Inside Ag PAGE 2
MINOT DAILY NEWS
OCTOBER 2017 A combine finishes up a field west of Minot Aug. 21. Jill Schramm/MDN
Grain harvest brings mixed results around region
By JILL SCHRAMM Senior Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com
Chris Gratton, general manager of CHS Garrison, said the small grain crop was about 30 percent of what might be considered an average harvest. Crop quality generally was good, though, with higher protein in the spring wheat, he said. “Durum quality is always kind of the question. It got a little rain late on it so it lost its color,” he said. “Durum is probably not in as nice a shape.” The earlier planted crop also benefited
Location and timing of seeding weighed into harvest productivity and grain quality in the Minot region this year. Some parts of the immediate Minot area saw significant yield losses in the range of 40 percent, while farmers to the north fared better and farmers to the south also took a serious blow from the drought. from moisture in the soil to get started, while the later seeded crop laid in dry dirt and saw poor germination, Gratton said. Even the earlier crop suffered from the drought, though. “We just didn’t have the moisture to fill the crop the way it needed to,” he said. In the immediate Minot area, wheat yields appeared to average 30 to 35 bushels an acre, which compares with 50 to 60 bushels that farmers had been see-
ing in the past few years, according to Kayla Burkhart, grain division manager at CHS SunPrairie. Farther from Minot within SunPrairie’s trade region, yields often were better, averaging up to 40 bushels an acre, she said. While yields were spotty from Minot to Lansford, the area north of Mohall to the Canadian border seemed to do much better, she said. Yields of 10 to 15 bushels an acre also
were reported near Minot. How well the grain did often depended on where the scattered rain showers fell this summer, Burkhart said. Early or late season planting made a difference in some cases but not others. “I would say it did on protein but not yield. Yield was pretty consistent between early and later,” Burkhart said. See GRAIN — Page 4
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Grain
Inside Ag MINOT DAILY NEWS
PAGE 4
Continued from Page 2
Protein was high, up to 17 percent, on the earlier harvested crop in the immediate Minot area. As harvest progressed, protein readings went as low as 13.5 percent. North of Minot, protein content ranged from 10.5 to 16 percent, Burkhart said. “Seeing some of those lower proteins is a bit of a surprise,” she said. Protein discounts have narrowed, though, due to the amount of high protein crop available for blending. “It’s made the lower protein a little more marketable and we are sitting at higher prices than we have in past years, too,” Burkhart said. Dan Mostad, general manager at Berthold Farmers Elevator, agreed protein discount spreads have narrowed, although not as much as might be expected. The anticipation was for higher protein than the average 14.3, although that’s still slightly higher than last year. “In the area right around Berthold, small grain harvest is a little bit better than expected, given the summer that we have had,” Mostad said. “Our yields were below the last two years on average, but above what guys had thought. Overall, most were pretty happy with how the grain harvest turned out. Quality was excellent on the crop.” Jered Johnson, assistant operations manager for United Quality Cooperative,
Parshall, said there was nothing to be disappointed about in the quality of the wheat, with 15 percent or more protein and heavy test weights. “The only issue in the crop really was the yield,” he said. The crop was about two-thirds of what has been typical in recent years, although recent yields have been better than farmers used to see several years ago, he said. “People had lower expectations going into the fields,” Johnson said. “They thought they would have lower yields.” The area south of Parshall seemed to be hardest hit by the drought In the New Town-Parshall area, later seeded grains benefited a little more from late summer rain. Durum also was at an early enough stage to avoid becoming bleached by the rain, and the moisture helped boost test weights, Johnson said. In the Bottineau area, wheat averaged 14 percent protein, with an average weight of 61 to 62 pounds, said Larry Rapp, merchandiser at Bottineau Farmers Elevator. He said producers harvested a fairly average small grain harvest despite dry conditions, thanks to the amount of subsoil moisture going into the season. Much of the new crop is going into storage as farmers consider what the markets might do. Johnson said mills bought up grain in anticipation of a smaller harvest and that’s causing prices to slump or remain flat. He said another uptick in prices likely will come, possibly later in the year, as millers drain their stockpiles.
2016
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Oilseeds
(Oct. 1, 2016, closing canola prices at Archer-Daniels-Midland, Velva.) Canola, 14.82 for September delivery; canola meal, 165.10 per ton; pellets, 170.10 per ton.
(Oct. 1, 2017, closing canola prices at Archer-Daniels-Midland, Velva.) Canola, 17.22 for September delivery; canola meal, 198.50 per ton; pellets, 203.50 per ton.
(Oct. 1, 2016, Quotations) These quotations are averages based on Minneapolis cash prices of the day by CHS SunPrairie in Minot. Spring wheat, 4.15 Milling durum, 5.75 Barley Malt, 1.60 Feed, 1.60 Winter wheat, 2.73 NuSun sunflowers, 15.50 Flax, 7.10 Canola, 14.15 Soybeans, 8.59 Corn, 2.47 Peas, 5.00 Quotations for spring wheat are based on 14 percent protein, durum on milling quality and malting barley on 70 percent plump, 8 percent or less thin, 8 percent or less skinned or broken kernels, protein 13.5 percent or less.
