Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
August 14, 2009   
                                               

By the time you read this the Turner County Fair will be well underway if not already starting to wrap up.  I have received a lot of questions about whether or not there will be holding a pesticide container collection this year.  The answer is yes, we will again be holding pesticide container collections throughout the late summer and early fall.  The pesticide container collection program is funded by pesticide registration fees, and conducted jointly by the …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
August 7, 2009
            With the Turner County Fair only days away and the first day of school looming overhead; excitement is in the air.  The county fair brings people out of the wood work from around the area where they all come to take in the sights, sounds, and of course to sample all of the delicious food that our food stands have to offer!  Whether you enjoy the games and rides on the midway, taking in a grandstand event, socializing …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
July 31, 2009
 
I sure have enjoyed driving around scouting and looking at the crops in the county this summer.  For the most part the crops look pretty good.  By this time next week, wheat harvest will be in full swing.  I have seen quite a few producers out harvesting their fields.  The wheat crop looked really good this year despite a few winter killed spots and some drowned out areas but so far the yield reports have been a bit disappointing.  …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
July 24, 2009

 
I don’t know about you but I sure am enjoying this cooler summer that we have been having.  It makes scouting the fields a lot more enjoyable for me!  If you are a soybean producer you probably have already started to scout for soybean aphids.  Scouting for soybean aphids is something that I do too.  So far I have been happy with what I have been finding.  If I find soybean aphids the numbers have been really low—nowhere near …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
July 17, 2009
 
            If you regularly read my column you will remember that I was talking about a program that I had coming up where I put in a weather request for cool and dry weather versus hot or wet weather.  Well, I only received part of my weather request.  We had more rain than we knew what to do with.  The temperatures were actually very bearable but when that sun came out for a while, it sure was humid! 
The …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
July 10, 2009

 
            I find myself in awe that another week has come and gone and that July is almost over.  Where has our summer gone?  The Turner County Fair will be here before I know it whether I am ready or not.  Lately, it seems, I have been getting a lot of calls about trees.  I have found everything from Dutch Elm Disease in American Elm trees to Ash Rust.  Looking at trees has taken me out of the office …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
July 1, 2009
 
            It’s hard to believe that the 4th of July is behind us already.  I am still in a state of disbelief that it is summer and July already.  The days, weeks, and months are starting to fly by.  I can’t believe that my children are going to be 4 years old and 2 years old this fall.  Where did the time go?  Benjamin will be attending preschool this fall and he is incredibly excited and ready for school.  …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
June 27, 2009
 

            I don’t know about you, but I am sure missing the cooler summer days that we had.  When the weather gets hot and humid I have a tough time.  Last Saturday we held the Turner County 4-H Horse Show.  I left the office not knowing what the weather would be like Friday night or Saturday morning or what the condition of the arena would be like.  There was quite a bit of water standing in the arena so …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
June 19, 2009
 
            I don’t know about you but I must admit I was very thankful for the rain that we received.  Our yard and garden really needed the rain and so did our hedges.  Believe it or not, our hedges are really coming along.  Some of the hedges are close to two and a half feet tall already!  If you don’t remember, I cut them down to 2 to 3 inches from the ground to rejuvenate them.  My husband was …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy, 
June 12, 2009
 

            It’s that time of year again when agronomy educators are busy scouting fields, counting soybean aphids, and monitoring for soybean rust in soybeans.  Although, soybean rust has not been found in the state of South Dakota producers need to be aware that getting rust is still a possibility.  In the past, soybean rust has been found in Iowa and Nebraska.
In South Dakota we are again continuing and participating with the soybean sentinel plot monitoring network.  I will be …

LIVING WELL by Lavonne Meyer, Turner County Extension Educator 5-28-09
            Weeds and pesticides were the topics at Master Gardeners.  Well, trust me, I know about weeds.  I don’t always know the technical name for them, but I can certainly recognize all the ones that show up in my garden.  The hoe is my first defense, but I’m a big believer in mulch to keep them from growing.  I like to cover my garden with old newspapers and then put on a thick layer of grass clippings.  The whole works can …

LIVING WELL by Lavonne Meyer, Turner County Extension Educator 6-4-09
            I did not get to attend Master Gardener class last week, because I was in Chamberlain at a different training.  So I missed one of the two sessions taught by John Ball, SDSU Forestry Specialist.  I am looking forward to hearing John talk this week about tree identification.  In case you are interested, SDSU has a wonderful publication about growing trees in South Dakota.  It is very specific about different varieties of trees that can be grown in different counties.  …

LIVING WELL by Lavonne Meyer, Turner County Extension Educator 6-11-09
            “I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree” is the beginning of a famous poem by Alfred Joyce Kilmer. After this last session of Master Gardeners, I learned more about trees than I thought possible.  And yes, they are lovely.
            John Ball, SDSU Forestry Specialist, taught us about planting trees and tree identification.  I learned that almost anyone can get a tree to grow for one year.  If your tree is still alive after five years, …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
June 7, 2009
  

            Who would have thought that June would be so cold and dry?  The rain that we received the last few days has been a blessing for many landowners.  Now if we could only do something about these cool temperatures! 
Actually, my husband and I have welcomed the rain and cool temperatures that we have had lately.  The reason?  All of those hedges that I have mentioned before sustained winter dieback an d in order to save them we …

Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 
May 28, 2009
 
Is anyone else in disbelief that it is June already?  If you are anything like me, you are probably wondering what happened to the month of May.  I know May was here but man it sure went by fast!  May is always a busy month for my family as we have hedges, hedges, and more hedges to trim, a garden to plant, and flower beds to work with.  And I can’t forget about a 3 ½ year old little …