Teaming up for soil health, P. 2-5 SWCD seeks farmers for water program, P. 7 Lessons from the soil, P. 8
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016
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Teaming up for soil health A team of producers is driving a plan to use cover crops and less tilling as a step toward more sustainable agricultural practices Story by Jason Schoonover |Photos by Eric Johnson Cows graze in field belonging to Tom Cotter Friday morning. Instead of cement, his cattle can stand on a fields of cover crops.
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s Steve Lawler looked at winter cereal rye, tillage radish, annual rye and rapeseed growing as cover crops in Tom Cotter’s fields southwest of Austin and at the soil beneath last Friday, he liked what he saw. “The soil looks really good, Tom,” said Lawler, a Mower County Soil & Water Conservation District resource socialist. Though a brisk wind served as a reminder that the 2016 planting season is still weeks away, Cotter already has the cover crops planted. While the cover crops represent the promise of the upcoming season, they also represent new techniques and ideas farmers are exploring to promote soil health and improved farm practices. Cover crops are at the center of an effort by Mower County and Fillmore County farmers to form a soil health team to try out practices like low-tillage farming in order to share their experiences with other producers. “These are the people that are developing the answers to what are the best techniques to improve soil health,” Lawler said. “We wanted a reservoir of those farmers to be available to other farmers with similar
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
Cove crop definition: Crops including grasses, legumes, and forbs for seasonal cover and other conservation purposes. Cover crops purpose • Reduce erosion from wind and water. • Increase soil organic matter content. • Capture and recycle or redistribute nutrients in the soil profile. • Promote biological nitrogen fixation and reduce energy use. • Increase biodiversity. • Suppress weeds. • Manage soil moisture. • Minimize and reduce soil compaction. —Source: USDA
Tom Cotter looks over a field of green, an example of the use of cover crops. questions.” The team of about 11 farmers and agronomists is available to talk with other farmers who may be interested in cover crops or simply reducing how often they till their fields.
“The soil health is really being driven by producers,” Lawler said. “They’re trying to find their way through. They understand that there are things that are going in agriculture right now that are not going to
necessarily be sustainable in the long run.” But Andrea Horsman said government entities are largely absent from the process. “We wanted to be driven by pro-
ducers with government out of the picture, in the background,” said Horsman, a district conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Cover crops are just one of many ways farmers are looking to address such ongoing concerns.
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Cover crops
to rebuild itself. “We’re trying to minimize the time the soil Cover crops are far from a new concept. In fact, needs to rebuild itself by just less disturbance,” Cotter says farmers in the area may be a bit behe said. hind farmers in the South, in Indiana and Illinois, Cover crops are and in Canada. If those typically planted in farmers can do it, “We can the fall to emerge do it down here,” Cotter before winter sets said. in; Cotter planted While there’s data on cover crops through cover crops from other about Nov. 10 last regions, Lawler said farmyear. The cover ers want to know how it crops continue works here, because so growing in spring much of farming is often before they’re dependent on weather terminated with and conditions. chemical before the “We all know it’s a beneplanting. fit, it’s just about making it Cotter does some work,” Horsman said. strip tilling in the The soil health teams fields to ready for formed as a way way to the planting, but he help address concerns. will go in and just Early in her work with covplant his beans right er crops, Horsman talked through the cover to her brother, a farmer crop, though he and agronomist, about admits that can be cover crops. He posed scary. many questions about Once the cover cover crops, and Horsman crop is terminated, admitted many of her Cotter will wait answers were, “I don’t about seven days know.” After learning from before planting Andrea Horseman, a soil conservationist with producers in Austin, she corn. For soybeans, had the idea for a produc- the Natural Resources Conservation Service he’ll plant a day examines soil from a field belonging to Tom er-driven team to help before, the day of or Cotter. address such concerns. a day after terminating the cover crop. How it works The cover crop The Cotters grow canning crops like peas and isn’t harvested, instead the terminated cover crop sweet corn, and they used to leave the fields bare is incorporated as a green manure and almost as a during the winter. Many farmers are accustomed protective layer for the soils. to tilling their fields in the spring and fall to keep weeds down and ready for the season. However, Benefits repeated tillages aren’t good for the soil. Cover crops have several benefits with the key A key idea behind cover crops is promoting goal being to promote healthier soil. Cotter noted minimal disturbances to the soil. some heavily tilled, worked fields have soil with “Every tillage trip really should have a purlittle smell or a dead smell. But fields with cover pose,” Cotter said. crops often smell healthier, almost like a cup of Each tillage disturbs the biological makeup of coffee, according to Cotter. the soil, Lawler said, meaning the soil then needs
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AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
“You get in, that’s rich,” Cotter said. “I can smell it and you can find the earthworms.” The cover crops also promote healthy organic activity and things like earthworms. Studies in Illinois have shown cover crops produce more organic carbon stock than traditional soils. Cover crops are also vital when it comes to water. Cover crops improve infiltration rates for soils and reduce runoff. So instead of water hitting bare soil, disrupting that soil and running off before it can infiltrate the soil, the remaining organic material from the dead cover crops helps absorb moisture into the soil. “We’ve found that soils under intense agricultural production tend to destabilize under the forces of the rain drops and scatter, and that’s when you get erosion,” Lawler said. “Whereas under cover crops, the soil tends to develop itself into aggregates that hold together and resist those forces.” Cotter talked about seeing a rainfall simulator that showed how this works, with traditional field seeing the soil run off and a cover cropped, low-tilled field seeing the water seep into the soil. SWCD officials plan to demonstrate that system this summer. Though Cotter uses chemical to terminate cover crops, he typically has to use fewer chemicals during the season for weed control, so he admits there’s a give and take. Last year, Cotter used fewer passes of weed control and had good beans, but he said every year is different. “Every year is different, so you can’t really just say it’s always going to be like that,” Cotter said. Horsman said weather is usually the ultimate factor.
