N O RT H D A K O TA
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November 2015
John Kringler,
Chair & Cropping Systems
• NDSU Harvest Bowl/Agricultural Recognition was
held November 6 & 7. The event recognizes agriculture and the impact it has on the area, and awards
scholarships to student athletes. Lynden Johnson,
executive vice president of CHS Country Operations, was the 2015 Agribusiness Award Recipient.
The County Agriculturist Award honorees from Cass
County were Carl and Julie Peterson, Harwood.
• Cass County Extension Agents, NDSU Extension
Specialists and University of Minnesota Extension
Educators met to exchange programing ideas and
discuss programs scheduled. Several programs
have been planned through the two state area.
Kelcey Hoffmann
Agriculture
• In November, I attended a two-day workshop in
Jamestown, ND where specialists and producers
from across the region presented on utilizing different grazing methods to help keep feeding costs
down, nutritional demands in beef cows, manure
distribution, soil health, and water quality. These
different grazing methods included winter grazing of
cover crops, swath and bale grazing. I am excited to
turn some of this information around and use during
my winter meetings with producers.
Sue Quamme,
Parenting Resources
• On November 12, the Region V Parenting Resource Center hosted our
annual parenting conference. This
year’s theme was “21st Century Child
and Youth Development: The Science and Art of Helping Kids Thrive.”
This was a full-day conference where
internationally renowned author and
speaker Dr. David Walsh spoke to
over 115 professionals and parents.
Dr. Walsh discussed a variety of topics including brain development, stress
regulation, the child’s brain at school,
self-discipline, how to praise children,
and much more! Dr. Walsh also treated
another 50 some attendees to an evening seminar “iBrain: Guiding Children
and Teens to Success in the Digital
Age.”
• Other parenting classes and lessons
offered were: Conscious Discipline
at Olivet Lutheran Church, Parenting
Styles at ND Job Service and Community Based Nurturing Parenting
Program at a homeless shelter.
• The Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota
committee met and began planning
and writing the grant for events in April
when we will celebrate Child Abuse
Prevention month.
Maxine J. Nordick, 4-H Youth Development
• 4-H Mystery Holiday Workshop attracts many club members
and leaders develop organizational and teaching skills hosting an activity booth at the 4-H Mystery Holiday Workshop.
Fourteen club booths provided a variety of hands-on activities
for 150 youth who were able to make gifts for others. A 4-H
community service project supporting the Cass County Rural
Emergency Food Pantry was held in conjunction with the event.
Nikki Johnson
EFNEP/FNP Youth Nutrition Program
• With the school year in full swing, youth nutrition programming has significantly increased too. Approximately
24 different classrooms kicked off their nutrition classes
for the year. Each group’s nutrition series is specific to
their age, so content varies depending on curricula used.
In addition to teaching classes, I have also been working on a project with several agents in Cass County and
around the state called Kids, Compost, Crops and Consumption. The project is focused on teaching children
about the whole food cycle and promoting involvement
in gardening and increased consumption of vegetables.
In the coming months, the program will be piloted to
select classrooms in Cass County.
Michelle Strang,
EFNEP/FNP Adult Nutrition Program
• I started teaching a monthly “cooking skills” class with
the teen moms at Woodrow Wilson. These ladies are
working towards their GED and are allowed to bring their
children with them to school. In addition to their regular
course work, they learn about parenting and other life
skills. We began with a lesson on food safety, which I
later realized was a very good idea considering some
of the answers and stories that were told about their
current food safety practices (or lack of them!) Our next
sessions will include a short nutrition education piece
followed by cooking skills in the kitchen. This group will
continue weekly in February and then once or twice a
month from then on.
Rita Ussatis, Food and Nutrition
• I attended the National Family and Consumer Science
meeting in West Virginia. A great opportunity to learn
about new and exciting programs.
• Twelve classrooms with approximately 265 students
completed the 5 week On the Move to Better Health
program. Statements received included “I can’t believe
how much I learned about eating and activity, I will try
to still eat more fruits and vegetables.”
• Over 150 junior and seniors in high school attended a
one-day seminar on financial planning for college. This
program is sponsored Town & County Credit Union,
NDSU and NDSU Extension Service. One high school
teacher wrote ‘”The session provided valuable info &
helps them think through budgeting.” I co-taught “Your
Money Plan.”
• Participated in the Caregiver Health Fair and promoted
the program “Powerful Tools for Caregivers.”
Todd Weinmann,
Horticulture
I have been involved with several trainings in addition to my usual phone
calls and emails. I taught raised beds
and square foot gardening to the newest Master Gardener class.
I was
invited to the Ceremony Re-dedication
of the NDSU Grandmother Earths
Garden by Memorial Union that I was
originally on the task force to develop
and get implemented, My Extension
Leadership Training meetings are
coming to an end, for a part of this I
was asked to review and comment
on the NDSU Extension Orientation
1 Session for future Onboarding, I attended the Meet and Greet that UMN
and NDSU set up. An i-Three Corps
application was solicited to us (myself,
Nikki Johnson, and Kelcey Hoffman)
and we accepted. I have completed
the following: IRB Training, Fraud
Training, Sexual Harassment Training, Workforce Safety, and Baseline,
Safety Training and a Video for i-Three
Corps, and NELD (National Extension
Leadership Development) trainings.
Monique Stelzer
4-H Youth After School Program
I attended the National Association for
Extension 4-H Agents annual conference in Portland, Oregon. While at
conference, I attended several breakout sessions which inspired thoughts
of how we can replicate or introduce
program efforts in Cass County.
Among these breakout sessions were:
The Native 4-H Weaving Project-introduces traditional Navajo weaving
techniques and skills to youth through
textile weaving; Discover International
Clubs—introduces activities and connections with world cultures which
can be utilized by 4-H volunteers and
staff; and an emerging technologies
session which introduced the Aurasma
app and provided
tips and ideas for
utilizing this app
with education 4-H
activities.