(Oct. 1, 2017, Quotations) These quotations are averages based on Minneapolis cash prices of the day by CHS SunPrairie in Minot. Spring wheat, 5.23 Milling durum, 6.50 Barley Malt, 2.00 Feed, 2.00 Winter wheat, 3.22 NuSun sunflowers, 14.45 Flax, 9.25 Canola, 16.15 Soybeans, 8.63 Corn, 2.70 Peas, 6.90 Quotations for spring wheat are based on 14 percent protein, durum on milling quality and malting barley on 70 percent plump, 8 percent or less thin, 8 percent or less skinned or broken kernels, protein 13.5 percent or less.
Cash Grains
Cash Grains
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Inside Ag
How ‘Cattle Capital of North Dakota’ earned its name! MINOT DAILY NEWS
OCTOBER 2017
PAGE 7
Virginia Hill Fairbrother’s Memory Editor’s Note For many years the city of Towner has been called the “Cattle Capital of North Dakota.” After reading a story about how Towner got the name according to Minot Daily News published stories, Virginia Hill Fairbrother, who grew up in Towner, has provided more information about the naming. Her father, Homer Hill, was instrumental in the naming. Following is her memory of the naming:
By VIRGINIA HILL FAIRBROTHER
Virginia Hill Fairbrother
Homer Hill
Homer Hill moved to Towner in 1924 and was the pharmacist and owner of Hill’s Drug Store, plus carried veterinary supplies for the area ranchers. Homer had taken care of cattle when he was 10 years old. One of the things that attracted him to the Towner area were the ranchers with horses and cattle. In the later 1920s, Homer Hill felt there was a need to have a slogan for Towner which would help to promote the area. His slogan became “Cattle Capital of North Dakota” and has remained the same all these years! Homer designed some signs, but those have been lost to history. The most current sign is on Highway 2 by Towner.
Submitted Photo
The most current sign with the slogan “Cattle Capital of North Dakota” stands along U.S. Highway 2 by Towner.
Late season harvest ahead Inside Ag
PAGE 8 A field of corn waits to be harvested northwest of Minot. Yields are expected to vary considerably due to predominantly dry conditions that prevailed throughout the summer over much of the Minot area. Kim Fundingsland/MDN
MINOT DAILY NEWS
OCTOBER 2017
By KIM FUNDINGSLAND Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
As of the last week in September the harvesting of late season crops was just beginning. While the harvest of sunflowers and corn generally doesn’t get under way until cooperative days in October, the soybean harvest got off to a rough start. “It was a slow start for those guys,” said Jeremy Burkhart, project manager, CHS SunPrairie Grain of Minot. Burkhart was referring to rainy, wet conditions at the start of the traditional harvest. It was an odd contrast to dry and drought conditions that plagued the region during the spring and summer months. However, some spotty rains were very beneficial to those soybean growers fortunate enough to receive them. “The yield on beans? I’d guess anywhere from 15 to 35 bushels,” said Burkhart. “There were areas that didn’t get any rain. The yield is dependent on those pockets that did.” Burkhart said it is kind of hard to estimate what the sunflower crop will yield this year. Some of the sunflowers “look pretty decent,” according to Burkhart. However, he noted, the fall influx of blackbirds can make a difference on yields. “We do know that some areas are really bad and those guys will possibly be
chopping it,” said Burkhart. The early word from the Willow City area is somewhat better than what is being reported in much of the Minot region. David Hanson, manager of the Rugby Farmers Elevator of Willow City, says he thinks the corn crop in his area looks pretty good. “It is starting to dry down on its own. I think the weight will be pretty fair,” said Hanson. The corn harvest will probably not get started in earnest until after the first frost. As for sunflowers, there’s not many in the fields near Willow City where blackbirds often cut into yields. Instead, says Hanson, some farmers have opted to replace their corn with soybeans. “There’s a lot of soybeans up here. They are just getting started with the harvest,” said Hanson. “From the few samples I’ve seen they look pretty good and the weight is pretty fair.” Hanson added that he expected the overall soybean harvest to be “all over the place.” “Some look good and some don’t look so good,” said Hanson. “It all depends on the moisture. It was kinda’ dry through most of July and then picked up some and pulled the crops through.”
