to prune trees is during the dormant season from January to March. Flowering shrubs can be pruned in the summer after flowering.

NDSU Releases New Soybean Variety

Producers in the soybean specialty market may be interested in ND1406HP, a new variety developed by the North Dakota State University soybean breeding program.

ND1406HP is a conventional (non-GMO) soybean that was released this year from the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station.

“ND1406HP is intended for the high-protein, tofu or soymilk specialty markets,” says Ted Helms, NDSU soybean breeder. “I am excited about this release because ND1406HP has better yield and quality for these specialty uses than other NDSU varieties. However, it is important for some growers to note that it lacks a major gene for phytophthora root rot resistance.”

ND1406HP has had consistently high protein content. It also is more resistant to lodging than Prosoy and is rated higher than Prosoy in overall tofu quality.

Characteristics of ND1406HP include 0.6 maturity, purple flower color, gray pubescence, yellow hila with dull seed coat luster and brown pod color. ND1406HP is tolerant to metribuzin herbicide at the recommended rate of application.

Compared with the conventional NDSU soybean variety Sheyenne, ND1406HP has 3 percent higher protein content, matures three days earlier and yields 6 bushels per acre less. Earlier-maturing varieties can help reduce the risk of yield reduction in a cool year with an early fall freeze.

“ND1406HP will be attractive for people in the food-grade soybean market because of its potential to be an earlier tofu soybean with high yield,” says Tom Teigen, NDSU Agronomy Seed Farm director. “It also has better quality and shorter maturity than Prosoy, the current industry standard specialty soybean.”

Helms credits the North Dakota Soybean Council and North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station for their continued support of the NDSU soybean breeding program, especially in the development of ND1406HP.

The North Dakota Crop Improvement and Seed Association has a license agreement with the NDSU Research Foundation to produce and distribute ND1406HP seed through Dakota Select Seed. There is a one-time $100 membership fee to join Dakota Select Seed. A variety access fee of $100 per variety per year also is charged.

For more information, contact Gonzalo Rojas, Foundation Seedstocks assistant director, at (701) 231-8168 or gonzalo.rojas@ndsu.edu.