Seed First, LLC is a welcome sight to many local residents not only in Fountain, Minn., where the business is located, but to many people in the surrounding area as well. Father and son team Paul and Corey Hamann have constructed a new building on Fountain’s Main Street after demolishing the buildings on the lot that used to hold Fountain Feed & Grain and more recently, … [Read more...]

For nearly a decade, Stealth Ag in Harmony has been involved in dirty deeds.  Or more accurately, deeds having to do with the dirt that raises our local crops.  Brent Hjelmeland recently gave a glimpse inside his work and company. Explaining how his company started, Hjelmeland stated, “It was 2010.  My family and I had moved back to the area a couple years before that.  I … [Read more...]

ST. PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is encouraging farmers to take part in its annual pesticide and fertilizer use survey. This year the phone survey is directed at wheat and hay growers. The data helps the MDA track the use of agricultural chemicals on Minnesota farms and provides guidance to educational and research programs. The survey should begin … [Read more...]

Farmers can turn to a new set of case studies to learn about the experiences of southwest Minnesota farmers in adopting soil health practices. University of Minnesota research assistant Kathy Dooley visited farms and interviewed farmers in late 2018 to develop case study profiles of nine farms in southwestern Minnesota. Farmers were selected to participate in the project based … [Read more...]

Power and size are two features that make farm tractors so valuable – and dangerous. Modern technology is helping make tractors safer in many ways, but some 60 people still die each year after being run over by a tractor. Aaron Yoder, Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s (UNMC) College of Public Health, Department of Environmental, Agricultural … [Read more...]