Ranchers

Farmers

Riding Out Another Season

by: National Geographic
Harsh isolation didn't deter homesteaders from making a life along northern Montana's Hi-Line. Their tight-knit descendants show no less resolve.
Photograph by William Albert Allard
The 4-H Club program, developing youthful skills and confidence, is another thread of the social fabric. Jayleen McAlpine of Sunburst shows her steer at the county fair.
Photograph by William Albert Allard
Friends and neighbors gathered to help Maggie Nutter (pink cap) and Kelly Mothershead brand their calves. Afterward, beer slakes thirst and affirms a community moment.

Strip Farming

Strip farming helps prevent wind erosion, and increases moisture retention.  This method of farming includes breaking up the soil, by tilling it eight to 10 inches deep. Deep tilling destroys the structure of the soil, and the loose dirt travels with the wind. Generally a crop is planted on every other strip, with alternate strips of fallow.  Each strip is normally rotated the following year, with the crop strips becoming fallow, and the fallow strips being seeded for crops.  The stubble is necessary on fallow strips, because the roots and stubble protect the soil from wind erosion, and help capture necessary moisture.   Weeds must be limited on the fallow strip, because weeds use moisture that the soil requires.

The strips run parallel to each other, and the width of each strip varies.  The farmer determines the width of the strip, based on what works best for him and his equipment.  Strip farming is a cost-effective way of conserving the soil, especially during years of drought.  Strip farming began in the 1920s and 1930s, but it is becoming a thing of the past.  Methods have changed with advances in technology, so block farming is more predominant in Toole County now.   Larger equipment and new methods, including Chem fallow (use of herbicides), have basically eliminated the need to til the ground.  The strip farms are incredible to see, and are especially fascinating to see when flying over our county.  Picture courtesy of Dean Hellinger.

Caragana Shrubs

These fields by mile marker 13 on the Kevin Highway (215) have rows of Caragana shrubs. The shrubs were recommended in the 1960s for use as windbreaks and there was a resurgence of the use of Caragana shrubs for farming in the late 1980s.  The bushes are recommended for erosion control and to help maintain the moisture; this is effective in years of heavy snow, because the shrubs will catch and drift the snow.  They also prevent the wind from drying the fields.  The Caragana is a hearty shrub that is drought tolerant and winters very well.  The Caragana bushes were planted to help the fields yield more crop, but they can be a nuisance to the farmer when using his equipment in the fields.  Many farmers believe the Caragana shrubs are beneficial to their farming, yet others don’t think they do much good.