Challenges and risks
Yet cover crops are a bit of a risk, and Cotter and Horsma say there are really no experts on it in the area. “There are so many things that you have to think about when it comes to planting the cover crop: the short growing season, you’ve got to think abut all the chemicals you’re putting down, what to plant, what works out best — there’s a lot,” Horsman said.
Landowner Tom Cotter, center, talks with Steve Lawler, resource specialist with the Mower County Soil and Water Conservation District and Andrea Horsman, a soil conversationalist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service about cover crops, which Cotter makes use of. Along with the challenges and risks of needing the cover crop to grow to a preferable level before being knocking down, Horsman admits Mother Nature often plays a key role. Another challenge with cover crops, according to Lawler, is planting them early enough in the fall to get emergence before winter sets in. Cotter and his father, Michael, tried cover crops about 12 years ago, but they did it without necessarily knowing how to handle or control it at the time. One goal of the soil health team is to address issues like Cotter’s initial fears. Before, he admits he had no one to go to with questions, aside from the Internet. It’s much nicer, he said, to call another farmer from the area for advice and general discussion. Michael admitted he was scared when his son went to plant through the knocked-down cover crops last year. Cotter felt some trepidation as well, as he admitted he kept a book of his cover cropping process, but he skipped following the planting process. “The only thing I don’t have in there is the pictures of me planting because when I did I was too scared, too nervous too — thought I
was going crazy — thinking, ‘OK, how much is new seed going to cost to replant this whole field?’” Cotter said. “And I didn’t have to. It all came. I even upped my population.”
Quantifying the benefits
Despite some risks, early returns from farmers like Cotter have been positive, and Lawler was impressed with the condition of Cotter’s soil last week.
“The bottom line is these producers are seeing benefits … and they’re going to keep at it,” Lawler said. “And they’re going to work out the kinks in it.” While members of the soil health team are seeing benefits thus far, farmers want more than just the word of other farmers — they want data. “They want to see the data and that’s what we’re trying to provide them,” Horsman said. That’s where the NRCS and SWCD come in. The groups joined the team with the goal of quantifying and collecting data on cover crops and how these methods are affecting soil health. The SWCD is forming data plots throughout the county, and they’re doing temperature studies now and will do other studies to answer questions and determine the benefits. “The farmers want the numbers and they want the numbers derived locally,” Lawler said. “They don’t want Indiana or Illinois, they want numbers from Minnesota on what this is doing to their soils.” The SWCD and NRCS will go back to these plots after a few year to track biological and physical changes. The 11 members of the soil health team are available for other farmers to contact to discuss ideas. While people like Cotter are available to help, he admits he and other team members learn from the producers who call them too.
Minnesota Farm Bureau
Growing a Stronger Minnesota Through
• Legislation • Agriculture Education • Ag Promotion • Young Farmer Activities • Farm & Home Safety Education • Members Benefits We exist to serve members because we share the values they hold dear – hard work, love of community, passion for the land and a belief rooted in faith and family.
Join your neighbors and friends in growing your future in Mower County and Minnesota today at www.fbmn.org or by calling (507) 438-5676 or (507) 455-0745.
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016
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One Watershed, One Plan launches statewide Austin Daily Herald
newsroom@austindailyherald.com
Wrapping up a successful, almost two-year pilot period, the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources’ (BWSR) One Watershed, One Plan program begins the next phase of roll-out recently. The program aligns major watershed boundaries with prioritized, targeted, and measurable watershed plans that are developed and implemented locally. “The One Watershed, One Plan program is a holistic and coordinated approach to addressing water quality improvements,” BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said in a press release. “The pilot phase has shown that a broad range of stakeholders, including local governments, state agencies, and community members, can come together as true partners and make this planning process work. It’s a more efficient use of resources for local governments that is also good news for our state’s waters.” Mower County Soil & Watershed Conservation District manager Justin Hanson has previous said the plan aligns Mower’s SWCD watershed planning with Winona, Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted and Dodge counties under the Root River Watershed District. “It’s a brand new way of doing planning,”
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Hanson has said. Mower County addresses each waterway in its water plans, but up until now, it’s just addressed projects in Mower County. One Watershed, One Plan brings the counties together to plan and coordinate projects and work on the Root River, so the counties are working together. Chiefly, the plan brings together all the stakeholders for the Root River, which has a headwaters in eastern Mower County near LeRoy. Deer and Bear Creeks are also tributaries for the river. What comes off the land in Mower has an impact downstream, Hanson noted.
