Tuesday Tips: The Ins and Outs of Joint Tenancy

Jesse Fulbright, MSU Liberty County Extension

As I mentioned several weeks ago, with all the developments surrounding COVID-19, Dr. Marsha Goetting wanted to be able to continue her estate planning programming in a virtual format.  As a result, MSU Extension has a series of 30-minute webinars on a variety of topics, called Tuesday Tips.  This week’s tip is on the ins and outs of joint tenancy.

Webinars have been broadcast every Tuesday at 11 a.m. and will continue to be through the month of May.  It is suggested that you log on 5 to 10 minutes early each week, so you have time to make sure your sound and video are working properly.


The schedule, including a list of topics, and links to join each webinar, can be found by googling MSU Extension Tuesday tips.  One week ahead of time, the link to join each webinar will be posted next to upcoming topic, along with a link to helpful resources, such as relevant MontGuides.  Once on the schedule page go to the webinar schedule link on the left side of the page and you will also find instructions for joining the webinars using a computer or a smart phone.  If you are unable to attend the live webinars, you can view the recorded versions on the Tuesday Tips website.  However, joining the webinars live will allow you to ask Dr. Goetting questions about the topic in real time.

Back to the topic at hand, the following are several comments overheard at a local café: “My property is held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, I don’t need a will.  Right?”  Another comment overheard, “When I remarried, I placed my property in joint tenancy with my new wife.  I can write a will to leave the property to my kids.  Right?”  Last comment, “I added my daughter’s name to my checking account.  That was the right thing to do, Right?” Listen in to hear Marsha’s response.  Hint: she says, “Probably WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!”


To further prepare for the webinar, I would encourage you to check out the MSU Extension MontGuide, titled, “How to Transfer Real Property Owned in a Joint Tenancy or in a Life Estate Without Probate.”  Visit www.msuextension.org and click on the publications link at the top of the page to download the MontGuide.  You might find questions from reading the publication that Marsha can answer during the webinar on Tuesday!

Coping with Stress as a Family

Jesse Fulbright, MSU Liberty County Extension


I want to start off by asking a question.  How is your family handling stress right now?  Everyone will answer this question with a different answer depending on their families and current circumstances. It also depends on the day and what each family member might be facing that day in terms of work deadlines, schoolwork and so on.  Yesterday, my boys convinced me to engage them in several outdoor activities.  Between shooting hoops and trying to keep our dog at bay from stealing the basketball and then running all over our yard as we had a Nerf gun war, it is safe to say that I was a bit worn out last night.  I say worn out, but not stressed, because physical activity is one of the ways that we as families can deal with stress in our lives.  


In an MSU Extension publication titled “Family Stress and Coping” which is available free to everyone on the MSU Extension website, under the publications link, there is a section that deals with how to deal with individual stress.  I’m going to say that this could also be titled, how to deal with stress as a family, because we need our families.  

So, first, be realistic.  When feeling overwhelmed don’t try to do too much. Can you ask someone, like a family member, to help you with tasks?  Focus on one thing at a time by making a list of what needs to get done.  Prioritize the list and focus on one task at a time.  This works under our circumstances now too.  Use this list to help delegate tasks to family members.  Just like cleaning our house over the weekend, when we pull together as a family, the chores get done a lot faster than when we have to convince some members to help.  Exercise too because research has found that physical exercise can help in reducing stress.  Try walking the dog or going on a hike or simple family outing.  Just remember your social distancing at this time!  Take breaks for your hobbies by reading a book, playing music, etc.  Try laughing as a family, by watching a movie or playing a game.  Take a break from taking things too seriously.  Maintain a healthy lifestyle by trying to have a balance of work and fun.  Eat well, cut down on caffeine and high sugar foods, and avoid alcohol and drugs.  A balanced diet is more important than ever during stressful times.  Lastly, consider journaling each day.  Sometimes our brains are so full of what needs to be done, how we are feeling about a situation, or fear of not remembering what we need to do, that we become overwhelmed.  Journaling can be helpful to express our emotions and keep track of what needs to be done. 


I hope that these give you some ideas about how you and your family can make it through our trying times stronger than ever. 

