Page 8 - Home & Garden

By Sharah Yaddaw, and Danielle Downey, and Thomas Hopkins Keeping honey bees goes back over 9,000 years, and since then our ability to feed modern civilizations has been cultivated with honey bees pollinating our food as they gather theirs. These unsung heroes work tirelessly gathering honey to survive winter, and crop pollination is the vital amenity we receive from their toil. Pollination in the US is valued at about $20 billion per year. This includes many nuts, fruits, berries, vegetables, and animal feeds- like alfalfa- which are required for meat and dairy production. Bees themselves- queens, packages and colonies for sale- are a valuable product only available with good beekeeping. Just as we rely on bees to pollinate our food, most honey bees rely on beekeepers. As we feed more people with larger farms, the need for pollination ...

It’s that time of the year—our North 40 stores are about to fill with a little extra noise and bustle, and you’re sure to hear a chirp or two when wandering the aisles. That’s because—you guessed it—the chicks are coming to North 40 Outfitters, beginning at our Spokane, Washington location in mid-February. Chose your local North 40 location from the list below for arrival dates Chickens in Idaho February 16th: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho February 21st: Lewiston, Idaho February 21st: Ponderay, Idaho Chickens in Washington February 14th: Spokane, Washington February 28th: Mead, Washington February 20th: Colville, Washington March 7th: Omak, Washington March 1st: Moses Lake, Washington Chickens in Montana March 1st: Havre, Montana March 6th: Great Falls, Montana Each North 40 store will offer a v...

When Skunks Mate they are More Smelly We are more aware of skunks in spring and summer, but they're quite active February through March, a lesson my dog, Dida, and I learned the hard way. Though skunks sleep deeply for 3.5 months at a time, they are not true hibernators. Male skunks will leave their dens during warm spells seeking females for mates. Their mating season is typically February through March, but it really depends on winter conditions. Nocturnal by nature, males will travel up to five miles under the protection of dark. Skunks use their odor as defense, and are extra smelly during the mating season as male skunks will spray each other, plus disapproving females also spray males away. With no natural predators, skunks go about their business care-free as most wildlife is keenly aware of what that odor means. Dogs Don't Run Aw...

  Available in a variety of different flavors such as; Cinnamon Sweet, Sweet Bar-B-Q, and Garden Dill, Savory Fine Foods Saltine Cracker Seasoning transforms regular saltine crackers into delicious party crackers. However, if you don’t want to mix and make anything, Yo-Yo’s Grab and Go Snacks are ready to eat.    Hi, I’m Dave Ferguson with Savory Fine Foods. We are new to the show this year and just wanted an opportunity to share with you what we have.   We’ve been doing a saltine cracker seasoning for about eight years now and our newest product is a graduation to those customers that don’t want to make anything. So, it is a prepackaged, ready to go, grab and go snack. Those are called the Yo-Yo's.   It is our seasoning placed on oyster crackers and we have five different flavors of it. We have two di...

I’m always surprised by how many of our products inside North 40 Outfitters are made in the USA.  Contrary to popular belief most livestock feed, animal health products, and even many tack items are manufactured in North America. In the past, I have been a tack and animal health buyer for North 40, I’ve sat on committees in the industry for this category, and I’ve been to countless shows, meetings, supplier’s visits, and factory tours.  However, I have never been to Weaver Leather or Ohio for that matter. So, when I got the invite to the Weaver Leather headquarters and their factory in Berlin, Ohio with our current tack buyer, Erik Haugen, and our farm and ranch category manager, Jesse Ova, I jumped at the opportunity. During our visit, four main themes kept reoccurring as we visited the different manufacturing facilities and of...

  Featuring Ariat’s 4L Technology, the Ariat Men’s Wide Square Baseline Western Boot is engineered to provide cushioned support and stability. A sport-western, these boots have a wide square toe that gives you plenty of room in the toe box, while the full-grain leather foot and upper showcase intricate Ariat stitching. Watch the video below to learn more.   Hi, Celby here with Ariat here and here to show the new Men’s Western Wide Square Toe Boots. It’s the sport western called the Baseline that you’ll find exclusively at North 40. We’ve got a couple of different color options. It has out 4L technology so it’s going to be comfortable, it’s going to be durable and the high quality you come to expect from Ariat. Find it exclusively at North 40.  