Planning assistance available
At its March meeting, the BWSR Board approved the program’s plan content and procedures, which will be used by local governments around the state as they move toward this new approach to water management. As a result, up to $1.5 million in Clean Water Funds is now available for planning grants. These grants are used to support the work of eligible local governments to use a systematic, science-based approach to watershed management to develop plans that provide the greatest environmental benefits to each watershed. The deadline for submit-
tal of grant applications is June 17.
Statewide Transition
With a goal set by the Legislature of full statewide transition to One Watershed, One Plan by 2025, BWSR has developed a transition plan to provide guidance to local governments as they begin program work. That plan is now available for public review and comment on the BWSR website: www.bwsr.state.mn.us. Feedback should be submitted by May 4.
Program background
Minnesota has a long history of water management by local government. One Watershed, One Plan is rooted in that history and in work initiated by the Local Government Water Roundtable (Association of Minnesota Counties, Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts, and Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts) in 2011 which recommended that the local governments charged with water management responsibility should organize and develop focused implementation plans on a watershed scale. That recommendation was followed by the legislation that would become One Watershed, One Plan, signed into law by Governor Dayton in 2015. Five pilots were awarded grant funding
in 2014: •Root River watershed, a six-county area that includes parts of Dodge County, Fillmore County, Houston County, Mower County, Olmsted County, and Winona County. •Lake Superior North watershed, a two-county area that includes Cook County and Lake County. •North Fork Crow River watershed, a five-county area that includes parts of Kandiyohi County, Meeker County, Pope County, Stearns County and Wright County. •Red Lake River watershed, a five-county area that includes parts of Beltrami County, Clearwater County, Pennington County, Polk County, and Red Lake County. •Yellow Medicine River watershed, a four-county area that includes Lac qui Parle County, Lincoln County, Lyon County, and Yellow Medicine County. For more information More information about the program, including its guiding principles, operating procedures, the Transition Plan and the program’s boundary map can be found at the One Watershed, One Plan website: www.bwsr.state. mn.us/planning/1W1P/index.html. The Request for Proposals for planning grants can be found at www.bwsr.state.mn.us/grants/ apply/index.html.
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
Farmers sought for water-quality certification program Producers encouraged to contact Mower SWCD office in April Austin Daily Herald
newsroom@austindailyherald.com
Mower County farmers and agricultural landowners whose conservation practices are protecting water quality have a new opportunity from the state offering formal recognition and regulatory certainty. Those interested far mers and landowners are encouraged during April to contact the Mower Soil & Water Conservation District to lear n more or start the process for the Minnesota Ag ricultural Water Quality Certification Prog ram (MAWQCP), which
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
aims to show that the state’s farms and waters can prosper together. Under the voluntary prog ram, those who implement and maintain approved far m management practices that benefit water quality will be certified by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. They also then obtain re gulatory certainty for a 10-year period in which they are deemed in compliance with any new water-quality rules or laws. Certified farmers and landowners also can use their status to promote their ag business as protective of water quality. They will get field signs to show friends and neighbors how they care for Minnesota’s waters. “Water quality is a major focus right now in Minnesota, and this new program is a great way to recognize farmers who are meeting the state’s expectations for water quality,” said Steve Lawler, Mower SWCD resource specialist and the
MN Ag Water Quality Certification
Benefits of certification •Regulatory certainty for a 10-year period of certification. •Formal recognition for implementing practices that protect water quality. •Increased priority for technical and financial assistance to implement best management practices. Minnesotans receive: Assurance that certified producers are managing operations in a way that does not harm water quality. lead contact for the program in Mower County, in a press release. MAWQCP is tailored to each farmer’s individual operation and can help everyone from a small organic farmer to a large c o nve n t i o n a l c r o p f a r m e r make improvements benefitting water quality.
Producers seeking certification also can obtain specially designated technical and financial assistance to implement practices that promote water quality. MAWQCP certifies far mers and landowners through a comprehensive whole-far m assessment that puts producers together with SWCD staff to determine where risks to water quality exist on their farm, and empowers them to fix those risks when found. Through the program, Minnesota citizens get assurance that certified producers are using conservation practices to protect the state’s lakes, rivers and streams. MAWQCP began in four pilot subwatersheds and recently became available to far mers statewide. It is offered by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Local conservation professionals are working with several hundred farms seeking certification across Minnesota. To date, the program has certified 110 farms, covering more than 64,000 acres and generating 229 new conservation practices. Farmers interested in seeking certification should contact Mower SWCD at 507-434-2603 or go to www.mowerswcd.org or www.mylandmylegacy.com to learn more.
Mower Soil & Water Conservation District
Since 1953, Mower SWCD has provided land and conservation services to Mower County landowners to help manage lands in a way that promotes a sound economy as well as sustains and enhances natural resources that are key to the state’s environmental health. Mower SWCD is one of Minnesota’s 91 SWCDs each are governed by an elected board.
