Writing

Agriculture reporting

State ag agencies prepare education on new medicated feed rules

Officials with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture and North Dakota State Extension Service are preparing educational materials for livestock producers, veterinarians and feed stores who will have to deal with the Food and Drug Administration's new veterinary feed directive rules.

New program aims to reduce grassland losses

More than 1 million acres of grassland in North Dakota have been converted to other land uses since 2007, and the state could lose thousands more as Conservation Reserve Program contracts expire, according to the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust's application for an Outdoor Heritage Fund grant.

Cattle market affects Bismarck mission support organization

As anyone in agriculture knows, no two years are alike. One year the profits roll in, and the next year the expenses pile up. Producers learn to expect volatility and take what the market gives. A Bismarck-based missionary support organization has learned the same lessons in its nearly 60 years of helping farmers and ranchers support Christian causes through their operations.

Pilot project takes on ag-friendly wetland preservation

Bunches of cattails stick up like an island in the middle of Denny Ova's stubble field north of Cleveland. Nearby, boggy mud sucks boots into the ground. There's little in the way of standing water now, but it was there at some point during the growing season. Ova, however, has little concern for whether the wheat that yielded 60 bushel to the acre got drowned out by the seasonal wetland. Ova, since last spring, has been participating in the North Dakota Working Wetlands Pilot Project, which pays farmers not to alter small, seasonal wetlands in the fields they farm.

Beef industry mixed on what effects of corporate agriculture could be

Few people argued that North Dakota's beef industry needed help staying relevant when a bill arose in the 2015 Legislature that would have loosened the state's anti-corporate agriculture law.

NRCS tackles backlog of wetland determinations

When crop prices went sky high, Hurdsfield farmer Chad Weckerly wanted to add drain tile to aid in ridding his fields of excess water and make them more productive. That required consulting with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to make sure he wasn't going to be changing a wetland. Five years later, he's still going through the process.

Jennifer Schlecht

Resource Magazine

Recent work

Business continues after fire destroys Medina elevator

A fire Sunday night destroyed a livestock feed business in the grain elevator in Medina, but Kenny Hoffer, general manager at Diamond W Feeds, indicated business operations would continue as usual.

Centering prayer may aid in calming, destressing

Dr. Christie Iverson's life was full — too full. With four kids and a full-time job in obstetrics and gynecology, she felt stressed and overstretched. Seeking a new way to incorporate prayer into her life about seven years ago she attended a seminar on centering prayer.

Red Cross volunteers take off for Hurricane Matthew response

As millions of people evacuate the area expected to be hit by Hurricane Matthew, groups of volunteers from North Dakota will be driving into the storm.

Political reporting

President Obama makes two quick stops in Bismarck

Air Force One arrived and left from Bismarck for President Barack Obama's visit to the Standing Rock Reservation.

Attorney general visits UTTC for tribal conference

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke Thursday at the fourth annual Tribal Consultation Conference.

Federal committee holds first hearing on tribal youth exposure to violence

The U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence held its first hearing on Monday at Bismarck’s Ramkota Hotel. The committee heard testimony on the effects of domestic violence, sexual abuse and witnessing violence on tribal youth, as well as testimony about services working to help heal victims and prevent future violence.