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Inside Ag
Congress tackles farm bill ahead of September 2018 deadline
OCTOBER 2017
MINOT DAILY NEWS
PAGE 11
By JILL SCHRAMM Senior Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com
Hoeven WASHINGTON – Maintaining a farm safety net that includes a strong crop insurance program is among priorities of North Dakota’s congressional delegation as their committees work to draft a new farm bill. Given talk that the House might have a bill draft out by the end of the year, there’s optimism that a new five-year farm bill will be in place before the existing farm bill expires on Sept. 30 of next year. Sens. John Hoeven, R-ND, and Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND, and Congressman Kevin Cramer, R-ND, all say they will be fighting for crop insurance foremost. “All you have to do is look at this drought year and see how vital it is,” Hoeven said. Heitkamp said she expects there will be work to do to maintain crop insurance given opposition from both those on the far right and far left. After beating back cuts to crop insurance funding last year, Heitkamp said, she heard from colleagues that they want a broader discussion on crop insurance before they will be persuaded for vote for it again. North Dakota’s delegation expects Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage will remain in the next farm, although changes to ARC are likely given problems under the current bill. “One of the reasons for that, as some North Dakota counties could tell, is lack of data and lack of consistent data,” Cramer said. “They just don’t have much flexibility in
“We can show that every dollar invested in these programs returns many, many more dollars in terms of exports and new wealth creation back in this country.” — Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND
current level or raised. how “We can show that every dollar they could ex- invested in these programs returns trapolate data.” many, many more dollars in terms Hoeven said there is a commit- of exports and new wealth creation ment to work through the data is- back in this country,” she said. sues and arrive at solutions, which Hoeven is proposing increasing is why he believes ARC will survive Farm Service Agency limits from in the next bill. Part of the solution $1.3 million to $2.5 million on loan being discussed is increasing the guarantees and from $300,000 to crop yield averages from five years $600,000 on loans. to 10 years or raising the revenue “Better access to credit will not only help farmers during tough guarantees, Cramer added. The delegation hopes to draw times but help our young farmers,” more attention to the interests of he said. Cramer said raising the caps acranchers, too. “The drought was a reminder,” knowledges the cost of modern Heitkamp said. “We were able to agriculture, but if the pool of money make some of the disaster programs isn’t increased as well, it just means for livestock permanent. Some of fewer farmers benefit. He said he them fell short in terms of what would like to investigate whether ranchers needed when drought raising the cap on the loan guaranhits, so we are going to be looking tees will provide the desired results. “If we were able to put more of at expanding assistance programs.” Expanding the Conservation Re- that money into the loan guarantee serve Program, encouraging biofu- program and we leverage more els and maintaining strong exports money on the private side, I think and agricultural research also are the answer is yes,” he said. “It alhigh on the agenda of the delega- lows increased risk to be taken on the financial side by the credit agention. Heitkamp said she would like to cies.” Integral to any discussion of the see marketing dollars kept at the
Heitkamp
Cramer
farm bill is the amount of money available to spend. “It’s pretty clear from budget discussions just out of the White House and out of Congress that the amount of money is probably going to be about what it is for the current farm bill,” Cramer said. If Congress can maintain the status quo on the agriculture side of the farm bill, that would provide a workable product, he said. “We are hoping to hold our baseline and not see it reduced. I think that’s going to be the key,” Hoeven said. Currently, the administration’s proposal is a 10 percent cut from the nutrition side, which carries about 80 percent of the overall farm bill spending. However, Cramer noted that’s 10 percent off the past budget, and actual spending has been considerably less than budgeted due to a good economy. So any cut to actual spending could end up being minimal, he said. Getting consensus on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is important to ensuring urban state support for the farm bill. “We need to pay attention to waste, fraud and abuse and take a look at the program so we are, in fact, making sure that people who deserve the program are getting it,” Heitkamp said. “I think there’s enough money there to cover it as long as we design the program right,” Hoeven said. “Accountability is the issue, and making sure we are working
with the states to create the right incentives to make sure the people who need help with SNAP get it.” The farm bill also will need support from the Trump Administration, but Hoeven said having Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue with his understanding and background advising the president will be a big boost for farm interests. The delegation also encourages North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers to stay involved in the discussion. Farmers and ranchers should stay in touch and keep their representatives in Congress informed when they identify glitches that should be addressed in the new bill, said Heitkamp. “The key is going to be sticking together. We have to have all hands on deck because we know there’s going to be challenges,” Hoeven added. Cramer, who expects the House committee to be actively marking up a bill in November, attended the committee’s listening session in Minnesota, which drew North Dakotans who testified. “It was really valuable to see and hear from organizations and individual farmers and commodity groups,” he said. The delegation sees a lot of work ahead, but members are satisfied efforts are getting off to a good start. “At the end of the day, I think we can get enough support for a good farm bill. We can get this done,” Heitkamp said.
Inside Ag
PAGE 12
Highway 83 CHS SunPrairie project under way
MINOT DAILY NEWS
LANSFORD – CHS SunPrairie new facility sits on 180 acres along U.S. Highway 83 near Lansford. Jeremy Burkhart, project manager, said the new facility will have a 120-car loop track, and the facility itself will be a concrete six-pack with capacity of 920,000 bushels. “It will have two unload pits and also two scales (an inbound and an outbound) so we should be able to dump a truck in under 5 minutes.” He said cleaner capacity will be 10,000 bu per hour. “We felt the facility will fill a void in the Submitted Photo area for our producer owners as most of On Aug. 30, workers began pouring the concrete for the mat slab for the them haul up to 30 miles one way to sell elevator at the U.S. Highway 83 CHS SunPrairie project. Roughly 160 their grain. And also the congestion in Minot loads of concrete were hauled in for pouring over a 13 to 14-hour window. makes it hard for our patrons north of Minot
OCTOBER 2017
to deliver grain to our Minot location,” Burkhart said. “The site was selected because it is right off a major state highway that is an unrestricted road,” Burkhart said. The contractor building the elevator is Vigen Construction, the dirtwork contractor is Farden Construction and the track is being built by Northern Plains rail services, according to Burkhart. The track will likely be 100 percent complete in the first part of October. The scales will be installed 100 percent, the elevator itself should be getting slipped sometime the first part of October. Completion of the facility will be sometime in May 2018, Burkhart said.