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Lessons from the soil: CHS specialist helps farmers maximize potential By Jason Schoonover | Photos by Eric Johnson
M
ichael and Dan Gehling held up maps colored with reds, greens and yellows last fall in Grand Meadow’s CHS Inc. office in Grand Meadow. “It all starts with this,” Dan said pointing to the myriads of colors. What might look a bit like a weather map to some is far more intricate and complex. And as the harvest bustled toward its conclusion outside, Michael was already using those soil maps and soil analyses to help farmers look ahead to future seasons. Michael is the YieldPoint specialist at CHS in Grand Meadow, helping farmers use YieldPoint Precision Ag Services. He’s a bit like a pharmacist for the soil. Michael and CHS complete soil sampling and analyze data from year-to-year to make prescriptions for chemicals and nutrients to use on
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the soil to maximize go back over a soil map and yields. track changes. Weak soil doesn’t Soil tests assign values on necessarily equal things like organic matter more fertilizer. The in the soil, phosphorous goal is to help find levels, potassium levels, the best combination cation exchange capacity of fertilizers and (CEC), and more. different tactics that The soil test is typically end with the most updated every four years. money in a farmer’s That allows farmers to pocket at the end of compare and track what the day happened. “We want to find out “You look at your yield what rate made you map and you say, ‘What the the most money,” Dan heck’s going on? I’m not This story appeared in the getting the same amount of said. 2016 Austin Daily Herald bushels as I usually do,’” The process starts Progress edition. Pick up Michael said. “Well then you with a soil test, a copy at the Herald, 310 can look at what your soil which is traditionally Second St. NE. completed in the test values have done over summer. Dan then the last four years ago until breaks it down into farm maps with now.” geo-referenced points so a farmer can Once the soil map is complete,
Michael not only comes up with a fertilizer plan and how much it will cost, but he also includes the estimated cost and yield losses from not using fertilizer through an average per acre. Michael can adjust the equations and make different recommendations based on what farmers want from their field. For example, he can write an equation for a farmer to maintain soil levels and another equation for farmers to build up their land. Dan wanted to improve the soil on the land he owns, but he just wanted to maintain it on land he rents. The maps of strong green spots and weak red spots is a 160-acre plot of his father Dan’s land. “I want to make sure those areas get hit as a farmer,” Dan said. “It’ll assign a higher fertilizer rate to be applied there,” he added, pointing to one of the red areas.
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The whole idea is to improve yields, but that doesn’t always mean pumping fertilizer — and money — into soil that doesn’t need it or onto soil that’s most cost effective. Instead of using the same amount and type of fertilizer across the entire field, Michael and CHS’s work help the farmers only use fertilizer where it’s most needed. “Instead of flat-rating a constant rate, I’m actually maybe using less fertilizer because I’m not using as much up here,” Michael said pointing to a green area. When it comes to fertilizers, knowledge is indeed power, but it also equates to money too. While the goal is to address variability across an entire field, Dan said some sandy soils can only be improved so much. But soil types can really produce if they’re boosted. Dan said he likes to go a little above and beyond and tries to be aggressive in boosting his yields on his own land, while he said he may be a bit more conservative on rented land so he doesn’t improve yields, stop renting the land and leave money on the table. Plus, some land will only improve so much, no matter how much fertilizer is used. Using the Yield Point software, Michael can make a prescription and send it to farmers in their tractor using slingshot technology, which is similar
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
A combine makes its way up the rows in the field of Dan Gehling this fall. Satellite technology has become integral in modern farming. to Wi-Fi or cell signals. Before, farmers had to load the information onto a USB flash drive, which some still do if they have older technology. “I can send that directly to the floater spraying fertilizer,” Michael said. That technology then does the heavy lifting of applying the fertilizer at the proper point in the field. Dan has gotten a unique insight into
various products in recent years. Dan does a lot of test plots to gauge new or altered products with the University of Minnesota or companies. “That’s what I enjoy the most is just to see the differences and try new products,” Dan said. “That’s exciting.” Typically, he’ll plant and try various products and fertilizers in thin strips across a field. Once a farmer sees how a
product works over the course of several years, then he or she can decide whether to use it on more of the field. Typically, Michael said you want three test strips to then average the results. The test plots track many years of data over varied weather, soil types, growing seasons and more to show how the crops respond through the years to help make decisions.
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USDA proposes stricter animal welfare rules for organic meat Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department on Thursday proposed stricter animal welfare standards for organic chicken and meat in a multibillion-dollar market that is rapidly expanding each year. The rules would ensure that all livestock, including poultry, have enough space to lie down, turn around, stand up and fully stretch their limbs. Beaks couldn’t be removed and tails couldn’t be cut. Poultry houses would have to have fresh air and ventilation. “This will support the continued growth in the organic livestock and poultry sectors, and ensure consumer confidence in the organic label,” said Miles McEvoy, the head of the USDA’s organic program. The retail market for organic products is valued at almost $40 billion in the United States. The USDA said this past week that the number of certified organic operations in the United States increased by almost 12 percent between 2014 and 2015, the highest growth rate since 2008 and an increase of nearly 300 percent since the department began counting operations in 2002. The broadest changes proposed by the USDA would cover outdoor access for poultry, suggesting standards for how densely
poultry can be stocked as well as minimum indoor and outdoor space requirements. The rules would require poultry have access to areas that are at least 50 percent covered in soil. Hen houses would not be allowed to only have a porch; producers would have to provide additional outdoor space. In addition to clean water and direct access to sun and shade, the rules would require producers to design facilities to encourage all birds to go outside on a daily basis. The outdoor areas would have to have “suitable enrichment” to entice birds to go outside, McEvoy said. The amount of outside access for poultry has been a subject of debate, as some food safety advocates have expressed concerns that more outdoor access might increase the chances of salmonella contamination. The Organic Trade Association, which represents many of the nation’s largest companies that sell organic products, did not comment on specifics of the proposal. But the group’s president, Laura Batcha, said she was pleased USDA is moving forward with the rule. “Ensuring that the high expectations consumers have for organic foods are met preserves the organic seal’s reputation as the gold standard for agricultural production practices,” Batcha said.
