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| LEARN ABOUT US |
| BLAINE County Extension Programs |
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| Person: |
Ron Thaemert |
| Program Thrust: |
Agriculture – crop production, 4-H/youth development |
| Major Programs: |
Alfalfa production/storage, noxious weed control, ultrasounding livestock |
| Successes and Current Activities: |
One of Mr. Thaemert’s primary educational programs has been in assisting producers with forage storage concerns. He developed a sampling tool and protocol for sampling the moisture content of alfalfa in the windrow. This tool costs less than $10 to make and affords producers an accurate method of testing moisture level to determine the correct time to bale hay. As a result, producers can limit forage loss from haystack fire and provide high quality hay, thus enhancing the economic return. Information on the tool has been shared with over 1000 participants at invited presentations and displays throughout Idaho and the western U.S. Mr. Thaemert has also written four articles for national producer magazines and numerous newspaper articles about the tool and its usage. He has co-authored three chapters in the Idaho Forage Handbook on alfalfa quality and has written a Current Information Series publication on windrow moisture sampling. He was awarded a $2600 grant from United Dairymen of Idaho to support his hay storage applied research and another grant for $920 to support research into weed free forages and straw. Mr. Thaemert was the first certified Extension Educator to introduce the forage nitrate Quick Test in the state of Idaho. The Nitrate Quick test provides producers on farm testing of nitrate levels in forage crops, thus reducing the risk of nitrate poisoning to livestock. Mr. Thaemert has trained and certified nine eastern Idaho Extension Educators in the use the Nitrate Quick test in the past year. In the area of noxious weed control, Mr. Thaemert has worked with agricultural producers managing hundreds of acres and with homeowners in Blaine County. He provides education to students and the public on weed awareness, identification and eradication. Mr. Thaemert, in cooperation with other Extension Educators, developed a successful pesticide applicator training program and delivers the program in multi counties; pass rate for participants is over 80%. |
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