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Good year for grapes Inside Ag
MINOT DAILY NEWS
PAGE 16
OCTOBER 2017
By KIM FUNDINGSLAND
Staff Writer kfundingsland @minotdailynews.com While traditional crops such as wheat and corn and soybeans garner most of the attention in agriculture circles throughout the state, there’s another crop coveted by a unique group of specialists – grapes. North Dakota vineyard owners supply an increasing number of grapes each year to several wineries in the state. The early word this year is that, despite dry conditions throughout much of this past growing season, the grape crop did very well. “From what I am hearing it is a good year,” said Randal Albrecht, owner of Wolf Creek Wines in Coleharbor. Wolf Creek Wines are made from grapes grown annually at the Red Trail vineyard near Buffalo. Long-time owner Rodney Hogen says this year’s grape crop did very well and that grape vines usually don’t have difficulty producing the small fruits when rainfall is less than normal. “The drought this summer didn’t really affect the grapes,” said Hogen. “They go down real deep for moisture. It’s a good crop this year.” As usual, Hogen was waiting for the best time to harvest his grape crop. The quality of the grapes is determined by sugar content, PH and acid content. “When the stars and moon line up that’s when you harvest,” explained Hogen. “You get as close as you can and the winemaker
Wolf Creek Wines are made exclusively from North Dakota grapes grown at the Red Trail Vineyard near Buffalo. makes adjustments too.” The grape harvest across the state was expected to get under way in earnest during the last week of September. Albrecht gets his grapes from Hogen, so he has a keen interest in what condition the grapes will be in when they arrive at his winery.
“His is one of the oldest vineyards in the state,” said Albrecht. “He tries (to) time the harvest just right.” Hybrid grape varieties grown in North Dakota can have a high acid content, especially if picked at the wrong time. This year though, says Albrecht, “the
grapes look real promising.” Red Trail Vineyard got its start in 2003 and opened for business in 2005 when it supplied Pointe of View Winery of Burlington with grapes to make wine. “People thought I was nuts,” said Hogen. “Now we get all the red grapes up to
Randy in Coleharbor. He is known in North Dakota as a good winemaker. He’s won awards for his wines.” “I think we’re doing pretty well, getting wine out to different markets,” said Albrecht. Albrecht started winemaking as a hobby and it
Submitted Photo
turned into a retirement business. He produces about 10,000 bottles of wine a year. “That’s not a lot for a winery,” explained Albrecht. Perhaps not nationally, but it is a lot for a winemaker in North Dakota where grapes are generally not thought of as a cash crop.
LOCALLY FOCUSED. QUALITY DRIVEN.
ag.wilburellis.com Minot, ND | 800-533-9326 | 701-852-5199 Always follow IRM, grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. B.t. products may not yet be registered in all states. Check with your seed representative for the registration status in your state. Individual results may vary, and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible. WILBUR-ELLIS logo, Ideas to Grow With, INTEGRA FORTIFIED SEED and INTEGRA logo are registered trademarks of Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC. Roundup Ready 2 Technology and Design®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Seminis is a registered trademark of Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. K-1017-427
Inside Ag
Spotlight on Economics: Unutilized Technology MINOT DAILY NEWS
PAGE 18
By Skip Taylor
Extension Associate/Research Scientist, NDSU Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department Today, we are in the middle of an agricultural downturn. Just a few years ago, the production agriculture sector was booming, along with most input suppliers. Now, net farm income has fallen 81 percent and the near-term prospects are not positive. Production agriculture has been through this phenomenon many times in the past, and each cycle brings hope that we have learned from our mistakes of the past. The first step in understanding this is to ask the question: Why does this occur and
what may be the recurring reason? Most events that triggered a boom in agriculture can be identified as external to agriculture. The last few are World War I (1914-1919), World War II (1941-1945), the Russian Grain Deal of 1972-1973 and the Bio-energy Policy Act of 2005. Each time, prices increased rapidly as demand increased, but within a few years, producers responded by increasing supply enough to push prices back to pre-event levels, beginning a period of low incomes and financial stress. The reasons are many, but I am going to explain the role of technology in this phenomenon. First, an individual farmer knows that his action will have
no impact on the markets. Farmers can produce and sell as much as they desire with no impact on prices. A producer’s logical response to a market event is to maximize production to maximize income by incorporating all of the new available technology that has been developed. This is shown in the representative supply and demand curves for an individual producer. The supply curve, “S,” is almost vertical because the producer cannot change output substantially once a production cycle is started. The demand curve, “D,” is horizontal because the producer can sell as much as he is able to produce at a constant price. His production has no impact on the price level. When a positive price shock
occurs, the producer responds during the next production cycle by increasing production to capture higher prices, knowing that his production will not impact the price level. When supply increases, the price level, “P,” does not change. In recent price shocks, producers responded during the next few years with increased production (46, 35, 24 and 22 percent, respectively) to capture the short-term increases in demand and prices. The after-effect comes from the aggregate impact of the agricultural industry sector. In an economist’s terms, the supply, “S,” and demand, “D,” for agricultural commodities at the industry level are very inelastic, which means that small changes in supply have a relatively larger impact on price.
OCTOBER 2017
Producers within a production cycle cannot change production (supply). Once an enterprise is started, it has to finish. The same is true on the demand side. Most commodities are eaten by some biological agent and that agent can consume only so much; that is, demand is inelastic. The shift of the supply curve, due to increased production during the following production cycle, lowers the price that the industry receives. That price decrease lowers the industry’s gross income and, in turn, lowers the farmer’s net income. The rapid increase in production during a high price period is due to farmer’s use of new technology. This sets off a new cycle of low prices, during which producers cut back and
new technology is not used until the next price cycle. With the different supply and demand schedules for the individual and the industry, what is good for the individual has an undesirable effect on the industry. The growth in technology will continue during this low price sector of the cycle and will be waiting until the next demand shock to be implemented. This will end the high price part of the cycle and return the industry to the longer low-price part of the cycle. This cycle will continue because human nature does not change. Producers will continue to respond to rising prices with new technology to increase production, which will set in motion the next price cycle.