Commercial fishing licenses available for rough fish Associated Press
ST. PAUL — Inland commercial fishing license applications are being accepted in several areas of the state. Licenses from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are available for portions of Chippewa, Yellow Medicine and Renville counties, and for all of Aitkin and Mille Lacs counties. A commercial fishing license authorizes a person to remove and sell rough fish species, mainly carp and buffalo fish, from lakes and streams. Interested
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people should have experience with the use of seines and hoop nets, and transporting large quantities of fish. Licensed commercial operators are responsible for the marketing and lawful disposal of fish from these activities. More information is available on the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/fishing/commercial/cf.html or by contacting Neil Vanderbosch, DNR commercial fisheries program consultant, at 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, Minn., 55155-4020; by phone at 651-259-5178 or email at neil. vanderbosch@state.mn.us. AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
Minnesota Farmers Union member creates landmark sculpture for union Austin Daily Herald
newsroom@austindailyherald.com
ST. PAUL — Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) member and Rice County vice president Mike Peterson of Northfield created a sculpture for MFU that represents the symbols of family farmers, whom MFU advocates for and supports. The plow, rake and hoe are the original insignia of Minnesota Farmers Union and represent the historical tools of farmers that represent their hard work. The sculpture was created to be placed outside of the new location for Minnesota Farmers Union. The idea came during discussions with MFU President, Doug Peterson, a former art teacher and part time artist in his free time. “I wanted the true symbol of Minnesota Farmers Union to be right out in front of our new building for everyone to see” Doug said in a press release. “I knew who to talk to with my ideas and it clearly was the right choice, it will look perfect outside of our
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
Minnesota Farmers Union member Mike Peterson of Northfield created a sculpture for the union.
of the plow. In an attempt to do the research of the plow he had in his barn, and then donate to the sculpture for Minnesota Farmers Union, Mike contacted Langer, who was able to help Mike out with an authentic plow that he had and allowed Mike to refurbish. He donated the plow to MFU to have it integrated into the sculpture that was being created, as long as Mike kept the family plow in his possession. Family history and farming heritage is a strong passion and Photo firm commitment of Minnesota Farmers provided Union, Mike and Langer. Sure enough after months of working together, all the pieces came together, and the sculpture was presented at the Dakota County Spring meeting. The sculpture will be a great addition to the new building for new location.” er. Mike Peterson has told the story of how Minnesota Farmers Union. Minnesota Farmers Union moved to their Mike worked with Dakota County Presi- he initially found an authentic plow in the dent Brian Rohrenbach of Rosemount and barn of his grandfather, which was then new location at 305 Roselawn Ave. E, MapleGreg Langer ,a Minnesota Farmers Union passed down through the generations and it wood in December of 2015. The sculpture friend from Dakota County, to locate the moved to his barn shortly after his father’s will be formally dedicated to the organizaproper pieces and put the sculpture togeth- passing. He had no clue the age or history tion this spring.
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Bushel Boy Farms among companies extending growing season for tomatoes in Minnesota By Tom Meersman Minneapolis Star Tribune
Gardeners love the flavorful tomatoes they nurture for a few weeks each summer, but they’d be astonished at the growing season in Owatonna. There, beneath 24 acres of glass just outside the southern Minnesota city, each plant produces fresh tomatoes for about 27 weeks in a row. It’s the home of Bushel Boy Farms, where year-round production yields 12 million tons of vine-on and beefsteak tomatoes destined for major supermarkets in and around Minnesota. “We can put a tomato on your plate right here in Minnesota year-round that you know is safe, wholesome and will taste like a garden tomato in January,” said Keith Kersten, CEO of Bushel Boy. The greenhouse farm is riding a wave of success as the popularity of locally grown produce has become a nationwide trend. A pioneer in extending the growing season in Minnesota, the private company does not release sales figures, but in 2015 it added a 4-acre greenhouse to its older system, and plans to build another 4 acres this summer. Rick Steigerwald, vice president of fresh foods for Lunds & Byerlys, said his company started partnering with Bushel Boy in 1995, when year-round tomatoes grown in Minnesota were “pretty unheard of.” “They were ahead of their time,” he said. “They’ve done a great job building a brand around locally grown, but also what really made them successful over the years is the quality and the taste.” Steigerwald said it’s unusual in the produce industry to have a brand, which he credits to the vision of Bushel Boy’s former owner Jay Johnson. “Where Jay was also way ahead of the curve was that he wanted to be close to mar-