Montana Ag Producer Stress Resource Clearinghouse

Jesse Fulbright, MSU Liberty County Extension


In all my years growing up on the farm, I don’t think I ever saw my parents, and especially my dad, stressed about farming.  I don’t know whether it was because he was the ranch manager and not the owner that caused the lack of stress, or the fact that I don’t think he ever stressed about anything.  His was that type of personality that just took events as they came.  I have to say that apparently that characteristic is not one that he passed along to me.  I stress about just about any and everything.  Perhaps, that’s why I gravitate towards an awareness of stress in our lives and how to alleviate or mediate stress.  It is also important to note that stress and mental health are more a part of our vernacular and not a social taboo as they once were.


Two to three weeks back, several MSU Extension specialists announced the beginning of an online “Montana Ag Producer Stress Resource Clearinghouse.”  To me this is a fancy way of saying, it’s a website devoted to helping producers with stress and mental health.  It’s located at https://msuextension.org/wellness/stress-management or you can google Montana Ag Producer Stress Resource Clearinghouse.  I’ve started to look over the different resources that are on the website and I wanted to describe it a bit to everyone.  In these times of very real uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts each of us and our livelihoods differently and distinctly, it’s nice to know that there are resources out there that are designed to help producers.  That being said, these resources at the website aren’t just for producers.  They can apply to many, if not all of us in our own lives and occupations.  

On the website, there are several topics that are covered.  If you want to know what stress is and how it affects your physical or mental health, or watch a TED Talk about those things, there’s a link for that.  There is a separate link for measuring your stress.  I took this test and no surprise; it came back as moderately stressed.  But, it’s a place to begin and gives you food for thought.  Continuing on, if you want to know how to manage your stress, including self help like knowing what types of foods to be eating to have a healthy diet, or just as importantly, how to help others, follow that specific link.  If you would like more information on mental health and more scholarly resources on that topic there are links to follow there too.  There is a myriad of other resources on the website that I invite you to search through as you have the opportunity.  These are important resources that are worth your time, either as a producer or in other livelihoods and circumstances.

Tuesday Tips Webinar Series: Dying Without a Will

Jesse Fulbright, MSU Liberty County Extension

With our shelter-in-place order and all of the recent developments surrounding COVID-19, Dr. Marsha Goetting wanted to be able to continue her estate planning programming in a virtual format.  As a result, MSU Extension has planned a series of 30-minute webinars on a variety of topics, called Tuesday Tips.  The first one starts tomorrow, April 7th, at 11 a.m. and is about dying without a will.

This series, hosted by Dr. Marsha Goetting, MSU Extension’s Family Economics Specialist, will focus on a variety of topics such as wills, beneficiaries, trusts, Montana medical savings accounts, and more.  Webinars will be broadcast every Tuesday at 11 a.m., beginning April 7th.  It is suggested that you log on 5 to 10 minutes early each week, so you have time to make sure your sound and video are working properly.

The schedule, including a list of topics, and links to join each webinar, can be found by googling MSU Extension Tuesday tips.  One week ahead of time, the link to join each webinar will be posted next to upcoming topic, along with a link to helpful resources, such as relevant MontGuides.  Once on the schedule page go to the webinar schedule link on the left side of the page and you will also find instructions for joining the webinars using a computer or a smart phone.  If you are unable to attend the live webinars, you can view the recorded versions on the Tuesday Tips website.  However, joining the webinars live will allow you to ask Dr. Goetting questions about the topic in real time.

Resources for the Dying Without a Will presentation include MontGuides such as a Glossary of Estate Planning Terms, Dying Without a Will in Montana, Montana Common Law Marriage and Estate Planning and Estate Planning in Montana: Getting Started.  All of these MontGuides can be downloaded from the MSU Extension website or can be found on Dr. Goettting’s Tuesday Tips website under the April 7^th link in the Webinar Schedule tab.  

As a heads-up for next week, the topic on April 14^th will be Beneficiaries 101.  It will answer questions like, what’s a POD?  What’s a TOD?  What beneficiary designations can be placed on U.S. Savings Bonds?  Are your beneficiary designations on life insurance, IRAs and other retirement accounts up-to-date?  How can you leave your real property to beneficiaries without it going through a costly probate?

