Grant will aid farmers in moving from grade B to grade A milk production The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is offering a new grant program to help Minnesota dairy producers move from Grade B status to Grade A status and help Grade A producers maintain their status. “Our dairy farmers have been struggling with low prices for years, and now they’re challenged with … [Read more...]

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...]

The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) will hold a public meeting March 25 in Red Wing to gain public input on a proposal to study nitrate-contaminated water in the karst region of southeast Minnesota. The meeting will be held at the St. James Hotel, 406 Main St., Red Wing, Minn., with doors opening at 5 p.m., presentations starting at 5:30 p.m., and table discussions … [Read more...]

People who live in cities, exurbs or suburbs may not come across farms very frequently. But millions of people, including children, still live on farms. In fact, in 2009 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that more than one million children under the age of 20 lived, worked or had a regular presence on farms in the United States. Protecting children from … [Read more...]

Though it’s easy to look at the tech industry and think this increasingly influential sector is what makes the world go round, something closer to the very core of the Earth may be what’s driving your economy. The agricultural sector plays a strategic role in a nation’s economic development and prosperity. From the earliest days, agriculture has been heralded as playing a … [Read more...]

As they work to assist farmers in taking their land to the next level, Jason and Mary Schwarz, owners of JMS Agronomics took a big leap forward with their business in the fall of 2018. The company, which specializes in assisting farms in reaching their greatest potential and productivity, offers precision agronomy services, some chemical services, and sells a full line of … [Read more...]