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ket,” Steigerwald said. “Their trucks go right from the greenhouses direct to our stores, and you can’t get much fresher than that unless you grew it in the store.” That’s easier said than done. Making it work The farm uses a half-million gallons of water each week in a closed-loop, drip irrigation system to avoid waste. Depending on the time of year and sunlight, zero to 18 hours of overhead electric lighting is needed each day to optimize growth. And the temperatures are controlled to range from 62 degrees at night to 72 degrees during the day. In the greenhouse complex, the company’s 80 employees string up vines as they grow longer, intersperse new plantings with older vines, monitor insects, crop the flowers to only small clusters at the top of each plant, and harvest the tomatoes at near-peak ripeness so they can be sorted, packed into boxes, and delivered to grocery shelves. Also part of the workforce are hundreds of bumblebees that are dispatched daily to pollinate the flowers. The goal is to maintain a delicate balance: controlling heat, humidity and light inside — while adjusting to Minnesota’s changing seasons and weather outside — to maximize tomato growth and maturity. The tomatoes are not genetically modified and they are not organic, said Kersten, and come from varieties that have been around for 30 years. Bushel Boy was founded in 1990. Kersten and other investors purchased it in late 2011 and have modified and expanded the system, driven in large part by consumer preference for local produce, said company President Steve Irland. “Coming out of retail as I did, there’s lots and lots of evidence that customers will pay for superior taste, a higher degree of fresh-
ness, or a greater degree of consistency, more often in the produce department than they would anywhere else in the store,” Irland said. Vine-on tomatoes sold usually in clusters of three or four “have taken the nation by storm,” said Kersten. “Ones that have the vines, especially with the big fuzzy stems, it’s like a neon sign saying ‘fresh, fresh, fresh,’ and everybody wants fresh today.” Customers beyond Lunds include Cub Foods, Kowalski’s, Target, Whole Foods and some food service wholesalers. Growing trend Suzanne Thornsbury, branch chief for crops at the Economics Research Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said that greenhouse cultivation, especially for high-value tomatoes, has been growing rapidly during the past two decades. Fresh tomatoes from greenhouses sold in U.S. groceries went from negligible in the early 1990s to nearly 40 percent by 2005, according to one study, she said, and have seen strong growth since then. It’s difficult to get data on greenhouse production, Thornsbury said, but it’s clearly expanding. “It’s becoming a bigger part of the fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain,” she said, “both where the traditional field production took place, like California and Florida, but also in a lot of new areas as well.” The reasons include improved greenhouse technology and better-tasting tomato varieties, she said, and the ability to closely control water use, nutrients, pests, sunlight and cooling. That all costs money, said Bushel Boy’s Irland, but there are savings as well, especially in transportation that can add 25 to 30 percent to the cost of produce if it comes from coastal or foreign markets. Even so, there are cheaper tomatoes in local
markets that come from greenhouses in Canada, Mexico or other countries, Irland said. Those tomatoes were packed into boxes while green, trucked to warehouses and distribution centers, and gassed with ethylene to hasten their ripening. It can take three weeks from when they were picked for those tomatoes to make it to grocery shelves, he said. Hikaru Peterson, an applied economist and professor who works in consumer food marketing trends at the University of Minnesota, said the popularity of locally grown food has been growing significantly for at least a decade. Bushel Boy has benefited from already being there to fill that demand, she said, and others are following. Some growers are experimenting with less expensive alternatives to greenhouses that can extend the growing season by several weeks, Peterson said. They include hoop houses covered with plastic instead of glass, deep winter greenhouses that collect heat with passive solar systems or sheltered systems built into the side of hills or against barns to reduce heating expenses. Mary Rogers, assistant professor of horticultural science at the University of Minnesota, said that locally grown foods during the summer have become so popular and well-established that it’s difficult for beginning growers to get into the market. “Winter is kind of the new frontier,” she said, and more producers on a small scale are starting to grow into the winter season. Steigerwald from Lunds & Byerlys said that Bushel Boy has set a good example because of its quality, and warned that taste and flavor are all-important for success. “Even if it’s local,” he said, “if it doesn’t taste as good as you would expect, that’s not going to cut it. Consumers won’t take to it, and it’ll just go away.”
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
Big state bonding session this year for CRWD Water quality has been a major focus during the Fields, Rivers past year in & Streams Minnesota, and that is Justin Hanson is the district continuing manager of the Mower Soil & as the state Water Conservation District Legislature and the administrator of the works Cedar River Watershed District through the 2016 session. Cedar River Watershed District is watching the session closely and has testified before legislators on our request for $1.6 million in state bonding funds to accelerate our efforts to improve water quality and reduce our area’s vulnerability to damaging floods. CRWD once again is working closely with local legislators Sen. Dan Sparks and Rep. Jeanne Poppe and other legislators to gain state support for our significant initiative. Bonding funds will support CRWD’s nearly $8 million, five-year Capital Improvement Project (CIP), an innovative and historic project for a watershed district in Minnesota. Under the plan, CRWD will implement a top25 priority list we created in 2015 of project sites within the Cedar River Watershed, with all but a few located on farmland upstream from Austin along the Cedar River or in the Dobbins Creek subwatershed. The sites include 11 on the Cedar River and 14 along
The Cedar River Watershed District’s Justin Hanson talks about the CRWD’s efforts to clean waterways after it was announced that The Hormel Foundation will give $3.2 million to fund half of $6.4 million of the five-year Capital Improvement Project for projects on the Cedar River and Dobbins Creek.