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dŚĞ ŶĂŵĞ ͞ĚƵƌƵŵ͟ ĐŽŵĞƐ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ >ĂƟŶ ǁŽƌĚ ĨŽƌ ŚĂƌĚ͕ ĂŶĚ ĚƵƌƵŵ ŝƐ ŝŶĚĞĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŚĂƌĚĞƐƚ ŽĨ ǁŚĞĂƚƐ͘ dŚŝƐ ǀĂƌŝĞƚLJ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ŝƚƐ ůĂƌŐĞ͕ ĂŵďĞƌ ŬĞƌŶĞůƐ͕ ŝƐ ƚŚĞ ĐŚŽŝĐĞ ĨŽƌ ŵĂŬŝŶŐ ƐƉĂŐŚĞƫ͕ ůĂƐĂŐŶĂ ĂŶĚ ŚƵŶĚƌĞĚƐ ŽĨ ŽƚŚĞƌ ƉĂƐƚĂ ƐŚĂƉĞƐ͘ KŶĞ ďƵƐŚĞů ŽĨ ĚƵƌƵŵ ŵĂŬĞƐ ĂďŽƵƚ ϮϭϬ ƐĞƌǀŝŶŐƐ ŽĨ ƉĂƐƚĂ͘ WƵůƐĞ ĐƌŽƉƐ ʹ ĚƌLJ ƉĞĂƐ͕ ůĞŶƟůƐ ĂŶĚ ĐŚŝĐŬƉĞĂƐ ʹ ĂƌĞ ĂŵŽŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŽůĚĞƐƚ ĐƵůƟǀĂƚĞĚ ƉůĂŶƚƐ͕ ŐŽŝŶŐ ďĂĐŬ ƐŽŵĞ ϭϬ͕ϬϬϬ LJĞĂƌƐ͘
# " # " # ! " # " # " # ! " ! ! # # # ! # #
!! "
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G RAIN M A R K E T I NG
WƵůƐĞƐ ĂƌĞ Ă ĨŽŽĚ ƐƚĂƉůĞ ŝŶ ŵĂŶLJ ƉĂƌƚƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌůĚ͘ ZŝĐŚ ŝŶ ƉƌŽƚĞŝŶ͕ ĨŽůĂƚĞ ĂŶĚ ĚŝĞƚĂƌLJ ĮďĞƌ͕ ƉƵůƐĞƐ ĂƌĞ ĂůƐŽ ĞdžĐĞůůĞŶƚ ĂŶŝŵĂů ĨĞĞĚ͖ ƉƌŽǀŝĚŝŶŐ ĞŶĞƌŐLJ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽƚĞŝŶ͘ DĞŵďĞƌƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ůĞŐƵŵĞ ĨĂŵŝůLJ͕ ƉƵůƐĞƐ ĂƌĞ ĂŶ ĞdžĐĞůůĞŶƚ ƌŽƚĂƟŽŶĂů ĐƌŽƉ ƐŝŶĐĞ ƚŚĞLJ Įdž ŶŝƚƌŽŐĞŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐŽŝů ĨŽƌ ĨƵƚƵƌĞ ƉůĂŶƟŶŐƐ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ĞĂƐŝůLJ ƌĞĐŽŐŶŝnjĂďůĞ EŽƌƚŚ ĂŬŽƚĂ ĐƌŽƉ͕ ƐƵŶŇŽǁĞƌƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƌĂŝƐĞĚ ŚĞƌĞ ďLJ ŵĞƌŝĐĂŶ /ŶĚŝĂŶƐ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ϭϴƚŚ ĐĞŶƚƵƌLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ƉůĂŶƚ ǁĂƐ ƚĂŬĞŶ ƚŽ ZƵƐƐŝĂ ǁŚĞƌĞ ŵŽĚĞƌŶ ĐŽŵŵĞƌĐŝĂů ǀĂƌŝĞƟĞƐ ǁĞƌĞ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉĞĚ͘
DAKOTA MIDLAND GRAIN
EŽƌƚŚ ĂŬŽƚĂ ĨĂƌŵĞƌƐ ŐƌŽǁ ƚǁŽ ƚLJƉĞƐ ŽĨ ƐƵŶŇŽǁĞƌƐ͗ ƚŚĞ ůĂƌŐĞ ƐƚƌŝƉĞĚͲƐŚĞůůĞĚ ǀĂƌŝĞƟĞƐ ƵƐĞĚ ĨŽƌ ƐŶĂĐŬƐ ĂŶĚ ĨŽŽĚ ŝŶŐƌĞĚŝĞŶƚƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƐŵĂůůĞƌ͕ ďůĂĐŬͲƐŚĞůůĞĚ ǀĂƌŝĞƟĞƐ ƵƐĞĚ ƚŽ ŵĂŬĞ Žŝů ĂŶĚ ĨŽƌ ďŝƌĚƐĞĞĚ͘
voltaire@srt.com • www.dakotamidland.com
^ƵŶŇŽǁĞƌ Žŝů ŝƐ ƵƐĞĚ ĨŽƌ ĐŽŽŬŝŶŐ ĂƌŽƵŶĚ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌůĚ͘ DŽƐƚ ƐƵŶŇŽǁĞƌ Žŝů ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h͘^͘ ŝƐ ƚŚĞ EƵ^ƵŶ ǀĂƌŝĞƚLJ͕ ǁŚŝĐŚ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞƐ ŽƉƟŵĂů ŚĞĂůƚŚ ďĞŶĞĮƚƐ͕ ďĞƩĞƌ ƚĂƐƚĞ ĂŶĚ ƐƵƉĞƌŝŽƌ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͕ ĂŶĚ ŝƐ ƚƌĂŶƐͲĨĂƚ ĨƌĞĞ͘ EŽƌƚŚ ĂŬŽƚĂ ƚƌĂĚŝƟŽŶĂůůLJ ůĞĂĚƐ ƚŚĞ ŶĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ ƐƵŶŇŽǁĞƌ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ͘
Main Location: 1219 Hwy. 52 West, P.O. Box 188 Voltaire, ND 58792 701-338-2530 Other Locations: Surrey 701-728-6430 Norwich 701-728-6786 • Guthrie 701-465-3900
GRAIN M AR K E T I NG
^ĞĞŶ ĨƌŽŵ Ă ĚŝƐƚĂŶĐĞ͕ Ă ĮĞůĚ ŽĨ ŇŽǁĞƌŝŶŐ͕ ďůƵĞ ŇĂdž ĐĂŶ ůŽŽŬ ůŝŬĞ Ă ƐŚŝŵŵĞƌŝŶŐ ůĂŬĞ͘ Ŷ ĂŶĐŝĞŶƚ ĐƌŽƉ͕ ŇĂdž ŝƐ ƚŚĞ ƐŽƵƌĐĞ ŽĨ ŶƵŵĞƌŽƵƐ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ͕ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ ƉĂŝŶƚ ĂŶĚ ǁŽŽĚ ĮŶŝƐŚŝŶŐƐ͕ ůŝŶŽůĞƵŵ ĂŶĚ ŚŝŐŚ ƋƵĂůŝƚLJ ƉĂƉĞƌ ĂŶĚ ůŝŶĞŶ͘ Source: www.nd.gov/ndda d.go
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Inside Ag
Farm to tap partnerships keep authentic brews flowing MINOT DAILY NEWS
OCTOBER 2017
HILLSBOROUGH, N.J. (AP) — Farm-to-table cuisine is a well-known food trend in which locally grown produce is used seasonally by chefs to create an authentic hometown taste. But now, in Central Jersey, there is a new trend — farm to tap. It's a natural partnership: A craft brewer using a farmer's locally grown hops to create a beer with a unique "Jersey Fresh" taste. That's why Jeremy Lees of Flounder Brewing in Hillsborough and Anthony Verdi of Sky High Hops in the Three Bridges section of Readington have partnered on producing beer that has earned the label of Jersey Fresh because it is made entirely with New Jersey ingredients. "I had spoken back in February at the New Jersey Agricultural Convention about brewing and farming in New Jersey and one of my talking points was seeing the young hop growers start to utilize the Jersey Fresh program and how important that program is in promoting New Jersey agriculture and it should help promote New Jersey hop farms starting up," Lees told the Courier News.
AP Photo
Anthony Verdi examines the progress of one of the 700 hops at his "yard" at Sky High Hops in Readington, N.J. Jeremy Lees of Flounder Brewing in Hillsborough and Verdi of Sky High Hops in the Three Bridges section of Readington have partnered on producing beer that has earned the label of Jersey Fresh because it is made entirely with New Jersey ingredients.