MSU Extension COVID-19 Ag Resources

Jesse Fulbright, MSU Liberty County Extension


MSU Extension is a great resource for research-based, factual information.  One resource that has become vitally important over the past month has been a section that can be accessed from the msuextension.org website under a heading titled, “MSU COVID-19 Resources for You and Your Family.”  There are different subsections after you click on the link and I would like to share one resource about agriculture.


COVID-19 spreads through relatively close contact but doesn’t survive long outside of the host.  Contacting respiratory droplets from someone sneezing close to you or picking up the virus from handling a doorknob that is contaminated with mucus from an infected person, can spread the disease.  The good news is that coronaviruses can be killed by many disinfectants and normal handwashing procedures, as well as environmental exposure.


For agricultural producers, it’s important to note that there is no current evidence that this outbreak is affecting livestock or any species besides humans.  The recommendations that follow apply to general precautions against introducing or spreading disease on the farm or ranch, which are excellent practices to follow at all times.

Keeping barns and other farm buildings clean is one of the keys 

to reducing potential disease spread.

Be sure your farm and family biosecurity is strong.  Keep all visitors to your farm, wildlife and new livestock out of direct contact with your animals, as well as their feed and water.


Use good management to keep your family’s and your animals’ innate immunity strong.  Good nutrition, housing, ventilation, water and general hygiene will strengthen immune defenses and reduce the chance of serious disease of any kind.


Be a good observer.  Report serious illnesses to your veterinarian as appropriate.  It’s always good to discuss how to best address illnesses on the farm.  Usual occurrences of disease and losses will occur on farms but shouldn’t be confused with more serious disease.


Keep enough resources on hand to be able to manage if backups are needed.  You should have replacements for essential items at the farm, as well as at least two weeks’ worth of supplies.

So, what about cleaning and disinfecting?  The Centers for Disease Control suggests simple environmental cleaning and disinfecting if respiratory disease is present.  These reasonable steps for both in the home and on the farm include cleaning doorknobs, as well as kitchen and bathroom handles and surfaces.  Surfaces should be cleaned using a detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.  Diluted household bleach solutions, alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol, and most common EPA-registered household disinfectants should be effective.  Diluted household bleach solutions can be used if appropriate for the surface you are cleaning.  Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for application and proper ventilation.  Check to ensure the product is not past its expiration date.  Never mix household bleach with ammonia or any other cleanser.  Unexpired household bleach will be effective against coronaviruses when properly diluted.  Prepare a bleach solution by mixing 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water. 

Antibiotic Use in Livestock - Does it Cause Antibiotic Resistance in People?

Adriane Good


As I was scrolling through Facebook last week, I saw a very interesting article in the Canadian Cattlemen’s magazine. It was titled ‘Study finds Enterococcus bacteria resistance in people not related to antibiotic use in cattle’. This is a finding of huge importance to the livestock industry, so of course I had to read more.


Dr. Tim McAllister, a researcher at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research and Development Center in Lethbridge, is one of almost two dozen multi-disciplinary scientists in Canada involved in a series of research projects looking at whether antibiotic use in livestock is increasing antibiotic resistance in humans, and if so, what we can do about it. While this is a Canadian research initiative, antibiotic resistance is a global issue, so this research applies here too.


To back up a little bit, antibiotics are used in livestock production in a variety of methods. Livestock producers use antibiotics to treat illness in their animals. Nobody wants to see a sick calf, so ranchers treat those sick calves with antibiotics to bring them back to health, just like we do with people. The use of prophylactic antibiotics is lesser known. In some cases, livestock will be given a dose of antibiotics to prevent disease. This occurs when there is a high risk of animals getting sick. For example, a feedlot might give antibiotics to a group of new calves coming in if they’re looking especially stressed and a little sick. Stressed animals get sick much easier than animals that aren’t stressed, and mixing calves with other calves is a great way to spread disease. Sometimes with stressed cattle, the first sign of illness you see is death, so treating them before you see signs keeps them alive. One of the most commonly used antibiotics in livestock production are ionophores. These are used to treat coccidiosis and modulate the rumen environment in cattle. Altering the rumen environment not only increases feed efficiency, but also decreases the amount of methane cattle produce.


