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The Meadowlark Initiative is intended to provide landowners a one-stop-shop for programs and practices available through various private, state and federal conservation partners to help establish and manage diverse native perennial grasses, install grazing infrastructure and develop working grasslands for sustainable livestock grazing. For more information, please visit https://gf.nd.gov/meadowlark-initiative.

Hands-On Business Seminar for Young Adults The James River SCD is looking to sponsor a local up-and-coming rancher in attending the RMC Hands-On Business Seminar for Young Adults 4-day business intensive course in Burwell, Nebraska, June 18-21, 2024. This course is open to those in the 18-30 year old age range only! Applications will be taken on the form HERE! Apply for Sponsorship

Full list of services and products available through the district. Top of Page Tree Planting Weed Barrier No-Till Drill Grass Drills Tree Auger Disc Rental Manure Spreader Products HandPlants Fabric and Staples Tree Shelters Tree Stakes Cover Crop Seed SERVICES We provide a variety of products and services such as Tree planting and equipment, Weed Barrier and Application, No-till drill rental, No-till Grass drill rental, Mowing, and Tilling. For information on mowing and tilling, please contact the office directly. We also coordinate with the LaMoure County SCD for the rental of a manure spreader. Also, below is a link taking you to our Vendor List. Deer Likes and Dislikes Dickey County Vendor List TREE PLANTING The tree planter can only be used with bareroot sized conservation tree stock. The cost of the trees is included in the price. * The charge for a machine planting is $47.50/hundred linear feet. * The charge for planting handplants is $6.00 per tree (tree and labor). Tree Planting WEED BARRIER The weedbarrier machine lays the fabric down and works best on properly prepared ground. The District tries to place the fabric as secure as possible, but it is necessary to periodically check your fabric to make sure that all areas are secure, especially after a storm. The weedbarrier machine cannot lay fabric around curves. The cost of the fabric is included in the price. * The charge for the fabric application is $77.50/hundred linear feet. Weed Barrier NO-TILL DRILL RENTAL The 1590, 15’ wide, 7 1/2” spacing no-till drill can be rented for $10.00 per acre. To save time, download and fill out Agricultural Service Agreement and Drill check-out sheet. Copies are also available from office. Appropriate sections need to be filled out before and after drill use. No-Till Drill Agricultural Service Agreement 15' John Deere Check-out sheet 10' GP Grass Drill check-out sheet 15'GP Grass Drill check-out sheet GRASS DRILL RENTAL The District has 2 Great Plains Grass drills. The 10’ Great Plains 1006 NT has 7 1/2” spacing and 3 seed boxes. The newer drill is a 3PGN15 - a 15 foot wide drill and has similar boxes and spacings. Drill rent is $10/acre. To save time, download and fill out Agricultural Service Agreement and Drill check-out sheet. Copies are also available from office. Appropriate sections need to be filled out before and after drill use. Grass Drills TREE AUGER We have two Stihl BT45 Earth Augers available for rent. These gasoline-powered augers are great for when producers decide to either plant their own handplants or if they need to replace dead trees in existing plantings. Price: $25/day (includes blended fuel) Tree Auger DISKING SERVICE We have purchased a 7 1/2 foot Buhler disk for use by producers. This is ideal for tilling strips for tree plantings. Call the office for rental information. Disc Rental KUHN MANURE SPREADER A Kuhn PS160 Vertical Manure Spreader that has approximately 600 cu. ft. capacity is available for rent. Contact LaMoure SCD at 701-883-5344, ext. 3, for more info or for scheduling. Price: $350/day Manure Spreader PRODUCTS Products HANDPLANTS Bareroot, conservation grade trees are typically 18-24 inches. $3.00/tree. There is a 20% discount for bundle orders of same-species trees. Larger sizes also available by request for replacements in windbreaks. For complete tree listing and order form: CLICK HERE HandPlants FABRIC AND STAPLES Fabric is woven, black polypropylene 18 mils in thickness, 6 feet wide by 500 feet long roll, and can be purchased by the roll or per foot. Price: $0.35 per foot or $135 per roll Staples are used to secure weedbarrier fabric to the ground. 10x2x10 8-gauge staple Price: $0.20 each or $75.00 for box of 500 Fabric and Staples TREE SHELTERS Vigilis Standard Tree Shelters are rigid, twin-walled, cylindrical tree shelters, manufactured from UV-stabilized and photodegradable polypropylene. They have flared rims to minimize stem abrasion and our standard tree shelters have laser lines that are designed to split as the tree grows. The green color allows the correct balance of light wavelengths to be absorbed by the tree – a process called photomorphogenesis. The shelters may need to be checked periodically and re-staked if deer have pushed them over from constant rubbing. The shelters may qualify for cost share assistance. Shelters are 3-4 inch diameter and cost $5 each. Shelters are 5 foot in height. Stakes are sold separately if needed. Tree Shelters TREE STAKES Your tree shelter installation is only as good as the stake you choose for the job. The district offers durable, and reusable SunFlex™ stakes. SunFlex stakes flex in the wind to help seedlings develop stronger stems and are engineered to stand tall with built-in super strong “memory” to return to a straight position even on the windiest sites. Stakes are sold for $4.50/piece.They are 6 feet in length. We also are carrying a different, cheaper option of tree stakes. They are a plastic coated steel rod garden stake. The coating has gnarled spurs to keep the tree tube from moving so easily. They are available for $2/piece. Tree Stakes COVER CROP SEED We sell cover crop seed—forage radish, turnips, sugarbeets, sunflowers, peas, millet, rape, barley, oats, grain sorghum, lentils. We also sell inoculant. Call for prices and mixes. Benefits of cover crops include: · Improve overall soil health · Increase crop diversity · Increase organic matter · Improve water infiltration · Reduce soil compaction · Improve nutrient cycling · Reduce fertilizer needs · Provide additional grazing · Reduce late season herbicide needs · Improve soil structure Cover Crop Seed

