MSU Extension has new tools to serve new Montanans

When someone moves to Montana, they often miss the framework of whom to call for answers to questions — that "I’ll-call-Joe. He’ll-know" context.

If they’ve bought land, any delay in getting answers about water, weeds or any number of things can be expensive. Fencing or out-building needs, planting or septic system questions may need to be answered before the seasons change, and it doesn’t matter whether the questions relate to someone living in a rural subdivision or on a farmstead.

"We didn’t know to call Extension," remembers Cindy Poulos, who with her husband Tom, moved to five acres halfway between Gardner and Livingston in 2005. "I don’t think we understood that even though we were little, we could get help. We didn’t want to be pushy."

After several mistakes, including new fence gates too narrow for hay trucks and horse sheds that blew over because they weren’t anchored to the ground, they called the Montana State University Extension agent for Park County to ask advice on improving their pasture and rangeland.

"He came right out and . . . told us what to do," Cindy Poulous recalls.

Every county in the state is served by one or more MSU Extension agents to help landowners like Poulous. Additionally, MSU Extension has added two new services to help small landowners: a special magazine and a Website with answers to the most common questions at the "Rural Living in Montana Information Center," http://www.msuextension.org/ruralliving.

The quarterly magazine, "Big Sky Small Acres," focuses of common problems facing landowners throughout the year. Past issues of the magazine are free on-line (a fast connection is recommended) at http://www.msuextension.org/ruralliving/Magazine.html. A print subscription costs $8 a year and can be ordered by contacting the Extension Publications Distribution Center, P.O. Box 172040, Bozeman, MT 59717, or (406)994-3273, [email protected]

MSU Extension services were also a surprise to Don and Karen Forkus, who moved to a home three miles east of Clyde Park 15 years ago. A transplant from Orange County, Calif., Don retired from law enforcement and says, "I didn’t know about Extension. I didn’t know about a lot of things."

Forkus said he and his wife Karen started coming to Montana on vacations, first in the Bitterroot Valley and later in the Gallatin Valley.

When he became serious about buying 160 acres near Clyde Park, he called the Park County Extension agent who walked the land with him.

"He spent the better part of half a day, pointing out weeds (we had a pretty significant leafy spurge population), and explaining water rights and options for getting rid of the weeds," Forkus says. "Partly based on that, we decided to buy."

Since then, he’s added land and now runs about 60-65 cow-calf pairs. He raises his own hay, and has worked to improve the land and especially to control noxious weeds.

MSU’s Extension agent in Park County, Marty Malone was with Extension for 30 years before retiring in February. He took a post-retirement appointment with MSU Extension specifically to help develop the rural living website and information.

"Many people move to Montana and buy 100 acres with the idea that they can farm or ranch," Malone says. "They have basic questions, like ‘How do I calve a cow?’ or ‘How do I get a field of hay started for my horses?’ We needed ways to answer those questions and we think this website and magazine will be of real value to rural landowners, newcomers and long-timers alike."

Contact: Marty Malone (406) 223-1302

http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=6112