Make the Most of the County Extension
If you haven’t used the information and services offered by your County Extension, you are missing a lot. The County Extension has lot of FREE booklets–both online and for pick up at the office–with a wealth of information including:
Gardening–what plants do best in your area, when you should plant, pruning, best practices for you area, etc.

Preserving food–safe practices for canning, freezing, drying
Harvesting the wildlife–hunting, fishing, foraging, etc
Emergency preparedness–information on local emergency or disaster services, what to do during a power outages, how to prepare for disasters that are common in your area (flood, blizzard, tornado, etc.)

That’s not all
The County Extension will also check the pressure gauge for your pressure canner–for FREE. You should have it checked at least once a year to ensure your food is being processed correctly.
Sometimes the County Extension may be able to put you in touch with local sources for purchasing wheat, beans and other commodities in bulk. Call to find out.
And then there’s Soil Conservation
Frequently the County Extension is also involved in Soil Conservation. Or there may be some other county agency. Here it’s the County Conservation District. The Conservation District promotes planting trees to prevent soil erosion. So, these Conservation Districts sell trees and bushes for an incredibly good price.
If you live in the Red River Valley, you’ll want to visit the store at Cass County Conservation District: Casssd Store. The CCCD sells bare root trees in bundles of 5 for $6.25, larger trees in bundles of 5 for $20. These include flowering and

fruit bushes and fruit and nut trees. If you don’t want five trees, find a friend or two that will share an order with you, because these are prices you don’t want to pass up. They have a limited number of trees available, so you’ll want to get your order in right away. You’ll also need to able to pick them up when they are delivered some time in April or May.
I really need to use the extension service here. I pay $50 a year in taxes for it, so I should use it!
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