  A great for family, better-for-you snack, Farmer’s Pantry Cornbread Crisps and Jerky Snacks take ordinary snacks and make them fun and unique. A tasty grab-and-go snack, Farmer’s Pantry Cornbread Crisps come in a variety of flavors such as; honey butter, jalapeno, and barbecue. Farmer’s Pantry Jerky Snacks creatively come in flavors such as; steak and fries, chicken and waffle crisps, and bacon and cornbread crisps. Watch the video below to learn more.   Hi, I’m Jeff Baldwin with Farmer’s Pantry and we’ve got two new fantastic snack concepts here. Great for the family, a better for you type product.   We’ve got a baked cornbread crisp, which has four different flavors. We’ve got jalapeno, original, honey-butter, and BBQ. It comes in a 2 oz. and a 6 oz. bag, so you’ve got a grab-and-go type bag and th...

  Lightweight and comfortable, the Itaska Women’s State Hiking Shoe has an all rubber outsole. Plus, it has a waterproof, breathable membrane. This makes the State ideal for those trails that cross streams and demand a little more traction for gripping various terrains.   This is the State Hiker from Itaska Footwear. This hiker is shown actually in a women’s style. It is gray split leather upper with the nylon material and you’ll notice the real subtle accents with the purple in the lacing, in the tape, and then also on outsole itself.   Unlike the first style we looked at, the County Hiker, this one has an all rubber outsole to it and the one feature that we have packed in this particular Hiker unlike the County that we just reviewed, this has a waterproof breathable membrane. And how do you know if it’s a wat...

Lightweight and built for speed, Irish Setter VaprTrek Boots make you feel like you’re wearing your favorite pair of tennis shoes. Built for performance, the VaprTrek is engineered for endurance and durability without adding bulk to your feet. Watch the video below to learn more.   Good morning North 40 Outfitters customers. My name is Corey Bona and I’m with Irish Setter boots in the Red Wing shoe company.   The product I’m going to showcase today is our iconic Irish Setter VaprTrek. This is the light and fast mobile hunter’s boot who goes all day and is going to ultimately want something that has that tennis shoe fit and feel.   This boot utilizes our Red Wing leather or SP foot tanned leather. It’s going to have a synthetic upper which is a lot lighter than a full grain leather would be for that weight red...

Dried rice, burger and red sweet pepper for an unstuffed pepper meal. If you want to be healthy and well-fueled while hiking, hunting, fishing, backpacking or even snowmobiling or skiing, you should consider dehydrating foods and vacuum sealing them into your own custom meals. Dehydrating food is easy. Order online here. Know you what you’re eating One of the greatest benefits of dehydrating foods and creating your own meals is knowing exactly what’s in the food. This is particularly important for anyone with food allergies or other intolerances because suffering a reaction is the last thing anyone wants when they are miles up the trail and help is a far away. Chef Glenn Mcallister, author of Recipes for Adventure: Healthy, Hearty & Homemade Backpacking Recipes, as well as the voice of backpackingchef.com, believes these customiz...

Lightweight and comfortable, the Itaska County Hiking Shoe has an EVA midsole. Featuring a leather and nylon upper, and rubber-accent outsole, the County is a great day hiker for easy trails or running chores around town. Watch the video below to learn more.   Today what we're going to do is review some of the features of the County Hiker, from my Itaska footwear. As you'll note with this particular hiker here, it does have an EVA midsole, which provides great comfort as well as very lightweight construction. It has the rubber accents on the outsole itself, and it is a combination of leather, PUs, and nylon for the upper. It is a typical five lace design on this. It does come with the removable Itaska footbed to it, and so if a person ever needs a new insole or what to upgrade to a different type of an insole, that's certainly an...

Click it and forget it, the Sharkbite Connection System easily connects fittings without tools, glue, and without soldering. This system will connect pipe from 1/4-inch up to one inch. “Cut. Push. Done.”    Hi, I'm Dan Snyder and I'm with the SharkBite Company. In my hands today I have our demonstration piece that is used to show people how the SharkBite connection system works.   You'll notice that there are three different types of tubing in this demo piece. There's CPVC, copper and the very popular PEX tubing. This SharkBite fitting can connect all three of these different pipes together without any tools, without glue and without soldering as well. You'll notice this device here, which is called a detention clip, can be used to disassemble the product by simply pushing down on the retaining clip and actually removi...