By Jerrold Tesmer, Extension Educator for Fillmore/Houston Counties
A number of years ago, University of Minnesota Extension along with the Research and Outreach Centers had a Black Cutworm Monitoring Project, it was dropped, I suspect for budgetar
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"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Saturday, May 18th, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 9:27:41, May 16th 2013 - caal girl - Nice outfit on you. I loved some of the dresses but am holding my breath ... [Read More]
- 2:03:34, May 14th 2013 - - Thanks for sharing the trip with us! ... [Read More]
- 4:12:01, May 9th 2013 - Amanda Ziebell - Wow! Thanks to the Fillmore County Journal for this kind story. For a ... [Read More]
- 11:47:30, May 7th 2013 - EW - ramble.....ramble.....ramble..... ... [Read More]
- 10:25:25, May 7th 2013 - Thunder6 - Great article! I love to see the Youth of Fillmore County receiveing acco ... [Read More]
- 6:52:10, May 6th 2013 - Jason Sethre, Publisher of Fillmore County Journal & Olmsted County Journal - Maryh, ... [Read More]
- 7:29:56, May 5th 2013 - maryh - Where are OCJ's available for pickup...other than at the new office? ... [Read More]
- 2:41:47, May 3rd 2013 - Remark1976 - Mrs. Buckbee, I just looked up Senate File 796 and in it there are said p ... [Read More]
- 2:22:20, May 3rd 2013 - Remark1976 - Mrs. Buckbee, how do you come up with $1.1 billion that trout fishing bri ... [Read More]
- 9:13:07, Apr 30th 2013 - jurban - i will be the first to say that when there is a emergency mnwarn will be hel ... [Read More]
Conservation or Soil Health
Fri, Apr 19th, 2013
Posted in All Agriculture
Posted in All Agriculture
Comments
By Jerrold Tesmer, Extension Educator for Fillmore/Houston Counties
It really isn’t an either or question. While on a Soil Conservation Tour last Saturday, one handout came from the NRCS “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” a healthy, productive soils checklist for growers. The one page document did a great job of summing up good soil conservation practices.
The four basic principles were: (1) Keep the soil covered as much as possible (2) Disturb the soil as little as possible (3) Keep plants growing throughout the year to feed the soil (4) Diversify as much as possible using crop rotations and cover crops.
It is important to note that not all practices are applicable to all crops. Practices described include.
•Conservation Crop Rotation-Growing a diverse number of crops in a planned sequence in order to increase soil organic matter and biodiversity in the soil.
•Cover Crops-An un-harvested crop grown as part of planned rotation to provide conservation benefits to the soil.
•No Till-A way of growing crops without disturbing the soil through tillage.
•Mulch Tillage-Using tillage methods where the soil surface is undisturbed but maintains a high level of crop residue on the surface.
•Mulching-Applying plant residues or other suitable materials to the soil surface to compensate for loss of residue due to excessive tillage.
•Nutrient Management-Managing soil nutrients to meet crop needs while minimizing the impact on the environment and the soil.
•Pest Management-Managing pests by following an ecological approach that promotes the growth of healthy plants with strong defenses, while increasing stress on pests and enhancing the habitat for beneficial organisms.
If you are interested in learning more, I would suggest several websites: The entire document is found at www.nrcs.usda.gov; other sites with agriculture and soils information include University of Minnesota Extension http://www.extension.umn.edu/; University of Minnesota Extension Ag site http://www1.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/; and the University of Minnesota Department of Soils, Water, and Climate site http://www.swac.umn.edu/
It really isn’t an either or question. While on a Soil Conservation Tour last Saturday, one handout came from the NRCS “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” a healthy, productive soils checklist for growers. The one page document did a great job of summing up good soil conservation practices.
The four basic principles were: (1) Keep the soil covered as much as possible (2) Disturb the soil as little as possible (3) Keep plants growing throughout the year to feed the soil (4) Diversify as much as possible using crop rotations and cover crops.
It is important to note that not all practices are applicable to all crops. Practices described include.
•Conservation Crop Rotation-Growing a diverse number of crops in a planned sequence in order to increase soil organic matter and biodiversity in the soil.
•Cover Crops-An un-harvested crop grown as part of planned rotation to provide conservation benefits to the soil.
•No Till-A way of growing crops without disturbing the soil through tillage.
•Mulch Tillage-Using tillage methods where the soil surface is undisturbed but maintains a high level of crop residue on the surface.
•Mulching-Applying plant residues or other suitable materials to the soil surface to compensate for loss of residue due to excessive tillage.
•Nutrient Management-Managing soil nutrients to meet crop needs while minimizing the impact on the environment and the soil.
•Pest Management-Managing pests by following an ecological approach that promotes the growth of healthy plants with strong defenses, while increasing stress on pests and enhancing the habitat for beneficial organisms.
If you are interested in learning more, I would suggest several websites: The entire document is found at www.nrcs.usda.gov; other sites with agriculture and soils information include University of Minnesota Extension http://www.extension.umn.edu/; University of Minnesota Extension Ag site http://www1.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/; and the University of Minnesota Department of Soils, Water, and Climate site http://www.swac.umn.edu/
New Board of Animal Health rules address needs of today
Fri, Apr 12th, 2013
Posted in All Agriculture
Posted in All Agriculture
ST. PAUL, MN - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health today announced that its new rules are now in effect. The Board has been working with livestock groups to adopt rules that allow the Board to control diseases and are sensible for Minnesota farmers
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What is a normal Spring?
Fri, Apr 5th, 2013
Posted in All Agriculture
Posted in All Agriculture
By Jerrold Tesmer, Extension Educator for Fillmore/Houston Counties
I think we can all agree last spring, 2012, was not a normal spring. So just what is normal for us? One source of information, from the Minnesota Agricultural Statistics, lists Med
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[Read the Rest]
Household Hazardous Waste Day
Fri, Apr 5th, 2013
Posted in All Agriculture
Posted in All Agriculture
LaVerne C. Paulson
Recycling Education Coordinator
May 7th, the first Tuesday in May, Fillmore County will again be celebrating the ever popular Household Hazardous Waste Day. Before you read any further, make a note of this on your calendar so t
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Fillmore County 4-H Favorite Food Show held
Fri, Apr 5th, 2013
Posted in All Agriculture
Posted in All Agriculture
The Fillmore County 4-H Favorite Food Show was held on March 23, 2013 at the Wykoff Community Center. There were 16 participants in this year’s event. Eight of the participants were Cloverbuds (grades K-2): Grace Boelter of the Root River Rabbit
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Man vs. silo
Fri, Apr 5th, 2013
Posted in Preston Agriculture
Posted in Preston Agriculture
By Jason Sethre
On the morning of Monday, April 1, 2013, a group of farmers and heavy equipment operators from the area assembled to take down a 600,000 pound silo full of silage and standing over 70 feet tall.
Like the days of Stonehenge and the
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U.S. Precision Dairy Conference
Fri, Mar 29th, 2013
Posted in All Agriculture
Posted in All Agriculture
By Jerrold Tesmer, Extension Educator for Fillmore/Houston Counties
The University of Minnesota invites you to the first U.S. Precision Dairy Conference and Expo! The Precision Dairy Conference 2013 will be held at Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, Min
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Rapid snow melt poses challenges for livestock manure management
Fri, Mar 29th, 2013
Posted in All Agriculture
Posted in All Agriculture
St. Paul, Minn. – As a winter of heavy snowfall and freezing rain gives way to warming temperatures, rapid melting and potential for flooding pose challenges for manure management among the more than 25,000 livestock farms in Minnesota. Farmers who
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