Verdi is the 24-year-old owner of Sky High Hops, a 700plant hop yard on his parents' 65-acre horse farm, Sage Hill Farm. This is the second year that he has been growing hops, which can reach 20 feet in height, for other breweries, including Lone Eagle in Flemington and Triumph in Princeton, cideries, distilleries and home brewers. A graduate of the University of Delaware with a degree in environmental engineering, Verdi has a full-time job in the environmental field, but taking care of his hops "has become a second full-time job." He estimates he spends 30 to 40 hours a week tending to his hops with a devout respect of nature and a dedicated attention to the details of agriculture. "We take time every day to treat each plant with love and care and groom our yard meticulously to ensure our plants grow healthy and strong," Verdi said. Though there are 700 plants, "it feels like even more," Verdi said. "I'm out here every day." Before his first growing season, Verdi used horse manure from his parents' farm to prepare the soil. After carefully testing the soil, he added fertilizer and he checked the sun's daily trajectory to make sure the plants received the maximum amount of sunlight. He even studied the yard's air flow "It's really complex," Verdi said. "I did a lot of research." And the work is not done. Before Verdi expands his crops, "I want to make sure it's 100 percent." According to All About Beer magazine, there are only three essential ingredients to beer — malted barley, yeast and water. But beer brewed with only those ingredients would be enjoyed mainly for its alcoholic impact, and not its taste. That's where hops enter the brewing process. By adding bitterness, hops balance the sweetness in beer created by the fermentation of the grain. Hops also give beers their unique flavors and aromas. Craft beer devotees talk about their favorite brews in the same detail that once only oenophiles used to describe their favorite wines. The essence of brewing's art is the selection and deployment of hops. What hops a brewer chooses and when he deploys them in the brewing process determines the beer's taste. The quality and variety of hops is as important to the brewer as the quality of a grape is to the vintner. For example, Cascade hops, one of the main varieties at Sky High Hops, play an important role in American-style pale ales or IPAs with its flowery, spicy taste with a hint of grapefruit. Chinnok, another hop grown at Sky High, has a fresh pine flavor and aroma with a fruity subtlety that makes it essential for American ales. Lees, who lives near Sky High Hops in Raritan Township, could not contain his curiosity last year when, as he was driving on nearby Route 202, he saw Verdi's first growth of hops. He investigated and soon he and Verdi had struck up a partnership. Lees, whose Flounder Brewing occupies two units in an
PAGE 21
AP Photo
Jeremy Lees checks on the progress of one of his latest creations at Flounder Brewing in Hillsborough, N.J. industrial building at I Ilene Court off Stryker Lane in Hillsborough, is typical of the microbrewing explosion. Lees confesses that he is "obsessed" with beer and microbrewing. He and his then girlfriend used to take vacations to visit breweries so it was only natural that he proposed to her in a brewery. What was once touted as New Jersey's smallest licensed "nano" brewery has turned into the sort of success story most home brewers dream about. Brewing started as a hobby with his brothers in a small Morristown apartment (Flounder's Hill Street Honey Ale is a homage to the address), moved to their grandmother's garage in Lyndhurst and now has turned into a serious fulltime job for Lees with part-time employees. "People are lining up for our beer," Lees said. "A lot of people enjoy the experience." He has a simple but elegant business philosophy. "What's our hope?" he said. "It's that every time you crack open our beer; you'll have a good time, take a moment for yourself and enjoy the people around you." The Hill Street Honey Ale is the "flagship" of the brewery which produces 300 barrels (31 gallons each) a year. "It's the favorite of all the big hops fans," he said. Another favorite is the Hop Harvest Ale, in which Verdi's crops play a starring role. Depending on the time of the year and the demand,
Inside Ag
2 0 1 7 M a k o t i T h r e s h i n g S ho w r e s u l t s a n n o u nc e d MINOT DAILY NEWS
PAGE 22
MAKOTI – The 57th Annual Makoti Threshing Show was held at Makoti on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23-24. Winners of the many competitions and raffle drawings have been announced.
