SPCC Regulations

I received a call about this today, so I figured here was as good of a spot as any to relay information as it relates to the EPA's Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) program.  For those who have no idea what I am referring to, the SPCC has been in effect for some time now and is a programmed designed to ensure that if there is a spill of oil and/or products containing oil, those products do not make it to the waters and shorelines of the United States.

Essentially, the program requires that those who store petroleum based products on their farm have plans in place to prevent and/or contain spills.  However, this does not apply to everyone.  There are 3 criteria that must be met in order to determine whether or not you need an SPCC plan.  To determine if you need an SPCC plan, ask yourself these three questions.

1.  Does your farm store, transfer, use or consume oil or oil products such as diesel fuel, gasoline, lube oil, hydraulic oil, adjuvant oil, crop oil, vegetable oil or animal fat and
2. Does your farm store more than 1,320 US Gallons in above-ground containers* or more than 42,000 US gallons in completely buried containers, and
3. Could your farm reasonably be expected to discharge oil to waters of the US or adjoining shorelines such as interstate waters intrastate lakes, rivers and streams (navigable waters only, not groundwater).

*This refers to containers greater than 55 gallons.

Essentially, if you can answer no to any one of the above three questions, you are not required to have an SPCC plan.  But, if you cannot answer no to any of them, then you are required to have a plan.  To learn more about the plan itself, visit http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/index.htm

There are several questions regarding the rules, and I am no expert on the rules, but feel free to email me if you have questions and I would be happy to help with answers.

Finally, the wet stuff has arrived

After a much warmer and drier winter than normal, our spring started out in the same fashion.  However, I am happy to report that much of Richland County is getting some much needed rain today and it is supposed to continue into the weekend.  While the dry conditions have allowed many farmers to get a really good start on seeding, there just was not much in the way of subsoil moisture to get those seeds out of the ground.  For the first time since I've been here (and I realize this is only my 3rd growing season) some irrigated farmers have had to use the resource just to get their crops out of the ground. 

As I said though, we are getting ample amounts of moisture and many of the crops that have been seeded already should be breaking through the ground in no time.  My guess is that we are about 1/4 of the way finished with seeding (that's across the board, not 1 or 2 crops specifically) and our winter wheat crop and the crops that have sprouted are looking pretty good.  Stay tuned!!

Glyphosate resistant Kochia identified in Alberta

Yes I realize that Alberta is not necessarily relatively close to northeastern Montana, but it is close enough that we should pay attention. Recently, researchers identified glyphosate-resistant kochia in Alberta. To see the entire news release, visit http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=11058.

Richland County office one of many sites hosting a webinar on mineral leases April 4th

Montana State University Extension will sponsor a free webinar "Mineral Leasing in Montana," on Wednesday, April 4, from 10-11 a.m.

Featuring Tim Fitzgerald, assistant professor of Agricultural Economics at MSU, the webinar will outline the importance of the leasing process, current trends in oil and gas development in Montana, structure of an oil and gas lease, and related concerns. Both mineral and surface owners will find the discussion useful, as well as owners with existing leases. Participants will also be provided a check list for oil and gas leases, sample lease forms for oil and gas leases and a sample surface damage agreement.

Montana has recently experienced a flurry of interest in mineral leasing. Land and mineral owners interested in the leasing process will find this webinar useful to help understand and address their role in leasing and development issues, whether located in a proven area of the state, or in a lesser-known mineral-rich area.

There are two ways to participate in this no-charge webinar: Watch and participate individually online; or visit one of the locations offering classroom space (in Broadus, at Powder River County Courthouse; in Choteau, at Choteau Country Club; in Culbertson, at the RC Complex; in Havre, at the Northern Agricultural Research Center; in Sidney, at the Richland County Extension office; in Terry, at the Prairie County Courthouse; and in Valier, at the Valier Civic Center). For details or accommodations at host classrooms, contact the county MSU Extension agent.

To run the webinar on your personal computer, participants should update their browser to ensure the software can communicate with MSU's webinar software. Detailed instructions for these updates and a connectivity test, which can be run any time before the webinar on April 4, are available at: http://www.montana.edu/softwaredownloads/energydownloads/usingadobeconnect.pdf/

Join the April 4 webinar by visiting the following link: http://www.msuextensionconnect.org/leasing/ Please log in about 10 minutes before the actual start time.

Think your winter wheat is dead, maybe not. Here's how to tell for sure

Last week I had an opportunity to participate in a webinar hosted by NDSU, Ducks Unlimited and a few other organizations. The emphasis of the webinar was looking at winter wheat and making management decisions based on survival. A few producers have questioned whether our lack of winter and snow cover has caused winter wheat to suffer winter kill. My initial reaction was that we probably did have some significant amounts of winter kill but I'm not so sure now.

One way to know for sure whether or not your wheat crop is lost is to perform the "bag test". Here is a link to a video that shows exactly how to do it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soCj2OsLJ_w&feature=youtu.be) and also describes how to determine whether or not your wheat has survived.

I would encourage you to perform the test, especially if you have significant areas of your field that appear to be dead, before making any decisions regarding tearing up the crop or trying to inter-seed a spring wheat crop into it.

I am more than happy to help with the test if needed.

Training for new private pesticide applicators March 23

On Friday, March 23^rd, the Richland County Extension Office will host a hand’s on educational seminar for any individual wishing to obtain a private pesticide applicator’s license. The class will begin with registration at 8:30 and will wrap up around 4:45 in the afternoon. The entire session will be held at the conference center located within the Richland County Extension Office which is located at 1499 N. Central Avenue in Sidney.

Those in attendance will meet the requirements necessary to obtain a private pesticide applicator’s license for the state of Montana. Private applicators who currently hold a license are welcome to attend as well, and will receive 6 re-certification credits.

For more information about the private pesticide applicator program in Montana, please visit http://pesticides.montana.edu/. For questions, directions, or to register contact Tim Fine at 406-433-1206 or by email at tfine@montana.edu.

Conservation Tillage options for beet growers

On Tuesday, March 27 the Richland County Extension Office will host a producer panel for area sugarbeet growers. The focus of the panel will be looking at what types of conservation tillage practices (no-till, strip till, etc...) beet growers are implementing, what accomplishments have been reached by these growers, and what challenges growers face when trying to incorporate these practices into their operations.

There is no cost associated with this program and no need to pre-register. The panel discussion will begin at 6:00 p.m. and run as long as there are questions to be answered. For more information or if you have questions, contact the Richland County Extension Office.