Antibiotics are classified into 4 categories – low importance to human health, medium importance, high importance, and very high importance. In all of livestock production, antibiotics that are of very high human importance are used less than 5% of the time, while they are used 30% of the time in human medicine. Antibiotics that are of low and medium importance to human health make up almost 80% of the antibiotic use in livestock but make up less than 10% of antibiotics used in human medicine. This shows that livestock production is using the lower importance antibiotics that human medicine doesn’t rely on.

Antibiotic use by category of importance. From beefresearch.ca

Dr. McAllister’s study focused on beef cattle and looked specifically at enterococcus bacteria species found in cattle and humans. They sequenced the genome of these bacteria and found that the species of bacteria that pose a threat to human health are not the same species found in cattle. They also discovered that the genes responsible for antibiotic resistance in the enterococcus bacteria in humans are associated with antibiotics that are not used in beef production. This suggests that antibiotic resistance in humans is caused by antibiotic use in humans, and antibiotic resistance in cattle is the result of antibiotic use in cattle.


Of course, we still can’t be too cautious. Antibiotics are a very important tool for human health, just as they are for livestock health. While this research is encouraging, it’s important that we use antibiotics responsibly in both human health and livestock health. For livestock producers, make sure you’re reading and following the label when giving antibiotics. Having a good veterinary client patient relationship will also help as your vet can help you make sure you have diagnosed problems properly and are treating them with the right product. It’s also a great idea to minimize stress on your animals, keep up to date on vaccinations, ensure adequate nutrition, and use biosecurity practices to minimize the chances of animals getting sick.  

For the original article in Canadian Cattleman's, check out:
https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/news/study-finds-enterococcus-bacteria-resistance-in-people-not-related-to-antibiotic-use-in-cattle/


For more information on antibiotic use in beef cattle and antibiotic resistance, go to: 
https://www.beefresearch.ca/research-topic.cfm/antimicrobial-resistance-11.

Soil sampling for lawn or garden

Kari Lewis

With March here, we have more folks thinking of gardening and lawn work in the upcoming spring and now is the time to be potentially thinking of doing a soil test on that lawn or garden. Many homeowners do not soil test but use standard fertilizer rates which are given on fertilizer bags.  If this is your practice and your plants appear healthy, this is an appropriate fertilizer regimen to continue.  However, if your plants are not thriving or producing well or you suspect a potential nutrient deficiency or toxicity, soil sampling for the lawn or garden is recommended.  Gardens can have excessive nutrient levels due to high inputs of compost and/or fertilizer.  Excessive levels of fertilizer are not only a waste of money but can be harmful to your plants and the environment.

Now is a good time to collect a soil sample for the lawn or
garden if plants haven't been thriving or you suspect a
potential nutrient deficiency or toxicity.  

To obtain meaningful and accurate soil test results, it is important to correctly collect soil samples from multiple locations within your yard and garden. A minimum of ten samples should be collected and mixed from your garden, or from each 1,000 square feet (sq ft) of lawn to obtain a representative sample. Be sure to remove any mulch or lawn thatch before collecting your soil samples. If there is a visual or textural difference from one side of your garden or lawn to the other, submit separate samples.

Soil samples are best collected using hand probes or augers, available from your local Extension Office. An alternative tool to collect a 0 to 6-inch soil sample is a bulb planter (available at most gardening stores). Tools should be cleaned between each garden or area sampled and stored away from fertilizers to prevent contamination. Soil samples are generally a 6-inch-deep core from the soil surface.  Samples may be submitted moist or dry. They should be enclosed in a Ziploc bag, sealed, and labeled with your information.

You should schedule soil sampling to allow adequate time for soil analysis (~one to two weeks) and fertilizer application, if needed, prior to seeding or planting time. Also, soil tests are representative of current nutrient levels and do not necessarily reflect future conditions. Therefore, soils are ideally sampled yearly in the spring to best estimate growing season nutrient availability.

The MSU Extension publication, “Home Garden Soil Testing& Fertilizer Guidelines” available free online or from your local Extension Office, includes a list of labs where you can send your soil sample for analysis.  By communicating to the lab any concerns and what you plan to grow in the soil, for example squash, potatoes, and carrots, they can provide specific recommendations for your scenario in terms of nutrient needs.  Tests can range from $20 - $50 and typically take one to two weeks to receive results back. 

This material was taken from the MSU Extension MontGuide "Home Garden Soil Testing & Fertilizer Guidelines."