Kiddie Peddle Tractor Pull: Age 5: 1st – Emmet Smette; 2nd – Braxton Haugtvedt; 3rd – Nathaniel Schmidt Age 6: 1st – Tyler Aamot; 2nd – Jocelyn Schmidt; 3rd – Brayden Ouradnik Age 7: 1st – Jackson Zeltinger; 2nd – Devin Gray; 3rd – Sam Rensch Age 8: 1st – Clayton Hall; 2nd – Matthew Abel; 3rd – Piper Schmidt Age 9: 1st – Tate Heer; 2nd – Harper Glanville; 3rd – Drew Er-
ickson Age 10: 1st – David Abel; 2nd – Samuel Abel; 3rd – Rylan Plesuk Age 11: 1st – Lacey Benyshek; 2nd – Kadin Kolden; 3rd – Emily Miles Age 12: 1st–Josie Stienwalt; 2nd – Reese Plesuk
Lawn Tractor Back Seat Driver: 1st – Chris and Dar Huus; 2nd – Rachelle Wright and Blake Zieman; 3rd – Jason and Denise Diffely
John Deere Slow Race: 1st – Dalton Walker; 2nd – Hannah Johnson; 3rd – Caleb Walker
Mutton Bustin’: Saturday – Clayton Hall and Emma Slocum; Sunday – HanBessie Bingo: nah Johnson (Grand Champion of the weekend), Hunter John- Saturday – Renae Harrison; son, Lincoln Walker, Wilt Nissen, Sunday – Chris Huus Lilly Johnson and Preston Burseau Raffle Winners: Rifle – Rodney Thorson; Kids’ Bike Drawings: Wooden Chest – Hunter Andes; Saturday – Autumn Beeter and T-shirts –Beth Patterson and Todd Ouradnik; Sunday – Randy Fyllsvold; Tumblers – Jim Vanessa Fransen and Sierena Rensch and Chad Franklin; Hats Fransen – Lisa Miest and Glen Hauf
OCTOBER 2017
Pickup Pull:
Stock (6500 Lbs & Under)
Name
Pickup
Mike Rmerck, Hazen
1986 Chevy K
Mike Rmerck, Hazen
R.D. Andes, Parshall
Adam Hagen, Lansford
Adam Hagen, Lansford Travis Kolden, Ryder
1986 Chevy K
1987 Chevy K
2000 Ford F350
2000 Ford F350
Weight
#s pulled
106400
8510
106100
106100
8500
9100
11796
14896
16896
16718
Modified (6500 Lbs & Under)
Travis Kolden, Ryder
Casey Kolden, Ryder
1979 Ford F250
1979 Ford F250
1979 Ford F250
5440
5420
5400
10494
Modified (6500 Lbs & Over)
Hayden Kautt, Roseglen 2002 GMC 2500 7540
Brandon Slind, Ryder
12292
10804
2010 Ford F250
8520
13734
12664
%
193
244
133 199
Mph 9
11
5.3
11.7
184
10.2
226
10.1
199
194
182
149
#1Main St. S. Berthol d 701-453-3431 Main office: 1-800-568-6909 Carpio: 701-468-5423
www.ber tholdfar mer s.com
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Inside Ag
Rethinking farming: Program encourages conservation work OCTOBER 2017
SHAVERTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Andy Zagata has been farming for decades, so he was apprehensive about changing the way he works the land. An incentive program from the Luzerne Conservation District convinced the 69year-old to try something new. The Luzerne Conservation District wants more farmers to adopt conservation practices, and it has $30,000 to help convince them. There are a variety of conservation techniques for farming. This particular program offers incentives for no-till planting and planting cover crops. Farmers who adopt the techniques can receive $50 to $80 per acre planted using the practices. Since trying no-till planting and cover crops through an earlier offering of the program, Zagata has adopted the methods on a wider scale. "It's a learning curve. We've done a few things wrong to begin with, but as we go along in the program, our crops are improving, the soil is becoming easier and more mellow to work. The ground is holding moisture more. Our crops seem to be improving," he said. No-till planting is a method of sowing seeds that avoids plowing and overturning the soil. For example, Zagata uses a seed drill that cuts a strip of soil about an inchand-a-half wide for his corn seed and then covers the seed again. Planting cover crops is planting an additional crop in the ground after harvesting the primary crop. The new plants keep the soil stable through the fall and sometimes as far as into the next spring until planting is ready to begin again. "These are highly effective and relatively low-cost conservation practices that not all farmers have tried. So we're trying to provide this incentive and show them the benefits of these practices, with the idea and the hopes that they'll see enough benefits and they'll continue to carry them on without incentives into the future," said conservation district Director Josh Longmore. "Because they'll find that there's not only a conservation benefit but there's also a long-term financial benefit because they'll have improved soil health and improved production of those croplands." The district has offered the program before. It's part of an ongoing effort to improve local waterways, and the streams and rivers they flow into, all the way to the Chesapeake Bay.