Community Garden info for Dickey County North Dakota We need your opinion We are looking for Dickey County individuals for survey feedback on the addition to a community garden in the Oakes area. We would greatly appreciate your time and input to see if this is a feasible endeavor to benefit the community. Community Garden Survey can be found HERE

Looking to join our team? We're looking for full time seasonal team members to assist with the 2026 planting season! Tree planting consists of mechanical and hand planting from approximately May 1 to June 1. Following this is weed barrier applications lasting approximately until the end of June. Apply for one or both positions! Wages start at $16 per hour. This is a weather dependent job! Applicants must be willing to work outside in various weather conditions, lift heavy materials, and work in the soil! Must be 16 or over to apply. JOIN US TODAY Description Assist with machine planting and hand planting processes and/or weed barrier application. Ready and willing to work in nature in all types of weather. Attention to detail and care of work process is a must! Application Applications can be collected upon request and returned at the office location: 51 N 1st Street Ellendale ND 58436 or mailed to PO Box 190 As well as printed from here on our website: Download my Application Now!

Patch of Prairie Trail Stop number eight in Oakes ND

Promote stewardship of health and natural resources through leadership and education for the people of Dickey County. Top of Page About Us Histoy Our Board About Us About Us Our Mission: To promote conservation of natural resources through leadership and education for the health and wellbeing of Dickey County. Our Vision: Working together to protect and regenerate the natural resources of Dickey County by demonstrating, educating, and leading communities and landowners. The James River SCD is located in Ellendale North Dakota providing educational outreach and services like tree planting and equipment rental in the Dickey County area. We are actively involved in the design and application of conservation practices that improve cropland, grazing land, forestland, and wildlife in Dickey County. The most visible function of the district is our tree planting program. The district offers tree planting services at a low cost and help find cost-share dollars so anyone who wants trees can get them, regardless of their financial situation. Education is a big part of our mission so as to instill better stewardship of the land amongst the community. Every year we host events as well as support conservation education outreach programs through our community. Our Education Coordinator works extensively to provide free classes and materials to students in the community. Read more about our education outreach programs and SCHOLARSHIP opportunity below. Histoy History In April of 1935, Congress passed, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Soil Conservation Act of 1935, Public Law No.46 , which established the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) within the USDA. North Dakota Passed the law in 1937 making the formation of soil conservation districts possible. Farmers and landowners could then vote and create a district in their area to take advantage of tree planting initiatives and use the soil conservation equipment they provided. From this the James River Soil Conservation District was organized in 1946 by a group of local farmers and continues to this day to preserve and protect our local resources. Once the District was formed, the supervisors secured tree planters and equipment to carry out conservation practices for farmers. This way farmers who signed an agreement with the district became cooperators and received the benefits the district could offer. One of the main projects was the development of the Oakes Nursery by locals who saw the potential of the tree planting initiative and the importance it played in reducing wind erosion. The Nursery remained in tree production under the Lincoln Oakes Nursery until 2013. It was then leased out as hay ground until the James River SCD purchased it in 2022 with the goal to develop it into an educational resource for the county and state. "It is the policy of this state and within the scope of this chapter to provide for the conservation of the soil and soil resources of this state and for the control and prevention of soil erosion, and to preserve the state's natural resources, control floods, prevent impairment of dams and reservoirs, assist in maintaining the navigability of rivers, preserve wildlife, protect the tax base, protect public lands, and protect and promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of this state." - ND Century Code Read more history of the James River SCD HERE Our Board Our Board The James River Soil Conservation District is comprised of five board members. Three members are elected by the general public to hold office for a term of six years. Two members are appointed yearly to serve on the board. Board members meet once a month at either 8 AM or 1 PM on the second Wednesday of each month. Meetings are usually located in the conference room of the USDA building but due to COVID restrictions, may be at other locations. They are open to the public and updated meeting information can be found under the NEWS tab. James River SCD Board Members, back row: Perry Bollum, Keith Kronberg, Gary Dathe. Front row: Brad Sand and Ryan Forward. JRSCD Scholarship The James River SCD has a $500 scholarship available for local high school seniors and college students. 2026 applications are now open! More information on the scholarship can be found HERE!!!

Monoculture Grass Plots 1 Itasca Germplasm Little Bluestem 2 Badlands Ecotype Little Bluestem 3 Bad River Ecotype Blue Grama 4 'Tomahawk' Indiangrass 5 'Dacotah' Switchgrass 6 'Forestburg' Switchgrass 7 'Bison' Big Bluestem 8 'Bonilla' Big Bluestem 9 Bounty Germplasm Big Bluestem 10 'Pierre' Sideoats Grama 11 'Lodorm' Green Needlegrass 12 'Rosana' Western Wheatgrass 13 'Rodan' Western Wheatgrass 14 'Mandan' Canada Wildrye 15 Tober Germplasm Virginia Wildrye 16 Red River Natural Germplasm Prairie Cordgrass

Welcome to the POP Trail!