Justin Hanson
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
Herald file photo
Dobbins Creek’s two branches that converge in Austin’s Jay C. Hormel Nature Center before becoming East Side Lake and flowing into the Cedar. Overall, the CIP aims to reduce flood flows to the Cedar River by more than 8 percent. CRWD’s long-term plan calls for a 20 percent reduction in flood flows. Cooperation from the ag community has been incredible to this point and has assisted with securing cooperation with most of the sites. Our ag partners really been out front and pro-active in their approach to making the project a success. While we are fortunate to have beautiful local waterways that are great for canoeing and kayaking, the Cedar River and Dobbins Creek are listed by the state as “impaired” for aquatic life and turbidity (water being muddy or
cloudy). Our CIP projects will reduce stream flows, downstream erosion and stormwater runoff from reaching waterways as well as restore wetlands and stabilize river ravines. Slowing stormwater flows is particularly vital on Dobbins because it is prone to flash flooding. Strategic implementation of storage opportunities allows us to slow water flows, keeping soil and nutrients on the land and out of the water. This also reduces flood damage to infrastructure and agricultural fields. Funding for the $8 million CIP has been committed over five years by the CRWD Board of Managers at $1 million and $3.2 million by The Hormel Foundation, a historic gift during the 2015 summer made possible through the Austin Vision 2020 Waterways Committee. For the remaining funds,
CRWD is requesting $1.6 million this session with plans to seek bonding funds as well in 2018 while also pursuing other funding sources. Regardless of whether bonding is approved this year, CRWD will start CIP work using funds already in place. We cannot thank The Hormel Foundation enough for its major gift that will reap benefits for all who enjoy our local waterways and natural resources, and those who want better flood protection. Mower SWCD provides technical assistance to landowners with conservation practices that protect land and water resources. SWCD also performs the duties of the Cedar River Watershed District to improve water quality and reduce flooding. This monthly column by Mower SWCD/CRWD typically runs the last Thursday of each month. More information is available on the Mower SWCD and CRWD websites as well as the CRWD’s Facebook page: www. facebook.com/CedarRiverWD” www. facebook.com/CedarRiverWD. Questions and comments can be sent to tim.ruzek@ mowerswcd.org.
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To help curb climate change, stop wasting food By Megan Rowling Thomson Reuters Foundation
Reducing food waste around the world would help curb emissions of planet-warming gases, lessening some of the impacts of climate change such as more extreme weather and rising seas, scientists said in a new study. Up to 14 percent of emissions from agriculture in 2050 could be avoided by managing food use and distribution better, according to the study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). “Agriculture is a major driver of climate change, accounting for more than 20 percent of overall global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010,” said co-author Prajal Pradhan. “Avoiding food loss and waste would therefore avoid unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and help mitigate climate change.” Between 30 and 40 percent of food produced around the world is never eaten, because it is
“Avoiding food loss and waste would therefore avoid unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and help mitigate climate change.”
velopment, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation the potential for food waste curbs to reduce emissions should be given more attention. “It is not a strategy of governments at the moment,” he said.
— Prajal Pradhan 2030 Goals
Co-author of a study on emissions from agriculture spoiled after harvest and during transportation, or thrown away by shops and consumers. The share of food wasted is expected to increase drastically if emerging economies like China and India adopt Western food habits, including a shift to eating more meat, the researchers warned. Richer countries tend to consume more food than is healthy or simply waste it, they noted. As poorer countries develop and the world’s population grows, emissions associated with food waste could soar from
0.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year to between 1.9 and 2.5 gigatonnes annually by mid-century, showed the study published Thursday in the Environmental Science & Technology journal. It is widely argued cutting food waste and distributing the world’s surplus food where it is needed could help tackle hunger in places that do not have enough - especially given that land to expand farming is limited. But Jürgen Kropp, another of the study’s co-authors and PIK’s head of climate change and de-
foundations, research groups and charities launched a coalition to work towards cutting food waste by half and reducing food loss significantly by 2030. The aims are in line with the new global development goals that took effect this year. “Champions 12.3,” named after the food-waste goal number, includes the bosses of Tesco, Nestle, Rabobank, Unilever, Oxfam America, WWF International and the Rockefeller Foundation. Andrew Steer, another coalition member who heads the World Resources Institute, noted then that if food loss and waste were a country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. “Food loss and waste hurts people, costs money and harms the planet,” he said in a statement. “Cutting [it] is a no-brainer.”
The researchers analyzed food requirements in the past and for different future scenarios. They found while global average food demand per person remains almost constant, in the last five decades food availability has rapidly increased - hiking the emissions related to growing surplus food by more than 300 percent. The paper did not look at how food waste could be shrunk, but initiatives to tackle the problem are already on the rise in both developed and developing countries. In January, for example, 30 company heads, gover nment —Distributed by the Associated ministers, and executives with Press.
New program connects Minnesota’s retiring, beginning farmers Associated Press
WINONA — A new program by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture seeks to build connections between farmers who are ready to get out of the business and those who want to get in. The Minnesota Far m
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Transition Program offers a place where farmers who are ready to retire can connect with beginning farmers who may need help getting past the high capital costs of getting started. Department official Jim Ostlie tells the Winona Daily News that the goal is to pair retiring farm-
ers without an heir and new farmers without a farm to inherit or take over. More than 30 beginning farmers and nine retiring farmers have signed up for the program since it launched last fall. Several others are currently working on arrangements.
