Ag Week: New leader at Carrington REC

Mike Ostlie speaks softly, but projects a demeanor of respect, knowledge and sense of promotion for the educational aspect of North Dakota agricultural practices.

On March 1, Ostlie took over from his acting directorship at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center to become the center's full-time Director.

"At the same time, I'm both humbled and grateful to be in this room, and look forward to building new relationships, and also building on the long-term tradition of excellence that the Carrington REC has served in this region," said Ostlie.

He was thrust into the caretaker role originally upon the departure of longtime former director Blaine Schatz to become Assistant Director of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station (NDAES) in Mandan last September 1. Schatz had been the director for 25 years prior.

"Blaine was a really good mentor throughout the process, keeping me involved in various activities and as part of the process," said Ostlie. "He was very good at developing relationships and managing our resources here, and I hope to be able to continue that."

The Northwood native is a 2002 graduate of NHS, and attended NDSU from 2002-2009, where he earned his bachelor's and master's of science in plant science. He later attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., where he went on to receive his doctorate in weed science in 2012.

He moved to Carrington with his wife, Lindsay, that year, and took a position as Agronomist at the center.

"I just celebrated my 10th growing season here, and we're starting on the 11th," Ostlie said.

Ostlie emphasizes the importance of the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center as an area employment hub, as there are around 35 full-time employees during the year.

"We get quite a bit of seasonal help in the summertime to almost double that number, with a lot of that coming from high schoolers," he says.

Some of the main objectives that the Carrington REC strives to accomplish for the population it serves also include a commitment to serve the agriculturalists throughout the state and region.

"We do this through innovative programming, testing new concepts, and whether or not they're feasible," Ostlie explained. "Basically, we try to take the risk out of the decision-making process for farmers."

The biggest challenge that Ostlie and the center face is one that is essentially out of their control, that being the weather.

"We face a lot of the same weather issues, and the drought was a big one last year," he said. "There'll be different problems in different years, but that's kind of the one constant."

In the future, Ostlie plans to shepherd initiatives forward that he hopes can make the center "more welcoming to the community."

"We have a couple projects in mind, and we just want to give people more of a reason to come out here, just visit us," he said.

He and Lindsay are the parents of three sons, Theodore, eight; Orion, seven; and Emmer, one. They own and operate Ostlie's Sunnyside Acres in rural Carrington.