MINOT DAILY NEWS
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AP Photo
In a Sept. 20 photo, farmer Andy Zagata checks his corn crop on a property in Huntington Township, Pa. near Shickshinny. The 69-year-old part-time farmer benefited from incentives as part of a Luzerne Conservation District conservation farming program encouraging no-till farming and planting cover crops.
Farmers can apply once for specific acreage. For example, if someone previously applied for the program for 20 acres on his or her farm, they can't apply again for that land. But the same person can apply again for other acreage that wasn't planted with the methods. The money for the program originates with the federal government, but comes to the district through the state's Chesapeake Bay special projects grant. Farmers have adopted the agriculture practices the incentive program promotes and other management practices on their own, Longmore said. An analysis by the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences showed that adoption of these methods is more widespread than even farmers themselves reported. That study showed that farmers generally
under-reported how much they had used many of the conservation techniques that organizations seeking to improve water quality promote, such as nutrient management plans, dairy manure storages, barnyard runoff controls and stream bank fencing. Zagata first used no-till planting and cover crops on about 25 or 30 acres. He now uses no-till planting on about 175 acres and cover crops on about 100 of those acres. "Everything you do is something new, and when (you) start gambling a lot of money on something new, you've got go slow," Zagata said. "If you're investing $300 or $400 an acre to plant an acre of corn, even on a small scale, you can't lay out $30,000 or $40,000 on a gamble. We started slow, worked our way into it and we're well
satisfied with it." He and his son Drew rent about a dozen farms in the western part of Luzerne County to grow corn, hay and oats, and small grains when they're not working construction. Zagata has heard a variety of opinions about the techniques. A younger farmer he spoke to has also adopted the practices. Some older fellows, he said, still want to plow and till a few fields. And some fields may be well-suited for plowing. It's all part of the things a farmer must consider for business. "It's almost a field-by-field and farm-byfarm decision. There's no 100 percent right way or wrong way to do anything," he said. "It's a personal decision, and it's also an economic decision and it's an environmental decision."
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Inside Ag
OCTOBER 2017
Farm Rescue nonprofit marks milestone with 500th aid case
MINOT DAILY NEWS AP Photo
In this file photo, driver Tim Drechsel and friend Ember Daley lead a long lineup of trucks as Operation Hay Lift Convoy pull off I-94 at Menoken. The 13 trucks sponsored by Farm Rescue and Beyer Towing of Fergus Falls, Minn., each carrying 34 bales of hay were destined to drought-stricken farms and ranches in western North Dakota. North Dakota-based Farm Rescue, which expanded into its sixth state earlier this year, helped its 500th case amid the most devastating drought in the Northern Plains in decades.
BISMARCK (AP) — Amid the most devastating drought in the Northern Plains in decades, a farm aid nonprofit has reached another milestone. North Dakota-based Farm Rescue, which expanded into its sixth state earlier this year, is helping its 500th case this week — a south central North Dakota rancher who lost his right arm in a hay baling machine accident this past summer. While dealing with the loss of the arm, Doug Bichler also dealt with severe drought on his ranch near Linton. "Like many others affected by the drought this summer, we're a bit short on hay," he said. "Through some generous donations we're going to be able to get some ... from the northeastern part of the state." Farm Rescue volunteers delivered the hay earlier this month to Bichler's farm. It's the 500th aid case for the organization since it was launched in 2005 by Bill Gross, who grew up on a North Dakota farm and now flies a cargo plane for a living but wants to stay connected
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to his rural roots. "There is no better reward in life than to help those who have experienced unexpected crises," said Gross, who serves as Farm Rescue's president and also often uses his vacation time to help with the manual labor. Farm Rescue provides free physical labor for farmers and ranchers in need in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana and Nebraska, which it began serving with haying and hay-hauling help this year. Other services in its territory include crop planting and harvesting, and grain-hauling. It relies on about 1,100 volunteers from around the country, donated equipment and money donations, operating on an annual budget just under $1 million. Bichler, 37, is still recovering from his ordeal and said the assistance from Farm Rescue will help him keep his herd of cattle. "I don't think we'll have to downsize," he said. "I don't think we'll have a lot of hay left over, but I think we'll be able to get through the winter.”
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