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
Minnesota farm incomes take a hit By Jeffrey Meitrodt Minneapolis Star Tribune
Farmers hauled in a record amount of corn and other crops last year, but declining prices hurt the pocketbook, with average farm incomes hitting a 20-year low in inflation-adjusted dollars. It was a tough year for both crop farms and livestock producers, according to a report released Thursday by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and University of Minnesota Extension. Overall, median net farm income was $27,078 in 2015, down 37 percent from 2014. Crop producers earned an average of $26,586, up 60 percent from 2014 but far below the $260,940 earned in 2012 when prices and yields were high. Livestock farms saw median incomes tumble from $110,634 in 2014 to $23,933 in 2015. “Thank goodness for record yields,” said Dale Nordquist, an economist with Minnesota Extension. “At current prices, the average crop producer would have suffered a net income loss of over $50,000 with normal yields.” Corn yielded an average of 198 bushels per acre in 2015, 30 bushels higher than the previous 10-year average. But farmers typically received just $3.75 per bushel, down 14 percent from the year before. Soybean prices were off by 19 percent. To improve financial returns, many farmers stored their crops to sell in 2016,
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD – SPRING AG
but prices have not yet risen enough to cover average production costs, according to the report, based on a survey of more than 2,000 commercial farms. Livestock farmers also were hit hard by falling prices. Market hogs dropped from 75 cents per pound to 55 cents, a 27 percent decline. Milk prices also fell 27 percent, and with higher expenses, dairy producers netted about $300 per cow, compared to $1,200 in 2014. Dairy farms earned an average profit of $41,500, the highest of any major commodity group in 2015, but down 70 percent from the previous year. So far, 2016 isn’t looking much better. Though prices for fuel and fertilizer have come down, commodity prices are not expected to quickly recover because of soft international demand. “There is a lot of anxiety in rural Minnesota,” said Keith Olander, director of AgCentric at MnSCU. Despite three years of reduced income, the typical farm is not in jeopardy, according to agriculture experts. “Most of these farms have solid balance sheets, but cash flow and debt repayment capacity is really tight,” said Ron Dvergsten a farm business management instructor at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls. —Distributed by Tribune Content
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If a power plant is built in US, it’s likely to be renewable By Climate Central
Distributed by the Associated Press
If a new electric power plant is built in the U.S. these days, chances are it’s renewable — either wind or solar. That’s the gist of a report the U.S. Department of Energy released this week showing that, together, wind and solar accounted for nearly two-thirds of all new electric power plants built in 2015. It’s a trend expected to continue through 2016, even with low natural gas prices likely to keep utilities building plenty of gas-fired power plants, too. “Right now, it’s primarily a wind and solar market,” U.S. Energy Information Administration analyst Chris Namovicz said, adding that renewables have been thriving on an extension of wind and solar tax credits, though wind is becoming competitive with fossil fuels even without the help of a tax credit. As global investments in renewable energy far outpace investments in fossil fuels for electric power, the expansion of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources is critical for the globe to uphold the Paris climate agreement, which aims to keep global warming to 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial levels. Burning coal to produce electricity is the world’s leading driver of climate change. In the U.S., low natural gas prices and climate policies are allowing lower-carbon energy sources to eclipse coal as the leading sources of electricity. Together, wind and solar accounted for 67 percent of all new electric power generation capacity built in the U.S.
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Mower has deep ties to wind industry
Mower County has reaped the benefits of its 254 wind turbines through the wind production tax credit, which brought in $9.3 million from 2004-14 — the most of any Minnesota county, according to data from the state’s Department of Revenue and the American Wind Energy Association. The county is primed to receive even more funds through the energy production tax. Last year, Renewable Energy Systems Americas completed the 100-turbine Pleasant Valley project, which added 88 turbines to Mower. County officials have estimated that could add another $400,000 through the energy production tax by about 2017. EDF Renewable Energy is working toward building a wind farm with about 25-turbines. If completed, the EDF project, along with Pleasant Valley, could make for about 360 turbines in Mower County.
in 2015. That adds up to more than 13 Dakota rounded out the top five wind gigawatts of carbon-free electric power generation capacity, enough to provide power to more than 9 million homes. Natural gas accounted for 30 percent of new electric power generation capacity built last year. Most renewable-powered plants built in the U.S. last year were built in two states — Texas and California — according to EIA data. Texas is the reigning champ of the wind industry, accounting for 42 percent — more than 3 gigawatts — of all the new wind power capacity built in the U.S. in 2015. Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, and North
farm-building states in 2015. Wind is in the process of rebounding from the industry nearly going bust in 2013, a year when the industry bottomed out because of great uncertainty about the future of a wind power production tax credit. Last year, Congress extended the tax credit through 2019. Today, more than 50,000 wind turbines twirl across the U.S. — enough to power 19 million homes. As for solar, Califor nia built more than any other state in 2015 — more than 2 gigawatts. The state was responsible for building 42 percent of all new solar power constructed last year. About half of all that solar energy built in California last year came from large utility-scale solar farms. The rest was built in the form of rooftop solar or small solar power systems. North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah rounded out the top five states building new solar plants in 2015.
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